Has anyone here quit smoking? If so, any tips?
Yes: in 1974. Smartest thing I ever did. Went cold turkey - tough but character-building.
Tip:
Stick with it. After three-six months you can taste food again, your breath doesn't stink, your clothes don't stink, you can walk up a flight of stairs without panting, the yellow starts to fade from your fingers... and you feel so good you can't remember why you quit. So you light up again. And that starts the cycle of addiction. For me the 3-6 month period was the toughest to get past, and I tried several times before it worked.
Keep reminding yourself that tobacco is as addictive as heroin.
The weight gain thing is a myth. It only happens if you already eat crap. Hungry? Have an apple, or an orange. Eat sunflower seeds - they have chemicals that help reduce nicotine craving. Don't turn to ice cream or french fries or chocolate bars or pizza or any of that garbage. Don't drink soda pop or that syrupy junk. Stick to milk, unsweetened juices or water (or unsweetended tea and coffee). You can avoid weight gain by eating properly and sensibly.
Helps if you don't hang out with smokers or in places where smokeing is allowed.
Smoking is the androgynous drug. Women look butchy when smoking, men look feminine. It reduces gender distinctions. And of course it prematurely ages smokers. Aside from the numerous diseases associated with smoking (most of which are fatal), looking old and wrinkled is the most visible sign of being a smoker. You look better, more attractive when you don't smoke. Plus you don't smell like an old ashtray.
And let me tell you from experience as a non-smoker: kissing a smoker is like licking that ashtray. Yuck.
The WHO predicts 6 million people will die because of tobacco this year, 440,000 in the USA alone. Many more will sicken and die from second- and third-hand smoke. It's a vile drug.
Smoking in Ontario is banned in bars and restaurants. It's a lot easier to quit when you can go into pubs where no one smokes indoors and smokers have to flee outside to light up.