J's dirty little secret is that he is addicted to cigarettes. We both smoked when we met, and I quit when I found out I was pregnant with Kaya. He's kept it up though, even though we both have a million reasons why he should quit.

Neither of the girls have ever seen him with a cigarette, but Nico found an empty pack in his truck and we both know she probably is wondering what is up. If she asks who they belong to, he really does not feel he can lie to her.

He has tried to quit before, but he is really motivated to do so knowing that Nico may soon ask if he smokes.

We wants to be able to tell her No.

So, does anyone have any advice? Do you know of anything somewhat natural which helps go through the process?

Quitting cigarettes was remarkably easy for me, with the pregnancy. Before I even tested or knew I was pregnant, cigrattes made me flat out nauseated.

I really want J to quit, and I would love to know some ways to help him kick the habit.

I don't know much about smoking or quitting but I have a friend who used grapefruit juice when they had a craving. Something about the strong taste. Maybe you can do a search to find more info about it.

I don't have natural advice,,,I quit with my 2 first pregnancies, only to start again post partum...and I quit for 3 months another time, cold turkey, but started up again when I went bowling with some friends and thought I could just smoke socially like I drink,,on rare occasions..

What finally helped me (and I have been quit for 6 years) was Zyban,,it is an antidepressant that makes smoking so nauseating. They suggest you take it for 3 months, I took it for 6 weeks, and was at half the dose after the first 2 weeks.

You start taking it a week before your quit date..but really, by the second day it was in my system I could take two puffs from a cigarette and be so grossed out..I was maybe smoking 1-2 whole cigarettes a day when you add up those puffs. That got me through those first tough weeks,,,but it is the commitment to never ever ever have just one again that has kept me smoke free.

I know, not natural..sorry. But for me, it was a serious addiction that I couldn't quit on my own,,I needed a tool to do it. J is probably stronger than I was,,,
:rolleyes:

If you have any acupuncturists in your area the is a techniques called the "NADA Protocol" this is very effective and used for all kinds of addictions, many many studies have been done on its effectivenss.

Good luck!

Hypnotherapy. It worked for my friend who was a smoker for 13 years and tried everything. Finally they called her and asked her to be part of an Evergreen study and she said she would. She quit after the second week. It was great! (Espically since I smoked with her sometimes and I hated smelling like it, or have my kids see me do it... YUCK! But I was not addicted to the cigs... I was happy having her co... but it was so easy to smoke when she smoked.)

Love Val

joyfuljourneys,

Gotta tell you mama... GREAT JOB! Don't be down on yourself or think you are not strong because you could not do it natural. We all have tools that we need in life. Whatever works is what is worth it. Think about the pattern you are stoping! When my kids have seen me smoke (never been addicted, but socailly smoked for years) it was always with friends. I would see them, hanging with their little friends, pretending to have a smoke and FLIP OUT. That is why I quit. What if my kids do become addicted? I just could not model that for them... Natural or not... you did it. And that is all that matters. :D

Love Val

A friend of mine is currently quitting and swears by a raspberry-flavored candy…I forget what it is called…and it is not all natural…and she is afraid the candy will make her fat…that doesn’t help, huh? Make him put pictures of the girls all over the inside of his truck…I mean plaster it! That might make him think at least. And something to occupy his hands….he can take up knitting!

But the candies do seam to be working, so find something natural and raspberry that is small enough to eat a lot of…like dried raspberries maybe. I have also heard raspberry can alleviate anxiety.

Best of luck to him! I wish I could be of more help!

Dh was two packs a day.
He says he quit cold turkey, but he did NOT!
He really weaned off of them.
He was terrible and always getting cigarettes off of people until he was cigarette free.
It took about two months for him.

Hope

I am not sure of a way to quit. My DH did before by drinking lots of water to flush his system so the withdrawals wouldn't be so bad. He is smoking again though so :rolleyes: I am not sure.

He has no desire to quit though. Maybe J's desire alone can help him with whatever method he chooses to help him. Hope it goes easier than he even thinks it will! :thumbsup:

cold tofurkey is about the most natural way.

Well, this is no natural way, but Isaac just recently quit and he highly recommends nicotine gum. The chewing really helps. He has a gum every few hours and then weans off those gradually.

I wouldn't worry so much about a natural way to quit as just quitting, period. With th egum he will be nicotine free in about 2 months or so..

I quit cold turkey 8 years ago. It was really, really hard. I didn't find anything that helped me, but then again, I wasn't interested in going on the patch or similar types of nicotine-replacement drugs. So I just quit. It was really a ***** for about 3 weeks. Then my cravings started to lessen. At the time, I was smoking about a pack a day.

