How do I quit smoking?

I know for sure I don't smoke because I'm stingy. Become stingy and you won't be able to afford cigarettes.

It's better to reduce consumption. All those who advocate for the fight against smoking don't even realise that quitting can cause far more serious harm and problems than cigarettes.

"Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times."
M. Twain.

Changing my lifestyle, altering my environment—I smoked for 7 years, started living with my husband, gradually quit, and now I don't even think about cigarettes. The smell is repulsive, and somehow, smoking even feels shameful.

Well, you did write that you haven't smoked for 5 years. Pregnancy and a child. That's the answer. Have a baby every five years, and you'll quit smoking.

Plasters, chewing gums, books like "How I Successfully Quit Smoking", self-hypnosis, etc. – it's all complete nonsense. You either smoke or you don't, if something doesn't suit you. Nothing will help you as long as you're deceiving yourself. Still continuing? Don't whine and don't look for a method or motivation; you're perfectly content with everything.

Smoking is harmful to your health :)

I smoked for 12 years, with a break. The second time I started, I realised I didn't want to quit—it had become part of my identity. I loved the process, pondering thoughts over a cigarette. I couldn't imagine a lifestyle without them.

I quit unexpectedly. I smoked the lightest, slimmest ones. One by one, they started disappearing from the shelves; kiosks said they'd been discontinued. I began asking if there was anything else, and they offered me "Compliment." For a while, I alternated them with my usual brand, which I managed to dig up in some out-of-the-way shops. Eventually, I smoked only "Compliment" because there was no alternative. At some point, I caught myself thinking that I was smoking them and felt indifferent. By then, I'd been smoking them for maybe three months. Indifferent means I wasn't craving cigarettes; I'd go for one mechanically. That had happened to me before, but only for a week at most. This time, it was different. With each day, I felt this calm detachment from cigarettes growing stronger and realised I could easily not smoke them, and I didn't want any others. A friend told me she'd read somewhere that cigarettes contain additives—a small amount of a drug that causes addiction. I thought then that if that were true and they added flavour enhancers or something, it must not have been in the ones I was smoking; it felt like pure tobacco. They were also significantly cheaper than what I used to smoke. Anyway, at some point, I felt so indifferent that I decided I wouldn't buy another pack. And that's how I quit. The most surprising thing is that I, who couldn't imagine myself without a cigarette, forgot about them very quickly. For a while, I ate sunflower seeds and nuts more intensely, but even that faded.

My husband quit smoking abruptly, and his health went downhill. He's diabetic, but always felt fine before. After quitting, one thing after another started bothering him. Recently, part of his foot had to be amputated—gangrene started out of nowhere. So I'm thinking, if he'd kept smoking, maybe these problems wouldn't have arisen...

Just stop and that's it.

Try not doing it for one day and see what comes of it

I am more than certain that to put an end to something, you just have to quit and that's it! Don't try to replace it with anything else.
Just as you started smoking, end it the same way—everything works in reverse.
When you started smoking, you didn't chew nicotine gum as a "preparation" for future smoking, and now you shouldn't chew it either.

Starting smoking is a shock to the body, just like quitting. Those who say their health deteriorated... it's because smoking for so many years and then suddenly stopping is stressful for the body. NOT BECAUSE smoking helps preserve health.

What's that??)

At the very least, weight gain. The body will demand a replacement. Irritability. Don't forget that nicotine is a drug, even if it's legal. I've been trying to quit smoking for 40 years. Once I quit properly. There was real withdrawal. And I constantly had to chew... chew... chew... It was wildly irritating. In the end, I gained a load of kilos. Gave up. Over those months, the craving for cigarettes didn't weaken. Started again. Not bothering anymore. Just reduced the number of cigarettes per day, first to a pack, now I smoke no more than 10 cigarettes a day. Trying to smoke less.
But, again, everyone handles it differently. My sister just stopped smoking. No problems. Although she smoked for about 20 years. And now she doesn't smoke. She's calm about cigarette smoke.
But that it's a massive stress for the body—that's a yes. Everything starts to hurt. But I'm not planning to replace it with vaping. The chemicals in vapes are more harmful than nicotine.

