Help Quit Smoking

I used "Xyban" or wellbutrin...it worked wonders...it is not meant to be used full time...but it gives your body a chance to "get over" the "habit" part of the addiction with out going crazy.
I had tried quitting dozens of times before. This last time, I thought about all the "triggers' that always stopped me up ...So, I quit drinking coffee ( coffee and a cigarette in the morning were like breathing to me), I lost 10 pounds, because I didn't want to gain weight right off. and I learned to release stress in healthy ways..
It all added up to a successful quit...going on 2 years and I don;'t ever want to smell a cigarette again.
Good luck to your daughter.

2 moms found this helpful

First of all......Woohoo, good for her for taking that 1st step.
I chose to quit about 3 yrs ago, after 15 yrs of smoking...even pregnancy didn't get me to quit. THe most important thing is her mind set...she realy needs to WANT to quit otherwise, it will never work. I chose to use the commit lozenges http://www.commitlozenge.com/ I did not use them as directed I only used as needed and ended up not needing them after about 4 days. I also looked at the reasons I smoked...mine was to escape from my activities (kids/work) for a few moments of peace. So, I continued to take my regularly scheduled breaks, only I took a glass of refreshing water with me instead. I made sure to still go outside, or to the "smoking" area so that I wouldn't later feel like I had to avoid the areas to avoid a craving. So I would sit and have my glass of water (hand to mouth movement)and then continue on about my way. After a few months I didn't even need my breaks anymore. Now, I usually get offended by the smell of smoke, makaes realize what a bad habit it really was. Also, My mother a lifelong smoker who was starting to show signs of emphesema chose to quit a short time after me, she was prescribed Welbutrin, and has been smoke free since. Good Luck!!!!

The prescription Chantix is working well for me now. I've gone from 7 packs a week to 2 packs a week in a month and plan to be done completely in the next 2 weeks. They are fairly costly, even with insurance.
I've used Commit Lozenges and quit for 2 years. They did a good job in breaking the oral fixation. They cost less than the cigarettes.

I've know people who've quit 'cold turkey' & some who've used hypnosis, some even reduce the number of cigarettes used per day or per week, i.e. cutting back one then two, and so forth. My husband has tried to use nicorette (I think that's the chewing gum) & 'the patch'. He apparantly had a reaction to the patch but he said the chewing gum stuff works as long as you use it but he has a weak constitution & just chooses not to quit. A person has to want to quit in order to quit. As long as she has a good will to do so, she will! I wish her the best of luck & just remember, it may take time but she CAN do it! Just don't give up. I've heard & always thought hypnosis works for just about anything, if she goes that route, hope it works for her as well! Again, good luck to her!!

There is an amazing book called Allen Carr's Easy Way To Quit Smoking. It will change the way she thinks about smoking, and will help her to be a non smoker. It is amazing, and I would not recommend anything else. She can smoke while reading the book, in fact it is highly recommended, as smokers smoke when stressed, and quitting is stressful. By the end of it, she'll be ready. You can find it on Amazon, that's the cheapest place I've seen it. Best of luck!!!

Hi C.,
I had great results taking liquid ionic minerals from the health food store. As they satisfy the minerals your body, brain and nerves need, the urge to smoke lessens. Within a week of starting taking the minerals, the cigarettes did not taste as good and I was going for longer periods of time before wanting one. I had stopped smoking within a couple weeks. I was not a heavy smoker but I found I was less nervous or irritated and didn't have the urge to smoke as often. I didn't use any other product. I have not smoked in 4 1/2 yrs. and still take the minerals daily. HTH

I know that Chantix works however when I was on it and went to taking two pills a day, I broke out in a severe rash all over my body and found out lately I could have died from that had I not gotten off Chantix and gone to the doctor. There can be serious side effects so be careful. I also had very vivid dreams while using the drug. Of course the best way is to just quit but that is easier said than done. I quit and several years started up again and felt horrible that I let it concore me again however my doctor said that quitting several times before the final times is common. The first time I quit I had a doctor who didn't want to use drugs and had me take a lot of Vitamin C, eat oranges for snacks or when I craved a cig and it worked. Smoking depletes the boday of C and other vitamins. Good Luck... it is hard but hang in there, it can be done.

I quit smoking when I was pregnant with my son, and thankfully I have been able to resit the urge ever since he was born. I did not quit immediately or go cold turkey. What I did was cut back gradually. I know I had a really good reason to quit. But, if you know you want to do it, I feel the way I did is the least evasive.

