Cold Turkey
Rating: 
The only reason it gets half a star is because it is free. But even that isn’t free, for if you do fail, you have the costs of continuing to smoke, which as we all know is very costly, both in expenses and health.
Pros:
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Free
Cons:
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Low success rate
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Very stressful
I quite cold turkey 19 days ago.
It is really difficult.
I have not replaced smoking with eating or chewing gum or anything else.
I have quite cold turkey twice before in my life.
I have not reason to start ever again.
It is getting a little bit easier each day. I want a cigarette right now. Oh well.
What I did was to spend my savings ahead of time as incentive to not have one.
I also do not want to be stupid and I usually think of smokers as stupid.
I like the idea of Lobelia, yet did not know about it when I quit. I also like hypnotherapy, yet never got around to it before I quit. I just quit and then kept quitting every day since then.
Whatever works Clay, as long as you stay quit. Don’t give in a third time, my friend.
Chris
I quit cold turkey about 9 years ago. Just recently I have been having the “body aches” coming back that are associated with quitting, which is bring on great stress. I have no desire to pick up a cigarette nor feel a cigarette will help alleviate these feels, but was wonder if anyone had any ideas on how to handle this pain. It can at times last up to an hour or more. It is the exact same pain feeling I had when I was smoking and went awhile without a cigarette, and also the same as when I first quit.
Hi Russ,
That sounds like stress. Quitting smoking can create major stress in your body when going ‘cold turkey’. Is there anything in your life that is stressing you?
I would start there. The only reason you are associating it with quitting smoking is because that is familiar to you. Had you never smoked and had stress due to some other situation, such as the illness of a family member, you wouldn’t be comparing to quitting smoking, but to that memory.
Whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to fall back into the smoking trap.
Chris
cannot disagree more. Cold Turkey has been proven again and again as the most effective stop smoking treatment. (80-90% of long term success – cold turkey) Never again another puff is the mantra to observe. People who get through the first 2 weeks of not smoking via cold turkey – no aids – have the highest I repeat the highest chances of success, meaning no relapse. Read this article for more info: http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Symptoms.html
WhyQuit.com – the Internet’s oldest forum devoted to the art, science and psychology of cold turkey quitting, the quitting method used by 80-90% of all successful long-term ex-smokers.
I will have to disagree with you. Statistics from the government show the other end of the scale to be true.
However, we can agree on the ‘never again’ part. That’s what most people are missing. They haven’t truly quit when they quit.
Most people find a program or supplement helps them by getting prepared for their quit day and it makes it far easier when they do go ‘cold turkey’ on that day.
I quit 3 years ago on March 19,2011. I still go thru the day with the feeling something is missing?
It is becoming less of an Issue you just have to resign yourself that you will always want that nicotine. Be tough you can do it GOODLUCK
Thanks for your thoughts Hobert.
male smoked for 40 years, quit dec 29 cold turkey,3 pacs a day, not so hard to quit, staying quit the challenge. doing ok. wife is day 6 using chanex, doing ok. you have a great site here quite helpful ,thanks
Hi Steve,
Yes, it is the staying quit part that is the challenge. Keep up the good fight.
Chris
Cold turkey, over two years ago.
Not nearly as hard as people lead you to believe. The problem is that most people today don’t have the determination to do it on their own. How else do you think people quit before all the crutches came around to wean you off the smokes?
Suck it up people, and deal with it. If you want to quit cold turkey, you can and will!
Strong words and advice Joe. May work for some, but we still recommend that folks get help when they can.
Chris
I went to Allen Car center, it was great I quit smoking two weeks easily, but then one of my friends who went with me start smoking, and I just did that puff and boom when back to smoking a pack a day.
Now after a year of ALlen Carr I started again, but now I did cold turkey. Its working, 3 months now, I just have to stick in my head never a puff again.
At the end of the day, everything its cold turkey. You need to have the power to control yourself. Good luck!!
You bet. That’s all it takes is one puff. No matter what anybody tells you, don’t take it!
