Smokers wanting to quit have more resources than ever at their disposal, from a patch to a nicotine gum to hypnotherapy.  There’s pills, and then more natural approaches like accupuncture.  Unfortunately, we all know there is no miracle quit smoking aid.  Somtimes cold turkey is still the best approach.  It all depends on your own body chemistry and your level of addiction.  Check with your doctor, who will guide you down the right path to being smoke free!

I read this story by an ex-smoker who quit without using a stop smoking medication:

I began smoking at the age of 15 and finally quit for good at the age of 57 (a year ago), when I was at a pack a day. Even though all the experts say you have to go cold turkey, I think that just increases the craving. This is how I did it. Every time I wanted a cigarette, I only smoked half of it. So, I immediately cut my intake in half. After a few weeks of doing that (gives your body time to adjust to less nicotine), I would only take about 4 puffs, put it out and save it for the next craving. After a few weeks of that, I went to 2 puffs, then one puff (where one cigarette could last me a day or two). My body gradually got used to doing without the nicotine and I got to a point where I said, “when this pack is done, I’m not buying anymore”. That was a year ago. Recently, I stayed with my son, who smokes, and took a drag off his cigarette. I didn’t like the taste and it hurt my throat. If I can do it, you can do it, because I loved smoking!!!

A friend wanted to share this gem of an idea to stop smoking cigarettes:

There is one very helpful way to quit smoking, and that is to become absolutely DISGUSTED by the mere idea of having another cigarette. When you can feel thoroughly repulsed by the thought of lighting-up, you’re ready to replace the smoking habit with something better for you.

So how does one DO that, you ask? “how do I get THAT grossed out by my cigarette habit?” It’s actually quite easy. Don’t cut down on cigarettes at all, in fact, you have to increase your ‘dosage’ all of a sudden, all in one sitting.

Do this in an enclosed room so there is hardly not much air circulation, have as many cigarettes on hand that you normally would smoke over the course of a whole day, and begin smoking them one after another. You cannot allow yourself to take a break from them, you must smoke them ALL – one after the other. The smoke should be allowed to infiltrate EVERYthing – your hair, your clothes, your bedsheets. Don’t take a shower before you go to bed, don’t change the sheets either – allow yourself to smell exactly what all non-smokers smell when smokers are puffing away on the vile stuff around them. You must give yourself the full impact of the disgusting odor – it is especially important that you can smell the stink of cigarettes in your bed pillow and your hair as you are falling asleep later.

That really ought to do it. Every time you think about having a cigarette after this experience, you should feel a strong repulsive YUCK! come over you. This may seem rather extreme – and it is – but if you want to quit …

I thought this was a good read about someone using stop smoking medication:

Today is 2 months of not smoking for me thanks to Chantix. These people saying wanting to quit is enough and cold turkey is the only way are full of it. I had wanted to quit many times and have bought countless boxes of nicorette and had never made it a day before. I made up my mind one day at work I was going to try Chantix and stopped by my doctor on the way home. The visit to get the prescription was $80 and the first months supply from the Pharmacy was $120 with the $10 rebate that comes with it now. After the first week I didn’t quit completely like you are supposed to but I cut down to a couple a day. At the end of the second week I quit completely and haven’t had a cigarette since. I filled my second month supply since you are supposed to take the medicine for 3 months, which was another $120, but a week or so into the second month I cut the prescription in half down to 1 pill a day. After a week or so I quit taking the pills. I never stopped drinking coffee or going to bars and drinking and didn’t change my life at all except for the smoking. Chantix really works. As far as insurance covering it, find out what insurance provider you will have and find out if they cover it, but there aren’t many that do cover it. I smoked for 15 yrs a pack plus a day.

Everyone has a different story.  The goal is to quit, so do whatever you find works!

I read this the other day.  I thought my readers would have some insight for this woman!

