The Best Natural Remedies to Quit Smoking

But....7 years later, 2012, and I'm working with a lot of smokers and for some reason started smoking shisha - using molasses rather than tobacco but it gave me a bit of a hit, so I got back into smoking through the back door, as it were. Two years of a daily shisha and then I'm on holiday with smokers, 2015, and just started joining in with the odd cigarette - this is what pulled me right back in. It's a funny thing that after that holiday I could go for a week without but I knew I'd be meeting a smoking friend every Friday for a while and would 'blag' a fag off them. I'd spend the rest of the week 'waiting' for the next hit. So I ended up buying my own tobacco and you can guess I got back into it. However, it wasn't as full-blown as formerly - so I'd have up to 5 fags a day, and even fewer on other days. Still, I tried stopping after a year of this and couldn't so I realised that it was a thing for me. Another year passed and I just decided that the smokers cough was untenable and I had to stop.

So this was how I did it. I had a couple of tiny cigars, a few cigarettes and about 1/4 bag of rolling tobacco. I decided that I would eke these out but buy no more afterwards. I set a date and a protocol - to delay the first smoke of the day for an hour every day - beginning at 9.0 am on day 1,10 on day 2,11 on day 3 etc. I had an electronic cigarette for 'emergencies', and I was 'allowed' to use this whenever I wanted, although, as it turned out, I didn't use it very much, it was just good to have it there 'in case'. I was also allowed to smoke as much as I liked after the start time, although I was mindful that I only had so much tobacco so couldn't go crazy.

Well the cravings were quite mad - especially when I'd be waiting til 11,12,1 or 2 to smoke - those were the hard days of really doing battle with the addiction - mental madness (! ) and I just had to fill my time - I got SO much done! Cleaning, cooking, walking, all the work that had been waiting for me to get around to it...anyway by the 8 pm start I was suddenly 'off' the flavour of cigarettes - yuk, the last couple of cigarettes were SO DISGUSTING it was as much as I could do to finish them - I did finish them just to teach myself how awful they were. I kept the last one in a jar (a la Alan Carr) and then had a little funeral of my smoking paraphernalia.

Smoking is a mental thing as well as physical, and it acts as a kind of 'friend' - so my 'funeral' was to acknowledge all the good things about it - a little obituary for the friendships I'd made through chatting with smokers, blagging lights, the support it had given me when I'd reached for it when things weren't going well etc etc. I think it is important to acknowledge that smoking is a multi-dimensional thing, it has associations and 'meanings' - like we probably all started smoking to be cool with our peers, or to rebel a bit, and with hindsight we wish we had chosen another route, but in my funeral I was just tipping my hat to the past, the fun I had and the trouble it got me into.

So now I can happily say that I have completed my smoking journey - I haven't had many cravings since the 'funeral' - I use the e-cig if I'm with other smokers (and as they are a dying breed, this isn't very often). However, maybe its because I'm getting older now, this time I had an unexpected side effect of constipation. Apparently, when we stop smoking we stop swallowing so much mucus and the bowel dries out a bit. This has taken me on another healing journey, and I am so grateful to Earth Clinic for all the information about this, that has helped me get onto a healthy path again.

I have smoked for 25 years and have tried every quit method you know, more than once, some worked and some didn't, but none have worked quite like Lobelia.

I started taking the tincture 4 days or so prior to my stop date (3 drops x 5 times daily) and today - day 8, I've used the drops once. I actually feel like I was never a smoker, perhaps it's the right time for me this time but it certainly has been far easier than I imagined. No cravings whatsoever and I really feel that I am thru the worst and its smooth sailing from here ? without any fears!

The herbs are easy to obtain from a naturopath. If you've wanted to quit but fear has held you back I highly recommend this herb.

ALL IN ALL: I started taking the lobelia on Aug 4th probably started using the filter two or three days later and on Aug 9th I had my last cigarette. I went from smoking about a pack that first day (smoked over a pack a day before this) to only having 5 smokes the last day. Today is Aug 23rd and its my second week of being free of my angry hungry big little nicotine monster. I have my moments of "I need an effing smoke" especially after eating or just sitting there being bored. Its a mental want and not a physical want I just take a few deep breaths (now that I can) and it passes by quickly.

and I know its really early to get too excited about but... Im very happy to be smoke free and dont ever again want to give in to the monster.

Along with Ted's recomendations for the body, I have a recomendation for the mind (and the mind is definetely involved with this.) This is a technique which worked really well for me. It is ingenious and very effective if you have a sincere desire to quit. It was given to me by a friend who had also used it to quit smoking after 40 something years.

