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Chain Smoking

Any time I have a big project due on a deadline I always start early, and I always finish it on time. But, the problem is that throughout the project I chain smoke. Then, as soon as the project is done I quit and go for months without smoking until the next project arises. I use my cigarette time as a way to take a break from work. I can get outside into the cool air and think over a problem that I'm confronting, and often times find a solution, or an idea that leads to a solution, while I'm on that break. However, I'd rather find a different, but equally productive, way to spend that time. I'm sure this is a YMMV, but any suggestions?
 
Drink lots of tea. Not only will it have a therapeutic effect but it'll force you to get up to go to the bathroom a lot. When you're away from your desk take your time to enjoy the scenery and take a few deep, relaxing breaths before getting back to work.

That's basically my way of tricking myself into taking breaks when I know I wouldn't otherwise, but as usual, YMMV.
 
I smoked for 7 years. The day i met my wife it all changed. Quitting was one of the hardest things i have ever done. After a year of not smoking (i have had a few stumbles) sometimes i still think about smoking but as each day passes the cravings get shorter and now cigarette smoke makes me want to puke. The thing that helped me is replacing smoking with something else. Find a new favorite gum and chew it times when you would like to have a cigarette. Or find a new healthy obsession. My newest one is wet shaving, its helped me in so many ways for example i no longer sit slanted now that my wallet is a bit skinnier. Seriously though its all a mind game and once you really want to quit it makes it easier.
 
My hats off to you all that can quit cold turkey or just smoke every once in a wile and not look back I have a very stressfull job I own a small plumbing co and I drive around 100 miles a day so I smoke alot I actualy hate it everything about it go figure I just cant quit
 
Having just quit smoking, I can offer a couple of tips that might help you through those project times when you feel the need to smoke.

1. Jolly Ranchers (or some other hard candy). During what used to be my smoke break, I crack open a JR, take a break outdoors and go for a walk instead. I'll "inhale" over the candy. Oddly, the JR flavors are strong enough that it's almost like getting a lungful of smoke.

2. Push ups/sit ups/knee bends. When the urge hits and you can't do the above, a handy exercise that takes no prep can work wonders. A couple of push ups, knee bends, or stretches and the urge has passed.

3. Commit lozenges. I swear by these things. I am on the patch, but when the urge hits and is strong, I'll pop one of these for 3 or 4 minutes (longer than that and they burn my mouth) and that fixes it. In the 3 weeks since I quit, have only needed these 3 times.

According to the literature I've seen, the urge for a cigarette lasts 3 minutes at most. Can't confirm or deny that. Not quite that compulsive! :biggrin1:
 
Any time I have a big project due on a deadline I always start early, and I always finish it on time... However, I'd rather find a different, but equally productive, way to spend that time. I'm sure this is a YMMV, but any suggestions?
I hope this doesn't sound self-righteous or anything, but (within limits) almost anything you can replace it with would be better for you. And, considering the financial savings if you don't smoke, you can give yourself a budget!

A few thoughts come to mind:
1) Alcohol (in moderation) is probably good for you. This means a maximum of 2 oz hard liquor (10 oz wine, 24 oz beer). If you don't have a problem with alchohol, reward yourself with some good stuff. Of course, this only works once or twice a day and probably won't help wake you up and clear your mind, but it's a nice way to unwind when the work is done.

2) High quality chocolate (if this is your thing).

3) Other good food (if you're not obese).

4) Just in case you're groaning at my inane suggestions: how about cigars? They're not exactly healthy but much less harmful than cigarettes.

PS: Cudos for your attempts to quit. If you can go long periods without nicotine already, then most of the battle should already be done. It's worth it -- if you stroll through a hospital, a very large percent of the sick elderly (or even older middle aged) are smokers or those who gave up late.
 
Thanks for the suggestions and hope they keep coming. I wish I could find jolly ranchers here, and now that the weather is getting crisp going for a walk is tempting. Luckily, I'm not a smoker outside of these times, and once I decide to quit it's not a problem.

The budget thing doesn't apply so much s cigarettes are quite cheap here. About $2.50 a pack, and 70% of the male population smokes! I would save some money, but not much compared to what I would save in the states.

Well, there's only one smoke in the pack I have now, so it looks like I'm quitting again.
 
Bring your razor and give your face a quick touch up. :biggrin:

Seriously though, you are using your smokes as distraction, you're going to need to replace it with something. Do something physical, squeeze a stress ball, juggle for a few minutes or toss a tennis ball against a wall.
 
This morning I remembered something from a "dealing with problem employees" or something like that seminar about bad habits. The short version is that you don't break habits, but you replace them. As an armchair observer who's never really smoked without first catching fire it's a little difficult to put myself in your shoes. I'm sticking with my earlier tea suggestion but I'll be passing a lot of the advice from this thread on to other people I know; hopefully it helps them too.
 
Thanks for the suggestions and hope they keep coming. I wish I could find jolly ranchers here, and now that the weather is getting crisp going for a walk is tempting. Luckily, I'm not a smoker outside of these times, and once I decide to quit it's not a problem.

The budget thing doesn't apply so much s cigarettes are quite cheap here. About $2.50 a pack, and 70% of the male population smokes! I would save some money, but not much compared to what I would save in the states.

