Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mint]

Please post any resources, links and ideas to give support to all of us trying to become healthy again.

I have been smoking since I was 16, and have 'quit' for various periods of my life. I realize that this addiction has embedded itself into my neuro-chemistry, as well as into my personality and various day to day coping methods. I can't quit without overhaul, and I'm sure many of y'all are in a similar place. Share what you know.

Last cigarette: 2 days ago

[teachteach]

Ahhhhh yes. Your talking to an ex-smoker here. Living in Korea, with smokes at 2 bucks a pack, smoking became embedded in my daily schedule. It was as hard as anything to quit when I came home.
My job made it easier, since I was on long flights without being able to have one. I find that once it was a rule, I didn't think about it, so I subconsciously pretended that it was not allowed anywhere.
1.5 years with no smoke. Still hard but getting over it.

[piratebryan]

in the process of quitting again for the 3rd time since i've been here.

occasionally i get stressed out and power smoke for a week...and get hooked again.

i guess i'm lucky...i've never considered quitting that 'hard' but i know many people that have tried and just can't do it. just tell yourself that you're not going to let a 3inch stick of dead leaves and paper control you. and get something to play with, like a ball or something....always seems to make it easier for me.

good luck and remember, future you will thank you.

[ppcg4]

I listened to Alan Carr's audiobook and it really convinced me. I've only been smoking for 4 months, but it's just become routine now.

I quit for 2 days, and started again. I was drunk and I bought a pack. Stupid.

I am cutting down on the drinking (used to do it nearly every day) and I just had my last smoke. I don't know why I started, so it's a good idea to quit. I'll be heading back to Canada in 2 weeks so I can't have a stupid nicotine addiction while I'm with my family.

[pootle]

Allen Carr did it for me too. I hear that it mainly works for people who are slight control freaks - but that's just anecdotal evidence. It worked for me (I'm two years clean) but not for two of my friends and we did the programme at the same time, supporting each other. The thing that did it for me was the issue about letting smoking control where I went and what I did. The idea is that you smoke throughout reading the book/listening to the CDs and then there's a bit of a ritual about your last ciggie. The control element may be less important here in Korea where you can smoke in a lot of bars and restaurants.

This is from the UK but some of the ideas and options for methods of quittting will be relevant. http://www.quit.org.uk/

Good luck! It's worth doing.

[Billos]

Came here to mention Allen Carr but its been done already

[sojourner1]

Champix helps with nicotine withdrawal, but you still have to decide to quit or you'll smoke.

[Mint]

We should make a list of Ajosshi that don't smoke, just for the hell of it.
for your consideration:
nobody at the moment...

[Mint]

[prideofidaho]

I hadn't smoked since last Sunday, then I caved on Saturday. Wasn't so much of a cave as I allowed myself to smoke that night. I regretted it the next day, but I think it's a process. I'm just trying to get to a point where I don't need the smokes, or feel that I don't, rather.

Going out with smoking friends is the tough part.

[Smee]

I smoked a pack a day for 10 years, including about 3 years in Korea, and have been off cigarettes for eight months. I admit I do crave them every day, though, but I know that smoking will take me right back to being sick and feeling like crap. I had bronchitis and felt sick for nearly a month, so after that ordeal and being smoke-free for all that time, I figured I'd better just stick with it. It's not giving something up, it's gaining something. I no longer have throat or chest pains in the morning, and I can hike or exercise without gasping for breath after ten minutes.

I guess the trick is . . . just don't buy cigarettes. It was hard going to Mini Stop because every time I just wanted to ask the clerk for a pack of cigarettes. But I didn't, and eventually I gave up the urge to.

It's ironic that although smoking cessation is good for you, the cravings make you feel like crap until you get it out of your system. It was hard for me to tell my body that I'd be okay in the long-run.

[TexasPete]

I'm living here in Korea at the moment and haven't had a cigarette in over 3 months. I highly recommend trying Wellbutrin available at the Itaewon int'l clinic. It's expensive at W270,000 for three months but it does work. I was able to quit cold turkey using it.

It's not a magic pill however. You will need to take responsibility too. For instance smoking and drinking is like peanut butter and jelly so I had to quit drinking for about two months. I could still go out to the bars, but i just didn't drink any alcohol. I discovered i could go to a bar and drink water and it was ok. I also discovered that i'm a lot more boring sober, but that's a different story. Nowadays I can go to a bar or friend's place, be surrounded by smokers and if I feel the urge to smoke, I can resist it though often times I don't feel any need to light up.

If you're worried about gaining weight while quitting, try and find some other constructive habit you can do while in the process of quitting. I've taken up running and not drinking really helped with that as well.

At any rate, i hope the info helps. I won't say i've "quit" smoking yet because i've "quit" before, but i've stopped and this seems like my best shot at quitting, full stop. If after a year, i'm not puffing away, then maybe i'll start throwing around the Q-word, but it's a process and ya gotta take it a step at a time.

[ZenMoto]

The first week is a bitch. The second week is much easier. After that you're home free. Just stay out of smokey social situations for a couple of weeks and keep chewing gum and mints in your pocket. It'll start to look rather repulsive to you before you know it. I smoked for over 20 years and quit cold turkey after I got to Korea. I'm not saying I don't have a craving when I smell a freshly lit ciggy at the bar but 99.9% of the time I don't think about it. It's been just over a year now.

You do have to want to quit though or it'll never work.

[Temporary]

[TexasPete]