Ok, I know it is well over-due but today I have started on the road to being smoke free. I have gone from smoking 20 a day to stopping completely. I know alot of people would have cut down first but I don't think I would have had the self-control to do that so here goes!
Not one cig for 18 hours now, and I think I'm doing okay
Does anyone have any words of wisdom or stories about when they or a member of their family has stopped smoking? Practical advice please, and yes, I know I should never have started

Well done on taking the first step. My husband quit last year after 44 years of smoking, a combination of things, visiting the nurse as our surgery run a cessation clinic, accupuncture, patches. I know he has about two a month but I am so proud of him, I tell him regularly. I went on a diet and lost 3 and a half stone when he gave up so we achieved something together.
Family support is very important as my husband was somewhat short tempered (not usual) he now carries mints or gum everywhere. He has saved a fortune.
Good luck and don't be hard on youself if you slip occasionally.

Apparently Cravings in themselves only last for approx 30 seconds, so the advice i can give is when you have a craving, do something else to take your mind off it, something you enjoy.  I stopped smoking three years ago now, same as you cold turkey.  I haven't looked back and my health has improved ten fold, i can do so much more.  Instead of thinking that you are giving up smoking, i thought differently it was a realisation that i was never going to smoke ever again.  I still feel the same, inside i know i will never do it again... Positive thinking all the way.

I really wish you the best of luck x

Okay.......about 12 years ago I quit.
My advise is never say never.....I still say it's until I am older and want to irritate people so anytime after 75 I may carry on where I left off,
Also I have had the odd one when out drinking and again out of devilment  'because I can'......
I know a lot of people can't do that.

The hand to mouth habit is so hard to break.
Expect weight gain...sorry..... you wont be able to stop nibbling.
Try sipping water constantly, also a childs tamougotchi toy was brilliant for that too.
Good Luck.  It can be done, honestly it really can and the feeling I now get when I see somebody take a long drag....I know that I am free of that desire......but as I said..I never say never as I know I can be contrary even with myself.

Good LUck   Good LUck     

Karen

My youngest daughter (the only one of us who ever smoked, apart from my ex husband who encouraged her to smoke in the first place), has just given up, she is on Day 4 of her no smoking campaign. Today she reports that for the first time she could smell what other smokers smelt like and it was horrible. She was nibbling away but has as Chip says found that doing something else distracts her enough to give up wanting a ciggie. She is posting daily updates on her facebook and is getting lots of support through it from her family and friends, which she finds good as she says she reads though the comments and feels good about why she has chosen to do it.

sounds silly but i bought a giant bag of kids lollys, you know, the ones that are hard boiled sweet on a white stick and every time i wanted a cig i stuck one of them in my mouth to help with the hand to outh cravings,also patches and gum helps plus i made a list of all the reasons why i wanted to give up and i kept reading it

I gave up for about a year and a half before starting up again, I used to have an article I'd cut out from readers digest or something, it was written by an old lady who had to have a tracheotomy due to her smoking and it was so horrible, every time I fancied a fag I would read that to remind me why I was giving up and try and find something to occupy myself with. It worked well until one day, I decided to have 'just one', it was the best cigarette I'd ever had and I took up smoking again with a vengeance, wandering how I could have been such a fool as to give up my beloved cigarettes My Dad was very disappointed but there we go.
So my advice would be try and stay away from that 'just one' and keep busy! It was only because I was bored that I had that cigarette that lured me back to smoky corner

My friend was a speech therapist, and as part of his work he had to help people who had had to have operations on their mouth or throat due to cancers from smoking. Some of the stories he told would make your hair curl! One of his patients had had to have most of their tongue cut out as it was cancerous.

hubby has quit for nearly 2 years he used the nicotinell gum .

Thank you all for your much needed support

Its great to hear that so many people have given up and it has given me a huge boost of confidence. I think my biggest struggle is having a cigarette at certain times during the day, like if I sit down at the computer, after eating, when the phone rings etc etc. Breaking that habit is what I am finding hard. Also living with a non-smoker is difficult. Bless him he does try to be supportive but I don't think he really understands!

I have found though that keeping busy is helping. Everytime I think about smoking I choose another little job that I have been putting off (laundry, filing, paperwork) and get stuck in with all the enthusiasm I can muster. Keeps the cravings at bay for a short while at least Although I am running out of jobs, it cant be a bad thing!

