
Prepare to Quit Smoking - tathagata
http://blogaborty.blogspot.in/2013/04/prepare-to-quit-smoking.html
======
microcentury
For any smokers out there reading this and thinking, 'God I will never quit if
I have to spend the rest of my life resisting the urge for a cigarette', like
this article says, note that it doesn't have to be that way. I quit smoking
six months ago and every day without cigarettes is a blessing. I _hated_
smoking, and I wanted to stop, and for years and years I couldn't stop. And
then I did, and I am free, and it is wonderful. Why the hell would I want to
go back to the thing that I hated and was killing me, like this person? If you
see cigarettes for what they really are, as a non-smoker sees them, how could
you ever want to smoke?

These arguments come from Allnn Carr's stop smoking methodology. You can read
his book or do a seminar. And for those out there who say 'it doesn't work': I
read that book the first time in 2003, and probably more than ten times since.
I attended the seminar three times. It was finally the online seminar that
made the ideas click for me. (The breakthrough was the realisation that the
response that says 'I want a cigarette' is a broken thought process that was
learned, i.e. is not natural, and can be unlearned.) Now that the ideas have
clicked into place for me I am absolutely certain I will never smoke again.
When I hear the 'I want a cigarette' thought, I don't have a melancholy
response that I can't smoke. I hated smoking! I have a happy response that I
have learned how to get back to very close to the state I was in before I ever
smoked at all.

Anyway, I am sure this article is well-intentioned, but I would strongly
strongly suggest that if you haven't tried Allan Carr's method you give it a
shot, and if you have tried it, give it another try. Smoking is a nightmare
from which we all can awake.

~~~
corin_
If you hate smoking then it makes sense that when you manage to shake the
addiction you'll be glad about it. Many smokers, myself included, _enjoy_
cigarettes. I'm quitting currently, but if I could get rid of the health risks
then I'd keep going forever even if I wasn't addicted.

~~~
microcentury
Have a look at the book or seminar - the enjoyment of cigaretts is dealt with
at length and forms a core pillar of the argument. If you don't want to quit
though, then you don't want to quit and nothing is going to make you open the
book with an open mind.

~~~
corin_
It's very possible to quit while still maintaining that you enjoy smoking.

~~~
microcentury
I'm sure that it is, and many people seem to do it. However, it's a lot easier
to see smoking as it really is and be happy to walk away from it.

~~~
corin_
What do you mean "see smoking as it really is"? Obviously we _do_ see the
negatives, otherwise we wouldn't quit at all. That doesn't change anything
about the fact that smoking can be an extremely enjoyable activity.

------
benologist
After a dozen or so years of pack-a-day smoking I quit by just switching to
nicotine gum. You can get a _big_ kick out of one of those whenever you need
it, and I was very liberal with them and probably actually increased my
nicotine intake heh. After a couple months of gum I moved over to patches and
then after a month or so I started forgetting to put them on.

It's about a year and a half since then, I still get cravings occasionally but
they can be beaten by going for a walk and sucking up some second hand smoke.

------
6d0debc071
I moved onto smoking e-cigs. That was quite easy really. If you haven't had
luck with other ways to quit smoking, then getting your hands on some vaping
gear might be something worth doing.

~~~
nsmartt
I'm curious. What e-cigs are you using?

~~~
6d0debc071
Well, it's a sort of mix and match thing if you get into it. You stick the
batteries and tanks (or there are are little things that you just stick a drop
at a time into) together to get what you want. There are pre-made ones that
they sell in petrol stations and the like which look kinda like cigs, but that
can be a really expensive way to smoke.

I've got a eGo twist as a battery (you can alter how much power it gives you
depending on how you like the vapour and you can screw a wide variety of
attachments on) and a ViVi Nova for the tank part.

If you're looking to get into it I'd recommend ordering something like that
online, with a couple of juices, buying a pack of cigs that you really hate
and smoking them until it turns up. :)

------
scoofy
I quit after 5 years of smoking regularly with an extra year in there failing
to try to quit. The second time i quit was much more a mental thing than
physical. Truly randomly, my friends suggested at dinner that we quit and
never smoke again. I'd tried to quite before and tried to warn them how hard
it is, but the idea of never touching it again seemed reasonable.

It worked for me, but none of my friends. Just randomly deciding to never
touch i again. A book i read that reminded me of the struggle, oddly enough,
is The End of Overeating. [http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Overeating-
Insatiable-American...](http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Overeating-Insatiable-
American/dp/1605294578)

Six years out, I'll say this. The "knowledge" of the smell never goes away,
but the craving does, slowly. That is, I smell it, and I remember what it
means, I know I want that sensation, but at the same time, I've had my peace
with it and know it's not not for me anymore.

On very rare occasion, i'll end up inhaling tobacco (if it's combine with
something else that i rarely smoke) without my knowledge. At this point the
sensation is very very uncomfortable. While it is pleasurable, it's totally
overwhelming, my heart races and everything is too intense for a couple
minutes. Very odd feeling.

------
noir_lord
I've been stopped for 3 years, I smoked 20 a day for 12 years prior to
stopping.

Stopping was difficult to do but I'd been thinking about it for a while and my
mother getting diagnosed with a heart problem (she's smoked since she was 16)
was a good incentive so I picked my 30th birthday and just stopped.

I initially used gum to manage the cravings but after a month or so I kept
forgetting to pick the gum up or simply ran out so I stopped buying it.

For the first year or so I used to get sporadic random cravings (but I just
visualized my mother on a heart machine clearly in my mind each time, talk
about negative re-enforcement) but they've gone now.

My GF continued to smoke throughout before and after I quit which in theory
should have made it harder but in reality actually worked in my favour after a
month of not smoking the smell was nauseating.

I put quite a bit of weight on while I was stopping which took a while to lose
but other than that and not getting a chest infection the last 3 winters
(where I'd usually had one or two a year in the previous decade) I've not
noticed much difference in my health.

------
guelo
I cheated and used Chantix to quit after a 20 year pack-a-day habit. After
dozens of failed attempts it was super-easy to quit on this drug. I'm not sure
why everyone doesn't use it, it's a miracle drug.

~~~
scrapcode
I tried Chantix and had horrible night terrors. This isn't a rare side effect.

~~~
AjithAntony
Also the suicidal thoughts. My neighbor was on chantix and ended taking his
life. Not proof that they are related, or wouldn't have happened if he had not
been on the drug.

------
3pt14159
I found that only the first two days were hard. After that, it is easy to
quit.

~~~
hfsktr
I think that depends on the person. I used Chantix and it was very easy to
stop smoking. The hard part was not picking it back up again.

For weeks I had to fight habits: I needed something in my hand, I felt
'hungry' no matter how full I was (after eating smoke), I was watching a
movie, etc.

After a couple of months the majority of the triggers are gone but
occasionally I still find one. When that happens it isn't as hard because I
broke so many of the other habits I know it will pass.

OTOH I enjoyed smoking, but I had to quit because I can't afford it and my
other half is an ex-smoker.

------
yoster
I smoked cigarettes for around 15 years. I had a terrible habit of 2 packs a
day. I would constantly chain smoke. When I decided to quit, it was honestly
pretty easy. I gave up social drinking, which I used to go out on an almost
daily basis. My blood pressure is a lot better now, and I used to have a
really bad temperament. For all the people who are trying to quit, good luck
to you!

