Topic: Confessions of a smoker - quitting

[The Albert Cock]

good luck fella.

listen, its as simple as this, if I can do it anyone can mate.  Like said above there are different methods and you do whatever it takes fella, you wont look back, you will feel healthier, your wallet will be bulging, yer wont stink anymore!!

keep us upto date with how you feel as all those shity toxins leave your body for good.

[Bronx Red]

good luck fella.

listen, its as simple as this, if I can do it anyone can mate.  Like said above there are different methods and you do whatever it takes fella, you wont look back, you will feel healthier, your wallet will be bulging, yer wont stink anymore!!

keep us upto date with how you feel as all those shity toxins leave your body for good.

Although its most likly you will gain a few pounds

[Rizla]

Although its most likly you will gain a few pounds

That's what I really dont want as I have just started to see somebody and I want to retain my [relatively] slimline build [and she aint bothered about the fags as she is a 'social smoker' herself]. I suppose it is that that has stopped me from packing it in earlier, having no fun, being podgy and in a mood or having fun but with a guilty feeling that if I dont stop soon I could be doing myself an injury in the long run...caught between 2 stools

[Ash-M]

So, can I ask, why did everyone start smoking in the 1st place and what made them do it regularly to the point of addiction? Genuine question though, I'm not about pointing fingers or lecturing people on smoking. I was very good friends with a girl from my old school who started smoking a year or two back, not sure what you can say to someone in that situation really.

Good luck with this though Jezzman, using the advice and knowledge of those around you be that friends, family or people on forums etc who have experience with this sort of thing must be crucial. 

[billy-b]

good luck fella,its a real bastard getting off the ciggies, ive been off them 4years now(still get the odd urge to have a drag it never leaves you)i found the best way for me was a cold turkey,but that does not work for everyone.
there are huge benefits for those who succeed in giving up the weed for instance the financial side that peeps have not mentioned in this post i personally opened a savings account and put all the dosh i would have spent into the account lo and behold £4.700 currently!makes you think eh!
there is also the health issue,you may put on some weight to begin with (lots of sweet stuff your body requires to try compensating lack of nicotine)but generally you will feel better within yourself.
finally i suggest that you hold a ciggy(your last one)in front of you and say hey i'm BIGGER than you,you little bastard!

[Jimbo.]

Read the book.
Everything else you've read about giving up is crap.
Honestly.

[hooded claw]

i found the best way for me was a cold turkey,but that does not work for everyone.

Too true.
I tried that but it was a bastard to roll. Impossible to find the papers big enough to hold it long enough to smoke it.

[Jezzman]

So, can I ask, why did everyone start smoking in the 1st place and what made them do it regularly to the point of addiction? Genuine question though, I'm not about pointing fingers or lecturing people on smoking. I was very good friends with a girl from my old school who started smoking a year or two back, not sure what you can say to someone in that situation really.

Good luck with this though Jezzman, using the advice and knowledge of those around you be that friends, family or people on forums etc who have experience with this sort of thing must be crucial. 

I was young and stupid. I was 14 and two of the coolest lads from my class started smoking and all the girls seemed to be overly impressed with it, so started that way... stupidest thing I've ever done.... well sort of

[mulfella]

I smoke rollies now, and for some reason I don't think they're as 'addictive' as normal cigs,

Claire, you don't know how wrong you are.

I gave up for 8 months and restarted, Giving up again at the mo. Believe me, Rolling fags prodice as much cravings as straights. Wish all of you every luck with it.

[Rizla]

Claire, you don't know how wrong you are.

I gave up for 8 months and restarted, Giving up again at the mo. Believe me, Rolling fags prodice as much cravings as straights. Wish all of you every luck with it.

And they are murder on the lungs. Like roll ups but have scaled down to Marlborough lights. Only good thing about the roll ups that it is such an arse to make them especially when drunk that often you think 'fuck that' whilst with normal cigs you can end up smoking one after the other...

[Claire.]

Claire, you don't know how wrong you are.

