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August 3rd, 2010
06:14 PM ET
Change your thinking to kick that cigarette habit
Imagine how tantalizing, how powerful the craving for a cigarette is. Then imagine you could stem that craving by merely changing the way you think. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that merely thinking differently could help control cravings. "Most people think that the reason smokers use substances is because of a lack of self-control," said Kevin Ochsner, associate professor of psychology at Columbia University. "We show they don't lack it, the problem they have is they may not know what strategy to use." Let's face it, our brains are wired for short-term rewards, whether it is the first drag on a cigarette or the first bite of a hot stack of pancakes. According to study authors, the strategy to curb those cravings is almost deceptively simple: re-wiring the brain to think long-term. Ochsner and colleagues gave brain scans to 21 people who reported regularly smoking. They posed two scenarios. In one, they measured what happened in the brain after asking smokers to think about the immediate rewards of smoking, for example the first drag on a cigarette, how the smoke would feel entering the lungs, or the sensation of smoke curling out of the mouth. In the second scenario smokers were asked to imagine the long-term consequences of smoking - health problems associated with it - such as emphysema or heart disease. By way of comparison, the same was done with food. Study respondents were shown photos of delectable, fatty foods and asked to think about the short-term rewards (how great the food would taste), and the long-term consequences (obesity, diabetes, heart disease) while their brain activity was measured. Turns out, something as simple as focusing on the long-term consequences of smoking (or eating fatty foods) could control the craving. "This gives us a biological explanation for how cognitive regulation of craving works," said Hedy Kober, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and the study's lead author. "By changing the way they think about cigarettes in moments of craving, by focusing on the negative long-term consequences, [smokers] can reduce craving and change their own brain activity." Two areas of the brain are at work when we crave things - the prefrontal cortex and the ventral striatum. The prefrontal cortex is an area associated with reasoning and the ventral striatum is associated with emotion, desire, and craving. Among study participants, successfully curbing cravings involved activating the reasoning part of the brain more than the craving-driven region. Except re-wiring the brain, re-shaping how one thinks about craving, is far from simple - it is a long process. And then there are important questions about the biological underpinnings of addiction. Still, study authors say that thinking differently is powerful therapy. "It takes a sustained, continuous effort," said Ochsner. "It is teaching you a new kind of emotional response instead of just going reflexively. It's slow and painful but we absolutely have the potential to do it." soundoff (3,495 Responses)1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Next »Leave a Reply to Google Marketing Business
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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I'm 59. Been smoking since 16. Quit in 76. cold turkey. Smoked 3 packs the day before & made myself sick. Lasted 6 years & a coworker egged me on to take a drag. Bingo, again. Went to 2002 & almost made it, while I was in the phillipines seeking a bride with friends, my Dad passed away. When I got back, my Mom called with the news & said get your behind up there. Of course I stopped at the first store out. Bingo again. Since then I was smoking 1 1/2 packs a day. In 3-2009 a fellow worker got the Rhino Virus, & got it. (upper respertory). The 2nd day I got & had 7 cigs. Ilayed down & take & nap. Got up & have been smoke free . Cold Turkey. I had an open pack on the table which I smashed with a hammer in front of my neighbor, & 4 packs on the fridge, which sat there for 4 months. Gave them away. In that same time frame, cigs went up $20 a carton, & they changed the paper to that anti burn junk. They tasted awful. I dont mind getting 2nd hand smoke outside. But when a coworker comes back in from having one, they reek of smoke. And yes, my smell & taste have gotten a lot more acute. Just thinking of how the paper tasted turns my brain off from wanting one. PLUS, I gave myself a $240 amonth raise!!! It's all in your head. You can QUIT if you want!! Will never go back!!! THE END!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay for you Charlie – good job! I'm a little younger (42) but smoked pretty much always for 25 years. Quit 9 years ago for 6 months then started again for no good reason. Now I've quit for 4 months and also won't start again.
FYi, the "rhino virus" is the common cold
I started smoking a pack a day since I was 15 (don't ask me how I got em), but now that I'm almost 18, I've forced myself to stop. Both my grandparents dies from stomach ulcers from smoking and it's in my blood. Hopefully, I can make it through college without a single smoke. As daunting as it sounds, I think I'll make it
I love the fact that you went to the Phllipines "looking for a bride."
Something else that helps is coughing up mouthfulls of blood. It scared me smokeless and like Charlie I'm done with them. Fortunately is was only an infection, but I put 'em away anyhow.
Good for you for finally kickin it! :- D I've been smoke free for almost a year. I've gone back and forth in the past and I crave it. I see someone smoking and I want to take their cigarette so bad and keep it all to myself. I have yet to give into it. I really hope I can kick it for good.
"Looking for a bride", they have bride shops over there?
Same with me, started smoking at 14, smoked though 7 years in the Navy and 20 years in the Army, heck, smokers got smoke breaks, non smoker didn't so it was kind of encouraged. I'm 58 now, quit last year when I thought I had a heart attack, went to the ER, got two days of tests including the live camera tour of the insides of my heart, came out clean, turned out to be pulled chest muscles from throwing a lawn mower round my drainage ditch at home. That was on a Thursday, got out of the hospital on Friday and did not smoke another cigarette, no idea how that episode just totally turned the habit off but it did, no shakes, no withdrawal, nothing, just gone. I put the money aside and in 6 months bought and paid for a new 50 inch Pansonic flat panel plasma and a month later a matching blue ray player, the money now is going into a harley account LOL.
