Best Way To Quit Smoking

[Han.nah]

What happens to my body when I quit? Will it ever heal to the point where my health is equal to a person who never smoked?

 

[Andy2]

What happens to my body when I quit? Will it ever heal to the point where my health is equal to a person who never smoked?

It really depends on how long you smoked, how often, how old you are ect ect. I smoked for about 18 months before I hated the way it made me smell and quit. Today, I really don't feel the effects of it.

Point is, quitting smoking is always going to be a healthier choice.

 

[fiveshot_leo]

What happens to my body when I quit? Will it ever heal to the point where my health is equal to a person who never smoked?

hi Han.nah

I smoked for 12 years and I recently quit. I used to smoke about 1 pack daily. I also have never exercised for 12 years. When I say "never" exercising, I mean never intentionally exercised, only "unintentional exercise" like... walking to the bathroom, walking to parking lot, or lifting and moving something out of my way... I will put some information that may motivate and help you.

BENEFITS I EXPERIENCED:
- I do not run out of breath as fast as before. When I decided to quit smoking, and start exercising... I tested myself to compare. After 42 seconds of jogging, I was completely out of breath, unable to keep standing, then I vomited. Body shook uncontrollably for couple minutes. After about 5 minutes of breathing hard, collapsed... I could get up. After 2 weeks of quitting, I was able to jog for 2 minutes without collapsing. After 4 weeks of quitting, I was able to jog for 5 minutes comfortably. Currently, I can jog for about 7 minutes.

- When I wake up, my throat does not feel like it is halfway blocked. After 12 years of heavy smoking, I think I got so used to not breathing right. This morning breathing being better was noticeable after 3 days of quitting. No more hacking up goo of phlegm either.

- Saving money. It cost me around $4 a pack on average of 12 years. Recently, the price of cig was around $6-$7 per pack. This equaled to total about $17,500 over 12 years. The only reason why it is not higher, is that price of cigs 12 years ago was around $2.50 - $3. If it was not cheaper before, it would've cost me $28k. Quit now, before u get insanely addicted like I was, and throw away more than $28k + your health.

- Increased taste & smell. This could be bad, if you can not control eating.. I will get to how I control it. I knew my sense of taste was decreasing before. My gf was telling me I am unable to taste difference when food has a very similar taste.

* I am sure there are other benefits like.. reduced chance of lung / throat cancer and heart disease. But I'm just telling u what I personally experienced.

HOW I QUIT:
When you smoke. You are not just addicted to nicotine. In fact, from my experience... nicotine is THE LEAST thing I was addicted to. You get addicted to all these things I listed below.

- Nicotine:
I simply cut this out. I basically determined that fulfilling other aspects of addiction would be best. There is simply no substitute for nicotine, except.. nicotine (nicotine patches, gums, etc...). Kept myself busy to get my mind off.

- Act of smoking:
This was actually three parts as I analyzed. One was the actual hand movement of smoking. Two was inhaling. Three was seeing smoke come out. I got rid of this craving by getting an electronic cigarette. Basically, these are pen sized vaporizers that vaporize nicotine mixed glycerin. People inhale these to "quit smoking" but they are still inhaling nicotine, even if u don't get tar + other crap. I wanted to cut nicotine out, so I got USP grade, vegetable glycerin (this is edible, it's already in a lot of food). This way I was "acting" the smoking, inhaling something that isn't harmful, and seeing "smoke" (glycerin vapors) come out.

Please know that, because more people are smoking e-cigs.. Many of these are inferior quality ones that doesn't vaporize or break easily, and sold at high prices. I recommend "Joye eGo" or "Joye 510" or "Totally Wicked Tornado". I wasted money on some of the crappy ones because of fake reviews online. Make sure u throw away those nictine cartridges that comes with it. And buy yourself a bottle of USP grade vegetable glycerin. ecig + glycerin costed me about $70 total.

At first I was heavily vaping, but because this has no physically addictive things, the amount of me vaping have been decreasing. The craving of action of smoking decreased. Soon, I won't need the ecig. Again, DO NOT smoke nicotine cartridges they give u free. So you are not addicted to "healtier" addiction. Just decide to stop ALL addiction.