Cold turkey is the best way to QUIT, non-smoker for 6 weeks now, I was a smoker for 14 years and now do not intend to smoke ever! Cravings reduce after 2 weeks and now it is just occassional, something that can be easily diverted. Dont buy patches and things, just do it cold turkey, it works!
Sorry, just can’t agree. All the government studies show that cold turkey has very low success rates.
Chris
Thanks for the motivation the 3% figure has me focused now. I’ve been wanting to stop smoking for the last two months. Anything worth doing should be difficult. I believe nicotine effects every person differently. I met a man one time who one day simply said I’m done smoking and he still has 13 cigarettes in this guitar case from the late 70s, never craved. Another person quit two years ago but everyday runs from the smoke outside of our office. Oppisit ends of the spectrum good luck and congrats to everyone who has had sucess. I’m done smoking now too.
I quit cold turkey seven Weeks ago…for some reason the past few days have been very difficult…actually harder than the first two Weeks smoke free…any suggestions? How long do these terrible cravings last?
24 days cold turkey and using this website for support. It was easy to quit because I had the flu. Now is the hard part because somehow life seems dull.
Cold turkey is much easier than people are led to believe. Understanding that the emotional/psychological addiction is actually worse than the physical addiction is key to fighting off those triggers that so many give in to. The biggest key to quitting cold turkey though, is to never give in to having just one. Once you do, you basically have to start over. Most who give in and have just that one smoke end up smoking again. But this is true for any method once you have truly quit.
Hi Rich,
Good advice, and cold turkey does indeed work for some. However most people need some assistance, which is why we recommend certain products.
Thanks for posting,
Chris
Good for you Wanda!
Don’t feel like something is missing because you aren’t smoking any longer. Quite the opposite in fact. Now you can start doing a bunch of things you couldn’t before.
Enjoy life!
Chris
I have smoked a half a pack of cigarettes a day, for 23 years….4 days cold turkey…Mine was an eye opener that got me thinking it was time to quit. My mom wound up in the ER with heart diesease, not due to smoking but to being overweight. However, just learned from the doctor that sometimes its HEALTHER to be overweight then it is to smoke. Smoking is the #1 reason for heart diesease in women. Is smoking really worth my life??? I don’t think so! Cold turkey really isnt that hard if that is where your mind is.
Quit 4 months ago “cold turkey” after smoking for 10 years, and honestly it has been much easier then I thought it would be. I haven’t cheated once and i am now able to run for hours without felling like I can’t breath. This amy sound counter intuitive but one thing that really seemed to help during cravings was cannabis…
Hey Mike
Glad to hear of your success!
Cold turkey is the way to go. Recent research suggests that nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) are ineffective. See http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/health/study-finds-nicotine-gum-and-patches-dont-help-smokers-quit.html
day 8 no cigarettes, was using patch but arm broke out, cold turkey for 6 days, I really really want a cigarette, I know people say they are bad for you, but I felt better when I smoked, I may have smelled, but I was in better moods, ate less, and had more energy. My only benefit of not smoking is I will save money on insurance and cigs. Any advice…. is it okay just to smoke like 4 cigs a day? I was doing two a day before I made the plundge to zero.
cant stop thinking about a cig…
Hi Zach,
I will agree that NRT is not the way to go, I will also have to argue that cold turkey is effective. Most people just don’t have the willpower.
Matter of fact, the next comment I have to reply to on another thread is from a person who has gone cold turkey but just can’t stop thinking about cigarettes. This is all too common and unfortunately leads to failure too often.
Chris
Hi Trish
Even if you smoke 2 or 4 a day, you are still a smoker and will never be free, so don’t do it. You know as well as the rest of us that if you smoke a few, you will revert right back to being a full on smoker again. Don’t do it!
Chris
Not to be harsh, but this is the problem with cold turkey. Just hang in there, is the only advice we can give now.
Stay strong!
this is day 2 stop smoking go cold turkey
Stick with it Joe!
Let us know how you get on.
Chris
I quit cold turkey a week ago and I have no desire to smoke. I smoked for 25 years and I had enough of them just made up my mind that I dont want them anymore. I have a 1 year old and i need to be around for her.
Good for you Denise! Keep it up.