Physically the upside, I can run again, taste food, the decomposing dead rat taste in the morning when I wake up is gone, no more ED either which makes the wife, and me, much happier.
Even being around smokers has no effect.
When I started smoking a pack of Marlboro's were .25 cents, now $7 in Pa and $14 in NYC.
Quit if you can, I often wonder what life would have been like if my family had not smoked and I never started.
Great job to all who quit!!!!! I used Chantix and it was like a miracle to me... smoked for almost 40 years and it was slowly killing me... Wish everyone luck trying to quit and remember you can do it if you set your mind to it...
Im 22 and just quit after 3-4 years of smoking. Im using an E-Cigerette, good stuff once you find some good flavors you like.
Me, too. 3 weeks this Thursday on the Vapor. Coffee flavor and Vanilla are the ones for me.
Thirds! e-cigs rock! (well the good ones do...dont get ripped off folks!)
Vaping an eGo, with LR's and Ms T's 🙂
Although, the eCigs may be better than regular cigs, that is not quitting. When I quit 21 years ago at the tender age of 38 I had been smoking for 25 years, yes the math puts me at 8 when I started stealing cigs from my parents. I smoked Kools for most of that time and sat at my kitchen table one evening after work, asked my wife if she wanted to see me smoke my last cigarette, and have not put one to my lips since that day. I found that you need to be thankful you don't have to smoke, instead of pining for the taste of a cigarette.
those e-cigs are made in china and have liquid in them that is more toxic than tobacco. and they are more addicting than regular cigs because people tend to puff on them more. my friend was a distributor for the e-cigs and then they discontinued the product because of the risks. i smoked from age 13 to 29 and quit 5 years ago this month. i read a book called "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" and never again smoked. it's not mental addiction, it's not physical addiction, it's not pyschological addiction, it's not emotional addiction – it's all of them and you need to go back to the root of why you ever started to understand how to quit.
smoked 30 yrs... now using the ecig and vaping to quit... yes you can quit using them the nicotine can be lowered... it is just like using the nicotine patches or the gum.. but you are getting your oral fix too... I have researched a lot of ecigs.. the best I have found is www dot evapors dot com
i hv smokes for many years and i think the e cig. sounds good . how did you get started?
Seeing this made me spit up coffee on my computer. Do you have any moreuseful insights? I am really impressed, I have to say. Will you be writing any more articles on this topic? Because I would sure love to discover more about this.
https://freedomactivist.net/events.html
This article is no joke. Half a pack of Marb reds a day for 5 years, I quit with no patches, e-cigs, gum, or prescriptions. Two years of beating myself up mentally until the pain of failure was worse than the pain of withdrawal. A stubborn way to go, but learning to think differently can make all the difference in the world. I'm not just smoke free, I'm nicotine free. The reward is to not have to want it anymore.
Bingo Mark! I quit 15 years ago, after a 2 pack a day for 20 years habit. In the end, it was all mental (although I did use the patch, which took the edge off just enough so that I could succeed). I focused on never having a plant in control of my life again! Being able to plan my life without smoking breaks, being able to fly without suffering nicotine fits... it's so worth it. One big nicotine fit and you are free, and in the end guess what... I LOST weight because I had the ability to move without gasping for breath.
Suggestion: track how much $ you save by NOT smoking and a year later spend just half on something you really, really want... a trip, a toy, whatever it is. You deserve it!
indeed, some scientific evidence for what I was fortunate enough to figure out last year: The book: "The mind and the brain: Neuroplasticity and the power of Mental Force" gave me the tools on how to rewire my brain - the book was geared more for OCD types - but smokers do obsess when they are wanting a cigarette.
http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Brain-Neuroplasticity-Power-Mental/dp/0060988479
I like Mark's comment – I am a sober alcoholic today because there came a time when the pain, loss, and threat of death from drinking became worse than the fear of life without a drink, and that is the point that I became willing to do anything to stay sober. Now, I KNOW that applying that same willingness to quitting smoking will work, and I am trying to bridge that gap between what I KNOW, and what I am willing to DO. What have I got to lose except a bad habit? Wish me luck!
I tired to quit many times, and always failed. When I quit for good 7 months ago, I KNEW I was done. This article is dead on. Also, people say they smoke when they drink. I think it's just the opposite, they drink cause they want to smoke. Smoking is the greater addiction here. Think about it. When you are ready, write yourself a little speech about why you need to quit, and recite it as often as you need to when cravings creep up on you. If I can do it, you can do it.
Good Luck.
sorry but different for women.
I quit smoking the day my daughter was born. Cold turkey. I looked at at her face and that was all I needed. I'm 30, and I smoked a pack a day since I was 18. I've never felt better. I hope others can find what they need to quit.
not yet... two pcks a day... will quit soon, but be honest, there's nothing like a cigarette
I started smoking at 12. I wanted to look cool and grown up like my older friends. I taught my 16 year-old sister how to inhale. My dad even bummed cigs from me when I was 14. I smoked about 1/2+ packs/day until I was 25. Quit for 10 years; but I wanted a cigarette the whole time. Got divorce and decided I could smoke and work but not drink and work. (I liked drinking a lot, and was good at it) Smoked another 5 years or so, then quit for 2 years. Started hanging out in the bars and smoking naturally went with driniing. I smoked from then (age 42) for 20 years, same rate; 1/2+ pack/day to a pack a day when stressed. I finally quit 3 1/2 years ago. I've had 1 in the first 5 months, then no more.
