Stopping smoking that is. And writing about it. I have spent some time reading other people's experiences of stopping smoking and i thought that I would add my two penn'orth in. The more experiences you read about the more likely you are to find someone who feels the same as you. Well it would ... Read review
Advantages: Health! (And smelling better) Disadvantages: Occasionally wanting to gnaw your own arms off due to cravings....
Stopping smoking that is. And writing about it. I have spent some time reading other people's experiences of stopping smoking and i thought that I would add my two penn'orth in. The more experiences you read about the more likely you are to find someone who feels the same as you. Well it would have helped me to know more about other people's experiences when I was giving up. so here goes:
I smoked for fifteen years, 30 a day, through ... ...on the loo, full of a cold, during a bout of bronchitis, you name it. I was utterly determined to have my daily allowance. I spent a fortune (I liked the more expensive ciggies, you know, the American ones that begin with an M), not just on fags, I bought loads of perfume and body lotion and mints etc. all in an attempt to hide the stench. What a waste. But my cigs were so gooooood. Who can resist that feeling of absolute pleasure when you light ... more
Stopping smoking that is. And writing about it. I have spent some time reading other people's experiences of stopping smoking and i thought that I would add my two penn'orth in. The more experiences you read about the more likely you are to find someone who feels the same as you. Well it would have helped me to know more about other people's experiences when I was giving up. so here goes:
I smoked for fifteen years, 30 a day, through pregnancy, in the rain, on the beach, in the bath, on the loo, full of a cold, during a bout of bronchitis, you name it. I was utterly determined to have my daily allowance. I spent a fortune (I liked the more expensive ciggies, you know, the American ones that begin with an M), not just on fags, I bought loads of perfume and body lotion and mints etc. all in an attempt to hide the stench. What a waste. But my cigs were so gooooood. Who can resist that feeling of absolute pleasure when you light up after a long break? It IS good. But it's all an illusion and most of us know that. It only feels so good because we are addicted.
So, after fifteen years of "enjoying" smoking I gave up. What follows is the why, and more importantly the how.
I decided to stop because i couldn't afford to smoke and have a new kitchen. How shallow and sad is that!? There was no moment of crisis in my health, no moment of realization, no epiphany. I just worked out that my home loan payments were about the same as I was spending on cigs and if I didn't stop I would forvever be living in squalor. Simple..he he he. It Soooo was not.
I didn't do any of the things you are supposed to do beforehand. I didn't pick a quit date, i didn't get rid of my smoking paraphernalia and I didn't seek advice from a quit group (been there, done that and failed too many times) I just got up, had whatever fags were left in my packet and then resolved not to have any for the next hour or two.
I felt (and still do) that planning the whole quit date shebang would be too depressing, I would worry more as the big day approached and then feel so useless and pathetic if i slipped up. Much better to catch yourself off guard, take your fags by surprise and jump in at the deep end, to use but three cliches. Just do it on the spur of the moment because you then have less emotion invested in the venture. We have all tried and failed and tried again and despaired and hated ourselves and smoked defiantly and wheezed and coughed and started the whole cycle again. It is really bleeding depressing.
I say b*ll*cks to the NHS approach and just try it this way. Get some gum, not patches because the faffy bit of smoking where you find the pack in your bag/pocket and take out the fag and light up is important to smokers. We like to have something to do. So now you have a blister pack of fruity gum-(Nicotinell is best, trust me) to fiddle with and the whole process of putting the gum in and remembering to chew and park is just enough of a distraction. Wearing a patch is just too passive for me; I want to have to work for my nicotine!
So I made it through my first two hours and felt quite confident enough to do another couple and before i knew it, it was bed time.! Wahay! A whole eight hours fag free and not as bad as I thought. It was bad, I won't lie to you but it was do-able. I didn't die. i didn't even get too upset and wasn't that nasty with my family. Most importantly I didn't set myself any goal that felt too big. I always kept in my mind that I was trying to avoid smoking "today". With each successful day your confidence grows. I have done over 800 days now. I don't REALLY count them anymore, I just worked that out! and I really don't miss smoking at all. In fact I hate it. I regret all those lost years and all that lost money. I regret being a bit smelly. I regret not being able to sit in the library and do any work because I had to get up and go out for a fag every 20 minutes and I curse the days that I smoked around my daughter and sent her to school smelling like an ashtray.
What you can expect when you give up:
Cravings!!! The gum helps but it takes a bit longer than a ciggie to work. You need to be calm and tell yourself to hang on a minute and if it is ABSOLUTELY intolerable you can have a cig. It won't ever get that bad.
You will miss smoking. It feels a little bit like a bereavement. You cigs have been with you through thick and thin. They love you and help you out when you need it. When they are gone you feel quite sad about it for a while. Just remember that all the time you thought they were being nice to you, they were actually sl*gging you off behind your back.
You might sleep badly for a few days. Just have a horlicks and a nice warm bath and remind yourself that when you wake up you won't have toilet breath! It passes.
You will smell great! Now we get to the positives! That Chanel you bought will actually smell like Chanel! Not eau de fags. I'm talking to the blokes as well.
Your fingers will turn a normal colour again. No more yellowy orangey stains. And the same goes for your teeth, eventually,
You feel fitter and can breathe easier. This is sucha big and unexpected bonus! You never really think you have problems when you smoke. You only Know you did when you stop.
You won't be the social elephant in the room. You will sit through a flight and not be nasty and cranky, you will be able to go to the pictures and enjoy a film.
