Love the attitude LJS,
so come on tell us how you kicked it??? Any ex smokers story has now become ( wonder why????)  very important to me. Eating nectarines by the mouthful after being out with the dogs in the thick , nasty snow and freezing fog. I don't like snow , the dogs love it. Grunp, grump, grump. Feel like I should change my name from Dippydog to Grumpydog. Hoooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwl.

I think the only way anybody will give up is if they really want to give up :)

When I say want to I mean REALLY want to :)

I want to live and see my children have grandchildren and be able and fit enough to enjoy them :)

I had a dream.
I was 7 months pregnant with my second child- Sam and tried so many times to give up(Had given up the day I found out I was pregnant with my first child and didnt start again until he was about 3 months old)
I dreamt Sam wasgoing to be still born. Well I was never so scared in my life. I gave up 2 days later. Only reason why it was 2 days was because I was burying my grandmother the day after the dream.
Had a couple since while drunk and had a worse hangover the next morning than Iwould have done with just drink!!!!
Sam is 7 on Saturday so been given up 7 years and 2 months:D :D :D:D
Lea:)

Absolutely agree with LJS you have to want to give up.  Think of the most important reason for giving up and keep that in mind because that gives you the choice.  For LJS she gave herself the choice of carrying on smoking or living to see her grandchildren so everytime she felt weak I expect she thought what do I really want a cigarette or to live longer?

For me, I had been made redundant and had no money and at the same time had decided to improve my diet and exercise more.  I was fedup of wasting money on fags, being a hypocrite for eating healthily but still smoking and my house stinking when I came downstairs in the morning.  Even while I smoked I thought it was a dirty disgusting habit but once I gave up I couldn't believe the difference. My choice was what do I want most, to smoke and be constantly controlled by the need to feed the addiction or to be free up money, be healthier and be able to go anywhere without that constant need to pop out to feed a stinking habit?

Totally agree with LJS as well - you have to want to stop. 

I gave up nearly 9 years ago, and it is hard work, the hardest part I found was breaking the habit.  Every time when I hit a situation where I had previously smoked, I started wanting a cigarette just because I associated it with smoking - so, for example, when I went Christmas shopping 7 months after stopping, I really wanted to have a coffee and cigarette when I got "stuck" on what to get next - because in previous years that is what I had always done in that circumstance.  I also avoided my sister for months as she was still smoking - we are very close and I knew that if she lit up, I would want a cigarette - fortunately she gave up as well and so that solved that problem  :D

I used a nicorette inhalator as well, it did help.  I used it for about three months and then phased it out.  I carried an empty inhalator around for a couple of years just "in case".  The other thing that I tried to focus on was the horrible side of smoking - like how when I smoked my chest felt tight sometimes or that horrible smoker's taste you get in your mouth first thing when you wake up.  And not being able to laugh without coughing.  Whenever I was really tempted I focused on the really negative sides of it (and imagined that horrible smoker's taste in my mouth - Yuk - I can still remember it!).

Another thing was that I took it one day at a time - every day I just thought "I am not going to smoke today" - I didn't think about not smoking tomorrow or next week - I just concentrated on "not smoking today"

It isn't easy and it takes a long time for the cravings to stop.  After a while you can go for months and months and months without any cravings and a situation will arise and you think "I could kill a cigarette" - but it does get easier to just acknowledge that craving and think -"yes, but I won't".  In my sleep I used to dream I was having a cigarette and would feel guilty in the dream!!!   I still occasionally have a dream like this even after all these years!  ;)

Also don't worry if you have tried before and failed - I tried many times before I succeeded.  The really important thing is that, as has been said, YOU have to want to give up.  Good Luck!  :) 

You can all count on my support, too.    If you find the thought of giving up your precious ciggies, just think of it as a choice - "no, I won't have a cigarette just now - I'll reconsider the position in 10 mins".  

That way, the thought that you are never going to have another cigarette again is not foremost in your minds - it might help.   So go on - instead of lighting up now, leave that next ciggie for another 10 mins!

Margot

Margot, I read your reply at 10:45 and left it for 10 mins - so I'm going to go out have a ciggie now!

