I don't know how many smokers are on here, but I need help on quitting. I was challenged by a few of my coworkers AND my supervisor to quit smoking by the Christmas party, which is December 30th. I just completed my second year working there, and my supervisor's been pushing me to quit since I started there.

Any tips/advice?

Get an electric cigarette (get a nice $60 one, trust me) and gradually decrease the nicotine in the liquids you get for it until you're down to zero. I've seen over 20 friends quit this way, its tried and true :)

I'm a smoker, sadly. Been smoking for 5 years and it's the hardest thing to quit. Whenever I get bored, I find myself with a cigarette and lighter in each hand. It's so terrible. :( I promised myself if I get the flu again this year, I'll quit smoking. Since whenever I get sick, cigarettes disgust, so I'll use that as my motivation to stay away. I wish you luck on quitting yourself. And like said, I've heard the e-cigs are great with helping to quit. So that may be a good place to start.

I smoked pretty consistently, and heavily, for 10 years, and tried almost everything under the sun in order to quit. The only thing that actually worked (for me) was the patch.

Like you, it started with a promise to myself be smoke-free by the time I was 25, and a month before my 25th birthday I realised I was nowhere closer to this goal. So, I bought patches, and haven't touched a cigarette since. This was a year ago now.

You have a bit of time, so you can test out a few methods - but I seriously can't say enough good things about the patch.

I was able to quit cold turkey, but my boyfriend quit using an electronic cigarette. He was an avid smoker since he was 15 and he's just about to turn 24. I DO NOT suggest the Blu E-Cigs. After me and my boyfriend did some research, we found that those are just as bad. You end up inhaling tiny particles of fiber glass. There are several sites and different E-Cigs you can get and try and you can also find them in any smoke shop. You can choose the mg of nicotine and gradually reduce yourself to 0. It's great.

I was able to "quit" cold turkey last year for almost 4 months, but the temptations were just too great. So, sadly, I relapsed and fell right back into it.. Sigh.

This year, however, I decided to give it a go again and I haven't touched a cigarette in almost a month now, I've had a pack sitting in my kitchen drawer with a lighter staring at me, telling me they're there should I need them. But I haven't caved yet. (Granted, I have sat outside with the pack a few times but I haven't smoked!)

I do agree some people can quit with E-Cigs (do steer clear of Blu). However I feel like they take just as much control as regular cigarettes. Its easy to just say "Well, its not a REAL cigarette.." And then you're back at square one. Honestly, the biggest thing that helped me was going to the gym and working out. I kind of formed a new addiction, mainly just because I felt better and could do more. Its not for everyone, but just a thought.

I called 1-800-QUIT-NOW earlier. On my way to quitting. =)

My boyfriend and I both quit cold turkey. There are always the crappy withdrawal symptoms, but once you get through those, you'll feel so much better.

I like to have gum and candy at all times, otherwise I start to bite my nails. Cigarettes appealed to me mostly because I like having something in my mouth... so I just changed what it was. :)

I suggest not having cigarettes anywhere in your house, your car, etc. Because that's tempting. Out of sight, out of mind. Invest in some candy cigarettes!

Good luck on quitting!

I need to quit smoking myself. This year is the year I relapsed after being smoke free for about 3-4 years. I quit cold turkey last time, but having a boyfriend that smokes too makes it so much harder because he doesn't intend on quitting ;__; I wish you the best of luck quitting, it isn't easy, but it is possible! Just set your mind to it, determination is the key :3

I feel you, I've been smoking for 12 years :( I really really need to quit, so I'm definitely following this thread! Starting Sept. 2014, I won't be able to smoke on work grounds anymore (I work on campus at a University) and so this is the right time. I'm just SO much more addicted to the actual act of smoking than I am to the nicotine.

Herbs ;) take care of the urge in the evening but I still find myself dying for a cigarette when I'm working or DRIVING. Driving is going to be the hardest part.

I like the ideas about replacing the habit with something that isn't smoking. I am hoping to try to get into a routine of taking 10 minute breaks from work to go outside and eat suckers. xD

A friend of mine used to smoke around 40 a day. She switched to a shisha pen thing that she got for £30 on ebay. She was then smoking about 5 cigarettes each day and shisha. But that's just flavoured smoke really. I don't think shisha is actually bad for you because you don't take it down. Get some gum, some patches, a shisha pen (small pipe thing). And find a replacement. Your body will be used to nicotine, so try to replace it with something else that is better for you. Like apple chips or something.

I began smoking at a really young age and smoked until my mid tenties, more then a decade. Quitting was one of the hardest things and the proudest things I've ever done in my life.

the thing about quitting is that, you don't quit smoking because "someone asked you to". You quit because you feel you are ready because if you are not ready you will not have the drive to carry through with it. I don't mean this meanly but as a smoker for as long as I was, it is very true. You must be ready to quit and only then will you be able to follow the steps to do so.

I had gotten to the point where I was starting to have a smoker's cough, before that it was just normal to do but I could start to feel the real damage it had done to my lungs and I decided that I didn't want to sound like my uncle and his girlfriend who sound like they are about to cough up a lung and then 5 minutes later light one up.

I ventured all through the internet looking up helpful stop smoking tips and then I made my own plan. It took a few months but it was worth it in the end.