You will feel so unbelievably, utterly, fabulously proud of your incredible acheivement that you will wake up every day feeling smug and satisfied and nothing beats that! Giving up is difficult, if you can do it then you deserve unlimited praise!
So that's that. Long winded but i hope helpful. Please try giving up. Feel free to ask for encouragement! Best of luck!
Advantages: What? Advantages? You've gotta be kidding! Disadvantages: Just read the thing, will ya?
Along with 28% of teenagers in the UK, I had my first cigarette before the age of 11.
I already knew what cigarette smoking tasted like, having had the occasional puff on lit cigarettes left burning in ashtrays over the years, but I wanted to experience the feeling of smoking proper. I wanted to hold one between my fingers the way I'd seen adults do; I wanted to casually inhale, remove the cigarette from between my painted lips and exhale in a sophisticated ... ...I did that fated day, 32 years ago, is without any doubt, my biggest regret in life. That one cigarette led to years of habitual smoking; an addiction that almost cost me my life and has certainly cost me a huge chunk of my health. I have "atherosclerosis" - the arteries in my legs are clogged with fatty material that causes severe cramps at night and pain on exertion. Just a short walk can leave me feeling exhausted and in pain. The risk of developing ...
CherryBlossom 29.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Giving Up Smoking
Advantages: Health, control of my life, wealth Disadvantages: Cravings, feeling like everyone else is having fun
“I don’t WANT to quit smoking. I LIKE smoking.” How many times have you heard that litany? If you are a smoker, how many times have you said it yourself? But think…is it true?
I’ve been smoking since I was 20 (how stupid was I – I started when I was old enough to know better). In the past year, I’ve been smoking around 40 a day. I can smoke in the office. I smoked in the pub. I smoked at home. I smoked in the car. I smoked anywhere I could.
I smoked ... ...I am now into day 40 of my first (and hopefully last) attempt at quitting smoking. I DO get disheartened – it does seem that practically no-one succeeds in their first attempt at quitting.
But I plan to succeed. My father died of lung cancer; my mother is suffering from emphysema. Yet…that isn’t why I quit. And here’s the crux of the advice – you are likely to succeed only if you are quitting for the right reasons. The right reason being BECAUSE ...
mattygroves 10.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Giving Up Smoking
Advantages: Health issues, smell nicer, SAVE MONEY!!, no more need for smokers toothpaste! Disadvantages: It's hard, and you might feel your missing out when friends smoke, but you'll get over it.
♥♥ Giving up smoking! ♥♥
I'm not going to give you one of those 'Quitting smoking was the best thing I did' reports, although it probably was. I'm not your typical ex-smoker - I'm in my very early twenties, so I don't even really feel old enough to be an ex-smoker!! I had however been a smoker for six years. I therefore grew up smoking, started my first part time job as a smoker, and started (and finished) college as a smoker. ... ...♥♥ Why did I start? ♥♥
I really don't know why I started smoking. I just did, really. I was in my teenage years when everyone was experimenting with things. A few of my friends smoked and a couple of relatives, at the time I was totally 100% against it. Then one day, I tried one. The results were the opposite of what I thought they'd be - I thought I'd be sick and it would taste horrible, but it didn't. I was a natural, born ...
ice_pink 02.10.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Giving Up Smoking
Advantages: You get to live longer Disadvantages: None
I was eleven years old when I took my first ‘drag’ of a fag. Eleven years old fancy that. I can remember the day so clearly, I was in the park with my cousin who was three years older than me and who I though was so grown up. I watched with fascination as she took out a packet of Players no ten, popped one into her mouth and lit it with a match. She blew out the smoke in a huge grey cloud, coughed slightly and passed it to me. ‘Go on try it.’ So, ... ...white stick to my mouth and took a huge drag on it’. Immediately I started to splutter and choke as the nicotine ripped through the back of my throat, my eyes watered and I gasped for breath. My cousin laughed loudly as she patted me hard on the back. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll soon get used to it’. And that was the first easy step to me becoming a hardened smoker. Looking back now I could kick myself for being so stupid but more importantly I would like ...
Scarlet_Ribbons 01.07.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Giving Up Smoking
Advantages: You feel Better and Richer! Oh and don't smell like an ashtray Disadvantages: Its hard!
...if we get a new member today called Ann who's stopped smoking .....We know what she wants! lol. So it was the first time it had occured to me to even think of using Nicoteen fixes to replace my cravings. So it can be done with out costly replacements! Be a stubborn Taurean like me!
Day 5
Is today. I've been to work today...again. Havent even given smoking a thought at work. So am very pleased indeed. I thought I'd put today into a list for you ... ...of mind today. How do I feel? Honestly?
I feel fantastic. Honestly. My chest feels better than it has in years. No tightness, no cough. My home smells better. My purse feels heavier! My kids have stopped complaining (well about the smoking at least) My teeth are getting whiter everytime I brush them (no exaggeration)
I still have 2 cigarettes in a dusty packet on the side.
If its something you have been promising yourself to do for sometime- DO ...
Multtinems 05.01.2005 (03.01.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Giving Up Smoking
I see consequences and can analyse quite well. If I know the question I know the answer - my mind jumps to conclusions and sees patterns
I miss lots of "cultural" clues - miss the point when you are trying to be subtle - I need things spelling out - but not in a patronising way - I cann (*)
Make your guests feel welcome, everyone enjoys their meal, try some new recipes which you might like!
Can be difficult to know what people do and don't eat if they don't tell you, can also make your veggie guests feel like they are putting you to a lot (*)
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