What method has proved successful for you, to pack in cigarettes?.
I KNOW I would rather not smoke, but what do non smokers do when they are not smoking :?
My new, and delightful first Grandson arrived exactly a year ago, and seeing him has made me want to
be around for as long as possible!
I don't drink, only the odd glass now and again, and not habitually by any stretch of the imagination!
and any other vices are thin on the ground after 20 years marriage
So, what works?, tried the patches, couldn't get them to light :mrgreen: , seriously though, they just
made me lose the sensation in my fingers and other extremities :shock: , tried the gum, they just helped
to fill in between cigarettes, and left me feeling like a REALLY heavy smoker.
Willpower?, if it's the same thing that stops you buying more watches, then that won't work :mrgreen:
Seriously, I would value any methods which you have found beneficial, I think it's time I packed them in!
I very rarely smoke so it's not too much of a hassle to stop, I just stop, but a friend of mine was smoking like a chimney until recently and just stopped, working out what he could spend the money he saved on instead.
That's what I would do personally. If there's anything you've been wanting but couldn't really justify spending the money on then put the money you would have spent on fags towards it instead.
A long term smoker of a mate of mine has just started on those electric tabs....swears by them. All the fun of smoking without the slow painful death. I am going to give them a try myself as I want to quit but have zero willpower.
took me ages. about two to three years of stops and starts. tried patches. they were ok as a prop. but its just willpower and technique. different techniques work for different people. strategies such as taking it one day at a time i found very useful in the early stages. then the rewards scheme - treats every so often with the money id saved. best reward was the marked increase in health though. been off them nearly twenty years now. i think im over the worst. :wink:
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Can't really help you with a helpfull answer :? but I'm just going to go cold turkey on Monday :shock: Done it before but went back on them a few months later :x
They are way to expensive and I think I've ridden my luck with them for long enough :(
Good luck with your attempt.
Mike (Mr. Grumpy :( from next week)
Smoked 15 years. Just decided enough was enough and stopped. Finished my last ounce of tobacco and never touched another. Well, I wasn't going to waste it.
Sounds like a plan, I'm always envious of those who can just smoke when they want and stop again, my wife just stopped,Originally Posted by Duff Beer
but she can enjoy one or two on a rare evening out, and not give it a thought afterwards.
Perhaps the lure of an eventual vintage Seamaster 300 my do the trick though! :mrgreen:
Thanks for the idea!
Haven't come across those, any idea of the name, or where to get them?
One thing is to try all the different nrt until you find one that fits, i've found the mint lozenges the best for me. I only smoke when drinking now.
Also, just stop smoking. It sounds stupid but just do it for a few days and you'll see how easy it really is. Pig headedness will get you past the first few weeks. I've always found the 3 month mark the hardest. Overall, i've given up and started again numerous times in the last 10 years, but i'll keep plugging away. At least i know now that even if i start again, i won't smoke anywhere near as much as i used to and i'll normally stop pretty soon after as well.
Oh, and exercise and use those lungs, the pain will make you realise the damage you've done! Good luck :thumbleft:
The simplest way is to not put cigarettes (especially lit ones) in your mouth
"A man of little significance"
:roll: thanks, no really, thanks!
We look forward to the wrist shots!Sounds like a plan, I'm always envious of those who can just smoke when they want and stop again, my wife just stopped,
but she can enjoy one or two on a rare evening out, and not give it a thought afterwards.
Perhaps the lure of an eventual vintage Seamaster 300 my do the trick though! :mrgreen:
Thanks for the idea!
My mate said he got his from Tesco. But I have been looking on ukvapors.com, it's a forum dedicated to electronic snouts. Have a read up and see what you thinkHaven't come across those, any idea of the name, or where to get them?
I quit a 30 a day Marlboro red habit when I contracted such a serious lung infection that it kept me in bed with a fever for two weeks, dosed to the eyeballs with potent antibiotics. I could breath again (just) by the end of the first week, when I "took the hint" and made the conscious decision not to start again. I count myself "lucky" as I was so ill in that first week for the cold turkey stage of physical addiction to pass, I was too ill to smoke or to want to smoke.
Then came the psychological battle. That was harder and I piled on the pounds, eating instead of smoking - my dad stopped and ate polo mints for each fag, all his teeth fell out - so not a good option!
But as my GP said, it's better to be an over-weight ex-smoker than any sort of smoker. I'd not recommend a serious chest infection as a way to stop, it hurt like hell, but it did work for me.
To keep me on the straight and narrow, I went out and bought an expensive Mac laptop, which cost about the equivalent of 20 Marlboro a day for a year. When I tell you that the price of 20 was £4.10, you smokers will know how long ago that was. Having done that, as a "prudent" Scot I could not bear to fall off the wagon. I also used this though: why waste money buying a leaf that someone has grown, cut down, wrapped in paper, which I then set fire to and breath in the fumes? It's completely illogical.