I have several things I need to do and am not sure which order or the best way to do it. I need to do the following:

Loose 50 lbs
Quit smoking Cigarettes
Quit taking Effexor

I am not sure in which order I should do this. I KNOW quiting Effexor will be a long process. I have done this before and it took months. (Like 6)
For quiting smoking, I will be doing it cold turkey. I will not be using any of the quit smoking aids. (for financial reasons)
Does anyone have any advice for me as to the order I should work on this.
Thanks so much!!
Effexor dosage is 75 mg.

Leave some comments in response if you have any thoughts to share!

Someone sent this to me the other day.  They’re trying to quit without the use of quit smoking aids:

Hi there,
I have been trying to quit for a while but have had some success with a ‘cut down and quit’ approach. Every time I feel like having a cigarette I get up and do something else as soon as the craving starts. I will have a glass of water, put a load of washing on, wash my face or ANYTHING in general to keep my hands busy. Doing it this way I am able to abstain from having one for up to three hours at a time. It is really hard to go cold turkey as there are certain receptors in your brain that go crazy when you don’t deliver their precious nicotine. If you slowly cut out half your cigs a day over one week then the next week you do the same again and so on and so on. I myself am now down to about 6 – 8 a day and that is coming down from a pack of 50’s a day!!! I tell myself to even just chew normal gum to get the saliva going in my mouth. I even just take deep breaths, saying “I can do this, you are my enemy (to the cigs), I don’t need you controlling my life…..” I’m getting there!

Someone’s story:

I want to take the stop smoking pill but i can’t find a web site with some info on the pill. I want to know side effects and do you still smoke while you take the pill?

Yes, you continue to smoke while taking this med. You set a quit date, but a lot of people quit early. It is a miracle drug, as far as some people are concerned.

Most people only experience nausea as a side effect, or very vivid dreams.

It costs about $100-120 per month if paying cash, but most insurances cover it. Cheaper than cigs! You WILL quit. It blocks the reuptake of nicotine to your brain and fools it into believing it is satisfied. So, even if you smoke, you derive no pleasure from it.

I have a friend who refuses to take any kind of stop smoking medication because her neighbor gained 25 pounds quitting with an aid, and then had a mini-stroke that sent her to the hospital.  She’s going cold turkey because of the horror stories.  I told her that everyone reacts differently, and that she should talk to her doctor about side effects if she’s concerned.

There is no medical “cure” for smoking, even when using quit smoking aids. Smoking consists of two components: 1) a physical addiction to nicotine 2) a psychological addiction to the habit of smoking

There are treatments to help with the physical addiction, but take it from someone who has quit – 98% of the battle is psychological.

Here are some tips I can offer to stop smoking:

1) Don’t buy cigarettes. Sure you can still bum them from friends and such, but this should help cut back a lot.

2) To fight the urges for the first couple weeks, when you want a cigarette take a few very deep breaths. A lot of the crud you get from smoking gets caught in your lungs and you can actually kick it back into your bloodstream by taking deep breaths (until your body eventually cleans it out, but that’ll take a couple weeks).

3) Take it one day at a time. Every day you need to recommit to your goal of “not smoking today”. Get through one day at a time and before you know it your urges will diminish.

4) Avoid drinking. As we all understand without the science, drinking alcohol lowers your inhibitions (the science supports this too, which is pretty interesting.) So, when you drink it will be much more difficult to resist the urge to smoke.

5) Find someone that will support you in your effort. If you get the urge to smoke and are fighting it, call your friend and let them remind you why you’re quitting.

My neighbor said she started taking Chantix, the stop smoking pill, a week ago and she want to smoke less, but still has some cravings. She asked around about what side effects people have experienced with it: Did it cause weight gain? Strange dreams or nausea?

I haven’t taken it personally, but I have two close friends that have. They said the first two weeks were great. They smoked as usual the first week. By the second week, all cravings stopped and they quit smoking. But around the third week, severe nausea kicked in. It was to the point that they both had to quit taking it. It may affect different people different ways, so I told her she should at least try it.