StenoLady1

Bill, congrats to you for taking probably the hardest step.

I know the patch has worked for some, cold turkey, hypnosis, lozenges, inhalers, meds. You'll just need to find what works for you and what "makes sense" for you.

What finally worked for me was Chantix, but what Sherri there above me suggested with that diary, I'd like to add to.

The most successful I'd ever been in previous quits was using a behavior modification program using something very similar to what she posted. A friend of my family's was a psychologist and this was something he devised to help people quit.

The first day of the program, smoke as much as you want. Do not limit yourself at all. But at the end of the day, you will need to know exactly how many cigarettes you've smoked. I usually looked at my starting pack and then looked at my ending pack right before bedtime to know how many I'd smoked.

Day 2, keep that number in mind that you'd smoked the day before. Let's say you smoked 34 cigs on Day 1. Well, on Day 2 (and every day forward), before you can have your first smoke, you need to go find a sheet of paper and a rubber band and a pen or pencil. Take the paper and make 5 (or 6) columns and do just like Sherri said, cig number, time, place, what you're doing and intensity (scale of 1-5). Also, at the very top in big letters, write your number of smokes you smoked the day before, i.e., 34. You cannot smoke any more than 34 smokes. Fill it out for your first cigarette. Take the paper, fold it over a few times and wrap it around your pack, securing with the rubber band. Now you can have a cigarette. Every time you want a smoke, you need to unwrap the paper, find a pen, fill it out and re-wrap the paper around the cig pack.

The first day, all of your intensities will be a 5. But you will be surprised at how having to fill out the daggone form will naturally decrease your smoking. You are essentially breaking your habit of reaching over for a smoke and lighting it up.

Every day on the program, for your first cig, repeat the same steps and write your target number on the top.

You will also find that you just can't fill out the form at certain times, like driving, at restaurants or bars, at parties. This is getting yourself in the habit of not having a smoke and living through it, lol.

Now, this will help decrease your smoking and will help with some physical habits, but, really, the rest will be up to you with hard work.

Read information about smoking and quitting. Print out your reasons for quitting. Print out things that "make sense" to you and your quit, like your 10-year-old asking you to. Find that list online about the changes your body goes through every hour, every day, every week, every month, year and decade once you've quit. How will you enjoy the money you're saving? How will spend the years you'll add on to your life?

Just take quitting one day at a time, even one hour at a time. Best of luck in finding a good method that works for you. Everyone wants you to succeed (except Big Tobacco, of course). Don't hesitate to ask for help, whether it's from online support, real life support groups, your physician or pharmacist, your family, others who've successfully quit. You can do this.