Smoking

[sherry]

OK I needed to know if anyone has a idea for quiting smoking!!
My 3 bad habits were Diet Coke, swearing and smoking. I have finally quit drinking diet coke because someone who LOVES me told me about the spartaime or something like that was in it and the migraines stopped. The second can be cured by DUCT tape I guess and the third i have tried before and never seem to be able to do it!!
I have tried the patches and pills but they drop my blood pressure to low and made me sleep all the time and for the first time in my life it is important for me to quit.
I work as a nurse and do ok at work not smoking but as soon as i get in the car i light up any suggestions??

[Earth Walker]

I have tried to quit smoking...I have the will but no
power. :D

Seriously, have you talked to your GP about getting
patches? They work well, but don't light up a cigaret
while on the patch, it could make you very ill, or worse.
:eek:


Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.:crazy:
---Isaac Asimov - Foundation

[*ULA*]

After trying to quit a few different ways - believe it or not the only thing that worked for me was going cold turkey. ok yeah that's stupid and like the hardest way to stop.. but everytime i allowed myself one i'd get back into the habit. ha - it was like heroine after awhile. but it worked for me. this is the green room and i don't know any natural/herbal helpers.. just a sh*tload of willpower. but power to you sherry! stay strong, you'll kick it in the arse. -ula.

[ruthie]

I have given up twice seriously, but always ended back up with the weed. You need no other worries on your mind (mine was always my weight). So, conquer all other problems first. And then as ULA states, put all your willpower in one basket.

My yoga teacher once stated that you should spend a month concentrating and enjoying every last drag on your cigarettes. Make each one a ritual in themselves. Then when you reach your last cigarette for that month, look back and realise just how stupid smoking is, how much you have polluted your body with toxins. She stated that this worked very well for her (she hasn't smoked in over five years).

Good luck :D

[Fawn]

I bought those unsweetened sugarless peppermints and when I felt the need to smoke popped one of those in my mouth and other times--brushed my teeth (did not want to ruin the clean tasting mouth with ole nasty cigarette smoke)

[sherry]

:) I have tried and the only way i ever stopped was when i joined the army cold turkey and it made me cranky and mean I just do not think Bluecat is ready for that but i have 5 weeks til i head west to see him. I have cut it back and am now under a pack a day

Thank you for the help and I am ready to give it up
(he always says it wont bother him) I really never thought of quiting till I met him. But he doesn't smoke!!

So in the next couple of weeks I hope i do not offend anyone!!:cool:

[Lavender]

That's how my hubby quit smoking...

When we met, he smoked nearly 2 packs a day & I didn't smoke. Even though it didn't bother me, he didn't like smoking around me. Eventually, he just quit - cold turkey. He chewed a lot of toothpicks, stir sticks, gum, whatever he could get his teeth into. I even made him a little toothpick carrier to carry around with him. All the best to you, Sherry! :)

[Kiya]

Good luck! It’s a tough one, I’ve tried and failed many times. I have been told to give up during the waning of the moon, and also that inhalation of clove oil and eucalyptus oil helps. I’m about to start trying again, so I’ll let you know if it works!! All the practical things like avoiding places where people smoke help, and if you find smoking in your car is a problem – splash out on a full valet for it, which will make it smell so nice and fresh you won’t want to spoil it!! (I’m hoping this last bit of advice works – my car’s being valetted tomorrow….:D)

I will include all you smokers here in my thoughts while meditating on the subject and asking the God and Goddess for help!

[Yvonne Belisle]

I used toothpicks lots and lots of toothpicks, but under too much stress I'm a chimney. I go from not smoking at all to smoking two at once or chaining a pack or two. Under normal times I go through maybe a half a pack in a year if I have a bad year maybe 4 packs. This was a 4 pack year. Next year better be a half pack or less LOL Good Luck

[Amora]

Fortunately for me I never got into the habit. I'm too much of a control freak to let something control me. I do hear it is very tough to stop though. I have trouble with that swearing thing as well...I'd try the duck tape but it would affect my drinking problem;) !!

