[Sawyer]

Lol. I can't do better than point the way towards Allen Carr. Along with countless others, I owe him - RIP - a big debt of gratitude.

There is something else that I did that was very useful and that is enrol in this free forum:
http://www.quitsmokingmessageboard.com

It was very useful in the early days and what made it even more so was helping others in the same boat which I also did for about a year after stopping as a Pay it forward thing. US centric place with a sprinkling of other nationalities and only an occasional Indian, but it is the only place of its kind that I found, that is also very supportive.

[Rohitj92]

So the first smoke free day was very very difficult. Had many temptations, even thought about why not quit from 1st April. But somehow this day has passed, let's see what happens tomorrow.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

So the first smoke free day was very very difficult. ...

Haha! A smoke free day! Well done.

It'll get harder, then it'll get easier, then it will hit you hard again. You have to be ready for it, and just keep up the effort.

All the best! We're waiting for you in No-Smoking Land!

[Sawyer]

The first smoke free day is something to celebrate! Before successfully stopping, I gave up many times by 5 pm. A 24 hour smoke free cycle is an important milestone because it is a natural cycle of all the phases you go through and having done that successfully, you know what it takes to do it again. And again. Till the next natural cycle - a week.

The thing to remember is that it gets easier, the hard parts are behind you. Unless you take even one puff, when the clock resets - so DON'T take the puff and lose the entire foundation you have built by now.

Some tips:

On cravings - these start being frequent and intense. As days pass, the frequency reduces, the intensity does not, that takes some weeks. But the good news is that the intensity always is of a very brief duration; most people can hold their breath for a longer time. One way to deal with the craving is to take deep breaths, focusing solely on the way the air moves in and out of your nose. Do that a few times and you will feel the craving noticeably dissipate. If possible, drink a glass of water and move on. Do this every time the craving rises.

Another thing that helps is starting an exercise regime at this time. It can be as simple as a 30 minute walk in the early morning before the traffic pollution makes that a pointless exercise. Getting the body to move regularly seems to help.

Finally, unless you are sure of yourself, quit alcohol. It is a double whammy; for being usually associated with smoking, and two, it weakens your will power at a time when you need some strength to let the cravings pass instead of the normal alcohol encouraged response of ***....

[Rohitj92]

I feel ashamed to say that I couldn't quit, from 2-3 smokes a day it has gone up to 10-12 as earlier. Self confidence has gone for a toss. Now I really wonder will be able to quit smoking at least from 1st April.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

Guys, I'm a 24 year old guy who is smoking since 4-5 years, was planning to quit from this year but failed. Now have planned to quit from 1st March, any tips or guidance ? PS: I smoke around 10 cigarettes per day. Hope tomorrow will be my last day.

I started smoking at the age of 22 and gave up when I was 38. Hoping is not going to help much. You need to take a decision to stop smoking. At 24 you're still young. So the earlier you give up the faster your body can recover from the effects it had on your body.

First thing, is go through this thread. There's plenty of advice. What works for someone may not work for you. You need to break the habit, the addiction by NOT smoking exactly when you feel the urge to do so especially after meals, with friends, with coffee/tea or a "stronger" drink. Many of us smoke(d) when depressed you just need to remind yourself that your smoking won't solve the problem but just exacerbate it. Try using nicotine patches or gum and see if that helps. Get help from your family that is if they know, but most parents & siblings do. The smoker smell is unmistakable for anybody who is a non-smoker no matter what you eat or drink do to disguise it.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

I feel ashamed to say that I couldn't quit, from 2-3 smokes a day it has gone up to 10-12 as earlier. Self confidence has gone for a toss. Now I really wonder will be able to quit smoking at least from 1st April.

Dear friend,
Go and visit the cancer ward at TMH Bombay. The sight there should be enough to convince your senses.

I went from 10 per day to zero overnight. My last cigarette was at Bangalore airport, where I smoked the last one and then boarded the flight to my Hometown & got married the next day. Did not smoke even once after that.

[MDED]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Dear friend,
Go and visit the cancer ward at TMH Bombay. The sight there should be enough to convince your senses.

I went from 10 per day to zero overnight. My last cigarette was at Bangalore airport, where I smoked the last one and then boarded the flight to my Hometown & got married the next day. Did not smoke even once after that.

Brilliant!
I had quit smoking on December 15, 2014 after 9 years of light on my mouth. Got married in February 2015 and since then I have put on additional 5 kgs of weight owing to increased appetite, but not a single Benson and Hedges till now.

Keep up!

[Thad E Ginathom]

For me, none of the health stuff ever worked --- until I became seriously afraid about my own health! Watching all the stuff on TV about tar-clogged lunged and cancer just made me reach for a cigarette.

When I was finally admitted for surgery to fix my health problem (turned out not to be caused by smoking, but that's another story) I heard all sorts of stories like cancer patients with only a fraction of a lung left who would still escape the ward for a smoke outside. Just how stupid can humans get. eh? Well, I smoked my way through bronchitis a couple of times, even though every cigarette hurt.

For most people, fear is a great wake-up call, but it it has to be real and personal. Really, it is better not to let it get that far. I was so lucky. Yes, I needed surgery, but no, it wasn't cancer and I still have two whole lungs. In fact, better lungs than they were before.