- Throat Hits:
This is the sensation u get when u smoke. It is the nice and comforting burning sensation in your throat caused by nicotine gently caressing and killing ur mucus cillias. This was the hardest part for me. I spent about $300 trying to find substitutes. I tried to put in stuff in the e-cig to mimick this feeling. Tried to put in jalapeno extracts, 151 alcohol, cinnamon oils, etc... these all costed me money, none were good. I researched and researched on what can have a similar throat sensation to a cigarette smoke, yet healthy. In the end, the best I found was just cinnamon flavored gum. Chew Big Red. It doesn't burn ur throat like cig feeling, but burns ur mouth. U can try to experiment on stuff u put in vaporizer, but trust me... none are good. Also it will take LOADS of research to find what stuff u can safely inhale.

DEALING WITH SIDE EFFECTS OF QUITTING:
- Canker Sores:
I got a nasty canker sore in my mouth when I quit smoking, it hurt. I had no idea what was causing it. I was exercising, plenty of rest. I researched... found out sudden quitting smoking causes canker sores often, especially if u were a heavy smoker. (smokers are almost immune to canker sores). I am guessing for canker sore prevention only, it is best if you quit slowly to cut nicotine gradually. But I know myself. I would never quit if I was simply cutting down. So to get rid of the canker sore, I got a SINGLE nicotine gum, and chewed it for about 6 hours. Next day woke up, canker sore gone. No need for any nicotine after that. Btw, nicotine gums are expensive. $50 for a large package that has like 200 gums. I just needed one. I ended up chewing one, then throwing the entire box away in fear of me chewing it again. If u know anyone who has a package of nicotine gum, ask for just one incase u get a canker sore.

- Over Eating / Food tasting too god:
Probably the absolute scariest part of quitting smoking. I am 5'10. I am Korean (not many fatty Koreans). And I weighed freaking 211 LBS. That is very over weight. I am still over-weight after about a 1.25 months. But it is much lesser at 184 LBS.

This craving of eating has two parts. One is oral fixation, and other is satisfaction of flavor. After 1 week of stuffing myself with ice, and gulping down water, miserable at barely having any satisfaction.. I ended up buying some candy flavoring liquids, and mixing it with glycerin. Oral fixation part was taken care of by vaporizing and chewing cinnamon gum. Flavor was taken care of by inhaling candy flavors. I suggest you order a simple fruit candy flavoring that is less than a teaspoon full. You will be using very little of it. I bought a fruit flavor sample pack. After over a month of inhaling candy flavors.. I barely inhale anymore. Pretty soon, I will toss out this electro-cig.

- Temptation from environment:
For a month, I stopped being near someone who smokes. My friends would want to hangout, I will not go because one of them smokes. Now I can see them smoking infront of me, and don't crave it.

Make sure when you decide to quit smoking, that you get rid of ALL things that remind you of smoking. Throw away your ashtray, empty cig boxes, lighters, etc. I also steam vacuumed, and washed the walls to get rid of concentrated cigarette smell.

CONCLUSION:
I know you can stop smoking. It is not hard, when you can substitute all parts of the smoking addiction. And you will not be addicted to those substitutions when they are not physically addictive. You can try the physically addictive substitutes, such as nicotine patches and nicorettes. They have not worked for me. During 12 year of smoking, I have tried quitting 5 times. All of those times, I failed within one week. Why? Because I depended on just nicorette and nicotine patches, and forgot that it was much more than this nicotine chemical addiction.

I know that I am off of cigarettes for good. I know it because I don't have cravings anymore. I always wanted to quit smoking but always failed because there was no planning involved before. If you smoked less than 10 years, then it may be easier. I suggest you follow everything I wrote here, and I am very positive that you will quit smoking with ease. If someone who smoked 1 pack a day for 12 years can do it, WITHOUT crazy cravings and stressing out, you can too.

 

[Handcuffs]

Well, I think it would be preferable and less tedious to just smoke and get cancer rather than follow the procedures FiveShot has recommended. Though I'm sure he is well-meaning and I do congratulate him for quitting.

