In Canada, the patch, gum, pills etc were originally available only by prescription from your doctor and were part of a program that included regular meeting with the doctor, pre quitting classes and on going support groups. Quitting rates were not bad.

Once the items were taken off prescription, so smokers could get them without the doctor and without the support program, quitting rates were no better than just quitting cold turkey. So you really need support -- something like AA for alcoholics.

Contact your local health unit, cancer society or lung association. They likely have quit smoking programs that will assist you. Good luck!

I dont' know of any herbs that could help you. My friends grandmother (who smoked nearly all her life) quit in the following manner however: she would smoke an unlit cigarette. I suppose that this fixed the problem with "what to do with the hands". she would sit there with her cigarrette, and ash tray and pretend that she was smoking (but she really wasn't) after a while I guess she just didn't need to pretend anymore and stopped for good.
-Renee

There is an herbal product called "Smoke Away." I tried it for a while once and it really does cut down the desire to smoke. Unfortunately I had so much going on in my life at that time and was so stressed out, I didn't stay with it (always some excuse I guess). I have heard of others having success with this product. But, like everything else you try, the most important thing is the desire to quit.

HEY! Glad to see your question. I quit smoking a few years ago, cold turkey, mostly using HERBS.

Here's a few of them:

Lobelia. Lobelia makes some people sick (throwing up sick), but it didn't me. Lobelia contains an alkaloid very similar to nicotine. Pop a dropperful when you crave hard and it takes the edge off.

Red clover: Red clover cleans the blood - it latches onto things and carries them out of your body. That's theoretically how it works. It cleans you out so the nicotine is gone faster.

But the VERY VERY VERY best thing (more than lobelia which is really considered the "stop smoking" herb) was passionflower. My local herb shop (The Herb Store, Santa Fe, NM) sells a tincture called Passion Potion. It contains passionflower (a calm-you-down sedative type herb) and a few others (oat seed and I don't know what else). My main problem, quitting smoking, was just feeling like I was going to lose my mind with edginess or craving or whatever, and a dropperful or two of Passion Potion calmed me down without making me stupid. (I can't take Kava for some reason, it makes my ears ring, and Valerian makes me stupid). I would swear by this Passion Potion for quitting smoking- I really felt like it made a world of difference for me. After a week or so I gave up the lobelia ...

Kristen

One acupuncture treatment did it for me. I was horribly addicted, pack a day and then boom! It was so easy. That was September 2000, and I haven't had a cig since.

Best,
Molly

I finally went the pharmaceutical route and took a thing called Zyban. It's not exactly the herbal way to go but it did take the edge off and I'm weed-free for three years now (so the lesser evil, I think).

I quit smoking almost a year ago cold turkey. It took me a while to build up to it. The first thing I did was I let myself go into nic fits on purpose. They would come on kinda strong and then I would force myself to relax and I would show myself how I wasnt dying or hurting myself, regardless of what the addiction was telling me. After I was satisfied that I would be ok even without a smoke, I would go have a cigarette. It helped me to learn coping strategies without losing my mind all at once.

When I finally quit I went cold turkey and have had an ok time with it. Every once in a while I want one, but it is very fleeting and I forget about it quickly.

One way a friend of mine quit, was every time he had a smoke, he would picture what it is like to be dead and bugs eating your body. I did that too, but ended up with anxiety attacks so I stopped. It sure makes you want to quit though.

My husband has been trying to quit for ten years. He went through the smoking cessation program three times with support groups, did the patch, gum, and the zyban. I'm very allergic to smoke, so he has to smoke outside. I hate that he smokes, but I know he really is trying. A few months back we went on a three day fast, and that was amazing. In addition to solid food, you have to give up caffeine, because it will cause the craving for cigarettes. When you go back to eating, you also have to give up white sugar and white flour. It sounds harsh, but a total lifestyle change is actually much easier than giving up just one addiction, believe it or not. Anyway, after the fast, he didn't smoke for three weeks (no gum or anything like that either.) The only reason he lapsed was a stressful business trip. We're on day two of another fast, with high hopes that it will work this time. Fasting is the quickest way to detox, and three days is long enough to get the nicotine out, for the most part. You'll need lots of support doing it this way, and a lot of research to find the right fast for you, but fasting really is a miraculous method of healing

I heard smoking coltsfoot leaves worked, and also thinning out your tabacco with kniknik/bearberry leaves. Kniknik/bearberry is known to have a very thick smoke, and can make you a little ill if you take in too much, so if you try that just take it easy on it...

