Any tips on how to survive it??????????? need help - first time trying to quit, have failed at the first seemingly insurmountable hurdle bedore!!! AV x
As you probably know, it's all down to willpower, with the only real weapon you have being your mind. Whenever you think you need to smoke try to rationalise it in logical terms. Here are some things to use as ammunition:
Every ciggie you have extends the time the nicotine is in your bloodstream. Fall down and have one drag, even after a week, and you're straight back to square one. You'll have put yourself through all that misery for nowt. If you can stay "clean" for a week you'll have got all that nicotine out of your system. After that you're only fighting the physical habit of holding, drawing, and inhaling. I know some people who've used nicotine substitutes to quit, but it takes a lot longer, is a lot more expensive. And who wants to be addicted to nicotine flavoured gum?!! I don't know how much ciggies are nowadays, but do a quick sum to see how much that costs you each year. How many weeks every year do you work to fund the habit? If you want, put that money in a jar every day and watch how fast it accumulates. Maybe set yourself a target to buy something extravagant which you wouldn't normally be able to afford, or just feel smug at how much you're saving. If you're out and someone offers you a ciggie, just tell them you don't smoke. That helps you to reinforce the fact that you're now a non-smoker, and stops them trying to twist your arm all night long. For some smokers, one of the best ways they have of making themselves feel better about it is to convince others to join in. Let's face it, we all started smoking because someone else made us do it. Who in their right mind would carry on after the first one if they weren't trying to impress someone else or be in with the crowd? Talking about the first one, do you remember what that tasted like? How did you feel afterwards? I know mine was disgusting, made me feel dizzy, and I almost threw up. If you give up for even a short time, that's what your first one will do all over again. You don't notice it, but smoking makes you, your clothes, and everything you own stink. After a short while as a non-smoker you'll start to smell that on other people. You'll even be able to tell when people passing you in the street are smokers just by the whiff they give off. The smell lingering round your house will also be subconsciously tempting you to smoke. After you stop, get some Febreeze or similar and freshen up your furnishings/curtains etc. Even your "clean" clothes will probably have a slight odour, so think about running them all through a rinse cycle to spruce them up. If you're successful (and you will be!) after two years you can legally state you're a non-smoker on life assurance policies, which will cut the ost of them significantly. * Being a non-smoker opens up your potential swinging partners too!
There are lots of other good reasons to quit, and none to keep smoking, but above all else remember this one: Smoking kills! And that's not kittens, or children in the third world, or something else far removed from your life - it kills YOU!! YOU will be the one doing the dying! YOU will be the one terminally ill in a hospice! YOU will be the one leaving people behind to mourn you! I would wish you good luck, but luck has nothing to do with it. You will be the one giving up. You're the one doing all the hard work. You're the one doing it for you and those close to you. You'll be the one letting yourself down if you fail. No pressure there then? :lol2: Cubes, non-smoker since 1997. ;) * You should check that with the insurance company. It was correct when I stopped but might have changed since.
I have a modified gas mask and large supply of tobacco that says this is wrong....testing starts this afternoon :twisted: 100 % of none smokers die!!!!
Good luck, I gave up after a bad bout of flue in 2002, I was too ill to smoke and thought if I can do that when I am ill, I can do it now I am feeling better and did. I had a stressful moment about a week after I had started trying to give up, and said that's it I am having one, I light it up, took a large drag and in-hailed, I nearly chocked and it tasted horrid. I never looked back from then onward's One thing that helped me was having some available if I thought I needed them, having none available was a big panic for me, but knowing if all failed, I had some, made it easier for me.
I switched to Ecigs about 18 months ago - substituted 90% of my smoking with "vaping" with no effort. No one is saying ecigs are good for you, but they're a whole lot less bad. It's not the nicotine that's harmful to your health - it's the smoke with it's carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons - it's the same whether you smoke tobacco or lettuce. with vaping, there's no smoke as nothing is burning. There are no known carcinogens in the vapour (it's the same stuff as the fake dry ice they use in shows, clubs, gigs etc). As a mate of mined observed - "So a bit like a Glade plug in then" . Don't be seduced by the cheapo kits for around £30, tried one, they're pretty rubbish, but good enough to have given me the confidence that a better device might work. In my case I spent about £70 on a more industrial strength device and found the amount of vapour produced was enough like smoking so that I could vape as opposed to smoke, and not have to use any effort of will. I have tried to give up ciggies loads of times, once managing 6 months, but every day was like the first day, it never got any easier. It wasn't the nicotine I missed - you can flush that in about 48 hours cold turkey, but the "throat hit" that you get from the smoke. That's what "vaping" gives me. I still have the "odd" ;) rollup, but no longer feel hooked on ciggies and my sense of smell is much more acute, along with being able to run faster and for longer. Obviously, if you can stop altogether that would be best, but in my case, having smoked 30 or 40 rollups a day for 30 years or more, it's an incredibly hard habit to break. Good luck
I'm a non-smoker but a tip I heard for stopping was to clean you teeth whenever you felt the pull of the tobacco. Obviously that doesn't work in the bus but even at work you can nip into the loo and give the Aquafresh a go. It also works for dieting. I heard that chewing gum was ok but not great as you are still using your mouth to chew. Your mouth has to get used to not doing anything. Of course if you can keep your mouth busy with something non-addictive and non-fattening that would help. I'll leave it to you to choose what. :giggle:
Quote by anais Anyone tried that herbal tobacco you get from Health Food Stores? Well done for giving up Amber :-)
Yeah, tried it ages ago - didn't like it - was like smoking dried tree leaves - which is what it is The point is, the harmful thing about smoking is not the nicotine, it's the polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are carcinogenic. These are present in any burnt vegetable material. So it's just as bad to smoke lettuce or asparagus as it is to smoke tobacco. Also, many people don't realise how much PAH there is in bonfire smoke, barbecue smoke etc. Wood smoke is heavily laden with these chemicals and prolonged exposure should be avoided Yes nicotine is a mildly addictive stimulant, but the addiction to nicotine can be flushed in about 48 hours cold turkey, or at the most, within a week. As I said earlier, whenever I've given up, the thing I miss and crave is the "throat hit" from the smoke. E-cigs give me that throat hit, without any smoke (it's a vapour), and I've substituted between 80 and 90% of my smoking with "vaping". But I take my hat off to anyone who can kick the habit entirely, particularly if they've been a heavy smoker for several years. Good luck!
