Aids for quitting smoking

katiewhompus

I'm just going to be a PW tonight.

Tonight H brought up that he wants to try to quit smoking after the holidays. He has smoked for over 20 years and has tried to quit at least 6 times cold turkey and it never lasts.
Chantix is out of the question because he doesn't want to use drugs.
Has anyone had good luck with gum? patches? the cool vapor thingy?

Also, I thought I read that one of the electronic cigs had nicotine packs so you gradually wean off the drug. He thinks its just "bam no more nicotine" but you get to hold a cigarette.

Anysunrise

My mom just quit after 30 years. She did it cold turkey. The only thing she said was that you have to really, really want to quit. 

That's all I know.

betrothed123

My brother uses the vaporizer thing and it has helped him cut down, but he doesn't really want to quit so he still smokes.

ETA: these are like the patch in that you gradually step down with the nicotine.  You're correct about that.

MIL tried patches and gums and eventually had no choice but to go with the Chantix and it did the trick.  Sorry, that's all the experience I have with this.

jasmineh7777

Would he bo open to behavior modification techniques?

[Deleted User]

I quit when I was 22. I had been smoking for about 7 years and was up to 2 packs a day. I used a drug, but only for a few days and then I just quit. It was pretty awful, but I really think that cold turkey was the best way for me to go. I have a real all or nothing personality, so in order to really stop doing something, I need to just walk away clean.

katiewhompus

I doubt it Jas.

I think part of the problem is that while he knows he should quit, he doesn't really want to. It's like "quitting will save us money and is bad for my health....but I don't really care enough to quit."

Kind of like me with my weigh loss currently. I know that it would be better to just not eat the chips and ice cream, but I just don't care enough.

LessThanZero

I know of some people who have stopped from hypnotism and others that used the patch or the gum.

I haven't gotten any feedback on the vapor cigarette though but I'd like to know more about it.

What do you think, from knowing him, would get the best result from him?

betrothed123

My ex coworker didn't really want to quit either, but then ciggarettes went up to $7 a pack in our area and he found this website that told him he'd save something like $150 a week if he quit.  That was motivation enough for him.  The website had support information, tips, tricks, and I think even a forum and chat service.  I'll see if he can send me a link.  Maybe it would help.

katiewhompus

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_aids-quitting-smoking?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:f76109dc-0f5f-4ae4-84c6-7ec82fbf0cabPost:752ffc70-cbd5-49b9-a65b-a776fec6f43d">Re: Aids for quitting smoking</a>:
[QUOTE]I know of some people who have stopped from hypnotism and others that used the patch or the gum. I haven't gotten any feedback on the vapor cigarette though but I'd like to know more about it. What do you think, from knowing him, would get the best result from him?
Posted by LessThanZero[/QUOTE]

A USMC drill seargant telling him he would kick his ass for smoking?

No, I do think that once kids are factored in it would be a bit more of a reality check for him. Or a doctor telling him that the smoking is why we aren't having them (one of many possible reasons). The problem is I don't see either one of those happening anytime soon.

number55

I used gum.

I started smoking when I was 14. By 15 I was smoked a pack a day (I went to boarding school in France, it was lax). At my height, I smoked almost two packs a day.

By the time I was 27ish I had worked myself down to maybe 5 a day (I lived with my exroommate who was a non smoker, no smoking inside). 

When my mother diagnosed with lung cancer (she smoked for 35 years) I was down to 3 a day but during her illness I smoked more (makes sense no?!).

A month after she died I had nightmares about dying like she did (I watched her pass away). One Saturday morning I woke up without any smokes and I told my roommate I was ready to quit. I just never bought any more.

I didn't quit cold turkey though, I used the gum to get me through the cravings I had, esp. because two weeks after I quit I went home to Mtl, where my dad and two brothers still smoked (smart guys huh?, and they still do!). Once I got home about a week later (smoke free for 3 weeks) I didn't need the gum anymore. That was December 2006. I guess I have been an ex-smoker almost 4 years!

There is my long winded and unnecessary explanation.

cupcakesfrosting

I quit cold turkey after 4 years, because Aaron told me he'd leave me if I ever picked up another cigarette. He was more important to me than smoking. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but more than worth the cost.

number55

KW...if you want I can give your H a very detailed explanation about what it is like to lose a parent because of smoking. It was the most (and still is) the most horrible thing that has ever happened to me. 

katiewhompus

That's the hard part Number. His mom smokes like a chimney and is fine (well not really, but not smoking related). His dad ate healthy, ran every day, never touched cigarettes or alcohol and had a heart attack at 50.

It also doesn't help that his entire family smokes. At least now that we're further away from them he has a chance.

I still tell him how proud I am of him for quitting soda though. It sounds stupid but it was a big deal and the caffeine withdrawal was not pretty.

JudieN

I quit after ten years. But I have to agree with PP that you have to really, really want it. It is hard. Especially when you are around other smokers. I quit two years and some change ago - and I STILL crave a smoke when I drink with friends.

