write down all your reasons for quitting, big reasons and little reasons. When you quit, keep that list with you always and read it when you find it tough going. And add to it, too, more reasons or new ideas.

What really helped me stay focussed was hanging out (on line) with other quitters, take a look at the newsgroup alt.support. stop-smoking ( here’s th googlegroups link but news reader is better http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?q=alt.support.stop-smoking&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search)

good luck! I never thought I could quit, I had so many failed attempts, but I’ve been stopped for over 2 years now.

tell your parents. tell your friends. tell your co-workers. tell your family. tell the guy at 7-11. tell your friends family.

The more people you tell that you are quitting smoking, the more support you will receive. When I quit, I told everyone I knew, which meant that when I quit I would have no less than 2 people ask me every day how it was going and had I slipped up. This really kept me motivated knowing that they were all pulling for me, and also, if I did quit, I would be letting all of those people down. It’s pretty good motivation to Not want to tell 30 people that you’ve failed.

bbcfan has it right – you have to be committed, and there is no other way to quit smoking. Other things (gum, prescriptions, voodoo) might help, but they won’t make you quit. You won’t really quit until you’ve committed to it.

It might take a while to build up that commitment, though. Some statistic somewhere says that it takes an average of 8 attempts to quit. What the statistic doesn’t mention is the few hundred times you say “this is my last cigarette” and light up again a few hours later. Don’t count those when you are beating yourself up for failing. “Oh, I’ve quit hundreds of times.” No you haven’t. Don’t look at every little falling, failure, or weak moment as a momentous thing. Becoming a nonsmoker is a process which takes time. Continuing to not smoke is a skill which takes practice.

Oh, and on a more pragmatic note: stay away from your favorite places to smoke, and ask your smoking friends not to light up while they’re in your company. They can go outside or wait a few minutes. Eventually you might be able to put up with being around cigarettes, but for now it’s just going to trigger that sort of addiction response thing.

and commit to it. “Take it” is right, she said it short & sweet. In addition, just think, it is unpopular now to be a smoker and the health issue outnumbers any reasoning to continue. I am not just blowing smoke up …... I quit 4&1/2 years ago and glad I did. I think cold turkey is the best, that’s what I did. Whatever way you choose to quit, I wish you the best of luck.

I’ve never smoked, so I can’t help from that perspective. However, my mother
immediately quit smoking when she found
that she had cancer. That was a decade ago, and she’s still fine. I’m guessing
that if you talk to someone in that
circumstance then (along with these
other suggestions) that’ll help your
motivation.

Chick:just change your attitude—> you don’t have to quit, YOU ALREADY ARE AN EX-SMOKER.
Try to view things from a different point of view!All the best

A few years back an aquaintence of mine died at age 34 of lung cancer. She left a 12 y/o son. I was so angry with her! All I could think was “Were those damn cigarettes more important than your son? REALLY?” I would do anything for my children…even die for them…but not that way…not by making them watch me die a slow, agonizing death. It is cruel and absolutely unnecessary.

If you don’t have kids, realize the same burden is placed on any loved ones.

Cancer hurts. They can give you enough pain meds in the last days to dull the pain, but it also knocks you out…your loved ones are again deprived.

Emphasema is a terrible way to die. It is, in fact, the process of your body literally suffocating…very slowly, very surely, as your lungs become increasingly unable to make the exchange of oxygen to the blood. It takes years to die this way. My friend, John J. died of emphasema about 4 years ago. He said it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest for years. Then another year or so with 2, then 5 elephants…imagine…struggling for every single breath you take…for years!

Rent the Insider and watch it. Get pissed off at these tobacco companies that are making BILLIONS pushing this drug…making BILLIONS at your expense and with ZERO regard to your health.

Ask yourself if you would want your child to smoke. Look at the example you are setting.

My significant other smokes. He is not allowed to smoke around me or my child, nor am I to be able to smell it on him. Why? Because I learned something I never knew, never thought of, 3 or 4 years ago from an emergency room doctor who was well aquainted with me and my son because we were both in there quite often with asthma…struggling to breathe. He told me that every time we came into his proximity, especially if we could smell the smoke on him or his clothes, we are being bombarded by the same carcinogens in cigarettes and side stream smoke. It doesn’t take an actual stream of smoke…just the smell contains the damaging effects…He said we were being harmed every single time, especially my son because a childs body is not done growing and changing. Exposing him to those carcinogens would - not could - WOULD comprimise his health, and probably already had. I have also told him when he gets cancer not to come crying to me…boohooing about dying too young. He KNOWS what he is doing. He is making a choice. Sadly, it is a choice for his cancer sticks and not his family. What a shame that is.

Respect yourself enough to quit!!! Then go to classes, get the patch, go cold turkey…do whatever you need to do.

Best of luck to you!

Susan

Just do it. Take it one day at a time. Drink lots of water. Keep busy. Remember a craving only lasts 22 seconds! Save the money you would have spent in a big glass jar. Treat yourself after 30 days. I quit cold turkey 9 months ago. It’s the best thing I ever did for myself.

1. Go find pictures on the Net of diseased lungs.

2. Go find pictures on the Net of people with cancer/emphysema/that horrible circulatory thing smokers get that ends in amputation of all your limbs.

3. Copy those pictures into a file on your desktop. Make an especially horrible one your wallpaper. Every time you get a craving, take a look. Look in the morning, look at night before bed.

4. Now – remember the good stuff. WHY are you doing this? Why are YOU doing this? What are your reasons? Your purpose? You have kids? Being alive for them – that’s one, probably. Keeping them alive by your example of good health – another, maybe. To wear designer clothing and not stink it up or burn holes in it – I don’t know, whatever it might be for you, write them ALL down. This is Your List. This is your “Why.” After you look at the pictures, look at this List.

5. Remember this: motivation isn’t about willpower. It’s about making CHOICES. Making the right choice, over and over and over again. Is it sexy? Easy? One time and it’s done? No, no, and hell, no. It is simple, and it is hard, but when you boil it down to THIS choice, THIS craving, THIS moment in time, it becomes more manageable. And then – a beautiful thing happens – it becomes easier. And – bliss – it becomes second nature.

And then, you’re a nonsmoker.

Most of all, keep in your head this thought: it is POSSIBLE to quit and to enjoy life simultaneously. It is POSSIBLE to be a nonsmoker with an incredibly fun and rewarding and pleasant life. (truth is, it’s much MORE possible as a nonsmoker, but your poor addicted addled brain isnt’ ready for that yet. Take it slow.)