My Wife wants me to quit smoking!@!

[wolfcreek]

After nearly 30 years of cigerette addiction, it's time to quit. Please, provide useful tips and testimonials. PS: Wife is a part-time smoker also!

[Spiff]

I've been thinking of all the changes that might go on as a result of not smoking and I'm scaring the hell out of myself.

And the consequences that very probably will result if you don't stop smoking don't scare the hell out of you?

[CJ Wolf]

A little cheep trick I picked up, if your not going to go cold turkey, use dry snuff. Snort a little every time you start feeling the craving. Much better then the patch, which made me sick. better then the gum, which taste like crap, cost is way cheep and better for you as you are not shocking the system and making you fat.

http://www.snuff.com/

[MotleyGirl70]

Go cold turkey and buy lots of gum.

I smoked a half a pack a day up until a year and half ago. I also gave up coffee/caffeine too.

You'll notice when you quit smoking that your sense of smell and taste will get much better.

Quit the ciggies now and think of the health benefits, not to mention how much money you'll save.

Your wife needs to quit too.

[cgk]

BFLR

[southernnorthcarolina]

I quit 20 years ago, just after grad school. I may not have the most relevant experience, in that I was never a heavy smoker. But my addiction became clear to me when I realized that as I went to lighter, and then ultra-light cigs, I "automatically" increased the number per I smoked. So, 3 or 4 Vantages a day, then 6 or 7 Vantage Lights a day, then 10 or so Vantage Ultra-Lights a day, and finally 3/4 of a pack of Barclays a day. That creep up in consumption was a red flag to me that my smoking wasn't merely a "habit," but an addiction. What had started as a night-time, with-a-beer-at-a-party habit morphed into a between-classes smoke, and two or three smokes with black coffee after (or for) breakfast.

Even given that relatively light nicotine consumption, quitting wasn't easy. As I recall, I "quit" three times (recall that Mark Train said something like "quitting smoking is easy; I've done it hundreds of times"). Each "quitting" was cold turkey, and the third one finally took. No weight gain, but then, as noted, my habit was much lighter than that of many others.

Some things that worked for me:

• Granny Smith apples, at least two a day. Cigs have a laxative effect, as does coffee, and if you cut down on coffee at the same time as you are quitting cigs, well, you might tend to get "plugged up," at least until your body adjusts to your new regime. Hence, up your fiber intake. Raw carrots are good, too. Plus, raw fruits and veggies give your mouth something to do, and they won't put on the pounds.

• Drink more water, for similar reasons.

• Brush your teeth several times a day. Again, it gives your mouth something to do, and reinforces your vastly improved breath, which you will quickly become aware of.

• A few days after you quit, it will hit you like a bomb: smokers smell absolutely foul. That was you, pal, a few days ago. Do you want to go back?

• This is going to sound snooty, but look around you, and take note of who is smoking. Increasingly, there is a negative correlation between educational level and smoking; between achievement level and smoking; and between income level and smoking. Furthermore, the overall adult smoking percentage is plummeting -- not just declining, but plummeting: from well over 50% in the 1960s to about 25% today. Maybe it's peer pressure, maybe it's job restrictions, maybe it's government restrictions and higher taxes, maybe it's reluctance to be seen smoking in front of your kids, and maybe (I here don my asbestos boxers) it's reluctance to be perceived as stupid.

King James I of England (who was, oddly enough, the same guy as King James VI of Scotland) described smoking thus, over 400 years ago: "A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless." True then, true now.

From the heart of the tobacco belt, I send best wishes for your success.

[cindyh]

The Commit lozenge works well. Education about quitting helps too. You learn what others have experienced and many on the same path as you will offer support. Check out
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/how2quit.htm
http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/

It's one of the best things you will do for yourself.

[Melusine]

My husband and I quit on New Year's Eve. I had been a smoker for 20 years. We're using the patch and it seems to be working quite well. That's not to say that it isn't difficult. I've been dreaming about smoking and there are times when I've almost screamed because I want a cigarette so badly. But it's easier than doing it cold turkey.

This is just my opinion of course, but I think it's important for your wife to quit, too. My husband and I have never been successful when one of us has tried to quit and the other one hasn't.

Good luck to you.