Korean Job Discussion Forums

[D.D.]

Just dont buy the things and borrow them from others. Then stop hanging around the people who lend them to you. I never tell myself I can't have them and if I don't buy them I have less than 4 a month. It's a good idea to stay away from drinking if you want to quit smoking.

[joyfulgirl]

if i knew how to quit, i'd have done it.

it's bloody hard.

[Mint]

Good luck to ya man!
I quit last year around this time as well, maybe a Dave's search will find it.

Anywho, there are a thousand more reasons to quit than there are to keep smoking. The only reason you want to keep smoking is that you have let an inanimate object [the nicotene molecule] reprogram YOUR mind.

Truth: smoking smells really bad. You've just reprogramed it like Pavlov's dogs to accept and even like it.

Truth: smoking doesn't make you feel better. All it does is not make you feel bad anymore. It's an illusion. You wouldn't have the bad feeling if you didn't smoke. Every time you light up all you are doing is setting up your body to want the next one.

Truth: smoking doesn't relax you, all it does is remove the stress of craving.

Truth: smoking doesn't help you focus, all it does is clear up the disorganized thought of somebody who hasn't yet had their fix.

Truth: smoking makes things better. Before I quit I couldn't relax ever. Try taking a looong bath, or having a meal in a non-smoking atmosphere, or watching a movie at the theather, or visiting non-smoking friends and family. You'll have to duck out every hour or so, and when you don't you'll have the grinding sound of your own mind to contend with.

Truth: smoking with drinking is fantastic. It's nice to have something small to munch on as one slowly becomes more and more beastly and basic as the alcohol wears on, but it doesn't really matter WHAT that thing is. We have all eaten the puffy color balls at the Korean bars. Are they good? Hell no. But when we drink we just give in to whatever is around us. Including smoke. Additionally, since I've quit smoking my hangovers are 1000% more manageable. Not sure exactly why, but it probably has something to do with additional fluid loss from the 300* smoke scorching my lungs ~40 times a night.

And yes, they are dangerous. But that never convinces anybody.
And yes, they are expensive. But what's 2-4$ a day in Korea anyway?


Truth: I feel like I could arm wrassle Donkey Kong now that I've quit.
Truth: I feel more in control of my own life and mind.
Truth: I can relax. Truly relax, anywhere, anytime.
Truth: No more crowded pockets.
Truth: No more stupid conversations with people about my habit that I know is bad.
Truth: It opens up all the women in the world for dating, not just the smokers.
Truth: I am saving money.

Just try to find the ways smoking REALLY impacts your life, and how it reorganizes your mind to want it. You'll have your purpose and reason with you soon enough and won't even worry about quitting.

[Steelrails]

Oral Fixation.

As a smoker- I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I have no idea how to cure it in me.

Maybe stuff a sock in it?

[rusty1983]

Well Im a week and a bit into it now but Im already pretty sure Ive done it this time. I am actually LOVING it. I have been using nicotine gum and it helps. I feel so full of confidence and am so collected at the moment that Im a bit scared of how much better Im gonna get.

I think cos its the fifth or sixth time Ive tried that I can cope with all the tricks my mind is playing on me. I know now why I feel down, or why I feel like something is lost or missing and I can deal with it.

What has been helping is the compliments Ive been getting and the look of shock when I tell people.

It hasnt even been hard in truth, these flu symptoms wont budge but using the gum nulls the cravings. I had a few drags on one when I was wasted last night and I couldnt stand it whatsoever.

Last time I did well but I always fell over when I was drinking, always. Ive got through some pretty heavy nights in the last week and a half and smoked about half a cig in total where I would smoke probably 20 in an evening, so now Im ultra-confident I can drink without smoking.

Apart from the confidence and calmness Ive got back, the best thing is the way things taste now. I can taste things again. I wanted to dive into my glass of wine tonight and swim around in it, it was lush.

[Forward Observer]

http://www.scribd.com/The-Easy-Way-to-Stop-Smoking/d/24958307

[Mint]

[Provence]

I also want to quit smoking and heard anti-depressants are the best aid. Is it even possible to get anti-depressants in Korea for quitting smoking?

[eamo]

[Chambertin]

I have no idea what I did other than willpower and anger.

Some years ago, circa 2002 Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and a few other states jumped onto the tax your people to death bandwagon when the anti smoking Nazis were ramping up to the most ridiculous campaign the world has ever seen.

The price for a pack nearly doubled overnight. The next day I said F;you cigs.
It wasnt easy but I had an anger and spite grater than any withdrawal on my side. You need that.

So its easy, kinda. Just find something to believe in more than the annoyances not smoking gives you for the first month or two and you're set.

The messed up part is that I will still smoke when I go to Japan or if I meet my smoker friends in bars in Asia. I'll smoke up a pack in a night, but the moment I get back to my apartment in Korea, even after smoking in Korea I pitch my smokes, or give them away. They just have no positive meaning outside of the social upkeep with the people who pay you or domt mind handing out freebies.

Long story short, find something more important than smokes and keep doing it until smokes have no meaning. Then you can jump back and forth without a care. Well at least I have been able to do so for 7 years now.

EDIT: To clarify the last part. I went for a year or more between cigs. They litterally lose all meaning when I get home or when I go back to the States. Even in Japan I think I smoked a total of 4 cigs a month unless it was "work night" and I couldnt walk a foot without having one offered to me. Same in Korea.

[Provence]

[Perceptioncheck]

[hockeyguy109]

So what kind of cold symptoms do you guys get? I'm on Day 3 and have been coughing up incredibly bad stuff (especially in the morning with a sore throat). Nicotine withdrawal really sucks.

[fern1210]

easiest ways to stop are as follows for me:
- switched from coffee to tea ...
- didn't go to the pub for a week
- read up on the harmful effects of tobacco
- your little brother tells you to stop as it has harmful effects on him

went two months before stumbling out of a bar and itching for one...

good luck to all of you on your quitting expeditions.

cheers

[eamo]