I decided to use an old Jamaican saying about taking back your power, "tings nah run mi, mi run tings". I have control over my life, no patches, hypnosis, or other aids. I just quit.
OK, I'll be honest Daniel. Quit cold after 40 years, 2+ packs/day. You're right, there's nothing like a cigarette. They are the most disgusting repulsive things on our (still) green earth. I can no longer tolerate the stink of them. You're being raped! Stop it!
the addict loves cigs..but do you? my addict loves cigs too, but i dont want to die to please her...you shouldnt either!
I'm 18 and have never smoked, but i am fat and the above stuff works. Problem is im still fat. 🙁
Better fat than hacking up a lung!
ain't gonna quit. it's who i am. I care little for what others think. You worry about how you will spend your life do not waste your time attempting to parent me
Except an old flame just told me that he has lung cancer. I would like to avoid that if possible.
LOL @ people trying to parent you....this is simply a news article
Keep on smoking! Its your short life
agree 100% lalverson – I've quit for a very short time, and ain't going to try to tell others they should. I never appreciated that when I was smoking. It's a free country, right?
until you're getting your healthcare off my dime....smokers consume more healthcare than any other group...but yeah, your life, shorten it if you want
Why are people so fixated on cigarettes and people quitting smoking when drinking can kill you and a loved one in the short term. You don't see the anti drinking adds(which you can get alcohol poisoning and die fairly easily) . You don't see any anti heroine or cocaine adds(which can kill you after your first use). But you do see anti cigarette adds (cigarettes kill you over a span of decades) and anti-pot adds (well..........you can't die from pot unless you can manage to afford, find, buy, and smoke 150 lbs of it in one sitting) leave the smokers alone, the media should be focused on hard drugs and alcohol.
that is the addict talking, smoking is not who you are...would you say that if you were addicted to crack?
This kind of in-you-face manifesto is really a cry for help (or pity). And for Richard, the reason everyone is so focused on smoking is it kills 400,000 people each year! And why assume that being anti-tobacco means you can't be anti-alcohol or anti-drugs, or anti-anything for that matter?
Imagine gasping for breath until your body is simply too exhausted and oxygen depleted to continue and there is simply no lung left.
That is exactly what happens when someone develops emphysema. My aunt died of this disease, and I have never seen anything more pitiful or heartbreaking than her trying so hard to breathe (even with oxygen, it's eventually impossible). Her body began to shut down system by system until she passed away. I've never wished anyone to leave this earth, but I prayed for her to be released. I've never seen anything so horrible. And the sound someone makes, the torturous look on their face when they can't get their breath...it's awful!
I know it sounds trite, but those of you who have not been smoking a very long time or who do not smoke more than a pack a day, it will be so much easier if you quit now. Every day you delay makes a difference. I know this because I was a heavy smoker (3 pks a day) for nearly 30 years. At every step along the way, I thought, "I've got time to quit before any bad damage is done." You tell yourself (or rather the nicotine monster in your brain tells you) all sorts of things to avoid quitting.
But if you continue, you'll gradually increase the amount you smoke and, like I said, every day you delay makes it that much harder to quit. I'm not trying to browbeat anyone, please know that - but I know from experience how incredibly difficult it can be. It has ruined my health (google Buerger's Disease), and I wish to God I'd never seen a cigarette.
Quitting sooner is a lot easier and better than quitting later, obviously. So please consider it. The number one thing is that you HAVE to really want to quit. If you don't, no method will work...and if you do, almost any method will. So work on getting in the right frame of mind. That is the key. And don't be discouraged if you have slip-ups. Just continue as if it hadn't happened. You'll get there if you truly want it!
@ Missy – you've got Buerger's? That's pretty dang rough. I've never seen somebody decline with emphysema, but I've heard it described just like you did, and wouldn't wish it on anybody. Take care of y'self.
ExSmoker, yeah I do. Fortunately, it hasn't progressed to the point I've lost any digits or limbs (and none of them look like the skin on a waaaay over-grilled hot dog, thank God). Just discoloration and pain. I'd never heard of this before I was diagnosed, and I'm guessing most other smokers aren't aware of it, either.
You just never know what's gonna sneak up on you, so it's best to do what you can to take care of yourself and stay healthy. At least that way, you know you've done all you could. I am GLAD to see your nickname is EX-smoker - congrats and good for you! Thank you for the kind words. 🙂
its called copd or emphysemia
So let me get this straight: Thinking about emphysema or lung cancer is more likely to reduce cravings than thinking about the high. No sh**, Sherlock. I'm going to take a wild guess that whatever these researchers actually found was completely over the head of the writer of this article, because there's nothing meaningful here. Any idiot could tell you that if smokers considered the long-term consequences along side the short term rewards, it would affect their behavior. The real meat of this study seems to be in how exactly one should re-wire their brain to think that way. I'm sure the researchers had something to say about that, but none of it is here. It has very interesting ramifications, if you ask me. For example, future consequences are, all other things being equal, less important than immediate consequences, simply because the future is less certain the further out you project. If we're going to re-wire our brains, how do we ensure that we account for this, and many other, potential side-issues? Is this article going to confront any of these heady issues? No. All CNN gave us was a "smoking is bad, and here's some people doing stuff about it" BS headline followed by an article that says less than nothing. We are all dumber for having read this rubbish. Next time, let Dr. Gupta write his own blog, he's much better at it.
you put it perfectly.