A friend of mine went for hypnosis. It helped.

A woman without a cigarette looks very outdated.

My grandfather smoked for 20 years and then decided to quit. He gave up cigarettes completely straight away, and whenever he felt like smoking, he would crack sunflower seeds instead. He gained 7 kg, but said it was worth it! He also used to suck on mint sweets. Nowadays, you can chew gum as well, but back then, it wasn't available. Of course, it's tough, but you'll have to muster your willpower. You can also watch videos about the harms and consequences of smoking.

And another thing, which is very important: all smokers absolutely reek!!!! You can even skip writing that you don't smell. Everyone smells! You just don't notice it. It's truly awful. I study with some female students, so pretty, but when they breathe in your direction, it brings tears to your eyes. And most smokers' teeth deteriorate quickly and turn yellow. There might be exceptions with good teeth, but the stench is undeniable. They tell me, "Oh, it's so good that I don't smell, but Lyuda, for example, really stinks." And I feel awkward telling them that their scent is even worse than Lyuda's!

My husband started smoking at the age of 10, so his smoking history was extensive. He used to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. He quit. He hasn't smoked for two years now.
You see, if a person is deprived of food, they will perish. But if they are deprived of cigarettes—what happens besides the craving to smoke? They won't die from it. They won't even get sick. Their health will improve—breathing will become easier, and smells and tastes will become more vivid.
The first three weeks are tough; the craving is intense. So instead of a cigarette, he would pop a mint candy into his mouth. And after that, he didn't even feel the urge anymore.
You yourself have quit for long periods before. Why you started again is beyond me.

But you can afford tobacco. Roll your own or switch to cigarettes. That's cheaper.

A drop of nicotine kills a horse, but not a bull.

The withdrawal will be absolutely brutal.

Yeah. Cheeks, wow. All so important.

And a woman with a cigar?

Yeah. She'll become stingy and start smoking not her own, but other people's. Like: 'Sir, treat a lady to a cigarette.'

I smoked for 15 years and tried to quit over a hundred times... I even tried gradually reducing, and I remember buying something from the pharmacy and making some powders from a healthy lifestyle magazine... nothing helped. The only method that worked, and I haven't smoked for six years now—in fact, even the memory disgusts me, like when I was broke and if money came in, I'd spend it on cigarettes instead of bread. So here it is. It's a decision, but not a simple one—a decision to change your life... if you stay where you are, it's useless to fight it. And I decided to change my life radically: I left my husband, rented an apartment, and along with that, I decided not to keep this habit... I decided to sit down and write—what quitting smoking would bring me that was better. You won't believe it—to prove to myself that quitting would lead to the best possible outcome I could imagine—it turned out to be a revelation for me... I wanted to become a woman that many would envy, turn their heads to look at, and wish to get to know... I saw so many benefits that I scribbled down 100 points in one minute... though I was stuck at first... Then, in this new place where I rented the apartment, I decided not to buy cigarettes at all... For almost five days, I was a wreck, but I had no time to suffer—I needed to settle into the apartment, do some repairs... in short, I kept myself busy with other things... and instead of the usual smoke breaks, I drank tea... plain tea... That's how 11 days passed, the craving faded, and it felt like something was dying inside me, but it was something rotten, vile. Then I'd sit in meditation, asking the universe to give me strength to overcome it... and can you imagine, it all ended. I even added morning runs at the nearest stadium... Now I feel like a winner in this situation, and further victories were something I could only dream of, but they started happening too... Everything just fell into place after that... Now I've become the woman I always dreamed of, but I've grown used to people giving me compliments, smiling when they look at me, trying to strike up a conversation... I've gotten rid of so much...

Exactly! That's true! After changing my environment and quitting, now I can't even imagine what would have to happen for me to pick up a cigarette again... Madness...

