I asked my one friend, who was a smoking cessation program coordinator. She took all the classes and was certified and said what can I do, how can you help me. She said sign up and I’ll take you through the whole thing.
The smoking cessation program worked because she was always there when I needed to talk to her.
It was what I needed at the time. I needed somebody to help me. I needed somebody to hold my hand. I needed to argue with somebody. I needed to be watched by somebody, to be guided by somebody, and that was the best thing… that was the best way for me to quit smoking.
First of all I got on the patch, and that was really good. That helped me a lot. And then I had to work on my habits, because there were certain times of the day that I wanted a cigarette, every time I picked up a cup of coffee, or after I ate, or if I was standing outside socializing with someone, I needed to keep my hands busy.
I drank a lot of water, I started walking again, I signed up for the gym, I got a personal trainer, I ate healthy.
I smell good, I feel good, everything tastes better, you know, I’m living.
If you can beat cigarettes, you can beat gaining weight, you can beat anything.
My name is Angie and I have been smoke-free for one and a half years.
GABRIELA
We both had talked about it for awhile, like “we need to quit, we need to quit.” And finally, you know, the day came, it’s like, the day came, and it was time and you were like “let’s do this.” And I was like, “well, baby, you know what? I want to quit too and you know we gotta do it together cause that’s the only way we’re gonna actually succeed.”
TOM
We could only do it together.
We threw away the ashtrays. I mean actually threw them out. We had quite a collection. We told our friends they could no longer smoke in our house.
GABRIELA
No smoking in the house.
TOM
We became those people. But it was a lot better. And for like three months I had lollipops in my mouth every day. I was really self-conscious about it at first, but not anymore. It’s very strange to see a grown man with lollipops, but you know, well, that guy’s quitting smoking.
GABRIELA
Tom would have withdrawals that were pretty clear to me. His face would kind of get tough and you’d be like “uh-oh, he needs a cigarette.” So that’s when I would be a little more gentle and always offer some candy. I’d be like “hey do you need some lollipops? Hey, you know, do you want to go for a walk?” Get out of the space you’re in.
I thought I wasn’t addicted, you know, I thought I was “I’m okay, I can quit anytime.” And I realized that that is not true. I mean it has been very hard. Even for someone who smoked six cigarettes a day, it’s very tough.
TOM
Oh, you can absolutely do it. I mean if I can do it anyone can, that’s for sure.
GABRIELA
That’s true. And it’s all about finding someone to support you. You definitely need a support system. Because you know it’s really not easy and you have to be able to say “I’m having a tough time today and just know that.” You know it’s just enough to be able to say it. You need that other person. It’s very helpful.
My name is Gabriela. I have been smoke-free for about four months and two weeks.
TOM
My name is Tom and I’ve been smoke-free for the same, four months, two weeks.
I think it’s a process. You know, it doesn’t happen: “okay today I’m gonna quit,” because you’ll quit for a day, but you’ll go right back to it. You have to really want it.
This is how I stopped smoking: I wanted to stop smoking. I was ready. Then, I got help. Through the patch. I needed, I guess, that little bit of nicotine in me to stop.
I think you have to be thinking about stopping. That’s what I think. I mean, you know, the first time I tried cold turkey, it didn’t work for me. Some people say that’s the only way. That’s not the only way, obviously.
Well if you have the patch, if that’s how you want to do it and you want to chew gum and you want to knit that’s great. It’s whatever works. For every, for each person it’s just different. It’s different.
I told people that I thought would be supportive and they were great. They were really great. I’m not one of those people that I want you to call me every night “did you get through another day?” I don’t like that. But I had people after two or three weeks say “that’s great “ and they left it alone.
It’s a really good feeling, It’s a great feeling, it really is. It’s very rewarding to know that I was able to, know you, kind of master this.
I mean, I blow the biggest bubbles now, cause I chew a lot of gum.
My name is Leslie, and I’ve been smoke-free for six and a half months.
I remember the day I quit smoking. It was January, 2006. I stopped and I said "I am not going to smoke any more cigarettes."
I went online to different places where I could see how to quit smoking. They gave me tips. The first thing it said was to make sure no cigarettes are in the home, to do any kind of exercise that you can to get you away from the cigarette, and a change in a healthy lifestyle of eating is also very important – because you'll want to substitute food for cigarettes.
I didn't want to use the gum, or the patch. I wanted to keep it as natural and healthy as possible. So I would chop up carrot sticks, celery sticks, even jicama. You have to come up with your own little techniques to not want to smoke. Some people use the patch, some people use the gum very effectively – I couldn't do that. I use carrot sticks, celery sticks, and walking, and calling my friends.
