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See the original image at health.nytimes.com —

Quitting smoking: it is not news, but it is important

health.nytimes.com — In Brief: a)The brain of an addicted smoker treats nicotine as if it is essential for survival. c) Genetic traits may predispose some smokers to stronger addiction. d) Most smokers try to quit unaided, resulting in a high failure rate.

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  • hamburgers, on 05/16/2008, -0/+8010 weeks with no cigarettes after 15 years of smoking almost every day. Cold Turkey!
    • relikborg, on 05/16/2008, -0/+18Two years and three months after cold turkey as well. I actually tried the patch previously and it didn't work for me. All I needed was a good reason, and that turned out to be that I was tired of being sick all the time.
      • withincontext, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2I quit 7 1/2 years ago after smoking for 3. One of the best decisions of my life.
      • Stavrosian, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Having a good reason is the key. Patches, gum, tablets...none of it will help you if you don't 100% want to quit. If you merely know that you should quit, then you will almost certainly fail. When you really want to quit though, it is easier than you could ever imagine.

        I smoked 40 a day for 10 years and quit immediately, cold turkey, one night when a good friend and I had a discussion about how pointless smoking was. Something clicked, and I suddenly just didn't want to smoke anymore. Easily, without a doubt, the best decision you can ever make. Waking up in the morning without coughing for 5 minutes, and being able to take a deep breath without it hurting in your chest is much more satisfying than paying large sums of money for a group of corporate gits to slowly kill you.
    • highlyhigh, on 05/16/2008, -13/+2twenty three years cold turkey and zero day of smoking. ask about how i did it!
      • Niightwitch, on 05/17/2008, -0/+123 Years is a real achievement. When do you think you'll go back to it? I'll bet that first cigarette will taste sssooooo good.
    • specialK16, on 05/16/2008, -0/+6Nice. I am 18, and began smoking some months ago. I don't smoke a lot (usually 3 or 4 cigs per day for the last 2 months) but I really want to quit :(.
    • nan0bug00, on 05/16/2008, -8/+17I JUST HAD A CIGARETTE AND I ENJOYED IT. SWEET SWEET CANCER.

      The hole in my throat will be the ultimate fashion accessory.
    • artfiend77, on 05/16/2008, -0/+5Been smoke free for 7 months now after 13 years of smoking myself, tried many times to quit, in the end all it took was one bad flu to jump start the quitting process. Haven't looked back since.
    • xDreaminGx, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4just under 1 year cold turkey, I smoked for 2 years previously and ended up quitting so I could play sports again.

      I feel I have less lung capacity after smoking for just 2 years, I regret nothing.
    • serend, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4This is my 5th month of not smoking (i know its nothing) I quit on 1/1/08 cold turkey. Girlfriend quit 5/1/07 with two weeks Chantix (caused her to have strange dreams and became a evil witch ;X but she admitted it and stopped) Her mom quit 8/1/07 with Chantix which didn't give her such side effects. Chantix is a stop smoking medicine, I believe it may be expensive without insurance (some insurance wont cover it) in my opinion the cost would be no more than smoking or getting sick so its worth it. Same goes for the side effects imho. I would rather my Girlfriend to be evil and witchy than cold and dead or have bronchitis and pneumonia every year. Got to weigh the pros vs cons. Although im not the eww gross your a smoker type or cry baby. To each their own.
    • Tyr7BE, on 05/16/2008, -0/+625 years without starting to begin with. Whenever I smoke I feel really nauseous. I suppose that's a blessing.
      • teh_techie, on 05/16/2008, -2/+2WHEN you smoke, it makes you nauseous, but... you've gone 25 years without starting?
        • Namaha, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2I believe he refers to "starting" as developing a habit/addiction.
    • sodade, on 05/16/2008, -0/+9Smoked a pack a day from 12(!) to 22. Quitting was the hardest thing I have ever done. For two years I woke up thinking I was a smoker again because I dreamed that I smoked literally every ***** night.
    • joelsp, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4congrats, I'm on year 10, and every time I try to quit cold turkey, I last less than a day.
    • jayzer, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3I smoked off and on for two years, then on for two more years. I quit cold turkey on 3/15/08. If I can do 30 days I can do life.