The first step I chose to follow was working on cutting off the habit smoking.

You know. When I had a cup of coffee, I always had to have a cigarette with it. After I ate, always had to have a cig. When I was on the phone and when I was driving for some reason I always chain smoked. Those silly extra ciggs that I didn't really need. I used to smoke in the house too so I forced myself to get off my ass and go outside if I wanted a cig that bad I could stand in the heat, snow, rain whatever was going on. If the cig was that important then I deserved the discomfort lol.

Another good step that I had read about was periodically switching cigarette brands, I smoked menthol so every now and then I'd switch to non-menthol and then back to menthol. When you switch cigarette brands, the new brand often taste's like shit compared to your cherished favored brand until you get used to the new one. This also makes you smoke less because it's not as enjoyable, once the new brand becomes enjoyable.. switch again.

After a few months it got to the point where i was only smoking when my body actually began to crave ciggs. I went from like half a pack a day or more to like 3 ciggs a day and then as time passed it became one cig and then I was smoking half of one cig and putting it out and smoking the other bit in a couple days and then eventually I just woke up and realized I hadn't had a cigarette in over a week and I didn't need it. I had really done it.

I didn't tell my family or friends or anyone what I was doing because I was afraid that if I had the expectations and the pressure would make me flop on my face so after I hadn't smoked in like a month, nobody had really noticed and I guess my Grandparents brought it up one day about how they wished everyone would quit smokng and I was like oh ya btw I haven't smoked in like a month.

Man the look on Gram's face I wish I could of taken a picture of that moment though atleast it's in my mind. I swear she boasted to everyone for a few months, she'd be in the supermarket and start chatting with people. I used to go with to help out and she'd push me forward THIS IS MY GRANDDAUGHTER, SHE QUIT SMOKING AFTER SMOKING FOR A VERY LONG TIME. etc...

It was really embarassing but wonderful at the same time so I hope that one day you do gather the resolve to reach that moment for yourself and that some of what helped me , might just be able to help you :)

===~Now that I realize how old this topic is haha, out of curiosity how are you doing on your quest to quit???

***Gah I didn't realize how old this topic was, I was so happy to see a topic I could participate in @.@

December 30th. I failed.

Good thing the new year is coming up. Make a resolution! :)

No, you did NOT fail. You had a slip up. That's completely t be expected. Just get right back up and keep trying :)

You will quit when the time is right for you, don't feel pressure or rushed to quit because others demand it. You'll do it when you truly want to :)

You didn't fail - you just didn't make your goal. You can always keep trying until you get it right. You'll only fail if you stop trying. And, if you genuinely want to quit, you won't stop until you're successful. I know you can do it. Good luck. <3

I work at a store that sells e-cigs or electronic cigarettes, and I know a handful of people who have quit successfully using the e-cig as a means to an end. By using one you are no longer inhaling something that is on fire, so rite there you are doing your lungs a huge favor. Secondly you can adjust the amount of nicotine you are absorbing into your lungs. The amounts go from 0 all the way to 3.5. If you smoke a pack a day that is = to about 2.4Mg of nicotine and most heavy smokers who are trying to quit start around there. The next time you go to buy a refill try getting a lesser amount like 1.8 or even 1.6. We sell our base, refillable model for $30.00 USD but you can get a really fancy one with a glass tank for about $60.00. Our e-liquid, the vapor substance you fill the g-cig with starts around 7.00 for a small bottle that lasts some people about a week. Just some general price info to prepare you. When considering how much you spend on cigs that really isn't to much.

Eventually you will be successful. I know people who have tried everything including being hypnotized and none of them worked the way e-cigs do. You still get to use your hands and mouth and you still exhale what looks like smoke. So your brain is tricked into being OK with it and eventually you ween yourself from it.

I believe in you! Just give it a try and I swear you will be another success story.

It was a slip up, not a fail. As many others here have said. Its by NO means easy to do. and I've had my fair share of slip ups. I haven't smoked a cigarette in months now, but when I decided to put my foot down and quit, I caved two weeks later and ran to the store. I bought a pack, sat outside and smoked, felt terrible, so I smoked another and realized it was a vicious circle.

One trick that works for me, I don't know if it'll be the same for you, but my grandmother told me about it. (I know I mentioned it before!) I CANNOT just throw my pack out, I don't know why but, I can't do it. Its something about throwing the pack away that just makes it harder. So I keep it. I've had the same pack of cigarettes in the drawer in my kitchen, to the left of my stove for some time now. When I first decided to quit, that same back sat at the bottom of my purse for a solid six weeks before I finally put them in the drawer. And they're still sitting there.

I find some comfort in knowing they're there should I cave.. It was always easier for me to get worked up, go to the store and buy a new pack; I could always talk myself down from smoking because I wouldn't get so worked up. Or I'd get worked up on the way home and just tell myself to wait until I got home to smoke, and by then I'd be over it. It may not work for you, but it did help me.

Don't give up! I believe in you!

I've tried patches, e-cigs, gums, mints, will power, everything and I still smoke a pack a day. I personally think that you have to WANT to quit. I've never wanted to I've just done it because of SO asks me to and never succeeded for that reason. I hope that it works out for you!

I feel like if I kept a pack, I would never quit. Lol. I depend so much on them that I literally hide them places "in case I run out". You have some awesome will power.