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Author Topic:   How do I stop wanting to smoke?

Stokie posted 06-04-99 10:11 AM ET
I haven�t had a cigarette for four weeks now, quite good going, I didn�t intend to give up I just sort of stopped and have suffered nothing from withdrawal. But, now I get whiffs of other people�s smoke and I can�t help wanting one. It doesn�t feel like my body needs a cigarette, it is just in my mind. When I know all the reasons why I shouldn�t smoke, I still want to. Why am I a week willed woman? Do I really want to do something that may well kill me? Does everyone have a self destructive streak? Not a rhetorical question.
Saras posted 06-04-99 10:15 AM ET
Die?
Giant Squid posted 06-04-99 10:35 AM ET
Saras:
Bumper sticker: "Everyone stops smoking eventually"
Saras posted 06-04-99 10:43 AM ET
Has anyone see Fawlty Towers with Mr. Cleese where Manuel was taking English lessons? He was so excited with learning to say "eventually" that he went around saying:
"Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
"Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
"Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
"Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
"Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
"Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
"Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
"Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
OhWell posted 06-04-99 10:48 AM ET
I don't smoke, never have, but I have seen several people that I care about put in a box because of cigarettes. I know some _very_ smart people who are hooked. So it is not an easy thing to give up.
All I can say is hang in there. If nothing else, think of all the money you are saving.
Good luck!
jsorense posted 06-04-99 11:34 AM ET
Stokie,
You are a person of rare self-control to not only quit smoking on your own but also, more significantly, to only post here twice since you registered on 4/1/99.
[lecture mode on]
Smoking is not only a chemical addition to nicotine and other substances in the tobacco you smoke. You have probably already gotten over that part in the last four weeks. No, smoking also has a complex of social and associational behavioral rituals tied to the act itself. For example, many people particularly enjoy a smoke after a meal or while at a bar (pub). Some of the enjoyment associated with the act of smoking is bound up with the pleasant context of good food and good friends as well as the habit of manipulating something with your fingers. Is your craving for another cigarette associated with a social context?
[lecture mode off]
Palaeoclimatology, cool!
Spoe posted 06-04-99 12:00 PM ET
Stokie: That's much how I stopped smoking, going from about 1.5 packs/day to zero cold turkey. I'll occasionally still have a smoke, though, but on the order of 3-4/year(cigarettes/cigars -- not packs, I consider that as 'stopped') when we're out shooting pool or some such. Right now I think it's been about 4 months since the last time. You don't really stop wanting one, just ignore it.
sandworm posted 06-04-99 03:30 PM ET
I've heard that after a year or two, you can actually begin to find the smell of cigarette smoke unpleasant.
Your food will actually begin to have flavor again, and you'll stop hacking up crap for fifteen minutes every morning after only a few months.
Hang in there, it took my father 30 years of on again, off again trying, AND the death of one of his close friends from lung cancer (as the straw that broke the Camel's Pack) to finally quit.
Stokie posted 06-04-99 04:08 PM ET
yes,
eventually
DanS posted 06-04-99 04:46 PM ET
Two words: bingo hall.
Tough medicine...
Eris posted 06-04-99 04:47 PM ET
Gosh, people have an interesting view of smokers. My food has taste -- and, in fact, I'm more likely to notice food that's gone off than most of my friends; I don't hack up stuff in the morning unless I've got the flu, and I have better breath control (holding long notes singing, f'rinstance) than most non-smokers I know... plus I'm in better shape than some of them. Not, alas, all of them, but that's cuz I keep picking up hobbies like playing computer games.
However, to get back to the point of the thread: you're very likely to never completely stop getting the cravings... but they will go down in frequency given time. If you're really determined to never light another cigarette again, I personally suggest carrying around two things: a pen or pencil, to give your hands something to do (doodle on scrap paper or just hold it), and gum with a sharp flavor -- cinnamon is good, or really strong mint. Both of these alleviate the cravings when they're annoying. Useful for working in non-smoking offices or visiting friends with asthma.
MikeH II posted 06-07-99 08:04 AM ET
Vitamin C can work quite well, drink a glass of orange juice.
Other than that it's sheer willpower.
It gets easier after the first month.
Hugo Rune posted 06-07-99 01:58 PM ET
Don't even start in the first place?
Picker posted 06-07-99 02:04 PM ET
Unlike Eris, I am in horrid shape, but that has to do with the fact that I rarely do any physical activity, as well as the fact that eat the most unhealthy foods(I don't eat vegetables for instance). Smoking really hasn't done much harm to me(yet). What most people don't realize is that if you live in a city, the air you breathe is worse for you than a cigarette could ever hope to be.
