I appreciate and salute your effort 
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Hey everyone I’m really needing to quit smoking and I’m really scared to do it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Should I try cold turkey or use a patch??? I’ve smoked for 40 years. Thank you!
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I have had a couple of 18 month stretches before and used the patch. But always found my way back to the smoky devil 
Although they really did help with the irritability.
I am going to a yoga festival next weekend and thought that would be a good time to try quitting cold turkey. My plan of action looks like this:
- be very mindful of each cigarette I have - when do I do it, why, what does it really feel like (have been trying to do this for a while and it has definitely helped me move back to wanting to quit)
- read Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Quit Smoking over the next week or so
- use the cigarette replace on the Prana breathing app to reduce the number of cigs I have through the day, and use this for immediate distraction when cravings hit
- go through the Recovery Dharma inquiry process in relation to smoking/ nicotine
Would welcome feedback from others who have managed successful quits too 
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Thank you @siand, I’ve been thinking why I’m doing it with each cigarette. I’m really starting to hate them but I’m also hating that I keep doing it! Good luck at your yoga festival and good luck!
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i definetly recommend using some form of patches or gum. personally i mainly used nicotine lozenges during my two quit attempts. day 241 since i quit using nicotine and feel like i couldnt have done it cold turkey
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Congrats on your decision to quit Rob! For me it was the best decision I ever took. It led me to quitting drinking too a couple of years after. Anyway, cold turkey or aids, your choice. I quit CT and it worked. The withdrawals were pretty tough but not impossible. Like a severe case of the flu. Reading Allen Carr’s book was a great help with creating the right mindset. I found a great support group on an online forum that sadly doesn’t exist anymore. But the lesson is for me, like with any addiction, don’t try it alone.
If you scroll up on this thread you’ll find a number of reposts I did that I saved from that old forum. Here’s one of the most useful ones when you are starting your quit. All success friend, we’ll be here to cheer you on!
The Quit Kit
Repost by Grammax6
Welcome Newbies! Ready to quit? Then you need a Quit Kit!
It isn’t a matter of just slapping on a patch or chewing some nic gum. Every behavior you can think of is tied to your smoking. We smoked because we were happy, sad, mad, hurt, tired, sick, bored…etc. You need to replace those habits. Take a day to make a plan.
We call it a Quit Kit. It can be anything you want. Get creative and really think about it. Some things folks have used is nicotine gum. You can buy regular gum the same size, color and flavor so you can go back and forth between the two. If you are using the patch, make sure you have an extra patch in the office, in your purse, or in your wallet, for those days when you have forgotten to put one on in the morning. It happens more than you think! Have lozenges available for those high stress / high craving times.
Have some Red Vines to ‘smoke’. Or cut up a straw into thirds…especially during high trigger times like driving. Sometimes it feels good to just hold it if you are accustomed to always having a smoke in your hand. Grab your favorite CDs or tapes to put in your car so you can put one in and sing out loud. My favorite was dancing and singing at the same time. Your brain cannot do a third thing, so thinking about smoking just disappears.
To keep your mind and hands busy, go to Michael’s or some other craft store and look for things to do. Buy something that interests you; rug hooking kits, scrap booking stuff, or Christmas stocking kits for the grand kids. Or, get some coloring books and colored pencils or felt tip pens. Stained glass, floral, tropical fish or Native American motif coloring books are available everywhere now. They make you want to do a good job. Dora the Explorer would make me want to scribble on her face. LOL!
Make a list of everything that needs to be done, or you want to do around the house. Go through each room and write down everything from cleaning out drawers and closets to painting, rearranging or redecorating. Same with the garage and yard work. Once you have your list, break it down into 5-15 minutes segments so nothing becomes overwhelming.
Make baggies of crunchy foods to satisfy your mouth so they are at work and handy to grab. Carrots, celery, chex mix, pretzel sticks (you can hold those like a cig), gum, etc. They need to be ready to just grab at any given time.