Woooooooo-Hoooooooooo!!! I just kicked it. It took me six tries and 18 years, but I'll share with you how I did it.
I took Wellbutrin SR. They say that Zyban is the same thing, but I think they are lying. The "SR" part means that it's a time release. It also acts an appetite suppressant so you don't end up eating your way through your withdrawals.
Now, the problem for me was not the addiction to nicotine, but getting through the moments of anger or stress without a ciggy. The Wellbutrin keeps you on an even keel...not to high..not too low. But the "SR" one is better. And I was told to take it twice a day, but I only took it once a day because twice a day gave me hellacious ringing in my ears and I didn't eat or sleep for the three days that I tried to follow the instructions. Ok for a single person...not good for a single working mom, like myself. I was supposed to take twice a day for a month. I took it once a day for about three weeks. Stopped the pills, and I haven't even sneeked a puff in over five months now.
However. I now have strange dreams in which I am always smoking a cig. Weird right?

Zyban is the same thing as Wellbutrin. Years ago, doctors observed that patients on Welbutrin for depression, were able to quit smoking. But in order to be able to treat smokers for their addiction with Wellbutrin SR, FDA said that it had to be sold under another name. I am a nurse and have smoked 2 packs a cigarettes a day for 43 years. I have tired over half my life to quit smoking--cold turkey, Wellbutrin etc.now I am going to try "Commit" lozenges in conjunction with Wellbutrin SR. I am allergic to adhesive, so I have never been able to use the patches, and since I am a denture wearer, I could not use the gum. My doctor told me the quit rate with just using Wellbutrin alone or just the patch or gum alone, the quit rate was poor--only 40%--but with Wellbutrin and either with the patch or gum, the quit rate was 80%. I got into gardening last year hoping it would help me quit smoking. You need to change your life style as well as taking an aid to help you. I notice when I garden, I don't even think about cigarettes, so hopefully, this summer will be the year I am able to quit.
Sheila

Ditto for me on the Zyban. I actually used it in conjunction with the patches. Nothing else for me helped. The patches alone,the gum (yuck),or any of the herbs that were advertised for it.
GOOD LUCK
Just remember not to give up. Most ppl quit after more then one try.

Hello I have been a smoker,since i was young.and i'm now 36yrs old.i also have been trying a numerous attempts to quit smoking.specailly when my partner died from lung cancer 9yrs ago,he too was a smoker.we were together for 12 happy years.I was with him right up to the end.watching someone you love dieing from cancer,i felt useless because i could'nt help him.he just could'nt breathe.and there was'nt anythink i could do to make him feel better.before he died,he said to me he promised never to smoke again.and that i would be very brave,and he will always love me.i was holding him when his heart stopped breathing,i kept shakin him to make him breathe again,i told him not to leave me.i still continued shakin him,then he started to breathe for a min or two.then he stopped breathing again,and i could'nt bring him back,the lady doctor put her arm around me,and she told me to let him go.it was the hardest thing i have ever done.i had never ever got over losing him.watching someone you love so dearly fade away so quickly.holding on to him trying to not let go.After month's pasted by i try to quit thinking of him.because i did'nt want to die in so much pain like he did.3yrs ago i had a very bad cough for month's it would'nt go away,the doctor put in to have an x-ray,which showed i have Emphysema,i cried because i didi'nt want to die.and i have been trying to quit since.so why can't i do it,it's so hard.if i can give up now i have a chance the emphysema not getting any worse.I don't want to spent what life i gave left on a oxygen mask.i have try many things to give up.and i don't want to die young.

I'm an ex-smoker. Don't have much to offer in the way of herbal approaches - I know MULLEIN leaves are good for the lungs; some people inhale the smoke from a dried leaf that has been lit & snuffed out; some people make a tea with it.

