Kicking the habit.

[Just Katie]

Yep, I have not smoked for almost 48 hours because it is going to kill me and it makes me stink.  Anyone fancy joining me on this wonderful journey? 

Hmmm just sniffed my jumper and it smells of fabric conditioner.  My hair smells of conditioner and fresh air.

 

[Meg]

No!! [:)]

Hey first 2 days are the worst so good on ya!

[Just Katie]

Do you smoke Meg?  I think there comes a time in a persons life where they MUST kick the habit.  I want to be a strong healthy 80 year old with my own teeth.  I really dont want to be one of those craggy smokie old girls with nicotine colour hair.[+o(]

[Meg]

    Yep, i've quit twice: first time for a year and most recently for 9 months....but started again in June. But yep i will do it again soon, when the time is right....before Christmas is the plan!!

Funny how you subconsciously plan your day around having a ciggy. Such a feeling of freedom when its gone. (And not having to have emergency dashes to the tabac!)

[Just Katie]

It is very easy to get back on them isnt it?  You get to a point where you think, yep I have quit and conquered, then a demon will tell you to have one and that you are in control and, that's it, youre hooked again.

I swear I will be ready for this little demon when he gives me a nudge.  I will keep thinking of nicotine stained old ladies and my nice jumper that smells of Comfort.[:)].

Has anyone given up successfully?  What kept you on the path?

[Deimos]

When I gave up it was not too bad. I was on 20 a

day. What made it easy was that I realised it was a habit. I had

cigarettes at totally predictable times. Time for two in the car on

the way to work, then going out for "breaks" as predictable

times (or events like finishing something or just before and after a

meeting), etc. Plus as you mention - lots on negatives like cost,

smell, health, etc.

Once I recognised the habit aspect and decided I

really wanted to stop it was not too bad. I was doing something I

actually wanted to. I suspect that people trying to give up because

of pressure from others (including TV ads, doctor, friends, etc.)

would have a much harder time. If you are doing it for yourself I

think it helps a lot.

Good luck.

Ian

[Clair]

I used to smoke about 20 a day...Always used to say I'd stop if the price went over £1, only I didn't...

What did the trick for me was reading the Allen Carr book and I never even read all of it, just the first few chapters. I just stopped and that was that.

I have had the odd relapse particularly after a meal with friends, but I haven't bought a packet since about 1999 I think and I haven't smoked for about 4 years and I don't think I will again.

No more yellow fingers, no hacking coughs in the morning, no stinking clothes and hair and I can taste and smell everything, good and bad![:D]

Stick at it JK and remember that even if you do have the odd relapse, there's nothing to make you go back to your old habit...

[Just Katie]

Thank you for your feedback.  I read the Alan Carr book on a previous attempt at giving up but as I said earlier, the demon got me.  I will be ready for him next time.  Yes Clair, it does take the pressure off if you know that should relapse occur, start again but at the moment I feel rejoicement (is that a word?)  Ian, I am also aware of the time/habit thing.  It is easy now because I am at work and dont smoke there anyway.  I am dreading the drive home though.  That was the best one of the day.

So there you go , it wont be that hard.[:D].

Still smelling nice.

Oh and my sense of smell is appalling.  I get quite disappointed on times when people say about the lovely wafts of nice things in the air and I smell none of it.[:(]

[Just Katie]

Where is Cooperlola??  Now I know she enjoys a 'nice' fag[:D]

[WJT]

Well done Katie! I quite years ago but I was so young it wasn't for health reasons, stupid I know but it's the truth. I quite soley because they controlled me, I hated being an addict and my life being controlled by cigarettes. I was beginning to find it difficult to sit through a meeting at work without going through withdrawals so I went cold turkey and never looked back.

I sometimes think the harder it is to give it up the easier it is to stay away. Having said that, I feel that when you are a heavy smoker the thought of quiting is actually harder than it is and after the first few weeks and being able to declare yourself a non smoker it is all down hill from there. At this stage it would be such a shame to give in to that one cigarette and have wasted all your hard efforts. If I could do it anyone can. By the way, I will not admit to how many I smoked a day, it is obscene. [:-))] Keep it up!