I found in the past that being banned from smoking in the house helped - I had to go out into the garden to have a smoke.  And that's not as enjoyable as sitting in a comfy chair, watching TV and having a glass of wine - so I did think twice about it.

Good Luck, everybody!

I hope that it can work the same way with food :D :D :D

Really going to try to lose some weight in 2006 - sensibly - more exercise and no snacking when I'm stressed :) I SO sympathise with smokers, because, although I've never smoked, I know how difficult it is not to comfort eat :D

Daisy

Thanks Margot & Daisy :-) For your continued support xx

Ditto, Ditto,Ditto!!!!!!
from one who is still swimming around in the 'Nile' ;)
your input is helping!!!!... and it means a lot xxxxx

NewsFlash!

Channel 4 Tuesday 9pm: a program called 'Cold Turkey' following Tara Palmer Tomkinson ( :rolleyes: ) and Sophie Anderton giving up smoking!!
Looks interesting veiwing....some drastic methods,some very graphic evidence of what its doing to us... (its not a river in Egypt and all that!!)

I will be watching from behind the sofa quivering!!!!!!! ;)

I haven't smoked since sunday due to my sore throat so hopefully i can continue now.

Our friends are mostly friends from my husband's youth.  I love them all but jeepers they can swear a bit.  One Christmas we went to a pub restaurant for a meal and we took our 3 children.  As usual the conversation was interspersed with swearwords when all of a sudden one of the women told them all off for swearing in front of the children.  This woman friend was the only one in the group who was still a smoker and I had to point out that actually out of the two habits it was the smoking that was more damaging to my children.  All though not nice, swearing IMO it is not as damaging as smoking.

When I have been to a pub and go to bed I can smell the smoke on my skin and in the morning my pillow smells of smoke.  If I have been to the pub and have a shower when I get home and wear a bath cap, when I let my hair down the smell is unbelievable.  When you smoke this smell is on you all the time and non-smokers can smell it.  When I walk around the supermarket I can who the smokers are when they pass by.  It's true, it really smells horrible and I am so pleased I gave up when I did.

I don't know any smokers with long haired dogs but surely the smoke must cling to their fur in the same way as it does to my hair?

Just thought I would post this on this thread...
http://tinyurl.com/d6x3d
My Mum's friend was a chain smoker, and had been for 33 years. She tried all the help that was given to her, and even tried hypnotism-but nothing worked. She read this book and gave up smoking. She really swears by this book and hasn't touched a cigarette for 3 years now. She says it completely changes your view on smoking, and said she hasn't thought of even touching a cigarette since she read the book. It won't have the same effect on everyone of course- but it's worth a try :-)
Hope it helps,
Lauren

Will be trotting of to buy that book tomorrow, and also will be , if I'm still sane be watching the channel 4 programme with Tara and Sophie! Am getting seriously jittery now, so keep all the good advice and help comiing, I really am going to do this, it's  just I'm worried that murder may be commited in the process.!!!! Not sure about the spelling of " commited" there??? God that's the least of my worries isn't it!!!!!!!!!

I am off to buy one of those inhalors today. Does anyone know how much they are and how long they last?

Aaaaaaaaaaargh

Im Reeeeaaaaaally panicking now!!!
Should I throw all lighters/matches/cigarettes out now in anticipation??? so tomorrow when i wake up there will be no temptation????

or

shall I keep some cigarettes to prove to myself they are there..and I dont need them!!! :) :P

or

so I can smoke one when it all gets too much, well just a couple of puffs.....:rolleyes:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!! I'm caving in already and havent even started!!???

right!! hang on Bruno Im right behind you.. think its gonna have to be the inhaler thang!!!!
yesterday I had 5 cigs... normally it would be 10... so Im half way to being 'match fit'.... but not really good enough seeing as the 'match' is tomorrow!!!!!??? eeeek!!

Well i just looked on Boots website and they r doing buy one get one half price on nicorette inhalators £5.95 each with 6 refills in em so im gonna get 2

Brunodog:

Buy the inhilators in the meantime BUT then ask your local pharmacy if they have a Stop Smoking clinic.  You make an appointment, get your lungs tested, have a chat with the pharmacist and discuss the reason "why" you smoke.  Then you get the recommended patches/inhalator/gum for FREE!!

