What is Digg?148 Comments
- HvRooyen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+44Over a period of a few hours to a week your cilia will start working again (reason why people report increased cough for a few days). Many people use this excuse to start again.
Serum halflife of nicotine is about 30-60 minutes. It will effectively be cleared from your system in less 5 hours. Cotinine (metabolite of nicotine) takes a week to be eliminated. Cotinine has positive effects on the cardiovascular system, at least partly explaining the increased energy levels referred to at 72 hours
The urge to smoke hangs around for at least a year (unpublished, nonrandomised study, n=1). - fdxguy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30Been there done that.
First impact was having an Extra $5 a day to spend on beer.
That affected the body right away. - dbre2, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22I think i'm going to start smoking just so i can quit!
- linksdeity, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19Only as a metaphor :D
- borninda818, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22cold turkey sucks
- dBLiSS, on 10/12/2007, -6/+18"(unpublished, nonrandomised study, n=1)."
I did the same study!! - MrDave2176, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11I can tell you that the "urge" as you call it never goes away (unpublished, nonrandomised study, n=6). I quit 3 years ago and still get pangs. My Mother quit 20 years ago and she still gets pangs. I have close friends who quit as much as 40 years ago and they still get pangs.
It is an addiction that never goes away for some people. It only gets easier to suppress. - idonthack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13DONT DO IT
- EntropyFan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I don't remember who said it, but 'quiting smoking is easy; I do it 3 times a day'
Don't become discouraged with a few minor lapses. Get back on that horse and try again.
I watched smoking kill both my parents, and it still took me over 2 years of trying to give it up. Sheer persistence pays off - afrazkhan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Cold turkey is the way to go, but under the specific condition of no longer enjoying it. You know when you've smoked so many that the thought of another makes you sick, but you smoke it anyway? Keep doing that for a while, and you should be ready to _want_ to stop. I don't recommend patches or other drugs.
It's all pretty complicated and personal, and there's no magic formula to follow for once you've quit to keep you off the fags, but here are some things that might help;
-- Exercise: A taste of what you've been missing (that good feeling healthy people have). Start off easy though, I nearly threw up the first time I went jogging.
-- Remind yourself about how you don't have to worry about all those horrible, horrible diseases anymore. You won't have to freak out everytime you get a sore throat.
-- Enjoy your reclaimed freedom!: Cigarettes don't dictate your behaviour anymore, you're independent again.
-- Smoking is no longer cool: Seriously, kids today no longer think it looks cool. It will not help you pick up girls/boys (and may actually ruin your chances).
-- Your looks will improve: After just a few days you should notice a change in colour. You'll start to look healthier.
-- Your mood will improve: Okay you'll be moody for a while, but in the long run you'll be in good moods more often.
-- Feeling good: Amazing how not poisoning your body can improve it's working. Why on Earth were you ever inhaling carbon-monoxide anyway?
-- You'll be more active: When you're smoking you're (kind of) doing something, and so don't feel the need to do anything else. For example you can stand around outside and just smoke, no one will think that strange. If you stood outside not smoking (or doing anything else), that might look odd, you'll feel odd too. The temptation is there to get anxious and start smoking again, but you can use that ill feeling of not doing anything, to start doing stuff. I now have more hobbies than I can keep up with, and they're all improving me as a person.
-- Mental ability will increase: Okay so this is from personal experience and I may be completely mistaken. However, I think I've become more intelligent since I've quit. I could be wrong, but even so, the fact that I _think_ I'm more intelligent is a plus in itself.
Remind yourself of all these things when you get the urge to inhale smoke into your lungs, which surprisingly, doesn't last that long.
Oh and one last thing; that old saying that it gets harder as you get older is 100% true. If you put it off, you'll be sorry. I wish that didn't sound like such a cliche so you'd believe me. - Harlequn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10First, you have to WANT to quit.
If you are not motivated, nothing's gonna help.
I quit cold turkey. My doctor scared the HELL out of me when I went in for a physical.
A friend of mine quit using the patch and his doctor prescribed him some mild anti anxiety pills. He said that the combo of the patch + the pills really made it easier for him.
I started chewing lots of gum and carried lollipops around with me all the time. I stated to get sick of the lollipops and that was it for me. I was done!
Have never gone back since.
Seven years no smoking.
But like the others wrote, I could go out and smoke one right now!
The urges haven't gone away.
But no way am I going to smoke again. - NV0U, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9As cool as it sounds to "try to get someone to quit," as a smoker I can't think of ANYTHING that pisses me off more, or actually makes it harder for a person to stop. I have tried a number of times to stop. Well, as I tell people, I think I have a pretty good idea what people on crack go through when they try to stop. The few times I have stopped, I go through massive withdrawals - from dizziness to hearing things that are not there. It is totally bizarre.
So, why do I start again? Because people "try to help me quit". You know how aggravating it is being reminded that you have quit?
If someone is going to stop smoking, THEY need to stop for THEM. Not because YOU want them to. And whatever you do, do NOT keep reminding them they have stopped.
