Okay so... I've been smoke free for almost 3 days and so far it's not been bad (Chantix has really helped!) but now it's getting REAL!!!! Are there any former smokers out there that have any suggestions for getting past the urge to light up!!!

All encouragement is welcome but please, NO "you need to quit smoking" comments. Thanks!!

sn: I've made up my mind that i'm quitting smoking, I just need suggestions for getting past the urges!!

@@AllisonK1986 The 2nd had smoke will affect you. Trust me, Others have told me. Your hubby needs to take it outside.

I quit smoking cigarettes 2 years ago. I was constantly vaping but quit that on the 24th. It was actually harder to give up the nicotine than to give up the carbs I loved. I'm doing okay now but the first 5 days without it was actually very hard. Stay strong! Your lungs/throat/chest/taste buds will thank you! Good luck! You can do this!

I used the vap Without nicotine to help with the hands along with patch. Worked real well. Vapped for about 2 months and quit that too. Good luck!!

I smoked for almost 30 years, and quit a half dozen times before this one. It is hard. I also used Chantix. Instead of picking a quit date one week after starting the med though, I just let myself gradually stop smoking as the meds were working. It took about 2 weeks and then I just didn't want cigs anymore. I quit in Feb 2014 and I hope this is my last time. Good luck to you!

I quit smoking 30 years ago, and just talking about cigarettes makes me feel the urge to go out and buy a pack. What helped/helps me is to just keep refusing to smoke the next cigarette. It's ongoing; I'm always going to want one. BUT, by not smoking the next one, I've been "clean" for thirty years.

It's an addiction, but you can get through it.

My husband replaced his nicotine addiction with exercise. He works out every day and has managed to transfer the bad habit into a good one.

Best of luck to you!

I have been smokefree since July last yr after 30+ yrs everyone is different vapors didnt work for me(I used to cut back) didnt like the patch,so I bought 1pack of cigarettes & said this will be my last & it was.

I had a friend that smoked 3packs a day for yrs dr bet her she couldn't cut back to 1 pack a day to prove him wrong she walked out of his office grabbed the tape & taped her cigarette she found she didnt need to light it just have it in her hand not only did she quit that way she won the bet with her DR LOL

@@AllisonK1986 The 2nd had smoke will affect you. Trust me, Others have told me. Your hubby needs to take it outside.

My husband quit when I quit last year, and after putting on 30lbs, he picked it back up again this year

I thought it was going to be hard to be around him, but it wasn't. I just must have been ready and DONE. The only hard thing now is the smell! He has to practically shower every time he comes near me. It's nasty when you don't smoke anymore!

Used vaping to quit 2yrs ago still miss my cigs I used sunflower seeds to fill the void after I stopped vaping.

Yea he really needs to quit, but their is not much I can do until he is ready.

It's been 5 days since I quit and my biggest issue is after I eat and when I'm driving.

I quit last September. I guess I was just finally ready after 40 some years - yes, Jesus picture was in my yearbook! My husband has been quasi-quit for over 10 years. He still chews Nicorette gum like a fiend (a whole different issue!) When we see someone on TV or in the movies smoking, he starts jones-ing for a smoke and all I feel is disgust. Ready is just ready and it happens in our heads, after we have broken the physical addiction (incredibly powerful).

I crave it so bad. My hubby tried the patches and gum

And nothing worked. I think chantix would drive him crazy.

@ AllisonK1986, today is day 7 of being smoke free for me!!! and after I eat is a really hard time. For over 26 years I have lit up after practically every meal!Heck I want to smoke right now from just talking about it but imma just soldier thru the urge! Also Chantix really helped!!! I'm starting week 4 tomorrow and yes i've missed a few doses here and there but never a whole day. I have not had any crazy withdrawal symptoms so far "YAY" so i've been lucky!

I quit almost 3 years ago now and really found the patches helpful. I don't think I would have been successful without them. I think if you are ready you'll do it! Good luck!

Quitting smoking is very hard! Here is a blog post I wrote on the subject...

"We aren’t a smoking cessation program. We can’t claim it, and we don’t. We do know that lots of folks use vaping as an alternative to smoking, and eventually replace smoking with vaping. We have many customers who thank us for “helping them quit smoking.” People tell us every day that they have tried Patches, gums, lozenges, and pharmaceuticals in an attempt to quit, all to no avail. Or, they tell us, they don’t like the idea of the side effects of the pharmaceuticals. We hear countless stories of people who have smoked for five, ten, twenty, even fifty plus years, and no longer smoke because they now use personal vaporizers instead.

We wonder why it works. This is just conjecture on our part. There is no science here, only common sense. What is missing from all of the aforementioned smoking cessation products and programs? Ritual.Have you ever heard a smoker say how satisfying it is to have a cup of coffee and a patch after a meal? Or how they love to roll out of bed in the morning and grab a lozenge?

All of the approved smoking cessation programs deliver nicotine. If we were nothing more than a walking, talking pile of nicotine receptors, they would work. There’s more to it than that. As a former smoker, I can tell you that there is something relaxing about sitting and and inhaling, there is something about the hand to mouth motion, and there is something about the nicotine. With vaping I still get all of that, without the tar. So, that’s a choice I’ve made.

Care to join me for coffee and a vape?"

I smoked for 22 years, at least 2 packs a day, most of the time 3-4. Right before I got remarried I asked my soon-to-be wife what she wanted as a gift and she asked me to stop. So June 20th, 2003 was when I "officially" quit.

But many times I felt I had it under control, so I would have just 1/4 of a smoke, then 1/2, next thing you know it was the whole thing. I know the physical craving for nicotine can disappear in 7 days, but that did nothing for the mental craving.

I needed something to keep my hands and mind busy...so I started to make latch hook rugs. Yea, a 40 yr old guy watching football, making latch hook rugs, it was funny to watch, but hey, it worked. All of my family got latch hook rugs for Christmas that year!

I asked my Dad who quit smoking 20 years before I did if the desire ever goes away, and he said no, it will come back at the weirdest times, and it does. So I keep a rug in the closet and when the desire for a smoke comes along, I work on the rug.

Keep your mind and hands busy, I would suggest trying something you have never done before, because if you are anything like me you would smoke while doing almost everything, so I needed something that I didn't have memories of doing while smoking.

Good luck, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.