One day is far too little, you won't even notice... you'll just start getting jittery and that's it...

I think you won't give up, because you don't need to.

I have a practical piece of advice for you on how to quit smoking: don’t bring the cigarette to your mouth :) But seriously, I smoked for a good 15 years, and somehow the desire just faded on its own. I read Allen Carr’s book, and one line stuck in my mind: "You don’t know which cigarette will trigger the process of cancer in your body—it might be the very one you’re lighting right now" (that’s from memory, not the exact wording). I switched from cigarettes to e-cigarettes and iQOS, and gradually my body started telling me, "Enough." It rejected it on its own. It was as if I could see inside what was happening to my body. It might sound strange, but I don’t smoke now and don’t want to. Recently, a close friend passed away—I smoked one cigarette and threw it away unfinished. No addiction, no desire the next day—it just felt disgusting. Your body should tell you itself that it no longer wants to be poisoned. And take up some exercise—walking or running is best; your lungs will thank you. Good luck to you!

I smoked for 15 years, was advised to try Tabex, bought it and started taking it—but not according to the instructions. Instead, every time I lit a cigarette, I took one tablet. I did this for three days. On the fourth day, I started alternating: sometimes a tablet with a cigarette, sometimes just a tablet. On the fifth day, I had one cigarette in the morning with a tablet, then just took a tablet whenever I felt the urge. By the evening, I smoked my last cigarette. By the sixth day, it was really tough to resist, but I managed on just the tablets, and with each passing day, the craving for them also lessened. A bit of willpower definitely helps, but it does get much easier. After two weeks, I stopped thinking about cigarettes altogether. The key is to avoid alcohol for the first month after quitting smoking—otherwise, you might relapse. It’s been over a year now, and I don’t smoke or even think about cigarettes anymore.

Just like learning to ride a bicycle, quitting smoking is rarely achieved on the first try. Therefore, if you are determined to break this habit, be prepared to make more than one attempt to reach your goal. Don’t view a relapse as a failure. See it as a lesson for yourself, a small step back on the path to success. Here are 10 tips that have helped many people. They might be useful for you too.

1. **Set your mind firmly.** Find compelling reasons to want to quit smoking: self-respect; caring for your present and future health; caring for loved ones who suffer from your harmful habit.
2. **Set a date to quit smoking and stick to it.** Don’t procrastinate; the sooner, the better.
3. **Take all measures to break the habit.** Break all cigarettes in the house and pour water on them. Wash all clothes that smell of tobacco.
4. **Avoid places with heavy tobacco smoke.** Visit places where smoking is prohibited, such as museums and libraries.
5. **Save the money you usually spend on tobacco and count it after a month!** Buy something you really need.
6. **Keep yourself and your hands busy during moments when you would usually reach for a cigarette.** Chew gum (without nicotine) or suck on sweets when the urge to smoke gnaws at you. After meals, brush your teeth instead of smoking. Go for walks, write letters, sew, garden, do repairs, wash your car, and so on.
7. **When you feel nervous or tense, breathe deeply and slowly.** Instead of reaching for a cigarette, drink plenty of water. Fluids cleanse.
8. **Exercise within your physical limits.**
9. **Drink less alcohol.** Alcohol and cigarettes often "go together," as alcohol can trigger the desire to smoke.
10. **If you are a person of faith, sincerely pray to God for help and then act in accordance with your prayers.** "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (The Bible).

Dear author, I truly hope you succeed in overcoming this harmful habit!

Good day, everyone!!!! I smoked for over 20 years. I only tried Tabex tablets. The first and second times, I couldn't quit with them. The third time, I bought them and took them strictly according to the instructions, even setting alarms. It will be four years soon. I praise myself every day for managing it. I will never touch that filth again.

I smoked for 17 years and had a very high level of addiction. I always envied people who could smoke if they wanted and then not smoke for six months. Without cigarettes, I would experience panic, trembling hands, and dizziness from the very first day. I felt like I could run across the ceiling. Out of those 17 years of smoking, I tried to quit for 15 of them, attempting every year. In all that time, I only succeeded once, and it was surprisingly easy, but after four months, I started again.