      It's not easy, though. The last quote in the article is so true.
      • Chachuka, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3It's not man, I assure you.

        (And besides, something like that can only be true if you believe it.)
    • thx0138, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3June 15 will be 3 years since I quit after 10 years smoking 3 packs a day for me. Cold turkey was the way to go, after the first three days it was much easier than I thought it would be.
      Every one is different but they shouldn't knock unaided if it works for so many, but if aides work better for you go for it, as long as you just do it.
    • sweatyyeti, on 05/16/2008, -7/+2Harden the ***** up smokers. Just quit.
    • blasian, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2i smoked for seven years and quit about 6 months ago. Question though, does anybody else get the dreams where they smoke? I still get these all the time and i always ask for my old preferred brand (parliament lights).
    • scoutxxor, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3I quit because when I consciously realized how often during the day I thought about smoking, .. it scared me. I then wondered, what wonderful things would I have been thinking about at this instant had I never began smoking in the first place..??
      Cold turkey, will never go back. All you need is a good reason I guess
    • martso, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Same here 3 months of non smoking after 15 years of smoking not ALMOST EVERYDAY but every day - 20 cigarettes a day...
      Thanks to my first son's birth - he is 2 and a half months old now :)
    • bede, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1I quit on 01/01/08 after smoking 20 a day for more than 30 years. I did it cold turkey after reading Alan Carr's book The Easy Way To Give Up Smoking.

      My mother read the book two years ago and quit her 60 a day habit of 50 years.

  • gdehms, on 05/16/2008, -0/+29Why'd you skip b?
    • V3n0M, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Must have been missing the nicotine.
    • abhpro, on 05/16/2008, -0/+10***** b.
      • Spudster, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2Right on! C has been the third wheel for TOO long. This is a step in the right direction. It's time to replace C as the inferior of brother of A!
  • thrallie, on 05/16/2008, -5/+25D is false. Everyone I know that smokes tobacco quits by going cold turkey.

    I used to smoke and I quit cold turkey. But I replaced it with the occasional joint / bong rip.
    • schnikies79, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3D isn't false, that is how most people try and quit (cold turkey), and most fail. It's not saying that most of the people who succeed at quiting did it otherwise. It sounds like a contradiction but it's not.

      You have a better chance of succeeding if you use an aid.
    • maexus, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2I also quit cold turkey but a lot of people I know couldn't.
    • LegalizeGanja, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2I'm the opposite. I don't even really like cigarettes but I'm smoking them right now. It's to help until I can smoke weed again (I'm outside the US right now).
    • Spudster, on 05/16/2008, -2/+2Nice catch. It's true, most quit smoking aids do nothing but to prolong the displeasure of attempting to quit. There was a big resistance from health professionals to allow the introduction of Nicorette and other quit smoking devices. They found that many (richer) smokers end up just becoming Nicorette addicts.
  • streetsim, on 05/16/2008, -5/+14New comment system? FIVE MINUTES?!
  • Lunarbunny, on 05/16/2008, -0/+20Is it just me or is that a fake cigarette in the picture at the top of the article?
  • hethug, on 05/16/2008, -12/+3I don't smoke but sometimes I find myself standing next to someone who does, I can't escape the evil smoke.
    • weoh, on 05/16/2008, -2/+4suicide
    • hethug, on 05/16/2008, -4/+1After you
    • Tweekster, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4I hope a smoker blows smoke in your face just for complaining on the internet like a bitch.