I was very lucky that I was able to just completely throw my cigarettes away. I never kept any cigarettes hidden. I never thought, "Well, I'll just do this on the weekends." I knew that I had to quit, and quit 100%. There's nothing to be scared about with the urges – get up and go drink a glass of water instead of smoking a cigarette. I know it sounds easier said than done, but after you do it one time, you'll see that you can be successful. You'll see that you can beat this.
My name is Michael, and I've been smoke free for a year and two months.
When the sensation hit me to smoke a cigarette, I started substituting the cigarette with candy. Actually peppermint balls. It worked for me.
That would kind of ease the sensation, the impulse. Then kind of break that routine I was in of smoking the cigarette.
I changed my routine up in terms of the things that I normally did just before I lit my cigarette. The thing that kind of triggered that, you know.
I’m an early morning person. I’d get up. I like to read a little bit before the noise and the cars and stuff. So it’s a little solitude. I’d pull out a cigarette. So I had to stop doing that in the morning. It’s changed my routine. What I would do is instead of reading, I would just do a few pushups or iron a shirt. I stopped putting my shirts in the laundry, I started ironing them myself. I’d do other things where it required me using both hands, it just kind of broke that routine.
I feel that I’m more in control of myself mentally, physically, even spiritually. I feel much better in that respect.
I’m done with the cigarettes. I’ve come to the realization—three a half years ago, I came to the realization it wasn’t good for my health. It wasn’t good for my personality. It wasn’t who I really am.
I’m a smoke-free person that enjoys being smoke-free.
My name is Amir, I’ve been smoke-free for three a half years.
The first thing I did was I made a deal with myself to quit. It was a very, very serious deal. I didn't tell anybody about it. That was one of the major things that I decided, because I've found in the past that as soon as you tell somebody that you're quitting smoking, everybody starts telling you how hard it's going to be. And when you get the idea that it's very hard in your head, it becomes harder.
I said to myself that I could do it, that I could quit. And that I was going to quit, and that I was the only person who could make myself quit.
I suppose I'd heard that people substituted things for cigarettes. Of course, I heard also that I was probably going to gain weight. So it was a definite conscious decision to just be very controlled and to really watch what I was doing, and to think about everything before I did it; instead of just doing things reflexively.
Gum definitely worked for me, it was just as a substitute, because it was something that I could do. It was something active that I could do, rather than smoking.
Anybody can quit smoking. I was very pleased, afterward, that my mother who was a lifetime smoker was inspired by my quitting and even the way that I quit. She was also able to quit.
I feel very proud, very, very proud. It's given me a lot of self esteem. It's given me a lot of self-confidence. It's given me the feeling that I can do anything if I decide to, if I put my mind to it.
My name is Aurora and I have not smoked a cigarette in almost two years.
We just had a baby boy, Alex. He’s 4 months old today and he is all the motivation I have to stay off smoking.
The way I quit was, I decided to quit, first of all, and then I used the patch for about six or seven months, on my own schedule.
The patch helped me a lot, and going on my own schedule on it helped me a lot. I stepped down as I felt I was ready to step down rather than going by a program.
I started to drink a lot of water, which I still do and I feel a lot better. My skin’s better, my health is better. I still drink a lot of water. I chewed some gum…and we had also bought this place that’s got some land and we needed to fix it up, so I spent a lot of time last summer chopping down trees and working real hard in the yard. So I think that exercise helped as well.
More importantly though, I think, was the commitment. I was committed to it, you know. I tried a lot, there’s a lot of different ways you can quit smoking, but it’s not gonna work unless you’re committed. And I think that was, that was really the most important part of why I was successful this time.
My name is Andy. I’ve been smoke-free for almost a year and a half.
I just made up my mind a few years ago. I said, "That's it." I said "I'm just too healthy. I'm blessed with, knock on wood, with good health and I'm too intelligent." I just reached the point where I said, "I just have to stop."
My wife knows when I want to do something and if it's important to me, I'll put everything else aside and I'll do it. I chewed a lot of gum. The patch helped. And there's just, you know, just will power.
I feel a great deal better. Not only health-wise, I don't feel like I need a crutch anymore.
I go to the gym every morning. And I get a high from it.
Anybody can quit, you just got to have will power. Go to an agency or... somebody to help you, and say, "I'm going to make it a mission." Set a date – you can't say "I'm going to do it tomorrow." Say "I'm going to set a date and I want to quit and I'm going to make up my mind."
My name is Ron and I have been smoke-free for three years, absolutely smoke-free, never to touch it again.
EBENEZER
I think different things work for different people. I think—in general, I think exercise helps a lot of people.
AURORA
Gum, gum. I—I picked a brand, a sugar-free brand that I decided to stick with the entire run of my quitting.