The technique:

1. Determine how many ciggarettes you smoke per day. [for me it was 20]
2. Determine how long you want to take to quit smoking. It could be a week, a month, or any number you want. It's your choice. [I chose 20 days]
3. You are going to reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke by 1 every -blank- number of days. Choose what that -blank- number of days is. [I chose to reduce the number of cigarettes I smoked by one, every -1- days. For example: the first day I smoked 20, the next day I smoked 19, on the third day I smoke 18, etc. You could choose to reduce the cigarettes by one every day, every 2 days, every week, or whatever you want. It's totally your choice.]
4. Buy a small pad of paper that is comfortable to carry with you wherever you go that you smoke.
5. Every single time you are about to smoke one of your cigarettes, first take a moment to write down in your pad of paper whatever you are feeling and doing at that exact moment. [What your feeling could be anything such as, "I'm feeling excited, happy, sad, stressed, angry, bored, hungry, frustrated, etc." It could even be, "I'm feeling nothing." What you're doing could be anything, such as I'm at work, just had an argument, watching tv, stuck in traffic, at a party, having coffee, just finished dinner, etc.]
6. Lastly, you buy the same amount of cigarettes that you used to buy before you started this technique, and you destroy the extra cigarettes that you are not smoking and throw them in the trash. [Because I smoked a pack a day when I started this process, I had to buy a brand new pack every day, even though I was gradually reducing the number I would smoke out of that pack by one every day. For instance, on day 15, near the end of the process, I had to buy a new pack, I smoked 5 of them, and then I crumbled up the remaining 15 and threw them away. On day 16 I bought a new pack, smoked 4 of them, crumbled up the remaining 16 and threw them away, etc. This practice is to drive it home to you how much money you spend on cigarettes.]

If you follow this program like I did, you will be completely ready to quit by the last day. For me, I was dying to quit by the last week. In fact, I couldn't even wait, and I stopped a few days before the end with no problems. I have been off them ever since. Remember, once you're off them, don't ever, EVER take even a single puff off of someone elses cigarette for the rest of you life. If you take even one puff, you will eventually start smoking again and will go back to ruining your own good health. Good luck! You can do it!

What happened was while working my overnight job I was looking to increase energy by eating apples and oranges during my very strict two fifteen minute breaks. I also had to try and smoke a cigarette of course. I ate the fruit first and then tried to smoke; disgusting! I couldn't handle the taste and could only get through a very little bit of that cigarette.

The taste stuck with me and I found myself smoking less and less over the next couple of days and then, no more.

I don't know if there was anything else going on there, but that's all I remember doing at the time. So I don't know if this would actually work for anyone else, but I thought it was worth mentioning. I am curious to see if anyone else gives this a try though.

Take care and good luck with the quitting!

1) Natural Tobacco= First I started rolling my own cigs 3-4 months before my desired "quit" time. STOP USING store bought cigs ASAP! Jan 2012 the papers, filters & tobacco averaged $1. 50 a pack. Use "smooth" or "ribbon" cut pipe tobacco (not cigarette tobacco) and select a "mild" mix. Now you are rid of the 2, 000 additives cigs have AND only dealing with the "natural" leaf nicotine! Also my dislike of the "rolling" hassle made me "think" with each cig.. Do I really need it? or just smoke half?

2) Vinegar= then BEST OF ALL, I stumbled onto the "hidden" patent info about adding a drop or 2 of plain white vinegar to the cigarette filter neutralizes the nicotine. You cant smell or taste the vinegar once dry. I did this to every cig for the last 4-6 weeks before I quit. Couple weeks with 1 drop.. Then next couple with 2. (this seems to be the other poster's nicotine blocker).

3) Diet changes= I got serious about taking a good all around vitamin plus a super B complex.. Also doubled my water & fresh fruit intake. I ate more healthy foods and stopped skipping meals (nic kills your appetite & taste). I can tell the super B's really do help with nic cravings. Yeah Ted!

4) Mental Facts= With every thought of "I want a cig", I remind myself that I REALLY DON'T.. Its just the top used insecticide poison thats talking. Being already SUPER addictive and unbelieveably chemically multiplied & enhanced in cigs to addict me even further, its no wonder that it screams at me. Nicotine only provides me illness and death. Am I that easy a target? No, I truly DON"T WANT a cig.. I WANT the NICOTINE.. Or DO I??

5) E-cig backup= I bought an e-cig with both "light nicotine" & "zero nicotine/water" cartridges. I used the "light nic" when I was cutting down and ran out of self rolled cigs. After my quitting, there have been just a couple times I wanted to "smoke" (when smoking friend visits) so I just puffed my water vapor ecig and laughed at myself.

6) A New Dance= I felt ready and just stopped smoking one day after all the above.. But I needed one last step. I've had almost zero "physical" craves, but mental triggers were in everything I do daily. To deal with triggers, as soon as I think cig, I quickly step away from that situation.. Then I return, performing it differently and repeat to make a new habit of that situation without a cig. I am quickly remembering doing it the new way & forgetting the old. (like holding phone in other hand).