I gave up in January last year after over 30 years of enjoying it. I knew I had to because I could feel the effect it was having on my long-term health. Absolutely hated the first few weeks, but there were a few pointers that really helped me: Recognise that you're going to get cravings that may feel like they are taking over your life for a couple of minutes at a time. Accept that this is part of giving up. This is your body fighting with something that you know is illogical (after all, who really wants to kill themselves slowly by poisoning if they think about it?) and it's ok for you to feel irratable or miserable or any one of 100 more things about it. Rather than saying to yourself and other people "I'm giving up" or "I've stopped", rephrase it as "I'm choosing not to smoke today". I know it seems daft but with the first you're denying yourself something that you previously wanted, and with the latter you're making a positive decision to do something different. It's a little thing - every little thing will help to make a difference. Don't beat yourself up if you give in - just take it as a temporary setback on the new journey you're carving for yourself. You've spent a lot of time teaching yourself deeply ingrained habits that are probably associated with lots of pleasurable things (I used to like smoking after a meal or when out drinking) so it takes time to change that path in your brain. Put a load of burnt out butts into a jar and have a smell of it every now and then to remind yourself why you want to give up. Set yourself small but achievable goals and reward yourself when you reach them. Thinking about next year or more is too far away at this stage. Try to aim for not smoking for days or weeks at a time instead. Get your friends and loved ones to help. Ask them not to discuss it constantly if you don't want to; ask them not to smoke in front of you if they're smokers. Over 12 months down the line I know I'm not perfect with it. I put on weight and I've had parties where I've given in to the evil weed and smoked for the evening...certainly known about it the morning after! But on times like this I just tell myself that I am now a non-smoker who occasionally slips from grace. This has happened less and less for me and I'm proud that I've managed it. The next thing is laying off the pies and choccy! Good luck with it. :thumbup: PS: I'm also pleased to say that I've not turned into one of those born-again non smokers who criticses those who choose to smoke. I'm a firm believer in individual choice providing it doesn't harm other people, and I choose to let smokers light up in my own home. I can always open the window after they've gone.
Quote by easyrider_xxx Anyone tried that herbal tobacco you get from Health Food Stores? Well done for giving up Amber :-)
Yeah, tried it ages ago - didn't like it - was like smoking dried tree leaves - which is what it is The point is, the harmful thing about smoking is not the nicotine, it's the polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are carcinogenic. These are present in any burnt vegetable material. So it's just as bad to smoke lettuce or asparagus as it is to smoke tobacco. Also, many people don't realise how much PAH there is in bonfire smoke, barbecue smoke etc. Wood smoke is heavily laden with these chemicals and prolonged exposure should be avoided Yes nicotine is a mildly addictive stimulant, but the addiction to nicotine can be flushed in about 48 hours cold turkey, or at the most, within a week. As I said earlier, whenever I've given up, the thing I miss and crave is the "throat hit" from the smoke. E-cigs give me that throat hit, without any smoke (it's a vapour), and I've substituted between 80 and 90% of my smoking with "vaping". But I take my hat off to anyone who can kick the habit entirely, particularly if they've been a heavy smoker for several years. Good luck! Well I tried some (friend was trying it) so my home now smells of marsh mellows... to some that's preferable to the smell of ciggie smoke but I'm beginning to feel a bit sick as everywhere I go I can smell bluddy marsh mellows now :? I didn't think it was that bad to smoke if honest... I did mix it with a bit of baccie today tho PS Varken - good one you flower :thumbup:
i guess its all about will ive never smoked so dont know how hard it is to give up. i gave up drinking a few years ago and used the money i saved to go down the gym. for me when ive wanted to stop doing something and have some sort of control ive made myself busy and hardened. its all up to you and how much you want to do it. dont give up and push yourself to defeat it. good luck, hope it works out for me know how your doing with the cravings.
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