No Smoking

[fau2nvy 28]

I have been a smoker for over 16 years and now I am stopping cold turkey to change my habits and lifestyle. Anyone have any suggestions on quitting besides gum?

[mentalistfan 189]

Some people hate my answer because quitting smoking is so hard...but it's 100% mental. I smoked for about 14 years, and I knew I wanted to quit, and when I decided to quit ( after trying a few times ), I knew I would not smoke anymore and I accepted it and didn't look back. It was a decision I knew I had made and I'm not going back. It's been almost ten years since I quit. Once you get it deep down, you will succeed. Good luck!

[JeanZ_RN 378]

It took me three times, but I finally did quit. I used several strategies; here are the ones I remember from back then:

• The timing coincided with my buying a new car, so I decided I would not smoke in that car, ever. You could do the same type of thing by having your present car detailed and airing it out well. Along the same lines, you could set aside locations where you will no longer smoke - like inside your home.
• When trying to quit I decided that when I had the urge to smoke I would wait 10 minutes, and then if I still wanted a cig I would have it. If I didn't think of it again for 20 minutes, that didn't count - I made myself start over, waiting another 10 minutes.
• When I actually did quit I kept the last half pack of cigs and after a while they got stale. Then, when I gave in and had a smoke, it was a stale cig and tasted terrible. Negative reinforcement!

Best wishes on your journey!