      And no you wont hit him, you will slump down like a pussy.
      • hethug, on 05/16/2008, -3/+1i hope a smoker fart in your face for complaining and being a pussy
    • ZombieSociety, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Yes, you can; stop whining and walk away.
  • Tweekster, on 05/16/2008, -1/+15I found the easiest thing was to simply not smoke anymore (it sounds wierd but it works when you decide you are not going to)

    And when you get a craving just detach yourself from those thoughts. Takes some practice but has worked quite well.

    One decade of smoking, 6 months of not now, no cravings anymore and i can sit right next to someone and not even care.

    Although I do still enjoy a nice cigar now and again.
    • dvsbastard, on 05/16/2008, -3/+11Congratulations... You have discovered "willpower"!
      • Tweekster, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4Exactly, all it takes is you deciding you want to quit, not being forced into it.

        When you are ready you will quit, until then a smoker should just try and cut back a bit
        • decile, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2100% agreed
          I tried quitting a few times just because all smokers want to.
          I failed all those times, until I finally found my personal reason for quitting.
      • Stavrosian, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Much truth is being spoken here. Your desire to quit is the only thing that really matters.
  • dvsbastard, on 05/16/2008, -3/+3It has been 5 weeks since my last cigarette... and I have had my fair share of stress and beers (two things I associate my nicotine weakness with)... completely unaided after 10 or so years of smoking... Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!
  • xKorrix, on 05/16/2008, -7/+34I know it's bad but..

    I love my smokey treats.
  • chaos7, on 05/16/2008, -8/+25smoking sucks. everyone should quit.
    • Tweekster, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3I will never quit smoking my cigars.

      Just too damn enjoyable for that once a week treat.
      • PrismoFillusion, on 05/16/2008, -1/+0I don't smoke, but I think smoking one cigar a week is pretty harmless.

        It's the people who smoke 3+ packs a day who are really screwed.
    • deff, on 05/16/2008, -2/+7Teenagers all smoke and they seem pretty on-the-ball...
    • ileftfark, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4Commenting on the Internet is pointless. Everyone should quit.
  • gryphon50, on 05/16/2008, -2/+2the one person that I knew who successfully quit (for about 12 years now) used the patch. Without that nicotine patch to take the edge off, he never would have made it.
  • wushu18t, on 05/16/2008, -0/+8i tried smoking for about 3 months. i got myself off of it as i could see how i started to crave it. even a few months later i would look at one and be tempted. of the drugs i've taken nicotine scared me the most.
  • m0zzie, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3think about it.

    http://networkupload.com/adsupported/quickorslow/q ...
  • wefandango, on 05/16/2008, -0/+8i'd like to see a study that correlates smoking with stimulant meds i.e. ritalin and adderall. i've taken adderall for a few years now and have been trying to quit smoking for a while and i notice that when i don't take adderall, i have little to no urge to smoke, but when i take it the urges are overwhelming.

    as stimulant meds increase the heart rate and metabolism, it follows that people with higher blood pressure and faster metabolisms would naturally be predisposed to smoke more, it seems. but what do i know, i'm just one of the pill-taking sheep...
    • Tweekster, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2Stimulants of most kinds make me want to smoke incluiding X, coke, ritalin etc.
    • Dudernahada, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I have a pretty damn good metabolism and smoke a pack once every 24-36 hours and it's damn hard for me to quit
    • Verytastycheese, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I want adderall!
  • xsquirrel378x, on 05/16/2008, -29/+9what is this *****? faggy non smokers submitting articles to get people to quit smoking. burried
    • rrc589, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Keep smoking buddy . . . keep smoking.
    • kweeky, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Actually, it's a decent article. You'll find that most people (and the doctor in the article) who are commenting positively are ex-smokers or those trying to quit. I wouldn't say this article is attempting to get people to quit - but pushing forward an exploration of nicotine addiction and how it can differ from person to person.
  • Moses410, on 05/16/2008, -12/+7just started!
    • Dudernahada, on 05/16/2008, -1/+0started smoking or quitting? if you started smoking welcome to hell...
  • OJXs, on 05/16/2008, -14/+1Smoking has time and again been proven hasmokeardouz to your health
    I have no idea why millsmokeions of people still smoke.
    Why shorten down ysmokeour life with death sticks?
  • dvsbastard, on 05/16/2008, -1/+5"d) Most smokers try to quit unaided, resulting in a high failure rate."