Best of luck to you...YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alphyna]

Quitting is the best hting in the world!!!! I smoked for 11 yrs, and I just quit cold turkey 2 mths ago. I have an advantage, I am pregnant, and it made me sick, but just think about the future, about how you don't need the cigarrettes. What are you truly getting out of it besides a slow and painful death? There are no benefits to smoking. If you have children or want children, it's wrong to smoke around them, quit now. It's all in your head. You CAN find the strength to do this within yourself. If you truly love yourself, then there are no excuses. You can quit. You are definately strong enough.
Love and Light to You, Alphyna

[Yvonne Belisle]

I just was thinking that with the price of cigarettes that if you were to set a goal something you really want to buy then resrict it to what you can save from your cigarette money? I don't know if it will work but it's worth a shot.

[Laiste]

Merry Meet Sherry,

I too am trying to quit. I did quit once for three and a half years!! I will do it again! I'm going to try to detox my body. The folowing is a recipie for a tea. I intend to make a ritual out of this.

A mixture of equal parts raspberry leaves, fumitory green parts and dandelion root can purify and detoxify the blood. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1tsp. of the herbal mixture and steep for 10 min. Drink it 3 times a day.

Good Luck!!

Blessed Be,
Laiste

[skysteed]

Many years ago I quit cold turkey on a bet, of all things. The person never paid up on the bet so like a silly thing I started again.

First I think you have to seriously want to quit. Not on a whim.

Mentally prepare yourself to stop smoking. monitor you normal smoking habits, when do you smoke, how many, how long between cigarettes, what made you light up. Were you bored and your hands didn't have anything to do?
When all that is done start by cutting back.

At one point I was smoking 2 packs a day.
Where I worked was stessful and we could smoke in the office at that time.

Wrap a piece of paper around the cigarette package. Note the time you light your first cigarette in the morning, then watch the clock and allow yourself to wait 1 full hour before the next. If desperate chew gum, candy, anything the fill the gap, until it's time for the next nicotine fix. You must not light up before that hour is up.

After about a week you'll find the cravings aren't quit as bad.
You'll actually forget to smoke when the hour is up. But no cheating. If you are late lighting up you can't have the next until the full hour is up.

Strech the time between cigarettes, one day you'll be going a whole day without any. That is the time to say to yourself, I don't want or need these things anymore.

My personal excuse for not quitting.
I DON"T WANT TO !
I'm allowed 1 vice in my life, and this is it.
It also helps me from ripping the heads off of some the people I work with.
Blessings, and nite to all.

[Wildwood]

I'm not a smoker so I don't know how useful these suggestions
are but I have heard that both hypnotherapy and acupuncture
can help you kick the habit.

Good luck giving up.

Wildwood

[Mairwen]

I actually went to the health food store and got a bottle of St John's Wort ~ the lowest mg rating I could find. Made cigarettes taste horrible! *gack!*

[sherry]

COOL !!!! I have that I guess it would help too!! I get so nervous when he introduces me to his friends and I have not even met his family yet so I think that IS one bottle I need to unpack!! Thank You so much!! Yesterday is the first time in a long time I have stayed under a pack!! But I can tell you truthfully I wanted ALOT more of them!!

[belladonna23]

Sherry,
Good luck quitting!! I know it's very, very difficult- I quit myself just 3 1/2 years ago. I just didn't ever buy any more cigarettes. I didn't use any patches or gum or anything, and I kinda wish I had. My poor b-friend positively begged me to go buy some smokes (he has never smoked). But the important thing is I DID IT!!! Yes, I was a Really Big B**** for about 3 months or so, but I survived, and it was worth all the struggle. I feel so much better now, my asthma has improved, and I can actually taste food!!
I really do wish you luck, and I hope you won't be too miserable!!

[Lucidia]

keep this in mind. the physical addiction to nicotine leaves your body after three days of not smoking. After that it's all mental.

I've quit twice (hopefully this last time is indeed the last), both times cold turkey... but i smoked clove cigarettes... which are a lot worse for your lungs but smell pretty decent and taste good... quitting regular cigarettes was easy for me because they taste/smell really bad to me.. and i kept this in mind... as i would hate the people around me to suffer because of my habit...

