# How can I quit smoking soon?



## ebaker (Dec 20, 2019)

I'm unable to spend time with my family nowadays! Last week, I was unable to manage all my work due to some busy schedules and arrangements. Its been long since I have taken an appointment with the ophthalmologist. My wife Diana used to remind me about it each time. But I always forget it due to the hectic work. Yesterday, I went to a  LASER eye clinic in Toronto and the doctor took an eye exam.

The ophthalmologist confirmed diabetic retinopathy. It's caused by damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. It can also result in mild vision-related issues. Also, I came to notice that smoking is a risk factor for such eye problems. Recent studies claim that smoking increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration and even diabetic retinopathy. I'm a chain smoker and I can't imagine a day without it. How can I quit smoking soon? Please give your suggestions ASAP!


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## rkunsaw (Dec 20, 2019)

Just do it! Make up your mind you're going to quit and do it. Keep lots of snacks around at all times. eating a piece of candy can help. Yes, you will gain weight, but that'll go back to normal after you have quit completely so that you don't need the candy to stop cravings. 

Just remember the first few days are the hardest. If you relapse you'll have to go through those first few days all over again. You sure don't want that. 

You can do  it. I did.


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## Pappy (Dec 20, 2019)

Started when I was 16 and quit, cold turkey, at age 62.  I knew I was getting the start of COPD and I told myself, you freaking jerk, enough is enough. Just make your mind up and stick to it. After a couple of rough weeks you will realize it’s not so bad and start enjoying life without cigarettes.


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## old medic (Dec 20, 2019)

Quiting smoking is the easiest thing in the world to do....I used to quit 60 times a day....
The staying quit is the hard part.... Take a jar, dump your old butts in it, add some water..
Every time you want a smoke, take of the lid and take a few deep breaths over it...


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## RedAlert (Dec 20, 2019)

@ebaker 
If you almost die from CHF and COPD then have to take meds regularly....you will quit.
Trust me- unless your ready to go..
I was not. I can tell you it is the most liberating feeling not being addicted to anything! My husband has recently quit also.
Don't stop trying. I also used a red rubber band around my wrist...
Popped myself when prone to reach for them.


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## Aunt Bea (Dec 20, 2019)

Chantix worked for me but nothing will work until you are ready.

Good luck!


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## charry (Dec 20, 2019)

i started smoking at 14....then gave up aged 32 , cold turkey, my doctor went mad , he said i could of done more harm than good...anyway, i did it, but was blxxdy  hard........But felt so much better.......
then my mum gave up smok8ng ,she was 62, but since she gave up, she was permanently ill, she put on weight , and wished ,she had never stopped......saying that , shes now 94, .....


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## RadishRose (Dec 20, 2019)

Remind yourself the craving will pass. It does.
Then it comes back. Remind yourself it will pass. It does.

After a few days, the length of time between the craving and it's passing, becomes longer and longer.

In time, the craving stops altogether.

Keep your hands busy. Make something, clean something, try to keep your hands doing something. 

Think of the big pile of money you'll be saving, but most importantly, your health and pride in yourself.

Best wishes for your success!


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## Ronni (Dec 20, 2019)

There are some scientific studies that indicate nicotine may be as addictive as heroin, so no wonder many people have so much trouble quitting....I sure did.  As with any addiction, relapse is frequently part of the recovery process, so don't give up if you quit then start up again.  I did, three times before I finally quit, hopefully for good this time, back in 2008.  

I tried tapering off, and that just did NOT work.  I tried hypnosis, and that bombed too.  I tried gum, and candy, and the patch, and none of that worked either.  What finally did it for me was nicotine lozenges.  I started with the 4 mg lozenge for a couple months, then moved to the 2 mg one for a couple months, and then snapped those in half and used them that way for another few months, using less and less till one day I realized that I hadn't popped one in my mouth all day!  That's when I threw the remainder away, and knew that I was now an ex-smoker!


