Community Forum

Choosing to be tobacco free is one of the best decisions we can make for our overall health and well-being. It’s not every day that we make a decision that will have such a huge and positive impact on the rest of our life. Let’s take a moment to celebrate our wonderful decision to quit smoking and take a few minutes to visualize our life without tobacco. We can certainly see many benefits and rewards of being smoke-free.

Quitting smoking is a choice we’ll never regret making and our life will improve in so many ways. To get an idea of what to expect from tobacco cessation and what we need to do in order to prepare ourselves for our quit journey, we can ask ourselves these following questions:

- How quitting smoking can change my life?
- What are the reasons that motivate me to make this change?
- What are the things I need to do to achieve my goal?
- What are my skills and strengths that will help me in my quit journey?
- Are there any local programs and resources available in my area?
- How can I access to those programs and resources?
- Who are the people who can support me?
- How can I keep my motivation strong throughout my quit journey?
- What are the benefits and rewards that I can expect from quitting?
- How will my daily life look like after quitting smoking?

Based on your answers to those questions, what are the things you can expect from your quit journey? If you have quit already, how did your life change after quitting smoking?

It can be very challenging to give up smoking when you typically smoke in social settings with friends, family, and/or coworkers. You may not want to feel left out for not smoking and engaging with others or you may not be able to say no to cigarettes in social environments.

Here are some tips that can help you set boundaries and prevent yourself from smoking with others:
-Inform your friends, family, and/or coworkers that you have quit. This will help you keep yourself accountable for your quit and prevent others from offering you cigarettes.
-Have an item, snack, or drink with you to keep yourself busy while others are smoking. It can even be handy to have snacks that mimic the feeling of a cigarette such as pretzel sticks.
-Inform others that your house and car are now smoke free.
-Remind yourself of your reasons for quitting and ensure you are strong enough mentally to resist the temptation before attending social events. It can be helpful to write down your motivations for quitting and keep them in your pocket as a reminder.

It can be hard to quit smoking because you do not want to feel like an outcast in your social circles when they are smoking. Remember you are strong enough to resist the temptations and you can say no. We believe in you!

What are some other strategies that have worked for you?

Many people choose the gradual reduction method as a way to prepare themselves to quit smoking. With this approach, they will gradually cut down the amount of cigarettes or other tobacco products they use each day.

This method of gradual reduction has been proven to increase our chances to quit successfully in the long term. Furthermore, we may experience some positive changes such as reduced risks associated with the use of tobacco and we may achieve small health benefits along the way.

Here are some ideas and things that you can do to reduce your smoking:

- Choose not to smoke inside the house or in the car and make your smoking less convenient for yourself;
- Determine a specific time frame to smoke;
- Set a goal for yourselves and limit your smoking to a certain amount of cigarettes each day;
- Remove out of sight all the things that remind you of smoking such as cigarettes, ashtrays and lighters;
- Delay the first cigarette in the morning or start smoking later and stop smoking earlier at the end of the day;
- Choose to smoke half a cigarette at a time or take a few puffs at a time;
- Try another brand of cigarettes that you are not too fond of;
- Choose specific places where you allow yourselves to smoke. For example, smoke outside only;
- Leave the pack of cigarettes at home when you go out;
- Choose to put a certain amount of cigarettes in the pack instead of having a full pack with you. For example, put 10 cigarettes in the pack each day and stop smoking once that pack is done;
- Use nicotine replacement therapies such as the nicotine patch, gum or lozenges to help manage nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms;
- Use the 4 D’s (Delay, Distract, Drink Water, Deep Breathing);

Did you try the gradual reduction method and did it work for you?

Many of us have faced a time in our Quit journey that we struggle with how to distract ourselves from the nagging withdrawal symptom of intense cravings. We all have tasks that we can do to distract ourselves; some bring us joy, others just take one less thing off the list of items that need to get done in the day. I say CONGRATULATIONS to everyone for however you manage to get through the initial, and at times ongoing cravings we experience.

A great way to prepare yourself for times in your quit journey that inevitably you will experience some cravings is to have a predetermined list of things you would like to do, things you want to accomplish, things that bring you joy, and sometimes even to add in those daily items or chores that just need to get done. Your list will be personal to your own journey and lifestyle. Its great to have some things on your list that will not only distract you physically for the amount of time that a craving will last (which is approximately six (6) minutes), but things that will psychologically take you out of your state of thinking only about your desire for a cigarette. Items on your list that can achieve overcoming the craving in both a physical and psychological can include taking a walk in nature, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, journaling, intentional deep breathing exercises, even an impromptu dance session.

If you are prepared with a written list you will feel more empowered when that craving hits and you don't know what to do with yourself. Instead of feeling powerless or helpless in overcoming the craving you can pull out your list and focus on one of the items. It may not be easy to get through the cravings during your quit but it's far easier to set yourself up for success by preparing for it prior to your quit.

I would love to hear what some of the items might be on your list.....

Setting a quit date is an important step to quit smoking successfully for many people. Even though there’s no perfect day for tobacco cessation, choosing a specific date can help us in our preparation to quit and will also keep us motivated.

As we know, everyone has a unique journey and will have an individual quit experience. There’s no right way or wrong way to quit smoking. Some people like to pick a specific day and will choose their “ideal moment” to take the plunge. Knowing when to quit and having a definite date in their mind can give them enough time to prepare themselves, focus on their goals and track their progress.

