We are addicts and it is tough, I am on my 4th quit, down to 3-5 smokes a day from a pack or more. Last time I quit cold turkey and the anxiety was unbearable. This is why I am doing ti weaning. So far so good, get rid of one more ea day every week........ You have to find whay works for you.

I hope to quit smoking by New Year's 2014. I have an idea of blowing bubbles instead of smoking. have not tried it yet but it works for that hand to mouth fix.

Hi there,
I'm slowly giving them up, but it's hard. Last week I tried the patches, that lasted two days. My anxiety was too high, So stop them, and now I'm trying to slowly use less. It's not so bad when My husband is around, because he hates smoking, and drives me crazy about it when I go out for one, however when he is working it's hard. I have two young boys home with me, that drive me crazy.lol. and in turn I need that smoke. I'm also looking into this pipe thing. it kind of works like those fake smokes, but it has a small amount of nicotine in them. I heared they work great. I have a card from guy who makes them. So I'm thinking of giving him a call, he makes them based on your needs. I'll let you know if it works

Oh i no i was of them for 3 months then today i had one then another now i hate myself

i also know my health is suffering from my smoking, yet it saves me like it is a dear friend that cares about me..strange ! i am alone an not so happy an have also gained weight ..i am a emotional mess i KNOW so my smoking gives me comfort in a sick way. i have cut myself down to about 4 a day as of right now. i looked on the computer for support groups found this site an remembered i had been on it before when my son passed away an my marriage fell apart..so here i am again..:(

HI katieJC, I loved smoking too. Very much! I recently was diagnosed with high blood pressure, so I decided it was time to stop. I smoked for over 27 years I have been smoke free for four months now and I have been able to quit with the aid of a vapor cig. There are multitudes of flavors and nicotine levels as well. I really believe that it has helped me stop smoking. You can read plenty of pros and cons with vapors from what I have read, but am sure just about anything would be better than the loads of toxins that cigarettes have. I don't plan on using the vapor cig for much longer. I am already on the lowest nicotine level, so my next step is to go nicotine free and quit from there. I hope this information is helpful and I wish you good luck in quitting smoking. It is hard, but it can be done. If you would like more info on the vapor cig, just let me know.

Hi Katie, I'm Suzy and I don't know if you checked out my quitting story, somewhere on this particular site. I quit in January, 2013 and it took me a very long time, going back and forth. Believe me, I loved smoking more than I liked breathing air! lol I still crave a cigarette now and then. Not everyday like I used to, but if I see someone in a movie take a drag of a cigarette, I start drooling. lol. Well, maybe not exactly but I think you get the idea. lol.

So, this is how I did it. My husband (Steve) and I both smoked. My husband gave it up, cold turkey and never looked back (don't get me wrong it was harder for him) I was absolutely in awe of Steve for what he did and how hard it was for him. I used Nicorette Gum for exactly six days and then had a meltdown. I wanted a cigarette. I was crying, almost hysterical over a Marlboro light! My husband said, "look, if you're going to be that upset over this, then smoke! I'd rather see you calm down than that upset!"

I also have Bipolar Disorder, so smoking was my refuge in so many ways. For some unknown reason, that meltdown was a turning point for me. I also should let you know I was starting to get health problems directly caused by cig. smoking. I was getting tightening in my chest. My doctor performed a stress test and my heart is great, so it was my smoking. So I made up my own quit plan. I bought a pack of cigarettes b/c this was how I was going to do it. Now if you remember, I had six days behind me without any cigarettes and a much smaller amount of nicotine going into my body from the Nicorette gum. That first drag in six days almost made me faint, but I didn't. I also felt so bad b/c I felt like I failed. I didn't fail, I just didn't do it the conventional way: Cold turkey, patch, gum, etc. (I tried the patch before and it made me too nervous, and I never smoked with it on)

I took three cigarettes and those had to last me the entire day. I would slowly cut down, or wean myself off of the nicotine slowly, however I was doing it my way, which made me feel much more in control of the situation. I forget the timeline and how long it took me to go through each cigarette, but I weaned myself down to one cigarette, and eventually, down to how many puffs I had each day... I got all the way down to 2 puffs per day of a little butt, and I eventually stopped doing that.

Katie, I hope you're successful in quitting, but it's so hard, that's why so many people start smoking again.. I think a lot of people would be lying if they said they didn't "love" smoking, like you admitted. I hope this helped. I hope I didn't sound like an ex-smoker either! I wish you luck. I used to come to Daily Strength everyday, but I've become a bit busier lately so it's more like 3x a week. However if you ever need to ask a question or need to vent or talk.. I'm here.. One more thing: Sorry if this was too long! Take care, Suzy