E-Cigarette! :)

[echoz]

I gave up almost exactly 30 years ago today, aged 27, I was smoking 40 a day and stopped overnight... being told you have cancer does that to you   didn't stop it coming back two years later but on the other hand I'm still alive 28 years on    

 

it doesn't matter how you do it, just do it as your health is more important than anything 

 

so much time for the positive attitude you always have fella, really inspiring

[echoz]

Stick with it if you get rid for good its a great feeling knowing you have beaten it. Stopping will also save you a shed load of cash !!!  don't forget you can get a lot of help from your doctor or NHS to pay for nicorettes etc.  Restricting myself to cigars and rollies helped me finally stop they stink!!

 

can agree with cigars, my uncle used to smoke them, my auntie despised it haha, usedt o have to stand in the garden to smpke it, always rememeber sat the other side of the house with my t shirt over my face with a face of terror everytime that smell drifted through the house  

 

Think straights stink waay more than rollies though, I am [was?] a rollie smoker, not many things in life more pleasant than having your morning coffee and rollie, but time for a change I think, now have to beat the urge to eat eat eat Doing well at eating decent at the moment, proper meals and such like, as opposed to sandwiches here n there when necessary! 

 

Honestly reckon I can quit smoking easier than I can quit eating bread, I bl**** love bread!

[echoz]

I gave up last November, so it's been 13 months now, and I can tell you, hand on heart, I NEVER miss it at all now. (I am 43 and smoked 40 plus a day all of my adult life)

 

What I did, was :

 

a) Read Alan Carr's Easy way to stop smoking: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0718194551

 

I CANNOT OVERSTATE HOW IMPORTANT THE ABOVE IS. ok? :-)  - When you read the book it teaches you how the addiction works, and how it fools you into thinking smoking is nice. Until you truly understand this you will always think you are "missing out" and "it's not fair" etc etc. Once you understand addiction you will find stopping smoking actually very easy. The key is staying stopped, and the book makes it a non issue.

 

b) I did patches on the NHS for three months (along with mints for the 1st week). Partly because I was a bear with a sore head going cold turkey, and partly because it gave my stopping-smoking a "structure". You have to go to the doc's every two weeks and have a breath test, a chat, and then they give you your next prescriptions. There are lots of other quitters there - it feels a bit like AA must feel. That's a good thing - gave me a goal to achieve.

 

c) Don't go to the pub for the 1st couple of weeks. Why make your life hard? After a while you'll hate breathing in someone else's smoke, trust me. I still like the smell though, most of my memories are attached to the smell of smoke.

 

d: Give up weed - don't kid yourself you can do one without the other.

 

Of all the people I know that quit and then failed, NONE of them read the book. I think partly because they didn't really want to stop. I had a chest pain that scared the **** out of me - thought I had cancer (I didn't), so I stopped. The moment you think you might have killed yourself you feel like a total fool smoking.

 

Notice that I refer to it as stopping and not giving up? That's because giving up suggests that you are "giving something up" - you ain't - you are removing something unpleasant from your life. Non smokers don't envy smokers do they? :-p

 

Stick with it! You'll be really glad you did. 

 

I now don't have to plan my life around always having fags on me, being at bars and restaurants that have smoking areas, standing out in the cold.

 

Do it now while it's still cold - don't wait for spring .

 

p.s. They way it went for me

 

Month 1 - 3 fine as I had patches.

Month 4 - 6 fine but weird as you always notice the times and places that you "would" have had a smoke in the past.

Month 7 - 12 - the occasional , "oh! that would have been a smoking moment" - don't want one mind you.

Month 13 onwards - never think about it now. :-)

 

 

PistonBroke: I had a great friend, smoked 40 a day, with extra filters on a ciggie holder, to remove the tar. Lovely guy. Really healthy. Big walker. Got cancer of the lung last year. 2 months ago he coughed up part of a lung and choked to death on it. His wife found him at the bottom of the stairs - he was trying to come down to get help and passed out.. 65 years old.

 

 

Will give that book a read, thanks for the heads up  

 

As for smoking itself, the cold and having somewhere to smoke and such like isn't a problem for me, if I want a fag I'll have one I quit before cold turkey, myself and my mum and dad all quit together, and it was easy, as there was a sense of well being and I wanted to make my mum proud for doing it, as well as help her quit, didn’t touch a fag and had no real urge to have one for 3 weeks then had a massive falling out with my dad and started again, that was the only time I found it easy, really do regret starting again that night, but it is what it is! 

