Ok i quit smoking LOL about 5 years ago and still have terrible cravings especially when around anyone smoking. After quiting i would catch myself still bring my hand to my mouth as if i had a cigarette in my hand. I used to eat suckers, chew gum (made my teeth ache, and chocolate when i got a craving ( i soooo love M & M's candy). It gets worse when i am stressed, like now. Sometimes my stomach actually aches or i get a migrane, which i think is weird. I have been known to sneak a few when out with friends and probably the only reason i am not smoking today is i can't afford it. I am almost afraid to get a higher paying job. Ok i am afraid! I do not want to start smoking again but find i like it way too much. Is there a solution to this addition. I cannot stay away from family and they all smoke. AHHHHHH It is also another reason as to why i do not go out much to drink with my friends, i know i could easily get addicted to alcohol being i really like Captain Morgan and other hard drinks, except vodka YUCK! Maybe i am just a little nuts over this but it is becoming a problem when i smell the smoke i want to just breathe it in (and have done just that)! ANY SUGGESTIONS??? I have started to drink water when i get a craving but it is not working like i would hope being i am still thinking of it.
Holly

I have tried being hypmotised and that does not work.............it did not work for food, nor did it work for quiting smoking. I did that on my own, cold turkey.

I quit smoking last month with the help of Chantix. It will be 4 weeks on Thursday. YIPPIE!

I sometimes crave them but honestly when I really think about it, I start to literally taste the ash in my mouth. Problem solved...
I'm still on Chantix and will finish this month out. I'm so happy I quit and I won't ever be a smoker again.

If you are posting for honest opinions, here's mine.

You have to WANT it more than anything else. And since you already quit, you have to remain comitted to that decision. Forgive me, but it truly sounds like you want to smoke.

Although I smoked for multiple years even knowing the health risks, it took a true wakeup call to see that I was KILLING myself by smoking.

How about channeling your frustration and desire to smoke into doing something good for yourself? Enjoy a hot bath, call a friend, visit transformation.com, EXERCISE! That's a perfect way to change your train of thought.

Since you quit so long ago, I don't know if Chantix would work for you. It literally blocks the pleasure center in your brain that you used to get when smoking. So since you've stopped, I don't think you need it; unless you are sneaking multiples a day or even a week. ??

How about this? Employ the power of 'The Secret.' You can check it out at The Secret :: Official Web Site of The Secret Movie :: Law of Attraction. It's basically about using the law of attraction in your life. If you say that drinking a glass of water doesn't curb your cravings, then it will never work. Meaning...what you say is your reality, and that won't change.
Instead, drink that glass of water and literally tell yourself OUTLOUD, 'I am curbing a craving. I am no longer a smoker. I am living a healthy life now that I am not a smoker.'

Make sense? Tell yourself that you are successful and believe only positive thoughts about being a nonsmoker and it WILL ease the cravings for you. But if you don't believe it, or if truly don't want to be a nonsmoker, it will not work for you.

One line from 'The Secret' that really touches me daily is 'Thoughts Become Things.' So if you can't stop thinking about wanting a cigarette, guess what...you will end up smoking again. Put it out of your mind and constantly praise yourself, believe in yourself, and reassure yourself as a happy and healthy nonsmoker.

Hope this helps.

Danielle

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotpeppernosalt Ok i quit smoking LOL about 5 years ago and still have terrible cravings especially when around anyone smoking. After quiting i would catch myself still bring my hand to my mouth as if i had a cigarette in my hand. I used to eat suckers, chew gum (made my teeth ache, and chocolate when i got a craving ( i soooo love M & M's candy). It gets worse when i am stressed, like now. Sometimes my stomach actually aches or i get a migrane, which i think is weird. I have been known to sneak a few when out with friends and probably the only reason i am not smoking today is i can't afford it. I am almost afraid to get a higher paying job. Ok i am afraid! I do not want to start smoking again but find i like it way too much. Is there a solution to this addition. I cannot stay away from family and they all smoke. AHHHHHH It is also another reason as to why i do not go out much to drink with my friends, i know i could easily get addicted to alcohol being i really like Captain Morgan and other hard drinks, except vodka YUCK! Maybe i am just a little nuts over this but it is becoming a problem when i smell the smoke i want to just breathe it in (and have done just that)! ANY SUGGESTIONS??? I have started to drink water when i get a craving but it is not working like i would hope being i am still thinking of it. Holly

Holly, 5 years! That is amazing! Good for you!

The first thing you have to do is remove the option of giving into your craving. You are on a slippery slope by permitting yourself the luxury of thinking you can start smoking again.