I have only been quit a month but already cigs seem like a faint memory.. I go all day without thinking of one unless I cross an old trigger I havent "un-done".. And even then its not a fever wish, but just a thought that its "time" for a cig.. Well, I know its not and so I dance a new step into that situation and now enjoy "breathing" past it.. Combining all these helps made the cravings sooo weak that I easily walked away. I hope you do too! ;)

My Husband started smoking at about 13 (not much) when his parents where not home..then he would also go to there bar in the house and have a drink! They never knew..When he was about 19teen he was smoking 2 1/2 packs of Lucky Strikes, or Camels aday..

I'm not a drinker, and smoked a bit as a teenager cause it was cool at the time lol.

When my husband was 38 he went out with a friend, and came home about 11pm, and was drunk, and had a black out, which dumb me didnt know what that was..About two on the morning when he was Ok, I said, thats it.. when you come home from work, go to a AA meeting or pack your stuff and get out of this house. We had two children, I was a stay at home Mom.

When he got home from the office, we both went to a Huge AA meeting, must of been close to at least 500 people there All smoking, and allot had been drinking. It was a scary meeting..After, When we got to the parking lot, I said, what do you think?

He said I will Never Drink or smoke again..As he now says, I did both about acouple of times, and one of the drinking times he had a car accident..didnt get hurt, but the car was bad.

Now I'm jumping 10 yrs later after he stopped smoking, my husband was then 47, and he goes to a cardiologist on a wed. as I knew there was something wrong..Btw he is a slim man, that is althletic. The first question the Dr.asked was, Do You Smoke? No, not in about 10ys. He did awful on the heart tests. Two days later on Friday, he was at Cedar Sinai hospital, and the Dr. Got a team together, on Monday he had a Quadruple heart By-Pass surgery. If he did not have the surgery the Drs. Said he would have had a heart attack within two weeks and would have never survived..Just want to mention we have a few Dr. Friends, and if we didnt he would not have got to a good Cardio Dr. In a day..Its awful to say, but it makes a big difference, or my husband would have died.

Btw, cause we are slim we thought we could eat what ever we wanted, and he could smoke with no problem, No that is not true. After that we totally changed our diet, and still do.

My husband is now 76, of course he does not smoke or drink, but he did have a slight heart attack last year, and did survive.. we are still very active, but if you think its ok to just smoke 7 to 10 cigarettes, you are in Denial. You cannot...my husbands friend thought it was ok to smoke 8 aday. He dropped dead at 47 yrs, and left two boys in high school, and 3 little girls under 5...

It's So selfish of anyone to do that to your family and think it can't happen to me. It does Not matter how much money you have, or don't, cigarettes will Kill you, or Ruin your life .

if its Not Cancer, it Will be Your Heart Arteries, or your Lungs with COPD...Do NOT Let Cigarettes Control Your Life. Stand up and be Strong. Stop your little game with cigarettes. Just Stop making Stupid Excuses that you can't Stop.. Just Stop or get the Patch.

Be kind to yourself, and your Family.

There are two forms of Vitamin B3, niacin and niacinamide - you want just the regular niacin. Do not buy flush-free or time-release niacin, as that is hard on the liver, and you will not know when you are taking enough. Do not be alarmed by the flush - it is supposed to happen, and it lets you know that you are receiving enough niacin. The flush should subside in about 10 minutes. If you get a severe flush that lasts longer than 30 minutes, simply reduce your dosage.

To find the right dose of niacin for you, start out by taking around 100 mg of niacin in the morning, afternoon, and night. If you receive no flush at all, then increase niacin intake by 100 mg one meal at time, I.e. 200 mg in the morning, 100 in the afternoon, 100 at night. If you still receive no flush, then take 200 mg, 200 mg, 100 mg and so on. Do not be alarmed if you find you need several grams of niacin a day; people generally take 1000-9000 mg of niacin a day (it is uncommon to need more or less but it does occur so always start slow). You may need to empty the contents of gelatin capsules or cut tablets in half or quarters (you can find a pill splitter in the elderly care section of your pharmacy near the pill organizers) to take your proper dose. When you feel a proper flush, then stay at this dose. Niacin is best taken during or after a meal.

The flush will feel like a hot flash and give your skin a pink glow or the appearance of hives. Don't worry; you are not allergic to niacin. This is normal and simply indicates capillary dilation. For me, the niacin flush is also accompanied by a runny nose, but not everyone gets that. If you flush severely and for more than 30 minutes, reduce your dosage.