Scud Wallaby posted 06-07-99 02:47 PM ET
I've been off the cigarettes for 10 weeks now, from a 40 a day habit to zero (main reason for quitting is to fund my internet addiction!) and the reason I've kept going is knowing that one day the craving MUST stop.....so can anyone tell me when?
Picker posted 06-07-99 03:03 PM ET
Dream on, I know lots of people who have quit and they say you never stop craving.
Scud Wallaby posted 06-07-99 04:01 PM ET
I can believe it....maybe I should look forward to the day when we get inexpensive net access here in England, and when that day comes I will start smoking again!!! Oh what joy!!!
Darkstar posted 06-07-99 04:08 PM ET
The cravings do eventually slow down. I quit last year. At first, all my major light up places drove me nuts. Later, just the "Quit Smoking Now" commercial adds did. Now, the urge to light up is pretty far away.
I never liked coffee before I started smoking. When I started smoking, coffee became grand. Now that I have stopped with the nicotine, I gave up the coffee, because it taste horrid again. Smoking DEFINATELY affects the taste.
Yeah, you'd be surprised how ugly smokers smell. There will come a time you won't like the smell of cigarettes. I have always liked the way tobacco smells (pipe tobacco). I still do.
But I still get the occasional twinge... when with certain friends, at certain bars with my buds... sometimes just seeing a character in a movie or show can remind me. But they go away and bother you less and less.
My mother quit smoking after smoking for 30 years. Having been quit for 15 years, she lets me know that she still gets an impulse, once in a blue moon. You just have to bear with it. It will go away as you slowly rewire your brain, but there is a lot of circuits up there to override and rewire...
-Darkstar
Scud Wallaby posted 06-07-99 04:21 PM ET
Well I managed to quit for the initial 24 hrs (Hell!!) and if I can do that I can handle the occasional twinge. Thanks Darkstar..it's good to hear from people who've lived through the nightmare and come out the other side.
zeebo posted 06-09-99 01:43 AM ET
smoke pot instead...
Picker posted 06-09-99 08:33 AM ET
better stuff anyways
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Author	Topic: How do I stop wanting to smoke?
Stokie	posted 06-04-99 10:11 AM ET I haven�t had a cigarette for four weeks now, quite good going, I didn�t intend to give up I just sort of stopped and have suffered nothing from withdrawal. But, now I get whiffs of other people�s smoke and I can�t help wanting one. It doesn�t feel like my body needs a cigarette, it is just in my mind. When I know all the reasons why I shouldn�t smoke, I still want to. Why am I a week willed woman? Do I really want to do something that may well kill me? Does everyone have a self destructive streak? Not a rhetorical question.
Saras	posted 06-04-99 10:15 AM ET Die?
Giant Squid	posted 06-04-99 10:35 AM ET Saras: Bumper sticker: "Everyone stops smoking eventually"
Saras	posted 06-04-99 10:43 AM ET Has anyone see Fawlty Towers with Mr. Cleese where Manuel was taking English lessons? He was so excited with learning to say "eventually" that he went around saying: "Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..." "Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..." "Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..." "Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..." "Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..." "Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..." "Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..." "Eeee-vennn-tuallyyyyy..."
OhWell	posted 06-04-99 10:48 AM ET I don't smoke, never have, but I have seen several people that I care about put in a box because of cigarettes. I know some _very_ smart people who are hooked. So it is not an easy thing to give up. All I can say is hang in there. If nothing else, think of all the money you are saving. Good luck!
jsorense	posted 06-04-99 11:34 AM ET Stokie, You are a person of rare self-control to not only quit smoking on your own but also, more significantly, to only post here twice since you registered on 4/1/99. [lecture mode on] Smoking is not only a chemical addition to nicotine and other substances in the tobacco you smoke. You have probably already gotten over that part in the last four weeks. No, smoking also has a complex of social and associational behavioral rituals tied to the act itself. For example, many people particularly enjoy a smoke after a meal or while at a bar (pub). Some of the enjoyment associated with the act of smoking is bound up with the pleasant context of good food and good friends as well as the habit of manipulating something with your fingers. Is your craving for another cigarette associated with a social context? [lecture mode off] Palaeoclimatology, cool!
