[Randy Larsen]

My first task after retiring last week is to quit smoking. I've quit before, but gained a lot of weight and couldn't function at my job so I started again.

I know many here on FR have quit smoking and I would like to hear how they did it.

Please help me on my quest to be smoke free?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The company I worked for got me a new Chevy Caprice in March of 1986. I couldn’t bring myself to smoke in it, so I quit.

[Peter W. Kessler]

12/9/09

Picked up an e-cig.

Threw away most of a pack of Marlboros.

Haven’t smoked since.

I CAN BREATHE!!!

[rockinqsranch]

I smoked for fifty years Randy. I was told how hard it was to quit many times over the years, and believed it.

April 9, 2009 I stashed my last pack of cigarettes that had a grand total of 18 cigarettes left in it in one of the little cupboards up over the stove. That’s the same cupboard that has about a cup of Scotch still in the bottle from when I quit drinking alcoholic beverages in 1997, but that’s another story.

From that moment on I simply ignored any urge to smoke. That was it. Never smoked since, and last year I threw out the cigarettes that I had stashed above the stove in 2009.

There was none of the tearing out by the roots of my hair. No bashing of the head against the wall. No tears, no pain, just ignored the urges, and kept on truckin’.

BTW I’ve never had a drink since 1997, but I don’t throw away the Scotch as I did the cigarettes, ‘cause someday somebody who does drink might drop by, and I can let them have the stuff. The Cigs would have been pretty stale after two years above the stove, so in the trash they went.

I am now on a diet to lose about sixty pounds, and I do accredit that weight gain to quitting smoking. I have no problem with dieting at this time. I’m over anything that might be associated with quitting smoking after three years me thinks.

Hopefully us Randy’s are alike that way, and you Randy can quit smoking as easily as this Randy did.

[umgud]

One time, I quit smoking, chasing wild women, swearing and drinkig. To this very day, that was the longest 20 minutes of my whole life,

[Ken H]

When you get the craving, look at this and repeat, "I'm just like Obama".

[melsec]

Freeper dearolddad suggested I go see a hypnotherapist as he and two friends had done so some years earlier and had had success. My wife and I trudged off to see the Psychologist who also did hypnotherapy. We butted out our last smokes as we entered the office, had the session, listened to the CD that the pshycologist gave us of the session for a couple of weeks. We have never had another cigarette and it is two years hence.

I had not given hypnosis any credence before going.

Mel

[terycarl]

the only way to quit is to quit....I smoked 3 packs a day for years and one night, in a bar, after bowling night, I ran out of cigarettes. There was a machine there and no lack of cigarettes, they were 35 cents a pack, I told my wife that I was going to quit and I did...right there, right then!!!

HOWEVER since I didn't want tobacco to rule my life forever, I have intentionally smoked a cigarette here and there, probably 50 or so in 25 years just to know that I was in charge. (they tasted great and I could have gone bact to 3 packs a day instantly)....it does not get easier as you go along....you just have to make up your mind and DO IT !!!!!

[Ol' Sox]

I quit smoking cigarettes 13 years ago at the same time as my wife. She used the patch, I used the gum. It took about two weeks before I was comfortable physically, although I was somewhat at a loss what to do with my hands, and a cup of coffee was just not the same for awhile. So, I carried a nice new pen to hold onto, and switched from coffee to Pepsi for about 3 or 4 months. I’m very glad I am rid of the damned things.

[Rastus]

I was hoping this was a thread about Sister Simone Campbell.

[EEGator]

I smoked less, then used dip, then sunflower seeds. This is over a couple of months. I also drank no booze during this time.(well, I drank a couple times)

P.S. Did you tell anyone off, or hit on any hotties at your retirement party?

[KSCITYBOY]

I did it my self and about the same years - you can do it.

[elder5]

Good luck.
I quit after 25+ years cold turkey.

I drank A LOT of water(Flush out your system) for 4 days and a lot of prayer.

I’ve been smoke free since 11am Feb. 27 2012.

[upchuck]

Randy, from my personal experience, there’s only one way to quit smoking: cold turkey. Gum, pills, etc. They’re just crutches. Until you develop the guts to just quit, you’re just fooling yourself.

I don’t mean to mean. That’s just the way it is.

Now here’s another side: I smoked my last cigarette on February 24, 1999. It’s been 12 1/2 years. And I still want a cigarette every day. I smoked 2-3 packs a day for 43 years. Powerful, powerful addiction.

Now here’s another side: I know now that if I had not stopped when I did I’d probably be dead today.

Good luck Randy. You can do it. It takes character and guts. You CAN win!

[Chode]

once you get past the automatic ones it's easy...

but the automatic ones are hard, the first one of the day, the one with coffee, the one after you eat, the one when you get in the car, the one with a beer, etc

once you get past them it's all down hill from there

[Arrowhead1952]

Step 1. Put a half pack of cigs in the glove compartment of your vehicle and let them dry out.

Step 2. Keep smoking for several weeks.

Step 3. Go fishing or some other activity you enjoy with no fresh cigs.

Step 4. Grab and light one of the dried out cigs.

Step 5. Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, and throw them away.

Worked for me after smoking over 30 years.

[upchuck]

IMHO, E-cigs are nothing more than another type of crutch. You need to kick them to. If you don’t, you can’t say you’ve quit smoking.

[Wiser now]

I quit in 1995. I used the patches, which were brand new and a very expensive prescription at the time. I chewed gum and cried. A lot. I had been a two packs a day girl.
However, just two days after I got the prescription for the patches, my best friend was diagnosed with lung cancer, even though she had quit ten years before.
I spent the next year driving her to and from chemo and radiation appointments.
She died almost a year to the day from her diagnosis. My husband’s father died the same day. Somehow I managed to get through that time without picking cigarettes up again. I did gain weight. I lost some of it (60 lbs) this past year by cutting my carbohydrate intake in half. That is an ongoing process.
Good luck. If I can do it, anyone can.

[VRW Conspirator]

Dang it. Ok. I’ll join ya.

[TexasTransplant]

You can not quit until you actually want to ...
For me it took burning a hole in the leather seat of my brand new Ford Bronco ... was really po’d ... crumpled my pack of Camels and haven’t touched one since ... (that was 1989, I had smoked since 1970) easiest thing I have ever done, never looked back.

TT

PS I had quit dozens of times before

[informavoracious]

Quit Cold Turkey during a wicked bout of bronchitis. Absent that, change your routine regarding things you associate with smoking. Go on a vacation. If you smoke with coffee in the morning, switch to tea. If you have a smoke after meals, go for a walk instead. If you smoke in your car, drive your spouse's car. It's important to break those relationships of things you associate with smoking. Once the nicotine washes out of your system, you may be able to resume your coffee drinking, etc. It may be that your retirement in and of itself will break the routines. Not to mention the reduced stress.

Oh, and you can save the money you are not spending on cigs in a jar and watch it add up. Best of luck you you. You CAN do it.