Any former smokers have any usefull advice?

[slowtyper]

Check out the ecigarette thread here before. Switching over to them is simple and so smooth for many people. Then if you wish to quit nicotine all together after that (not everyone does), its very easy.

 

[chinacats]

Best of luck--be the man and make it happen! It took me a trip to the hospital and a scare while there to make me finally quit. I had smoked for almost 30 years (~1-1/2 packs a day) when that occurred and still have occasional cravings. If I smoked one today, I would be full time by tomorrow.

Cheers!

 

[Lefty]

This is a great thread.

My advice as a guy who never smoke...cigarettes...is to either quit the restaurant industry, or to just flat out not smoke! My brother smoked for years and one day realized he felt like crap. He has a very addictive personality, and he applied that to his determination to quit. He essentially became addicted to quitting. It's gotta be 7 or 8 years later and he hasn't smoked since. Not even a cigar with me...dick!

 

[Troy G]

All my friends who ever legitimately quit did it cold turkey.

 

[Chuckles]

I use nicotine lozenges. Like them way better than ecigs. I am hooked on the lozenges now but as far as I can tell they aren't killing me. No smell, no standing out in the cold and no guilt aside from money spent.

 

[Jmadams13]

No help here, I still enjoy smoking... But my mother and father did the gum, worked for them. It took them, my dad the longest, a good six months with nicorete gum to quit. Friends of mine tried the inhaler deal, and worker too. The main thing is you have to have the want. If you don't want, you wont

 

[jazzybadger]

Ever thought of electronic cigarettes? That's what worked for me and my wife. Can't even smoke real cigarettes now, and even the smell of them sort of gets to me in this day and age.
I used to smoke Kool greens. Been doing it for three years, and gradually bringing my nicotine levels down from the juice I order.

If you're interested I can go more in depth about them, but either way DO NOT buy the crappy ones from grocery stores/malls/gas stations. They are pieces of crap.

 

[K-Fed]

Thanks guys/ gals for all the advice and words of encouragement. I wore the patch for a couple days and nothing for the last two though I did slip last night after a couple drinks with the girl. She still smokes, and between that the drinks it was really tough to resist the crave. We did however have a good long talk and she's going to do her best to not smoke around me, and or try to stop all together. Jury is still out on the latter.

 

[turbochef422]

Your gonna feel so much better. I loved smoking. I really enjoyed it. I still wanted to smoke after the first couple of weeks when the cravings went away just because I enjoyed it. After a couple of months then I just lost interest and kinda forgot about it. Good luck.

 

[Burl Source]

Good luck with quitting.
An e cigarette has been helpful for me with cutting back.

 

[dannynyc]

If you drink, you should resolve not to drink for a month while you try to quit. Drinking and smoking are strongly associated. It took me many years to quit, after trying dozens of times and being a pack-a-day smoker. It's true that you really have to want it and be ready. I also used the patch and, as I said, stopped drinking. GOod luck! YOu can do it!

 

[franzb69]

coffee and cigarettes too. feels great to drink coffee and smoke at the same time. i agree with cutting down on the drinking. being in a pro kitchen also gets me smoking to get some stress relief.

 

[scotchef38]

I worked out how much I spent a week on smokes and then financed a new motorcycle with repayments that matched my tobacco expenditure. If I felt like a smoke then I would go for a ride knowing I couldnt afford both.Bikes provided me with more satisfaction. Everyone else is right about staying away from booze for as long as possible.If I drink a lot and am around smokers I still sometimes feel like one and sometimes have a drag or two but the next day I have zero cravings.