Sorry if this sounds flamish, but this is exactly what I go through every time I have stopped smoking in the past. - Tenlow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Yeah reading this made me want a cigarette. Reeeeaaal bad. It's been about a week (it'd be at 2 but I got real drunk and smoked 2 cigarettes with friends last week)
After reading this all I can think of is "one more pack couldnt hurt" - pgup, on 10/12/2007, -10/+19Smoking is bad news bears.
- Abjure, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I've been trying to get my aunt to stop smoking for years. Maybe this will help motivate her. =[
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Anybody else have any tips that would help a person kick it?
- NtHammer, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13maybe if u look at the definition of toxic u will realize your an idiot. go ahead...look it up ;)
- jeickholt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I read this article 2 1/2 years ago and i quit that night cold turkey in a bar drinking and smoking with friends. now i rub it in anyones face that will listen.
- Kahnza, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Zyban + Nicoderm = 50% chance of success
- aliengoods, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7They forget the binge eating from not having the appetite suppression of nicotine. That extra 40 pounds does more to increase your risk of heart attack than quitting smoking does to reduce it (look it up).
- HillelKitty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I took up knitting to quit.
Now I've got 2 expensive addictions. - Hobo97, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@MrDave
I've often felt that the "pangs" that you refer to aren't necessarily actual cravings, but rather as a person who has smoked cigarettes they're a learned passive understanding of where a cigarette would fit in your life? More concretely, if you have never had beverage X then you would never know the taste of beverage X and thus not desire it (excluding marketing etc., you know what I mean). I think that upon having used cigarettes, one can want one without being addicted. If that makes sense. Though of course there are plenty of people actually still addicted.
(Note: I am not advocating smoking or denying the addictive nature of cigarettes, just responding to a very specific comment). - Feanor, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11You know what happens to me if I stop smoking right now? Nothing. Because I never started.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I quit six years ago and finally my urge to continue drew me back in about a month ago..
I say that there is nobody who quits smoking.. just people who go really long times without smoking, because the cravings just dont subside.
the worst thing smoking did to me is not what it did to my health.. but that ever since I quit, I have wanted one just like the day I quit.. I gave in and I feel better even though I know its just emotional.
this article fails to give you any real information though. They just say if you quit, but I call bs.. i mean, if someone smokes 1 pack and then reads this article, I highly doubt those rules apply. Do they apply to a 5 year smoker, a 10 year or what? - cantankerous, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If you drink coffee, kick that habit first. The stop the smoking a couple weeks later. You can pick up caffeine again later in life once you are clear of the cigarettes. It was hard for me to do, but caffeine and smokes just seem to go hand in hand. I used the patch as well to help ween me off additive part of it.
I also recommend starting an excise regimen. Just change your life completely for the better. This will really help you to keep busy too. That and diet as well. It pays off big in the long run. You have more energy, a LOT more. You can do it. - tobyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7If smoking is the only thing that give you any excitement and saves you from boredom, I'd say you need some hobbies.
- meerkat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I quit smoking a week ago. I read this book:
http://www.amazon.ca/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Stop-Smoking/dp/0973468408/sr=8-1/qid=1160621579/ref=pd_ka_1/702-7602026-2889651?ie=UTF8&s=books
... and really I think it works. I havn't been having a difficult time with cravings, and I'm definately not the bitch that I have been in previous times that I quit smoking. I really recommend this book for anyone who wants to quit. It helps you understand a lot of stuff about smoking, which helps you to quit.
I don't make any money from that book, or that link... I just think that it is good. I hope some diggers out there end up liking it as much as me. - 5thfreedom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Anybody who's ever dropped their cigarette in their lap while they were driving knows that driving+smoking can be pretty damn dangerous sometimes.
Speaking from experience. - decadmus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Tomorrow is my 40th birthday. As a birthday gift to me, I'm giving myself 40 more years by quitting the pack-a-day habit I've had since I was 16. Happy birthday to me.
Wish me luck. - jmurphy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@Hobo97
What you're describing is called a psychological addiction and is what I've had the most trouble with in my various attempts to quit smoking.
People learn to associate the effects of a drug with certain situations, and after a while start to crave it when those situations present themselves. For example, when I'm nervous I feel extremely out of place without a cigarette. - canewediggit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6screw the zyban and everything else, it's a mental game. in my pathetic efforts at quitting in the past, i've had good luck with; straws- buy a box at your local grocer and cut them to the length of a cig. you can hold it the same, even do the inhale/exhale thing. keep mints and gum handy at all times. drink lots of water. keep active, not neccessarily physical activity (though that helps) but just do something that will keep your mind busy and not thinking about smoking.
full disclosure- i'm having a smoke right now, ha! - ButtFuzz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Actually if I remember correctly, it is not the lungs, but it(carbon monoxide) binds to the hemoglobin in your red blood cells and stays there. Thus your blood's ability to carry oxygen is decreased. This is why smokers get winded more easily than non smokers.
- crawfishsoul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You've never smoked before have you?