Thank you so much for your post. I kept reading the article hoping I would learn HOW to rewire my brain. Not just so I can quit smoking, but maybe to stay on track with 2, 3, and even 5 year plans, most of which have to do with not blowing my budget. I'm 32, been smoking almost 10 years. I quit when I was pregnant with my daughter, but that took me the whole 1st trimester to pull off, all the while every time I lit one up I thought about what it was doing to my baby. The pregnancy was a complete surprise, I was not ready to have a baby and shamefully admit that I really was not accepting my responsibility. Then I started to show and then we had an ultrasound and I saw my daughter alive, and at that point I identified with her, loved her and I did not want to jeopardize her health in any way. I quit that day. It was very hard. The cravings were so bad I would cry, then maybe 2-3 weeks later I finally stopped craving. About 6 mos later she was born. I was happy and convinced I wouldn't start smoking again. But I did..... it's amazing the affect a visit from your mother in law can have on you. I made it exactly a year. The interesting part about it is that I was nursing, which you're not supposed to do while smoking, for various reasons. But all I needed was for someone to tell me it's better to nurse even if you smoke, than to not nurse at all. My point is that this article sucks. I don't want to smoke, I don't want to do a lot of things I do. I am ashamed of such weaknesses. My daughter is now 3, and I've attempted to quit 4 times since then, and only lasted 4 days at the longest. Patch, gum, cold turkey, I just signed up for group counseling, I've prayed to God. I was only able to apply this "rewiring" when I my child depended on my body for sheer life. I'm starting to think my next success story will come with child number 2, if I'm healthy enough. So yes, I do fear death by suffocation, and worse, leaving my child behind because of my actions. I need to know how to program that fear into action.
Sarah,
I did the exact same thing when I had my daughter (unexpectedly). Took me about 3 months to quit which I did because I did not want to jeapordize my daughter's health! I did not smoke for a year and half afterwards either, until I split up with her father and started going out and thought I could smoke one or two if I was drinking. Well now I smoke again. I have been trying to quit again on and off for 2.5 years now. I can sometimes go a week or two but it seems those stretches are getting shorter and less common. Time to quit for good. I also hope another pregnancy would help me kick the habit for good, although I should be able to do it before that anyway. Unfortunately I'm now single so no more kids in my near future. 🙁 I absolutely need to just stop! I sort of agree with this article though because I remember having quit and not understanding how people had such a difficult time quitting. In my mind I never wanted to smoke again and couldn't understand why people couldn't be "strong like me". Well, here I am again. It is a battle. Personally I think there should be inpatient programs to quit smoking. Some people seriously need to have no access to nicotine to get over it. I am sure I would sign up if it were an option for me and if I could go a month, I don't think I'd start again. Maybe. ha.
Jon, I'm pretty sure the point of the article was not to provide step-by-step instructions on how to re-wire your brain. I'm also certain that, since this is a CNN website and not a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the article is most likely directed at the general public or – more specifically – those struggling with addictions, so it may have glossed over the science. If you are so concerned, I'm sure you can read the details in your copy of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and I'm positive the Academy is anxiously awaiting your critique of the study.
While you may not have any vices with which you struggle and therefore may find this to be true "rubbish," those who are struggling with addictions may actually benefit from the knowledge that we can change the way we think. That is the nature of addiction – It controls. It dictates thoughts and behaviors. Those who are in the grips of an addiction would actually not be "dumber" for having read that there is nothing inherently wrong with them for thinking short-term, that they are, in fact, hard-wired for such thinking. They may also benefit from the knowledge that the addiction doesn't need to have the final word and that they can train themselves to argue with their own automatic (addiction based) thoughts. Once they've conquerred the physical withdrawal symptoms, they have a long road ahead battling the psychological withdrawals and, in my opinion, anything that *might* help them with that can't be all bad.
For example, one who thinks "I can run to the store and spend $5.00 for a pack of cigarettes and it would be soooooo good," could train himself to rebut his own assertion by saying, "Yes, but then I'll be hooked again and that $5.00 per day played out over the next 25 years (should I live that long) is really $45,500." After a few days of that, the question is no longer "Do I want to spend $5 on a pack of cigarettes today?" The question becomes "Am I willing to sign over $45,500 in future income today?"
I'm very glad that there are so many people for whom this is not a problem, but there really is no need to dismiss and condemn an article that means nothing to YOU as completely useless for the whole human race.
Future consequences are a crap shoot. You may or may not get anything from cigarettes other than bronchitis. Hell, you run the risk of cancer and other illnesses living a completely healthy lifestyle. I quit for one reason only.....Because I'm a cheap bastard and I wasn't going to pay $5.00+ for a pack of cigarettes! If I want a smoke that bad I'll just do like some old timers used to do and go into the woods and get some grapevine and smoke it.
