So you are looking for information on how to quit smoking. There are thousands of smoking cessation plans and programs out there. Your health insurance carrier may even have one listed on their website. Not all of these smoking cessation programs work and many find that it is expensive and hard to find time to attend the meetings.
There are also hundreds of quit smoking aids on the market today. You could try hypnosis, artificial cigarettes, various kinds of gums, toothpicks, filters to place on your cigarettes to help, to name a few. There is the patch, the mint flavored gum and yes now they are using some anti-depressants such as Zyban and nortriptyline to name a couple.
If you want to quit smoking it is not easy even with all the supplies and assistance out there. Nicotine is one of the strongest addictive products in the world today. It is harder for a person smoking cigarettes to kick the habit than a heroin addict to kick drugs. You also have to fight the mental conditioning that comes with smoking, that having a cigarette after every meal, having a smoke while you drive to work, you will find these times the hardest to cope with when you are trying to quit smoking.
But don’t give up, even if you have tried to quit smoking time and time again, if you keep at it you can accomplish it. I smoked for 23 years and was able to kick the habit on my 5th try without using any of these gimmicks. I tried the gum, the patches and the anti-depressants none of these worked, in fact I smoked while trying these methods. Even though the packaging stated that there was a possibility of death if you smoked with some of them. I found that the nicotine in the patches and gum were not apparently high enough doses to hold me throughout the day.
Both of my parents died from cigarette smoking related cancers. Even in light of this fact I still continued to smoke, making excuse after excuse to continue. When I finally decided to quit smoking I had no way of knowing how to quit smoking. It came to me by way of a tragedy that almost cost me my own life.
In July 1989 I had a massive heart attack and the doctors told me that I needed to quit smoking. After two weeks in the hospital and being unable to smoke, I still left the hospital wanting a cigarette. I found that I had to change my entire lifestyle routines in order to not want that cigarette. I changed to decaffeinated coffee, I sat in a different area to eat my meals, I kept hard candy and sun flower seeds on hand, I had my house painted inside and curtains cleaned and furniture cleaned to take the smell of smoke from them. I also did not go places with anyone who smoked for about 4 months. I did not go to any establishments that were not smoke free and I spent a lot of time deep breathing when ever the urge for a cigarette came upon me. When I returned to work I had to eat at a different time for my lunch hour and I took breaks at my work station. I found that I had to change all the routines that I had if they were done with a cigarette. If you continue to do the same thing you did before you decided to quit smoking you will find the urge for that cigarette painfully high.
It is not an easy task to stop smoking, but how to stop smoking varies with each person. The methods that I used may not help anyone else, but if you try each one in combination with others you may just find the right fit for you. Perhaps a friend who smokes and wants to quit will do the buddy system with you. Look around, try them all if need be, but quit if you can and live longer, you will find each breath you take is much sweeter when that cigarette is not in your way.
I have not smoked since 1989 but still find if I am in the wrong place at the wrong time I am hit with the urge for a cigarette once in a while. I take 10 deep breaths, put a stick of gum in my mouth and if possible try running or walking a while. I remind myself that life is too short for one to spend it killing yourself with cigarettes.