Sauna & steam inhalation with essential oils can be helpful for clearing the lungs once you quit. And I think it is essential to take a good broad-spectrum anti-oxidant formula as well as extra vitamins A, B-complex, C, and E to help the body fight the free radical damage caused by smoking. ASTAZANTHIN & GRAPE SEED EXTRACT are particularly powerful anti-oxidants.

Eleven years ago, I kicked a 10-year pack-a-day habit without drugs, counseling or herbs. I consider myself very lucky. I had started exercising at a local gym after work & noticed that if I smoked a cigarette on the way there I could only do 10 minutes before staggering off the stairclimber. If I forgot to smoke on the way to the gym I could do 45 minutes without straining. I couldn't believe it at first, but it kept happening - and it scared me! - so I cut back to 1/2 pack a day & waited until *after* working out to smoke.

Then I started alternating the health club routine w/running in the evenings on a track near my home w/one of my sisters. One gorgeous late summer evening we went for a run. Perfect sunset, my body felt light & powerful, like I could run 100 miles without stopping. Running outdoors always made me feel so alive! I took off and left my overweight sister slowly puffing away behind me. After a while I heard a weird noise, wheezy and disgusting like a death rattle. I looked around to see who was making that sound. No one else was on the track; it was me. I walked off the track, went home, smoked a cigarette (of course!) & mulled it over.

I guess I loved running more than smoking because the next morning I decided to skip my first cigarette. That was May 22, 1992. One of my co-workers reminded me that I had sworn - while on a cigarette break with her two weeks before I quit - that I expected to go to my grave with a cigarette in my hand. So you just never know!

My heart goes out to everyone struggling to quit. I hope you decide living is more fun than smoking.

Blessings,
~bushpoet

I'm glad to know about the Zyban. My doc says that for some reason it works better on women than on men-about 70% as compared to about 40%. He did not mention using the gum or patches with zyban tho so I'll kep that in mind. He also said that I need to take this for a full month before hand and to continue for at least two months after to be more successful. Anyone have any thoughts on this regimin??

I have quit several times =) The only way I have found to quit is to go cold turkey. The first two weeks are the worst, but after that, it gets easier. But, I keep finding excuses to start again... Maybe this year I can do it for good!

Here is a link that might be useful: great american smoke-out

My wife quit smoking after 52 years of it, with the use of (don't laugh) licorice. Some how this helped take the nicotine urge away for her. Just a small bite.

I think that quitting an addiction of any kind has got to be one of the most personal journeys a person can take... you're really forced to look at yourself every day. Reading this thread, I can see how each individual needs something different, and that has to be related to the complexity of the physical, psychological and emotional addiction that's occurring. I can't say relating some details of my quitting experience will be useful, but I think it's important to at least try to help and it's the littlest thing I can do.

I quit using a lot of determination, the patch, always staying busy, and drinking lots of tea (but never coffee; very different effect on my physiology, making me jumpy and crave cigarettes). Leaving the patches on 24 hours a day gave me some of the most vivid, good dreams I've ever had in my life, and that was an unusual comfort to me because I slept well and felt emotionally refreshed afterward, but I have never heard about anyone else having the same kind of experience. Not being able to afford the full recommended supply for the so-called "step down process", I simply stretched them out by wearing them for a couple of days at a time; I stretched them more toward the end as cravings got easier and left them off for increasingly long periods of time. I didn't have one lick of support from anyone else, unfortunately, although I desperately wanted not to feel quite so alone in it all. Two simple kinds of thoughts helped me a great deal, and I often went to those for reassurance: first, I thought about other people who'd quit smoking and must have felt the same way I was feeling when I was having a hard time - but they'd made it. The second was to remember how good and normal I felt back before I started smoking, and how being addicted had clearly made it necessary to smoke in order to feel that way again - I wanted so badly not to need a cigarette in order to feel like I used to without anything at all. But my situation was certainly different in very many ways and I've heard such things as quitting being more difficult for females, and those kinds of differences make it important to consult with others more like you if you are having a hard time.

Thea36, if you're still reading all this, I truly wish you all the strength in the world to save yourself; I recognize in your words a very familiar drive and determination to quit. It's the same kind of powerful drive, stronger for the terrible pain you've had to endure, that you will be able to draw upon and get through it all. If you believe in such things at all, you'll have to agree that your partner will be watching over you. Remembering that will make it a little easier when you can hardly stand to keep going.