Love that idea about using the lollipops Joanne, and I can see how that would help with the hand to mouth habit aswell! (another thing to add to my stop-smoking shopping list)

Thank you all again, I really do appriciate it! I just really hope I can keep it up!!!

I gave up smoking 20 years ago, after being a 30-a-day girl for many years - and it's one of the best things I've ever done! It wasn't easy though; as you say, there are times when reaching for a cigarette is part of the routine, so you're having to deal with the psychological habit of doing it as well as the physical need, so I found it helped to avoid certain places where I always used to smoke. Each cigarette you don't have is a big step forward. Stick with it, and you'll never regret it.

i quit on Nov 8th 2 years ago! after 30 years.....
and to be very honest would start again right now if i had any nearby....
i feel no different ..Lamb still tastes of lamb
i didnt get a cough and cough up all sorts of nasty green or black stuff as i was told i would
i still cant run up a hill or anywhere for that matter...
so i feel its all been a waste of time
however to keep the peace in the house i will not start again until i am 75...i cant wait.....

> however to keep the peace in the house i will not start again until i am 75...i cant wait.....

Oh yes I am with you all the way! LOL

Money is agood incentive too though, every time I wonder whether I should/shouldnot buy something, I do.
As I remind myself how much it would have cost this month in cigarettes if I was still smoking.

Karen

I gave up 9 months ago with champix the stop smoking drug which was like a miracle to me as never thought I would manage it.
I did put on lots of weight but have recently got to my target weight with ww after losing nearly three stone.

at the time of quitting i was disabled and on a low income..now however i am working, earning plenty and living with my fella who earns double what i earn so no shortage of money and i cant smoke its so unfair!!! only another 32 years to go and i can start again......

edited to add....... yes thats another downside to quitting i am now overweight...and have to pay out money to join a club to help me slim down..it really would be better all round if i just popped to the shop and bought a pack of 20.......

Noooooooooo.
Patience........32 years will pass in a flash   LOL.
I have to admit that there is nothing better for me than when (under the influence of the demon Bacardi) just one and the knowledge that it's okay to do it as I am free now and wont be hooked.

Karen

unfortunatly i never manage to have just one!! as when i do go out i get so drunk i forget to smoke one!!!
Guinness is evil!!!

Now then Guiness is gorgeous, a waft is enough to give me a headache if I get too close.
Karen

When I used to work in sales I noticed that most of the sales people smoked whilst the customer service people didn't - very odd!!

However, one of the things we'd say is that when we were under pressure the opportunity to go outside, take 5 minutes, have a break etc for a fag was well worth it so it became a social activity for me and therefore easier to give up smoking when I was on my own.  I cut down by degrees.  I stopped smoking in the car when I got a new company car, I stopped smoking at home when we decorated, I stopped when on my own, I stopped smoking with all non smoking friends.  Gradually I eliminated my opportunities to smoke and then gave up completely.

Two things that helped:
1)  Fake A Fag - at all the times you'd usually smoke, pretend to light up, assume the smoking posture and breathe in exactly the same way as you do when you have a cigarette.  Sounds barmy I know but actually the deep breaths are very good for you, and so calming
2)  Satisfy the physical element of holding a cigarette.  Use a pen or just rub the spot on your finger where the cigarette usually sits.  Do that for the duration of the original smoking event, then stop or put the pen down and carry on as normal

Having a drink of water is also a great idea - replaces something unhealthy with a good alternative.  Most people don't drink enough so it might have other health benefits   Good luck

> champix the stop smoking drug

Not sure if its the same drug but i've known someone who was given this and they got very very low on this drug so came off it. This person is who i call very happy go lucky. A colleague of mine her landlord got so low that he tried to take his own life after starting on the pills.

So please read up on this drug and others if you are thinking of going this route.

I was planning on going down this route but been scared off from the above mentioned.

What great ideas dogs a babe, I will have to try that!

I must admit, today has been a very bad day. I was stressed, stressed and more stressed so had one then two then three and now I am more stressed at myself for being ridiculous and giving in. I really am so disapointed and angry with myself. Tomorrow I shall try so much harder. I know what I should be doing but today I ruined all of my hard work and feel like such a failure!

