Smoking and the Nursing Student

Nursing Students Student Assist

Published

Hello!

As part of my "be healthy before you can tell other people to be healthy" venture, I want to give up smoking once and for all. I have quit FOUR times (one for each pregnancy), only to go back after baby is born due to stress and all surrounding family being smokers. I am well aware that it is a disgusting and potentially lethal habit - I want to make it go away, once and for all.

My question for you: do you smoke? Are you an ex smoker? How did you quit? What helped, and what was worthless? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

-RD

the first time I quit I used Chantix. The second time out of will power! I would recommend Chantix; it really helps! I stupid and started smoking a year after I quit with chantix, but that was my own stupidity.

Specializes in Forensic Psych.

I'm not a smoker so I have no tips for you, but congrats on taking a healthy plunge and good luck!

Specializes in CVICU, CCU, MICU.

I have been an on and off again smoker for ten years. Unfortunately with nursing school I picked the habit back up again and don't see myself quitting anytime soon. It's very hard to go through clinicals not smoking and always trying to hide it from my classmates and instructors. I plan on quitting again once school is over. What has worked for me twice was Chantix I found this to be the best out of all the other methods I tried cold turkey, gum, the patch, lozangers, e cigarette. You smoke on it for a week while it get's into your system. It literally makes the cigarette taste gross and to the point after a few puffs you end up putting it out because you no longer want it. I highly recommend it. The downsides of Chantix was I had a hard time sleeping, very weird dreams, and it was expensive( my insurance didn't cover it). I wish you the best of luck it's a hard habit to break.

My husband quit last year using chantix. It did make him a little moody but he was able to quit after trying to quit on his own several times. Unfortunately he has picked up the habit again while he's been deployed but I blame his friends influencing him. Just remember that every day will be a battle because it is an addiction, and tell your family you need support! Good luck!!

Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I'm an ex smoker. I quit 7 years ago cold turkey. I had quit twice before, but when a stressful situation came up, it's the first place I went. What finally worked for me was being sick of it. I hate the smell, the cost, the time involved. The amount of time I have saved just not going out every hour for 5 minutes is huge. Plus, how much are cigarettes now, my goodness? My husband quit October 1st by using Chantix. It worked for him, but there are some side effects.

Only you have the power to make it stick this time. This will sound a little harsh, but I'm just trying to help you. There will always be stress and there will always be a family member who smokes. If you let these excuses hold you back, you'll be a smoker for life. It sounds like you really want to quit, so I really hope that you can do it. It's wonderful after that first hard year, I promise! ;)

Specializes in Cardiac/Respiratory/PCU.

lol. im smoking right now.

i intend to quit once i am finished with school

too stressful to quit now

:idea:

Mamacita, I totally feel for you, I know full well how hard it is to quit especially while stressed. I figure since my first year in my ADN program is the pre-requisite courses, I can try to quit NOW before I enter the core in Sep 2013, because when that happens my stress is going to go through the roof and if I haven't quit by then, I won't quit till after... and so it is prolonged. I don't want to go to clinicals smelling like an ash tray!!!

From what everyone has said, Chantix seems a good idea. I'm going to the doc tomorrow, I will ask about it then... hopefully my insurance will cover it!!!

Thanks for all your responses - and as for you, rubato... no worries... tough love is often times exactly what we need ;)

I smoked for 7 years and quit once I became pregnant. It took will power, and a lot of family support. I used sunflower seeds, which really helped. I craved them for a WHILE, but would not allow myself to have any cigarettes. About 2 months before that I quit doing heroin. So no it was not an easy time, but there will never be an easy time to quit. If you want something bad enough, you have to eventually stop making excuses, stop saying "I'll do it later" and just do it:) There is always going to be stress in your life; when you leave one chapter you move on to another.

I feel obligated to mention that I did end up substituting my smoking/drugs for eating and gained 75lbs during my pregnancy. It has been 3 years since I quit smoking and I have stayed clean/non smoker. I now get sick by the smell of smoke, something that I NEVER thought would happen, and I love it. I have pretty much broke my cycle of addiction, and have became a healthy person. I started to care about myself, and realized that exercise and nutrition are very important. I ended up losing all of the baby weight, after a while by changing my entire eating pattern. Exercising and watching your nutrition will also help with the cravings, the healthier your body is, the healthier your mind will be. It takes time, and a lot of work to stop the cycle of addiction, but you can do it.

I started as a pre-teen, and learned only unhealthy ways to cope with life. It is very difficult to quit but if I can do it, you can do it:)

Specializes in Cardiac/Respiratory/PCU.

EWWWW no i don't smell like an ashtray

i am VERYYY weird about that haha

when i smoke in my car on the way to clinicals I dont even wear my top

my scrubs are always freshly washed and starched hours before too

so they smell pretty

LOL

But good for you for quiting! now gimme some of that will power!

Specializes in LTC, OB/GYN, Special needs.
EWWWW no i don't smell like an ashtray

i am VERYYY weird about that haha

when i smoke in my car on the way to clinicals I dont even wear my top

my scrubs are always freshly washed and starched hours before too

so they smell pretty

LOL

But good for you for quiting! now gimme some of that will power!

You smell like it, you just dont know it. Take it from an EX smoker of YEARS. I can smell a cover-up attempt 20 feet away. And if you smoke in your car, your car HAS to smell also. I NEVER noticed it when I smoked but once i stopped i could smell my car and it was AWFUL! Plus anything that was in my car smelled too ( purse, backpack, clothes)

Once you give it up you will see what I am talking about.

Good luck to everyone trying to stop. It is NOT easy :)

EWWWW no i don't smell like an ashtray

i am VERYYY weird about that haha

when i smoke in my car on the way to clinicals I dont even wear my top

my scrubs are always freshly washed and starched hours before too

so they smell pretty

LOL

But good for you for quiting! now gimme some of that will power!

What you don't realize is that your skin, hair, and breath still smells like it. Trust me, my husband smoked for years and I always knew when he smoked as soon as he walked in the room. You still smell bad to a nonsmoker, imagine how you smell to a nauseous nonsmoker.

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