I hope everyone who wants to be free from smoking will be able to quit. I can't believe I wasted any of my life on it, now that it's over. It's worth all the pain it took to be here and to be able to say this, it really is.

I've quit smoking twice. The first time, years ago, was cold turkey because my boss and I made a very large bet as to who could do it cold turkey. I did, won the bet, and didn't smoke for ten years. All that time I tried to encourage my partner to quit smoking, and we tried more herbal remedies, hypnosis, acupuncture, ear stapling--you name it, we tried it. But nothing worked although one thing came close: each time the urge to smoke occurs, chew on a piece of tart apple (like Granny Smith). In my case, the second and forever time, I did some psychology on myself (and I know next to nothing about psychology): I forced myself to go back in memory to the time and place and above all reason I bought my first pack of Luckys. I saw myself standing on that spot outside the drugstore again, 18 years old, opening the pack and smoking my first cigarette. And all the while I was angry as hell, at my family, the people around me, having to do what I didn't want to do, no control over my own life. But this they couldn't control: smoking was the first step of my rebellion. And here it was nearly 50 years later and I was still carrying around a stupid habit (that did kill my partner) that had not had any relevance to my life for decades. What a crock. I shredded my cigarettes,flushed them down the toilet and opened the windows. The really interesting thing is that during the ten years when I first stopped smoking, not a day went by that I didn't crave a cigarette. A lady I knew said she had been going through the same thing for 30 years. However, this second time around, I have absolutely no urges. Possibly some of that lack is due to the fact that I have changed my lifestyle, including diet, drastically. Others on this thread have also mentioned that, and I'd say if the possibility exists for you, try it. It may help.

First you have to realize that you do not have a habit....YOU ARE AN ADDICT!!!! Make the decision to quit; think about it; plan for it. Go to "Quitnet.com" They are a very helpful and fun group..........then just say, ok...this is it. Don't give up and if you back slide....don't beat up on yourself.....just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

Try the Quitnet.com....I think you will like it.

Nancy in Seattle

3 packs a day for 30+ years....quit Nov 1, 2001

I smoked for 25 years. There is only one way to do it. Make up your mind and quit. As someone else hinted, I did it by not lighting up the cigarette and going through the motions, and a patch. I no longer use the patch, but occasionally when I have a glass of wine I hold on to a cigarette a go throught the motions.

When you get urge for smoking, instead of smoking,cut the cigarrette into two while thinking that you are removing an evil from your life.Collect all the pcs. and discard after a while thinking as if you have prevented an onset of cancer in your lungs.
Single most help comes from strong determination.

chiman

I am a smoker and I have been trying to quit for years. I am the mother of 3 boys, ages 10, 6, & 3. Recently, my best friend's mother, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer. My friend is devastated and told me she is furious with cigarettes for taking her mother from her. She is also furious with her mother for letting cigarettes take her away from her daughter and grandbabies. My friend asked me to think about what is more important, smoking or my babies. Now, each time I think about having a cigarette, I ask myself if it is worth the pain I could inflict upon my sons...facing their life without their mom. It is an easy choice. I haven't had a cigarette in 3 weeks. I also quit drinking. I LOVED smoking. I enjoyed the occasional glass of wine. But I LOVE my children more. When I am feeling lazy, stressed, angry, anything that might tempt me to smoke, I go for a walk. And guess what? I have LOST almost 10 lbs in less than a month and I feel fabulous. I sympathize with everyone out there trying to quit. It is so HARD. Good luck to all...

C.J.

i just started quitting smoking. Today at 11 noon it was my second 24 hours without a cigarette. I am 39 and have been smoking since i was 13. I didnt smoke a lot as a young teenager but was almost to a pack a day by my early 20's. The last time i went 24 hours or more without a cigarette was when i was in bootcamp when i was 19, otherwise i havent been 24 hours without a cigarette for 20 years.

