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I'm sick of smoking. Sick of it. I'm tired of coughing and sore throats and headaches, spending money and smelly clothes, and being scared of the health consequences. So I'm attempting to quit for the umpteenth time and I REALLY want to make it this time. Wish me luck!

I have patches and lozenges, and pretty sure I have the proper motivation in place. I work from home so hopefully the stabby feelings won't be so terrible

Any tips to help a girl out? If you successfully quit, what helped you?

Quitting cigarettes was easy once menthol brands were banned. Any other types made me gag.

To ward off the nicotine cravings i switched to vaping. Started out at 18 mg. Now that strength would kill me lol.

I either get a 3 or zero. Whichever they have in stock. Even in vaping they are trying to get rid of the "flavours". My favorite menthol brand was stopped. The one i get now is more harsh.

I was told to get the CBD vape juice when i was in pain and omg it worked so much better than any med the docs gave me.

One bottle of menthol juice will last me at least two weeks. My "habit" is more about having something in my hand that i can stick in my mouth. Replacing with a pencil or whatever doesnt work.

After smoking for 20 years i thought i would go nuts without my smokes.

Good luck. Hou can do it

I vaped for years after quitting. That first couple of days were rough though. You have to just REFUSE to touch a regular cigarette. Keep your equipment charged, clean, and ready. There's something in a regular cigarette that you just don't get from vaping, and you're going to crave it bad.

Here's the downside though... I didn't have a battery explode, but I did have one do a sudden discharge and shocked the hell out of my hands. I had somehow boggled the mod, like I was going to drop it right after a battery change. Hell, maybe I had put them in wrong. Anyway, the electricity discharged through two of my fingers on the left hand and one on the right. This was last spring and I still feel like I've got nerve damage. Nothing terrible, just very sensitive mild pain when the skin is touched. I quit vaping that day. I had really transferred my cigarette addiction to vaping too, so I was super surprised at how easy it was to give the vaping up.

Bottom line is that you're probably always going to miss smoking to some small degree. But I don't think about it most days and would never take it back up again. That is, not unless I had a terminal diagnosis. Then, I'm doing whatever the hell I want.

My sister just went cold turkey though. She took a cigarette filter and a plastic straw and made herself a "cigarette" for holding and puffing while she was surfing the internet in the evenings because that's when and where she was most used to smoking. One of the most upsetting aspects to quitting is that you've got that habit of handling the cigarettes and the oral fixation. She said sunflower seeds helped too. It takes time to hull them so you're not just sitting around gobbling everything in sight. For the first few months, you might reach for one without thinking about it and then end up REALLY upset, so try to replace the habit with other small treats.

If it helps you to know it though, I had gotten to the point where I had this really awful smoker's cough and this embarrassing need to clear my throat all the time... and even though I was vaping instead, that cough cleared up in a couple of weeks. My clothes smelled better too, so there was that. I wasn't really happy that my taste in food and coffee had changed a little, but being without that cough makes the irritation worth it.

My mother died with advanced emphysema but didn't quit until she literally could not physically get to a cigarette anymore. So that coughing was a part of her life for forty years. She couldn't get through a conversation or have a laugh without breaking down into horrible coughing fits. She would disconnect her oxygen and then go smoke. It was crazy, but she just wouldn't stop. So yeah, Ellie... getting rid of that cough and the phlegmmy lungs is WORTH IT.

I have never been a smoker, I just wanted to tell you I am so very proud of you and psyched for you. I have heard that quitting smoking is harder than some drugs.

I watched my dad struggle with smoking through the years. So many times people will suggest that you just do not have any cigarettes available to you… None in the house at all or in the car or in the garage or anywhere. But I can tell you that when my dad finally quit smoking, after smoking for 25 years, two packs of unfiltered cigarettes every day, he simply took his cigarette half smoked out of his mouth, put it back in the pack of cigarettes and put the pack of cigarettes back in his front pocket and carried them around for months.