We all know, it's a bugger giving up but it's the best thing you can do! Good luck!
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
http://www.skycig.co.uk Marlboro flavour.
I swear by them.. no other electric cig comes anywhere near them as far as realism is concerned.
I still smoke 2 real fags a day, but that's through choice.. but the skycigs were great. made it easy to cut right down. :)
Ask yourself a few questions.
Do you really enjoy smoking? How do you physically feel before, during and after a cigarette? Do you like the after-taste in your mouth? The smell of it on your clothes and skin? What do you think when you smell other people who have just had a smoke? Are your teeth stained? Are your fingers stained? What do you think your lungs look like?
I stopped because I started to notice that I felt worse after a smoke than beforehand; nauseous, lightheaded and my chest felt tighter. I hated the taste of them and couldn't stand the smell of it on my clothes after a night out, I don't find the smell particularly pleasant when I smell it on someone else. I noticed a slight staining of my teeth, and while my fingers were never stained I'm sure that my lungs weren't as fresh as they could be.
I smoked roll-ups, and only a small handful a day at the most. I stopped because of all of the above, and that was around three years or so after my Father died of cancer. I don't have kids but hope to in the future with my current partner, I'm in my late 30's now and don't really fancy being a wheezing mid 40 year old trying to chase his children around the garden.
Good luck to you, whatever makes you crack it.
All of the above, Father, Mother and Grandfather all died of cancer, any one of these should have been enough to stop me!
I cannot even use the STRESS excuse anymore, as for the most part, life is pretty smooth.
I do thank you for your input, in fact all of you are helping me realise, that as an intelligent, mature adult, it's a damn stupid
pastime, and ONE SHOULD KNOW BETTER!!
I just stopped. But I can have a cigarette any time and then not have another for months; I'm the same with alcohol though.
It's just a matter of time...
I was a 3+ pack a day smoker for 28 years. Quit hundreds of times...started smoking hundreds of times.
I finally got so disgusted with myself I embarked on a program I thought would finally work. It consisted of just three components:
......The will and personal commitment to quit (aided by a written list of benefits to ME - - no one else).
......Two patches at all times for the first month.
......Enrollment in a hospital-managed program for quitting smoking.
In my opinion, all three of these components were absolutely vital to my success. My last puff on a cigarette was September 23.............1993. :wink:
It was the smoking ban in pubs that stopped me. I just needed a reason to stop. Even after 30 years of smoking, I didn't have a problem quitting, maybe because I was on Silk Cut White after years on Embassy etc. I'd recommend nicotine gum to cope with the pangs you'll get.
I was a 50 a day smoker until July 1st this year. Well until 30th June at 11.59pm to be exact :mrgreen:
I enjoyed smoking, really enjoyed it, so it's double difficult for me.
I used Champix. You need will power too.
I chose to stop drinking the same day as I thought a beer would make me want a ciggie.
I put on three stone because yes I ate more. I expected too and I am stunning enough to cope with the extra weight :lol: . A few months later and I'm a stone heavier than the day I quit and still working on it.
I've not cheated, not even a shifty drag. I can smell one if it's within a nautical mile and no it doesn't stink, it's lovely, but hey...
Could I start again? In the blink of an eye. But if you can go as long as I have it's weak to re-start and I'm not weak.
If you have a go, best of luck. If not, enjoy.
After a 20 a day habit I stopped 1 week ago today. First 3 days I wanted a cig but not as hard as I thought. In fact so far it's been good. I too have layed off beer as that might weaken my resolve. Good luck
I decided when I hit 30 enough was enough and booked an appointment at the smoking cessation class at the GP's. After bring patronised for an hour by a very annoying woman I left the surgery and went straight to the book shop where I bought a copy on the Alan Carr book. Went from 30-40 a day over 12 years to 0 a day for 1.5 years so far. The first few days you just have to take one day at a time, and although the book says you should continue to smoke whilst reading I didn't, and it worked. After a few weeks I began getting very angry and the smallest thing would set me off. For about 6 months every second of my life was spent in a rage and quite often I'd wake up with a crick in my neck as I would be so tense day and night. That feeling eventually left and I'm incredibly happy that I never went back to smoking. My breathing is so much easier now it's amazing.
Tristan
I smoked for over 30 years, mostly rollies. Two 50g packs a week - around 30 a day. I actually gave up for a while, but always had the craving. "Just the one" would lead to more and more.
Six months ago I decided to try electronic cigarettes, and got a Skycig kit. This worked well enough for me to cut down to half a dozen rollies a day.
I then did some research, and joined the UK Vapers forum. I quickly discovered that the plastic cig-alikes that are touted on the high street are the bottom end of the market. It's the huge mark-up over the Chinese factory price that allows the vendors to spend so much on marketing. The claims they make (such as "each cartridge equals xx packs of cigarettes) are totally unfounded. The products work fine for social smokers, but they are expensive to run, and not suitable for the hardened smoker.