As for the protocol, simply take niacin with one silica tablet (or 1-2 tsp of diatomaceous earth) 3 times a day. You may also want to add a B-complex and Vitamin C to your daily regimen to ease nutrient absorption. You may need to increase your water intake. If you get constipated, reduce the silica and/or drink more water. Nutrient absorption is also increased with exercise and a clean diet.

Try to reduce your nicotine usage before starting the protocol. Quitting cold turkey when you start will reduce the time you need to be on the protocol, so this is highly recommended if you really hate the flush or otherwise hate the protocol. Your cravings will probably not stop completely, but they will reduce so much that you will hardly notice them. If you have trouble, just try to distract yourself and remember that it only takes about 5 days to immensely reduce the intensity of the cravings. I recommend you stay on the protocol for about 1-2 weeks, but it won't hurt if you decide to stay on it longer as long as your liver function is normal.

Note that I still have cravings from time to time particularly when stressed, but the urge will pass if ignored. Don't make the mistake of treating a temporary increase of stress with a pack of cigarettes because addiction doesn't work that way; you will most likely fall off the wagon and have to quit all over again (I did this once).

Niacin therapy is also useful for depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders, even when the patient has not responded well to alternative treatments. It may also lower cholesterol, ease insomnia, or provide other benefits. For this reason, many people take high doses of niacin long-term with no ill-effects. Physicians often caution against it, but there are currently no recorded instances of niacin overdose in humans (in dogs, the limit is about 5000 mg per kg body weight).

I do not recommend niacin therapy if you have diabetes, alcoholism, any liver disorder, or are pregnant.

A cursory study into tobacco use by teenagers appears to have discovered a new door into the causes of teenage smoking. Nicotine has long been accepted as the addictive portion of tobacco products, but what is apparently little known is that nicotine and niacin (vitamin B3) are analogues. An examination into this previously untrod avenue may yield significant new data into the treatment of teenage tobacco use. Much research has been done establishing that teenagers do use tobacco, but very little has looked into the actual causes and none could be found on E.R.I.C. that has been done from the aspect that tobacco may fulfill a nutritional need....

This article is very insightful, I found it doing some research for a relative, hope it helps relieve some guilt, shame, and pain

I use to be a chimney but by the grace of God, I got free. Wasn't easy but so thankful for the victory.

If you smoke or used to smoke and want to clean out your lungs try NAC, this is an indispensable product.

Aside from increasing your body's production of glutathione, essential for liver protection, NAC is particularly effective in clearing your lungs of damaging carcinogens or any other detrimental pollutants.

In fact, if your dog is silly enough to go after a skunk and gets sprayed, and you take it to the vet, the first thing the vet will do is give it a 1K mg shot of NAC to clear its lungs of the spray, which can be toxic due to its preventing your dog's ability to breathe with that oil covering the oxygen intake cells. So, for liver or lung protection/healing, NAC is essential and well worth the relatively minor expense, considering the benefits of taking it in contrast to the damage done if you don't use it regularly while smoking.

This worked very well for us and its effects were immediately noticeable. It should be taken between meals with a B-6 tablet and 50mg of vitamin C in order to get the greatest benefit. I would recommend 2x 600mg capsules per day taken separately between meals for anyone needing the benefits of NAC. (If you smoke, you will cough more because your lungs are being cleared of tar and toxins.)

Soooooo whats the other element? or is this one of those "buy the book and find out" kind of stories??

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond you you but I don't usually re-read my posts. I'd get it in the supermarket or farmer's market fresh and cut off a slice 2-3 times a day and eat it raw. I usually have to wash it down with a bit of water. I believe raw is better than the dried form in capsules. Just my opinion.

This really is a miracle food. I keep finding more things it does for you. It's an anti bacterial, viral and fungal, anti-inflammatory ( I rarely feel any joint pain any more), diarrhea, helps with most cancers, diabetes, reduces blood pressure, gallbladder stones and more. I still take it every day at least once a day but shoot for twice, just not too late as it will keep you up.

The other day I was coming down with a cold. I took the ginger along with zinc and calcium in a 2:1 ration with magnesium and vitamin d. The zinc interferes with the cold virus binding to cells. As for the calcium, allegedly most viruses and bacteria need a more acid environment in which to survive. The calcium makes your body more alkaline. I only took two doses of this and forgot after that. Last night I'd realized I'd forgotten but it didn't matter because after the 1st dose I didn't feel the cold any more anyway. My boss had a terrible cold by the time I'd found out about it. I told him about this and 2 days later his cold was completely gone. Then I get my cold a few days later. I can't blame it on him because I work from home and the only was I communicate with him is via the internet and phone, lol. I've never even seen the guy.

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, ginger is a miracle food everyone should take every day.

When I think about it, it makes a lot of sense though.