I suggest that if you MUST replace the habit with another habit.. try something constructive... like... learn to fold origami cranes.. (i do it all the time.. i like the smaller paper... so i can carry it in my pocket easily) and fold one every time you REALLY need a cigarette.. and it might distract you enough to get past the craving.. and eventually you'll have a huge pile of origami cranes (really good gifts, and they symbolize peace, and you can fill jars with them and give them away to your friends) and you'll have gotten over your habit.

chewing gum and eating mints didn't help me at all.. and i tried to avoid people who smoked for a little while... me and my hubby both quit together, so if there is anyone around you that is still going to be smoking... maybe they could not smoke around to directly.. because it does make things a bit tough. Until i REALLY knew i could withstand the urge to smoke.. i avoided bars and clubs... so i wouldn't have to inhale an exorberant amount of second hand smoke.

i'm sure, as well, that you can find some herbs that will calm your nerves and ease the strees of convincing yourself you dont' NEED to smoke.

[yemayasdaughter]

Quitting smoking is HAAAARD!! I just started smoking (bidis- Indian Cigarettes) one year ago this month, and already am hooked. Have you considered Hypnosis? My mother tried that a few years ago, and she stopped smoking for 1 yr. I'm sure you could actually stop for a lot longer!!! ;) :)

[Incendia]

I quit smoking about 2 months ago after someone showed me a very shocking and grotesque picture of this guy who was only 34yrs old and was dying of lung cancer 'cause he smoked. I saw the before and after image of this guy and I couldn't believe the difference. He didn't even look human anymore...he was literally a living skeleton lying there in his hospital bed gasping for air. But, the worst part was that his wife and children were in the picture too...and the panged expressions on their faces really hit home with me. So, needless to say...this image has been burned into my mind...and whenever I think about lighting up I think of that photo. Someone told me that the image can be found on a couple of websites...as soon as I find one of them I'll post the address and you'll see what I mean. Good luck and brightest blessings to all of you who are trying to quit.
-Amicus

[sherry]

Well I met his MOM and DAD they are great don't know why I was so nervous but still I smoke. I am well under a pack a day which is better than the almost 2 a day I smoked in Ohio, I start my new job next week so things are getting calmer. He said it is ok if I smoke but then I feel guilty because at times his COPD is bad and he cant breath so I have been going to the kitchen to smoke when he is awake! AND you were so right about the St Johns Wart ............yuk even coffee and ice tea taste terrible

[Jazzmine]

I was a smoker for 20 years and man I loved it. But the cold hard fact was it was killing me slowly. I quit last year on July 25th. I used Xyban( check that spelling). It helped me a lot. But my husband couldn't use it, it made him feel weird. So he is still smoking. I just couldn't see spending that much money on it. I'm the original tight wad. :D But to be serious, the only time I want one now is when I get super pissed off. And that only happens at work. I haven't slipped yet and don't plan on it, but if these people would just quit pissing me off, I wouldn't even have the urge anymore.:mad: Oh well, that's life.

[Lucidia]

another point to remember is that we are told from before we begin smoking, that it "calms you down", so part of the habit forms when everyone around you smokes to "calm down", so if you start, it may actually have been on the premises of "gee, i'm stressed out, i guess i'll just have ONE cigarette... i mean.. I dont' smoke all the time.. just when i'm stressed out", and in reality, nicotine is a Stimulant.. and actually increases heart rate. (more stress - part of the reason it causes heart problems ,etc)

You need to start convincing yourself that it wont' calm you down... in fact is makes your stress level worse (worrying about the fact you just un-quit, worrying about money, worrying about getting cancer/sick from smoking, not to mention it doesn't actually make the reasons you were stressed in the first place go away, or make them any less on your mind.. it's just a temporary distraction). people have the same problem with food sometimes... eating to de-stress when in fact it's making the problem worse...

[Yvonne Belisle]

bump

[Jax]

The only way I could give up was when I fell pregnant!LOL!!!:D But I don't think that's really an option!LOL!!:rolleyes: Good luck though and I'll send positive energy your way! :thumbsup:
We're with you all the way! BB!