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## MemereG (Dec 20, 2019)

I was very motivated...I had a newborn preemie grandson, 1 1/2 lbs, that I couldn't go near with the odor of nicotine on me. It's too harsh for babies, especially preemies. I went on the patch and that, along with determination, helped me quit. Aunt Bea is right, you have to want to quit, it won't work otherwise. I also changed habits that were associated with smoking, like having a cup of coffee with a cigarette. I would drink juice, or even a soda instead. During break at work, I'd eat a piece of fruit instead of having a cigarette, just little things like that. I'd still have cravings, but they would fly right out of my mind just as fast as they came in. That was 24 years ago. Now, if I could just do that with my weight, it'd all be good!  Anyway, congratulations to everyone that won the battle, it's not easy to do.


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## rgp (Dec 20, 2019)

I'll just chime in with the others, I did it , we did it, you can as well. There is no magic bullet , no secret way.


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## StarSong (Dec 20, 2019)

At 30, DH and I wanted to have a baby.  There was strong evidence that smoking during pregnancy was dangerous to the child so we both quit six months before I attempting to conceive.  I'd been smoking 13 years by then so the addiction was strong, but my determination to finally get that monkey off our backs was stronger still. 

With the blessings and oversight of my GP we went to a stop-smoking doctor who prescribed meds that really helped with the cravings, and have been cigarette free ever since.

There's plenty of good advice above.  I'll add these thoughts:

Put a big sign up on your refrigerator or other place that says "I AM A NON SMOKER!"
See a doctor - there's plenty of help available of this. 
Change up smoking-related patterns (if you usually have a cup of coffee and internet time with your first cigarette, consider putting the coffee in a travel mug and going for a quick walk around the block instead)
NO ALCOHOL for at least 30 days.  It's so easy to backslide when slightly lubricated - plus cigarettes & alcohol go together like mac and cheese. 
Pick up a habit to keep your hands busy.
Don't stress about managing the little crutches that will help you through.  Snacks, candy, gum, whatever.  When you're clean of nicotine for a few months you can address weaning yourself off of them.
Tell everyone that you've quit.  Friends, family, your UPS driver, strangers in a grocery store.  All will give you kudos, support, and help you stay on the straight and narrow. 
Wishing you much success.  Please do keep us posted on your progress. 
Maybe this will help, too.
https://www.verywellmind.com/things-to-do-instead-of-smoking-2824746


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## Catlady (Dec 20, 2019)

My father was a lifetime chain-smoker, two packs a day guy.  One day in his early 60's he went to the doctor and the doctor saw white spots in the back of his throat.  My father quit cold-turkey.   I guess the fear of getting throat cancer was stronger than his addiction.  He lived to 82.  If he could do it, so can you.  Smoking is a nervous habit, replace it with a more benign nervous habit and that might help, #5 and number #6 in @StarSong's post above. 

Disclaimer:  I only had ONE puff at age 11 and never smoked again, I'm very grateful for that.  I feel sorry for people having to fight ANY addiction.


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## charry (Dec 20, 2019)

StarSong said:


> At 30, DH and I wanted to have a baby.  There was strong evidence that smoking during pregnancy was dangerous to the child so we both quit six months before I attempting to conceive.  I'd been smoking 13 years by then so the addiction was strong, but my determination to finally get that monkey off our backs was stronger still.
> 
> With the blessings and oversight of my GP we went to a stop-smoking doctor who prescribed meds that really helped with the cravings, and have been cigarette free ever since.
> 
> ...


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## Wren (Dec 20, 2019)

I smoked from age 14 to 42 then decided to give up for health reasons, stubbed out my last cig at midnight, New Year’s Eve and never lit another, just get on with it !


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## Pappy (Dec 20, 2019)

Aunt Bea said:


> Chantix worked for me but nothing will work until you are ready.
> 
> Good luck!
> [/QUOTE
> ...


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## twinkles (Dec 20, 2019)

i use to smoke a pack a day--i decided to try an e cigarette----very little nicotine in them --not the vapor kind  but the daily kind and i havent had a cigarette in 2 years


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## fmdog44 (Dec 20, 2019)

How often do you clean something and see the color brown? Swipe your TV screen. Is the cloth Brown? Any brown you see is second hand smoke now think what your lungs look like. Dying with tubes in your head to deliver and expel oxygen is a horrible sight. You would not choke yourself to death with both your hands yet you are doing exactly that with only one hand as you move that cigarette in to your mouth over and over and over. What other filthy poisons do you put in your mouth?