Spoe	posted 06-04-99 12:00 PM ET Stokie: That's much how I stopped smoking, going from about 1.5 packs/day to zero cold turkey. I'll occasionally still have a smoke, though, but on the order of 3-4/year(cigarettes/cigars -- not packs, I consider that as 'stopped') when we're out shooting pool or some such. Right now I think it's been about 4 months since the last time. You don't really stop wanting one, just ignore it.
sandworm	posted 06-04-99 03:30 PM ET I've heard that after a year or two, you can actually begin to find the smell of cigarette smoke unpleasant. Your food will actually begin to have flavor again, and you'll stop hacking up crap for fifteen minutes every morning after only a few months. Hang in there, it took my father 30 years of on again, off again trying, AND the death of one of his close friends from lung cancer (as the straw that broke the Camel's Pack) to finally quit.
Stokie	posted 06-04-99 04:08 PM ET yes, eventually
DanS	posted 06-04-99 04:46 PM ET Two words: bingo hall. Tough medicine...
Eris	posted 06-04-99 04:47 PM ET Gosh, people have an interesting view of smokers. My food has taste -- and, in fact, I'm more likely to notice food that's gone off than most of my friends; I don't hack up stuff in the morning unless I've got the flu, and I have better breath control (holding long notes singing, f'rinstance) than most non-smokers I know... plus I'm in better shape than some of them. Not, alas, all of them, but that's cuz I keep picking up hobbies like playing computer games. However, to get back to the point of the thread: you're very likely to never completely stop getting the cravings... but they will go down in frequency given time. If you're really determined to never light another cigarette again, I personally suggest carrying around two things: a pen or pencil, to give your hands something to do (doodle on scrap paper or just hold it), and gum with a sharp flavor -- cinnamon is good, or really strong mint. Both of these alleviate the cravings when they're annoying. Useful for working in non-smoking offices or visiting friends with asthma.
MikeH II	posted 06-07-99 08:04 AM ET Vitamin C can work quite well, drink a glass of orange juice. Other than that it's sheer willpower. It gets easier after the first month.
Hugo Rune	posted 06-07-99 01:58 PM ET Don't even start in the first place?
Picker	posted 06-07-99 02:04 PM ET Unlike Eris, I am in horrid shape, but that has to do with the fact that I rarely do any physical activity, as well as the fact that eat the most unhealthy foods(I don't eat vegetables for instance). Smoking really hasn't done much harm to me(yet). What most people don't realize is that if you live in a city, the air you breathe is worse for you than a cigarette could ever hope to be.
Scud Wallaby	posted 06-07-99 02:47 PM ET I've been off the cigarettes for 10 weeks now, from a 40 a day habit to zero (main reason for quitting is to fund my internet addiction!) and the reason I've kept going is knowing that one day the craving MUST stop.....so can anyone tell me when?
Picker	posted 06-07-99 03:03 PM ET Dream on, I know lots of people who have quit and they say you never stop craving.
Scud Wallaby	posted 06-07-99 04:01 PM ET I can believe it....maybe I should look forward to the day when we get inexpensive net access here in England, and when that day comes I will start smoking again!!! Oh what joy!!!
Darkstar	posted 06-07-99 04:08 PM ET The cravings do eventually slow down. I quit last year. At first, all my major light up places drove me nuts. Later, just the "Quit Smoking Now" commercial adds did. Now, the urge to light up is pretty far away. I never liked coffee before I started smoking. When I started smoking, coffee became grand. Now that I have stopped with the nicotine, I gave up the coffee, because it taste horrid again. Smoking DEFINATELY affects the taste. Yeah, you'd be surprised how ugly smokers smell. There will come a time you won't like the smell of cigarettes. I have always liked the way tobacco smells (pipe tobacco). I still do. But I still get the occasional twinge... when with certain friends, at certain bars with my buds... sometimes just seeing a character in a movie or show can remind me. But they go away and bother you less and less. My mother quit smoking after smoking for 30 years. Having been quit for 15 years, she lets me know that she still gets an impulse, once in a blue moon. You just have to bear with it. It will go away as you slowly rewire your brain, but there is a lot of circuits up there to override and rewire... -Darkstar
Scud Wallaby	posted 06-07-99 04:21 PM ET Well I managed to quit for the initial 24 hrs (Hell!!) and if I can do that I can handle the occasional twinge. Thanks Darkstar..it's good to hear from people who've lived through the nightmare and come out the other side.
zeebo	posted 06-09-99 01:43 AM ET smoke pot instead...
Picker	posted 06-09-99 08:33 AM ET better stuff anyways