On the forum, I found out about more suitable products like the Riva 510 and eGo. Cheaper than the cig-alike kits, gives more of a hit, and cheap to run as you can refill the cartridges. For £45 you can get the kit and a bottle of juice (flavoured nicotine liquid) that'll last a 30 a day smoker 2 or 3 weeks. From then on, just buy the juice for £10-15, and the atomisers for £5 when they fail. Using this kit, I gradually cut out the last 5 rollies over the course of 2 weeks.
I was now off tobacco, but refilling the cartridges every hour or two was a pain.
Next step was to replace the standard kit atomisers and cartridges with the cheaper cartomisers or clearomisers (around £1 each, and they last a week or two) for easier refilling and better consistency. I also experimented with mixing my own juice and flavours.
Like watches, personal vaporisers can become a hobby, so I bought a few "mods" - basically the battery holder. I also started making juice tanks to hold the clearomisers, and finally my own rebuildable atomisers.
I've now been tobacco-free for nearly six months. Vaping satisfies my addiction, and I rarely even think about a cigarette.
A good place to get your first e-cig: http://www.liberty-flights.co.uk/product.asp?id=78
Use discount code F40 for a 15% discount.
I stopped eight years ago after nearly twenty years on them.
I just stopped, one night in a pub in Epsom I had my last smoke and havent touched one since. No patches, fake smokes, acupuncture etc, It was easy as I was ready. I truly believe that if you WANT to stop you will, and you will find it easy but you have got to want to stop.
I think patches etc are used by people who don't really want to stop, they know the risks but haven't accepted them yet !!
Glad to have helped! That's what I did, was on 30 a day and just decided to stop. The fallout wasn't that bad for me, the cravings went after about two or three days. Haven't had one since, and that was 17 years ago.:roll: thanks, no really, thanks!
"A man of little significance"
Right, as an ex smoker first thing you need to do is be 100% certain you are ready to quit. You have to WANT it more than anything and motivation is the only thing which will do it. Your grandchild sounds similar to my motivation.
I was turning 30 and wanted mroe than anything to be around to see my own kids turn 30. Lung cancer scares the shit out of me, her uncle died of it and it wasn't nice, believe me he died thrashing on a hospital bed.
I just decided I was quitting, that was it, haven't smoked in over 3 years. Don't be tempted to have one with a drink either, it only takes one and you're back on them.
All the cliches are true, food tastes better, you get fitter, you feel better, you WILL put on weight so be prepared for that. When you do fancy a smoke the only thing you've got to beat is the initial craving which lasts about 90 seconds. When you want a smoke, find something else to do, touchscreen phones with games on them are good.
Good luck, it CAN be done if you want it badly enough.
I should've added that switching to vaping has meant that my weight hasn't gone up. When I went "cold turkey" a few years back, I went from 12st to 16st.
Exactly the same with me, quit 3 years ago now. Wasn't easy after meals was the hardest time for me and to be honest there are still times when i fancy a cig now!
I think those electronic cigs look would have helped me i don't think they were available when i quit.
good luck to anyone quitting it is hard in the short term but well worth it- helped me pay for the vintage El Primero on my wrist!
It is very reassuring to hear that many of you have been successful!. There are some great ideas,
some of which I've not heard of, like the electronic cigarette :shock:
It would appear that these can be modded too!, could be just one obsession replaced by another :mrgreen:
but worth a try.
The most important element seems to be WILLPOWER, and if you have this, life is a little easier.
I have never FELT more like giving up, as I do now, so this must be the time to do it.
Congratulations to the rest of you, and I look forward to joining the ranks.
I noticed that whilst repairing a watch, I don't smoke for hours. It's impossible to smoke, and work on
an open watch movement, the fallout, and blinding smoke, are just not compatible with the job! so time
to dig out all the non runners me-thinks :mrgreen:
Sincere thanks to you lot!, I knew there'd be others on here to share experiences, Cheers :salute:
I had a mild heart attack on 23rd November 2009. When the Doctor at the hospital filled me in on the bits and pieces of my condition he said, "If you carry on smoking you´ll die soon". Never touched one since. Before that I was on 30-40 a day, self rolled, strong tobacco. Now I can stand next to my colleagues at work and get a whiff of their smoke and it doesn´t bother me in the slightest.
I smoked 20-30 a day for 15 years. Just stopped. No patches, gum, and didn't put on weight either.
The trick is you have to want to give up. Giving up because you think you should is hard, because you don't really want to do it.
Same here. Just decided to stop and stopped. I found the danger is that like all drugs if you ever have another you can get started again you. This happened to me and I started again for a couple of years so stopped again. Now I never touch tobacco not even the cigar that father-in-law tries to give me at Christmas.