    That might be true, but I have always believed that this is because those who actually seek ways to help themselves quit (such as nicotine replacement therapy) are more likely to be dedicated to quitting than those who make a snap decision to give up the habit cold turkey...
    • dopplerdog, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4"Will power" is overrated to achieve goals. Put "will power" against planning, habit-forming activities and a support network, and will power will lose almost every time. This applies to everything from losing weight to stopping smoking.
      • kweeky, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2I disagree. Had I given up smoking through the use of plans, activities, support networks et al, I would still be very much connected to the world of smoking and as such it would be much much easier for me to fall back into smoking. After all, for me smoking was very much a social device. I found that going cold turkey and convincing myself that I had an irrational fear of nicotine has allowed me to go for almost 2 years clean with almost no cravings.

        However, YMMV - and that is the most relevant thing regarding addiction. Everyone has a different experience. Everyone has a different mind that will have to fight a civil war with itself. No one solution fits all really.
  • TheHeat, on 05/16/2008, -7/+3I quit for a month, and then started back up - I still maintain not because of addiction, but simply because I enjoyed it - not needed it.

    It's all will power and discipline. I often times go out to dinner with my friends and don't order anything, just to discipline myself. Have you ever watched your friends eat ribs, steak, hamburgers, and been able to resist? It's harder than it sounds. DISCIPLINE!
    • Matri, on 05/16/2008, -1/+8If you had discipline you wouldn't have started on it again.
    • reddikilowatt, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Takes 3 months (on average) to totally get rid of the cravings. Lots of people make it a month.
  • OKeric, on 05/16/2008, -0/+5What do you all think of smoking only when you're drinking? I smoke all the time when I'm drinking beers, it's like I'm only addicted to them when drunk.
    • Tweekster, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2Some people can do it, others cannot.

      I realized I am not one of those people, but i do know people that will never become a regular smoker.

      If you feel like it. go for it, the negative health impacts are very minimal in those cases.
      • psykik, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4Thanks for the medical advice, Dr. Tweekster!
    • Verytastycheese, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Linking the habits makes it even harder to quit when you do try to...
  • zardoz73, on 05/16/2008, -2/+26Ten years of smoking, and last June I quit for 6 months. Unfortunately, around New Years' I started again and I'm almost to my old daily rate. I suck.

    Going to read Allen Carr's book again, it's the best way to quit. Wish me luck!
    • xptoast, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2I wish you the best of luck. I know you can do it. Go willpower!!!
    • julianrod, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3I read Allen Carr's book, and that was that. 3 years now...
  • soot, on 05/16/2008, -0/+20If you've never smoked -- Don't start.
    • ileftfark, on 05/16/2008, -0/+6So simple, but so spot-on. I'm one of the ones that tried it and found I liked it. Now, I wish I could just drop it and not think about it ever again. If only I had listened... but then again, I'd have learned nothing on my own. Just a tough price to pay.
      • Chachuka, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Not true. You CAN just drop it. Your previous actions have brought you to this point in your life; they are not mistakes; without this karma, you would not be capable of understanding the kind of powerful effort necessary to quit smoking.

        So what if we've started? So what if we've attempted to quit a hundred times? What is it exactly that connects your experiences in your mind? What is it exactly that does not allow for this present moment to exist independent of all previous moments?

        If you wish it, say it aloud.
    • ZombieSociety, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1This is true, don't start. Unless you love not looking cool.
  • arnmsctt, on 05/16/2008, -1/+9Cold turkey for seven months after five years of a pack a day.

