Smoking and Schizophrenia

Welcome Katrina to schizophreniaconnection.

I successfully quit smoking 16 or 17 years ago. At that time I was smoking 3 packs a day.

This is how I quit. I had wanted to stop many times and had no idea how. I finally decided to "see" when I smoked and how I felt, before and after. I discovered that I smoked alot when I drank coffee. I gave up coffee and year before I quit.

The day I stopped is a day I hope I will always remember. It was a nice, warm, sunny day. I had just gotten paid and bought a carton of smokes. At home I decided to play basketball at a park with my son. Five minutes into the game I couldn't catch my breath. I decided then and there to quit smoking. I went home and destroyed the cigs I had just bought.

One of the first things that went through my mind was "how am I gonna get over the cravings." Hard candies would be expensive and fattening. Soda wasn't an option either. I decided to stop drinking soda. I drink water, juice or milk.

I learned that smoking isn't only about the ingestion of cigs..it is also a physical habit (raising the smoke to my mouth). To combat the hand to mouth habit, I found a smooth stone the size of a quarter and carried it in my pocket. Whenever the urge to smoke came upon me I would rub that stone until the urge went away. I rubbed that stone a lot in the early days.

To this day I do not drink coffee or smoke. Sometimes I have a soda but not very often. Water, juice and milk and my choice beverages.

It is possible to quit. Nowadays they have patches and gum and pills. I never used any of those, so I can only testify from what I was told by those who have used them.

As a side note I read that half of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. and consumed by people with a mental illness.

I breathe much better. No more 3 o'clock in the morning coughing, no out of breath incidents and I save a ton of money.

If I was still smoking this is how much I would be spending.. 1 pack costs $8.00, 3 packs a day is $24.00 a day, $168 a week, $8736 a year, $139,776 for 16 years.

You can quit. Make a plan and a backup plan.

Take good care,

Dave

Wow I just wanted to say ",awesome art!"

Hope you find the answer you are looking for here.Good Luck!

Hello Katrina,

Your artwork and jewelry is beautiful.

As I have never smoked and detest cigarette smoking I will defer to the other community about this topic.  I can however say one thing: my mother finally quit smoking after 40 years with the help of Zyban, the form of Wellbutrin approved for smoking cessation.  I do not know if Zyban causes mania though or suicidial thoughts, check with a doctor if you consider going this route as I believe some of the drugs used to help people quit smoking have psychaitric side effects.

Regards,

Christina