How To Stop Smoking

Chaps

Years ago I worked for a multinational and I had a "hotdesk" in Paris. One little perk was that I was allowed to buy a full duty free allowance and put it down on expenses.

Therefore each week I bought a bottle of malt and 50 King Edward Invincle Deluxes and had a jolly good time all round.

I was begining to become breathless because I was smoking a box per week which was 7 cigars a day. Each King Edward (if inhaled) was equivalent to 11 cigarettes. Therefore I was puffing on the equivalent of 77 a day.

I went from 7 down to 6 down to 5 etc and it took nine months to wean off.

I went on a diet at the same time and actually lost weight, so getting fat is not inevitable.

I think todays main motivation for giving up is that smokers are now regarded as selfish scumbags that no one wants near them.

It is not easy but well worth it.

Regards

Mick

Dear Mick,

I am sure there are people who regards smokers as scum, to some extent, but none hold that view of me, because I select my company carefully, among the tolerant and smoking friends in which to enjoy a smoke "in company." Otherwise it si a private thing I enjoy.

As for having no intention of stopping, I have already posted that ealier in this thread. In fact, it is quite strange, because there are times when I want to smoke and others when I don't, sometimes for days. When I don't want to I just don't!

On the other hand I am a fit a s a flea, ride an ancient bike a lot, excercise, and was recently seen at a new doctors surgery. The opinion was that even with [and I was brutally honest about enjoying a smoke, a beer or two on occasion, and even a rare session on the Vodka!] that, I would be very unlucky not to survive into my eighties! That is too long to wait in my view, so I had better make my life less healthy - eat more, excercise less, and start on the King Edwards. Sadly I cannot afford to do the latter!

May I wish you to have 100 happy years years, dear Mick, from Fredrik

fred,

as i mentioned above, my mom smokes unfiltered pall malls, and drinks her frozen stoli and champagne and is quite robust at 86. she is also pretty sharp mentally (well, for a ballet dancer, anyway -- everything is relative).

so, you may be doomed to long life. who can say? predicting such things is silly. but let's hope our hearing holds out so we can always listen to a little bach.

rgds, fiddy

Another vote for Cold Turkey here.

Mrs Melnobone and me both quit cold several years ago and feel much better for it.

I'm not an anti-smoker, its a choice.

If you want to suck smoke into your lungs go ahead...

quote:

First of all - Congratulations!

Second - How did you do it? What worked for you?

Patches and will power together with the inescapable realisation that:

1. It would kill me ..possibly sooner than I might like to think. Luckily(according to all the tests) I have escaped pretty well unscathed, in spite of decades at 20/day. I was a REAL addict.....lighting up within a minute of awakening each morning. If I can kick it anyone can

2. The money saved would buy me a lot of Naim upgrades

It wasn`t easy.....during the first year there were many occaisions when I could easily have started again...and to a lesser extent that addiction never really goes...it is just that it is easy to resist now

It really is the right thing to do.......

After giving up I had dreams where I was smoking and felt utterly disgusted(in my dream) with myself for giving in. On awakening I was overjoyed to realise that my weakness was a fantasy and in reality I was still able to resist it. It may sound trivial but that sort of experience really makes a difference

PS I did not put on any weight, either

3. The best way to approach it is to take each day at a time...just avoid thinking, at the outset, that you are going to have to go on forever with the nagging craving youare experiencing now (at the outset)....after about a week it become much much easier...treat each day without cigs a mini-triumph....it took me 6 months to wean myself off patches...I used to get blinding temper tantrums.....so make sure you let off steam in appropriate circumstances


Now, many years after stopping, there is no way I would ever go back to smoking. I actually find that people who smoke smell so bad it makes me physically sick....it is quite interesting to realise that I must have smelt like that too..

laurie

In my experience getting lung cancer works well if you want to stop smoking. Most people give up as soon as they get the chest x-ray result, if not just before.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave996:
I have tried a couple of times and used gum etc. and always went back to smoking as I was still taking nicotine effectively.

Have had the same problem...
My biggest problem seems to be the drive to and from work (300km/day). Smoke about 20-30 cigs a day (more than 50% in the car). Tried having the car professionally cleaned and then not smoking in car (which worked for 2 weeks). Tried changing my weekly habits and grab my moutainbike everyday, but that didn't help either.

Along with willpower I think Fredrik is absolutely right:

You really need to want to stop...

good luck,
Paulo

Why did you all start?

quote:

Originally posted by Mark Ellis-Jones:
Naturally, banning smoking in pubs will cause people to drink more

Not in my experience, I'd even say that I drink much less since I had decided to stop smoking - for the simple reason that alcohol and nicotine encourage each other (= if you want to stop smoking, stop boozing as well, at least in the beginning). And smoking was such a strong social habit that during the first months, I felt kind of awkward at the local Jazz club without my usual fag. Knowing that it's very easy to get into the net of the filth if you drinkdrive in Switzy, my recipe was to drink silly amounts of water before going out, this prevents you further from pouring too much beer down.