Ladies and cigarettes.......

[pennycarrol]

Hi everyone, my name is Maud, I'm a smoker and I really want to quit!!! In France we are going to have a new law which forbid cigarettes in bars and restaurants!! So ladies, I really need to hear your experiences about leaving that bad habit!! What do you do when the word "cigarette" come into your mind?? Do you eat chewing gum, do you eat a cake, do you drink a glass of water!!! It's very hard to just have a drink or a coffee without a cigarette!! lol!! I hope you'll understand my broken english!!
A big thank you from Pennycarrol!!

 

[RedHotRidinHood]

When I quit back in 1998, I used a nicotine patch, and it worked for me. To get through it, I ate Red Vines licorice like crazy. And chewed gum. I gained a little weight, but lost again soon after. Then I got pregnant, which was the whole reason I quit smoking, so it all worked out!

Good luck to you, and good for you for deciding to quit! :eusa_clap

 

[Miss 1929]

Good luck to PennyCarol!

You can do it!
Although I have never been a smoker, I have quit other bad habits... rewards are good (If I stay off for a week I will buy myself a new expensive lipstick). I also found that for oral habits like overeating and nail biting, that brushing my teeth helped! Your mouth tastes so nice you don't want to mess it up, and it satisfies that hand-to-mouth action craving.
It will not be easy, but I am sure you can do it!

 

[pennycarrol]

Thank you RedHotRiddinHood and Miss 1929!!!! I tried to quit several times but I'm a very anxious person, and smoking cigarettes helped me in a way (a bad way!!!!)!! I'm so fed up of having a bad breath, of having smelly hair etc... Also, I'm affraid to ruin my adorable vintage clothes, because I have to wash it a lot.... By the way Miss 1929 I love buying expensive red lipstick lol! I'm the only one who smoke cigarettes, and I disturb all my friend and family!! I respect them, that's why I want to quit!!!

 

[Dracca]

Hi everyone, my name is Maud, I'm a smoker and I really want to quit!!! In France we are going to have a new law which forbid cigarettes in bars and restaurants!! So ladies, I really need to hear your experiences about leaving that bad habit!! What do you do when the word "cigarette" come into your mind?? Do you eat chewing gum, do you eat a cake, do you drink a glass of water!!! It's very hard to just have a drink or a coffee without a cigarette!! lol!! I hope you'll understand my broken english!!
A big thank you from Pennycarrol!!

Nicotine gum worked for me. The pathes did nothing, I mean NOTHING. The gum is not the best taste but it gives you your nicotine and it also helps with the having something in your mouth, ritual element of smoking.

 

[shebagrl]

Hi everyone, my name is Maud, I'm a smoker and I really want to quit!!! In France we are going to have a new law which forbid cigarettes in bars and restaurants!! So ladies, I really need to hear your experiences about leaving that bad habit!! What do you do when the word "cigarette" come into your mind?? Do you eat chewing gum, do you eat a cake, do you drink a glass of water!!! It's very hard to just have a drink or a coffee without a cigarette!! lol!! I hope you'll understand my broken english!!
A big thank you from Pennycarrol!!

Hi Maud! I quit two years ago and it was so much easier than I had ever thought. I smoked for 11 years and had never even bothered to try, thinking it would be an on-again, off-again sort of thing. I used the nicotine patch. It was part of a "step-down" system, with three different levels of nicotine in the patches, used over the course of 8 weeks...or at least that's how it was supposed to go. On the patch, I never slept and it drove me crazy! I used it for 3 weeks solid and quit the patch altogether. There's a lot of research that says the physical addiction is over after 1 week of no nicotine, the rest is mental. I've also heard that it helps to tell people that you're not "trying to quit", but rather, you've quit (thus eliminating the mental aspect of the potential to fail.)

Breaking my "triggers" (the routines you have attached to smoking) were the hardest, so I avoided them like the plague. I cross-stitched to keep my hands busy on work breaks and ate a lot of mints. There are a lot of good, free support websites to measure your progress whilst quitting, too. You may want to look into them, as well.

YOU CAN DO IT!