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## Catlady (Dec 20, 2019)

Healthy and sick lungs = A picture is worth a thousand words


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## win231 (Dec 20, 2019)

Remember, _things that are easy are usually not worthwhile._
I smoked for 10 years.  I quit 37 years ago.  It took three attempts & it was the hardest thing I've ever done.  No sleep for 3 days, felt like bugs on my skin, lightheadedness, etc.  It took all the stubbornness I have & I have a lot.  
I had four friends my age who didn't quit.  They're all gone - COPD, lung cancer, emphysema.


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## Mike (Dec 20, 2019)

I told the nurse at my Doctor's surgery that I would stop
and that I wouldn't let her down, I stopped after I finished
the ones that I had at home and never smoked since.

After smoking for more than 60 years I had no trouble.

If you want a really good reason, take the cost fo your daily
cigarettes, multiply by 365 days, then think about piling that
amount of money in your back yard and setting fire to it, that
really is what you are doing.

Good Luck.

Mike.


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## win231 (Dec 20, 2019)

Catlady said:


> Healthy and sick lungs = A picture is worth a thousand words
> 
> View attachment 85310


I thought that was an ad for a smoker/griller.....


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## Lc jones (Dec 20, 2019)

I came close to dying of pneumonia at the age of 30, I  quit during that close call, a friend of mine was just diagnosed with leukemia caused most likely per her doctor by smoking, she no longer smokes and has gone into remission. Quit now and live!!!!! You can do it!!!!!


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## fmdog44 (Dec 21, 2019)

This is Dick York's coffin. He was the husband in the TV series Bewitched and died from smoking. "SMOKING KILLED ME"


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## Catlady (Dec 21, 2019)

My father was a chain smoker from teenager to early 60's, then quit cold turkey.  At 82 he died of stomach cancer.  When I asked doctor how come he didn't die of lung cancer, she said cancer attacks the weakest organs.  I guess his stomach was his weakest organ.

*Smoking causes cancers* of the lung, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, cervix, colon, and rectum, as well as acute myeloid leukemia 
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/cessation-fact-sheet


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## StarSong (Dec 21, 2019)

fmdog44 said:


> View attachment 85375
> This is Dick York's coffin. He was the husband in the TV series Bewitched and died from smoking. "SMOKING KILLED ME"


I didn't know about that, but I sure remember Yul Brynner's commercial.


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## Catlady (Dec 21, 2019)

@StarSong - Video had no cc, can't hear what he was saying.   Can you tell me in a few words?


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## StarSong (Dec 22, 2019)

Catlady said:


> @StarSong - Video had no cc, can't hear what he was saying.   Can you tell me in a few words?


How odd.  It plays perfectly on my computer.  

I copied the following from the LA Times archive. (I have a paid subscription and am not sure if this article is behind a paywall, which is why I copied it instead of simply providing a link.) 


*        Yul Brynner’s Posthumous Message    *

Feb. 20, 1986

12 AM

NEW YORK — 
Yul Brynner spoke from the grave Wednesday, warning “now that I’m gone--don’t smoke,” in an eerie anti-smoking commercial released four months after the star of the “King and I” died of lung cancer.
“Now that I’m gone, I tell you: Don’t smoke, whatever you do. Just don’t smoke,” Brynner says in a throaty voice in the American Cancer Society television commercial.
Brynner, who for a time smoked five packs of cigarettes a day, died Oct. 10. He was 65. He gave his final performance three months earlier on Broadway as the bald, strutting monarch of Siam in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
Brynner fought lung cancer for several years and often told interviewers that he wanted to leave an anti-smoking campaign as his legacy. The 30-second TV commercial is taken from an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” in which he was asked what he would tell smokers if he could speak to them after his death.

It shows a close-up of Brynner in January, 1985. He says, “If I could take back that smoking we wouldn’t be talking about any cancer. I’m convinced of that.”
It first appeared Wednesday morning on ABC, said Susan Islam of the American Cancer Society. She said all three major U.S. networks planned to air the commercial, which is given to television stations to run without fee as public-service announcements.
Islam also said Israeli television planned to air it, and Spanish TV had expressed interest.
“This is the most powerful indictment of smoking that we’ve ever produced,” Islam said. “This one is stronger by virtue of Yul Brynner’s international reputation.”


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## Catlady (Dec 22, 2019)

Thanks, StarSong!


