Give Up Smoking or Die Trying

[22]

Congrats!

As a non-smoking, fat bd I was pleasantly surprised at a new life insurance premium!

[Kenny Powers]

Quit twenty years ago after I found myself buying two packets on the way to work and still running out before bedtime. I had tried and failed numerous times but on the last attempt I actually wanted to stop rather than just thinking that I should.

All in all it was pretty easy. The nicotine cravings were gone in a couple of weeks maximum. The rest was just riding it out until the habitual desire wore off. If you really want to quit then you will, and if you can’t, then you probably don’t really want to.

In my opinion.

[Shuvi McTupya]

Here we go again.. I am giving it another shot.

I bought a vape kit but I am not using it as much as I thought I would, currently on day six.

Not really struggling yet TBH!

[Gargamel]

Shuvi McTupya said:

Here we go again.. I am giving it another shot.

I bought a vape kit but I am not using it as much as I thought I would, currently on day six.

Not really struggling yet TBH!

Good effort. A year for me now, hardly ever think about it now.

Something like a 1000 people a day quit In the UK in 2018. Smoking. Is below 20% of the adult population. I think in a few more years it will be gone almost conpletely !

[technodup]

I'm nearly five months on the vape. Piece of piss tbh.

The only slightly sketchy moment was smashing it whilst drunk in inland Spain, but fortunately I had spotted the only vape shop in town a few days before. Next morning I was outside it waiting for it to open, and a bit of animated Spanglish and 10€ later I had a new tank and coil.

Dropped from 12mg to 9, and then 6 and don't seem to be using it more to compensate. I'll keep going down and then hopefully chuck it altogether. I don't want to be one of those guys who get right into it and treat it like a new hobby.

[Shuvi McTupya]

technodup said:

I don't want to be one of those guys who get right into it and treat it like a new hobby.

Agreed. I got one that doesn't have a digital display or any of that rubbish, I don't want to go into competition with other vapers

I was amazed at how many 'juices' don't contain any nicotine and are really just for people who vape because they think it looks cool or something.

With the amount I am using mine I am hoping that I will have stopped relying on it before I even need to buy more juice, but we shall see.

[22]

Good on you gents and took me years of trying before it stuck (being accountable to internet strangers on here ready helped).

No idea how long or how much I've saved, still fancy a smoke but know that it can't happen.

[Shuvi McTupya]

22 said:

still fancy a smoke but know that it can't happen.

What is the biggest trigger for you?

My morning routine involved getting up and making coffee and having a smoke while the kettle boils. Once I skip that first one the rest of the day is OK.

I dont really drink much so that bit is ok, but driving is another big trigger, I do did smoke a lot in the car.

[FocusRS3]

technodup said:

I'm nearly five months on the vape. Piece of piss tbh.

The only slightly sketchy moment was smashing it whilst drunk in inland Spain, but fortunately I had spotted the only vape shop in town a few days before. Next morning I was outside it waiting for it to open, and a bit of animated Spanglish and 10€ later I had a new tank and coil.

Dropped from 12mg to 9, and then 6 and don't seem to be using it more to compensate. I'll keep going down and then hopefully chuck it altogether. I don't want to be one of those guys who get right into it and treat it like a new hobby.

I depend on the vape so it does go from one habit to another but by all accounts its way better than the weed!

[22]

Shuvi McTupya said:

What is the biggest trigger for you?

I must be two or three years off the smokes but still sometimes the smell of someone smoking makes me fancy one. Other times I just feel like a cigarette would be a positive addition to a random given moment. Thankfully, not having one has become the easier choice.

My life was full of triggers, master one and another reared its head, a mental battle of dirty tricks played by my addiction, it creates the triggers for selfish gain. I could smoke at my desk which was a tough battle, think I'd have a cigarette only to see one already smoked in the ashtray without realising.

Daft comment in a shop by a teenage server was ultimately my Eureka moment. Someone without a horse in my race basically telling me I was a numpty.

[Shuvi McTupya]

22 said:

I must be two or three years off the smokes but still sometimes the smell of someone smoking makes me fancy one. Other times I just feel like a cigarette would be a positive addition to a random given moment. Thankfully, not having one has become the easier choice.

My life was full of triggers, master one and another reared its head, a mental battle of dirty tricks played by my addiction, it creates the triggers for selfish gain. I could smoke at my desk which was a tough battle, think I'd have a cigarette only to see one already smoked in the ashtray without realising.

Daft comment in a shop by a teenage server was ultimately my Eureka moment. Someone without a horse in my race basically telling me I was a numpty.

