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Stop smoking by cold turkey

R

Rowf

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 7, 2011
241
3
Has anyone tried and succeeded stopping smoking by cold turkey?

I roll my own and average 20 a day, I've had four attempts at giving up using patches and failed everytime, the longest I went was a month and my last attempt was about 3 weeks ago.
I've been smoking 30 years.

I reckon the problem is the nicotine still being in my system, I'm very conscious that my body is still being fed the nicotine by patches and for that reason I don't feel that I'm making a positive and conscious decision of my own making.
After a week or so it's almost like the decision not to smoke is being made for me by the patches, weird I know, and hard to describe, but that's how it is.

So, I've made the decision to go 'cold turkey', anyone else done it?
How did you get on?
Is it as hard as the nicotine replacement manufacturers would have us believe or is it just a 72 hour shakedown as the nicotine level drops?
 
My wife has done it--

And she finds that putting herself in a different situation for the first few days helps significantly. Meaning, getting out of her routine. She has quit twice in the 4 years we've been together--and done fairly well...but both times, she quit while on vacation. It helped to "break the habit" so to speak at the same time as allowing her body to readjust.

Good luck!

I recently stopped drinking soda--was a 3-4 a day drinker and now it's water only! :eek: It's been 80 days...lol
 
Rowf said:
Has anyone tried and succeeded stopping smoking by cold turkey?
Click to expand...

I did it. Replaced smoking with the occasional stick of (non-nicotine) gum. Two weeks on and I came out of my nicotine hungry bad mood. Totally worth it.
 
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My wife was never able to succed cold turkey.I assume part of her problem was that her family all smokes (she likes to visit them quite often). She would be able to hold off for a month if she didn't see any of them but the minute she would spend time with any of them she would give into her cravings. However, she finally was able to quit by switching to e-cigs. She started off by using 11mm of nicotine juice for about a month and then switched to 0mm until she completely lost all her big urges (took about 6 months). Afterwards she just stopped completely and has been successful since.
 
I did, though i was never a relaly heavy smoker. I was at about 1/2 a pack a day, more on weekends. So heavier smokers probably would have had a much ahrder time than i did.

For me the single biggest thing was how I identified myself. i wasn't quitting smoking, I wasn't an ex-smoker. I was a non-smoker. That little thing helped me more than anything else. Want a smoke? No thanks, I don't smoke.

You can't fake this mindset, you can't let yourself be lured into identifying yourself as quitting smoking, or an ex-smoker, because then its too easy to justify going back, even if its "just this one". Part of who you are has to be that you are a non-smoker.

In the end, I think mindset is a bigger deal than the withdrawal symptoms for quitting long term.
 
I never could do cold turkey. I became a complete jerk. I quit by using electronic cigarettes. Now I hardly even do those. I could not have done it without those things. I'm so glad someone invented them.
 
SidewaysTakumi said:
I recently stopped drinking soda--was a 3-4 a day drinker and now it's water only! :eek: It's been 80 days...lol
Click to expand...

I must say that is a lot of soda for a given day. Kudos for stopping! I've gone a year w/o soda; just drank water and juice.

heehee said:
I've done it, without patches or gum. It's possible, just don't smoke. I'm 353 days smoke free. :)
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Congratulations man! Sheer willpower
 
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Hi. I quit smoking 5 years ago using Allen Carrs Easy way to Quit smoking audiobook. I was very sceptical when started listening to it as I had tried everything, but after I finished it, i was taken by surprise as I never smoked again. I haven't suffered an withdrawals from this method and I know I'll never smoke again. I totally recommend it.

Good luck.
 
I have read that grapefruit juice helps a lot (something to do with the juice attacking nicotine in the system or something). I have never smoked so I have no idea what it is like to give up, but maybe you will find grapefruit juice helps you out.

P-Worm
 
David McGuinnes said:
I quit smoking 5 years ago using Allen Carrs Easy way to Quit smoking audiobook. I was very sceptical when started listening to it as I had tried everything, but after I finished it, i was taken by surprise as I never smoked again.
Click to expand...

I wonder if I pipe that through the speakers at work. We have no smoking signs posted all over the place, but that doesn't stop them. The boss (a smoker:rolleyes:) has some pretty loose policy about smoking in the office. "Smoke 'em if you've got 'em." The second hand smoke is killing me.:(
 
Smoke free since last September! I'd recommend first cutting back and get your brain in shape to start resisting cravings. Then just cut it out completely. Rely on what you've learned about yourself and what works for you. Once you've quit, never ever smoke one again. I know if I have one, all the work I've put in will be in vain. Good luck. Gummy worms were and still occasionally are my savior!
 
If you feel you need help there drugs that can help. I have had friends quit with the help of chantix and zyban.

Chantix is expensive, but about the same cost as smoking, plus there are coupons from the pharm company.
 
I did it, you can too. 5 or 6 years now. Here's the secret you need to know. YMMV somewhat, but here's the secret that will help you get through it:

For the first two weeks you quit, you will want a cigarette every single second of every single waking moment.

For the next few weeks, you will want a cigarette every few seconds, every waking minute of the day.

The few weeks after that, you will want a cigarette every minute of every hour of every day.

The few weeks after that, you will want a cigarette every hour of every day.

