hmm...how about cut down before you fully stop smoking? for me, i just don't buy packs of cigs anymore. if one of my friends have a cig then i'll ask to have one. i guess its a first step for me...

 

well watch for side effects,

The shit works.

 

I've been thinking about this lately as well.

I've smoked for about 11 years pretty solidly, which was a little harder to do when I was in early high school living with my parents (who didn't know, and wouldn't have approved). I've been about a pack/day smoker for the past 7 years and I'm ready to quit, but I just love the little bastards.

Chantix eh? Maybe I'll look in to it. Just load me up with some anti-depressants as well to balance me. Then I'll drink a little to bring me back to a nice mellow state. I think I can maintain that balance.

 

Although I have (unsuccessfully) quit before, I found that having a plan really helped. Take a close look at when and why you smoke. For example, do you smoke when you're stressed out? Find something healthy to replace that.

For me, having a father figure die of cancer and smelling my stinky clothes isn't enough "motivation" to end my addiction. I ended up using pharmalogical help (Zyban - which is also marketed as an anti-depressant, "Wellbutrin"). It worked for me (albeit with some mad side effects), because it took the cravings away. In the time I was on zyban, it gave me the chance to get into healthy habits to replace the smoking. Unfortunately I experienced two extremely high stress situations simultaneously (one personal and one professional), which I was completely unprepared for and I started again.

 

i know a couple of people that swear by the hypnotize and sleep therapy method. My manager's wife, who's smoked for something like 30 years went to one hypno-thing and continually listened to the cd's for a couple weeks suddenly just stopped. She said she had absolutely no more cravings.

I'm a bit skeptical myself, I think it's just the suggestion that it's supposed to work, but whatever. As long as it helps people I'm all for it.

 

Nicotine is more addicting than smoked meth. So logically, you should take up meth, to kick your nicotine habit.

 

Bill engvall:

"I got off cigarettes by using the patch. I got off the patch by smoking cigars. I got off cigars by doing crack, so I'm pretty much tobacco free now"

 

it's tough to smoke them if you don't buy them....then your friends will get annoyed at you bumming cigs all the time

 

I started smoking while working a graveyard shift way back when. I was up to a pack a day. I tried a few things, but the thing that did the trick was I started rolling my own cigs.
The thing with unfiltered hand rolled cigs is they are totally harsh and you feel each one. Plus if you want to smoke you have to do all of that rolling stuff, which makes you actually put an effort into smoking. I figured if I wanted to smoke, you should SMOKE. After awhile of doing this I started to feel sick each time I smoked. It ws my body telling me to stop and the addiction telliing me to smoke. After like two weeks of this, I actually got sick from smokinig
I haven't looked back since. Now when I smell smoke, or even get the nerve at a party to actually light up, I can take a drag or two, but that sick feeling takes over again and I usually have to stop right there. This method worked for me.

On another note. My father is a respiratory therapist, he works with smokers everyday. I asked him about what kind of damage I did by smoking. He said that the lungs are really good at repairing themselves and that, in the typical person, irreversable damage only starts to occur after 7 pack years, meaning 7 years of smoking a pack a day.
So if you smoke a half a pack a day for 14 years, or 2 packs a day, over 3.5 years. I was amazed at the amount of smoke a person can take before the lungs cannot recover. However he mentioned he has patients who smoke up to 4 and 5 packs a day. Basically chain smoking the entire day, and they do this for years. Also he made sure I understood that the amount of time it takes for your lungs to repair themselves differs based upon your age and other outside factors. So even if you are under the 7 pack year rule you might still see complications from smoking. I also asked him about second hand smoke and what kind of damage it does. He said for adolecents and babies, yes it can be a problem, but for the adult who is in a smokey bar, not too much to worry about there. The waiters and staff might have cause for concern but for the guy standing next to a smoker outside on the patio, the smell might bother their nose, but not likely to cause lung problems.

my $.02

 

177ark, your Dad must be a great RT. He knows his stuff well.