I guess there's going to be a lot of people making appointments in the New Year  -myself included!

Hi, thanks Kate B, ive tried the inhalators, i must say i am surprised, they are FAB, its even like there is smoke going down your throat, i even coughed i couldnt believe how good they are, needless to say i think im gonna do well on these, ive only had 5 cigs today!!! Hopefully i wont have any tomorrow when im doing it for real!

Huskygal,
Don't panic and don't throw out your smoking paraphanalia. When you crave, promise yourself that you won't have one now but if you still want one in say 30 mins, you'll have one. Then go and clean the fridge or go for a walk etc. In 30 mins, have one if you still crave as much. Try it today and see what happens, it works for me and i havn't had one yet.
Good luck

I got loads of those re-fill cartridges for my inhalor :-) Hopefully enough to get me through :-D

I will have my last ciggie before i go to sleep, but there's no point throwing any ciggies i have left....because my hubby is still smoking, he is also going to quit.....but not the same time as me, because we find it so difficult when we do it together..........but i have told him that he will have to smoke outside as of tomorrow, so i don't have to smell it :-D

my husband hasnt smoked in the house for years
he goes into the garden even in this freezing cold weather umpteen times a night for a quick smoke.
I hate the smell
he gave up for 6m and it was wonderful then he began sneaking them having a sly smoke thinking I wouldnt notice... the pong gives it away no matter what smokers do to hide it a non smoker can smell it easily.
I told him its his choice his life but no smoking in the house or around me or my son or pets ....so he goes into the garden.

I cant understand how something that can damage your body and actually shorten your life with your family and loved ones can still draw you too it then say you enjoy it.

Roni

Roni :-) When you've done something for a lot of years....it is extremely hard to give it up, i've been smoking 16 years :-( I know i will find it really hard but this time i will do it :-D

I smoked for 25 years and gave up lots of times :) because my non smoking husband nagged me to but it was never successful until I decided to because I was fed up of sneeking fags when hubby thought I was in a non smoking phase, looking for cafe etc when I could go for a drag whilst shopping, being, increasing, the only smoker in any group and being aware that my clothes, hair etc were probably stinking.  In the end when I came to that way of thinking I didn't find it difficult at all.  I gave up 5 or 6 years ago, 3 weeks before Christmas because I reckoned if I could get through the party season I could deal with anything :). I bought nicotine chewing gum but didn't really like it and used it only a couple of times.  One thing I thought helped at lot was to create for myself a new "habit" to replace those ritual ciggies that one has after a coffee, at the end of a domestic chore.........etc ;)  Mine was to light a incense oil burner and just sit quietly enjoying the scent for 5 minutes.  The first 3 days or so, as ever, were the worst but I can honestly say it was easy peasy after that and unlike ever other occasion when I just felt like a smoker who wasn't smoking at that time I have never felt remotely like a smoker since.
My GP friend tells me that people attending NHS smoking ceasation clinics have something like a 40% better success rate than those who don't which is terrific odds isn't it so well worth considering :)  As others have pointed out you get all your support stuff free, all the necessary support to get you in the right frame of mind and your GP may also prescribe Zyban which, again, I hear is tremendously successful.

You know one of the things here that has shocked me the  most has been the descriptions by ex smokers of how awful the smell is round smokers . Honestly it's been quite a revelation. I guess most of the time people don't like to point it out to you esp. if it's friends or family. I am really looking forward to not being smelly anymore, it's a big incentive thinking that. ~Thanks all you ex smokers , keep it coming!

Well if you want more :D Another aspect is the damage that it does to your teeth and gums (apart from the nasty breath smell of course :)).  I really was not expecting to still have my own at the age of 50 but since giving up my mouth has improved so much I am confident I will, well it's not so long now :) and hopefully for many years after that :)  And that's not taking into account the horrors of mouth cancers that smokers are so succeptable too that can be so disfiguring if not fatal :(

OK dippydog, you asked for it :D

When I smoked there weren't the restrictions there are now.  Where I used to work there were 2 rest rooms, 1 smokers, 1 non-smokers.  They both had sandwich and sweet machines in but the one in the smokers room had to be taken out because when non-smokers bought anything from them the packages stank of smoke.

