Korean Job Discussion Forums

[speakyword]

Quit for 3 years a while ago and it went really well for me until I started up in september :S

Even though it's so cheap and easy to smoke here I'm fed up with feeling low energy and winded all the time so I want to make another go at it. Last time I quit I did it with my boyfriend at the time and I didn't have too hard of a time doing it with just willpower. Lately I just keep caving at the bar or when I'm alone and I can just get a pack in my building for so cheap. I've been thinking about trying the patch or something for the first time.

Does anyone know if this is available over the counter here? or do I need a prescription. If it is available over the counter how do you ask for it at the pharmacy? Thanks in advance

Also, if anyone else is quitting and wants to chat about it let me know

[ACT III]

You can get nicotine gum in most pharmacies. I don't know about the patch. Quitting in Korea is difficult but if can do it here then I think you'll quit for good.

[lukas]

Same with me. I quit for 2 years before coming to korea and I started back up again. It's only been another month since quit yet again. You can get the patch or gum from any 약 without a script. I find gum works the best in my opinion. I can just chain-chew whenever I get those intense cravings, drinking at the bar.

[Jeonmunka]

I quit six months ago. I got to a stage where I knew that I didn't want to smoke. Sadly, I think that while there lurks desire for smoking and like of the taste and smell is there quitting is going to be so hard.
I was drinking in the first week and didn't smoke. Fortunately for me it wasn't about willpower because I felt my life becoming freed and that was what I wanted. I am also 41 years and I think that makes a difference because you see your body get weaker (esp. in Korea because of the lack of fresh air and open spaces and exercise room) because of the cigs. So there is real incentive when you lack quality breathes.

About the helper drugs:
Nicorette won't help because it just replaces the ingredients back into you, like nicotine. The point is to break the nicotine addiction. It takes almost exactly three 24 hour days to get that stuff out, and it peaks in the last hour when it really tries to get you back onto a cig, or a nicorette gum. After a heck of a headache on the third day I found on the fourth day the nicotine induced headaches stopped and crave was much reduced.
Champix tells you what you want as it is a psychological drug, but if you make up your mind yourself you will quit for good easier - Champix doesn't have a high success rate because so many people are back on the cigs as soon as the prescription runs out.

When you stop the cigs just say to yourself, 'No thanks, I'm a non smoker.' That may help.

Another way to help you quit is to go to the website: [url]whyquit.com[/url]

I should stress that website, it really helped.

Very good luck. Congrdulations in advance on the new you.

[d-rail]

I am a tobacco cessation counselor at the Mayo Clinic, so I have some knowledge on the subject. To begin with, smoking never really gripped me the way it does many people. Altho I was a smoker at one time, I was a social smoker and never really got hooked.

As for the patches/gum/lozenges/etc...they are a proven method to help a person quit. "Nicorette won't help because it just replaces the ingredients back into you, like nicotine. The point is to break the nicotine addiction" ---the second half of this statement is true, the point IS to break the addiction, but most smokers would agree, the addiction isnt physical, it is mental. There are certain times/actions that would cause a craving. Stress, boredom, emotions. ever notice how you can make it through the day without smoking/chewing when you are busy, but then when you have time its much more difficult. The purpose of NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) is to help you break the habit. that is the addicting part of smoking; the habit. what have you done when you are stressed for the past 15 years? smoke break. You have to replace how you deal with situations with something else, and NRT is useful for that. use the NRT, take the edge off, and get through the craving.

About Chantix. It is a medication that has very good success rates (In studies, 44% of CHANTIX users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment (compared to 18% on sugar pill)). Chantix blocks the nicotine receptors in the brain, but the danger is letting your guard down once quit, because when the Chantix runs out cravings can come back (mild compared to a person who did not use).

The most important thing when a person is quitting is if they are truely ready to quit. if not, it will be too easy to sneak one in here or there. If a person is dragging himself along like that, the nicotine receptors will never get a chance to go dormant and it will always be a struggle.