How I finally quit:

I went through and almost collected every quitting method until one day it dawned on me: I’ve tried everything, there are no more methods, no hope left—only me, who hasn’t quit in 15 years and never will.

From the realisation of hopelessness, I immediately lit a cigarette, then another, and another—three in a row. I understood that this was my fate, even though I didn’t want it: to just die with a cigarette in my teeth, endlessly struggling and returning to it, no matter how hard I tried or what I did.

This angered me so much that I threw away the cigarettes. But this time, every craving, every bout of dizziness, every thought of them filled me with rage because I realised I COULDN’T quit, and that only made me angrier and more determined to resist the hopelessness.

After some time, I stopped being angry and instead started to take joy in the urges and cravings because I knew I had managed to resist. And this went on for years.

Even now, almost 10 years later, my mind still tries to test the waters, to tempt me into smoking. In the first year, especially, it was a constant negotiation and battle with my subconscious.

"Come on, let’s buy one pack, the most expensive kind, just to try; okay, let’s not buy any, but we’ll smoke with the guys at work, or it’s a friend’s birthday, we’ll bum one there. Come on, just one cigarette for New Year’s, why are you being so stubborn? Let’s try some of the new stuff—smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, vapes—it’s all different, it’s okay for you." BUT IT’S NOT!

Never give in, not ever, fight with yourself for the rest of your life!

Normotim has helped me. It's a special complex containing lithium and other elements for the nervous system. It boosts stress resistance and helps reduce nervousness. With it, both losing weight and quitting smoking become much easier. It has definitely helped me.

Non-smokers have a different level of consciousness. Personally, after smoking a cigarette once, I could barely climb to the second floor because my legs felt like cotton wool—I couldn’t feel them at all! And that was from just one cigarette, the mildest kind!

You don't know smokers. They'll sacrifice food, clothes, anything, but they'll buy cigarettes.

Yeah, I’ve sometimes gone a day without smoking, even though I smoke light ones, and the next day you take a drag and your head starts spinning—what a poison for the body. And then somehow you get used to it again. Folks, have cigarettes gotten more expensive since the start of the special operation? Maybe some have disappeared altogether?

Switch to cheap, bad cigarettes. Choose ones that you personally find unpleasant. It will become disgusting, and gradually the addiction will diminish.

That's your individual reaction, the level of consciousness doesn't depend on smoking. Unless you mean smart people don't start in the first place.

It turned out very strangely for me. My husband went on a business trip, we ran out of cigarettes at home, and I was also sick—smoking with a sore throat was out of the question. A few days passed, and I realised I hadn't smoked and hadn't even thought about cigarettes.
Generally, it's much easier to quit when you're ill.

Replace cigarettes with chewing gum or lozenges. When you smoke, throw them away. Tie strings around your wrist and give them a sharp tug against your skin every time you think about a cigarette.

It's easier for men to quit smoking. Just think every time you put a cigarette in your mouth that you're hanging off your mum's tit. It's the same sucking reflex. Some have grown up, while others are still suckling away.

I don't know, imagine you're putting the dirty dick of a sweaty, fat neighbour from upstairs in your mouth. And enjoy it.

Start to come apart

Seek help from a psychotherapist. They can help you uncover the needs you are fulfilling by smoking.
Perhaps it's worth addressing some underlying traumas, and then the desire to smoke may fade away.

I quit, after 17 years of smoking. I told a colleague at work that if I ever went for a smoke, I'd give them 10,000, like an instant fine. At home, I didn't smoke, only at work.

The only way is to really want it yourself, and initially help yourself with pills while the withdrawal is intense.

1. Calculate how much you've spent on cigarettes.
2. Realise you could have bought a car by now.
3. Find something to do; you're just bored.

get pregnant 😀

And you might not get any)) on the contrary, everything could improve)))