Quitting Smoking

[jridgeback]

If you tried really hard to stop smoking (assuming you only smoked less than ten a day in the first place) how long would it take to quit completely - if you worked really, really hard ?

[fibifooz]

My husband and Son both quit smoking cold turkey, on New Years Day 2003 and neither one have cheated and I'm so proud of them both. My husband smoked cigars and my son smoked about 20 cigarettes a day.

[silly moo]

Some people quit and then eventually never want another.
Other poeple always want another even after 20 yrs.
Must be part of the addiction type gene.
I failed at quitting this time and am back to my old bad habits.
Will try again some time.

[Elfin]

Look at it this way - every morning that you wake up, you are already a non-smoker until you light one up again. 

[acw]

According to the NHS quit smoking helpline, it takes 48hrs for nicotine to leave the body (no matter how heavily you smoke).  So technically, 48 from your last cig you are no longer physically addicted and it's all just a case of will power after that. 

 

That helpline also advises people who are stopping to describe themselves as "non-smokers" rather than "I've just quit".  This apparently gets you into the mindframe that you don't smoke and don't need to. 

 

Key to quitting is to want to.  If you don't want to quit forever, you'll start again sometime.  Good luck!

[rojash]

Failure of logic there acw. The absence of nicotine from the body doesn't mean you are no longer addicted, any more than the absence of vitamins from the body means you no longer need vitamins, or the basence of food means you are no longer hungry.

In 48 hours you will be a nicotine addict with a nicotine defficiency.

[acw]

Not my logic actually; note how I was quoting the NHS.  Also please note my use of the word PHYSICALLY addicted.  The mental and psychological addiction continues long after the nicotine leaves the body.  As I said. 

[jridgeback]

Thanks for your help - but no-one has actually answered the question yet. How long will it take ?

[Sammy Snake]

I don't know what you mean by 'How long will it take'.

If you gave up smoking on say 1 May and then never had another cigarette ever, you could truthfully say you had given up completely on 2 May, so that would be 1 day.

[sasserina]

You have to really, really want to stop ...For me and my partner we saw something really bad to make us want to stop...we stopped together that day and have never looked back since...We used the inhaler thingies to get us through..they worked wonders...Try them and see...

[acw]

Surely it takes from the day you quit til the day you die to measure the time you spent in your life as an ex-smoker who definitely NEVER fell off the wagon?

[collywobs]

if your asking how long it takes ,then how long i a piece of string, its very differant from person to person one person might be over the addiction and the craving in a month .on a personal note its 20 years since i stopped and while i am glad that i did sometimes i still look at other people wistfully lighting up and the look of relief and relaxation and simple pleasure on there face makes me gag for a fag(cigarette)but of course i fight it

[Merlin]

jridgeback

I gave up (cold turkey) on 30th June 2004. My previous attempt lasted 5 weeks but this time I'm just coming up for 10 months.

I had a friend who gave up several years ago. About 2 years after he gave up, I asked him how long it was before the craving went away. He said "I'll let you know when it does!".

Anyway, there is another aspect to all this that helps you get through the temptation. After a while you realise that you have invested so much effort and suffering (for you and the people around you) that it would be such a waste to light up again. You start to get proud of yourself (in a good way) and the potential disappointment of giving in to temptation gets greater, Eventually, you just don't want to light up again - even if you get a craving!  For me, that came when I reached the magic 5 weeks and 1 day.

Try this method - just give up for just one day. You know you can get through 1 day without smoking, whatever you have to do to achieve it.

Then the next day, just give up for just one day. You did it before - you can do it again.

Either call yourself a non-smoker right now and resolve right now never to light up again or tell yourself you're only doing it for one day.

It helps if you bin all the tobacco you've got.