The second thing you have to do is accept the fact that you will sometimes get cravings for the rest of your natural life. You have to deal with that.

The third thing you have to do is realize these cravings are usually psychological - not physical.

The fourth thing you must do (which you are asking) is learn how to cope with your craving. I do a few things, since I know that smoking is NOT an option:

1. I take deep breaths. I inhale slowly and deeply, as if puffing a cig. I then release it the same way. My husband will look at me and say "smoking again?" LOL It works for me.

2. I also have a tracker on my desk top that tells me how long ago I quit- down to the second, how many cigarettes I have NOT smoked, and how much money I have saved.

3. On those desperate days that are few and far between I go to this site: WhyQuit - the Internet's leading cold turkey quit smoking resource

If none of these things work then you need to get right to a doctor, get on chantix since it contains no nicotine and develop some coping skills.

Good luck!

Thank you both so much i am going to try that. You are probably right. I miss it because i like how it makes me feel. I need to get over that. Thank you so much.
Holly

i have quit drinking and drugs! but i am still hooked on marlboro reds , about a pack a day! It really sucks guys. I have tried quitting before. I was actually in rehab where everyone smoked, ALL THE TIME. I got sick and quit. When I got better I just said to myself , hey I already quit, I might as well stay quit. Well when my probation appointment came around I got really nervous and smoked like 5 ciggs before I went, just incase I was going to jail for a dirty U. A. Anyways I truly want to quit I am worried about my health. I cough stuff up all the time, but the worst is the mornings! i feel sick alot, and it does not help with my cardio. Im worried about throat cancer the most becuase it is always irratted. I have been smoking since I was 12 but everyday sice I was 14.........Maybe I will try the chantix.
Sorry for the crappy grammer but im slouched over in a chair about to fall asleep. so i dont really care. lol
Goodnight

Ok im going to have a smoke now

Hey Holly & Bobby I smoked for 26 years (up to 2 packs a day ) and have not had a cigarette for 10 years now. The event that made me quit was the day they told me my daughter (2 yrs old) had the most severe case of Asthma they had ever seen in a child that age. I put them down then and there and never picked up another one. It took my wife about a year to finally quit and she substituted Twizzlers licorice for the cigarettes and it worked for her!! You need to find the power thats inside YOU! you can rationalize why you need to change better then any one and I know you have the courage after reading your story. I'm sending my positive energy your way and let me know if you want to talk about curbing the cigarette craves I can give you some of my diversions.
Peace to you,
Dave

Holly---Stay with it! I have never smoked but am happy that you have quit. And Bobby, you have done so much already, I know it's only time before you take this step--and with both of you getting support from someone who smoked for 26 years (Dave) and of course Bill Phillips and Coach Stoney and all the rest of the team here at Transformation...well, you will have all the encouragement and support you need.

My mom smoked for more than 35 years and finally decided to quit last February I think. She used Chantix as well, and at first, she would crave one when she smelled someone else smoking. I don't think it bothers her as much now.

Did you quit cold turkey or use something to stop smoking? Congrats on being smoke-free for 5 years now! That's really remarkable!

I quit cold turkey on the day my children brought home pamphlets and lay them all over the house. When i got home i saw them and cried. I never smoked around my kids and didn't even know they knew about it. Everyone else, with the exception of my mother and my aunt, smokes. I had several friends die from lung cancer. One died a few years ago. His name was Tom and i went to school with his daughter. He was a police officer and never smoked a day in his life. It was from second hand smoke. I don't want to die, not yet anyway. It is just hard sometimes being around everyone and them smoking and me i dont want to smoke but the smell is just too much sometimes and i have to leave. I know why i miss it. It is not really the smell it is the feeling i get after i have smoked a few. It is like a buzz. I feel like i can do anything and i am instantly relaxed. Terrible thing to say but i am being honest with myself and everyone else here.

Bobby i used to smoke the same as you except i also smoked camels. I know you can beat this. I now suck on suckers or chew gum. It is not the same but it is something. If not that i carry a smooth stone in my pocket and just rub the heck out of it when stressed. Sometimes it helps but what i really want to do is throw it sometimes. LOL

Thanks for all the great ideas folks.
~Holly

RE: Quitting Smoke

I heard about this book and it's had marvelous reviews on Amazon.com. Check it out there:

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Join the Millions Who Have Become Non-Smokers Using Allen Carr's Easyway Method by Allen Carr

Thanks John I am going to look it up!

