I went cold turkey too. I finished a pack and kept the last one as motivation. As long as I had one, I didn't need to buy another pack... and as long as I saw it there it reminded me I didn't need it (corny, but it worked for me) It traveled with me everywhere for about 4 months until I didn't have the urge to smoke anymore. A friend replaced the cigs with tootsie roll pops and blow pops... her's was more of a oral habit than an addiction to nicotine though.
My grandmother died of emphysema at 61. What's your point? There are people who shoot themselves in the head and live, too. Doesn't mean it's not an activity that endangers your life.
Cold turkey is the way to go. While there is indeed a physical addiction to nicotine, it is not a debilitating withdrawal and is over within a week. Depending on your level, some folks don't even notice withdrawal, hence the ill-informed who think it is more "mental" to quit. The "mental" part doesn't really begin until after the nicotine leaves your system.
My grandmother died at age 61.....lung cancer. Clearly caused by smoking. Father's side. But, my grandfather died at 79....a smoker. and My great aunt is in her 80s and still smoking. Both on mother's side. Some people get away with it, some don't. My dad's been on the gum for 10 years. I personally don't smoke because it's disgusting.
I saw a boss of mine do that in the mid 70's. He kept an open pack in his shirt pocket and simply resisted the urge to grab one. He didn't talk about the rational behind it, but it worked for him. LFE, I'm here to tell you that at 1.5 packs/day; you are NOT a chain smoker! At 3.5 packs/day, I was only lighting a cigarette 6 or 7 times a day. The rest of the time, I used the old cigarette to light the new one. I didn't smoke during meals, but I've seen guys who did. It got to the point where I switched to a pipe because I couldn't keep under 2 packs daily. I figured that all the fiddling you have with pipe smoking, I could cut back and that worked for a few years. However the last couple of years, I was smoking my pipes and a pack a day. You are right on the button though when you say it's mostly mental. Oh the nicotine craving was hell and I did quit 6 times(3 months 1 time). The reason I always started back up was that I couldn't envision myself without a cigarette in my fingers. The 7th time was a little different. In stead of saying "I'm gonna quit", I said "Let's see how long I can last". I stamped that last cigarette out, got in the car and closed my eyes. At that moment, I saw a vision of myself without a smoke. I knew I was home free-relatively speaking. That was in 1990. I'm here to tell you that anyone can quit smoking; but sadly, not everyone who tries will.
That's how my mom quit. Carried half a pack in her purse for more than a year. That way she knew she *could* have one any time, but it was her *choice* not to. The rest of the carton stayed in a drawer in the kitchen (less a couple of packs 'sampled' by my sister and I -- until we noticed the stock wasn't going down ). Worked for her -- 2 packs a day to none in 25 years. My good friend (and only friend who really smoked) also quit cold turkey from a pack a day habit. Only it was on doctors orders after he had a quadruple bypass at age 42! Me? I was always too cheap to smoke. Good luck guys. Certainly not easy!
Wow. Just trying to help the guy quit. Here's an absolute. You're an idiot I would give anything to have a few more years with my grandparents before they died. I guess you don't care how long your family lives.
I finished my smoking in March. For me it was the patch plus regular (non nicotine) gum whenever I wanted a cigarette, like after a meal and driving. I also switched up my routines. Stopped going to bars and coffee shops for a while, started parking in a different part of the parking lot at work, etc.
Don't try to make quiting a rational decision or choice - smoking isn't rationale. Studies show all those nasty images of cancered lungs and what not actually cause the part of your brain associated with addictions and rewards to light up like a christmas tree. IN other words, any association with smoking will trigger an urge. Anti-smoking commericials, movies with smokers, a bar with smokers, and brand specific stuff - like even just seeing a red bar with rugged western decor will make you want a marlboro if that's your brand....cigarette companies actually pay bars to do that. It works. if you want to quit, you just really have to construct a life that isn't congruent with smoking. You have to run, you have eat healthy, you have hang out with non-smokers who detest smoking. That's how you do it. That or you have to have amazing will power to go through the urges you will face otherwise.
Allen Carrs easy way to quit is a great book to help you rationalize it. It really helps you put it in perspesctive ( I was a 1 -2 pack a day smoker) To me cold turkey is the way to do it. YOU ARE ADDICTED TO NICOTINE AND AFTER 72 HOURS IT IS 99% OUT OF YOU SYSTEM. Keep that in mind. The only reason you smoke is the nicotine, trust me. Nicotine makes you think you smoke for relaxation, buzz, etc. But that is nicotine making you think it is all those good things you associate it with. You don't associate it with the bad. It is very nice being free of that bad habit. Good luck. If I can do it you can too. What helped me was my wife told the world of my quit date so it became a challenge.
