For anyone that has seen either my drunken ramblings on here or on ciaochatting you will know that I have given up smoking. Today is day 20 or something but basically I am in week 3. I have had a couple of lapses (mainly after alcohol) but essentially I am there and the NiQuitin CQ Lozenges have helped this. But lets get this straight - unless you really want to quit you never will.

I read Manumas22 reviews on the inhalator (thank you so much Michelle for helping me) and popped down the shops and bought it and tried it for a few days but it just didn’t hit the spot. For me it was like smoking a Silk Cut – frankly why would you bother and my mood by day 2 was so terrible my secretary refused to speak to me and I holed myself in my office. By lunchtime on day 2 I had enough I went down the newsagents to get a pack of my beloved cigarettes and very sensibly went into the chemist next door instead. The pharmacist whom I have never met before sat me down, calmed me down told me how well I had done and recommended the lozenges. Because I used to smoke within 30 minutes of waking she told me I would need the 4mg version as opposed to the weaker 2mg version and I handed over my £8.99 (I sit there think I could have got 2 packets of fags for that!!!!!!)

Now I have the best team of people around me in the office – I managed to get back slightly green, feeling sick and frankly needing a lie down. On reading the literature – I know what your thinking and no I didn’t read it before as that would be too sensible – it says the following

 Sore throat, mouth irritation or difficulty swallowing
 Sleep disturbance, dizziness, headache, coughing, anxiety, irritability
 Feeling or being sick, hiccups, belching or wind, abnormal appetite

I will be honest that the first days of using these lozenges were horrible and I had every side effect listed and a few more I think. I could only suck the lozenges for a few minutes at a time or I would be sick and due to the cost of the damn things (cheaper to smoke) I used to put the half sucked lozenge back in the blister pack and have another little suck on it a bit later. They recommend using up to 10 lozenges a day – if I hit 4 I was lucky to be honest.

I have been buying these from the chemist in packets of 36 and they are £8.99 and available in original (tastes of absolutely nothing) or mint (tastes slightly of mint but still more nothing than mint) and you can buy them in 2mg or 4mg strengths but I would suggest speaking to your pharmacist for advice. These are available on prescription but its near on impossible to get a doctors appointment at my surgery even if you’re dying so I decided to just buy them and be done with it. However they are available on prescription.

These will work for you if you are determined to stop the filthy habit but they won’t work unless you want them too. You can’t share a lozenge over a bottle of wine, you can’t share a lozenge after sex and you certainly can’t blow smoke rings with it – but it can help to save your life and I guess for me that’s enough. I have to give these 5 starts as the sick feelings will go and although expensive its not forever like fags are and you can get on presciption.