Here are some things that may help us when we choose a quit date:

- Pick a day within the next 30 days to give ourselves enough time to prepare. Sometimes, choosing a date too far away will decrease our motivation to quit and gives us time to change our mind.
- Choose a date when our schedule is routine and when it is not too busy.
- We may choose a date with a special meaning like a birthday or anniversary.
- We may choose the same date than a friend or family member who is also quitting, so we can support each other and have a quit buddy.
- Avoid choosing a day when there’s increased stress or temptations to smoke like a day of celebration or party.
- We may just pick a random date and make a strong commitment to quit on that day or be flexible and change our quit date throughout our quit journey.

Choosing a quit date may not work for everyone. Do you plan to quit on a specific date or do you prefer to go day by day and simply quit when you are ready? If you have quit already, what worked for you?

Heavy heavy smoker (40-50 cigs a day for the last 17 years)
Co morbid disease

Any day now terrified but anyone use citysine

Hi Everyone,

Today is the BIG day for me. I have been smoking on and off for the past 2 years and I finally made the decision to let it go! Using a nicotine spray help me to stay in control of my addiction and most importantly to avoid affecting the people I love by the mood swings generated by the nicotine withdrawal. Planning to stop the spray within 1-2 weeks.

Cheers and good luck everyone!

I am one month +7 days smoke-free! I am here to tell people it CAN BE DONE. You CAN quit smoking. If you make sure you have all the strategies in place like Quitnow forum/coaches, counselling, NRT… new habits like running, walking, biking etc…. You can do it. I approached it like project management … had a strategy and referred to “my plan” in my vulnerable moments. Personally, for me… having a “go to” alternative activity was helpful. I also listened to a TON (like all the time at the beginning) of podcasts encouraging me to quit and stay quit as well as videos on living my best life …”on the other side of smoking”. Its truly been both the scariest thing to attempt and THE BEST thing I have done. I promise ypu… quitting the cigs makes you “different”… not radically but …you know what I mean! I truly felt like a million bucks saying “I’m a non-smoker” at a BBQ the other day.

Hi Peeps

This time around I was so successful and I want to share why.

This time I went on the patch.

Stage 1 my body was achy for 4 weeks and other side effects.
Stage 2 is equivalent to 1/2 the cigs in content and side effects are less. Some mornings, I forgot for hours to put it on.
On Monday I switch to Stage 3 for 2 weeks and it is like 5 cigs a day. I am wondering if I really need this.

I have a feeling I may only do Stage 3 for a few days, but I know I will not be returning as a smoker, ever!

This quit attempt worked because I realized that I had two things to tackle and dealt with them separately. The mental angst and the physical withdrawal.

The mental/emotional was more difficult. The patch gave me security and space to deal with the mental which is something that I will always revisit.

The biological is just like the flu to ride through for a couple of days, and much easier when there is smaller nic content in my body at stage 3. If I am not feeling physically well with the content delivered with the patch, it is a win to get off of it.

This process was certainly emotional, but instilling logic helped me break it down to be manageable and achievable.

Coming to this support group also helped me remove the fear and isolation that I struggled with.

I have this deep appreciation for the QuitCoaches and all of you that gave me a thumbs up and comment of encouragement.

I am so very grateful for your support.

Hi friends,

To celebrate my 3 month milestone I went and got my teeth professionally whitened at a cosmetic dentist's clinic.

It was a lengthy, pricey procedure but well worth it!

I highly recommend it. You may have stubborn, old tobacco stains that you're not even aware of.

I can't stop smiling at everyone now. 😄

Finding your happy place can make your road to a smoke-free life a little bit smoother and more enjoyable. Many people associated their happy place to special memories, situation, activity or experience that makes them feel peaceful, content, relaxed or cheerful.

Everyone has their own happy place and they will intentionally reach for this special and safe space whenever they need a break from their busy lives. When things are rough and overwhelming, they can turn to their happy place just to relax, de-stress, re-energize themselves and get the strength and motivation to keep going.

Many people shared that having a safe comfort space to retreat, whenever they need to, is very beneficial for their mental health and it brings positivity and fulfilment in their everyday lives. Therefore, helping them during challenging times and can make a difference in their journey to a tobacco-free life.

A happy place does not necessarily mean an actual physical location. It can be any situation, experience or activity that triggers feelings of joy, contentment, serenity or an overall feeling of happiness and satisfaction. For some people, their happy places are when they are walking in nature; sitting and relaxing in their garden; reading a good book in bed; listening and dancing to their favorite music or having good time with family and friends.

When we know our happy places and use them to enhance our daily lives, it will benefit our quit journey in so many ways. What is your happy place?

Hope it works

i chose May 28 as my quit day , but on May 16 at 8:30 am i had my last smoke. i am coming up to 37 hours smoke free with a patch on and chewing nicotine gum . i was practicing before my quit date and now i am hoping to keep smoke free.

What is your motivation for quitting?

As many of you begin to embark on your quit journey or have already started it can be helpful to remind yourself of the reasons why you have decided to quit. Some motivations for quitting can include: health reasons, gaining a better sense of control, for your loved ones, and more! When you experience a craving, remind yourself of your motivations for starting this journey. It can even be helpful to write them down and/or put sticky notes of your motivations for quitting around areas and/or things that may trigger you to smoke. For example, put sticky notes of your motivations to quit on your door if you always go outside to smoke. Use your motivations for quitting as reminders to keep going on your quitting journey!