I quit on my oldest daughter's birthday a year and a half ago and used Chantix to do so – nothing else had ever worked in the past. I smoked 3 packs a day for almost 30 years before that. I still crave one a year and a half later, but too damn stubborn to go back to them.
I did NOT have suicidal thoughts on Chantix, I DID have amazingly screwed up dreams and the STRONG desire to kill and mutilate coworkers – although that really doesn't vary much from the norm with me....lol I would NEVER have quit without Chantix....I had tried every other method there is to no avail.
Glad I quit? Yeah, I can breathe a little easier. However, with the chemicals that I work and live around, breathing easy is never quite within my grasp. As for living longer, I doubt it. Congenital heart defect and a congenital liver problem that produces more cholesterol than I can eat would have done me in long before the smokes....and can't say it's going to be any more pleasant a death – but such is life. Besides, it always adds those crappy older years onto life...I wanted my years added onto my 20's!!! Smoke 'em if ya got 'em!!!
There is no magic bullet. It takes strength and determination for the first 3 weeks,,,then it is all downhill. Really. Never take another puff. If you do: BAM...your body is looking for it again...you relive the withdrawal nightmare all over again. Never, ever take another puff...simple but true
You are spot-on. Must have also spent some time at whyquit?
435,000 people died from tobacco last year. Marijuana...........................0.
Damn right, brother, you hit the nail on the head!
First time smoke it hooked...........
seriously! when will they legalize it?!?
I'm sorry but I'm so tired of hearing that Marijuana is not legal therefore I'm sure it is more difficult to collect data on the effects. Secondly, if you are smoking marijuana you are in fact polluting your lungs just as cigarette smokers. Please don't buy into the idea that it can't/won't cause lung cancer or emphysema, etc. You may not be able to die of overdose like other drugs, but it's likely to still cause health problems and can lead to disease (not to mention laziness, stupidity, and ignorance).
@CP – the only reason smoking is bad for you is because nicotine paralyzes the cilia in your lungs that are supposed to be moving the bad stuff out of your lungs. So the tar from cigarettes remains in your lungs because you can't cough it up. Marijuana does not contain nicotine, hence it does not paralyze the cilia, therefore you can cough up the residuals from the smoke. It also happens to be completely non-addictive (habit forming, yes, but that's different) and the safest drug out there.
@CP-Speaking of ignorance, maybe you should read up a little on cannabis delivery methods. Vaporizing and edible cannabis products produce non of the carcinogens you're talking about and, as Diana stated, it's not physically addictive like nicotine.
let the govt. take over
I did a very simplified version of this article that worked for me: When I was trying to quit smoking, every time I picked up a cigarette, I would incessantly repeat all of the long term consequences to myself: "cancer, emphysema, pneumonia etc...." I did this for only about 2 or 3 weeks. One day I picked up my hand to take a drag, and instead found myself throwing it away with no desire to ever smoke again. I had successfully changed my thinking, I associated cigarettes from something very enjoyable to somethings very repulsive. I hope this helps someone out there.
U R A STRONG PERSON. I WISH I COULD THINK LIKE THAT
Charlie Meyers...yes...it is in the brain...I quit smoking after 30 yrs by going 15 min at a time...none since
I used to drink 2 liters of Pepsi every day and then I just made up my mind to try changing how I think and it worked . I just kept telling myself what nasty stuff it was and what a sucker I was and I sort of grossed myself out. I haven't had any in 12 years in the house. Once in awhile when out for dinner I might get a small glass but very rarely. I drink water and don't allow soda in the house. I don't even miss it and I save lots of money to boot.
this is about smoking, not pepsi
I understand that tons of people read this write ups but I often think about how many people really understand the value of what you've written here. I like your website however, I am a terrible reader. Do you have videos on the subject? What a highly descriptive and well written post. Your stuff is awesome. Do you ever become exhausted from writing all these great articles?
https://instagram.com/jessegrillo
I smoked for 12 years and got addicted to painkillers for a year. I quit both on the same day (had to quit smoking because the cigarettes caused precipitated withdrawal from the painkillers). The withdrawals were horrendous but I've been clean 22 weeks and haven't once had the urge for either. If you want to put your nicotine addiction in perspective no offense but get a real addiction, I thought cigs were bad but the withdrawals from opiates are so much worse and going through them made it so easy to quit cigs.
How would you recommend applying these tips in a school setting? I like the helpful information you give in your articles. {What is the formula for creating wealth? It is really simple, yet really effective for some people.
http://www.yoyofinancial.com/2609/high-quality-bean-bag-chairs.html
Jon- You are so right on. The article meant nothing and the science behind it was a joke.
This article interests me because I think that way every time I take a drag, how bad this is for me, how the smoke sits heavy in my lungs, destroying them........I long to run and breath free, except I haven't done that since I was 12, I am 25 now, I don't know myself without cigarette, I am down, on average, to 3-8 cigs a day, some days are better than others, this way of thinking does help for sure, but there is a fine line, and I wish I had the answer to cross it.................
I quit after smoking for 25 years, and so can you. Recognize that nicotine addiction is strong – you have to go cold turkey for 72 hours before it begins to subside. If you want to quit, you will. You can go to whyquit-dot-com for real info that will help understand nicotine addiction and how to break it.