The few weeks after that, you will want a cigarette every couple hours.

It just keeps going until you only want a cigarette once every day or every few days. BUT HOLD ON !!!!!! This is the point where your brain tries to trick you that you've got it beat, and that it will be okay if you have one more since you've worked so hard and done so well that you deserve just one- that you can control it now, and you will be alright.

Don't do that, because then you're back to square one.

IMHO, that's the secret that you need to know and recognize in order to power through it to the long term victory.
 
I was never a heavy smoker (up to half a pack a day at worst), but was able to just stop. Every now and then, I want one, but I've never had cravings that took over my mind. That's made it easy to be a casual smoker. Every now and then, I just buy a pack and go with it. That's like two or three times a year. Then I just stop again. I guess I'm lucky in that regard.

A friend of mine was a heavy smoker for 15 years, and he quit by going to gum, and now doesn't do anything. I think he was on the gum for a few weeks or months. The amazing thing is his change in personality. When he was a smoker, he was a pretty bitter and sometimes mean individual. When he quit and went to the gum, he had a few really bad spots. Now, he is a completely different person...even helpful and nice. Not to say that all smokers are like that, because I know plenty who are still great people.

My new thing is hookahs. Still get the smoking feeling without all the nicotine...and they have flavored tobacco, so it's like you're smoking a slurpee. :D Even my wife, who is against cigarette smoking and made me stop, loves the hookah.
 
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leekohler said:
I never could do cold turkey. I became a complete jerk. I quit by using electronic cigarettes. Now I hardly even do those. I could not have done it without those things. I'm so glad someone invented them.
Click to expand...

Same here - I'd tried numerous times to quit and never managed more than a week. Then I found electronic cigarettes and am now coming up to 2 years without a cigarette. Those things are amazing :)
 
I quit WoW cold turkey. The trick is realising something isn't fun. Smoking ain't fun ? Just stop. WoW stopped being fun when it started being a job. I /gquit and cancelled my account while still getting yelled at in ventrillo on a raid for having saved a wipe with only 1 death, but not "sticking to the plan" because our 3 other tanks lost aggro on their mobs and I ended up tanking the whole pull by myself, with no CC since I kept breaking the sheeps trying to hold aggro over the whole pack (which I did, except for that 1 mob that got loose for a second and killed 1 healer, who happened to be the biggest bitch in the whole guild, personality wise and physically).

I have never gone back to that stupid game and never will. And I was a hardcore, 8 hours/day for 2 whole years, player.
 
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leekohler said:
I never could do cold turkey. I became a complete jerk. I quit by using electronic cigarettes. Now I hardly even do those. I could not have done it without those things. I'm so glad someone invented them.
Click to expand...
Three weeks after I switched to electronic cigarettes, I quit out of boredom.

I still believe, in order to quit with any method, you have to be mentally prepared and - if needed - set up a new routine to replace the cigarette. Food is none of them.
 
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My dad did it successfully.

The best thing to do is just ween yourself off them--my wife is doing that now. She smoked around 15 a day so I told her to smoke only 10 a day for a month, which she dd. Then cut to 8 a day for a month, then 6, then 4, now she's down to 3 a day, then it'll be 2, then 1, then 0 hopefully. Also, she usually smokes half a cigarette at a time which makes it easier.
 
I think the key is to replace it with a different habit. I know, you aren't really dealing with the "addiction" problem by exchanging it for another addiction, but you could play with a toothpick or sweet, or something less harmful. I guess I haven't really quit, but when I'm in situations where I can't smoke, the thing that gets me isn't the nicotine, but the need to do something with my hands.

I smoke when I'm nervous or bored, so I do some pushups (if I'm at home), or play with pen if I'm out.

I know, it sounds crazy, but it's what I do.
 
Here are some suggestions

1) Don't bother with replacement things (patches, gum) they absolve responsibility.

2) Having given up, if you smoke a cigarette, think - I've had a cigarette but I am still giving up and throw away the pack if you have any. Don't think - I clearly can't give up, I am smoking again.

3) In the lead up to giving up, make smoking unpleasant. You can only smoke in the yard for example. Remove any social aspect to smoking, smoke by yourself.

4) Avoid smoking situations for a bit. Avoid smoking buddies and situations where smoking is the norm. Just duck out of them for a little while - arrange to meet smoking buddies in a situation where smoking is not possible or difficult. And if you do smoke remember point 2.

Good luck.
 
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Nathaniell said:
I think the key is to replace it with a different habit. I know, you aren't really dealing with the "addiction" problem by exchanging it for another addiction, but you could play with a toothpick or sweet, or something less harmful. I guess I haven't really quit, but when I'm in situations where I can't smoke, the thing that gets me isn't the nicotine, but the need to do something with my hands.

I smoke when I'm nervous or bored, so I do some pushups (if I'm at home), or play with pen if I'm out.

I know, it sounds crazy, but it's what I do.
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All this for what? Why did you start in the first place? Wouldn't it be nice not to have to have smoking on your list of things to do each day? I still do not understand why doesn't every smoker throw away their current pack and never drive to the store to buy another one? How hard is that? Lots of questions and I still have not heard a logical/valid reason why to choose smoking over not smoking.
 
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