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Smoking & How to Quit

Share Your Story

Smoking & How to Quit Home > Tools > Share Your Story

Have a helpful hint or motivating thought to share? Tell us your story. Encourage others. Share strategies for quitting smoking. This area is for you.

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I am 26 and started smoking when I was young. I quit when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter and now I am pregnant with my 4th child and I really want to quit. I go to bed at night thinking I will quit in the morning, but when I wake up all I can think about is having that first cigarette. I need help. I don't want to smoke anymore. I want to be there for my children. I have a panic disorder and the cigarettes help me calm down, but I know that I have to quit. I was supposed to quit on Christmas and it didn't happen.

Sunday from California

My children have been coming home from school sharing with me what they have found out about smoking. They have asked me to stop, but it is hard. I have been smoking since the age of fourteen, I'm forty-four. It has been 2 hours and 38 seconds since my last cigarette, I need to quit, for myself and my children.

Lorna from Maryland

Whoa! I have been trying to quit forever. A friend of mine died of cancer and she begged me to quit. It is so hard. I have made it 4 1/2 hours so far and reading all your comments on this site sure has helped me to commit to keep going. I'm doing this for myself and my family. Thanks and I will win the battle to be smoke free.

Anonymous

Hi! I had been smoking for about seven years. I quit once when I was pregnant with my first baby, but after my son was born I started to smoke again. I don't have any relatives in this country, so I always felt the lack of support, and the cigarettes were helping me deal with stress. Now I’m pregnant with my second baby (just find out) so I want to quit once and forever. It is much harder to find a minute to have a smoke now because I’m a busy mom. I know how hard it is, but I have to quit, because I want my baby to be healthy. I also have a problem with my health and I’m only 23. Smoking can worsen my problem. My children need me and this is why I’m quitting. It is all just a matter of time. Once two weeks pass, you will not want to smoke again. Good luck to everybody who made this decision to quit.

Elena from California

I am so happy to say I quit cold turkey one year ago the 16th of December. I've gained weight, but am losing it. I just want to say it can be done, I did it.

Margie from Texas

After smoking over 21 years, I made a plan to quit the day after my 35th birthday. I am pleased to report I have not smoked a cigarette in 18 days. The one thing I did not expect a week and a half into quitting was the exhaustion that hit me like a ton of bricks. What really helped me was a trip to the pharmacy and a purchase of Vitamin B Complex including some Vitamins C and E, Folic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc. It pumped up my energy and eased the cravings. And considering all the stuff I was pumping into my system with each pack of cigarettes I smoked, I'm pretty sure they are helping my body mend itself. Good luck to all of you. I agree this is the hardest and best thing we could be doing for ourselves. We are all heroes!

Anonymous

I was one of those people who only smoked casually - at the bar, out with friends, that sort of thing. Then I learned that even a few cigarettes a day or even just one once in a while could lead to lung cancer in the future. I also learned that most habits have a 20-year lag time, so although I don't feel the effects now (at age 28), I will when I'm in my 40's. That scared me, so I decided to quit smoking! Now I just try to stay away from the bar scene and from smokers.

Jessica from Massachusetts

I am at the end of my first twenty-four hours as a non-smoker. I have smoked very heavily for the past decade, and smoking is associated with every aspect of my life - personal, professional, emotional, psychological - the mundane and the ridiculous. It's the fact that everything is so intertwined that I find so difficult, and I so yearn for the day when the habits will be broken, the associations a distant memory and my life my own again, without my mind whirring at 1000 rpm. Anyway - I guess it's a voyage of self-discovery - I know it will all be all right in the end, it's just the getting there that makes me nervous! Hang in there!

Virginia

Hello. I am four hours into not smoking and I'm going to make it another hour. I'm 45 and recently became a Deputy Sheriff and I need to be able to complete the academy and that means being able to breathe. I will take minute by minute, hour by hour, and not let anyone or anything take away the strength I have to do it.

Sharon from Virginia

Hi, my name is Connie. I am on my second day of being smoke free. It has been very hard, but I know I will be able to get through it. All my friends and family smoke, so I will try to stay away until the cravings get easier. My sister had lung cancer about 4 years ago and had a lung removed. She now has a very hard time breathing whenever she does anything physical. She still smokes and I am very afraid for her. I quit when she became sick, but I started smoking again. This time I will succeed. I tried to persuade her to quit with me, but she said that cigarettes are her life! Cigarettes are your life, only if you let them be. It has helped me a lot reading all of your stories. I know that I am not alone with this fight. We will succeed!! Good Luck to everyone and thank you.

Connie

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Content last updated December 27, 2006.

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