    Now I smoke turkeys after sex
  • cman12, on 05/16/2008, -0/+5Interesting Information. I started quitting a week ago and it's been tough but i feel good about it. Using the patch and it's a lifesaver.
    • artfiend77, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1It just gets better and easier with time.
    • Tweekster, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1That thing that helped me was thinking about my body being nicotine free, and how it will no longer be in your brain.
    • xptoast, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Keep it up. You can do it:)
  • speel, on 05/16/2008, -3/+3Does hookah count?
    • Dudernahada, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I wondered the same thing and i think it does. If you look on the sheesh container it says it contains nicotine. I had a hookah and was trying to quit and i had to get rid of it and now i started again but have no hookah... =(
    • speel, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Whyyyy! Lol go buy a new one and we'll smoke together,
  • superrad, on 05/16/2008, -15/+15F*ck this article. I smoke cause i like it. If you don't smoke, don't try and get me to quit.
    Everyone acts like they care for one another, when in reality, everyone is selfish and doesn't give a Sh*t about anyone else.
    If i want to quit, i will, i don't need Tv commercials, and magazine ad's in my face telling me what and when i should do.
    • dopplerdog, on 05/16/2008, -1/+9Sorry to hear that noone you know gives a ***** about you. Must be tough.

      In any case, why are you getting so worked up about this article? This article is aimed at people who want to quit but can't. It's not for those that are happy making billionaires even richer, at the expense of their own health. Feel free to skip the article and read something else.

      Unless, of course, it hit a soft spot you're desperately trying to hide....
      • ileftfark, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4Yeah, superrad had a "tone" to his comment, but he has a point- many non-smokers talk to smokers as if they want them to quit for their own good, when it really boils down to "I don't want to sit in a smoky bar" or "I don't want to pay higher health insurance because of your habit", etc. Just be honesty, and you'll get honesty in return. An open discourse is always the best way to approach a topic.
        • SpeedSteamBoat, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2No, if I didn't want to sit in a smoky bar I would lobby my state legislature to outlaw smoking in public venues. I wish that others wouldn't smoke because I've seen people die of lung cancer, and it's not something I would wish on my worst enemy. The cynicism in this thread is a little overwhelming.
      • geegel, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1It all boils down to political correctness. 100 years ago it was PC to call blacks *****. Today it's PC to try shoving an insipid "healthy" standard to everybody. We have really come a long way didn't we?
    • Pezza131214, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3I have to sympathize with you; I feel as if I'm being bombarded with anti-smoking persuasions. That's fine and necessary, especially for those under the legal age of smoking in their country, but ultimately it's an adult decision. Helping people quit is a great thing, but trying to force people to quit with taxes and legislation is questionable at best.

      I smoke a cigarette a day for 5 or 6 days out of the week; I get more feeling from them that way. When the pack is gone, I usually don't buy another for a week or two. I guess I'm what the article described as a "chipper".

      I try to be a good smoker; I don't smoke around children, I don't smoke indoors, i don't smoke near entrances, I throw my cigarette butts out; all this and I still have people shooting me dirty looks. People even do the "cough cough" thing if I light up outside. The funny thing is that they approach me to do so.

      Christopher Hitchens, in an essay about smoking bans, said, "There have been moments of reverie, wreathed in smoke and alone ... which I would not have exchanged for a year of ordinary existence." I have to say, I feel much the same way.

      Hitchens' Essay, which I suggest you read, simply because it's well written:
      http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/may/14/heal ...
    • reddikilowatt, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2Well, someday you may feel different. When that day comes, you'll have some extra tools available to help kick your addictions.
    • Chachuka, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2To you, the world is certainly selfish.
    • gullevek, on 05/16/2008, -4/+2I luckily live in a country that doesn't try to force feed the you-have-to-quit-now BS like in Europe and US.

