no more smokes

Good man! OK, it's tough for a while but boy, is it worth it!

Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by mikeeschman:
tomorrow on april fool's day i am giving up cigarettes (no april fool, this is for real).

i smoke a pack a day of camel turkish golds.

i'm quitting cold turkey.

It's probably the best way, 16 or 17 years ago I woke up one morning and thought "I don't want to do this anymore." and have never smoked since.

Set yourself a treat with the money saved, and it really focuses the mind that these treats are "free"

Good luck

John

Mike good luck mate, it's a bad habit, bad for you and bad for the planet...hope you kick it. It's far too 'rock n' roll' a habit for you. Maybe a pipe and some slippers?

Cold turkey is good for you tho, a good source of lean protein. Try it with some cranberry jelly.

With all that money you save, you could start buying some decent music

Good luck Mike
However this is much less to do with luck. Mind over matter, determine your future!
I did this 15 years ago, just stop, get fit and feel better!
Regards
David

Mike there are loads of smoking cessation clinics these days. You can get patches, advice, support for free. Many GP surgeries have then. Give them a bell, don't do it the hard way, this way might have a better chance.

Good luck

diccus

Good luck Mike.
The only time I succeeded in quitting was 5 years ago. One day I said that's it, arranged to see the nurse at the GPs. She said patches seemed the best option as previous attempts with gum and such like failed.
I came back form hols and did 2 weeks of patches, and then on my own, not 1 cigarette since.
I put on a bit of weight though.

5 years for me. I still save the money and take the family on an annual holiday with the saving!

Mike,

I went cold turkey on 1 April 1980 and haven't looked back. No such thing as patches in those days, just sheer will power and lots of won't power to boot!

Good luck

Brad

I quit the day my son was born (21 years ago almost)....and it wasn't that hard after the first 20 years!!

Seriously though, it was easier than I thought it would be. Don't substitute lollipops though as you don't want your teeth to fall out! Good luck!

Cheers

Jim

Fuck me Stu ! Do you still have nightmares?

...kinell. That is shocking mate...they need you on the TV for the shock ad's for smoking.

Terrible drug.

Toady is the first anniversary of the death of my best mate Graham who died of lung cancer at the age of 61, and who I knew for over 40 years.

He didn't smoke that much, but for years he always had a cough first thing in the morning which he would attribute to either a slight cold, dust from working on something, or some other excuse.

He was ill for a couple of years before they finally diagnosed the cancer: sometimes tumours can be invisible to normal methods of detection and it was only when the cancer spread to his spine that it was identified.

He died relatively quickly but in great pain. Hearing he was on his last legs I drove down to Haywards Heath and within ten minutes of me arriving at the hospital he died as I held his hand.

In the course of my work I've seen at first hand the pain and misery smoking has caused to people who smoke and their families. It's never too late to give up, and there's no time like now to do so.

Bear in mind smoking isn't the only cause of lung cancer, dust, fibres and other nasties too.
Some people have contracted it without smoking a single cigarette in their lives.
I am NOT supporting smoking BTW.

My sister has smoked for ~30 years. I remember when she came to visit once, and she had a hacking cough for five minutes when she woke up every morning.

"Oh, that's just a kickstart," she said, as if it weren't insane to do that every morning.

Her eyesight is going, courtesy of cigarettes. She's down to four a day, and her eyes don't seem to be getting worse.

I shudder to think about it.

If you register with the NHS quit smoking website, they will send you an email every so often (daily at first) telling you the new positive developments for your body that have occurred as a result of your not smoking.

This was a real help to me. I still got an annual email on the anniversary of quitting for ages - maybe I even still do. This was years ago, so I hope they still do it.

Googling the (unfortunate in the circumstances) name "Barb Tarbox" - a Canadian cancer victim who spent the terminal part of her illness visiting schools to try and get the children not to smoke - might help find a very moving film that will help also.

Dare I say this - stopping smoking is actually very easy indeed. It is wanting to stop that's tricky. If you really truly deeply feel that you're through with wanting to smoke, then it will not prove as difficult as you might expect.

I wish you every success.

reading this thread and the stories , has given me a great deal motivation for when I try seriously to quit for the second time, in a few days on my birthday. Hopefully it will do the same for others who read it. I had quit for about 7 months two years ago and I felt fantastic, even after just a few weeks. Gained a bit of weight at first, but it meant that my mom stopped bugging me to eat more for the first time !

Good luck to anyone else who is quitting

( and don't be scared about the small weight gain, in my case I started jogging because I had so much energy and my lungs were better even after a few months, that took care of any extra pounds ) I am really looking forward to feeling like that again.

cheers

Just in case you need more motivation:

Stick the money in a pot. 20 a day is 5 CD's a week approximately!

The positive effects of quitting start from day one, but the repair mechanisms of your body mean that after approximately 10 years your risk of vascular disease and smoking related cancers drops to effectively the same as somebody has never smoked. It is never too late to quit.

If it goes wrong, plan another attempt. Most people who keep trying do eventually quite succesfuly. The key to success is motivation, and planning.

Good luck

Bruce

i have been yearning for a smoke today, but reading stu's account of his friend dying in his arms squashed that like water on a fire.

this thread is helping. i have read it three times today.

thanks to all of you.

It's like any addiction. Use the mantra "one day at a time".
Good luck

I finished smolking "cold turkey style" about six weeks ago.

No obvious health benefits, but then I did not smoke verry much.

I suddenly found that I was not reslly enjoying the taste any more. Not much point if I did not enjoy the taste ...

Dear Mike,

Best of luck!

ATB from George

drink lots of water to clear out the nicotine from your system, friends have said they smell and taste new things after quiting.

My mom quit when I was about 10 in mid 60s, she'd read a paper I'd written in class that I didn't like the ashes in the trash cans. Then at a party an attractive woman walked in and refused cigarettes from the men. Mom said to dad "you don't mind if I smoke do you?" dad said "No I'll get a younger wife next time" WOAH, mom was really shocked, and determined that would be her last, and it was. They're both still going at 87, married for 61 of those.

quote:

Originally posted by Frank F:
For you lucky people in the UK, picture of Gordon Brown and a reminder of how he has screwed you all helps to keep you going,

For somebody who lists their location as "Poland and Spain" that is painfully insightful!!

Cheers

John

Best of luck to your quitting.

Watching my mom die (slowly) of lung cancer and it's not pretty. The odd thing is that I always thought it would get my dad first. He started at age 12!

Here's to your health!

Exercise is addictive too, and maybe starting jogging and beginning a healthy food regime might make you a health bore that will overshadow any cravings for smokes.
Maybe not, I dunno - but what I DO know is that however you do it, you need to make it work. We are all behind you Mike, and are willing you on.
Just deal with it in the present, and then once you've mastered that, set yourself a reward scheme. Take the money you would normally spend - in cash - and put it in a box or jar where you can see it grow, and then focus on how long you can go before you dip into it, and what you could buy if you let it grow. It has to be visible to keep you remembering.
Good luck Mike.
It really does matter.

A Smokelss Polish Piss-up without a ciggy in sight, this evening!

We are winning, Frank!

ATB from George