Heres to a better and more focused day tomorrow

inthemistuk

you may say all those things but how about not smelling of cigarettes that would be the biggest insentive for me if I was a smoker .

saying that I have never smoked but my hubby has all our married life until 2yrs ago as I said in my earlier post .

He cant bear the smell cigarettes leave on people ..

it didnt bother me for for 30 years so no its not an incentive really..and Dave has never smoked
he just bought me lots of expensive perfumes to mask it...so i won all round
in fact since quitting he hasnt bought me any...!

Im sure your mason would enjoy some fuss and cuddles when you have a craving. Play a game of fetch or teach him a new trick. A side to the tamgotchi what about a nintendo DS, get brain training or more brain training. Its quite addictive but in a good way as it help mental arithmetic, and memory. Take up a new hobby with your hands, knitting, painting or photography. I dont smoke and never have done, but my parents are both smokers. When i went to live with them for a few months at the beginning of the year, i had to go to the doctors and get an inhaler after never having to use one in my life. When i lived with them before moving away, my lungs must have been used to it, but after being away for 3 years i was wheezing during the night and struggling to take a deep breathe. Havent had to use one since i moved out in to my house, when it was finally ready.

have heard things about this but was fine for me. I tried the zyban and that made me ill.

I adore smoking and asociate it with the best and worst times of my life, throughout it all my ciggies have been there. Even though its the worst thing i ever started. As i get older (nearly 50!!) i often think about quitting and hopefully one day i actually will. But if ever there was an advert to not give up, i only have to look at my sister. After smoking for thirty odd years she gave up a year ago after becoming a grandmother. She's now two stone heavier, and feels sick constantly. But i suppose she has healthy lungs and will live longer than me so . . . .

If you have made the deccision to stop then try and keep at it. Although it is said that it takes an average of five attepmts to quit  before being succesfull. So if you cave in its not the end of the world. Just set youself another date to quit and try again.

Good Luck,

How are you getting on Masonsmum?  I really admire you, it's incredibly tough.  If you're back on the smokes already, don't feel defeated, try again when you're ready.  It took me 4 or 5 attempts at it.  I used to smoke between 40 & 60 cigarettes a day (long days in the city!)  I used to light up in bed as soon as I woke up & I would have had 4 in an hour before I even got in my car to drive up to work (& you can imagine how many I could smoke in a traffice jam )

The last time of giving up, I used patches & I really really wanted to do it.  That was over 9 years ago now.  Yes, I've gained an additional bit of weight & I can't say I felt a whole lot healthier giving up, but now 9 years on  I can imagine what my skin would look like, the wrinkles around my mouth would be a whole lot worse lol!)  The best thing is, my husband gave up & my two small kids don't know I ever smoked & hopefully won't see me smoke, 'cos it's hard to give.

As for advice, take each day at a time - treat it as a real achievement.  Cravings - if you're at home, do a bit of training with the dog if you're at work, if you can get outside for some deep breaths I found that helped (not near smokers corner though eh )

Good luck

My boss has tried and failed to give up smoking many times, every time  he tried we always knew as he would be even more bad tempered and stressed than usual . Earlier this year he went for hypnotherapy and it seems to have worked - we didn't notice so he obviously remained at his normal level of crabbit-ness and he still isn't smoking! He did start to do lots of hillwalking at weekends to keep the weight down though.

A word of warning if you decide to go the lollipop route (great idea BTW!), get sugar-free ones, all that sugar constantly in your mouth would be worse for your teeth than smoking

Good luck!

Hi all.

Well after 2/3 really great days of almost no smoking at all, I caved. But on the plus side, I admitted I needed help (unusual to say the least ) and I have booked in to see the non-smoking person at my local clinic, in the hope of getting patches etc.

I will be honest, This is probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my short life and very sad to say I feel I am going to miss it. But enough is enough. I can no long bear the smell, the way your teeth feel if you dont brush them 20 times a day, the disgusted look on peoples faces if you light up anywhere other than your own home and most of all the ridiculous amount of money I could be spending on shoes/doggy things/handbags/shoes

I did notice that my temper was even worse than usual, not helped by pmt in the slightest and I felt very bad indeed for snapping at my staff, family and partner. The only thing that could keep me calm and distract me was Mason, bless him. Long walks without a cig were bliss and I really look forward to doing that so much more often

I do feel so disapointed in myself for caving in so soon, but now Ive had a taste of the better life, Im going to try even harder. Monday is my stop day and I am going to give it my all. No more silly cigs, I dont want it!