Recently i started having a bunch of health problems after being relatively healthy - i guess it was just luck since i didnt take the best care of myself and on top of that i smoked.

what happened is that back in december (it is now march 2004) i got cellulitus on my left leg. Took antibiotics and it healed. A couple of weeks later i got it again on my left buttock and also treated that with antibiotics, before that one was healed another small on started right near that one but i took another course of antibiotics and it never got really bad. A few weeks went by and then i got another on on my right side in that area below the buttocks thats not quite on your hip or thigh. That one was a bad one and i took antibitoics for it. that one had barely healed and two more flared up. one right near the one on my right side and another on my left buttock. these weren't progressing as fast as the worst ones i had and i called my dr and she begged me to not take anymore antibiotics because she said too many can cause some kind of bad thing to happen in your digestive system or your colon or something.

anyway these two havent been getting much worst so i havent taken the antibiotics even tho i am scared because cellulitus can get into bone and blood and kill you or so i have heard

throughout all this i have also had the flu or flu like symptoms twice when i havent had a flu in over 17 years

i had an ear infection and an inflammation of the eye from something hitting it

this last time i had the flu i had a fever of 101 for 4 days and right after that the 4th cellulitus started on my right hip

i also developed a small cough with hardly anything coming up but lots of wet sounds when i tried to breath deep

i also found out recently that my uterus is so full of fibroids that it is the same size it would be if i was 3 months pregnant and have been having a lot of pain with menstruation and mild cramps pretty much constantly

i just visited a womens center last week and they want to give me a hysterectomy since i wanted a tubal ligation anyway

they told me my cough was probably something called smokers cough and it can become chronic

i am scared to death right now because i feel like something is really wrong with me so for many reasons i decided to give up smoking

i asked my boyfriend to help me buy the 21 mg patches and slapped one on and now i have been almost 52 hours without a cig

an indian healer who is a friend of a friend recommended i start drinking turmeric and applying it to the cellulitus and i went online and read about it and found out it also has awesome antioxidant properties

so right now i am going to start drinking a teaspoon of powdered turmeric in a cup of milk twice a day and also have been taking hot sit baths in it

i am a recovering alcoholic - 15 years sober as of this month 2004 and i just sat and thought about what i want and what i am doing - my brain says dont quit smoking now there is too much stress but when isnt there stress?
yeah the patch is helping - i hardly crave at all but now and then i get hit hard with a craving anyway - well since i am wearing the patch i know its not a real chemical craving it is just my brain and habit

yeah a cig would be really comforting for me right now no doubt

but will it fix anything? no just like drinking never did

so i havent set any goals for myself
i dont even care
i just want to try to quit smoking one day at a time
cuz every day without a cig is a day without a cig
but i can say one thing for sure
my sense of smell has already improved
i use my empty dry cat food bags for trash by my computer and emptied my ashtrays in it and i have sat here with it for 4 years and it never bothered me - today as i was reading these forums i had to take it outside - it smelled so bad

my taste buds are already better- everything i am eating tastes richer and fuller - i dont know how to explain it even

and even better i tried to take a deep breath earlier today because i still have a little gurgle in my lungs but no coughing and i was expecting a lot more stuff to be coming up then what is so i took a deep breath to try to make myself cough up and as i sucked in it kept going and going - i guess i never realized how shallow i have been breathing all these years

i was almost frightened by how deep a breath i sucked in

i am hoping and praying that quitting smoking will help my body have a chance to start repairing itself and for my immune system to be able to start fighting back with all these problems

i also wanted to quit smoking because if i am going to have surgery to take out my uterus i want my body to be as healthy as it can be

one thing i know is that i didnt really want to quit smoking and i dont think i ever would - i kept waiting and waiting and finally with all this happening i just realized that waiting any longer is going to kill me

and i dont want to die i just started a new relationship with a guy who is younger then me - even tho i never liked younger men but i am convinced he is my soul mate and i dont want him to have to deal with me and a bunch of health problems or me dying young and i certainly dont want him taking in my second hand smoke then dying from lung cancer

anyway pray for me if you believe and if you dont believe pray anyway cuz psychology is finding now that beleif in something greater then yourself is almost critical to emotional health

i also threw away all my ashtrays cuz in the past i kept them in case i started again but screw that and i have gotten rid of anything that smells like smoking or tobacco and aired out the house because those are triggers