I was a LOYAL pack-a-day smoker for seven years. As addicted as anyone ever has been. But I did wake up every morning with this "I hate my life" feeling. Not because I hated my life, but because I was a physical wreck, and of course suffering from eight hours of nicotine withdrawal (not having smoked while asleep).

Fiveshot's dead-on 100% right that you cannot put nicotine into your system to beat nicotine addiction. Clearly that is faulty logic. It keeps Nicorette and Nicoderm in big business, though. All these patch-wearing lozenge-sucking gum-chewing people are simply in constant nicotine withdrawal because they keep putting nicotine in their blood.

What you must do is so simple and so hard. You must cultivate an earnest, unyielding, driving desire within yourself to never smoke again. Then you must never smoke again. Not one cigarette. Ever again. Because if you smoke one, then you will smoke two, then half a pack, then a pack a day right back where you started.

This is the only way.

 

[kevinpeter1]

Smoking affects just about every part of your body from your lungs to your heart, and even your kidneys and liver.You can drink a lot of water, eat a lot of fresh fruit and be aware of 'pleasure drinks' like coffee, tea and alcohol. There are also a variety of smoking free videos available that can help kick the habit.

 

[princecarspian]

To quit the smoking .There are also a variety of smoking videos available that can help to stop smoking. There are a million ways to quit tested but the most important part of the against the addiction to nicotine is the willpower.

 

[Iain1974]

I used Chantix to quit. Not saying it does the work for you but it works for a lot of people. It virtually eliminated cravings for me quite quickly. At first it was hard being strict on the 20-18-16-14 etc schedule, especially going down to 6-4-2-0 but the perseverance was worth it.

I do, rarely, get the craving but it'll pass in a few minutes. I think September was my last ciggie. Good riddance.

It's probably smoking for 15yrs that makes me do more cardio than I really need to.

 

[banim]

To quit smoking, you can do the following things:

Write down the reasons why you smoke.

Know in which situations you like to smoke best.

You should know these situations very well (for example, when you are having a good time) and start to think of a solution for how you want to deal with that situation. More.

* Determine the day you will stop. That can be tomorrow, but you can also wait for a more favourable moment.
* Tell the people around you that you are going to quit. Possibly with somebody else.
* Take away everything that reminds you of smoking.
* Stop radically; it gives you the best chance of success.
* Change your eating and drinking habits. Drink a lot of water, eat a lot of fresh fruit and be aware of 'pleasure drinks' like coffee, tea and alcohol.

SPAM REMOVED

 

[Matt Joseph]

Question to those of you who quit smoking: did you experience any weight gain after stopping? I have a few friends who are heavy smokers who are also trying to lose weight. Any info would be great. Thanks.

 

[Iain1974]

No, no gains while quitting.

I quit and changed my diet at the same time. I joined a gym 2 months later(and 10lbs lighter already)

I figured to do all the big changes close together.

 

[Harold14370]

I quit about 23 years ago. At the time, I had a new baby daughter, and I decided I wanted to be a better example for her and her older sister. Besides that I could feel a roughness in the lining of my mouth, and I could imagine that the same kind of damage was being done to the lining of my lungs.

It is sort of a simple equation, or inequality actually. If your motivation to quit exceeds your motivation to smoke, then you won't smoke the cigarette. It should help you to know that the craving for a cigarette will slowly fade, and disappear after a few years.

I did not quit cold turkey but tapered off. There is not one single right way to do it.

I did gain weight, but I was slowly adding pounds over the years, anyway, even before quitting. Chewing gum helped some.

 

[johnysmith0009]

I like your post about quit smoking. It is very helpful and interesting for every one. Here i am sharing some of my ideas about it.

* Nicotine patches are small, self-adhesive patches for your skin so nicotine can enter your bloodstream at a steady rate all day
* Chemical treatments tend to be the most effective, because they do the most to alleviate the physical addiction to nicotine
* Nicotine gum helps you quit by providing you with a source of nicotine apart from smoking.

 

[Iain1974]

Nicotine patches help but I found that they didn't make me want to stop. They just make it easier to do without when you can't smoke. Like on a long flight.

