• Smoking and How To Quit
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• Smoking and How To Quit in Spanish (en español)

Smoking is unhealthy and not so easy to quit. You can find out more about what the government is doing about it by doing a search on the internet.

Today is my 75th day without a cigarette. I am 45 years old and I smoked since I was 14. For what it is worth this is what I have learned in the past 2.50 months about STOPPING smoking. You have to want to quit. Not for anyone else - only for you. Cigarettes are not your friends, but you will miss them for quite a while. I am learning how to choose better friends. You can only live one minute at a time and that is how I have made it through the pat two months. The physical symptoms go away whether you smoke or not. I don't always have to be composed and "together". I can be a "Wonderful temporary mess". I am so much better for this experience. I still like the smell of someone smoking, but that is a memory for me. I choose today to Stay Stopped. Hope this might help someone.

I'm 25 years old and have been smoking for the past 12 years. I average a little over a pack a day. I have tried to quit numerous times. I've used the patch, the pill, dummy cigarettes, ventilators, Chantix. Nothing worked for me. Today is my first day smoke-free and I'm doing it cold turkey. I don't know if this will help anyone else, but I made a list of the top 10 reasons why I'm quitting. For myself, not for anyone else. So far, the cravings are manageable, which is different from the other times I tried to quit. I'm finally at the point where I've stopped making EXCUSES for myself and my habit. Freedom! To those of you struggling to quit, please, keep at it. You can do it! We all can.

I have been a die hard smoker for 30 years. Working myself up to two packs of cigarettes a day. I have been smoke free for 7 days!!!! I never thought that I would be a non-smoker. My son, and my friends have been my support group. The best thing was my son giving me a hug and telling me he was proud that I had quit.

I am on week 6 and still have the craving but it has decreased.

I quit because of a medical fear (never had bronchial problems before). I really got scared when I had a hard time breathing...too sick to smoke, so I took the antibiotics and had no desire to smoke for three days, and then i thought just don’t do it if you don’t want one. well, this was a different matter when i started to get better. The withdrawals I had I thought were attributed to fever and the bronchitis. If you are going to quit, do it when you are sick. I quit October 20, 2009. I sure hope and pray that I do not relapse. Keep your fingers crossed for me...

I'm on my 4th day of quitting. I have to admit that this is probably the hardest thing I've done mentally in my life. I am feeling depressed, irritated, grumpy, can't sleep, sweaty palms and feet... And also I'm getting the shakes. I'm trying to quit cold turkey first. If I fail, then I will result in trying precription medication. Wish me luck!

I've been trying to quit for 2 weeks now. I started smoking when i was 15 and i am now 25 and ive been smoking regularly the entire time. it's just so easy to stop at the store and pick up a pack. grrrrrr..... How do I stop myself from running into the store?!??

When I smoked it wouldn't even occur to me to visit such web site as this. I hope other smokers are smarter than me and are actively looking for effective ways to quit. I’m Nazgul, 38-year-old female, and I live in Central Asia where it is a paradise for smokers - plenty of cheap cigarettes sold to anyone regardless of age and the ability to smoke practically anywhere - airports, schoolyards, hospital stairways, taxis, and government buildings. I smoked at least pack a day for 20 years. I quit unintentionally on March 16, 2009 and haven't had a single urge to smoke since then. I guess I was lucky - a friend of mine sent me nicotine patches and I decided to give it a try. In a matter of a week I figured out that this is not going to work and that I will restart as soon as run out of patches. Frantically, I started looking for other ways to quite, as I already loved the possibility to stay out of cigarettes. Another friend told me about author Allen Carr. I’ve read his book "Easy way to stop smoking" online in one day and decided that I do not want to smoke anymore that same day. I stopped using patches, stopped smoking, and started enjoying life. I was afraid that I would avoid social gatherings where everyone else smokes - nope, doesn't bother me. I was afraid that I may gain weight - nope, instead I started enjoying sports more than in the past, so now I look more fit than before. My skin improved and my teeth stopped deteriorating - honestly, this is what my dentist said, and he did not know that I stopped smoking. The only thing that bothers me is why it was so easy to stop smoking while they are telling us that it is so hard, that you need a strong willpower, commitment, and that you need to sacrifice your whole lifestyle. You only win. I wish I stopped many years ago. I wish everyone good luck.

Hi, I am 56 years old. I started smoking at the age of 14. My dad said if I wanted to smoke to tell them, not sneak around behind their backs. So of course I said sure, why not? He gave me the money, sent me to the store, and told me what kind. So away I skipped with money in hand to buy my first life destroying, pack of cigarettes. I puffed away for 30 something years. I really got good at it too. I could smoke 2 packs a day on some days. I would wake up hacking and trying to cough up a fur ball - or that’s what it felt like. I started having problems sleeping too much. I could go to sleep anywhere. I started seeing things, like talking to people that were not in the room, and reaching for stuff that was not on the table, or whatever. I could not stay awake long enough to get off our long driveway. By the time we hit the highway, I was sound asleep. I thought I was going crazy. I was afraid to go to the doctor. I really thought I was losing my mind. The last straw was when I went to sleep on Christmas day. While sitting at the table stirring a bowl of stuffing, and talking to my family. So a day after Christmas I went to the emergency room (didn't have a doctor). They went scurrying around checking me out, running this test and that test. The Doctor comes in to talk to me. I ask, “what's wrong with me?” He says, “you are dying.” He said I had 15% oxygen level. You are supposed to have a 100%. I had carbon monoxide poisoning. I was told it was caused from smoking cigarettes. I am now 56 years old. I have quit smoking for 11 or 12 years. Unfortunately it was a little too late. I have to have oxygen, and take all kinds of medications. I enjoyed smoking so much, or at least thats what I told myself. That was the addiction beating me down. I took it hour by hour for a couple days telling myself, "You have made it an hour without a cigarette. I am not going to go through that hour again." Then the hours turned into days. I would tell myself, “yea! I did it. I am not going to mess up I do not want to have to go through another day like that." Pretty soon it was weeks, then months. Then the day came that I did not think about it, for weeks, or months. Then not at all. I have to admit every once in awhile I smell a cigarette, and I think, dang it would be nice to smoke one of them. That’s when I think "NO WAY" am I going to go through the last 11 years again. I AM A QUITER, and YOU can be also. I do know I could not have done it without God. Ask him, he loves you, he will help you. He is your Father; that’s what he is for; to love you, just remember to love him back. God Bless You.