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Anybody here ever quit smoking?

TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
Why I'm asking: a good friend of mine who has smoked for over 15 years has finally decided to quit, and yesterday was Day One. Her husband (my co-worker) is taking the next 7 days off to be with her 24/7 and help support her. (He also used to smoke but stopped 7 or 8 years ago.) I was at their house last night. I definitely want to be supportive, but I didn't really know what to say or do to be genuinely helpful. Never having smoked, I felt like I was out of my element.

I wondered if any of you might have some insight.
 
mesha

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
I haven't smoked, but have helped a few people in the past and have watched/supported many family members as they battled to quit.

As others have stated, be supportive and understanding. Gum is a great idea, especially cinnamon gum since it gives the mouth some of the same sensations as smoking. Some people I helped would drink grapefruit juice when they needed a smoke since apparently the two flavors don't mix well. I am sure everyones tastes are different though.

I wish her the best. It is a long hard and likely lifelong battle.

The fact that her husband who quit smoking and stayed off it for 7-8 years while living in the same house as a smoker is an amazing thing. He sounds like a strong person. Kudos to him. He will be a great resource for her.
 
Shawn

Shawn

Just Hanging Out
Location
Holly Day
I quite smoking after 18 years. Was hard, real hard. Did the patch for a while and chewed the gum. Got hooked on the gum as it was full of nicotine. At first the hard part was the hobbit of when you smoked and always having a smoke in your mouth. The gum was bad, real bad. After almost a year of chewing the gum I decided to stop and switched over to regular gum. Not having nicotine in my system took about a week to get back to some kind of normal life. That week, was hell.
 
glockman

glockman

I hate Jeep trucks
Location
Pleasant Grove
Getting out of your routine is the best thing to help you quit. Your routine is littered with triggers that remind you to smoke. Go somewhere you don't normally go, eat at different times, just through the whole schedule out of whack, really helped me.
I had the hardest times not smoking, when I was bored, when I drove anywhere and after I ate.
I quit in 2007 after smoking pretty heavily for 15 years. Like Shawn said, the first 5-7 days is the worst, after that its all mental addiction.

One thing that might motivate her is to put the money for a pack of cigarettes in a jar every day. It is mind boggling how much you spend and that might add motivation to stay the course.
 
N-Smooth

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
I've had some friends/co-workers quit and the thing that always seemed to make them relapse was stressful situations. One friend got a speeding ticket and instantly went and bought a pack. Another friend had a bad day at work and that was it for her progress too. I think distractions or changing the routine like glockman said would be key.

In the case of relapse it's also important to remind them that while they think that falling down and having one smoke after __ days of quitting takes them back to zero, it doesn't. Progress has still been made and it's not all lost. Feeling hopeless is just going to make them keep smoking...
 
TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
mesha said:
The fact that her husband who quit smoking and stayed off it for 7-8 years while living in the same house as a smoker is an amazing thing. He sounds like a strong person. Kudos to him. He will be a great resource for her.
Click to expand...

Yeah, he certainly knows what she is going through. I know she appreciates that.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
Chad and Nate are right. The struggle with the monkey is hard, and she will do herself a favor to stay out of stressful situations or any setup that reminds her of smoking. Any activity or setting where she would normally smoke needs to be avoided like the plague. The physical withdrawal symptoms are hard enough to deal with, but coping with those while in the presence of psychological triggers makes the task nearly impossible. You can help by nudging her out of her normal routine and distracting her, but in the end it's all on her so don't take it personal if she backslides.

Friends of mine were able to taper off by using a vape so they could gradually ramp down the nicotene levels. In the end, I couldn't quit until I tried Wellbutrin and then it was actually pretty easy. If this round doesn't work, maybe she could talk to her doc.
 
shortstraw8

shortstraw8

Well-Known Member
I smoked for 15+ years. When my son was born I stopped smoking at home and only smoked at worked, I quite permanently about 5years ago. I would say the only way to really quite is to really not want to smoke anymore. I got sick of smelling like an ashtray; not being able to breath; going out in the cold...... basically the list of reason you would not want to smoke in the first place. I used to think that I needed it to calm down, when all it ever did was raise my blood pressure and make me a slave to it.

I made a plan and stuck to it, I started to ween myself off and had a hard quite by date. Started by cutting out a 1/4 of my daily for 2 months then 1/2 so on so forth. Then using a additive free non nicotine clove cigarette was helpful in the end (like the last 4months for me), I have friends that used nicotine free/additive free vape successfully. The thing is to not let that be a crutch and start just using those instead, nicotine/additive free does not mean anything as it is still not good for your lungs.

I realized that all the excuses I made for smoking were BS and I was wasting my money and killing myself, all things I was told for years and years but was too stubborn to listen. Big picture was taking the money I was using for a few months and setting it aside and realizing how much money I was spending on literally killing myself. It has been about 2 years now since a good family friend past away from lung cancer, he smoked for 30+ years. After watching the horrible crap he had to go through with makes me hope I don't have to go through it.

Now that I am working out again and doing more physical activity again, I kick myself, as more often that not my lack of ability to bring in oxygen is what stops me from pushing harder. At least her husband has a good amount of smoke free time under him and will likely be a huge help for her quitting.
 
Gravy

Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
Location
The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
My friend was a heavy smoker from age 12 to age 50! He is a very serious cynic about anything but Western medicine, after trying to quit for years he went and got hypnotized. While he was under hypnosis, they convinced him he was allergic to it and when he tried to smoke he threw up violently like alcohol poisoning violent. Hasn't smoked since I've known him for a decade. He said the hypnosis only worked because he wanted it so bad to quit for his son (a kid in my scout troop).
 
Magerdgr

Magerdgr

Have gun, will travel
Location
My secret underground lair
I’ve never been a smoker, but I’ve helped several people quit while on my mission. The church uses a great and simple program. It wasn’t developed by them, but is really effective. Something like only 40% of people who take it follow all of the steps for all 7 days, but of those that do, 100% quit. They’re easy, seemingly stupid steps, but there’s science behind them and they work if followed. One thing that helps is taking 500mg vitamin c 3 times a day, it helps remove the nicotine faster from your system.

More info here-

15 Step Stop Smoking Instructor Manual

Instructor manual used by LDS missionaries and Church leaders to teach people how to quit smoking.
www.ldsstopsmokingprogram.org
 
spaggyroe

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
I've never been a smoker, but wanted to jump in anyhow. For anyone with the slightest inclination to quit... do it.
Do it not only for yourself, but do it for your family and friends too.

My folks were neat people who would both probably still be here today if it weren't for cigarettes.
I miss having them around, and it sucks that their lives were cut short by a bad habit.
 
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