ANGIE
I learned how to knit. I did meditation. I read a lot. I kept myself busy. I tried to replace all those bad habits, replaced them with something good.
ETTA
I picked a date that I was going to do it, and I did it…with a struggle. But I did it.
NATURI
I anticipated times when I would have a problem. Like if I was going to go out on a Friday night, I would anticipate myself drinking a beer and feeling all, you know, and not—not going outside to smoke. I would see myself not doing that or saying, “No,” if somebody offered me.
ILSA
I gave myself incentives, and maybe it wasn’t too positive, but if I went a week positively without touching a cigarette, I was—I would get my manicure.
ANDY
The exercise helped. Taking care of the oral fixation helped with the drinking water, and some candy, and gum, and things like that, so you have something to occupy yourself with, and also, I guess, the water helps to fill you up, so I felt full. A lot of people say they gain weight. I didn’t. I didn’t gain weight from quitting.
BRAD
I did yoga, visual relaxation, which actually helped the most.
CAROLE
We found this medication. For me, it really made it easy for me. For him, he had a harder time because he was a heavier smoker.
GUY
Found an inhaler actually helpful. It’s basically—it’s a little—so I drive about 45 minutes commuting, so I had to replace the—the hand motion.
AMIR
When the sensation hit me to smoke a cigarette, I started substituting the cigarette with candy, actually peppermint balls.
JOHN P
The patch, the gum, and sheer mental tenacity.
JUSTIN
What helped me to sleep a lot in the beginning is chamomile tea. I drank a lot of chamomile tea. It calmed me. No coffee. I’m actually a lot calmer, you know. I thought that cigarettes took away my stress, but, if anything, they made me more stressed.
BOB
I picked up the pace on going to the gym with the exercise, with the walking and then back to the running.
ANDY
There’s a lot of different ways you could quit smoking, but it’s not going to work unless you’re committed, and I think that was—that was really the most important part of why I was successful this time.
MICHAEL
Cravings pass. They feel painful momentarily, but you change your surroundings, you do something else, you call somebody, and it goes away and soon you’re not thinking of smoking again.
BEN
Just tell yourself you can do it, and whatever you need to occupy your hands, keep your mouth going, Get that mint, get that gum, get anything you have, anything you need to chew, get it. It will work.
LESLIE
And it is hard, but it can be done I can honestly say that.
ETTA
It is not impossible. You can do it.
MATEI
It’s not easy, but people do it every day. People stop smoking every day.
CHRISTIAN
Stopping smoking is certainly achievable. Your life would be turned upside down in a very positive way. Your health will get better, your relationships will get better, and you’ll feel better.
ILSA
New beginning. New start. New life. New everything.
ANGIE
You know, if you can beat cigarettes, you can beat gaining weight, you can beat anything...
AURORA
It’s a big decision and it’s a deal that you really have to make with yourself. You really have to decide definitively that you want to quit.
NATURI
Smoking is such an impulse behavior, that I think that if you stop on an impulse you’re operating on the same level that gave you the problem in the beginning. Figure out why you smoke. Like watch yourself when you smoke, write it down like is it stress, is it exhaustion, is it anger management, and figure out alternatives to dealing with those problems. You have to exercise and drink water, and plan on the appetite being a little bit of a problem.
CHRISTINE
It is good to sort of set a date, whether, maybe it’s not necessarily the day that you decide to quit like “November 15th it’s gonna be this,” but more, for me it’s like I’ll always know my good friend’s birthday as the day that I did quit. That I, you know, had my last cigarette.
JUSTIN
Exercise, drink lots of water, use a cinnamon stick to put something in your mouth so you’re not always eating so you won’t gain a tremendous amount of weight.
KELLIE
It has to be a decision that you make on your own and it has to be something that you want to do, because you can’t even really do it for anybody else, like, that can be an inspiration but it’s like ultimately like when you’re by yourself and no one else is around, you have to make the commitment and say “I’m doing this for me, I’m gonna be honest with myself and I’m gonna do it because I want to.”
MARK
Each period that you’re able to go without smoking, pay yourself five dollars, put five dollars inside a--a coffee can and continue paying yourself. At the end of the month take that money out and you say to yourself “okay I have smoke-free clothes, I have a smoke-free household, I live in a smoke-free environment,” take this money, whatever how much it is that you accumulate and buy something that makes you feel good.
CARLOS
You have all these products out there, I mean, they are easy to get, just go to a drugstore and try it. You have the chewing gum, you have the patches, you have all this little step by step, the three weeks, then two weeks, then one -
CRISTINA
But the most important thing is the willing, and to have someone to lean on, that’s the most powerful thing. Thank you, Carlos!