Eight-Bits easy guide to quitting smoking.

[Eight-Bit]

First of all, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. This isn't the hardest thing you'll  do. People lie. Tabacco is the biggest lie of all. It isn't the hardest thing to do in your life if you go about it right.

In a few, easy steps, you might be able to quit the way I did. I had no trouble at all and I live with two smokers. They drive me nuts now, but I love them regardless.

The first step is to stop smoking after 'trigger' events. Trigger events are something like after eaten, while driving, during break at work, etc. Times you smoke cigarettes are trigger events.

Remove one trigger event every one or two weeks. I stopped after eating, then while driving, then at work. It went from smallest to biggest step. I smoked a lot of cigarettes at work. Just look at where you smoke the most.

The second step is the biggest step. You need something to replace cigarettes that IS NOT FOOD or anything that will cause you to gain the unlooseable 20 pounds. I suggest you start jogging or buy a guitar and try to learn Ghost of Perdition by Opeth. It took me 4 days to learn. I had it easy, but I have a million hobbies.

Once you fell that you have something to keep you busy for four days, I suggest you try to quit. I had it easy, my flat mates went on vacation and it was just me, the guitar, and El Gato Malo. I hate my flat mates cat. It's evil.

Whats imporant is the weening process. Knowing that you can go hours without smoking...

Such as not smoking on the ride to work, at work, and on the ride home, is a confidence booster.

I'm tired. Stick around for part two tomorrow.

[Xirion]

...buy a guitar and try to learn Ghost of Perdition by Opeth...  

If thats to easy for anyone hear (including you :p) here is may tip:
Buy a guitar and learn Change of Saeasons by Dream Theater

[Polak76]

The fitness works.  The more you run and exert yourself the more you realise how much you made the right choice.
Soccer training helped me quit the first time.  I was off them for a year then went to the social smoking thing during the off season when out having a drink.  Don't think you can quit and socially smoke.  It's way too hard.
Anyway the second and final time i quit had been straight out cold-turkey.  I tried the psychological thing, "I can't believe this little piece of paper and dried shredded plant is running my life.  I'm better than that!"  That seemed to work, combining it with fitness.  Been off them for a few years now.

Also don't do the pre-planned finish.  "in two weeks, after i get back from vegas I'm quitting."  That also doesn't seem to work.

I don't think you every really quit, it just gets easy to say no to cigarettes over time.    

Anyway thats my two bobs worth.

Cheers
polak76

[Serissa]

My husband quit smoking over 30 years ago.  Only recently has he graduated from "I haven't wanted a cigarette today" to "I haven't wanted a cigarette this week".  Not smoking takes a tremendous amount of will power, and all ex-smokers are to be congratulated.

[Eight-Bit]

If thats to easy for anyone hear (including you :p) here is may tip:
Buy a guitar and learn Change of Saeasons by Dream Theater

It took me 4 days going at it 8 hours a day. I had quitting easy, because I have a long list of hobbies, not learning that song.

And Dream Theater? Are you mad man?

[Eight-Bit]

Also don't do the pre-planned finish. "in two weeks, after i get back from vegas I'm quitting." That also doesn't seem to work.

I don't think you every really quit, it just gets easy to say no to cigarettes over time.

This is so very true.

So lets recap.

Step One A: Exactly what Polak said. You can't quit, and expect to remain a non smoker, if you don't want to quit.

Step One B: Examine the times when you smoke and slowly remove those times. You will smoke less cigarettes and ween yourself of the habit as well as the addiction. The habit is what got most people I know their first few times. I've 'quit' from every angle, from patches to gums, to sticks of cinnamon and straws. There isn't any solid replacement for cigarettes. The actual not smoking part is wicked easy. The part where you continue not to is what gets you.

Cutting out the tiggers seems tough, but the way I did it was not to keep my cigarettes in my possession during them. That whole, 'out of sight, out of mind' thing. When I was driving, I kept my cigarettes in the trunk. While at home I kept them out of my sight and reach, and often times still in my car. This works best if you're smoking inside. Living on the second floor helped remove the urge quite a bit. If you keep cigarettes in front of you and you're trying to quit, you'll have a lot harder of a time. The less cigarettes I smoked over time made the quitting process easier. This is a gradual process and can take a few weeks to a month or even longer depending how much you smoke, when you do, and how often that is.

How often do you or did you smoke one, and then mere minutes later look down and see there's a pack of cigarettes in front of you and rejoice? I know I did. If you can see them, and reach them, you're going to smoke them.

Step two A is the reason you are quitting. Whatever it is, keep something with you to remember it. Mine was money. I changed job titles at work (going from a freezer guy to a dry guy) which was a pay cut that amounted to just what I spent on cigarettes. I keep a tight budget, college is expensive, and it was cigarettes or beer.

Cigarettes obviously had to go.