Good luck
Spot on, that.
It's a very personal thing, stopping smoking. Everyone that's posted here seems to have had their own reason or reasons for stopping but they've all led to the same thing - being mentally and physically ready and willing to stop.
I had kids! I always promised I would give up before I had kids as I didn't want to smoke around them and I didnt want to encourage them to smoke.
It was 15 years ago now and Nicoteen gum helped with the first couple of weeks.
Mark
Electronic cigarettes can, indeed, be modded, and can replace the watch obsession. For quite a few months, I barely visited this site. In all that time, I've only bought one watch, and haven't taken any to pieces!
I never viewed electronic cigarettes as a quitting aid. I enjoyed smoking, but didn't like what it was doing to my body. Vaping gives me all the pleasure of smoking, without most (if not all) of the harmful effects.
It also took next to no will power to make the switch. I had no withdrawal symptoms at all.
Cancer. Not mine but the mother-in-laws. I smoked as did my wife and the mil did occasionally. The mil stopped because she need to go into hospital and the wife and I decided we would also stop to show support. At the time I was on 60 a day. I just stopped, no patches or gum or hypnotherapy or anything. I felt absolutely nauseous for a week then it became easier after that.
I haven't touched a ciggie since (nearly seven years now), the mil is still off them, has beat cancer and has been clear for the past 5 years and the ex-wife was back on them after two months.
I'm good at giving up - I do it every 30mins
Patches for 3 months coupled with sport and the gym twice a week and some bike riding
It been 3 1/2 years now and i feel fitter than i was 10 years ago
The fact that most of my mates stopped (wife still smokes) and the pubs banned it helped massively
As as has been said it is wanting to give up that is the secret. I was on 30 day, had been smoking for 25years, up to 40 a day sometimes when doing different jobs, then when I was starting to chase down a girl I heard she would never go out with a smoker. Gave up that day, haven't touched one since. That was 8 years ago.
The girl?? She is now my wife and carrying my second child 8)
Thats the method that worked for me, I'm still on 20 a day............. but I'm usually pissed as a newt by 11 a.m. so I don't care, but one or two of my passengers have complained :lol:
Same here. I gave up after nearly 20 years heavy smoking and not looked back since. That was 7 years ago.
Only used will power, but I had made my mind up that I was going to stop and failure was not an option.
It was not easy at the time but well worth it in the long run.
Gave up cigarettes about 11 years ago - had about 3-4 attempts over the preceding years with nicotine gum, but used nothing for the attempt that was successful.
Since then I have 1 cigar a year on Christmas evening, it's sort of my two fingers up to smoking in that I know I can do it the once and not get hooked.
Cheers
Chris
I cracked a 20 a day habit by buying a packet of cheap cigars and telling myself that before I had another cigarette I has to smoke and inhale them all.
I managed around a third of one.
Very similar to my tale, except that it was flu (proper flu, not man flu) that made me too ill to smoke. When I started to feel better I realised it was the longest I'd been without a cigarette in 22 years and decided to make it stick. It took about 3 months before the cravings started to subside but I'm a bloody-minded so and so and when I decide to do something I will stick at it. That was 7 years ago and I'm happy to say I've not touched one since the day I stopped.
Good luck - you can do it if you want to!
Cheers,
Plug
I asked my wife to brush her teeth with dog shit then got her to breath on me!
Once I realised what my breath had smelt like for years it was easy
RIAC
Cost - pure and simple.
I quit when 20 Bensons reached £2 a packet (20)!! and I vowed never to pay a penny more. (Mind you I didn't earn much then as a lowly Apprentice!)
Aren't they £7 or so now?! :?:
Both me and the wife gave up at the turn of the millenium...
Both smoked 20 a day...
No patches , No chewing gum etc etc...
Its all down to will power , If your weak dont bother...
We had played at " Lets give up smoking times "
But the time we actually wanted to stop we did :wink:
Its sucks for 3-4 days , After that its out of your system...
The down side is you put weight on....
I did 2-3 stone , But i hit the gym and im now built like a brick shit house so not all bad...
My Mum died young from a particularly nasty smoking related lung cancer that spread very quickly.
I didn't want to have to go through what she did - especially sitting my kids down and telling them that I am going to die soon - so was motivated to stop.
She knew that at some point the cancer causing elements of the cigarettes she smoked triggerred the mutation, caused the cancer. No one knows which is the cigarette that will turn on their cancer - it's just a stupid version of Russian Roullette.
I stopped after being a 40 a day man for 20 or more years.
Just stop. Stopping won't kill you, although it is a pain in the backside for a few weeks.
Gray
I bought 5 Woodbines and a box of matches when i was seven years old and smoked one! One was quite enough! I was as sick as a dog and haven't touched one since. :lol:
Mike
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