[Just Katie]

Thank you WJT,

It is very difficult to make the decision to quit.  At the moment, I have had no cravings whatsoever.  There are a few smokers in work who pop outside for a quickie.  I wish they would give up too to save their embarrasment of creating faggie smells in the office.

[Eos]

Well done, JK. Keep it up, please.

My mother, aged 74 at the time, went to be evaluated for cataract surgery and as part of that an x-ray was required as her eyes were so damaged, she needed a general anaesthetic and they wanted to check all was in order. The x-ray revealed a tumour, that turned out to be cancerous after a PET scan, the size of the circumference of an average tea cup. The consultant said it was of a type that doubled in size every time the cells divided (obvious!!) so that she would have had it for about ten years. No symptoms. But the next time the cells divided would have been too late for her and she would have had at best a year left.A rather uncomfortable year. She smoked til the day of the operation to remove it, and half her lung, having smoked since she was 16 and hasn't smoked since. If asked, she will say that she is a smoker choosing not to do so right now. Whatever gets her by. She will be 76 on Saturday and, aside from the eyes, still, is great.

[Just Katie]

Good for her Eos.  I think life is precious whatever your age.  My grandmother is 86.  I nearly knocked her down in my car the other day whilst she was on her way to mass.  I am a fast driver and she is a fast runner.  She is my inspiration.[8-)]

[londoneye]

Well done.   I've tried once, years ago, to give up.    6 months, no problem, almost no cravings after first month.   Then after 6 months when I thought I had it under control, I started smoking only when I was out at pub or something.   Since I didn't go to the pub very often, I wasn't smoking much ..... at first.   Eventually I found that I was spending most of my spare time in the pub, in order to smoke !!!   Decided I would probably end up with cancer and liver disease, so I stopped kidding myself I had given up, and basically went back to smoking.    I do think about trying again now and again, but I know that the first time I really wanted to give up at that moment in time, and I think thats why I found it relatively easy.

The other thing I did, when I gave up, was to give up coffee at the same time.    I think this only works if you are a bit of a coffee addict, but the theory is that when your cravings gets really really bad then you have a coffee !    It seemed to work for me, even though it sounds a bit strange.   I suppose if you give up two fairly addictive things, your brain may be fooled into thinking the craving is satisfied if you feed it with one (the relatively harmless  one !)

[Just Katie]

Hello London Eye,

I did exactly the same thing.  I though OK I will only drink with a pint.  Everytime I had a ciggie I poured a glass of something.  A smoker will do anything for his/her fix.  I have adopted the frame of mind that I will never smoke again and am enjoying it.  [8-)].  I think.

[Patf]

Sounds like you're doing well, Katie, and you're lucky not to have cravings. I tried to give up smoking several times but the cravings were so bad I gave up trying but did cut down and only smoked outside. The family were very hard on me but it made no difference. Then I had really bad flu and just couldn't smoke as my throat hurt so much. That was 15 years ago and since then it's been easy. But I still think stopping smoking is very difficult.

[Just Katie]

Hi Pat,

I am so extremely jealous of people who have kicked the habit.  These feelings are so intense.  I look at you as a real strong person who is in complete control and I frightens me that I cannot do the same and end up failing.

I do have cravings Pat, but they are not during working hours.  I have just finished my tea and could do with one right now, but then I can imagine how c rappy I will feel when I have finished it and smelling of nicotine.  Yuk

[sharkhunter]

On my 2nd week now and this is the third time i have given up, been smoking since 13 yrs old. Previously smoked cigars and packed them in 5 years ago. Then i was due to go on holiday in Feb this year to Namibia, another shark fishing trip, and my dad got taken into hospital seriously ill, and we were all called in. To cut a long story short he died the day i was due to fly out, but in that week i smoked a few to de-stress and got hooked again.