We have a new college and I thought they had built a new bus shelter in the car park but it is a smokers' shelter.  All the smoking students and staff huddle in this shelter puffing away in all weathers and to me it looks ridiculous.  Why would people want to be demeaned in such a way just because of a habit?  Even though this shelter is very well used the main doors into the college are surrounded by dogends which look disgusting and are invariably picked up on the bottom of shoes and trodden into the lovely new college carpets.

Where I used to work new people would sit with workers to learn what to do.  We would be working at a workstation and so would sit quite close.  I am sorry to say that sitting with someone who had just had a cigarette would turn my stomach sometimes as the smell on the breath would be horrible.

The smell truly is vile! Yes, I used to smoke quite heavily and never noticed the smell either on me or on others. But having not smoked for 16 years the smell truly nauseates me! When my son comes home after being in the pub he has to change his clothes before coming into the 'family' rooms.

Thanks for your kind support Isabel :-) I was on Zyban a few years ago....and i felt suicidal :-( but they worked as far was not wanting a ciggie :-) so the doctor wont prescribe them to me :-(

Yes, like most useful drugs there are side effects for some people, which is why I posted the link about it rather than just mention it :).  It is a prescription only drug so your doctor should take into account any medical history and monitor you while using it, for many people it will be worth considering as smoking will probably kill more of them ;)

I totally agree Isabel :-) It's an amazing drug, just not for me :-)

On 'bad' days, when I really needed a cigarette after giving up for several months, I used my lunchtimes, by walking round the shopping mall, sniffing out the smokers.  Heaven was when a smoker just lit up and I'd walk behind them, enjoying the smell!!

Had to stop doing this, cos I was afraid of being caught as a stalker!

Someone I worked with gave up smoking and her husband was very proud of her.  She didn't last long though but couldn't tell him so she used to light up and put her head under the cookerhood :D :D

Another lady I worked with had OH who had industrial injury that left him with no sense of smell.  She gave up smoking but also didn't last, she kept up the pretence to her OH easily because he couldn't smell it.  However, she did have a heart attack and that frightened her into giving up.  When she came back to work she remarked that a pregnant lady was showing her baby scan pics and would I like to see her artery scan pics.  It was fascinating, they were like black and white photographs, the first one showed the artery before her operation (following second heart attack whilst recovering from first) which was all out of shape and virtually collapsed in one place and then the second scan was after op where they had inserted the 'mesh cage' that pushes the walls of the artery back to fully opened again.  She was very lucky as she was still in hospital when she had her second heart attack.

Spiritualist... it worked!!!!
(only had 1 all day!) :D

Howeverrrrrrrrrrrrrr night of revelling ahead... so expect I'll make up for 'lost time' *sigh*!!

But tomorrow its official..Im quite looking forward to waking up to a fresh start now :D
tryyyyyyyying to convince myself ;) ;)

(((((( Good Luck Gals!!!!!!!!! ))))
:D

As a never-have-smoked non smoker I can only offer my support for all of you giving up this dreadful, stinky, cancer inducing habit ;) Honestly, I do feel for you. My daughter started smoking aged 11 years and I didn't know. I really don't know how I didn't know, possibly because my ex smoked so the smell was already in the house :rolleyes: She has tried several times, and as she suffered from clinical depression at the time it wasn't easy. I can only admire anyone who does manage it. It isn't easy living with an "addict" going cold turkey, believe me. Good luck to you all.

Can I Jooin you all, I am quite new on here, but really want to stop smokiong, think with the support from you all stopping might just work this time!!

New recruit Waffy reporting for duty for the Quitters Regiment :D

Right the time is 01:06am on 01/01/2006 and I have just had my last cigarette:
I am off 2 bed now after a few too many and I have just snapped the last 3 ciggies I had in my box

That is it for me and we all must help eachother :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I stopped the last time the one thought that helped the most was IF I HAVE ANOTHER CIGARETTE I HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL THIS AGAIN, and really I felt the first few days without what you think you need is horrid and I could not face it again so I never started again.  Hope this thought helps.