 

[GoldLeaf]

I quit about a year and a half ago. What motivated me were the plans for my husband and I (who was also quitting) to go to Germany on the money we saved from not smoking. I really wanted to show him the city I grew up in and the amazing Christmas markets. I missed Germany so much that it was the incentive I needed to stick to my guns.

The trip never happened, my husband lost his job, but by that point, we had quit. I think because I was so determined, I didn't really miss the smoking. I did chew quite a bit of gum, and I crunched on carrots when the cravings were bad, the crunchy was satisfying. When the coughing was bad, I drank tea or coffee, the caffeine helps to dilate the lungs and makes coughing easier.

And Maud, your English is great!

 

[pennycarrol]

Thanks a lot!!!!!!!
Hearing from/about your experiences help me a lot!! What you said Shebagrl is really true, during the work breaks its VERY VERY VERY hard!!! In France lots of people are smoking so it's difficult to just seat and relax without a cigarette!!! Goldleaf, what a touching story!!!!!!! WOW that's sooo romantic!!!! Well I need to find a non smoker boyfriend!! lol!! That's the key!!!

 

[KittyT]

romantic!!!! Well I need to find a non smoker boyfriend!! lol!! That's the key!!!

Yes, this is true. I've quit smoking many times, and it's only sustainable for me if I'm with someone who doesn't smoke.

 

[kamikat]

I quite smoking about 10 years ago. I did it "cold turkey". If you don't know that American phrase, it means no patch, no nicotine gum, no drugs, ect. I did it by chewing lots of gum and by always having fresh carrots and celery to chew on. I did gain some weight, but extra weight is easier to deal with than lung cancer.

 

[lyburnum]

I quit smoking about 5 years ago now. At the time I was smoking anywhere from 10-40 a day - depending on how stressed I was! I went cold turkey but I gave up drinking alcohol at the same time, and that made a big difference. Previously I had tried quitting smoking but every time I'd gone out and had been drinking I'd end up smoking again. I got a lot of support from friends and I'd count the days on my calendar. One of my friends would buy me a small present for each month I made it without a cigarette

I relapse every so often with cigarettes - mostly when I'm stressed. However a few cigarettes a year is a big improvement on where I was! The first couple of weeks were really, really hard, and I still find it really hard when I'm around heavy smokers. Mostly it was about breaking old habits. No more smoking on the way to the bus stop in the morning!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

You might find some good info here, too:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=23541&highlight=spectacle

 

[Helen Troy]

Hi everyone, my name is Maud, I'm a smoker and I really want to quit!!! In France we are going to have a new law which forbid cigarettes in bars and restaurants!!

That is such a good chanse for you! Some years ago, Norway got the same laws. I love it, because allthough I still smoke it has made me naturally and painlessly cut back a lot! Where I would smoke 20-30 cigarettes in an evening before, I now only have 3-4 because I have to get outside for them.

If you smoke in your house, you should stop. When my husband and I stopped that, we cut back with no stress from 10-20 a day to 0-3. And we still allow ourselves to smoke on the balcony, but the difference from smoking after dinner, when readng, when watching tv, before bed etc. is enormous!

You should also prohibit yourself from smoking when walking. I find that for me, this are the most "useless" cigarettes I smoke now, since I do not really enjoy them, just does it without thinking.

With these three changes, you will find that you smoke much less, and that the cut-back comes naturally and painlessly. So then you will be ready to drop the last few cigarettes without pain.

Good luck!

 

[pennycarrol]

Today I "only" smoked three cigarettes!! It's a good start!! I've been to a bar with a good friend (by the way he doesn't smoke...) and I didn't feel the need to smoke!!! Maybe because I played with my lighter the whole conversation lol!! But I think what is important is to prohibit smoking when walking!! I always do that in the morning, and sometimes the first cigarette in the morning make me a bit sick... I realise that it's totally stupid to do something which make you bad!! Ladies, I have to thank you for all the support and tips!!

 

[thebadmamajama]

Wow...comment séparer un français de sa cigarette!? I can't believe that law passed there! (sorry, not a smoker and doesn't relate to your question, I just couldn't believe it).