How Do You Stop Smoking? Here Are My 5 Tips
Key takeaways:
Jeffrey DiTaranto was a smoker for two decades.
He tried to quit but was unsuccessful until his doctor prescribed him Chantix, which is now available as generic varenicline.
He says medication helped him stop smoking. And now, he has five tips for other people who want to quit.
Jeffrey DiTaranto started smoking at age 15. Fast forward two decades, and he was burning through two packs a day.
Jeffrey is a professional musician who sings and plays drums for a New Jersey band. He started noticing his voice would weaken after two or three songs at gigs. And when he played softball, he grew winded quickly. Still, he struggled to break his habit.
“I tried cold turkey, and that never works,” Jeffrey says. “I tried the gum, the patch. I thought I’d just smoke until the day I died.”
When Jeffrey and his wife wanted to have a child, she recommended he try medication to help him quit smoking. It was the extra encouragement he needed. His doctor prescribed him Chantix, which is now available as generic varenicline. Two months later, Jeffrey was smoke-free.
His son, Antonio, was born a year after Jeffrey stopped smoking. Antonio is now 15. And Jeffrey hasn’t touched a cigarette since becoming smoke-free.
Jeffrey, who’s 51 and lives in East Brunswick, New Jersey, says Chantix is what made him stop craving nicotine. “I can even be around people who are smoking, and I can smell it and it doesn’t bother me,” he says.
Jeffrey shared these five tips for smokers who want to quit and who are possibly considering Chantix.
1. Don’t set a quit date
Some providers and pharmaceutical companies advise people to set a “quit date” once they start a smoking-cessation medication. Jeffrey says he’d give the opposite advice: Don’t set a quit date.
Jeffrey’s reasoning is that some people take longer to quit than others, and missing a goal date can feel defeating.
“Some people may need 6 months. Just let the meds do what they have to do,” he says of Chantix. “Don’t even think about it. Once it kicks in, you’ll be able to tell the difference between needing and wanting a cigarette.”
2. Be aware of the side effects of medication
Common side effects of Chantix include nausea and trouble sleeping. Some people also report vomiting, constipation, and abdominal pain.
Jeffrey recommends contacting your provider if you experience anything unusual while taking the medication — like his experience with unusual, lifelike dreams.
“I was actually pulling my hair and pinching myself because it felt so real,” he says of having occasional vivid dreams while taking Chantix.
Eventually, Jeffrey found an easy fix: If he took his medication earlier in the day, he would not have the dreams.
3. Talk to others who have successfully quit smoking
Jeffrey has recommended Chantix to friends, who have also had success with the medication. He’s also active on smoking-cessation Facebook groups, where he shares his success story and encourages others.
Jeffrey says talking to real people who have successfully quit smoking can be inspiring.
“I will help anybody who wants help or wants to hear my story and what I went through,” he says. “It might give them a little bit of hope.”
4. Be kind to yourself as you try to break the smoking habit
The constant desire to smoke is real, Jeffrey says. When you stop, it can make you feel angry or hungry, have difficulty concentrating, or have headaches, he adds.
At one point, Jeffrey says, he didn’t believe quitting was possible.
“I loved smoking. It was my favorite thing in the whole world,” he says. “I know the feeling of wanting a cigarette after a meal or with coffee.”
5. Your body — and your loved ones — will thank you
The benefits of quitting smoking are real, too, Jeffrey says.
Jeffrey can feel that his lungs are stronger and that breathing is easier. He can now sing for hours if his audience demands it.
It feels like his body is thanking him for not smoking, Jeffrey says. His loved ones are, too.
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