Step two B is an alternative. Something to keep those hands busy if you're the kind of person that likes to hold cigarettes, or something to chew upon if you like having a cigarette in your mouth. For those who like smoking for the sake of it, I'm afraid there's little replacement for that which is any healthier.

Having numerous hobbies helped me,  everyone has a hobby. I suggest you get better at it for a few days. Something to do, which is something you enjoy doing, will make the whole thing easier. Also, having a kitten helped too. They like a lot of attention and for some odd reason never leave you alone.

Step three is not to panic. Step two and step three are a lot alike. If you panic, chances are you're going to go on the 'hunt'. Hunting for cigarettes is the worst, because after you tear apart your room/house/apartment and find one, it's probably going to be nasty and old and at that point, charing isn't really a factor.

The only thing worse than a cigarette is a nasty old cigarette.

The first four to five days are going to be the worst. If you ween yourself off of cigarettes it's a lot less difficult than quitting cold-turkey, in my experience.

There's not that much to it on paper but, when I wrote that it was 'easy', I was making the horrible mistake of posting while drinking. It was the hardest thing I've had to do, and asking anyone else who quit for longer than two weeks, they say the same thing.

This takes constant attention and it's harder or easier for different people.

[Leanthar]

Congrats on quitting smoking.

[Eight-Bit]

Congrats on quitting smoking.

Thanks, man. I won't consider myself entirely a quitter until I stop wanting them. Which, according to Serssia, may take quite a long time...

[smugpin]

I find it easyer to NOT say i have quit. I have not had a ciggerette in 2 yrs.. but i am a fulltime smoker. cos every time i have said i quit i start smoking again within 2 weeks.. so yeah thats my 2 bobs worth im a full time smoker that hasnt had one in 2 yrs.. oh and Yori Marblefist is a Chimney (yeah it helps me when i crave)

[smugpin]

My mum stopped smoking when i was 10 and she still craves im 28 on the 31st of august

it is really more addictive than heroin.. just heroin has more physical attribute to it that show it easyer and make it an obvious problem

[Xirion]

It took me 4 days going at it 8 hours a day. I had quitting easy, because I have a long list of hobbies, not learning that song.

And Dream Theater? Are you mad man?

hehe... atleast you will have no time to spend a thought at cigaretts if you really try it
...and that for a long period of time. To make it easier you could leave out the solos first oO

[lonnarin]

I cut down from 2 packs a day to around 1 pack every 3 days.  Might not have quit yet, but at least now the bucket of phlegm I cough up every morning is a healthier shade of yellow-orange.

[Lynn1020]

Thanks, man. I won't consider myself entirely a quitter until I stop wanting them. Which, according to Serssia, may take quite a long time...

I quit 7 years ago and there are still times a craving hits.  But I learned that it doesn't last long.  I just have to think about the price of a pack and the way it makes a person smell.  

[Leanthar]

"....but at least now the bucket of phlegm I cough up every morning is a healthier shade of yellow-orange...."
 
 EWWWW *smiles*

[Fatherchaos]

Something else I've thought of is reconditioning the memories surrounding smoking. Eight-bit covers the trigger events wonderfully, so here is my suggestion to help "reprogram" yourself for the long term.

Find what cigarettes you might have lying around and dip the filter or which ever end you take to in something revolting. Ear wax might do it - if you've ever tasted ear wax then you know what the death of your tongue tastes like. After marking those buggers up with something further south of disgusting, take a taste of one and think that it was the cigarette that was disgusting - not the substance. Keep those horrid things in your ready pack if you might ever have a 'slip.'

My grandfather did this and his fond relaxing memories, read cravings, for cigarettes was replaced with contemptuous revulsion at the mere sight of them. I'm not sure it will work for everyone, but worth a suggestive shot.

[Laldiien]

Thanks, man. I won't consider myself entirely a quitter until I stop wanting them. Which, according to Serssia, may take quite a long time...

I quit my 2 1/2 pack a day habit in 2001, cold turkey.  I turned into a frightfully unpleasant human being for about 2 weeks, but here is what worked for me: After I decided to quit, I collected all the butts and stuck them in a 20oz Coke bottle, then half filled it with water.  I kept the bottle with me.  When I wanted a smoke, I popped the cap and took a sniff.  

When someone lights up a Marlboro Red, it still smells like the sweetest ambrosia, but I have no desire to take up the habit again.

[minerva]

I quit in May of 2001.  It was likely the 6th or 7th time I'd "quit".  
 
 Like Laldiien I was a beast and did my co-workers a favor and quit during my vacation.  I got help from the patches which I think made the difference over the last unsuccessful tries.  I only had to use them during that first aweful 2 weeks and then I kept forgetting to put them on..
 
 Unlike Laldiien I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. Clothing from the smoking days was tossed.  Christmas decorations like wise.
 
 Only twice have I even contemplated restarting, and they were during periods of really high stress like my recent move.
 
 'Grats to anyone for trying and double Grats for those who succeed.
 