[Jax]

I really could do with one now though! In fact, I've been craving them for a while!:( Is it the same as drinking? Once a smoker always a smoker??????????

[FelixFire]

I'm not a smoker myself, really (oh, the occasional clove now and then but I rarely even inhale), but a friend of mine stopped smoking a couple years ago, going from a 1 1/2 - 2 packs a day.

She did it by rolling her own cigarettes, and gradually putting in less and less tobacco, and increasing amounts of other "smoking" herbs. Not marijuana, LOL, I mean like coltsfoot and a few others. Eventually she was smoking completely tobacco-free cigarettes, which then she just had to break a habit without any actual addiction behind it. She keeps a few pre-rolled non-tobacco ciggies around still, for those "I gotta smoke" moments, and it seems to be working great for her!

She says it's a much nicer smoke, anyway, and some of the herbs she uses actually do have calming effects! And they sure do smell a lot better, LOL!

[kblackthorne]

No, Jax, it's not the same.

My grandfather quit after a debilitating heart attack in his '50's destroyed 3/4 of his heart muscle. My grandmother, his wife, quit sometime after I was born. (She claimed she quit when her children were born, but my father showed me a photo of her holding me in one arm, & a cigarette in her mouth.)

I was raised by my grandparents, so I lived with them & I knew.

My grandfather couldn't stand cigarette smoke: It made him choke & feel ill. Could smell it on someone, too, if they'd been smoking. (At the time, that seemed amazing to me -- I never noticed. Now, I long for those days.)

I've known one smoking couple to quit with the aid of perscription pills: They took away the craving, made it taste bad.

I know others who've made it cold-turkey, though I understand that's harder. I like the roll-your-own-cut-the-mix method. :) I've managed to do a number of difficult things that way, like switching from whole milk to powdered. If the change is gradual enough, you don't notice it.

Still, it seems to me that if you're trying to quit, but light up every time you get in the car... you need to stop keeping cigarettes in your car! Keep a stick of licorice root (they sell them as "African toothbrushes") instead, and suck/chew on the end until you get home. Or a pencil, for that matter... or a lollipop (remember Columbo?). Just don't keep the cigarettes there.

[skysteed]

How about a list of non tobacco smoking herbs, PLEASE.
Even me a die hard smoker for over 30 years is willing to try something new.
Funny thing is when I'm working I don't even think about a cigarette, it's TV time or when I'm not using my hands that my hands seem to find the cigarette package and lighter.

Who knows I might like smoking something other than tobacco, heck it might even be cheaper than 54.00 per carton.

[FelixFire]

If you do a Google search for "smoking herbs", you'll find several sites selling premade blends.

I smoke herbs occasionally too, usually just for the relaxation and enjoyment of it, sometimes for ritual purposes. Here are some of the ones I have tried: (most of these are calming/relaxing, might give you a slight "high")

coltsfoot
mugwort
mint (peppermint and spearmint)
damiana
hops
scullcap
mullein
catnip

Salvia divinorum - but this one WILL get you high, so avoid it if you aren't looking for a buzz. (I hear they're actually trying to make it illegal)

Additionally, I've been told passion flower reduces nicotine cravings, so that might be a good addition. (I've never smoked it though, so I don't know how it tastes)

And you can buy pre-blended smoking herbs all over the place. I'm very fond of Oni Temple Smoke. It's a resin-like substance with a sweet flavor, and I like to smoke or burn some on a charcoal during meditation. :)

[st0rm]

S. divinorum is hallucogenic ( but quite easy to grow :D )...

other smokeable herbs are

Nettle
Red Clover
Boneset Herb
Lemon Balm
Hibiscus
Strawberry (leaf)
Blackberry (leaf)
Cannabis Sativa
Cannabis Indica
Oregano
Sage

[MoonRaven]

Ok here's what I did to quit smoking (the first time - the second time I quit out of anger because the [ex]-BF was spending all his money on it). I took a pack of cigarettes, opened it, and left them for like 2 or 3 weeks, to get good and stale. Then, any time I thought I wanted a smoke, I had one of those.

After a while, just the thought of having a cigarette made me want to throw up.

(It was a few years before I started again, and that was out of sheer misery.)