 

As for being tricked into thinking smoking is enjoyable, that’s down to debate, I do enjoy having a cig, in the morning with a coffee, or the best one, after you’ve had a massive dinner and are stuffed, really do, but at times it is a chore, mainly when you’re sat there smoking for the sake of boredom, sat in front of the computer, or in the car driving, that’s the 2 that are hard for me. The pub isn’t really a problem for me, as can't smoke when im p******** as it makes me feel sick, so don’t ever bother

 

Do agree with the stopping part, it is very much a mindset of ooh, a fag would be nice now, that’s that psychological addiction you have to battle, but with the aid of this lil e-cog, I’ve been 26 hours now without a real one. Been thinking it through, and reckon I’m gonna use this for a week, to get past the habit of rolling myself a fag and smoking it, as although this is very authentic and does feel like having a fag, it ain't quite the same, close, but not quite, so a week of this, and then I think just knock it straight on the head cold turkey. 

 

The main problem I have the times I’ve tried quitting is that every time I do, I get properly ill as my body decides to start coughing all the crap up, rips my chest to pieces, as read above, someone else had this, then have a smoke and within an hour feel 100x better! 

 

It's all down to having to really want to do it, and I really do this time, it's been nice walking into my bedroom and it doesn’t stink of stale smoke  

 

We shall see how the saga continues tomorrow, haven't felt like biting anyone’s head off yet, but we shall see how tomorrow goes  

[echoz]

The ecigs have worked for me

 

Good to hear Care to share what your strategy was with them fella, did yo ujust stop real ones all together then slowly taper off the ecig?

[echoz]

I stopped about 10 years ago. At one time I was smoking 60 Disque Bleu a day.

 

I decided one Christmas I wanted to stop. I asked HM if she would stop and she said NO. So I waited. I spent a year slowing down and convincing myself it was horrible with smoke in my eyes, hair and clothes. Next New Years eve I lit up a cigarette at 10 to midnight. When I'd finished I stood up, slowly walked to the dresser and put the packet and lighter in a drawer and announced that was the last cigarette I'd smoke.

 

I still get the fleeting desire. But I haven't had a cigarette since that moment.

 

Oh, by the way, when HM was ill she was almost forced to stop. I got her patches and she stopped. That was about 3 years ago.

 

Norm very Cinderella Out of curiosity did you throw the pack away, or is it still in your dresser?

[echoz]

Really must learn to use the multiquote feature helping towards the 2 million posts though i guess haha! And for a bit of relevance, I smoke about 30 a day on a long day, a 25grams cutters choice pouch averagely lasts me about 3.5-4 days, and I've been smoking for 8 years, which sounds rather long and scary in a way :S Part of my encouragement is that if i stop, I may be able to help my mum stop, although part of me doesnt want her to stop as it is the only thing she does for herself, shes a very basic lady, smoking is the one thing she has and enjoys, but at same time I'm an adult now, and certain points of life seem a lot closer now than what they do when you're a kid, scary thing life aye! 

[alexander72]

echoz... no pics mate, they all went up in smoke.....

[Norman Verona]

No idea where the pack went, HM probably threw it away. I still have the lighter though.

 

Suggestion. Give the E Cig a few weeks then go onto patches. Use the strongest for two weeks then the next one down for two weeks and so on till you're on the weakest. By that time you should be weened off nicotine and it will be easier. However you will still get urges. They just get easier to resist.

[Dodgey]

If you think that smoking is nice, and the morning coffee and fag is heavenly (I used to), bear this in mind. As a smoker you are essentially spending every moment that you are not smoking - in withdrawal. As a teenager you cough and splutter trying to "learn" to smoke - the 1st load are never nice - you try and learn to enjoy something you found disgusting at 1st. The moment you can cope with it you think it's nice, but the reality is that that feeling of niceness is just you stopping your withdrawal by smoking.

 

Ever noticed mothers screaming at their kids in the supermarket - often withdrawal,  or people arguing as they get off an aeroplane (or while they are on it) - withdrawal (I ALWAYS used to row with my ex wife when we got off planes - travelled a lot - and looking back it's obvious - hours without a fag). I went on safari in Africa and I was a miserable sod half the time as we were in a truck hours on end. Always had a smoke in my mouth as I climbed down the steps.

 

Looking back I can now see all the times I was moody due to withdraw. I'm much happier now, though nothing can prevent a good proper man-mood :-)

 

That's how nicotine addiction fools you. I used to LOVE my morning coffee and a rollie. It was my reason to get up. Now I LOVE my morning coffee. Once the addiction is gone, it becomes irrelevant. Hand on my heart I don't even think about it now.

 

When I first quit I noticed that all my friends seemed to be outside at the pub and I sat inside almost alone. Now I notice that I get to stay comfortable at a table and chat with other friends and the ones that go outside, well, I don't really notice them going outside, I'm too busy enjoying myself inside.

