ugh. yeah, another reminder. but for my vain bitchy self the best deterrent is still how crappy my skin will look. not cancer, heart disease, intense addiction, no. my skin. i gotta keep that in mind.

"The researchers say this could affect women’s smoking behavior, as well as their response to nicotine-based quitting aids."

A bit off topic, but:

Nicotine-based quitting aids are a scam. They are just another nicotine delivery system which only serve to prolong your addiction.

I quit last year, and before ye think I'm an evangelist, lemme preface -- you have to be really ready to quit, all on your own, without anyone pressuring you, for any quitting aid to "work."

That said, I got handed a book by my best friend when I was getting ready called The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. (http://alternet.bookswelike.net/isbn/0572028512)

I went from 2 packs a day to none, cold turkey... the first few days totally sucked, and then there was this moment of, "Oh my God! I'm totally fine!" It's a great book.

Again, it's ONLY if you're really ready. I looooooved smoking for a long time; I just finally got to the point where I hated the way my chest hurt when I woke up every morning, haha.

Noname: Most of the people I've encountered that have been smoking for a long time find that it is more difficult to get rid of the "habit" of smoking, meaning the actual act of taking out a cigarette, lighting it, and smoking it, than the nicotine addiction itself. I think that this is what the alternative-mode-of-nicotine-delivery methods are targeting, as well as all of our wallets, of course.

Also, let's not forget that women on oral contraceptives are at a higher risk for developing blood clots which lead to strokes and heart attacks when they smoke because the estrogen in combined oral contraceptives is a clotting factor [this does not apply to progestin-only-pill users]

I smoked for over 7 years (and I'm 21, so... yuck) and recently quit. I proudly wear my smug self-rigteousness while my mom lights up in her car.

However, I know how ridiculously hard it is to quit-- and I challenge anyone who questions the validity of nicotine-based quitting products. Sure, I had to spend a zillion bucks on them-- but I saved money on smokes in the long run and, further, was able to wean myself off the unpleasant tasting gum far quicker than I would had I simply cut back on my tasty Lucky Strikes.

I have to fulfill my oral fixation in other ways now, though (ohh, my lucky boyfriend).

I smoked for over 7 years (and I'm 21, so... yuck) and recently quit. I proudly wear my smug self-rigteousness while my mom lights up in her car.

However, I know how ridiculously hard it is to quit-- and I challenge anyone who questions the validity of nicotine-based quitting products. Sure, I had to spend a zillion bucks on them-- but I saved money on smokes in the long run and, further, was able to wean myself off the unpleasant tasting gum far quicker than I would had I simply cut back on my tasty Lucky Strikes.

I have to fulfill my oral fixation in other ways now, though (ohh, my lucky boyfriend).

Liz & Laina - To each his (or her) own. I tried the gum. Once my quit failed, I continued using it in situations where I couldn't smoke for eight more years (at work, at the movies, ect.). So I quite like the gum, just not as a way to quit smoking.

Here is a link that should clear up the basic logic I was alluding to in my earlier post:

http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_07_NRT.html

It is a little self helpish, but it makes sense to me (I found the site as a whole to be very helpful). When I finally did quit smoking, I did it cold turkey. It sucked, and it was worth it. That is just my experience, though.

Congratulations Liz, BTW.

Hypnotherapy can be very helpful for the habit part of smoking, as long as you're ready to quit.

Sometimes it helps to make a list of all the reasons you'd like to quit and then look at it every day; that may help you feel ready sooner.

Good luck, and congratulations to all you new nonsmokers!

Interesting link, 'noname.' I think once the initial horrific grumpiness and and cravings end, the gum should be tossed. And let it be known that when my friends smoke around me, I am gritting my teeth out of jealousy and resentment! Ha.

a couple of thoughts about cigs and kicking it...

first is, substitution therapy works for some people, not for others... it's definitely an established treatment modality - both for maintenance, which means maintaining drug use through a safe(r) and consistent practice, and for tapering, which eventually leads to being free of the drug.

also, as liz pointed out, smoking is all over the place. when someone quits, say, heroin, it's a lot easier to move through places where people aren't using all around him/her. even alcohol is easier to avoid (in the u.s., at least) than tobacco...

i think that's one of the reasons it's so damned hard to kick.

kudos to everyone on here who has - even if they're using again... i really oughta stop, myself...

I wouldn't recommend this as a **good** way to quit but...I was finally, after years of trying, able to quit when I got pregnant because it made me incredibly sick to my stomach. Feeling like I was going to vomit every time I touched a cigarette worked for me:>)) I’ve been a non-smoker for about 5 years now and I am so grateful—to be rid of the unhealthily habit and the cost. Frankly, I don’t know that I could have done it on my own—I loved smoking.

Please do try to quit smoking (I know it’s hard) but from what I’ve read once you reach 35, if you smoke and take birth control pills—well it becomes very dangerous and the chances of you dying from a blot clot increase dramatically. Not to mention that whole cancer thingy.

Besides I’d like your smart ass to be around a long time so that I can read your funny comments.

P.S. The day I decided it was not worth throwing up over and that I'd try to quit cold turkey, I got my husband (a non-smoker) to go to my car and throw out every butt, empty the ash trays and get any cigarettes, lighters, matches, etc. and take them over to his mom’s (a smoker). I was very lucky that we had decided a few years before when we got together and moved into an apartment for the first time that it would be a non-smoking one. I hated the smell of cigarette smoke and I did not want to expose his young daughter to it too much. Although truth be told I had driven her in my car and smoked a number of times. I also had just started a job that had very few opportunities to smoke. All of that made a big difference I think in making it easier for me to quit. I also had drastically changed whom I hung out with—I had just gone back to college after most of my friends had already graduated, i.e. no one to hang out with outside the student center!

Good Luck!

Hi, based on the professionals that I have spoken to and also the research I've done (not forgetting the countless times I tried quitting), I have putting myself through a 30-day programme to QUIT!

You can find my blog here (http://soyouwannaquit.blogspot.com) and my intention is to be able to inspire you to QUIT for GOOD! Else, your good intentions of giving me the support and encouragement is also greatly appreciated!

Did you know that there are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke? These include formaldehyde (used to preserve dead bodies), ammonia (used in strong cleaning liquids) and cadmium (a highly poisonous metal used in batteries).

So,i thought to quit smoking this happened after 12 years of smoking addiction.Thank you.

Nicotine addiction is an uncontrollable dependence on the highly addictive nicotine stimulant present in tobacco products. Nicotine alters the levels of certain chemicals in the brain that causes smokers to experience pleasurable changes to mood and concentration. When a smoker stops smoking they crave the nicotine effects and can suffer withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, depression and irritable.

you can find more information on nicotine addiction