 

[leealden06]

A million reasons. Smoking affects almost every body part in your heart, lungs, and even kidney and liver. The reason that smoking is so difficult habit to break is the fact that nicotine is an addictive substance. The most important thing is that if you are not really ready to give your mind, until it is transferred to you.

 

[mydietplaninfo]

I was a smoker for 4 years. Usually I smoke 2 sticks a day but when we have drinking sessions then It`ll cost me a pack. What I did to quit? Mind Control. I told myself I will stop, wholeheartedly. I never expected it was that easy. Whenever I`m craving for it I just eat candy or bubble gum anything that would divert my attention and craving.

However, I have had my lowest points in life just recently. Sad to say, I gained weight, went back to smoking and right now I`m again in the move of cutting the bad habit out.

 

[Jeanette401]

What happens to my body when I quit? Will it ever heal to the point where my health is equal to a person who never smoked?

Here's what the American Cancer Society says happens when you quit smoking - it sounds like in about 15 years you're pretty close to a 'never smoked' person:

When smokers quit -- What are the benefits over time?

20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.

(Mahmud A, Feely J. Effect of Smoking on Arterial Stiffness and Pulse Pressure Amplification. Hypertension. 2003;41:183.)

12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

(US Surgeon General's Report, 1988, p. 202)

2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. 193, 194, 196, 285, 323)

1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.

(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. 285-287, 304)

1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.

(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)

5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.

(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)

10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a person who continues smoking. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases, too.

(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. vi, 131, 148, 152, 155, 164, 166)

15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a non-smoker's.

(US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi)


Last Medical Review: 11/23/2009
Last Revised: 07/06/2010

 

[Dollylala]

i smoke still, the thought of quitting gives me anxiety really bad, like neck hot and i felt bewildered reading this post, ive only quit once for a long period and thats when i was pregnant with my son, i quit right away and didnt smoke at all. Ive smoked for a total of 7 years not including the off year when i was pregnant

 

[Holly88]

My boyfriend is currently trying to quit and doing well by using an e-cigarette (nicotine inhalator) as a replacement. He's only 2 weeks in but I'm really proud of him for trying and succeeding so far.

I know a lot of people say that nicotine replacement is counterproductive but I think it has helped some. You've got to find your own way.

The only thing I'll say is that when you're giving up smoking, there's 2 major changes 1) you withdraw from nicotine 2) your lungs begin to function again properly and you will inevitably feel pretty shit for a week or so because you start to hack up stuff that you couldn't hack up before.

There is a recognised 'hump' that you've got to get over in the quitting process and it's more to do with the second point I mentioned that the first. So I think if you replace nicotine for a while but give up the smoke, at least you're only dealing with one point at a time and giving yourself a chance to get over each.

Does that make sense?

The bottom line is: what works for you. Just try as many ways as possible and don't give up on giving up!

 

[San2]

If you want to quit, quit. It really is as simple as that.

Just don't smoke any more. Like with everything else, it comes down to what you really want. If you want to quit, do it. Don't talk about doing it, or say you'll do it next week, just do it.

People who stop smoking while they are pregnant amaze me. They stop, right there, and that's it. Presumably because of the baby. But as soon as the baby is born, they start up again.

What's the point? You stopped for nearly 9 months. You quit. There is no reason to go back. In addition, even if you don't smoke in the house or near the baby (even though most people I see on the street do), you're still carrying cigarette smoke in your clothes, it's still in the house, car, whatever. Your baby breathes it in anyway.

For me, quitting smoking is like losing weight. You either do or you don't. There is no in-between.

And just for the record, I find these 'quit smoking kits' the biggest waste of money. And why are they free? Smoking is self-inflicted, so why do people not have to pay for what they supposedly need to stop it. I am fat, equally self-inflicted, but I don't get anything on prescription. If I asked my doc to pay for my gym membership, or my slimming club membership (I've got neither, just examples!), he'd laugh at me.
If I go and get a tattoo and don't like it any more, the doc's not going to prescribe a removal either, is he?

 

[kristy85]

this may take time but it is a sure shot method.

always keep on postponing your urge to smoke.
eg. in the beginning if you want to smoke now try to smoke after an hour or two, then once daily, then slowly increase the time duration and gradually you will realise that you have stopped completely.

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