 

Don't be fooled into thinking smoking is nice. That's what stops people quitting. If it was that nice, you are basically saying all non smokers are missing out on something major in life - which we know is utter nonsense. They love a coffee in the morning just as much as a smoker does.....

 

I have a very good friend who stills smokes and the one thing that stops him quitting is that he always quotes his Brother in law, who when he asked if he missed smoking after 10 years of abstinence, replied, "Do I? I'd grab that fag out of your hand in a second if I could!". - A shame because his Brother inlaw still thinks he's missing out on something, and it has passed that logic onto my friend. He now thinks quitting means life long suffering.

 

one final note. I discovered how strong a drug nicotine is on my previous short attempt at quitting. Cold turkey, 1 week, at the bar in Italy, sun was out, moody, gave in and bought a pack. The first few puffs were what it must be like taking heroine ! - I felt my body tingle from head to toe, my eyes half closed, and I sighed in pleasure. That frightened me, and sickened me a lot. Felt like something off Trainspotting! :-)

[martyblues]

Norman the patches are ok for some people, but i found them very difficult to light

[Norman Verona]

 

Should have use an oxy-acetylene torch.

[Terry Everall]

My dad died of lung cancer at 43 ( in 1970 ) he was in so much pain I would have put him out of his misery given a chance. He was a 100yds England  sprinter in the Army ( they gave you free fags) and had muscles similar to the incredible hulk ........but he smoked all the time about 30/40 a day woodbines. When he got cancer he went from 15 stone powerhouse to about 6 stones in 5 months and then died.  You will never see me or brother Steve smoking!

[echoz]

echoz... no pics mate, they all went up in smoke.....

 

 I see what ya did there thats cool though! 

[echoz]

No idea where the pack went, HM probably threw it away. I still have the lighter though.

 

Suggestion. Give the E Cig a few weeks then go onto patches. Use the strongest for two weeks then the next one down for two weeks and so on till you're on the weakest. By that time you should be weened off nicotine and it will be easier. However you will still get urges. They just get easier to resist.

 

solid advice Norm, reckon thats a good call thanks

[echoz]

If you think that smoking is nice, and the morning coffee and fag is heavenly (I used to), bear this in mind. As a smoker you are essentially spending every moment that you are not smoking - in withdrawal. As a teenager you cough and splutter trying to "learn" to smoke - the 1st load are never nice - you try and learn to enjoy something you found disgusting at 1st. The moment you can cope with it you think it's nice, but the reality is that that feeling of niceness is just you stopping your withdrawal by smoking.

 

Ever noticed mothers screaming at their kids in the supermarket - often withdrawal,  or people arguing as they get off an aeroplane (or while they are on it) - withdrawal (I ALWAYS used to row with my ex wife when we got off planes - travelled a lot - and looking back it's obvious - hours without a fag). I went on safari in Africa and I was a miserable sod half the time as we were in a truck hours on end. Always had a smoke in my mouth as I climbed down the steps.

 

Looking back I can now see all the times I was moody due to withdraw. I'm much happier now, though nothing can prevent a good proper man-mood :-)

 

That's how nicotine addiction fools you. I used to LOVE my morning coffee and a rollie. It was my reason to get up. Now I LOVE my morning coffee. Once the addiction is gone, it becomes irrelevant. Hand on my heart I don't even think about it now.

 

When I first quit I noticed that all my friends seemed to be outside at the pub and I sat inside almost alone. Now I notice that I get to stay comfortable at a table and chat with other friends and the ones that go outside, well, I don't really notice them going outside, I'm too busy enjoying myself inside.

 

Don't be fooled into thinking smoking is nice. That's what stops people quitting. If it was that nice, you are basically saying all non smokers are missing out on something major in life - which we know is utter nonsense. They love a coffee in the morning just as much as a smoker does.....

 

I have a very good friend who stills smokes and the one thing that stops him quitting is that he always quotes his Brother in law, who when he asked if he missed smoking after 10 years of abstinence, replied, "Do I? I'd grab that fag out of your hand in a second if I could!". - A shame because his Brother inlaw still thinks he's missing out on something, and it has passed that logic onto my friend. He now thinks quitting means life long suffering.

 

one final note. I discovered how strong a drug nicotine is on my previous short attempt at quitting. Cold turkey, 1 week, at the bar in Italy, sun was out, moody, gave in and bought a pack. The first few puffs were what it must be like taking heroine ! - I felt my body tingle from head to toe, my eyes half closed, and I sighed in pleasure. That frightened me, and sickened me a lot. Felt like something off Trainspotting! :-)

 

also solid points there mate, 2 days down now tis a scary thing addiction, when you stop and think about it its very weird and wonderful thing, ive decided this is the time i stop al toegtehr so feeling quite posirtive!