I gave up for 8 months and restarted, Giving up again at the mo. Believe me, Rolling fags prodice as much cravings as straights. Wish all of you every luck with it.

maybe it's just me then, when i smoked straights i'd wake up wanting one, been smoking rollies for about 2yrs now, don't have the same cravings at all and i can go hours and hours and not smoke and not even notice it, i could give up easily now i reckon, but it hasn't got to the point where I want to properly yet, doesn't help when ex-smokers start the lectures either, that makes me want to smoke more cos i can't stand people telling me what to do.

And they are murder on the lungs. Like roll ups but have scaled down to Marlborough lights. Only good thing about the roll ups that it is such an arse to make them especially when drunk that often you think 'fuck that' whilst with normal cigs you can end up smoking one after the other...

I don't find them murder on the lungs, using the filter tips deffo helps though. I started on Marlboro lights, no fucker i knew smoked them then, were all on Regal , then i went to B&H, can't smoke any 'cheap' fags cos they burn the fuck outta my throat, but never had a problem at all with rollies. I don't have a smokers cough or anything, never have any problems like that.

[impartial]

all you non smokers make me sick.

[Jezzman]

all you non smokers make me sick.

Actually us smokers who makes the non-smokers sick I guess...?

[Ash-M]

I was young and stupid. I was 14 and two of the coolest lads from my class started smoking and all the girls seemed to be overly impressed with it, so started that way... stupidest thing I've ever done.... well sort of

 

The term non smoker is funny really, smoking actually became so widespread, the people who decided against it had to be given their own little group name. A nice seat over here with the smokers sir? No thanks, I'm a non-smoker...

[5FTH]

As an ex-smoker, I thought I would just drop into this thread again just to say ' Good Luck' and 'We're all behind you' to those who are giving up (for new year or what ever!).

 

  

[Jezzman]

Hi out there 

3 days gone now and still smoke free

The first 24 hours was really hell, but since then it's been easy... much easier than I would've thought.... Today I think I was out of bed for a more than 30 mins, before I thought about cigarettes...

[Monkey Red]

Think about this. You are paying good money to poison yourself, there is no advantage in smoking, none at all.
Anybody who says he doesn´t want to stop is lying to themselves, you do want to stop, more than anything in the world.
As in Alan Carr´s book. If you could go back in time, would you start smoking again?  No chance!
Smoking is a drug addiction, no a bad habit.

I still have´nt finished the book btw. 

[shankstheman]

Well done Jezzman ! 

I found that the first week to ten days is always the worst, but once you overcome that initial craving you're well on the way.

I smoked for 25 years and planned to give up on Old Years eve last year. Ran out of smokes on the afternoon of the 30th and thought to myself, fuck it, I might as well give up now. Almost a year later, I still haven't smoked.

[yozling]

Good start Jezzman. The first week is the worst. Gradually the intervals between even thinking about a cigarette get longer and longer.

There are some times when it's worst than others. For me, it was after a meal with  friends who would then light up.  Everyone finds their own way - for me it was those pretend inhalator ciggies.

I did have a couple of lapses in the early days - but the main point is - even if you do lapse (which I'm sure you won't) don't give up, giving up.

Best of luck - keep us informed

[Rizla]

39 hours and counting. Big test later tonight when I will probably go out and get drunk. Having said that I will probably have my first joint in 2 weeks when I come back. Suppose it's better than chain smoking a pack of 20 which is what I usually do when pissed. One day at a time...

[Sami]

It is exactly 5 months from me last smoke today

[Hoppy]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140244751/026-9610490-1155600

This book has saved my life.
Every single day of my life I thank this man for writing this book.
My only advice to you is to read it, take it all in and make sure you understand every word he says.

Bought the Easy Way to Stop Smokin - Allen Carr book for my mom & aunt for xmas....! 

They've both been smoking for 40+ years.......hope it works!

[ElSheak]

Just eat when you feel the need. Or hold a pen or pencil in the way you hold a cig, that will help (strange how). Come to RAWK and we'll help you through, well done and keep it up.

[Rizla]

Just eat when you feel the need.

But then you turn in to a fat bastard, which IMO is just as bad. Chewing gum is the thing I am using at the moment to stave it off

[marsav]

Just eat when you feel the need. Or hold a pen or pencil in the way you hold a cig, that will help (strange how). Come to RAWK and we'll help you through, well done and keep it up.