Ashley,
Please listen to "Ex Smoker". I am also smober and used the http://www.whyquit.com site. It offers great assistance for quitting cold turkey and is completely free. Whyquit really teaches you about nicotine addiction and how to overcome it. There are great mp3 downloads you can use to help you. Cold turkey really is the only way. The patches, gum, etc just prolong your withdrawal. You can do it.
okk check it... i started smoking cigs when i was 12 and marijuana a few weeks proceeding. I continued to use both as well as drink a bit throughout my earlier teenage years.. mind you i have also been allowed to buy cigarettes at most of the local markets around town since i was 14 so obtaining them was not a problem nor was purchasing them for my other minor friends lol!.. anyways i smoked a pack plus per day until about 2 months through the age of eighteen years old and have been fully tobacco as well as nicotine free. Im not sure exactly what it took to fully commit this time but i have tried an easy 60 plus times to quit before and had been unsuccessful. I tried everything from chewing tobacco to just using straight weed an nothing worked. i do use toothpicks quite a bit and they seem to work as quite a good substitute for me but you really just need to find what works best with you. Yes i am a medical paitent so i still smoke marijauna flowers every day but have not used tobacco in over 2 months.
It is really a shock you do not have more followers. To err is part of being a human, but don’t count on people for forgiveness. I just now discovered this blog but I am at my school right now so I'll have to read the rest of this later on when I can find the time and I am able to read it without distractions. Any more information? It would be really appreciated.
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/jennamonaco/id/7498997
Problem is, you can't make people think if they don't want to.
You really need to be looked at as an industry game changer in your industry. Funny thing I believed I was a pro on the subject before reading this site but I guess I'm still a student. I was reading your post while at the gym. I have not done this for myself but I've been told by friends that it can be really beneficial. What is the secret formula for creating success?
http://www.loosers.in/102706/a2m3k32vr8rd8dfxtbkv/
They're JUST NOW realizing that you can control yourself and affect the outcome of certain things with thought?! Positive and negative thinking to gain control is nothing new! WOW!
Watching my Mother on a table in the hospital begging the nurses to help her get air into her lungs was enough to "Change my way of Thinking" Smoked for 15 years, saw my Mother on table, set date as my Birthday and gave myself the best gift I have ever recieved. I wont have to go through what my mother did with COPD and Chronic Asthma set on by smoking. She is better now, and does not smoke. Some days I can smell it on a person who's just been around smoke, and its disgusting. I wish that I could video tape my mother not being able to breath for all who smoke.. I just dont want to go out like that. Please do yourself a favor if you smoke. Quit, because its a horrible way to go. Just think of NO OXYGEN AND YOU SLOWLY SUFFOCATE. TERRIBLE WAY TO GO....
Hypnotherapy is the fastest easiest way to quit. It literally changes your thinking in one or two sessions. Try it. It works.
It is a powerful process to be able to change your way of thinking about smoking. The drugs used to help you stop smoking still will not change your attitude towards having better health. http://www.floridahypnotherapy.com for some it can be like flicking a lightswitch in attitudes and beliefs.
I'm 37, smoked for 21 years and have been smoke free for the past 15 months. I find much pride that I actually quit smoking and sometimes I still think "Wow" I'm smoke fr.... ur ah tobacco free :o) Had the taxes not made a pack of cigarettes almost $5.50 a pack I would have never even tried to quit and I really did not think I had it in me to do so. With that said I am still annoyed that I was defacto forced to quit something that I as an American chose to do. No one in America should tell someone that they can not do something because it is harmful for them, this is unAmerican. This is America damn it and if I as an American choose to do something then no one else has a right to tell me what I can or can not do it. Piss off law makers and those who stand in judgment of us freedom lovers.
JustinCase, I agree with you about the government raising taxes on something they allowed to happen in the first place is very UnAmerican, and in my opinion, should be criminal. But, I applaud you in your quitting.. Its a great feeling huh? Congratulations buddy!!
lol – "tobacco free".
im a second hand smoker when others are smoking next to me and i cant go any where. 🙂
Been smoking for 12 years and i just quit cold turkey last week. So far i'm feeling great but that urge is there and thankfully these articles are helping me stay strong..
Stay strong buddy, read my post about my mother up above, that was enough for me to really want to quit.. never mind the taxes.. my health is more important. Hang in there.... the urges will go and your pride will rise... Great Job buddy!
I didn't think I could do it either, but here I am at 4 months without smokes, after 25 years with them. You've already done the hard part – after 72 hours, the nicotine withdrawal is over.
E Cigs suck and never worked for me. I smoke a pack a day. Wanna quit, but CAN'T. It's really hard (:
Try the lozenge. I agree, E doesn't didn't anything for me either.
OR for the smokers who cant...or dont Want to quit.(there are a lot in that category)
There are electronic cigarettes.
I smoked for 15 years, tried all...and I do mean ALL the quiting methods. Stopped smoke cigs the day I got my eGo(a model type of e-cig, not a brand name or company)
I feel better,I can breath, I dont smell and I can smell...and my personal doctor is thrilled with the improvements to my health.
(just a note, there are lots of rip off "brand" names...if your interested in these do your research!)
