MUST quit smoking.

[Cya at 8 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Cya at 8]

I'm having some early signs of COPD and am an at-risk lung cancer candidate. I'm needing some suggestions on how to make quitting easier to deal with. Not that I don't have the will power (I PE consistently so I do), I just like the bump in concentration that smoking gives me. I am a software developer with adult ADHD and need all the help with focusing that I can get.

So my question is 2 part: How was the easiest way you guys quit smoking and what nootropics can I use to take the place of nicotine to help me do my job effectively?

[Zman007 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Zman007]

Have you thought about getting low dose medication for your adult ADHD? That in itself may help your focus better. I have a friend who at 39 just got treated and it has helped him immensely.

As to the smoking, behavior change is a difficult process and one that you are totally capable of. Also, don't be afraid to admit that that concentration boosting is merely a rationalization for an addiction. Caffeine is the usual substitute. Exercise can help manage some of the symptoms as well as add its own concentration and stress managing properties.

Good luck, this is a hugely worthwhile change in your life.

[darinsixpack Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close darinsixpack]

My brother was a pack a day-er for over 12 years. He used the niccorette mini lozenges and quit on the very first try and said after a week it was easy. He was popping those things, like 15-20 per day, but never cheated. After 6 months smoke free he got drunk one night and smoked. He described it like what a heroin addict must feel like. "The best cigarette of my life" and then he started mixing the lozenges 5-6 per day with 5-6 smokes. He was smoking again. He did this for about 3 months and then went back to just the lozenges, no problems and has once again been smoke free for 3 months.

He said those new lozenges pack a pretty good nicotine punch and make it easy. I would try them if I were you. Before he had tried the gum, patches, etc, with absolutely no luck

[dirtydave Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dirtydave]

I started smoking when I was 11 and quit at 37 due to a huge health scare. It is hard, don't fool yourself. It is definitely worth it though. I am smoke-free for 8 years now and a heart survivor. Everyone is different so I will not tell you to use this or that. Someone told me to tackle it in threes. If you can quit for 3 hours, certainly you can for three days. 3 days...then go for 3 weeks, then 3 months are within reach. I found it helped me because I didn't want to screw up the streak. Good luck.

[aussie78 Member Find all posts View Profile Close aussie78]

if you really want to stop you will. I have quit smoking, after 12 years I knew myself that I was over it and stopped without any patches or anything other than willpower. find something to do when you get a craving, occupy yourself and stay calm. your nerves are frayed for the first few days so warn people you have a short temper. after a while you only get cravings when around people that are smoking. I don't think it ever goes away. as darinsixpack wrote, never have another or you will be smoking again. there is no such thing as a casual smoker. decide if you smoke or not and stick to it. good luck you will need it

[Keelin Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Keelin]

Smoking is very bad habit's. It is not good for health. If you do smoking then you have many health problem create like lung cancer, mouth cancer and other many disease occur so please must quit smoking and save you life.

[jelqman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jelqman]

There are a couple ways that you could go about doing this. Nicotine patches/gum are available over the counter, but I heard they're pretty expensive. You could also go visit your general practitioner and get some prescription medication (bupropion and varenicline) that could help. If the only time you smoke is when you drink, you might wanna look into cutting out that habit as well. Having other smokers in the house will also make your job much more difficult, unless they follow with you and cut out the cigs. There are also certain programs that you could get into that help with abstaining from smoking. Hope that helps.

[Going411x7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Going411x7]

Have you thought of going to Smoke Enders? I would think a support group is needed here.

[Going411x7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Going411x7]

How did I stop smoking? I ended up in the hospital with alcohol problems, and since
alcohol was my main addiction, I decided to quit nicotine at the same time. I was
so fuckin' sick that I did not want to smoke.

[MrBigDick Retired ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close MrBigDick]

My god parents smoked heavily for YEARS........DECADES even. One day, they both quit cold turkey and never looked back. How the hell they pulled it off remains a mystery because I've heard that nicotene addiction is worse than heroine or any other drug out there. Scary shit man. I'm so glad I never started that habit.

[dejaview Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dejaview]

Yep, the personal accounts of quitting smoking are a mixed bag of success and failure. Some are astounding like the decision to quit a pack a day habit and never go back. Then there are those who try to quit and ulitmately relapse into old habits fast. But all in all reducing the amount smoked if not ideally stopping altogether is always a move in the right direction. I know some folks that just do not poccess the will power to quit smoking for good and never will. For them, the most viable approach is to gradually reduce their intake while gaining the confidence that comes from controlling your lifestyle choices. A revised schedule of maybe 3 or 4 per day is a vast improvement over the previous pack a day habit in most cases. The idea is to view all success in curbing or cutting the habit as something to be proud of for all aspects of your health.

[MrBigDick Retired ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close MrBigDick]

From what I've heard about how addicting nicotene is, the mere fact that my God parents were able to quit smoking cold turkey and to my knowledge never went back is truly amazing. They smoked my entire childhood and well before I was born. My Godmother ultimately passed away from cervical cancer back in '06 and I don't know if it was related to her smoking or not.

[dejaview Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dejaview]

My Godmother ultimately passed away from cervical cancer back in '06 and I don't know if it was related to her smoking or not.

Sadly, there is a good chance that smoking was a significant factor in your Godmother developing cervical cancer. I remember reading an article in the NYT some years ago that cited cigarette smoking a powerful influence in the development of cervical cancer as well as distorted cells that are precursors to malign growths and tumors. They had studied 60 women with advanced cervical cancer and 85% were smokers. There was also some evidence that the rest had exposure to secondhand smoke most probably from their spouses.

[MrBigDick Retired ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close MrBigDick]

Sadly, there is a good chance that smoking was a significant factor in your Godmother developing cervical cancer. I remember reading an article in the NYT some years ago that cited cigarette smoking a powerful influence in the development of cervical cancer as well as distorted cells that are precursors to malign growths and tumors. They had studied 60 women with advanced cervical cancer and 85% were smokers. There was also some evidence that the rest had exposure to secondhand smoke most probably from their spouses.

I found out today that my Godfather has emphyzema (I'm sure I misspelled that).............from all the years of smoking no doubt.

[mvergasioin Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mvergasioin]

I still crave an occasional cigarette. Luckily if I buy a pack, i am a hacking mess before I finish it because I have become allergic to cigarettes.

I do not buy them. My wife can detect if I have smoked one recently.

When I tried stimulants many years ago for study purposes I just smoked more .

Set yourself a goal. Don't buy, have faith, and just bum one or so occasionally. Eventually you won't need it with your coffee or after a meal. Then you have more freedom.

Move on...and I am pleased now that I only smoke an occasional one on impulse and then no more for a long time.