Thank you all so, so much for your fantastic support & encouragment, your storys and honest opinions! You reallly can't buy advice like it (or get it free on the NHS )

Wish me luck!
Vikki x

Dont feel disappointed in yourself!
You are so going to be able to do this. Honestly, it's true, if I can do it so can anybody...........
I had to set a target to give up and that was before I was 40.........
So about 6 months before I set to it, as I knew if I left it until the last minute I'd make an excuse for myself.
Good luck for Monday and dont worry.... if the time is right you will manage.

Karen

You've done most of the giving up already and that is wanting to and trying to. I've talked about it for a long time, but i keep thinking i enjoy it, well some of the time. I seem to smoke out of habit and its a social thing with work colleagues.
I don't like the smell and made an app with the nurse for help, but as would have it i had an issue with my brakes on my car and had to cancel, not got round to making another app as yet.
I have cut down a lot and moved onto rollies to save me money, had a proper ciggy the other day and i really hated it...

I for one when i go the actual quit will be on patches, the puffer, gum, you name it apart from the pills they offer.

Well done for taking the step from thinking about it to doing something to stop.  21 years ago I had the biggest reason in the world to stop (being pregnant) but I couldn't do it.

13 years ago I stopped, don't know to this day how or why, I was out driving pulled into a layby and put the pack of cigs and lighter in the bin and drove off, it was as if a switch had clicked over and that was it, never touched another ciggie since and never looked back.

Good luck 

> Well done for taking the step from thinking about it to doing something to stop.  21 years ago I had the biggest reason in the world to stop (being pregnant) but I couldn't do it.
>

It really does work like that......I (to my shame) smoked through 3 pregnancies, cut right back, but didn't stop.
I still maintain it would have been bad to stop suddenly. I had large babies the eldest joined mensa (of his own volition) when still at primary school. No apparent consequences.
It would never have worked for me, to told I had too, just had to do it my way and take inspiration those who'd been before.

Karen

No amount of peer pressure can make you give up anything, be it sweets, drink or smoking. You have to be ready to do it for yourself. Having decided you do need to quit you have taken the first step to quitting.

My daughter tried several times to quit, but each time gave up. She is now on her second week of no smoking, and is already noticing a change in her health, her bank balance and sense of smell. She commented on Facebook that she noticed that smokers smelt like an old ash tray and she was cross with herself for allowing herself to be unaware that she too smelt like this. It has given her further encouragement to stay off the ciggies.

Now you hvae made the decision to quit I am sure you will do, maybe not now but perhaps in a few weeks or months time, and it will be hard but you will have the will power to stop. If attending a no smoking clinic helps or patches or hypnotherapy then use these aids to help you stop.

Good Luck with your attempts to quit.

Ok, monday is nearly over and I have had 1 sneaky, awful cig I am sooo proud of myself right now, even though It is only day 1 I can feel it getting easier She says with a lolly shoved in her gob, mints both sides of the keyboard and a pack in her bra (because she has no pockets) just in case she has to move and forgets the ones on the desk

good for you,
it is soo hard, i was a carer of the elderly for five years and alot of them smoked in the old days and still fancied one every now and then, it is so difficult, i wish we al knew in hindsight how hard it is to give up and stay off them,but then i would see people in their sixties dying of cancer and it kind of makes you think how short and precious life is,and we never know what is coming. i was always shocked and naive as well of the amount of clients i had who had never smoked and had cancer and then there were the ones in their nineties who smoked 60 a day, you just do not know how it will affect you long term or not. i do believe that smoking is extremely bad for your health shame someone cant invent a ciggie that gives you the same affect without all the nasty side affects !!!!,my partner and i have different views, he is one of those who smokes and says he could be hit by a car tomorrow so why stress giving up, i think it is because that is what happened to his friend, where as i am a worrier and want to live as healthily as poss to see my little girls grow up,
keep up trying, and keep cleaning your teeth with all the sweets and Lolly's hehe
jo