The Easy Way to Quit Smoking, by Allen Carr was published almost three decades ago and has helped millions of people (including myself) quit smoking simply by changing the way we think about it. This article is old news.
I did a fast calculation and lets say you smoke 2 packs a day with a national average of 6 dollars a pack for 30 years of smoking you would have spent $131,400 on cigarettes, if you would have invested that same money in the S & P 500 that $12 a day you would now have approx. $1,023,649.70. Obviously there are a lot of variables, but this could be your motivation to quit, people have doe a lot crazier things to get their hands on a million bucks
It has been nine months since I took my last puff. Here is how I did it. I was checking out in a grocery store where I always bought my smokes. I looked at the price per carton and it was $42.00. I smoked an average of a pack a day that comes to three cartons a month times $42 which equaled $126.00 per month for something that was causing me to cough as well as letting me watch my money go up in smoke. So I went to my doctor and asked if he could give me something to quit smoking and he asked if I was really ready and I told him, yes. He told me to go to the drug store and get no smoking lozenges that cost me $32.00 for a months supply. I took one and I went almost all day before thinking about smoking so I took another. I went thru my months supply of lozenges in 6 weeks and bought another supply and have still got plenty of them left. This was so easy without any of the withdrawls that I went through when I tried quitting years before. So as Nike says, You Can Do It.
"Just do it" -Nike 🙂
you can do it is waterboy not nike
Well, if you don't like thinking about the long term consequences (2-3 packs a day till I was 59 and my heart attacked me) just understand in your head how Big Tobacco really screwed us for years with all the mystery ingredients and "lights" and knew all the time how to keep us hooked. Want to keep them in power ? Making a fortune ? Bet none of their CEOs or Board Members smoke. These things will kill you, and they have known it all along !
Oh yea, been 10 years now, never had another one (cig) but If I had one I don't think I would smoke it. I would eat it ! Yum, yum, yum. That is how powerful the drug they gave us is. 10 years and every now and then I want a cigarette. But 5 seconds at a time . . . I really do feel better now. Hang in there everyone. Quit giving money to the legal dope dealers !
Smoked for 30 yrs. 2.5 yrs off the hook now. What happened with me was that my addict's brain suddenly did a 180: Before, I would think about wanting to quit, then "have one more for old times sake" and forget about my good intentions. Now I still crave the damn things but everytime I'm tempted, I think "Ahh, let's just wait for 10 minutes...and then I forget about it". Weird how the brain works. Cheers, one day at a time!
I am 52 years old and quit smoking September of last year, so it's been almost a year. I used the patch, only took about 4 weeks. Wish I'd done it sooner, had no withdrawal symptoms and no cravings. One thing that was hard is I went through a period of time where I reallly wanted a cigarette. But like the article says, I had trained myself to think differently. No more "smoky" thinking. Sure that first puff would be heaven, but the next cigarette and the hundreds after that would be horrible. My wheezing and coughing would be back. My mother has COPD and she is on oxygen, when I visited her last fall she would take it off and go out in the garage to smoke...I was horrified. That vision is enough to keep me from even thinking about having one more. I am relieved that I was able to kick this killer of a habit.
I have no interes whatsoevert in "parenting" others (as one poster above put it) or the so-called "Nanny State". I do
however, have an interest in my own health & well being, as well as that of my loved ones & friends.
Smoking is a choice, so please "choose" NOT to smoke any where in a one mile vicinity of me!
If only you smokers could have witnessed someone (ie my Dad) die a most miserable death from end-stage COPD
last year, most of you would quit without hesitation!
If you want to quit you might try smoking cigars. Once you've smoked cigars cigarettes taste nasty. Cigars are easy to quit because you don't inhale and you don't get the nicotine buzz.
That's just plain bull$hit
In 2004 I quite smoking and turned vegan. I ate vegan for 2 years then while on vacation went back to eating cooked foods. I still don't smoke and never have had a craving at all but I do eat very unhealthy, mostly for financial reasons. If I could afford it I would eat better i.e. more vegetables and fruits but still wouldn't go back to being vegan.
I used the same/similar approach (cognitive behavioral therapy) to rid myself of the alcohol disease the medical community said I had as well as cigarettes.
40+ years of smoking and never really seriously thinking about quitting, I have recently been forced to reconsider. Congestive heart failure and peripheral vascular disease has set in. I've never responded well to the negative reinforcement to anything. I found a way that seems to work and it gets better every day. When I'm NOT smoking, I think about how much better I feel and how the air seems sweeter as it enters my system, how giving myself a couple more days or months or years by not lighting up and I feel like going a little farther without one. I forget about the negatives. When I DO smoke, I stop everything else. I make it a total interruption to my day, no TV, no idle drive time. Enjoy the nasty habit and have no regrets. Next round will go a little farther. It's working! From about a pack a day to 5 cigs a day in 2 weeks and I'm feeling a little better about going farther each day. I don't penalize myself for a setback or make myself feel bad about it, being happy about my progress is it's own reward. Being positive is a great way to go. I'm farther along than I ever thought I could be and I've survived another day!
Thinking long term was the first step for me. I looked at the big picture and understood I better quit. Being informed is vital, in my case it was the knowledge that the damage caused to your lungs is reversible. Many people think, hey I've been smoking for 20 years, it's too late for me to change... knowing you get a second chance is key.
