I quit cold turkey, with the patch, and with Zyban (an anti-depressant rebranded as quitting aid). Ultimately the patch worked, although I think it was because I was more motivated when I used it, and no longer in college. It irritated my skin a little bit, but it wasn't that bad. This was after smoking a pack a day for about 7 years.

A little googling indicates that a nicotine inhaler runs about $40-50. Even if cigarettes have stayed the same price since I quit, that's still only 10 days at a pack a day. Quitting is well worth the money, and will pay for itself very quickly.

Cut off your hands and face! I'm not sure how this will help your mom quit smoking but you should shut up and do what I say!

First thing your mom has to do is decide whether she really wants to quit or not. Lots of people feel they should quit but don't really want to stop smoking, so they try lots of different methods but nothing ever sticks.

I smoked for maybe 15 years before stopping, but I don't remember being too bothered the physical aspects of nicotine withdrawal. The bigger issue is willpower, and willpower comes from the desire to stop smoking.

I am currently using Chantix, and it runs about $100 a month, or about the same as a pack a a day for a month. The pills are extremely small, (about half the size of a tic-tac or pez candy).

The closest I've come is using the book Quit Smoking the Easy Way (or something about quitting and smoking and "The Easy Way"). I'm going to have another stab at it. It's too expensive, too unhealthy, and I'm starting a new job, and I've got a vacation in less than a month in Florida where there are no smoking areas.

Wish me luck.

Funken, nailed it pretty well. All of the people I know, who have managed to quit, eventually did so by going cold-turkey. Almost all of them tried some kind of stop-smoking aid that didn't work, and in the end, it was plain old willpower, that got them through it. LIke Funken, said the smoker has to truly want to quit or it will simply not work.

As for myself, I'm firmly in the no willpower category. I've tried to quit at least a half dozen times with no luck. That includes attempts with nicotine gum, the patch, Wellbutrin (anti-depressant turned quit smoking aid), and cold turkey. I wish your mom all the luck in the world. Nicotine is truly a nasty, and insidious addiction to break.

Are we really talking about your mother here?

Anyway, I'm not sure what I can add to this. I've never smoked, and I got my wife to quit by buying her the puppy she wanted. Maltese are prone to really bad allergies, so now she can't smoke, or else it hurts the dog.

I was forced to quit due to medical reasons (my micro-preemie daughter's) and that was probably the only reason I was able to do it. Smoking again simply was not an option. I used the patch and Welbutrin, both of which helped but the main ingredient has to be desire. If she has any doubts that she will be successful, she will most likely fail.

Also, not to be harsh, but it sounds like there are a lot of excuses in there as to the various aids available. It's not an easy thing to do, there will be hardships.

On the bright side, the physical withdrawal doesn't last long at all, a couple of days at most. I only tried to kill 2 people and one of them probably deserved it.

The only way to quit is to wake up one morning and know you will never smoke again in your life. No drugs. No aids. No maybes. No conditions. No deadlines. No change of habits or daily routines. No excuses. Just quit!

If I sound a bit passionate about this, is because I am. To this day I claim that smoking was the worst thing that has happened to me in my life and would love to see it completely banned. I also quit 3 packs a a day habit by waking up one morning and knowing that I will never touch it again in my life.

I wouldn't go that far. I used the gum to ease my way through the first couple of weeks. Much better than going cold-turkey and feeling like there's fire ants crawling through your veins.

Rub her face in an ashtray and beat her with a carton of marlboros.

Oh, and you gotta wanna quit. Willpower, determination, and honest desire.
Worked for me. Cold Turkey. I've relapsed a couple of times, which were conscious decisions because I realized I didn't WANT to be a non-smoker anymore at those points. I didn't beat myself up because of it. (as said above, just like any addiction: you don't "quit"... you stop doing it. And keep not doing it. Once a smoker, always a smoker. Even if you're a smoker in remission.) So after 2 years of not smoking I started going to bars and smoking for a few months. Then I remembered how nice it was to not smell like that... and haven't looked back since. I may find a reason to smoke again someday... and as a calculated risk I'm okay with that potential outcome, but right now I don't see it and I prefer not to.

Remember kids: Nonsmokers die every day!

Spoken like a true quitter. Didn't your mommy ever tell you to 'Never say never?' Someday they're gonna invent a vaccine for cancer... and it'll be in the form of a cigarette. Won't you quitters feel foolish!

Chantix works different than most aids/pills. Instead of supplying your body with small amounts of nicotine like a patch, it actually blocks off the receptors in your brain that make you think smoking is good. You have to take it for a week to get it in your system, than you quit. On the 7th day of taking it I went outside to smoke, got halfway through my cigarette and noticed I wasn't getting any enjoyment at all from it so I trashed it. Quit for 3 months, something traumatic happened in my life and got right back on them. Getting ready to start Chantix again, except this time though I really want to quit.

Like the others said, she has to really want to quit. The Chantix is a great help, but if the will to stop isn't there, than she won't quit.

Chantix worked for me. I took it for two months and haven't smoked in 1.25 years now.

My pro-tips. Been sober for over 2 years now. This is the only time I've quit where it's stuck.

* Do not under any circumstance hang around your friends who smoke until you've kicked the habit. Do not go to the bars, PERIOD. It is harsh, but you MUST drop your smoking buddies unless they decide to quit with you. It's a HUGE lifestyle change, but it's either that or the Grim Reaper 5-10 years early.

* Do not even thing about the weight you might gain. Weight gained can be exercised off, your lungs can't be exercised healthy. You might get fat. But at least you can breath, and not wake up in the morning coughing out brown phlegm.

* Get a damn hobby and fast. Focus all your attention into it. Never be idle.

* Chew gum. Nicotine gum helped more than anything else I did. Eat sunflower seeds. Do things with your hands and get something to fidget with.

Most importantly..

* Do not use the stress excuse to have a drag. Everyone encounters stress on a daily basis. You are not special, it is no reason to light one up. Other people cope with stress just fine without nicotine, and you'd be surprised how well you cope when you remove that damn mental block associating stress = cigarette.

* You really, really have to want to quit. Don't take the defeatist attitude of "well, i'll give it a try. JUST DO IT. Don't use any form of reasoning, just STOP. If you aren't mentally at the 100% willing to quit mark, you will not make it. You MUST have the desire!

So yeah, it ain't easy. It's a major lifestyle and health change. All sorts of chemical and psychological hooks into your everyday life. But man, once you quit, you never feel better. Best of luck to your parents!