Cancer Cures Smoking

I'm not your Mom. I'm not your Dad. I wouldn't have paid any attention to this advice if you had given it to me a year ago.

Quit smoking! Do it now! What I've got may take me down. Maybe it can save a life or two and maybe it can avoid some misery for some of my friends if they can learn from what happened to me and do what they can to avoid it in their own lives.

Forget the prescription meds. You can do it without those. The side-effects of the meds are something I wasn't willing to risk. If you get a prescription, check the side effects pretty carefully and thoroughly. Be certain you're willing to risk those side-effects.

Cold turkey: That is tough. I did it once and it lasted 3 years. Another time it lasted 3 months. A couple of other times I didn't make it a week. It can be done, but your willpower, motivation, and ability to tolerate some very strong urges better be sky high.

Patch: That never worked for me. I've tried it several times. A patch trickles nicotine and I was always just on the edge of tolerating the withdrawl. I'd always end up with something happening that broke down my will and I'd end up smoking a cigarette while wearing a patch. That's when it's pretty clear it's not working well.

Lozenges: I haven't tried those.

Gum: That stuff works. Like a patch, it keeps a trickle of nicotine running. You chew it until it releases some nicotine and then park it between your cheek and gums. Unlike a patch, you can give yourself a little spike in nicotine levels by chewing it a little longer when you first start chewing it or while you're chewing it. That simulates the nicotine kick a cigarette gives you and is effective at reducing the urge to smoke. Nicorette has some flavors that are very pleasant. Fruit Chill and White Ice Mint are very tasty.

With the gum, it's not as dangerous as a patch if you break down and have a cigarette. Just delay the next piece of gum a bit. I wasn't perfect at getting stopped right away. I had 3 cigarettes the first day, 2 the second, and 1 the third. After that, none.

After a week, I can wake up, eat breakfast, have a cup of coffee, and wait 15 minutes after that for the first piece of gum. During that time I hardly even feel an urge for a cigarette. Plus, after about 2 days, cigarettes taste absolutely horrible.

Speaking of taste, it only takes about 2 days until you can actually taste food again. I can't believe how good stuff tastes now.

A day's supply of Nicorette costs about the same as a pack and a half or 2 packs of cigarettes. I tried Walgreen's economical store brand. Forget that stuff. It's hard as a rock and has almost no flavor. I don't think I would succeed if that was my only option.