      If I want to smoke, then let me smoke and don't annoy me with you have to quick crap.
    • SpeedSteamBoat, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Damn, you sound like a miserable person. I am sorry.
  • isntreal, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2Anyone who's interested in quitting but has had trouble should look into Zyban... I've quit for a year and a half before, and went cold turkey that time, but I had a much harder time trying to stop this time. I'm taking wellbutrin for other reasons, it's the same medication as zyban under a different name, and I quit smoking pretty much effortlessly 3 weeks ago. After a couple of weeks on the drug, the craving/desire to smoke simply disappeared. Just thought I would share because smoking sucks.
    • ileftfark, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3That's good that you quit smoking, but substituting one chemical dependency for another isn't the ideal situation.
  • taradisiac, on 05/16/2008, -5/+4Smoking always seemed to me like a sheepish thing to do. I was - and still am - the kind of person who goes "Everyone else is doing it, so maybe I shouldn't do it". And that worked for me.
    • dopplerdog, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4The most vulnerable time is when you're in your teens. And advertisers knew this: here in Oz, it was legal to advertise cigarettes until the 70s, and they always showed happy successful young people having fun smoking. And most significantly, in _groups_. When you are in your teens you are most vulnerable to peer group pressure - and you're willing to risk the most to "fit in" with the group. When I was a teen there was tremendous pressure for guys to smoke just because almost all the girls we knew did.

      Once you're older, you recoginise this for the crock it is, and you no longer willingly take risks for mere social acceptance. And you know that girls who smoke stink and aren't such good kissers - you're better off with the ones that don't smoke.
      • taradisiac, on 05/16/2008, -0/+0The thing is I never caved to peer preassure. I'm kinda proud of being above that.
  • jcaino, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1I know a bunch of people that try to "quit". But they'll make excuses when going to a bar, party, etc., often resulting in them buying a pack of cigarettes for just that occasion. But of course, they have some left over afterwards...which they can then easily justify smoking. You want to quit? Just don't buy anymore! Cold turkey really is the only way to go if you want to quit.
  • duhduhduh, on 05/16/2008, -0/+13Been without the butts for six days, Still ready to kill everyone.
  • antiorblkflag9, on 05/16/2008, -2/+9These posts just piss people off and turn into "RAAHH LET US SMOKE AND LEAVE US ALONE" vs. "RAHHH NO ITS BAD FOR YOU AND ANNOYING." So, why don't we just stop?
  • louiemantia, on 05/16/2008, -0/+10⌘Q smoking.
  • Marijuana, on 05/16/2008, -5/+7Stick with weed, it's the best vice you'll ever have.
  • cambob76, on 05/16/2008, -5/+4Smokers are jokers.
  • senselessending, on 05/16/2008, -0/+8i read this book because a fellow digger posted it in a comment about a smoking story a LONG time ago. And, I'm really glad i did. "The easy way to stop smoking" by Allen Carr changed my life. it doesn't use ***** scare tactics, it just logically dismantles any arguement or reason why one would smoke and i've been cold turkey for ::counts:: 31 weeks now. And, I'm happier and healthier than ever. I know this ***** sounds like an infomercial, but it worked for me so yeah... get off the sinking ship, its not too late. =/
    • farTart, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2me too - and it's STOP smoking, not QUIT.

      Quitting is hard, stopping is easy! :)

