Last updated on July 17, 2026
I would like to give future ex-smokers some advice! When you quit smoking, don’t do it alone! Make sure people support you in your home and at work. Tell your friends about it; don’t just assume everybody will know how you feel. The internet is a blessing; read and research as much as you can. We are all different! What works for me might not work for somebody else and vice versa. Fighting an addiction like smoking is different for everybody!
www.whyquit.com has been very important to me; it’s a free webpage with lots of information and motivation. There I found a lot of answers to my questions, that’s where I went when I had weak moments.
If you are like me, then you want to talk to real people who either already quit or are in the process of quitting. There are a lot of online support forums for ex-smokers, and I guess it all depends on personal preferences.
Some forums offer an SOS section, so members can post an SOS if they feel like they might be close to a relapse. It’s really more a “cry for help” when you get hit by a big, overwhelming craving. It’s like saying “please distract me right now, so I won’t give in”. I have never tried it, but I saw it working for other ex-smokers. But of course, most people who relapse won’t even use it, because smoking or not smoking is a choice; nobody can talk you out of it when your mind is made up—that’s at least my humble opinion.
I joined a forum, and it offered a “daily pledge”. What a great tool! Every morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee and went to my computer, and I pledged not to smoke just for one day! One day at a time! The whole principle of a good support board is to help new members “Members helping members,” and it’s so smart; you are so busy helping you won’t think about your own cravings too much…you are busy helping!
The focus on these websites is of course—and perhaps rightfully so—the addiction aspect. It’s also the reason why I didn’t stay on these forums, because while I understand that nicotine is a highly addictive substance, I still—to this day—believe that not everybody who is using an addictive substance is automatically an addict.
I believe, and please let me finish before you throw this book into the fireplace—or waste basket—I believe the addict comes out when you try to stop an addictive substance like nicotine, alcohol, drugs and similar things.
I walked away from smoking with ease and a mind full of questions, but I didn’t have to fight to stay quit. I just had to follow my rules. Giving up cigarettes was fairly easy. You know what wasn’t easy, to let go of all the rituals and habits that I had developed while smoking. I am serious.
I learned a lot about the danger of relapse, and I understand this. You don’t mess around with an addictive substance, at least not if you are a normal person. But, and this will come as no surprise, I have already jokingly admitted that I might be the one fish who swims against the stream now and then—or often— so you will read that I relapsed on purpose and with full intention for five days. Why? Because something else was scaring me more than nicotine ever could.
If I ever sign up for an online support board again, then I would make sure they would not be too easy on relapses. A relapse is not just an “ooops”; it’s more than that. One cigarette, even just one drag, can jeopardize everything. Smoking is for many a serious addiction, and quitting is very hard for some people! Doing it over and over is torture, for the ones watching as much as for the ones actually doing it.
It was so interesting to meet other ex-smokers; I wasn’t the only one with a puzzled look on my face, and I wasn’t the only one with lots of questions on my mind. It was good to know that I was normal and I wasn’t going to lose all my marbles (at least not yet); I wasn’t the only one with Millions of questions and a deer-in-the-headlight look.
Ask yourself what you are looking for and give it a try; it’s easier if you can share your experience with other people in the same situation. I would really recommend it! You can, although, email me and I will try to help you as well, but please keep in mind I am not an expert. Everything I write is just my point of view.
There are a lot of support forums out there…there is something for everybody! They can be helpful, but they can’t make you stop smoking—this is something we have to do on our own. I was online every day for hours, and one day I realized that I spent too much time online. Almost like I traded one addiction for the next!
I needed to spread my wings, and I decided to go my own way and left the online forum rather abruptly.
That’s one of the reasons that I started blogging; I wanted to pay it forward for 1 year.
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