I have battled the smoking addiction for so long. When I was trying to become pregnant with my son, I quit. For over 2 years. I gained a lot of weight and thought if I started again I would lose weight. I smoked again for a few years. I quit after my divorce and when I met my current husband. He hates it. I quit for 9 years!! My business caused me major stress and I would like you, just sneak a couple here and there. Before I knew it, I was smoking again. Never in front of my family. I kidded myself that they didn't know. It reaks!! No matter how much you bathe in body spray, you smell like a cigarette butt in a body spray bottle. It's nasty.

I quit again, for a year. Then last year, I had a tragedy in my family. I picked up a pack and was hooked immediately. I realized though, how awful I feel while I am smoking. Why would I add this on top of everything else. I tried to put them down, but more stress would hit and I couldn't. (or didn't want to) I went to the Dr. and got a prescription for Chantix. It is awesome! It really helps you if you WANT to quit. I really wanted to quit. I will NEVER, EVER put another cigarette in my mouth. They say it is worse then fighting a heroin addiction!! Each time I quit and then started again. it was harder to quit the next time. If you are still sneaking them, you have not quit! That is why you still crave them all the time. Be done. Be strong. Be healthy!

Thank you! Nothing like a quick kick in the pants!

I smoke, Really want to quit!! very hard. :-(

Lauren, the Chantex really helps eliminate the crazy withdrawals. Within 3 days, you will find hours go by and you don't think about it. You will find it starts tasting horrible, the smell is offensive again. After you smoke one, you feel pretty yucky. I had always quit smoking cold turkey in the past. I would go through a pretty serious "witchy" stage. I didn't this time. I have some serious stress in my life right now and I find I would rather sit here and focus on this site, then go out and have a cigarette. When I'm at work and people walk in the door after they just had a cigarette, I can literally smell it across the room. It is an offensive smell. Why would we want to smell like that? We know what it does to our lungs, why would we purposely do that to ourselves? We are here to transform our bodies to something we have always dreamed of, why would we damage the inside so bad? We are here to transform our minds to a mindset that would eliminate any reason or excuse we could possibly have to smoke. Make the decision, get the help and just do it! I have had people say, yah, but the prescription is so expensive (around $100). You will get that back in no time with what you save not buying cigarettes! Pretty good investment. Financially, physically & mentally!

You are right the savings is remarkable!

Hi! I too am an ex smoker (and I do love saying I don't smoke now). I smoked for 26 years and I quit cold turkey last fall.

I still crave them. Here's what I think about why....smoking is an avoidance behavior. I used to say I had to have a cigarette "to think". I used cigarettes to calm down. Before I clean the house, I needed a cigarette to make my to do list. I used cigarettes to help me NOT deal with things. When I need to deal with something and/or when I am rushed and just need "to think" I start really wanting to smoke again. I think about how great it will feel to calm down.....then I remember how hard it was to quit.

Never take another puff. It's no longer an option.

I'm late to post. Tracker is down. I think I've developed a BFL forum addiction. New profile and all. Here we go.

I quit smoking my fabulous friend Capris 2 weeks after starting BFL - so I'm about 8 weeks sans cigarette. Alas, not sans nicotine. Darn nicorette - I bet GlaxoSmithKline got a big a kick out of packaging the primary addictive ingredient in a treatment pkg. Nonetheless, not their fault if I don't taper off of it! I will say it ends the urge to grab a cigarette.

I admit that I have always felt that my main attraction to cigarettes is the habit itself... I loved playing with the smoke... the concentrated breathing, the hand to mouth motion, the silent tantrum I could throw in my own little corner with my silent little cigarette pal. Every time I got really mad, I would head off and buy a pack and sit and puff.

Ya know what finally did it, though? After numerous times of quitting for 2-4 weeks, my sister finally put the deal in that I couldn't refuse. I'm a vegetarian because I'm awfully fond of animals. My sister has always eaten cows and pigs and she agreed that she would stop eating cows and pigs if I would stop smoking. *Now* I feel that if I smoke a cigarette, it's the equivalent of killing a cow or a pig, so I just won't do it. Can't do it. It's the principle of the idea!

I haven't wanted a cigarette in weeks, but yesterday I was at work and a storm was blowing in and I wanted to go out and sit on the porch and have a cigarette and just enjoy the feeling of the storm coming in. Wonder why exactly. For me, the dynamics of smoking are relaxing... and that would have been an ideal moment with the universe. An illusion, indeed, but it just wouldn't be the same out there chewing a piece of nicorette and feeling the storm blow in... so I do believe a big part of the addiction is the habit itself. For me, the anti-social aspect also has an appeal... that it's something I do alone... which makes me feel that there is only me and the universe.

*Illusions* Surely I can replace that feeling with something else. Weight training provides something to do with your hands and concentrated breathing.