My mom told me that when she quit, she sucked on lollipops. For her, it was about putting something in her mouth. :p My dad quit cold turkey and ended up putting on a lot of weight. But he's still healthier than he would have been if he had continued smoking.

Much luck to J as he quits. My only advice is, keep your eyes on the prize, he can do it.

Tara

btdt

first i cut way back and was down to 3-4 secret ciggies a day. and boy did i love them. if i forgot to have my before bed smoke i would get out of bed to go outside and smoke.

the other thing is to make sure you avoid any dietary triggers. no beers with friends for about 6 months-- made me want to smoke. no foods that made me want to smoke-- sodas/ect..

sunflower seeds are said to have a natural nicotien suppresant--not sure what to call it but will help eleviate the cravings. keep them handy for cravings.

and important visualize. see yourself as a nonsmoker (you can do it to for him)

and REALLY most important. if you mess up and smoke DON'T start again-- quit again!!!!!

it takes 7 days for the pysical addiction, after that it is emotional and mental.

good luck!!

luna

And 15 days to break the habit. If you can do 15 days your body and your brain does not need it anymore. It is all emotional from there. If he just sticks to it he can do it... really.

Love Val

I don't have a natural way,but I quit 6 years ago using the patch. It is awsome! I tried several times before with no luck. Actually,years before that I quit for about a year cold turkey. The secret there was I went on vacation to a beach house and it was so serene! It was alot easier then because I was only 16!

Everything works if you really want to do it. my dh smokes and last new Year when he wanted to quit he was wearing a patch, chewing nicorette, and smoking a cigarette. He is getting more determined now and says he is going to try hypnosis, I think Zyban may work for him I've heard good things about that. And he did say the patch took away those 'I NEED A CIGARETTE!!!!' peaks.
good luck to him, it is really really hard
anni

Not natural, but my dh stopped with the patch as well. I had already quit when I got pregnant. My 1st ds was only 3 months old when Dh quit. I scraped (and I do mean scraped!) the money together for those patches. We were both really thankful that they worked.

Times have changed and scraping is not as necessary, but I consider it money well-spent. It was worth every penny. Dh has been smoke-free for almost 7 years. I've been smoke free for almost 8.

My trick was to switch to an herbal blend (NOT pot - it was mullein and elecampagne and I'm not sure what else) and roll them when I wanted to smoke something reaaallly badly. I smoked about 3 of those a day for about 6 weeks, because for me it was about having something to smoke, the habit of it, not as much the nicotine. I also ate lots of (shelled) sunflower seeds b/c they contain something nicotine-like, though I didn't know it at the time - I just craved them.

my dh has quit three times. First when i was pregnant with #1. He went cold turkey. Really wanted to quit. LAsted about 2 years. Moved to lame situation, started again. Dad dies of heart attack, smoker, dh freaks and goes on patch. Non smoker for about 6 months. Slips back into it. Baby #2 comes. Must quit!! Really wants to quit. Move to east, new job, new friends, new life, cute kids, loving wife, starts running, eatting better, chews nicotine gum. Has worked now for about 4 months. Hope it lasts!! Good luck.He must really want it then not even think about touching another one because the dragon will suck him back in. THe future is worth not smoking!!

I guess it could depend on why he smoked - habit (like drinking and smoking), cravings, bordom, association, etc.

I have read that some amino acids help with addictions and there is an Chiropractic technique called Torque Release Technique (TRT)
http://www.torquerelease.com/art7.htm
http://www.torquerelease.com/art8.htm
http://www.torquerelease.com/art9.htm

addictions are a chemical reaction in the brain and some people have more troubles getting off substances than others due to there chemical makeup. thats why you find alot of addictions go hand in hand.

hth

good luck

My Dad smoked from age 12 until he was 35, he quit cold turkey through the use of hard candies ;) He probably got a cavity fromit, lol, but everytime he wanted a cigarette, he would eat a candy... butterscotch, peppermints, lifesavers...whatever. But it worked.

he also wanted to marry my step mom, who hated smoking... lol... so that might have had some influence...

I went to an accupuncturist/chiropractor who adjusted me and also put this little tack things in my ears so when I wanted a cigarrette I was supposed to touch them. It worked until they fell out and I didn't go back to him and get them put back in- then yrs later I went to another accupuncturist who practiced a Japanese method (versus Chinese) and that totally worked- not just for smoking but I actually lost weight because the same meridians that control impulse/addiction controlled my food cravings. I was also doing a lot of yoga at the time and I think that helps because you are so concentrated on your breathing and invisioning clean air coming into your lungs and expelling toxins and after I practiced yoga it seemed stupid to smoke.