Does Quitting Smoking "Cold Turkey" Work?

Q: Does Quitting Smoking "Cold Turkey" Work?

A: Yes! Quitting abruptly (i.e. cold turkey) is the quitting method used by 90% of long-term successful quitters.

Source: American Cancer Society 2003 Facts and Figures

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David
Co-Founder of DailyHealth.net

I hate to admit this but I used to smoke. I quit cold Turkey a little over a year ago. With the help of a cessation class it took me about 2 months to lose all cravings and be an official non-smoker. I also used a little nicorette gum here and there to help curb the cravings. Sure the first few weeks were tough.... REALLY tough!

I feel better...I can smell things better... exercise felt better...and oddly enough I wake up easier in the mornings. Bizarre huh?

It was the best decision I have ever made in my life.

I look at people now that are smoking and think. "Yuck" Especially when I see a pretty girl with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. How unattractive is that????

Yes! Cold turkey does work.
7 months today without a smoke
regards Johny

I would say for some folks it does, for me it didn't. I always found that the cravings were too much. I tried about every method to quit and finally was able to using Chantix. For those people that were able to do it cold turkey; good on ya, but for the rest of us, who cares how just quit.

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Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.
- General George S. Patton

Jason, I agree. I hope that didn't come off preachy or condescending. I was just very surprised by the figures.

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David
Co-Founder of DailyHealth.net

not me-had to use chantix. not one smoke since 5-21-07,either! trish

My husband and I both quit smoking cold turkey. He was diagnosed with COPD in 1991 and I could not breathe during a bout with bronchitis in 1996. When we stopped that was it and never had another. Was it easy, NO. Ginny

I quit in 1999, late October.
Before I quit I jumbled up my routine, since a lot of smoking behaviour becomes almost ritualized. Then about 6 weeks after I quit I went to Mexico for the first time, for 2 weeks. I was so distracted by all the new things I was encountering that it took my mind off it all.
Also, I was (and am) on Wellbutrin, and I used the patch for about six weeks.
I smoked about 40+ cigarettes for years, total smoking years of about 30 years.
I highly recommend the jumbling of routines and then going to a new place on vacation.

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~~~~Becky

~ ~ ~ "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~ ~ ~ Anais Ain

I have heard wonderful things about Chantix. It's new enough though that a lot of insurances won't cover it. Even if you do have to pay full price though it still costs a heck of a lot less than what you would pay for a pack a day over the course of one year! Youch!

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LeAnn

LeAnn, a CAR costs less than what you would pay for a pack a day over the course of a year!!

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~~~~Becky

~ ~ ~ "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~ ~ ~ Anais Ain

Totally good point!

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LeAnn

Not preachy or condescending at all, I am shocked by the figures too. Knowing that I had such a hard time with quitting when I tried cold turkey probably added to my amazement.

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Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.
- General George S. Patton