I went cold turkey. But I have friends that the patch really worked for...I think it depends on the person. For me, I just knew I really wanted it. So I did it. It was hard, still is...probably, to some extent, always will be.

dmiller9274

I'm closing the books on day 4 of no smoking, and I did it cold turkey.  That's just how I am though, I have to walk away on my own.

A friend of mine just quit on the e-cig.  She loves it.  You buy cartridges for it, you can start with a higher dose of nicotine and work down.  They have lots of flavors too.  She said it helped a lot to just have it in her hand at the normal smoking times. 

jasmineh7777

Hmmm.
 Could you guys make a list of reasons to quit and reasons not to quit? If he doesn't really want it, then he likely won't succeed. It sucks, but you can't make him want to, ya know?

katiewhompus

That's not a bad idea Jas.
Family is definitely not helping with this either. Sil quit while pregnant then started again, and mil doesn't see the harm in it (yeah...) so they don't really offer support when he does try.
My dad tries to help but talks about how he quit cold turkey and it wasn't as hard as people think. Dad smoked for 3 years...little different than 20.

mgietler76

I smoked for only 8yrs but this is what I tried :

cold turkey
hypnosis
laser treatment
gum
patch
chantix (FI;s doctor actually called us and told us NOT to take this)

What actually worked for me was chain smoking 2 packs in a couple hours time. I literally made myself sick from cigarettes and didn't want another one afterwards because the thought of smoking made me gag. Maybe not the most pleasant way to quit but hell it worked for me! I didn't quit because I wanted to or even for the health benefits, in NY the taxes are so friggen ridiculous that it was like $10/pk and it has gone up even more since last March when I quit. My advice would be to try everything out there with an open mind (except of course the drugs that he doesn't;t want to do) and see hat works. Best of luck and I hope he can quit successfully.

sucrets4

Kick him in the nuts every time he lights one up.  Pretty soon he'll stop.

;-)

katiewhompus

Haha, I love you D

It sucks too because I don't have anything I can give up so he feels like he's doing it with someone, you know? I gave up soda last year, don't eat much sugar anymore, and have nothing else I really do consistently.

Anysunrise

Oh, I meant to post this yesterday, but here's some interesting tidbits of what happens to your body if you quit smoking right now, might help inspire him:



* In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
* In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
* In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
* In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
* In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
* In three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
* In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
* In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
* In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
* In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

Marrin713

Katie - I did the patch and it's been about 8 years quit for me.  And since it's been 8 years and my memory is not as sharp as it could be, I want to say that I used the patch for about 1 month or perhaps 6 weeks.  I actually used the Walgreen's brand instead of a name brand.  Prior to the patch, I had been smoking for probably about 20 years and tried several times to quit; the patch worked.  Of course when I was pregnant with son, I did quit for the 7 months I knew I was pregnant.

slubkin

I had a similar experience to number55.  I started smoking at age 14, smoked a pack a day for many years and by 2002 was smoking 2 packs a day or more at times.  My mom died in 2003 from an aneurysm at age 52, her dad had several strokes and died from the last one, his mother died from an aneurysm at age 42... I take birth control and decided I needed to quit smoking because I was already high risk from my family.

I did a lot of planning for quitting. I did a weekend seminar through my health plan (Kaiser) that talked about effective strategies for quitting, and some of the obstacles that you can anticipate making it difficult.  They encouraged us to make a plan and let us sign up for the patch and Wellbutrin (under the other name they use when they prescribe to help quitting smoking) if we wanted them.

Here are some of the things I did that helped me:

- Choose a date to quit and stick to it, smoke the last of your cigarettes by then

- Switch to a brand you HATE for the days/week before quitting (or to menthols if you don't like them, or rolled tobacco if you don't have brand preferences- rolling a cigarette takes much more work)

- Plan a trip coinciding with your quit date where you'll have limited or no access to cigarettes or a store to buy them (I went to visit family in Bethesda for a week, where I wouldn't be driving and didn't know my way around at all)

- Warn your family, friends and co-workers that you're quitting and need their support (even with the patch, I was a raging biitch because I'd used smoking to cope when I was angry or frustrated for so many years)

- Join a gym and start working out daily (I needed it to de-stress)

- Calculate how much money you've been spending per week on cigarettes and start putting that money in a shoebox every week instead towards a goal of your choosing (mine was a down payment on a new car, at $40/week it added up pretty fast)

- Get the patch.  It does help.  I think they say not to use it overnight, but if you fiend to smoke in the morning first thing, use a half a patch at night- it worked well for me.  Be aware that using the patch while sleeping can make your dreams incredibly vivid.


Hope some of this is helpful!  Quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and it wasn't easy at first, but over time the cravings lessened.  I did pick it up again briefly for a couple months a few years ago when my boss was driving me crazy, but was able to quit much more easily the second time and have not missed it since.

Marrin713

Like Number55, my dad died of lung cancer a year ago.  It was agonizing.