Well, there's only one smoke in the pack I have now, so it looks like I'm quitting again.

I quit a long time ago. I had gotten up to 2.5 packs a day. I hated it, I was embarrassed by it. I felt it was an imposition on those around me. I was serving as shore patrol in Gaeta Italy at the time. I had to break up a fight, and then chase down and tackle one of the pugilists. After I got him and wrestled him into submission, I had the worst headache I had ever had and it lasted about 3 days. I coughed up stuff that was disturbing. I came down with some serious flu type symptoms, don't know if it was related or not. This incident finally inspired me to commit to the effort. I quit cold turkey Dec 21 1981. I kept a half pack of Marlboro 100's in my pocket for a couple weeks and then tossed them.

This flirting with it, starting and quitting like that, it worries me. One time it won't be so easy to quit. I have a friend who is a police chief and he follows your path. Every time some big case comes along, he uses the stress as an excuse to return to smoking. He is in a high stress job, so the stress will continue to come. He now has trouble quitting when the crisis passes.

Don’t know the answer, but if you make it this time, stick with it my friend.


Regards,
Mike
 
Having smoked over 2 packs a day for over 20 yrs I despaired of ever being able to quit. When I drank beer/liquor I smoked non stop. Not kidding, NON-STOP.
I was absolutely and completely a slave to cigarettes for many years.
The watershed moment came when I bought a home and was expecting the birth of my first child. I couldn't do it "cold turkey", it never worked before anyway. The gum never worked. The patch never worked more than a few hours.
What finally worked for me was Commit lozenges augmented with these
http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=5311
Going on 8 months now and my baby boy has never once smelled cigarette smoke on me. I just didn't want the little guy to make those connnections/associations at a young age the way that I did.
Hope that helps you.
Commit lozenges & Australian Tea Tree Chewing sticks in abundance .

Good Luck
Einar
 
I haven't smoked in two weeks. I've never been a heavy smoker, but I smoked more than I should have.

I work temp jobs. My newest temp job pretty much sealed the deal for me. To start with, it's on the 20th floor of a NYC skyscraper. It takes entirely too long to get up and down for me to take the time to smoke. But the big factor is that my job involves providing financial assistance for people who are dying of cancer. I deal with 40-50 NEW applicants every day. That's at least 200 people who are dying of cancer a week. Not all of them have lung cancer, but many of them do. It's been very sobering.

I don't know that any of that will help you, but I felt I should share it.

My advice would be to keep yourself busy. What always stopped me from quitting was too much downtime. Read the newspaper, talk to your colleagues, work on a crossword puzzle, buy a handheld videogame system, write haikus, whatever. I've found that running has always been a great time for me to brainstorm, so maybe you could use that. Some of my most brilliant thoughts (...) have come on the treadmill or when running around the block. You could also just not take a break, as awful as that may sound. Just get some extra work done.

You could also replace cigarettes with something else. Chew some guy, drink some coffee or tea, play with a yo-yo (I'm not kidding), something that will keep your hands and mind busy, but not so much that you can't think about something else as well.
 
Cold turkey is the way I was able to quit...twice. I smoked 2+ packs a day in college, and quit for four years after I got out of school. The second time I started smoking was a result of being stressed out.....and I smoked again for about 3 years.

Quitting this way is perhaps the hardest thing I've ever done....and like an idiot I've forced myself to do it twice:cursing: I'll NEVER smoke again...at this point it is too costly, and after I quit, I started bicycling, so there is no room for smoking in my life.

Whichever method works for you, the biggest obstacle is going to be your mental state. Nicotine withdrawal is terrible, and I tried to quit so many times, but relapsed because I just wasn't ready. Quit, however you can, and don't go back.
 
Simply stepping outside and walking can do the trick for replacing smoking as a way to take a break.

A friend of mine uses toothpicks to help with staying away from cigarettes. Similar hand and mouth motions are involved that way.
 
Seriously though, you are using your smokes as distraction, you're going to need to replace it with something. Do something physical, squeeze a stress ball, juggle for a few minutes or toss a tennis ball against a wall.

+1 one this. How about going outside for those few minutes and not smoke? One of the worst parts of quitting for me was missing those three minute breaks every few hours. I started to just take them anyway, and walk around the block once or twice. The walks helped me clear my thoughts, which is what I wanted to do when I went out to smoke in the first place. I still do them today, two years removed from smoking 2 packs a day:thumbup1:
 
I was a regular, but not heavy smoker (smoked every day, but usually never more than a pack a week). This started with my first "real" job in a kitchen as a dishwasher when I was 15 and went through until I met my wife at age 21ish. She was my motivation to quit and I was able to do it cold turkey for the most part, with a few backsteps along the way. For the Speakeasy regulars, you all know that in the last 6 months or so, I've become quite fond of wonderful world of cigars, and while I don't recommend giving up one for the other, I will say that the two are not the same in my mind. I won't go into it here, though. :biggrin:
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
Kramer: Cigarette?
Barry: No, I never touch them.
Kramer: I suck'em down like Coca-Cola. Well here's to feeling good all the time.

Note to self: (Stop following Cory's posts with a quote from Kramer) :biggrin:
 
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