I quit smoking on the 26th January this year. The date is etched on my mind. Previously, I had smoked 15-30 a day for about ten years, making the odd half-hearted attempt to give up on the way.

I used the Allen Carr method. He has written several books - the best one is called 'The Only Way To Stop Smoking Permanently'. I also attended one of his group clinics which are all over England and in some major American cities. They take about five hours and you can smoke throughout them until the end when there is a 'last cigarette' sort of ritual. That was the last one I even touched.

I'm kind of a walking poster boy for this method. When you understand it, there is no craving, no sense of loss, nothing. It's just a part of your life that is over. It's also deeply logical, pragmatic and free of hippie bullshit.

Nicotine gum is expensive, disgusting and a foolish blind alley. That's the addictive chemical causing the cravings...going back into your body! Don't waste your time. You'll be back on the cigs in days. Ditto patches. Cutting down doesn't work. Hypnotherapy doesn't work. Cold turkey and willpower may work, but they usually don't and usually cause you great agonies.

Read the Allen Carr book. There are other similar methods to quit but there is no magic bullet - it is about coming to terms with the myths and the lies in your mind about it; not the physical withdrawl. The brain is too clever for its own good when it comes to smoking. This method stops all that. It is totally painless and unbelievably simple and easy. No willpower or drugs required. It is amazing how quick you forget about smoking. It may seem tricky to believe this is possible in the state you're in but oh boy it can be done.

Anyone feel free to ask/PM me if you want to know more about it.

My mom had strep throat and that is how she quit.

I have a friend that quit TO get pregnant. Research shows that is a good idea if you are having trouble conceiving. Plus, smoke is so bad for babies anyway (duh!).


Here is another way... Think of every dime you spend going straight to The Man. We all hate The Man, right? Well, it is The Man who gets all your money when you smoke, every freaking cent. The Man wants you to smoke! The Man profits from your weakness. Are you going to let The Man profit from your weakness?! I SAID ARE YOU GOING TO LET THE MAN PROFIT FROM YOUR WEAKNESS?!!

Seriously, figure out what you spend on smokes and equate it with how much shrimp you could have bought and eaten instead... or how many Marshall combos you could have purchased, or ribbon microphones. With friends that smoke I always find that crazy two-pack-a-day math to be quite sobering.

well,i quit last year (after 5 years smoking a packet everyday) out of sheer disgust.
i couldn't finish cigarettes anymore,i'd smoke a half and then i'd threw it away.
i think my body sent a message to my brain saying "either you quit drinking or you quit smoking,because i just can't take both anymore". and so i dropped the ciggies and it was fairly easy.
i still drink a lot,though.

I went cold turkey and it worked. It took a few tries but finally stuck. I would not suggest using the patch. You are trying to defeat a nicotine addiction. Using the patch, gum or whatever only perpetuates the withdrawal. Shake the nicotine monkey as soon as you can and you'll be the better for it. Drink lots of water. It helps when the cravings kick in. The best motivater was the 2 grand a year I'm saving.

I smoked heavily for about 5 years (not a very long time I know). I tried here and there to quit but never really wanted to. One day I was about to go into the movies (to see The Cell) and I had one cigarette left. All of the sudden a switch flipped in my head and I thought, almost on a whim, almost as if the choice was made without my knowledge, that this was going to be may last cigarette. I wanted to test myself so that night I drank a 6 pack and hung out with a smoker friend. I never looked back. I think it really has to be time for you to do it, in your own head. I’ve noticed the same thing in my wife with her dieting. When she was nervous and wondering if she COULD do it, she failed. This last time her attitude was different. She WAS going to do it. And she is doing it. If you are ready to do it, there is no trick. You just do it.

"Quitting tobacco is easy. I've done it thousands of times" Mark Twain

i attempted suicide and lost my physical head, i then had my head replaced with a waterpurification system.

Our drummer quit cold turkey and just didn't leave his house for two weeks.

It worked.

Fellbrick wrote:I smoked heavily for about 5 years (not a very long time I know). I tried here and there to quit but never really wanted to. One day I was about to go into the movies (to see The Cell) and I had one cigarette left. All of the sudden a switch flipped in my head and I thought, almost on a whim, almost as if the choice was made without my knowledge, that this was going to be may last cigarette. I wanted to test myself so that night I drank a 6 pack and hung out with a smoker friend. I never looked back. I think it really has to be time for you to do it, in your own head. I’ve noticed the same thing in my wife with her dieting. When she was nervous and wondering if she COULD do it, she failed. This last time her attitude was different. She WAS going to do it. And she is doing it. If you are ready to do it, there is no trick. You just do it.

"Quitting tobacco is easy. I've done it thousands of times" Mark Twain

I saw a programme last year which covered a recovering alcoholic. He succeeded by becoming the landlord of a pub. Surrounding himself with his addiction meant he HAD to be mentally ready, and it kept him focused on it. I think you're right - if there's the seed of doubt in your head, you'll fail. If you're up for spending time with smokers as part of giving up, you're mentally almost there already.

trade your addiction for another.
crack cocaine killed the evil nicotine monkey that was plaguing me

geiginni wrote:I got double pnuemonia during the hottest August I can remember. Didn't (couldn't) smoke for two weeks - stuck on the couch in 102 degree weather with chills. After that, as a complication, had pleuresy (inflamation of the tissue wall surrounding the lungs).

I too had double pneumonia with pleuresy during the middle of the summer and almost died! Dude!

Unfortunately, I went right back on the Demon Weed about six months later.

I do, however, smoke a LOT less.

Slow learner, that's me.