What have you used in order to stop smoking that actually worked? Is there such a thing as a REAL product that works?
What is the best stop smoking product that actually works?
Stop Smoking | Smoking Cessation
What have you used in order to stop smoking that actually worked? Is there such a thing as a REAL product that works?
Well first and foremost I would never have been able to quit cold-turkey. Kudos to those it works for. I smoked 1 1/2-2 packs a day for 24 years and have now been smoke free for 5+ years. I don’t constantly think about it or crave it one bit despite that some ex-smokers say they do. And I’ll never pick the habit up again. Here’s what worked for me:
The most important thing was that I sincerely wanted to quit. I didn’t do it because I "should" or a doctor told me to. I was so determined that I was going to find a way and failure was not an option. That’s how bad I wanted it. And what encouraged me in the first place was that I sold my house and decided to only smoke outside while it was on the market. I was shocked to realize that that alone cut my habit down to about 1/2 a pack a day without experiencing any nicotine cravings. In other words–most of my smoking was "just because."
I used the nicotine patch and zyban–the most effective method at the time was to combine the two. And it worked very well–ALMOST. I didn’t crave the nicotine–the patch & pill took care of that. What I missed was the physical sensation of inhaling the smoke. Since you can’t smoke and continue to wear the patch I took off the patch, bought a pack and continued to smoke for another month while searching for answers.
I found a tobacco shop that sold non-nicotine herbal cigarettes and bought them. Now in all honesty they tasted rather nasty, but they satisfied that urge to inhale. At the same time I de-sensitized myself to my "triggers," you know–get in the car light up a cigarette. Fire up the ‘puter light up a cigarette. Finish dinner–smoke for dessert. Every time I thought about lighting up I just told myself I don’t do that any more and gradually the triggers became meaningless to me. I’m convinced that the addiction is at least as much mental as it is physical. And gradually I got away from those stinky herbal ciggies too.
There are a couple of ways to use the patch and one of them is to just change it every 24 hours. I went through the first box of them and then stepped down to the lower level of nicotine with the next box. One day I was at work and it occured to me that I had forgotten to change my patch. For a split second I felt trapped, but then I thought about it. If I was only just now thinking about it (8 or 9 hours after the fact) then I obviously didn’t need them anymore and I never used one again. Looking back I guess that was the defining moment when I realized I had done it!
Anyway–I hope you find perhaps some useful info in this answer. I love being a non-smoker! Good luck to you.