i am also going to avoid ppl who smoke for a while

also another thing thats good about the patch is in order for me to have a cig i have to take the patch off and wait a few hours so i dont have a heartattack and right now a cigarette isnt worth suffering in withdrawal for, for 4 to 5 hours so the patch helps slow you down

i am planning on doing the entire step down program tho i may try the lowest patches first after the two weeks of these

sorry for the long post
and if you are trying to quit smoking go read about turmeric - it doesnt taste that bad and i am a real wimp when it comes to bad taste and also i think you can now get it in pill form

good luck to all of you trying to quit - just do it - and use anything you need is what i say - i am eating anything i want i rather gain ten pounds then die of lung cancer or emphysema

Dear Dahlia. this is the sweetest interchange in the garden forums I have read. These are people who have been there. Each has found the thing that works for THEM. This is a mystery. Each of us must find what works for US, or rather, ME. the cure is part of finding our individuality.

For me, it was a chemical intolerance. I had given up all kinds of bad foods and chemicals, but I still smoked. I heard about amenthysts. I heard they helped with addictions. for me they worked. But mostly, I admitted I was powerless over cigarettes and asked God to heal me. and He did. A mushroom cloud came into my brain, and I did not feel addiction for two months. I held the amethyst in my pocket. It was unclear whether the amethyst or God was the major helper. God in His kindness did not worry about who took credit. Neither did the amethyst. God bless you all. Jane

Well, I just wish they had a pill of some type, that ou took, and once it was in our system, soon as you took a puff off a cigarette, youd toss your cookies....Thats about all that would work wi th me....

Sometime back, I ate breakfast, and 15 min later I was one sick puppy....What caused it??? well, that's another story, but it kinda scared me cause just the previous week, I had gotten over the flue....

Anyhow for a few days there (until I figured why I had gotten sick)....I was rite nervous, when I would eat anything, a cracker anything..."will it stay down?" type of thing....anyhow I survived....no problem....

But one of my first thoughts upon getting sick, was..."now why don't they make a pill, so when you puff, you get sick,"

I know I wouldn't dare touch a cigarette....I think it would be the most wonderful thing in the world....Now am I nuts or what???????

No one can quit until they actually really want to quit. This is different than thinking you should quit. You have to want it. This isn't a lecture. Try going for a run every day, or swimming, this might push you in the right direction.

eat lots of sunflower seeds, they contain a harmless chemical which is mildly addictive and its structure is similar to nicotine..crazy? yup..does it work? yup..i quit three years ago...
good luck...
love ella:)

I actually got help quitting from Mormon missionaries that stopped at my door one day. They have a whole program worked out. It involves swishing with a really strong mouthwash, like cinnamon or mint listerine, and drinking unsweetened grapefruit juice whenever you get a craving, and prayer, lots and lots of prayer. They even gave me little signs to hang up around the house, on doors, the fridge, etc...

Dear Dahlia, I am new to this forum and really enjoyed reading this particular one as I am also considering quitting the evil weed sometime soon.
As you posted this quite a while ago, I am curious to know whether you succeeded in quitting, and if so, how did you go about it in the end?

There IS a plant that is used to treat cocaine, heroin, alcohol and nicotine addiction. http://www.erowid.org/plants/iboga/iboga.shtml This is a sure bet if you can get your hands on it. It helped my friend overcome heroin addiction almost instantly. Google for Ibogaine. I'm not sure of its legal status, but it is probably legal to grow.

I would love to help my boyfriend quit smoking, although i'm not so sure he is ready to do so. We have tried various times many options... He hasn't even considered the pill/patch/gum, and won't use them. Very stubborn, as most men are...
Earlier in the thread someone mentioned a few herbs to quite smoking.. has anyone tried any other herbs since, with any luck? Even if I can get him to slowly cut down is better than nothing!

Prairie:

There are herbs that can support ones decision and efforts to quit smoking. But, unfortunately, they won't work. Reason is that you're the well-meaning third party. Your boyfriend won't quit until he's ready. Your best intentions won't move his heart to make that decision.

As I tell my wife: "Nagging WORKS!"

HerbDoctor