Nine-Hundred and Eighteen Days and Counting. Review on How to Quit Smoking - Tips and Tricks

It took me a long time, a serious bout with oral cancer and a lot of being screamed at by my doctors and family, but I finally have a little over two-and-a-half years of smoke free lungs.

I guess when I started smoking as a kid it was to belong to the group; the same went for my drinking. Peer groups can be very strong influences. It’s still a big problem and back in my day kids weren’t even targeted like they are now. It was something we all did to “belong to the crowd, ” no matter how small. I started by pinching my older brother’s Camels(unfiltered) and graduated to Chesterfields, Pall Malls, Pall Mall Golds filtered and finally Benson Hedges 100s.

Along the way I tried French and Turkish cigarettes and Schimmlepfennigs those little imported German cigars that came in tins and were the same size as a cigarette.  By that time I was way out and it was all affectation! I was keeping up with everyone else in New York City as far as drinks went, too. As far as I was concerned cigarettes and booze went hand in hand. I never got above a pack-and-a-half, but I remember being warned back then what smoking could do. I never paid any attention.

Well, I learned the hard way. In December of 1979 I was diagnosed with oral cancer. In January of 1980 I started a series of thirty-three radiation treatments and eventually went into the hospital to have five cesium(radium) needles placed through my tongue and spent a week in isolation. Now for some honesty: I drank and smoked all through treatment and even managed to smuggle a pack of smokes into the hospital with me. I would smoke in the bathroom while I was in the shower. That was really stupid, but now I know it was really my addiction to alcohol and nicotine.

I tried to quit smoking several times before to no avail. Every time I went to see my doctors after my radiation treatments(they were very successful by the way), they would give me the good old lecture about smoking and how I really should quit. I would try again and maybe go a week or ten days without a cigarette and then bam I’d either borrow one and start smoking or I’d just get furious at some situation, buy a pack and I was off.

At this point I did try a few things like cutting down. I switched to Lites and then Ultra-Lites. I changed brands and smoked cigarettes I didn’t like. I smoked menthols, which I hate. I went to some hospital clinics and watched movies that showed damaged lungs and people dying of lung cancer caused by tar from cigarettes. Once there was even the real thing in a jar of formaldehyde. That was supposed to scare us into quitting but it didn’t; it was just gross. So was the jar of cigarette butts they had added water to: that just stunk to high heaven. When people left to go to their cars or catch a bus, almost everyone lit up.

So I tried and failed and tried and failed until I finally saw a prescription product advertised on TV. I went to my doctor and asked about it and he said, “Yes.” He had just gone through the same treatment with his father, who was as addicted to nicotine as I was, and it was successful. I took my three-month prescription and headed for the pharmacy.

I will not mention the product by name except to say that it started with a Z. I will not mention this product again. All I can say is that it worked for me and you can take it from there; go ask your doctor.

I will, however, give you some tips that did help me once I started taking the medication. I had joined AA some many years before and I knew that some of the same things that helped me quit drinking would help me with my attitude towards quitting smoking. First I needed to want to quit, not just make noises about it and fail again.

The next thing you need to do is systematically go through every drawer and piece of clothing in your home or apartment and get rid of any old packs of cigarettes or hidden butts you may have stashed away. Ditch all match books and lighters. Get rid of ALL the ashtrays, even that crystal one you paid so much for, Throw the whole bunch in the trash(or keep candy or nuts in that fancy ashtray you can’t part with).

Now you’re started. Next, you have to make an effort to stay away from your smoking friends if you really want to quit. You will certainly find out if they are good friends if they understand and stick with you through your efforts. If not, you didn’t need them. When I quit drinking and then smoking I stopped seeing lots of people. Only after I was secure in my feelings did I tell them what I did and the support was(mostly) unanimous.

Make a written list of what triggers your smoking. My reasons were boredom and anger. I would always smoke at buss stops while I was waiting. I would always have a cigarette after I ate, and sometimes when I ate. I smoked at AA meetings, so I started going to those n-o-o-o-o-o-smoking meetings. I got so pissed-off by some of those righteous non-smokers that I soon went back to the regular meetings swearing that I would never pull an attitude like that on anyone who was in the process of smoking or anyone who was still smoking.

I haven’t either, but I don’t certainly don’t allow smoking in my home - or drinking. I know as a recovering alcoholic that all it would take is one drink. I will never be recovered and my feelings are the same for smoking. I can’t stress enough that this is your choice.  If you want to kill yourself, do it on your own; don’t come around me asking for help when you have a drink inside you or you’re out of cigarettes; it’s too late.

My doctor did suggest that I get some Nicotine gum to get me over the rough spots, and I did. I got a refill package for Nicorette, and only used six or eight pieces during the three months I was on my medication. That stuff is nasty and expensive I’ve read the negative reviews and agree with them.

What I found more useful was one-on-one talks with people who were quitting or recently quit.  Find a support group or someone you can call. My sister ended up with emphysema twenty years ago. We were on the phone and e-mail all the time. She was very supportive and never once said, 'I told you so.” That would have sent me off for a pack of cigarettes for sure.

I found that five or six very deep breaths helped when I had the urge to smoke. I also went for a brisk walk around the block. Sometimes I had to walk around the block twice. This wasn’t fun in the winter, but we have Malls to walk in and I used them. During the nicer weather of spring, summer and fall, I found that I was breathing better and smelling more. It’s been a revelation to stick my big nose into a lilac bush and take a deep breath, not to mention being able to smell and taste what I spend a good deal of time cooking.

That brings me to another important point. If and when you do decide to quit smoking, watch your diet and get plenty of exercise. If you feel that joining a gym is what’s right for you, do it. I think that walking and riding a bike did the job for me. I put on twenty-five pounds and freaked out, but now I am losing that weight slowly and deliberately.

My doctor is more than pleased with my progress. I just had my yearly physical(including a chest x-ray) and my body is in great shape for someone who has just turned seventy. I can only wish you good luck, but my most important suggestion is that you truly want to quit. If you don’t, it won’t work no matter what you do.