I started by cutting back. Instead of smoking a whole cigarette at a time, I would smoke a few puffs, just enough to take the edge off. I would then knock the cherry out of it and save it for later. I did not make myself stick to a certain time frame of "every X number of hours I will smoke" or "I will quit by X date". I just took it as it flowed.

This started at the end of Sept. when I found out I was pregnant. I smoked my last cigarette on December 7. By not smoking a whole one at a time, I weaned myself. The last month of smoking I would smoke 1 whole cigarette through the evening on Wednesday, my husband and I were on a bowling league. And, I would smoke a whole one through the day on Saturday, I worked at a bar and grill as a waitress on Saturdays. I worked an office job m-f.

Believe me, almost 8 years down the road, I still get the urge to smoke, especially when I drink or after I eat a good meal. What keeps me from going back...the knowledge that that cigarette will not taste nearly as good as what I remember them tasting. It will make me cough and get nauseous instead. And, also looking at that little boy of mine and knowing I want to be around as long as possible on this Earth spending time with him. Smoking is not going to help with that.

Good luck, it is tough, probably the toughest thing anyone will ever do.

I have not smoked in the past 60 days. I took Chantix for about 2 weeks and stopped because it is an anti-depressant and is connected to a lot of suicides. It is great to take the jitters away but I would not recommend anyone staying on it for an extended period or anyone who is already depressed taking it.

Cold Turkey. Its the only way not to prolong it. You only suffer for about 3 days and then it just gets easier. 3 days for anything is enough to break a habit. Good Luck.

my hubby had been smoking a pack a day for several years and quit successfully using the patch. he used the generic brand from Walmart (Equate brand I believe). he used them in the suggested time frame (I think there's 3 steps, the instructions are inside the first step box, you're supposed to use each step patch for a certain amount of days because the 1st step has a higher dose of nicotine, then the 2nd has less and the 3rd has hardly any, basically weaning you off). anyway, he had tried a couple different gums before and they didn't work, but the patch worked great. hopefully it works for your daughter, too, but just remember different methods work for different people.
on a side note, if she tries a few different methods and has no success, she might try talking to her dr. about a prescription for Wellbutrin or something similar. some anti-depressants can be used with dr. supervision as a quitting smoking aid

My husband was a smoker and quit with Chantix.

The only thing that works to quit smoking cigarettes is a strong desire to quit and making your mind up. The rest is just a crutch or excuse. You can use gum, patches, fake cigarettes etc, but none of it works unless you really want to. When I was a kid, many, many moons ago, we used to say you should put your ashes and cigarette butts for a week in a mayonnaise jar (of course, they were glass back then) and then when you wanted a cigarette to take off the lid and take a whiff. EWWWWWW! My hospital employer went smoke free a few years ago. They gave employees six months notice and paid for seminars, patches, gum, etc. Lots started, very few quit in the end. I think they statistics show a 10 percent quit rate or less after a year. My 75 year old dad quit two (or is it three now) years ago, cold turkey on Labor Day. He just decided to do it after a lot of years of smoking. That is what you have to do. They physical part of the addiction is a few weeks, the rest is mental. good luck for her - she just has to decide to do it.

Hi ,,
THe new drud that is really helping many people is CHANTEX you will need to see a DR. to get it but it does work

good luck L.

My hat is off to her for her to do this.. it is hard, my husband has been trying for years now he has too..I wish and pray for her to find the best thing for her.. our dr said the patches helps more..Please DON'T take chanix toooooo many problems with it.. one friend has had depression caused by it.. careful research it all.. but goooooood luck..my mom quit cold turkey after she had another heart attack.. not the best way ...

My husband who is 56 started smoking when he was 16. He tried going cold turkey, accupuncture, the patch, gum. None of those worked. He finally tried the Commit lozenges that you let sit on your tongue. They made the cigarettes taste terrible and it was the only thing that worked for him. He took MUCH longer than they recommend to wean himself off of the Commits- but he finally did it. It has been a year since he has had a Commit and 4 years since he quit smoking. (Like I said- he stayed on the Commits wayyyyy longer than their recommended 6 months- but that was what he needed to do.) He replaced the Commits with Trident Sugarless Gum- a much healthier alternative. Good luck. (When I met him he smoked 4 packs a day.....It was his hobby.)