      Read the damn book and you'll understand...
    • julianrod, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3I read the book and quit the moment I finished it, 3 years ago.
  • ileftfark, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4I smoke, but am smart enough to know how bad my nasty little habit is. I've made some half-hearted attempts at quitting, but it's ***** hard. To my friends who don't smoke, it's tough to explain the attraction. Honestly, as a pack-a-day smoker, quitting smoking is tantamount to quitting eating. That's what it feels like. Yeah, you can go hours or even a day without it, but after a while, your brain turns on you and tells you its necessary to GET SOME ***** NICOTINE NOW! Articles like this help to explain what many of us smokers are going through. I don't want sympathy- my decisions are exactly that. I just want people to understand that many times, people that smoke aren't necessarily selfish bastards intent on polluting your airspace (although some of them may be), but people that have developed a habit that is tough to break. Props to some of you diggers who have dropped it. I'll meet up with you when I catch my breath.
    • caramba420, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Seriously. The longest I ever went was 2 months. Then I started dating a girl that smoked, and that was the end of that. I felt great while off it, though. I almost instantly went from being in good shape to being in great shape. Boundless energy. Now I'm right back where I started. This ***** blows!
    • bluedostoevsky, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1it's good you try. it's interesting that you parallel not smoking with not eating because i've been a wrestler for 8 years and sometimes i've had to have almost no food for multiple days at a time to make weight. your analogy helped a lot and i'll keep it in mind.
    • YoctoYotta, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I cried after I smoked my last cigarette, I was seriously scared what life would be like without it. I was getting physically sick from smoking though, I didn't really have a choice. I know some old winners in their 80s that have smoked since they were 10 and are still going strong, It's your body, do what you want to it I say, ignore the righteous assholes that tell you otherwise.
  • digdugdog, on 05/16/2008, -1/+10I got my (now) wife to quit by creating a calendar which started with her regular amount of smokes per day for an entire week and then reduced that total by one each week. By the time she got to the last month she didn't even want the ones that were allotted to her. Before I came up with the system it was a huge sore point in our relationship and threatened to put an end to everything. The thing was she wanted to quit but just wasn't able to manage going cold turkey. You have to WANT to do it!
    • MainframeF4, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Thats a good idea. I smoke a pack every 2 days and i am going to try your idea. Congrats to your wife for quitting.
    • Dudernahada, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1those last words are so true...
      • Chachuka, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1And yet, you have to get yourself to want it. So in the end, you truly must just go ahead and face the inevitable: want it!
    • hobophobe, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1If someone created a software program or some other 'automatic' system to track behavioral changes like that would it be helpful?
    • reddikilowatt, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I did the same thing, and evenly divided each one throughout the day to help break up the patterns. Very difficult, but got me thinking about how much time I spent smoking and helped to reinforce that most of them were habit related, not physical addictions.
  • sparsely, on 05/16/2008, -2/+2Conclusion: people will quit when they get ready: don't nag them. This looks like an advertisement for the drug companies.
    We know the health benefits/problems, already. The fake pharmaceuticals that attempt to address human problems generally end up compounding those problems.
  • caramba420, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1Yeah, but what they don't tell you is how cool you look while smoking. Where would James Dean have got without cigarettes?
  • diggester, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1http://image.linkinn.com/userfiles/Image/SmokingOm ...
  • jjef, on 05/16/2008, -0/+6i'm about to hit 1.5 years after quitting cold turkey. hell yes.
  • maxwalter, on 05/16/2008, -5/+3“It’s more difficult to get off nicotine than heroin or cocaine.” - Dr. David Abrams

    my ass its more addicting then herion, i smoked for a while and quit with out much of a problem. You don't get dope sick from cigarettes.

    buried.
    • Dudernahada, on 05/16/2008, -0/+0It's relative though. I don't know how much or how long you smoked but nicotine may have been half as addictive for you as it may be for me. Feel lucky that it was that easy for you to quit smoking. For some people quitting can be a huge challenge, it is for me and it's a nasty circle.
    • reddikilowatt, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Yea, I think the horse would be a little tougher.
    • YoctoYotta, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2I think their point is that it's tougher to quit, not necessarily more painful when you are quitting. Quitting caffeine has to be among the worst withdrawals though in extreme cases. After I quit smoking cigarettes, I started drinking a lot of coffee as a crutch . . . I would brew a 12 cup pot of coffee, toss it into my green steel Colman thermos and bring it work with me every day and finish every drop in about 3 hours, and on top of that, I'd get a 16 ounce coffee with my disgusting Jack in the Box breakfast every morning.as well. This went on for two years.