This is important!!! The Three Post Rule: When you are craving and really shaky, post and click the “I’m craving and need some help” box. Wait for at least 3 response posts before you make a decision to purchase cigarettes or to smoke. Most times, you will be fine once you read the posts (keeps you from dwelling). If not…post again and wait for 3 more.
Once you have all these things figured out you will be well prepared to handle anything and you don’t even have to think…just look at your list… Keep 1 copy at work, 1 at home, 1 in your purse or wallet, 1 in the car.
If you did one day, you can do 2. If you did 3, you can do one more. No future tripping. You can’t do a darn thing about tomorrow until it gets here. Today is a good time to quit but if you feel you can’t, then take tomorrow to put together your Quit Kit and quit the day after. Don’t set a quit date out there for 2 weeks, 1 month, etc. All you do is make yourself crazy in your head by stressing over that date. You know you can do this.
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@siand I believe intence yoga and pranayama would be a good way to get rid of the habit:blush:
Just a thought but would smudging be of any help? Or to replace cigarettes with Ayurvedic herbal cigs (nirdosh)?
Anyway I reckon your plan is good. Maybe also search the feelings/stress that drive you to smoke. I know I should do that… 
As @Rockstar24777 said, good luck! 
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I started my nicotine mint journey last year round this time and cut back to two cigarettes a day. I quit drinking on January 24th 2021 so I cut those two cigarettes out and increased my nicotine mints to the gum and had more than ever to make up for those two cigarettes I let myself have before and often more when I drank. It came to a screeching halt with the nicotine gum because it caused a giant hole to open up on my back lower molar 
I went to the dentist and they said they’ll fix it again but they’ve already told me I’ll need a crown one day. So it’s a wake up call to go cold turkey. It’s been so hard and I’m cringing a lot more lately and am suffering panic attacks, but I’m six months quit this Saturday July 24th and I’m so excited to have the extra coin to spend and health benefits of being quit that it is something I need to get through no matter what it’s hand in hand with my sobriety 🥸
It was also neat to have the dentist be happy for me to be quit and noted the date I quit
On my file. She said that she took off some staining for me being quit 
the nights tho some sleepless nights in agony because I used to get up and have a few puffs all the time so it’s not good for my resting the withdrawals can be severe I get up and workout again go another day no rest on and off thru the week now. I smoked for around 16 years and now I’m cigarette free for almost six months this Saturday
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Thank you very much @Icantaffordnottobeme, @mno and @Fireweed i appreciate it! I have 4 cigs left and didn’t buy another pack at the store this morning. Thank you for the support!! Oh and I have the patches too that I will start. This is scary but it’s just one more addiction to overcome but it’s a strong one! Have a great day!
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Thank you 
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So I finished the last cigarette I had, jumped in the shower and put on my patch. Don’t know why I’m so scared to do this lol but it’s what’s best for me. 
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This too, awesome job! 
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Checking in 1 day, 15 hours nicotine free!
At a yoga festival which I’m volunteering at. Not been doing much yoga but lots of meditation, pranayama and gong baths around shifts. It’s actually been OK. Had a couple of cravings but honestly they have been overshadowed by some PMT 
the test will be when I get home on Monday. I was thinking about past quit attempts and I have relied quite heavily on drinking tea as a substitute for those little breaks/ structure through the day. So I reckon a focus on increasing lung capacity through pranayama will be a better thing to do. Kind of like a double effect - better lungs from the pranayama practice as well as quitting smoking! 
I might add in some tea for a bit of a morning ritual though. Short yoga practice, pranayama then relax and enjoy a cup of tea 
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Day 3. Craving a lot. Attending online meeting. Trying to focus on work. Watching movies. Basically trying to keep myself busy.
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late night snack coupled with stressful day now has me craving a smoke then I saw my counter and don’t want to give in.
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Yeah Brian! Congrats on 250 friend! Makes me glad you came here and didn’t give in.
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