Rohitj92 Do you really want to give up smoking? If and when you do, you will. Until then... you won't. It is is simple as that.

And I'm happy to know of those for whom marriage worked as a method of giving up.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Rohitj92 Do you really want to give up smoking? If and when you do, you will. Until then... you won't. It is is simple as that.

I agree; and nothing will work till then. No one can give up smoking for you.

Like many, I smoked for over a decade; close to two packs a day in the last few years. I thought I was immortal; the young tend to make that mistake.

I dodged the bullet in time. And the bullet that finally bothered me into stopping was not of an early death. It was the clear understanding that a smoker that does not dodge the bullet will die a long and extremely painful death, making a nuisance of himself to his family and probably also a financial burden on them. I am a lousy patient even when I have the flu, so this was a wake up call for me, finally.

That can still happen i know, for other reasons one cannot control; but one does not need to invite the situation aggressively as one does when a smoker.

PS: Even though I failed in many stopping attempts, I am a firm believer in the cold turkey approach of stopping. Anything else needs too much will power. While some will disagree with that, no one that I know thinks that one can give up smoking by gradually cutting down, to a zero level. That needs close to superhuman levels of will power.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

I feel ashamed to say that I couldn't quit, from 2-3 smokes a day it has gone up to 10-12 as earlier. Self confidence has gone for a toss. Now I really wonder will be able to quit smoking at least from 1st April.

You are on the right track. The fact that you realise that not making this choice is impacting your self-esteem ("ashamed") and your self-confidence is a big step forward. Most of us get there very late.

Look- it's as simple as this. You can read any book you want, attend any self-help seminar, hypnotise yourself to quit, build up your strength and willpower etc. etc. but in the end you need to MAKE THE CHOICE to not smoke any more. That choice empowers you. It's like looking the cigarette monster in the eye and saying, I am not scared of you and refuse to let you control me anymore. It may sound trite but every quit is a series of events leading up to this epiphany.

It's as simple as that but damned if I will say it's easy. Making the choice is the first step and how you behave afterwards has to align with that. Which means stop lying to yourself about things like: one puff is OK, I can smoke when I drink, if I don't inhale I should be fine, I love this too much to quit fully so let me "reduce" etc. It's all bullshit.

Instead accept the following facts: I smoke because I enjoy it. The act of smoking will still be enjoyable after I quit. The fact that I choose to quit means I will forego that pleasure and I accept this will be something I miss forever. I refuse to rationalize the act of smoking anymore because, no matter if it is unhealthy for me or not, I am not going back on my lifestyle choice.

It may take you a while to get there but when you are there you will know. Good luck!

[Thad E Ginathom]

You really have to double-think all this stuff! Imagine kicking an addiction like trying to win an intellectual argument with someone much cleverer than you.

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

Self confidence has gone for a toss.

In other words: the addiction is making you feel less able to beat it.

A failure or two? Just kick them into the past. Forget them. Don't get into dwelling on failing.

Now I really wonder will be able to quit smoking at least from 1st April.

Nope. You won't give up. First give up that wondering if you will be able to!

I hate talking management lingo, but still some things are true: failing to plan is planning to fail. Setting yourself up for failure ensures that you will fail.

Failure? Just don't give yourself that option!

Sawyer, I believe that that there are a few who have given up by gradually cutting down, but for most, it is just an excuse to put off the final day until never. A friend of mine has been talking about giving up since long before I decided to do it: she has cut down to two or three a day. She is still a smoker after twenty-plus years of cutting down.

[Sawyer]

While this isn't medically proved, it may well be that the stress of cutting down is more than the damage avoided by the reduced smoking. I also that know my wife, who never liked my smoking, hated me when I was in my cutting down phases - not only was I still a smoker, but I was also very difficult to live with at those times. Allied to what everyone that I know - even I - have found, that cutting down is always temporary and the count just creeps back up when the real world intrudes as it always does.

Even the rare successful cut down to zero involves the exercise of will power for a much longer time than cold turkey involves. I haven't said that it is impossible, just that it takes the kind of mental strength that few have. And that isn't a surprise if you think about it. Stopping involves putting the addiction into hibernation; and feeding it daily is like giving it some food daily to keep it awake, making it harder than it deserves to be. And there is much more to life than to spend weeks and months in cutting down smoking.

[Thad E Ginathom]

... and the less a person smokes, the more enjoyable each cigarette is!

I do agree that the only way to stop is to stop. I do think aids are admissible. Some might say that, if the aids include nicotine, one then has to give up the aids! If the thing is planned properly this is not a problem. Giving up my final smallest-dose patches was as easy as... forgetting to put one on and not bothering thereafter! So my patch regime was cut short by a week or so.

[huntrz]

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

I feel ashamed to say that I couldn't quit, from 2-3 smokes a day it has gone up to 10-12 as earlier. Self confidence has gone for a toss. Now I really wonder will be able to quit smoking at least from 1st April.

Keep a few good quality cloves with you. Whenever you get a craving you can keep one or two in your mouth. Cloves have very strong taste and flavour. I found them much more satisfying than smoking cigarette, they last longer, plus I guess it will not be as harmful as smoke on the contrary it may be beneficial. It worked for me. Hope it helps.