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## oldman (Dec 22, 2019)

Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs that we have here in the U.S., so it is no wonder that people have trouble quitting smoking. When we quit smoking, we have to go through nicotine withdrawal, which is no fun thing. When I quit, I suffered with SLS or Shaking Leg Syndrome, which drove me batty. Thankfully, it only lasted four days, but the withdrawal’s other symptoms, including the cravings lasted about ten days.   

There are anti-smoking meds on the market that will aid with the cravings and withdrawal. But, like most others have stated, the person must have a very strong desire to quit and make the commitment to stay the course.


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## fmdog44 (Dec 22, 2019)

Don't forget smokers stink. I smoked for 20 years and now I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. It is in their homes, furniture and clothes. The Feds just raised the age to buy smokes to 21. Finally, they so something good.


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## Ladybj (Dec 22, 2019)

Deciding that you will quit, not want to quit but deciding YOU WILL QUIT and if you have a determined mind, the rest will follow.  You will do it. When I gave up pork and beef years ago.. I had a determined mind and now, I don't miss it AT ALL. The first step is to have a determined mind.  It will not happen overnight by no means.. but with a determined mind, the Universe is there to assist.  No matter the WHY you have to do it, if you do not have a determined mind, it won't happen.  Bottom line, in my humble opinion, YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO!!!!!


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## Ladybj (Dec 22, 2019)

I recently turned 60 and I tried smoking when I was 18 mainly because I had an older boyfriend that smoked.  However, that did not last too long, thank goodness.  When I quit, I use to dream about smoking and glad it was a dream.  However, I remember the time I was DONE with cigarettes..  I had quit for years and tried to smoke one and got sooooo sick.. I knew then I was done.


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## Hulaboomer1 (Dec 29, 2019)

Pappy said:


> Started when I was 16 and quit, cold turkey, at age 62.  I knew I was getting the start of COPD and I told myself, you freaking jerk, enough is enough. Just make your mind up and stick to it. After a couple of rough weeks you will realize it’s not so bad and start enjoying life without cigarettes.


I to started at 16 and quit at about 45 yrs old I wanted to quit before the doctor  asked me to quit or before a smoking related illness set it. And yes I agree  the first 2 wks is the hardest you will feel as if you lost your best friend but believe  me the relief of not having  carrying cigs around was refreshing. Although I have not checked my lungs in years I am always concerned that a smoking related disease such as lung cancer will come knocking at my door. Fingers crossed..good luck


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## Doomp (Jan 1, 2020)

It's one of the hardest things to quit. Make it your life's goal to quit, and try everything. Use a nicotine patch, go to a support group, avoid other smokers, whatever you need to do. Once you stop, your lungs will begin to heal.


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## Loreen (Jan 1, 2020)

Look at your original post. Look at the damage that those cigarettes have done to you. Do you want that to get worse? I understand it is going to be difficult to do, but there are a lot of things in life that are difficult. You health is definitely something to take that step no matter how difficult the challenge and make this happen. Get a great support team around you that will not back down and that will be tough on you. You can do this.


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## PinotGrigio (Jan 9, 2020)

I smoked for 50 years. My 7 year quit anniversary will be Oct 31, 2020. It’s not a trick...it’s a treat!

For me, I quit cold turkey when the Dr told me “He doesn’t need to be around smokers”.  So I came home from the hospital, drank a beer, smoked until midnight, cried. Had a full carton of cigarettes ripped them up. Took a picture.   Done. So Happy I did it!  Cannot stand the smell of them today.  Don’t miss it and for me it was not difficult to quit.


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## SeaBreeze (Jan 9, 2020)

PinotGrigio said:


> I smoked for 50 years. My 7 year quit anniversary will be Oct 31, 2020. It’s not a trick...it’s a treat!
> 
> For me, I quit cold turkey when the Dr told me “He doesn’t need to be around smokers”.  So I came home from the hospital, drank a beer, smoked until midnight, cried. Had a full carton of cigarettes ripped them up. Took a picture.   Done. So Happy I did it!  Cannot stand the smell of them today.  Don’t miss it and for me it was not difficult to quit.


Congratulations on your quitting....kudos!  I quit cold turkey many years ago after smoking for only 15 years, but it didn't happen until I was ready.  Never regretted it, smartest move I've ever made....and I loooved to smoke, Marlboro reds was my brand.


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