I smoked for 42 years, quit for 15+ months and relapsed early in

[rzemanfl]

the morning of November 3rd when my wife(who smokes) wouldn't agree to move to Costa Rica rather than put up with 4 more years of *. Quit again February 18th. My problem is nicotine gum, I never got off it the first time and chew it constantly now. I have heard of people still being on the gum after 10 years. My doctor says keep chewing it, so he is no help. Anyone out there who has shaken the gum habit? How'd you do it?

[ebayfool]

1. I've wondered @ the gum (& patches) - is there any way to utilize ...

these aids w/out substituting one addiction for another? I would like to quit, have tried before w/little success. Used the patch & did taper it down to @ 6/day. Problem, you can buy smokes by the pack - patches you can't. I have a hard time coming up w/the $50.00 lump sum for each box, & went back to packs. No excuse, I know ... but when I do get the patches & gum stocked up in advance, am I then resorting to another addiction to be fed? I really just want to be off ALL of it.

Sure am glad to see this forum, BTW. Nonsmokers don't really have any idea what quitting entails. I'm so going to keep reading here to see what everyone else is doing to incorporate into my push for freedom!

[Enraged_Ape]

3. I've tried gum a few times, but always drifted back

I'm trying to do cold turkey this time. The only way I've ever been able to truly stop any addiction is through cold turkey and with the encouragement and support of others, which is why I'm glad to have a group like this.

[rzemanfl]

5. So far for me it has been replacing one addiction with another

plus gaining about ten pounds that is very hard to lose.

I quit alcohol just short of 20 years ago in a hospital with medical attention, 28 days of intensive therapy & AA, a couple of months in a halfway house and outpatient therapy for six more months. The tobacco companies who hooked us as teens should have to pay for similar treatment.

P.S. In that hospital they said "only alcoholics buy their cigarettes by the pack"-of course they were a lot cheaper then.

[ebayfool]

6. LOL - I know about the pounds part! The one time I did give a good, hard

run at quitting, I think I made a cake every 2 days (grandson lovvved that!) for the first 2-3 weeks. I tried it over a long, snowed-in winter. Next time is going to be in the summer, & Bakersfield does have a long, hot summer. If it's warm, then I can occupy a whole lotta time playing in the garden (helped w/menopause, when it's 105 outside, who notices a little hot flash here & there? Back yard used to be all asphalt, at the end of summer & hot flashes ... I had a NICE yard & garden!). Busy, MUDDY hands should help - I don't notice I haven't got a butt if I'm digging in the dirt (w/lots of mulch & manure mixed in)! I'm setting myself up for this spring/summer, which where I am is right around the corner.

But if I do the cakes instead of patches ... I'll EXPLODE! What's a bitch is I started smoking at 16 because I was told it helped you to control your weight. Yeah, right - here I am, a cake eatin' overweight smoker!

Always struck me that there was a similarity between alcoholism & smoking addiction, I've been lucky to not have that problem. I recognized early that I have an addictive personality, so I've always tried to steer clear of anything that I enjoyed too much. By @ 22 yrs I knew I had to stay away from alcohol, & never took up coffee (still managed to pick up the caffeine habit, though). Nicotine is hard enough, I admire what it took for you to win that battle.

[katinmn]

2. Does it taste any better these days?

I tried gum when it first went OTC and thought it was nasty.

Whatever you're chewing is better than smoking.

Re: Costa Rica.
A friend of mine and her new husband moved to Costa Rica in September. I'm jealous.

[rzemanfl]

4. Still nasty and just as expensive as cigarettes. n/t

[wildeyed]

7. I quit with the gum 8 years ago.

Only thing I remember about it, it gave me hiccups when I chewed too quickly. I just set a date when I would eliminate the gum and then I did.

But it really did help me quit. Going cold turkey was just too painful. The gum made it a little less painful on a minute by minute basis, but extended the length of the withdrawal.

Stuff I did to keep from smoking:

chewed gum
ate many tootsie pop lolly pops
drank lots of tea, mostly herbal
ate popcorn
ate baby carrots
ran
cried and yelled at people for no apparent reason

But I did manage to quit. The first six months were hell, but since then, it has been much better. I tried to stick to low calorie substitutes and the exercise helped reduce stress and burn calories, so I didn't balloon up in weight.

I still think about cigarettes. I still have the occasional craving. But it is manageable.

Good luck to all of you who are struggling with this issue. Quiting was one of the most difficult things I have done, but completely worth it.