Giving up smoking
 

Sorry, but I didn't really know where to put this, and I figured the Vet's corner would be best, presuming that we're all old enough. I've decided (after nearly dying whilst swimming) to give up my twenty a day habit, and I'm doing it all on my own (thank you very much Allen Carr).

So I was just wondering who else in these hallowed halls has given up smoking, and what your experiences of it were... It's nice to know you're not alone, and of all the places in the world for support I know that this place is best...

I gave up about 5 years ago now having been a smoker for 12 years. My parents had never known that I smoked and my son was starting to get to an age where he would 'let the cat out of the bag.'

I had tried a couple of times before, but in the end just got up one morning and decided that was the day I was going to quit and just did. I went cold turkey, for 3 days whenever I wanted a fag I just had a glass of water, it just broke the habit.

Even now though driving into work I occasionally think I'd love a cigarette.

It's nice though, I can breathe enough to go running again now :laugh:

Best of luck :-), it's all about having the right mindset, if you want it enough you can do it.

BK
XXX

13 Jan 2005 was my giving up date. I was a 40-a-day man. I went cold turkey too.

I had never tried to quit before because i knew i didnt really want to. This time however i knew i did. I think thats important! You have to WANT to and mean it! If you are honest with yourself you will know!

Prior to stopping i did alot of mental preparation. It is important with any addiction that giving up is NOT seen as missing out on something. You need to condition your brain to see quitting as GAINING and not LOSING!

So i wrote down all the things i would gain from quitting. Then i wrote down all the things i would lose by not quitting. Most importantly i wrote down what i would gain from NOt quitting. When you write down the reasons for not stopping they seem really stupid. All i could manage was things like "wont have anything to do with my hands" and "wont have fag breaks at work".

Then i read up on wot i should and shouldnt be eating. AVOID stimulants basically! Chocolate and coffee! Avoid qanything that you associate with smoking. So if you have a cuppa with a fag dont drink coffee in the first weeks and so on. I bought loads of celery and carrots and made sticks to take to work to munch on. they were cigarette length so i could take drags on them!

I also went along to the smoking cessation clinic at the doctors too! I didnt use the patches or anything, but going to the group gave me more motivation to keep off them. I didnt want to let myself down of the people there. It gave me more focus too.

I didnt set a date either. I know they ALL tell you too but i didnt. I just knew i was gonna stop when it felt right. This meant that if i said friday and i didnt stop i wouldnt beat myself up over it.

Then one morning on 13 Jan i woke up and went to light one up and i just said no. I threw them in the bin and that was it.

The first three days were a breeze! i couldnt believe it! Then it got hard. By the fifth day i was climbing the walls and eating almost a bag of carrots, but at least i didnt gain wieght!

It was hard but i read all the websites for motivation and support andi kept at it. After the first week it got easier.

I still crave them now.

Oooh i always said prior to giving up i would be a sympathetic ex-smoker. Well i decided that if i was to stop i couldnt. So i went totally anti smoking too. I hate the smell of it now. Its disgusting and i cant believe how bad i must have stunk!!!

I dont preach to anyone but in my mind i hate it. It helps me.

good luck!

matthew

Good luck!!! I quit awhile ago ( a looonnnggg while ago really) and then some horrible things happened and i started again..
one day i will...maybe...
just not today ;o)
best of luck!!
romp

I have quit before but have never had the motivation to keep quitted. You have to be in the right place mentally and very determined. When you really think about what smoking is, it is quite disgusting, but it is a drug so it is hard to stop just because we know we 'should'. There has to be another level. I think it's good advice what Matthew gives about avoiding stimulants because wqhen I have stopped smoking and then started again it was always after either coffee or alcohol, so try and avoid these.

When you think of how many people have successfully managed to give up, you realise it is more than possible, so go for it! Your lungs and wallet deserve not to smoke!

*I shouls really take my own advice*

Well i was trying to give up smoking a couple of months ago (or so), but then the local council started pushing the "smoking will be illegal" *****, & that rather destroyed my will to quit.
I still know that i should stop smoking because it is bad for my health &, more importantly, bad for the health of others around me, but i don't like "powers that be" telling me what i can or cannot do! :-# I was fine with battling against the biggies in the tobacco industry to give up this filthy & damaging habit, but doing so because the government says i have to... :-(

Oh bollox, moaned about government ban on smoking, does that count as political discussion & earn me a naughty point?

i never smoked much. only a few a day.
i stopped when my friend died. just couldnt be bothered smoking. too upset. stopped cold turkey because i was so sad. only realised on the 1year anniversary that i'd stoped smoking. now i'm craving like mad but still havent smoked. its hard but keep trying. good luck!

soph.

It's day two for me now, and I'm feeling fine, although I'm really apprehensive because everybody says the first three days are okay, and then after that you're driven absolutely crazy. It's worth it though, because I've been feeling a lot better about myself and I keep thinking about the amount of money I'll be saving and how healthy I'll eventually be again...

All this talk about cigarettes has me wanting one. I think I shall indulge. :P

im a smoker
and i have "detoxed" for a week, but never tried to quit, so i dont really have any advice for you
but i did just want to let you know im cheering for you. look, im wearing a sassy skirt and waving around pompoms and everything :)
you can do it, yes you can, you can quit cause you're the MAN!

Hope it is going better than expected.....
I myself amon the verge of joining you.

Wishing you the best of luck and I will surely post within a few weeks about my adenture if I decide to take the plunge (which at my age I really need to)

Would be most fantastic if you did! but make sure you got all your meds sorted first else i fear you may spontaneously combust Linda!

I have had serious issues with quitting smoking. I have been smoking for almost 15 years now. every time I try to quit my blood pressure drops really low. Not sure why this is and can't find anyone that has any good advice on what to do, so mainly I keep smoking to keep my blood pressure close to normal (even though it is still slightly below average with me smoking a pack a day)

Good Luck to PotSteve and everyone else trying to stop. I personally am considering quitting when the ban comes in- but there is a small childish and rebellious part of me that says sod it, why should the government try and stop me doing what I want to do or control me. I probably will stop because it is rather expensive.

If you can do it, it will be one of the best and most rewarding things you ever did! You will not cough first thing in the morning. You will be able to take in a huge breath and not get a pain, and you will smell nice for the first time in years!!! Trust me when i say YOU STINK OF SMOKE! I swear i cant imagine how bad i smelled! Its frightening.

*smells self* Nope- I smell lovely....

Im a smoker, hopefully going to quit smoking soon, but i just need to get to an healthier weight first. I actually live on water, soup and cigrettes which is bad. I want to start eating properly before i stop smoking.

ulgh. i started when i was 14, and now im 18.

so, you know, they say if you havent been smoking for very long, and youre still young, its easier to quit.
well....i gave up drugs and SI without a tenth of the struggle nicotine has provided. ive tried cold turkey, weening off, the gum...it makes me feel pathetic sometimes >.< grrrr.
but....a pack a day (at $5 a pack) is $1825 a year....so basically i cant afford to get clothes or go eat, just smoke.


*rant rant rant rant rant.*


the moral of the story is it's hard as all hell, but you have all my support and the best of luck!!!!