Oh, the headaches....a few days after quitting the carbon monoxide levels will drop and oxygen levels will increase. Increased oxygen will cause headaches but your body will get used to the "normal" oxygen levels in a few days to a week. also, after that a person will caugh...the cilia in your lungs will begin to work themselves free and brush all that crap out and you will cough a lot of it out.

To all you that are trying to quit....good luck!

[edwardcatflap]

I know it's only anecdotal but I've known a few people who quit, myself included, and none of us experienced any negative physical effects in the few days after. In addition, when sharing stories we all realised we'd found it surprisingly easy to stop once we'd made up our minds. As d rail says, it's a mental condition. I found it very difficult to come to a firm decision to stop in the first place but a breeze to actually stop. I hope that encourages other people out there.

[speakyword]

yes. I agree with the statements about the most important thing being just being ready and thinking of yourself as a non-smoker and being happy for change. Honestly the last time I quit (for 3 years) it was incredibly easy. after 3 days there was no looking back. This time I don't know if it's just being alone in Korea or what but when I get alone at the end of the day it's just really hard to resist. Last time I had a partner in quitting who I felt solidarity with... this time it's really different... plus when I get to a bar it's game over... so I feel like I need some help with the difficult times in the short term.

so can anyone tell me how you ask for patch/gum at the pharmacy?

[speakyword]

oh and about champix. Is it available in Korea? Do I have to get a prescription for it? Thanks again

[Jane]

Save your money on replacements and buy this book:

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking/ Adam Carr

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Way-Stop-Smoking-Non-Smokers/dp/1402718616/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1272327153&sr=1-1-fkmr0

It seems like a run of the mill quit smoking book, but this book helped me quit as well as two other friends.

[d-rail]

Sorry, i couldnt tell you if Chantix is available in Korea. If you talk to a doc, the drug name for Chantix is Varenicline and it may or may not go by the name Chantix in Korea. In the U.S. it is by perscription. If you get your hands on some, read the directions and follow closely. Here is is .5mg for 3 days, 1 mg day 4-7, and then 2mg a day after that, while smoking the first week. DO NOT take it if you have had any phychological/mental illnesses (depression, anxiety, schitsophrenia...) It can be hell on those who do.

Quitting with a friend or partner can be helpful, not not always feasible. when quitting by yourself, think about why you want to quit. If it is for something external like money, it probably wont stick because at some point money may not be an issue. When you think about it, the jobless or lower income people always find a way to get their smokes. It has got to be internal reasons like health, quality of life, longevity, not being slave to it, etc.

As for going to the bar and screwing up, the first few weeks of a quit are pretty important to get some good momentum and you may need to modify your behavior for a while. avoiding certain situations, activities, people to give yourself a good start. Modifying behaviors and changing routines are really a huge thing. some other resources that Mayo approves...
becomeanex.org
nicotine-anonymous.org
quitnet.com
smokefree.gov

[ticktocktocktick]

As well as drug stores selling patches/gum, some Dong or Gu offices will give out patches for free. As for succeeding, avoid bars and drinking for a while. Drinking and smoking go hand in hand, quitting them both goes hand in hand too.

Alternatively, find someone attractive, and have them deny you sex everytime you smoke. Worked a charm for me

[Dazed and Confused]

Zyban is available in Korea. The local health clinics (bo kwan so) has smoking cessation treatments for free. I'm not sure if it is just patches though.

[eamo]

[catatonia56]

I second the Allan Carr/Easyway suggestion!

I tried almost everything - gum, patch, zyban, herbal cigarettes, even that stupid fake cigarette with nicotine in it. Everytime I tried to quit I'd turn into a emotional wreck. Easyway was the ONLY thing that worked and I've been a non-smoker for five years now.

You can do it!!

[skinsk05]

I 3rd Alan Carr. . . read it and quit. Then pass it along.