Thinking long term was the first step, it was not enough on its own. So I focused on why I was smoking in the first place, weighing the pros and cons. At that point I realized there were quite a few cons, and I focused on it. Day after day, I would pay attention to the things I hated about smoking. Like the horrible taste of the first morning cigarette, the smell on my hands, the need to wash my hands after each cigarette which was basically 20 times a day. Focusing on the negatives turned smoking into a mostly unpleasant experience, and in a few weeks it became unbearable. If my memory serves me correctly it was like 3 years ago, and the smell of cigarette smoke still makes me wanna puke.
Sine we have known the dangers of smoking for 40+ years.
And the fact that most people who smoke started well after it was common knowledge of the dangers. Makes it really hard to sympathize with their plight. Smoking isn't some thing that comes easy, it's a miserable habit to start..
A lot of effort was put into getting the habit in the first place.
So the fact so many are "hooked", and having problems quitting ,just makes it all the more pathetic.
Interesting.
Your post reminds me of a co-worker who was raging about her dead father and how she felt no pity for his sorry self as he lie dying in his hospital bed, hooked up to oxygen and writhing in agony because he chose to smoke and knew what it would do to him. Apparently, according to my co-worker, he 'asked' for it.
The funny thing is that this co-worker said all this as she was shoving a double Baconator with fries into her chubby little face and sucking on her 3rd or 4th soda of the day, adding to her already substantial pocket of dangerous visceral fat. She knows the dangers of her choices, yet she indulged in them even as she judged, condemned and cold-heartedly raged about how a person 'deserves' a cruel and painful death for his choices. On second thought, maybe she isn't 'cold-hearted,' maybe she just can't feel her heart through so many layers. Either way, it's very interesting.
Of course, I'm sure that's just her and YOU don't engage in any dangerous activities or indulge in any particular lifestyle choices that may eventually injure or sicken you. 100% wholesome nutritional choiices? No unprotected sex? No alcohol (because we've known for years that you can't tell who will become addicted to it until it's too late, so the only sure way to avoid alcoholism is to never have a first drink)? No skydiving, rock-climbing, marathon running, weight-lifting, etc? You see my point, right?
I smoked for seventeen years. I quit cold four months ago because I finally got fed up with all the BS that comes with smoking. and with paying someone to destroy my life. All you need to do is change your mind. That's all it takes to quit. You don't need pills, or patches, or gums. If you want nicotine out of your life – suck it up and realize that it's going to be hell for just a little bit, but that the payoff is totally worth it! After that it's just a matter of maintaining your quit, and realizing how much better life is without cigarettes!
this is what i did. i just told myself cigs arent good for me and make me feel sick. if i smoke 1 cigarette, i get nauseous and just dont feel good
Yes folks, and fat people just need self control. And parents really drive carefully with a screaming child in the back seat out of their reach to comfort. Shouldn't we focus our efforts on what people will realistically do rather than just telling them to think the good thoughts?
All these comments are great inspiration for current smokers like myself to start thinking about cutting the habit. Also this is some good cigg therapy haha
Eat right, stay fit, don't smoke, die anyway.
This website has some unique options when compared to the other websites I've seen. You could be wrong. Just wanted to say fantastic write up! Do you ever use citations for your articles? It would be great to read about what you read. Thank you for the fantastic article.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FLAARKG/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
its quite obvious we cig cravings are mental problem. already 35 years ago Allen Carr discovered that and helps millions of people to quit smoking. change your thinking about cigarete and you'll need no will power to quit.
Allen Carr easyway to quit smoking (lengvas budas mesti rukyti) method can be find in almost any country in the world. if you really want to quit – go for it
It was recommended to me. I read it multiple times. Didn't work for me. It seems to require a specifically-wired brain to work.
I was laid up in the hospital from surgery for 4 days and decided that this would be a great time to guit. Lighting up a cig in a hospital bed, next to a doctor and nurse, might cause a problem. So, I decided to quit and it worked. Then, when I went home the urge for a cig hit hard. (I had been smoking a pack a day for over 40 years.) But I had some choclate chip cookies in the kitchen that were still OK and they helped me to quit. But I had to watch it and go easy on them or I would get fat and have another problem. So far, almost 8 months now, I have no desire for a cig. But I still love choclate chip cookies. Do they sell quit cookies lozenges in stores?
It's been a while. I'm 29, started smoking leaves in a loose leaf paper when I was 15, then moved to cigs. Quit for 2 years @ 24 while living in NYC, after being hypnotized. I relocated to LA and immediately started smoking again. It had been three years, and today is day 10 of not smoking, hopefully for the rest of my life. It's all in your head! If you really do not want to do it, you won't.
Read "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr. I smoked a pack a day for 22years, wasn't even thinking of quitting. Saw and bought this book, was done. That was 20 mos ago. Don't know why no one talks about this book.
It was recommended to me. I read it multiple times. Didn't work for me. It seems to require a specifically-wired brain to work.
This article hit the nail on the head. I smoke black & milds every now and then but really only when drinking or super pissed off at work. Sometimes, shortly after, I'll get a little craving for another (which I'm sure isn't as bad as the pack-a-days) but I remind myself of the long term consequences and do something else. Of course, this method doesn't work for those who don't take care of themselves.