I quit smoking on March 17 of this year. My husband had just been to his doctor 2 days before that and advised my husband for the umpteenth time to quit smoking. He's a diabetic with emphysema and COPD - he has told us numerous times what can happen to a diabetic smoker. So, I had been wanting to quit anyway and on the l7th I made my decision to quit that day and told my husband that it would be nice if he would try and quit too. So, he said he would give it a try and cut down on his smoking. We were just starting out on a spring road trip. From a pack and a half smoker a day, he went to smoking just a couple of cigarettes a day, with me nagging him all along. We were gone for 2 and a half weeks on that trip and he probably smoked one pack of cigarettes the whole time. Now, he still smokes but only occasionally. He's a social smoker so that makes it hard for him when we are in a social atmosphere, then he will break out the cigarettes and smoke. He started out pretty good, maybe smoking 3 cigarettes in one whole evening. But now he's got it up to maybe 10 or 12 (maybe more) and he says he's doing fine. I can see him getting drawn back into his old bad habits. Although, he doesn't smoke in the house or in our pickup, I am afraid that he will start up again. I haven't smoked since the 17th of March and to tell the truth I don't miss it a bit. I smoked for 30 years. I don't miss the stinky smell of stale butts anymore and I can truly say that I feel a whole lot better. Once in awhile I get an urge, but it quickly goes away. The benefits of NOT smoking, truly outweigh the pleasure of smoking. Now, I just need to keep working on him.

I used the Chantix too! It was nothing next to a miracle. Chantix is a prescription drug (a pill) that your doctor can prescribe. A friend recommended it to me after she quit her habit of 30 + years. I started taking the Chantix pill and didn't even think about quitting smoking. I did smoke less without even thinking about it. On day 12 I was getting ready for bed and I realized, "hey, I didn't smoke at ALL today!" I can't tell you how great that felt. Each day after that I didn't smoke and it didn't seem like I was being deprived or white knuckeling it! I continued taking the pills for a few more weeks when I decided that I just wasn't going to smoke, pill or no pill anymore. It is now over 6 months for me. The prescription did cause me to have some really wacky dreams! It is a psychological drug, so I think if you are having depression or other mental issues it may not be for you. Someone commited suicide while on Chantix so they got a lot of bad publicity. But personally I feel that person PROBABLY had some underlying issues beforehand. I have recommeneded it to long time smokers without trying to be preachy (just because I'd like them to feel the power I feel by not being saddled by cigarettes!) Many of them said they would never put a prescription in their systerm to quit! Yet on a daily basis they are lighting up and putting known carcenogens into their body, so I figure they are just making an excuse. Ladyofdirt, if you are reading this and you still need a method to quit I would encourage you to try the Chantix. Best wishes to you!

Unfortunately, the most important element in quitting smoking is the desire of the smoker to quit. If that's not there, hardly anything will work. I tried the gum, patches, hypnosis. You name it I tried it. I finally got to the point that I wanted to quit badly enough that I quit cold turkey. Some people (almost everyone) finds a substitute to help them thru. My crutch was toothpicks. I spent at least 4 months chewing on toothpicks and apologising to strangers for having a toothpick in my mouth all the time. The desire for nicotine goes away pretty quickly. It's the habit of taking out the pack, shaking out the cigarette, getting the match or lighter, lighting the cigarette. Those are the things that are difficult to quit. It's the busy work with your hands that you miss the most. I spent at least a year, maybe more, reaching for that cigarette after giving up the toothpicks. Other people suck on hard candies, but the idea is the same. I believe that tobacco is more addictive than crack cocaine. (I, of course, have never tried it, but I quarantee nothing can be as bad as cigarettes.) I quit for the last time in February 1993 and it was well worth it. For the first year I did not put myself in positions where I would want a cigarette. No happy hour with the office gang. No coffee in the morning. Limited contact with friends and family who smoked unless they agreed not to smoke around me. Harsh? Not when you realize that this is your life your talking about. If they love you they will respect your wishes. After about a year, I could begin to add these things back into my life without feeling tempted. It IS worth it.

Hi mellbee, Congratulations on a very wise decision. Having an alternative something, e.g. celery, carrot stick, toothpick, drinking straw or whatever to put into your mouth when craving comes has been helpful for many. Have a good look at your routines, and when you regularly smoked. Change those parts of your routine. Try to find something positive to do that will keep you busy, especially something that you can do in little chunks of time at a time. Teach yourself to walk away from yourself, turn around, and, looking you in the eye, ask some tough questions about what's going on when you have a craving. Many have found a great deal of help while sharing with others on the forums at www.quitnet.org. Quite a few say that they couldn't have quit without the empathy, advice, support and encouragement that they found there at any time of the day or night. I am glad that you have a buddy to carry on the journey along with you. Might be a good idea to look for some others who want to quit, as well, and would join you. It's a help if some of the quitters agree that someone else having a craving can call them at any hour of the day or night - sort of like the A A folks do. Have you ever heard the rather dry-witted comedian of a number of years ago, Bob Newhart, who impersonated the leaders in the head office in London when Walter Raleigh, calling home from the New World, tried to explain how cigarettes would work? And the sceptical laughter that it induced? See whether you can find someone who has it, for it might be helpful. There is no way on earth that I'd want to be a slave to another person. Much less would I want to be a slave to a little white paper tube filled with dead leaves. Come talk here whenever you feel like it - the folks here want you to succeed in this worthwhile (could be life-aving) task. Good wishes as you proceed with your Quit. ole joyful