 Just keep trying till you get there

[Shadowblade225]

It's a rather disgusting habit and worthwhile to quit.  Congratulations to all who've quit and good luck to those who are trying to.

[lonnarin]

Seriously though, for those of you not yet old enough to smoke or who haven't tried yet... DON'T START.  Smoking is more expensive than cable, harder to quit than breathing and less healthy than  consistantly eating out of the trash can.  The only reason we keep smoking is to avoid the cravings... there isn't even any positive "high" to it.... just lows.

I'm 26-years-old, smoked for 8 years now, and every morning I cough worse than a middle-aged coal-miner.  Every time I lay on my back, I feel my phlegm shifting from my esophagus down into my lungs, and wake up 5x a night sitting up to cough it all out. I have more spots on the inside of my car's windshield than the outside covered in bug guts because of how much I cough, and I live in lovebug country.  

So kids, don't try tobacco.  If you do, every time you get stressed in life, you'll check your pocket for a pack of smokes, look around frantically and start stressing out even more so you can smoke some more.  Then you're health will start to deteriorate and you'll stress about that some more, which of course leads to more cigarettes.  The Willsave DC to quit is at least 22, and 90% of the people who quit wind up relapsing any time they're stressed.

And worst of all, if you smoke, people who don't buy cigarettes but manage to smoke a pack/day will target you for their parasitic sustainance.  At least 1/4 of the smokers out there seriously do not buy their own, they just walk around all bug-eyed looking for other people smoking who they can mooch off of.  Then when you politely refuse, they get ANGRY and follow you around on the street griping at you, as if it was your fault they spent all their cigarette money on other drugs.  They will even ask you for "extra cigarettes" as if the packs you bought mysteriously came with 21 per pack, and the 21st had a little label that said "this is a promotional cigarette, give it to a friend!"

And the absolute worst are those moochers who tell you that they're trying to quit, so they don't buy cigarettes, but still ask you for one EVERY TIME they see you smoking.  It's like "awww, give me one.  I'm trying to quit" and if you tell them "sorry, you're trying to quit, I shouldn't give you one"  they go all feral and gnash their teeth at you, cussing you out belligerently.  They're even worse than all the coughing.

[Polak76]

Seriously though, for those of you not yet old enough to smoke or who haven't tried yet... DON'T START.  Smoking is more expensive than cable, harder to quit than breathing and less healthy than  consistantly eating out of the trash can.  The only reason we keep smoking is to avoid the cravings... there isn't even any positive "high" to it.... just lows.

I'm 26-years-old, smoked for 8 years now, and every morning I cough worse than a middle-aged coal-miner.  Every time I lay on my back, I feel my phlegm shifting from my esophagus down into my lungs, and wake up 5x a night sitting up to cough it all out. I have more spots on the inside of my car's windshield than the outside covered in bug guts because of how much I cough, and I live in lovebug country.  

So kids, don't try tobacco.  If you do, every time you get stressed in life, you'll check your pocket for a pack of smokes, look around frantically and start stressing out even more so you can smoke some more.  Then you're health will start to deteriorate and you'll stress about that some more, which of course leads to more cigarettes.  The Willsave DC to quit is at least 22, and 90% of the people who quit wind up relapsing any time they're stressed.

And worst of all, if you smoke, people who don't buy cigarettes but manage to smoke a pack/day will target you for their parasitic sustainance.  At least 1/4 of the smokers out there seriously do not buy their own, they just walk around all bug-eyed looking for other people smoking who they can mooch off of.  Then when you politely refuse, they get ANGRY and follow you around on the street griping at you, as if it was your fault they spent all their cigarette money on other drugs.  They will even ask you for "extra cigarettes" as if the packs you bought mysteriously came with 21 per pack, and the 21st had a little label that said "this is a promotional cigarette, give it to a friend!"

And the absolute worst are those moochers who tell you that they're trying to quit, so they don't buy cigarettes, but still ask you for one EVERY TIME they see you smoking.  It's like "awww, give me one.  I'm trying to quit" and if you tell them "sorry, you're trying to quit, I shouldn't give you one"  they go all feral and gnash their teeth at you, cussing you out belligerently.  They're even worse than all the coughing.

Well put!

Oh and with regards to this:

I cut down from 2 packs a day to around 1 pack every 3 days. Might not have quit yet, but at least now the bucket of phlegm I cough up every morning is a healthier shade of yellow-orange.

 It's when it goes a shade of red you better start worrying.


Anyway on another note, another thing that helped me quit was a trip to the doctors.  I had the flu pretty bad one year and they wanted to take x-rays of my chest.  I was fine up until the point the doctor asked me, "are you a smoker?".  I said I was and he breathed a dangerous sigh.
I tell you, that got me really worried.  I realised at that point how alone I was in that dark sanitised smelling cold room as I awaited the results of my test.

Just remember smoking simply kills and it most certainly doesnt discriminate.