Loads of bottled water always does the trick.

[Don Vito Corleone]

Maybe i was just lucky, or maybe it flicked a switch that i never knew i had, but after watching a 30 second feature about how smoking can make you go blind, i quit, and have never really been tempted to light up since that day.

good luck anyway

[Rizla]

Got arsehole drunk and not one fag the whole evening! Had a cornish pastie and some veg from the fridge but a small price to pay. First time i'd got pissed in ages without smoking, feel high as a kite!

[Jimbo.]

Nice one fella.
Every day I still think how great it is that I dont have to smoke anymore looking at those poor fuckers thinking how I used to be in that trap as well.
Keep it up, it only gets better from here on.

[billy-b]

Got arsehole drunk and not one fag the whole evening! Had a cornish pastie and some veg from the fridge but a small price to pay. First time i'd got pissed in ages without smoking, feel high as a kite!

good on yer fella.
btw.you might have to think about your user name.

[Bronx Red]

Also when yas quit them you will feel alot better after a booze up ciggies are half the hang over

[Rizla]

good on yer fella.
btw.you might have to think about your user name.

Hmm...I havent quite given up all smoking related products if you see what I mean

[though changing my username may be futile anyway as I am walking a bit of a tightrope on here at the moment ]

[redmangaskin]

Just get some patches for free from the doctor they help uno!!!

[Jezzman]

So day 5 for me today and I've stayed home from the pub this weekend, to avoid getting tempted when I get there. Yesterday I was the worst couch potato ever. Started of with the Liverpool game on tv, followed by Blacburn-West Ham, then Newcastle-Arsenal, Valencia-Bilbao and rounded of with Sociedad-Villarreal

Still haven't smoked and ain't going to. The days are getting easier and easier to cope with and I actually think I had a whole hour yesterday, where I didn't think about cigarettes 

Thanks for your support - it's great

[Missus]

Well done on 5 days. Don't forget to keep busy.

[Jimbo.]

The days are getting easier and easier to cope with and I actually think I had a whole hour yesterday, where I didn't think about cigarettes 

Don't worry about thinking about cigarettes.
I think about cigarettes every day of my life.
I watch people suffering with one in their hand waiting to get off the train and set fire to it.
I watch people in my office go outside in the pouring rain and freezing cold to set fire to some rolled up shit smelling weeds.
Every time I see someone smoking I quietly laugh to myself at how ridiculous the whole process is.

P.S. Patches are more likely to start people smoking than stop and the inventor of them should have been committed.

[Missus]

Patches are more likely to start people smoking than stop and the inventor of them should have been committed.

It has been proven that you are twice as likely to quit using nicotine replacement or Zyban and 4 times more likely if you use a smoking cessation programme

[Jezzman]

.....ONE WEEK..... 

Can't believe it's already a full week and can't believe how easy it has been.... well, if I cut out the first 24 hours which was absolutely terrifying and scary and terrible uuuhhh.... since then it's been easy! Been having some minor flash backs as to being a smoker and have had cravings for a ciggy once in a while, but nothing I couldn't handle... Have to say that I really do believe that laser acupuncture has helped me SO much...

Good luck to all the others out there trying to quit... hope you succeed - let us know how you are going? 

[Claire.]

well done Jezzman

I'm still smoking like a trooper, think i may make it my NYE Resolution, but just to cut down or give up completely is the question. Trouble is, I don't see it as doing me much harm at the moment, so I don't feel as if I *have* to quit... 

what's involved in the laser accupuncture?

[Jezzman]

Claire, it takes 5 mins, that's it!

You get a wire attached to each of your hands and the you get the laser treatment in your right ear on seven different points.... You never feel a thing!

Thing is it enhances your production of endorphin (sp?) and enhancing that production dramatically will tell your body the same as if you still get your nicotine, so all there's left for you to work on, is the psychological things you have with smoking - you physical craving for nicotine is gone immediately....

I didn't think I was 'suffering' from anything a week ago, as I could still run 7-8 miles without any problems.... but I tell you, the difference to where I am today a week later.... it's a giant step and feel SO much better... 

[Jezzman]

I turned 3 weeks last night I'm so damn proud of myself for quitting.... weeee....