- mhearne, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I started smoking in 1963 when I was 12 years old. At that time, there was no warning on the label, and the oddball was the one who did not smoke. Kids under 16 weren't supposed to have them, but all one had to do was to claim that their mother had sent them to the store.
Now I'm 54, it makes me hack and gag, but I've got to do it anyway. The doctor put me on the patch and a support group in 1997, but I just ended up smoking, chewing Red Man, and wearing the patch all at the same time.
In my opinion, it's not really productive trying to get smokers to quit, rather the best tack to take is to stop new smokers from starting. - junk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I went with the 'Clockwork Orange' approach. I sat down with a carton of Marlboros and chain smoked till I puked my guts out. Then I went on the patch. Never relapsed.
It's been a few years now. The only thing I didn't do was nag my friends or relatives who still smoke. It's a personal thing and if you are ready to do it you will do it. If a person is not ready they won't and nagging or acting all superior because you quit is really ***** annoying and everybody hates you. - eviltandem, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4All or nothing is easy. If you spend all your time searching for, or avoiding something, it still controls your life.
Like all drugs there is nothing wrong with some nicotine now and then. It has uses, and if it makes you feel good and happy you should have some once in a while. Reward yourself for finishing a project at work, or making it through an especially stressfull week.
I've never understood why it has to be all-the-time or nothing. The native americans had the right idea. They didn't smoke constantly to deal with the pressures of life. They smoked in the evening to wind down, or at parties/celebrations, etc...
In this regard illegal drugs promote more responsibility (which i find hilarious). Pot is too expensive and hard to get for most people to smoke it in quantities anywhere near your typical cigarette smoker. They smoke for fun, at parties, or to wind down at the end of the day (granted not all).
This is how recreational drugs should be treated. You work hard and do all this stuff in life you don't want to do, you deserve a cigarette now and again if that's what makes you happy. Just exercise a little discipline. Don't use the drugs to solve your problems (like stress), use them to reward yourself for dealing with the problems yourself. - SundayTrain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+33 Hours....
Damn, what do I do with all this free time?
Gotta find a new habit! Tecate and Chi-Chi clubs! - meerkat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3huhwhathuh... I was a pack a day smoker for 13 years.
Another day has gone by, and I still say that book is the best way! - SpacemanSpiff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The post-smoking 40? Is that like the freshman 15?
- grubesteak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Cold turkey was the only thing that worked for me. I'll be a smoke free a year on Nov. 25.
- SpacemanSpiff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Quitting for six months doesn't count. It took me more than two years to be able to sit in a bar filled with smoke and not experience even a slight craving for a cigarette.
- afrazkhan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3soz, mod down a couple of points, I hit the wrong button.
- guytoronto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Try it with a couple slices of Wonder bread and some mayo. Maybe a leaf of lettuce. Mmm...Good eats.
- vostek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2for some people, surprisingly long. For me, I'd die after a few weeks.
- sagelink, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Is it really that bad?
I'm 18, started at 16. I'm, however, a very, very light smoker. I get urges a lot but I seem to be able to pass on them without trouble.
Another thing to add about getting new smokers to stop, have you seen those Truth ads on the television? To be completely blunt, I never even thought about smoking until I saw one of those ads. It sparked my interest and made me curious. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen to most people.
I do suppose quitting now would be the best, but I can't seem to stop, even if I smoke once or twice a week. - Medusausi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2MEDUSAUSI'S TIPS TO STOP SMOKING
You will NOT quit smoking unless you want to, regardless of how many patches you wear or oxygen tanks you drag behind you.
There is NO such thing as a "light smoker," just one who hasn't looked in the ashtray for a long cigarette butt yet.
Going "cold turkey" may help many people quit smoking, but it does nothing to help people around them who have to deal with their crap and funky attitudes.
Eating healthy before you quit cigarettes will guarantee that you'll eat at least 10 pounds of carrots afterward.
Don't call cigarettes "fags" in the US, or else you'll get a busted lip. You'll probably slow down for a little while, at least until healing occurs.
On a lighter note, when you're mind is ready and you're willing, you WILL stop smoking. - crawfishsoul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The average to above average person has a hard enough time trying to quit one vice at a time. The psychological effects of failing to quit smoking, or cafeine or stopping your workout regiment makes most people give up on all of their efforts to quit/live better. Therefore your advice is poor, at best, for most people. But I'm glad it worked for you.
And for all of you non-smokers that feel your holier-than-thou comments are anything close to helpful, go troll through the Apple articles. Good for you, you're not addicted to smoking. I for one feel bad enough about my deadly habit as it is, we don't need your crap here, . - mickmcmac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have a pal who is 100 lbs overweight, drinks too much, smokes more than a pack a day, eats ***** food (fast food), and basically is partying 4 to 5 nights a week (drinking a twelve pack or more each time). Realistically, how long can the body endure that? It makes me so sad.
- fiver22, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Sources, please. It's obvious that there are *huge* benefits to quitting smoking but without sources these *specific* statements are suspect.
- vostek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2yay for quitting
-
Show 51 - 100 of 146 discussions
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is