      After reading that such a ridiculous amount of coffee might be the source of an acne problem that I was starting to have at the time, I quit drinking it straight up and ended up spending three days completely unable to function. My legs couldn't support me if I tried to stand up, I couldn't keep any food down, and my mind was completely shut down by the worst headaches I've ever had in my life. Caffeine is a helluva drug.
    • ZombieSociety, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2Well, my buddy got off heroin and cocaine but can't quit smoking. So, figure that one out.
  • teh_techie, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1I was a pack a day smoker for 6 years. I quit cold turkey... for about a year... then slowly decided I have the willpower to have a cigar every now and then. I've been an occasional smoker (2 times a month or so) for the last 3 years.

    Willpower = Amazing
  • Kegher, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1cold turkey isn't that bad as long as you really want to quit
    in other words, you have to kinda wait for the right moment, for me it came suddenly out of no real reason I just was sick of lighting up the same old stick i'd seen for 5 years while knowing everytime it was bad for me. strange feeling but I never had serious sideaffects from quiting. after a day or two smell and taste came crashing back like something I had entirely forgotten about. Made it real easy to not want it anymore
  • Billistic, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2Cigarette companies plan on making gum the new cigarette.

    Just look at the packaging of 5 gum and stride.

    Soon you'll see cross promotions "the juicy fruit you love, the nicorette you need"
  • Dudernahada, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1I'm 17 and been smoking for a year now. it sucks, i don't like being dependent on smoking and how it makes me unable to do sports like i should but at the same time i like smoking. I tried quitting and made it to two weeks and broke but while i wasnt smoking, the hardest part wasn't the actual nicotine cravings but just the fact that i missed smoking, i just wanted a cigarette because i enjoy it, not because of the soothing, i mean it does that but yea... i think you need to be a smoker to understand the fact that one just misses it...
    • reddikilowatt, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Better to quit now than wait until you're 30.

      The nicotine cravings are what you missed, really. I've been smoke free for about 7 years now, and I still sometimes crave one, but it only lasts for a second or so. Nicotine is a hell of a sneaky drug.
      • Dudernahada, on 05/16/2008, -0/+0wait you're saying I was craving the cravings or just saying I was actually craving nicotine still?
        • smackphat, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Smoking makes you bad at sex and shrinks your penis. Seriously. Knock it off.
        • reddikilowatt, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Sorry. I didn't proofread that statement. Typically, it takes about 3 months cold turkey to get through the addiction. Your brain is telling you that you miss the "pleasurable" aspects of smoking, but it is just your nervous system playing "good cop/bad cop." It gets so bad at some point, you will start dreaming about smoking. Not doing anything else, just sitting at, say the kitchen table, smoking. Very powerful.

          Oh, and yes, your tool will be a little bigger after you quit. At some point, food will taste great. One morning I woke up and felt just so relaxed I can't describe it (closest thing is that just after sex feeling). And, you will likely gain a few pounds, but the trade-off is worth it. Use the money you save to join a gym.
  • JangFei, on 05/16/2008, -3/+3Quitting smoking is easy. All you have to do is not smoke.
  • lucas911993, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1What happened to point b) ?
  • YoctoYotta, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3“It’s more difficult to get off nicotine than heroin or cocaine.”

    Dang, I was able to quite smoking after a pack a day for 5 years, maybe I should reconsider those speedballs I've always heard so much about. No harm right?
    • Tweekster, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1That quote is really one of those stupid statements that keep getting repeated.

      Anyone want to compare the cravings of cocaine vs nicotine.

      I think I know which wins.
  • krahzee, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Been about 3 months or so.

    I quit in an unusual way: I got the flu. Bad. Since I had already slept for three days straight (Thanks NyQuil!), the physical addiction had subsided. Then it was just a case of telling myself that I was mentally strong enough to give it up.
    I also put gaming and sitting in front of the PC in general on hold for a period of 2 weeks, since I noticed I always smoked more doing those things. (ie. cigarette after cigarette while browsing, or the smoke between maps of COD 4 Multi to calm the nerves.

    BTW, at 32 I had smoked for roughly 15-16 years before quitting, including one period where I was easily 2-3 packs of Newports a day.
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