“I smoked for 16 years.
To stop, every time I started craving a cigarette, I’d suck on a lollipop.
That helped replace my craving.”
Weaskedformer smokers in theBuzzFeed Communityto tell us what helped them become cigarette-free.
Here are the super helpful and raw results.
“I use theSmoke Freeapp to stay motivated.
meganb43
2.
“I smoked for four years.
Based on reviews, I gotEasy Way to Stop Smokingby Allen Carr.
I couldn’t put the book down!
Five hours and six cigarettes later (yes, I smoked while reading), I was a quitter.
I had smokes left but no desire to touch them.
It’s been eight years.
I push this book on all my friends who want to quit.”
sophiahickley
3.
“I smoked for 16 years.
After a while, that substitution got rid of all of my cravings.
I’ve now been tobacco and lollipop-free since February of 2014.”
tinab49
4.
“I’ve been smoke-free for over five years now.
I started smoking at age 15 and was on and off for the next 35+ years.
I smoked anywhere from half a pack a day to a full pack each day.
Hypnosis was the only thing that stuck for me.
Hypnosis worked as a one-and-done action.
The fee was less than what I was spending for two months of cigarettes.
Now the price has increased so much that the fee would be the same as only one month.
It was worth every penny to finally be a non-smoker.”
jojo571
5.
I’m now cigarette-free for 10 years!”
kannan7612
6.
“I quit because cigarettes are so ridiculously expensive now.
Why spend that amount on something silly?
Put the money you would spend on smokes into savings.
You may end up saving thousands each year.
I know I did.”
‘I picked up running and smoked less and less every week until I stopped altogether."
Mehrdokht Kia, Facebook
7.
“The thing that got me to quit smoking was thinking of two balloons as my lungs.
Every time I wanted to take a drag of that cigarette, the balloons got filled up.
Irene Marg, Roland, Facebook
8.
“Getting into fitness worked for me.
I made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t smoke on gym days.
Then I started going to the gym more often, which meant I was smoking less and less.
After a while, the desire to smoke just went away.”
8089bsb
9.
“There are so many outreach programs that will help you quit for free or for a low fee.
That’s what worked for me.”
Kelsey Letourneau, Facebook
10.
Anonymous
11.
“I smoked for 20 years.
I quit the day my daughter told me she was pregnant!
I didn’t want my daughter or her future baby to be subjected to secondhand smoke.
My granddaughter is now 4 and a half, and I haven’t smoked in five years!”
Linda Valdespino, Facebook
12.
I jumped up and threw away every ashtray and cigarette.
I was a two-pack-a-day smoker.
That was 22 years ago.”
youngjlude
13.
“I smoked half a pack a day for 10 years.
I quit four years and seven months ago after watching my non-smoker mother suffer from thyroid cancer.
Her cancer looked exactly like the warning pictures on cigarette boxes.
charliedhillon
14.
“I gave up going to pubs because it was too tempting to smoke when I drank.
As a replacement, I took up running.
It’s been 30 years now, and I still run.”
Kenna Evans, Facebook
15.
“Every time I wanted a cigarette, I bought a pack and then promptly crushed them.
Sounds silly, but it worked.
Day by day, the addiction faded.
michaelr4
16.
This made me want to be healthier, just like them, and it made me feel less anxious.
Caitlin Conway, Facebook
17.
“Smoking is a habit.
you’re gonna wanna break the habit.
Replace it with something else.
I would still take my smoke breaks, but instead of smoking, I did something else.
I’d get a drink of water, walk to the break area and sit down, etc.
Eventually, I associated my old routine with another one.”
cdude
18.
“I started casually smoking nine years ago.
That turned into a full-blown habit.
Two years ago, I started getting weird pains/feelings in my legs and fingers.
Basically, I was on a direct route to losing my limbs as a result of smoking.
That was enough to put me on the right track.
The ongoing pain was a huge reminder that my cravings weren’t as important as my health.
I also stayed away from places that triggered my wanting to smoke.
It’s been over 25 years, and I’m so glad I quit!
After that, cigarettes just started to gross me out.
Smoking a cigarette seems as appealing to me now as licking an ashtray.
You’ve got this!”
cogitotoro
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity, and some are fromthisReddit thread.
