Is it best to just go "cold turkey" when quitting smoking ? has anyone ever weened themselves off tobacco by using nicotine gums?
Woody Harrellson said he used deep breathing...Everytime he wanted a ciggerate, he really wanted a pattern of deep breathing...so he just did it without the heavy metal contaminated paper in between. Also, a good first step might be start smoking American Spirit..a blend with no additives. Tobacco in and of itself can be a healthy herb, but tobacco today is much other than a healthy herb!
Depends on your situation. If your life is full of stress at work, personal relationships, etc or if you live in an environment which is dominated with smokers, then quitting slowly by cutting down first and then using the gum/patch/hypnosis/ whatever. If you live a rather stress-less life, or are outside a smoking environment, then go for cold turkey.
I smoked ciggs for 8 years. Tried many times to quit, but I always went back smoking. I finally quit for good by waking up one morning and went running outside. I felt so bad and was coughing really bad non-stop for and hour. This is what made me quit for good. It is more "mental" than physical. If you really want to quit, you will. Good Luck with trying to quit............... ~namaste~
I agree that it's largely mental. I smoked for many years (7 or 8 I think, but it was all a blur...:tongue: ) and quit by just telling myself I was done with it. After that moment, I knew it was over and it would have been the stupidest mistake of my life to go back... Since then I've quit soda, meat, eggs and dairy, along with most simple carbs and most refined sugars, using the same "method". Maybe I just have a weird ability, but I really think it's just about being able to step outside yourself momentarily to see your addiction rationally. I should mention that while I used all these substances, I was pretty hardcore with them with no real or specific plans on quitting until the moment I decided. Hell, I used to smoke a can of Spirit tobacco a week, to my head. And the morning I decided to give it up, I'd just bought a fresh can 12 hours before. The only substance I've ever had a *really* hard time quitting was liquor. But when I drank heavily (and I mean *heavily*) I was in a much different head-space and generally a much different place in my life. In order to stop drinking liquor, I had to realize it was necessary, and completely withdraw from my life as I knew it for almost a year (I did this by going on the road, hitchhiking by myself back when I was cute and 17. I knew that the inherent danger of the situation would help stave off temptation). This was also before, though leading up to, when I met my partner. I think it's partially his influence on my life that has helped me to let go of those substances that had me so taken before.