Smoking...my nemesis.

[Dave79ad]

I'm sick of smoking, and the addiction is something terrible. Near the end of last month I went cold turkey for a week, and regrettably over the weekend I started back up. Currently I haven't the money for the shelf quit aids at my local pharmacy, at $50 and up it is a tall order for me being laid off.

Anyone know any techniques or things that might help the process and and with the cravings? I'm 28 years old now, and I have been smoking since I was like 12 or so. The first week is normally ok, cravings come and go, plus they like to give me cravings to eat and so on which is detrimental to my cause.

Any help with this will be greatly appreciated, I will celebrate the day when I can crush that pack of smokes and be free of this. I know with %100 certainty that my KB workouts and so on will sky rocket without them, and I'm determined.

Power to you!

[turdferguson]

don't quit, just cut back, moderate nicotine increases dopamine and inhibits tesosterone from turning into estrogen, smokers rarely get alzheimers or parkinsons, the greatest factors in cancer are sugar and light
( see 'Lights Out' by TS Wiley) a cajun-style piece of charred meat has the carcinogens of @ 250 cigarettes, and I swear that smokers can generate greater intra-abdominal pressure from all that sucking, dragging and puffing, just ask some chain smoker to blow up an air matress and you'll see, tobacco power to you comrade!

[Matt79]

some people swear by accupuncture.

[aikigirl13]

Depending on what state you live in, you can get free patches and other stuff to quit. I used the patch.

[ZachariahSalazarRKC]

Check out the book Changeing for Good. It is the easy over the counter version of the Stages of Change model for changeing behaviour. Great book just read it in the book store or library if you lack funds, buy it when you are back on your feet.
The SOG model is sort of reverse engineered. It looks at tens of thousands of successful self changes to determine how they successfully quit certain behaviours like smoking. When you understand hoe people really change behaviour vs what they think they are doing it really helps. Probably the biggest benefit is the text teaches you how to coach thoe around you to help and not hinder your performance. Much of what well meaning people do actually sets you up for failure. This book shows it from both ends Let me know if you have other questions! zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Tom Gordon]

for that utterly absurd bit of advice.

Dave79ad, try and quit!

[alex_stpierre9]

There are a few unusual approaches I've heard maybe they will help you. These are just what people have told me I don't know if they are effective.

1) Every time you have a smoke force yourself to do something that you don't like. An example might be like 20 pushups or something. Try to make it something you can do anywhere and force yourself to do it every single time you cave to your craving for a cigarette.

2) Everytime you have a strong craving drink a big glass of water.

3) This one is weird but I know someone who stopped doing it this way. They set a date to go cold turkey and everytime they had a smoke, they would hold it up in front of their face and picture some terrible thing in their mind, like being on your deathbed at 50 and still greedily choking back smokes through a traecheotomy hole in your throat. I guess whatever you fear about smoking. I think the idea is to make the mental image or thoughts absolutely revolting and then always associate those unpleasant feelings with the sight, smell, and taste of cigarettes. Anyways best of luck.

[turdferguson]

your welcome

Dave79ad, don't quit!

[Rob Drewry]

I smoked a pack a day for several years. I used Zyban to quit (wellbutrin under a marketing name). Never felt a strong craving -just a bit of a tug now and then. It worked well for me to break the addicition.

I still bum a smoke maybe twice a week from some of my friends, but never feel the desire to make it a habit.

[kbkris]

Prayer, prayer and more prayer. And when that doesn't work, pray some more.

I quit about eight years ago and yes I still have cravings. I don't go to bars hardly at all, maybe once every two years because I know I'll smoke when I go to a bar and have a few beers.

I gained a lot of weight when I first quit because I ate a lot of junk food to subside me.

I'm still a little chunky in the middle, but that's still because my diet sucks.

What worked best for my cravings were sunflower seeds. My cheeks got raw, but I didn't smoke.

I hope this helps.

Kris