I have now given up and on the patches..............are'nt they a bitch to light !!![:P]

Hang on in there, the nicotine gremlins will call soon.

[Patf]

Katie - I'm not that strong - I've got other secret addictions that I can't give up!  (Not letting on.)

[Pads]

Go on Katie you can do it gal...............

I gave up when I met my hubby as he didnt smoke and he hated the smell on me and use to refuse to kiss me , It took me nearly five years before I had my last one , as he kept going away on tour and left to my own devices i cheated [:(]

I did it in the end and have no regrets and its so nice not to be nagged any more.

Keep the money to one side and use it to buy your self something nic once in a while. it will soon mount up, take only ten packets to buy a ticket to france [:-))]

Be strong

[LBV CharenteNW]

Well done Katie, I gave up 7 years ago on a New Years Eve when I was also the appointed driver for the night because I had to work early next day. It was a nightmare, no alcohol or fags.  The thing that did it for me was watching my mum, a smoker since she was about 11, now 67  she can hardly walk, has constant blue lips (not flattering) and like all addicts comes up with all sorts of excuses, especially for why she can't walk very far.  Sadly we have given up trying to get her to give up.

After deciding to give  it all up the thing I found the worst was getting  onto  a crowded commuter train to have someone who was a smoker sit next to you the smell was awful, it made me more determined as I didn't want to smell like that anymore.

 

Forget the patches, lozengers, gum and fake fags, Sheer willpower  will do it every time.

[woolybanana]

It is both addiction and habit that have to be kicked. I think the latter is more difficult personally -eg the association of a fag with coffee.

[Just Katie]

Hello my northern friend.  Long time.  So we will give up together.  Bet you will have one before me.[6][:D];  Sorry about your dad.  Coffee and a ciggie - very rarely drink coffee and only in work so no, I have never done the two together.   Day 3 tomorrow.

[TWINKLE]

[quote user="Just Katie"]

Oh and my sense of smell is appalling.  I get quite disappointed on times when people say about the lovely wafts of nice things in the air and I smell none of it.[:(]

[/quote]

Yes I noticed that in Spain JK, while we were all blocking our noses when we drove over the France/Spain border you couldn't smell the difference!

Anyway good luck gal and just think how glowing your skin will be and you'll be able to hit those high notes when you sing 'Spancil Hill' at 3am[:)]

I started smoking when I was 18 - I think JK was the person who offered me my first one[6].  When I came to France in 1989 I couldn't beleive how cheap they were - 10 francs a pack at the time and I started smoking more and more until I was a practical insomniac with overflowing ashtrays by my bedside and all that[+o(].  I was smoking 3 packets of Marlborough Reds a day!!!

12 years ago I said to myself this has got to stop if you want to have a baby.  Overnight I stopped.  No books, no patches - all on my own!  I gained a bit more weight and I felt like I had the flu constantly for a couple of months.  However my skin looked great, I wasn't losing my voice after 3 concerts on the trot and I gained an extra octave to my voice range.  I got pregnant 3 years later but never started smoking again.

 

[Normandie]

Well done Katie!

You are a non-smoker (so what it's only 3 days - it's great that you've achieved that and as time goes on it only gets easier).

I tried the Allen Carr book - which worked, but just be careful you don't have a 'relapse' some time later like I did when on holiday (thinking that holidays were different!).

I then had hypnosis - just two sessions - which really got me back on track again.

Things that may help you - draw up a list of pros and cons for smoking to remind yourself of how positive it is, save the money you aren't spending on fags for luxuries or whatever makes you happy, drink plenty of water to flush out the toxins from cigarettes (nicotine etc), clean your teeth often and enjoy not having smoker's breath urgh!, take extra B vitamins for your nerves, enjoy the freedom of being anywhere and it not be spoilt by having to check for/not having cigarettes/matches, etc etc - as you can see I am a reformed smoker and can recommend it 100%.

At first I did a lot of cupboard cleaning to keep my hands busy but that soon wore off!

You have the right to be healthy - nothing more valuable than that is there?

All the best