I say no matter what way you choose, it will probably be tough, but you are definitely up for the challenge! You sound determined and excited, and I’m pulling for you. You can do this!!!

My mom had to have surgery and they didn't allow smoking in the hospital. She determined that she'd quit when she went into the hospital.

I haven't had to quit smoking, but friends have. Their suggestions were to change your habits. For example, if you sit in a certain chair to drink coffee and have a smoke, don't sit in that chair to drink your coffee. Break the connection between your actions around smoking helped them quit.

Another friend set aside the money she used to buy smokes to make a major purchase.

Good luck!

[This message edited by leafields at 1:46 PM, Saturday, January 15th]

Way to go Ellie! I know you can do this, you have conquered so much already, you got this!

My dad and brother both quit cold turkey, and haven’t gone back too it…. My dad had smoked for 40 years, it can be done!!

Do it however works for you!

You will start feeling healthier every day!

My BIL popped sugar less candy in his mouth when he wanted a cigarette. He also started walking to add a new behavior instead of sitting outside after dinner and smoking.

You've got this!!!!

Ellie, my parents quit smoking when I was a kid. My mom said that she realized she liked the tactile sensation of striking the match, so she would transfer that to lighting a candle when she wanted to light a cigarette. Then she would enjoy the candle sensations: warmth, scent, light.
Best wishes!

Non smoker here - no advice on the physical how to that hasn't already been mentioned.

I did help motivate my other half though - tried for years to give up, and finally came up with a plan, pre vaping times, with patches etc. It helped, but kept relapsing.

I worked out how much his smoking actually cost - gave it him on a spreadsheet - and worked out he could afford a really cool car he wanted, on low cost finance, for more or less that monthly amount.

I let that sink in. We visited the showroom. He started dreaming. He knew if he started smoking again, it would have to go back.....

22 years later, we still have that car and he still doesn't smoke. It wasn't easy, it was bloody hard, but you can do it. Best of luck and good planning!!!x

I have never been a smoker, I just wanted to tell you I am so very proud of you and psyched for you. I have heard that quitting smoking is harder than some drugs.

Me too! I never smoked either but I KNOW it would be very hard for me to quit. You can do this!

Thanks for the tips everyone!

I'm avoiding vaping for the moment, just cus I know I'd get hooked on that too.

Not sure about where everyone else is, but my lil corner of the world is bein 10 shades of fucking crazy this weekend. But even so I managed a trip to target and didn't even scream at anyone except internally so I'm feeling very accomplished

I've decided to reward myself after every month. My smokes are $10 a pack, and I do a pack a day, so have decided to put cash in a box every week for my smoke money and then buy myself a present at the month mark. Feb 14 if I've managed to stay quit, I'm gonna buy a pat mcgrath eyeshadow palette!

My Dad quit. Dad started to smoke at 6, he quit at 84. He put his cigarettes in a tree about 40 feet from the house. He used hard candy. He tried gum and patches didn’t work for him. Making the cigarettes inconvenient to get to helped. It is a difficult thing to do. I wish you much strength.

Putting the money away and rewarding yourself is a great idea!!!

I had no idea cigarettes were that expensive.

I can only share what my mom did to quit smoking after over 50 years.
She very slowly and gradually took hours off the day where she wasn’t allowed to smoke. At first maybe from 10 PM to midnight for a week, then added 10 PM to 2 AM, then until 6 AM, then from 8 AM to 10 AM and again from noon to 2 PM…
It wasn’t necessarily long, extended periods at first, but maybe she had 2-3 hours in-between where she didn’t smoke. Those periods got longer and more frequent over time. She did this very gradually – like over half a year.
She also limited where she could smoke. At first she decided not to smoke in the dining room, then the living room. Then only at her seat in the kitchen. Eventually only in the garage.
As things went on she decreased the number of cigarettes per day.
Eventually she was only smoking 2-3 spread over the day, so one day when a pack was finished… she just stopped.

My smokes are $10 a pack,

I had no idea cigarettes were that expensive

Try double that up here in the great white north. Ridiculous prices!