The smoking at work thing is a big one. My normal job is a plant operator and generally speaking you can smoke to your hearts content in the cab, although I am sure the rules say otherwise..

I am noticing one regular issue I am having. I have a habit of waking up in the night and that turned into a reason to have a pee..and then seeing as I was up..may as well go for a smoke. My body is obviously still craving that crafty fag in the middle of the night, hence me being awake now.

I don't appear to be have any massive physical withdrawal though, it's just a case of changing my habits.

[evilmunkey]

Just had the final cig in my last pack this morning , thats it im not buying anymore . its ridiculous at nearly a tenner a pack , a pack would last me 2 days so thats 35 quid a week up in smoke. not sure about vapesyet, if i struggle i may get one to try. after all its just the cost of say 1 weeks smokes give or take . just got fed up with the morning coughs and the smell. plus her indoors hates smoking and complains about the smell although i dont do it in the house. wish me luck ! decided at 50 it was just time now.

[22]

evilmunkey said:

Just had the final cig in my last pack this morning , thats it im not buying anymore . wish me luck ! decided at 50 it was just time now.

Good job. Never too late to see and feel the benefits. Make sure to check in on here regularly, it helps.

[evilmunkey]

Cheers mate , have had a bit of a craving this afternoon but just got through it and fine now. cant smoke anything if theres none in the house so deal with it is what i thought, made a brew and had a sandwich and was fine. reading through the posts here has been a help too. will keep popping by.

[Plastic chicken]

As a happy 'healthy' smoker of some forty years I developed a slight wheeze and went to my doctor, who prescribed an inhaler and referred me for more detailed tests at the local hospital. Meanwhile I carried on smoking.

After a couple of weeks the results were in and I was invited back in to discuss them, accompanied by my wife. As we were slightly early for the appointment I had a fag in the hospital car park!

The tests showed that I had the beginnings of COPD. Lung disease. The smoking had finally got me, and the shock of being told that made me feel slightly sick at the thought of ever having another cigarette. A few hours stretched into a couple of days, and a month, and the 4th of January 2019 will mark three years without cigarettes.

I had previously no plans to quit the fags; although not a heavy smoker (under ten a day) I enjoyed smoking; they helped me through some really stressful times; they went well with a whisky or two; I was able to afford them and they were just part of everyday life.

I can't guarantee I'll never smoke again, but I think about smoking less and less with each passing day. The last pack I bought is still in the drawer with a few cigarettes in it, but so far it really doesn't bother or tempt me.

And, dear reader, the wheeze has gone, the inhaler consigned to the bin, and my body is undergoing the remarkable process that is healing.

[skeggysteve]

I don't want to give up but know I should do.

Not for me but for my son who is fighting cancer and my wife who I'm her full time carer.

So how do I stop?

I hate morning cough and throat gack, but the cough only stops when I have a smoke.

I tried a few years ago and the 'stop smoking nurse' got me to blow into a machine that told her that I was dead!

I can't get a doctors appointment for a few weeks but is that the best way to go forward?

Any advice/help will be very much appreciated because I know I should stop and have accepted that it is something that I should and need to do.

Thanks in advance.

[technodup]

What I did was buy a vape thing, not a wee snidey one, one with variable voltage. Set it up so it matches a proper fag as closely as possible i.e. level of draw. You can start on the high strength juice. I went half vape and half fags for a week to get used to it. Then stopped the fags.

Then it's about counting the money you're saving. If you're anything like me spending £2 a week compared to £50+ there won't be any going back.

[skeggysteve]

thocno,

I tried vaping a few years ago and just didn't get on with it.

Money is not an issue but I think it might be something for me to think about, thanks.

I think/know I just a want to stop, but I don't know how to with out help.

[technodup]

skeggysteve said:

thocno,

I tried vaping a few years ago and just didn't get on with it.

Money is not an issue but I think it might be something for me to think about, thanks.

I think/know I just a want to stop, but I don't know how to with out help.

I bought my vape about two years before I stopped, I didn't get on with it either. Until I properly decided to commit to it.

Everyone's different, but your first post said you didn't want to stop. And you won't, unless you change that attitude. Whether it's vape, patch or cold turkey it's about change. Most people don't like it, but it's mind over matter really. At the start it's about counting, hours, days, weeks, money etc, and there are loads of smoke free apps which help with that.

But you don't sound like you're ready yet tbh.

[thenortherner]

Six years clear to the day! Can't say as I miss them or think of smoking now.

I went cold turkey and it was a massive struggle at first but feel good that I managed it with willpower alone.

Good luck.