Has anyone out there successfully quit smoking? How did you do it?

“Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.”—Mark Twain

— Rebecca Bowe

I counted the number of cigarettes I smoked in a day. Then, I picked a date (1/1/2003 actually) and started cutting in half the number I smoked each day. When I got to 0, I stopped. I used a nicotine patch for a week and then stopped that too. I’ve not had one cigarette since then.

The secret is that you have to want to stop.

“How many cigarettes do you smoke in a day?

I go through two lighters a day.”

- Bill Hicks.

two lighters a day Jason....Geez....don’t worry I’m on Chantix and still smoke on it...lol.....not as much though.

James

My grandfather smoked for almost 30 years, and right after he had a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery he quit. He said that you just have to say “enough” and you’ll stop, cold turkey. My grandmother was a heavy smoker for at least 10 years after my grandfather quit, and one day she just quit also.  Which goes to show that people are wusses.

i successfully quit smoking two years ago as of jan. 1 ... i realized that the cigarettes i was smoking had been treated with dozens of chemicals to make them MORE addictive, so i first kicked THOSE chemicals before giving up smoking altogether. to do this, i smoked american spirit natural cigarettes first (no added chemicals) then went to organic version (no chemicals in growing). finally, i was able to quit the organic tobacco much more easily than had i tried to do it all at once.

my primary motivation that kept me from “cheating” was remembering an interview with dana reeves prior to her dying of lung cancer (and she had not smoked, but figured she got it from second-hand smoke). she was asked the hardest part of having cancer and she replied having to tell her son that his mother was going to die. i have a teen daughter and the thought of telling her that i would die (and of something i could have chosen to prevent!) was too much to bear and provided my motivation.

hope this helps! i know others who went the organic route first and did so successfully.

The thing that helped me most (aside from having friends that would cause me pain if they caught me smoking) was being mindful of where I went during the first 2 months of quitting.  I had to avoid going to the Bier Garden for a pint by myself after work...the temptation was too great.  I either went elsewhere or waited until I had friends with me who would support me in resisting the urge to light up.

Other than that, I took up cycling.  It’s hard to enjoy smoking when you’re pedalling up a mile-long hill...and I could tell the difference in lung capacity from week to week.  Start at the Folk Art Center and pedal half an hour towards Mt. Mitchell.  Do it 2-3 times a week for a couple months, and see how much further you get in the same amount of time by the end of it...let alone how much longer it takes before you’re huffing and puffing.  (okay...so I tend to take the fast route.)
*edit* By fast route, I mean the hard way...but I want visible results, by monkey!