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Smoking & How to Quit

Share Your Story

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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.

Add YOUR comments!

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Funny thing that lead to my quitting smoking. I started to notice my hair thinning. After trying tons of hair growth products, none of them were working. Eventually I read that general health is a key, so I changed my diet and with that change came a need to stop smoking. I've been smoke free for 2 years, and my hair grew back!

Sharon from California

I just thought I would add to the comments here that I have been "smoke free" for 14 days now. I called my Doctor and got a prescription to help me. The medication has helped so much. I have only had one day where the cravings attacked me and I wasn't sure if I could make it through the day without caving in to the smoke demon. I fought with it all day, but I stayed strong, called friends, cried, laughed, and went to bed another day as "smoke free". I love waking up in the morning without that smokers cough, I love that I can literally run up the stairs in my house again, I love that when I am sleeping there is no smokers wheeze anymore. I am 49 years old and have smoked for about 32 years. As I type that I feel disgusted that I ever put one to my lips. Good luck to all of you, you can do it, stay strong, and be a warrior. Fight off the cravings, don't let them control you.

Joy from Massachusetts

I quit 50 hours ago. I smoked one pack a day for 33 years. Smoking for me was a ritual, a fetish. I am going crazy. I have quit a few times before but the longest was 28 days. I think I just gave in then. Right now I am in the danger zone for me. To get past 2-3 days is always the hardest for me. I think I have to do it this time. I have noticed now at 45 that smoking is affecting my health. It's making me a bit breathless. Keep trying everyone!

Jimmy from AF Afric/Can/Euro/Mideast (AE)

I'm 29 and have been smoking for going on 15 years. My 30th birthday is coming up and I want to be smoke free. Tomorrow will be my first day as a ex-smoker. My whole family smoked and both of my grandparents died from smoking. I've tried so many times in the past to quit but either I gave up or it didn't work for me. But now I have made a promise to my 3 year old little girl to quit. I have a horrible cold and it seems like every time I smoke a cigarette I start to cough really bad, so tonight I'm going to bed and wake up not smoking. Please pray for me!! I'll be back on to let you know how it is going for me. Thanks!

Katrina from Ohio

After smoking 2 packs a day for 25 years, here's what helped me quit:

Set a date, at least 1 month in advance.
Develop a plan for rewards; smoking isn't cheap, you'll be saving a lot of money! After quitting for 1 week reward yourself with the amount you have saved, then at 1 month, 3 months, etc.
Remember to get rid of everything associated with smoking, lighters, ashtrays...it all has to go so you will have less triggers.

After one week you'll start to notice the smell in the house, so do a good, thorough cleaning and wash your hands a lot-I think the nicotine comes out of your pours and you can smell it. Eventually it will be gone and you'll feel so much better! Good luck!

Judy from Wyoming

I have been smoking for 13 years. I will be 31 on the 19 of this month and I really want to stop smoking. I have tried about 3 times, but I don't think I was really ready. I went to the emergency room yesterday because I was having a heavy cough and chest pain, the doctor give me an x-ray and later told me I have a acute lung disease. I cried. I am not ready to die or leave my family (I have a 13 year old daughter). At this point I have not smoked in 2 hours and I want to keep it that way, a non-smoker for good! Thank you all for your stories, it has really helped me.

Tonica from District of Columbia

Seven days for me! I quit cold turkey! After I spent 3 days in the emergency room with a collapsed lung.

I am 40 years old and I refuse to be the one told "you have lung cancer, your going to die!" Especially when all I have to do is get through some withdrawal symptoms that are annoying but will not kill me. I am fighting for my life and I will win! So remember, you will win, too!

susan from Oregon

I was a pack a day smoker for 10 years. I was literally ALWAYS smoking a cigarette, even when I was coughing. I thought I would never be able to quit smoking as my cravings for them were so high—literally every 20 minutes! I went to the doctor and received a prescription to help me quit, and it TRULY works! The side effects are rather interesting but I have been a non-smoker for 3 months now and it is truly AMAZING! If I can do it...ANYONE CAN! My advice is that you have to really want to kick cigarettes for good! Good luck!

Justin from Texas

I am a 51 year old nurse who quit smoking in 1985. Despite the fact that I am a healthcare worker who sees the effects of smoking every day, I did not quit until my husband who also smoked made me go to the American Cancer Society's Quit Smoking Program at my place of employment. They utilized a behavior modification program that allowed me to quit over a two week period of time without the struggles of nicotine withdrawal. I highly recommend this program to others because I have not had a cigarette since I quit in 1985. I also had a history of smoking through bronchitis attacks, and even a bout of pneumonia prior to quitting, like many smokers who refuse to acknowledge the true devastation on the body that smoking affords you. Please listen to my advice. Smoking does age you internally, especially your bone health, which I think can be very detrimental to women. Death from lung cancer is not a pretty site for you or your family members. Remember, you are in control of yourself, not the nicotine. The best thing I did for myself is to quit smoking. I look, feel, and smell better. If I can do it with an addictive personality, so can you. Find other positive ways to channel your efforts for a better life. Exercise, eat well, and be glad that you are not limiting your life through your smoking efforts. Stay strong!

jackie from Florida

I was a three pack a day smoker for 13 years. I was hospitalized numerous times and now have chronic lung problems. I quit smoking 9 months ago using a therapy my doctor recommended and it was the best thing I ever did for myself! Quitting is not easy, but so rewarding. Smoking keeps you sick and it keeps you weak. In the first weeks you always want just one more, but it never stays that way, does it? One more turns into 2 or more years of buying packs upon packs of cigarettes. When you feel like relapsing remember how miserable you were when you smoked. And remember that the reasons you quit in the first place are still there and just as important as they were the day you quit.

Adele from Illinois

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Content last updated November 19, 2008.

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