Quitting

[anne]

My quit date was supposed to be April 1st, but all that did was help me cut back to 5-10 cigarettes a day. Hopefully, tomorrow's quit date will stick. I really don't want to take medications to help me, but I am concidering it.

[hwc]

Shannon:

I do think it's only fair to temper your enthusiasm for the Zyban/patch combo the "last time you quit" with the fact that you are now quitting again.

This process is not just about dealing with nicotine withdrawal, craves, and triggers. It's about learning a mindset that will allow you to become a comfortable ex-smoker, ideally with no desire whatsover to smoke.

[edith2]

If you choose to use help in quitting, there are also aides you can buy over the counter. I tried to quit three times cold turkey and the longest I went was 19 months. Then I smoked for 30 years before I quit again(like an idiot!). This quit I decided to use the Commit Lozenges and alot of motivation and determination. This time I've made it over 4 1/2 years. You can do this no matter how you do it. Just do it with every bit of determination and motivation you can muster.

[anne]

I want to get over my addiction to nicotine. I don't want cigarettes to own me. I just think that using the patch or gum, or whatever would just control the cravings, and not help with the nicotine addiction.

[anne]

I see what ya'll are saying, but how hard is it not ween off of the patches, gums, and losenges?

[anne]

I already started trying to quit smoking. I don't smoke in my car or the apartment. That has helped my cut back in the last 2 weeks. I just don't see how the patch can help with the need to put something in your mouth craving. I'm thinking about using losenges.

[hwc]

If smoking were about the need to put something in your mouth, you wouldn't need to carry a lighter with your cigarettes. It is important to be very clear about why we smoke: we are addicted and we need the drug that we get from cigarettes.

[hwc]

I didn't even offer an opinion to Anne about how she should quit.

You said that it was "not hard at all" to get off the NRT. I believe that needs be tempered by whether or not the person who found it "not hard at all" actually quit smoking permanently, that's all. One of my favorite things around here is the number of people who claim that "such and such" a method worked "great" the last time they quit, or even the last two or three times they quit.

IMO, there are four steps that are required to quit smoking:

a) Stop buying, lighting, and smoking cigarettes.

b) Get through nicotine withdrawal (2 weeks or so).

c) Relearn all the activities that we've previously taught ourselves to associate with smoking (a month for the day to day triggers, several months for the infrequent triggers, just because you can't relearn one until it happens).

d) Stick to a personal commitmentment to never take another puff and therefore guarantee no relapse after working hard to complete steps 1 thru 3. This step ideally includes finding a mindset where there is absolutely no desire to smoke and that makes being an ex-smoker very comfortable.

Quitting cold turkey attacks these four steps in that order. Quitting while still using nicotine maintenence products reverses steps 2 and 3 and postpones step 4 until the withdrawal from nicotine is complete.

I have seen no real-world study that shows a statistical edge to either approach. The one thing that does consistently offer a statistical advantage is education and support during the quitting process.

Anne should do her homework and decide for herself how to quit. That's why I offered no recommendation.

[cindywilson]

I personally feel that educating yourself is the best and then make decisions based on that. I recommend looking at the ex program and using it, going to whyquit.com and also going over to Candid Quitters and watching Allan Carr and do some reading while you are over there. That way you will be well armed and ready for your battle no matter how you choose to do it....

[anne]

I just want to quit smoking. I want to no longer be a prisoner to nicotine. I tried to quit on the 1st of the month, but all that did was cut down how much I smoked. I didn't want to have the help of the patch or gum, because it still has nicotine in it. But, I swallowed my pride and realized that I need help. I was just hard to admit that right now the nicotine addiction is stronger than I am, so I need some help.

I also thought that using the gum or patch, wouldn't help with the nicotine addiction since it has nicotine in it. I also cannot afford any prescribed medications since I don't have health insurance, and I have to pay for all prescriptions out of pocket.

[june]

Anne, I was worried about just replacing one type of nicotine for another. But I decided to try it anyway and quit smoking with the help of the Commit Lozenges. It's only been 2 weeks for me, but I don't think I could have made it through the first few days without them. It's one thing to practice separating cigarettes - by not smoking in your car or apartment - and a much harder thing to quit smoking entirely. It's hard dealing with the triggers individually - but when you run into several triggers - one right after the other - that's when the nicotine replacement drugs help out. Mentally I kept telling myself, "You don't need a cigarette. You've got your nicotine." This kept me from running to the gas station for smokes. Like I said, I'm only 2 weeks quit, but I'm already cutting back on the lozenges because I don't want to be dependent on them either. One thing to realize, too, is that the lozenges, gum, and patch release nicotine slower than cigarettes. You still have to go through some nicotine withdrawl, but these drugs can definitely help soften the blow.

[hwc]

I actually think it's easier to quit smoking entirely than it is to cut down. When you cut down, you know you are going to smoke, it's just a matter of when. If you quit with the attitude, "I'm done, smoking is not an option", then the decision is already made when a crave rolls around. There's no "should I or shouldn't I" because you know that smoking that one means going back to smoking all 7500 a year with no guarantee that you'll ever quit again. Once youj are in that zone, then it's just a matter of going to the bag of tricks to get through each three-minute crave. Deep breathing and red licorice worked for me, but there are a million tricks under the sun.

[anne]

I am going buy the losenges today. Hopefully, they have a good flavor. I'm also going to grab some apples and cream cheese, and some cherry coke. Cherry cokes are always my prize, so I think I earned a prize for commiting to quit.