Has anyone tried given up smoking here? If so, how successful were you?

[XRchic]

Hi everyone

I was just wondering who on here has attempted giving up the smokes? If you have attempted, is this your first attempt or have there been a few? Has anyone actually been successful and stayed off them for good? If so, how did you do it? Cold turkey, patches and gum or just a gradual cut back?

I ask because I have recently begun a new attempt to give up. I have gone cold turkey. I have not had a cigarette in two weeks and two days. Not a single puff. No patches, no gum. Just cut them out and that was that.

I have smoked since I was about 15 and I am now nearly 34. I gave up when I became pregnant with both of my kids and did not have a single cigarette during their pregnancies. I also did not smoke when I was breastfeeding them. I did take it up again when they were around 6 months old as my now ex, smoked too and it was so hard to resist.

I have not had any other attempts, other than those two. This is the longest I have gone without cigarettes since very early 1998.

The first few days were bad as the nicotine withdrawls hit. Once that went, then it has just been a matter of breaking the habit. I have had a few tests: a long driving trip (to Melbourne and back) and a good few hours in a pub last weekend with lots of people smoking. I resisted both, with difficulty.

I am sick of the cost, the smell on my clothes, my kids hated it that I smoked and my fella hated it with a passion. So I had a few reasons and now that I decided I was ready to do it, I have decided to go ahead and try.

So far so good. I honestly do not know if this will be a permanent thing and I am taking it day by day. I dont know if I am going to give in one day and just start up. But my Dad has given up with me and that is great because he is a diabetic asthmatic!

Anyway, does anyone have their "giving up story" to tell?

Cheers

Jac

[EA2BA]

Well all i can say is that from experience with my wife, the cravings will haunt you till the day you die, but on the bright side, good luck, be strong and hope you succeed.

[smciner1]

Good luck with it Jac.

[Bucknaked]

I was a smoker since about 18. Quit at 31. 30 smokes a day. I quit on News Years Day 2001. My myself and Julie and gave up the habit at the same time. We went cold turkey. Did it plenty of times before, but after 2 months we were back on again. But in 2001, she was 3 months pregnant. So we made it a joint effort to kick the habit. Our reasons were simple. Smoke free environment for our child, before and after birth. Plus I'd like to be able to kick a footy, play cricket with him without running short on breathe. Generally, I wanted to be around longer to enjoy my children.

We have been smoke free ever since.

Cravings yes, still. Not as bad as the first few months. And I figured once I stop dreaming I was a big cigarette, then I was almost through the difficulties.

If you can quit, thats excellent. You will get support in everyone you know. We want you to suceed. So good luck. Hope you have the will power and drive to do it.

[Jamie XR6]

I started smoking quite young and only gave up 4 years ago. It's the best thing I ever did and will never have a smoke again. I even have dreams where I've dreamt I've started smoking again and wake up in a panic thinking what have I done?

I went on the patches, I think they were 12 hour patches. The dreams you have as you go through withdrawal are great. They are so vivid and real that you will remember most of them when you wake.

When you go on patches, you wont feel like a smoke for about a week. During the first 3-4 days you will still reach for a smoke out of habit. Get rid of all your smokes, lighters and ash trays from the house. The cravings will start after a week. Get over them (it will take a few weeks) and you won't look back. The most important thing to remember is DONT smoke while on patches, you can get nicotine posioning.

It takes a lot of willpower but it's worth it. Save the money that you would normally spend on smokes and reward yourself by spending it every now and then on yourself.

While I don't get cravings anymore, I have to admit there is sometimes when I think that I could do with a smoke right now, but don't give in.

I'm healthier and feel better than I ever did while I smoked.

Good luck, trust me, the end result is worth it.

[Perana]

Good luck with it Jac !

[Feathers]

My Dad quit for 9 months last year.
He had a really bad cold and just said he couldn't be bothered smoking. He never craved them, he said it wasn't hard at all.
The only reason he went back, was bacause he had 2 cartons sitting in his office and didn't want to throw them out.
I guilt trip him now since we're pretty close, that obviously he doesn't love me as much as he says he does if he won't quit for me.
When I was a kid I used to get up early, before he went to work, and hide his cigarettes under a cushion on the lounge.

As it is now I made a sign that sits in front of his desk saying:
"For every cigarette you smoke it is 5 minutes off your life. Please quit"

[Feathers]

MY 2IC at work quit cold-turkey last NYE, still hasn't touched one. Has no desire to.
Considering she smoked Winnie Reds, thats pretty good.

My 87 year old grandfather smoked from about 18 until he was 50. He quit after he had his first heart attack, and now his doctor says he has the lungs of a 30yr old non smoker.

[Jamie XR6]

Originally Posted by Feathers

My 87 year old grandfather smoked from about 18 until he was 50. He quit after he had his first heart attack, and now his doctor says he has the lungs of a 30yr old non smoker.

It takes around 10 years for your lungs to heal themselves to somewhere how they were before you started smoking.

[Danny]

Wow! Some good stories there

I've been smoking since I was 17. I'm now 20 and have no real plan to quit however I will give it a go in the next year or so.

Mum smoked from about 15 to 21 years and gave up cold turkey, shes never had one since so hopefully wit ha bit of luck i can do the same ;)

-Danny

[Whitey-AMG]

First puff at 8.......Full time gaffer at 16.......by 19 I was a packadayer.
Went cold turkey heaps of times but always went back on em was a smoker until 28.........when my wife fell pregnant. This was the deciding moment. like others here have said, I wanted a smoke free environment at home for my kids. I went cold turkey again, but this time the will was so much stronger that it was almost easy. Haven't touched the death sticks for 9 years now.

Feel heaps better and have spent all the cash that would have gone up in smoke on the ESP..............WIN WIN all around.

Anyone can do it, you just need the right motivation.

[Jase]

I got the flu bad one day about a few years ago, stopped smoking nd havent taklen it up since

When Im a bit tipsy Im known to have a few , but thats about it. No desire to smoke a pack a day

[PULLY6]

Originally Posted by Jase

I got the flu bad one day about a few years ago, stopped smoking nd havent taklen it up since

When Im a bit tipsy Im known to have a few , but thats about it. No desire to smoke a pack a day

I'm the same.

[Paris Hilton]

Never taken it up, tyres are too expensive for a poor student like me :(

[Deadman]

Originally Posted by Selekta

Never taken it up, tyres are too expensive for a poor student like me :(

lol... they were more important to me when i was a student.. i'd go without food just to have mu durries :nutsycuck

but don't take it up!! they are a waste of money amoung other things (smelly, bad for health etc) ... put the money back into more important things like cars and beer :

[XRchic]

Good luck Yummy Mummy! I hope you are successful, I really do. I dunno about you guys, but knowing that other people are going through the same thing really gives you a bit of encouragement, especially when you hear about other successful attempts! Listening to different perspectives and experiences about giving up also gives me things to think about and additional motivation to stay off them which I may not have thought about previously. So thanks guys!

Good luck to you too Mechan1k - seriously, the cravings do get a lot better over time and you are probably through the worst of it by now anyway!

And thanks Ford Falcon XR6, for your support as well! You are right though, giving up is the best thing you can do and it is a really bad move to start it in the first place. That is my biggest regret - starting smoking in the beginning! That would be my advice to any young person - no matter how cool or tough it looks, just DONT START IT! Your mates might laugh at you for not having a try but later down the track, you will be laughing at them when they are coughing their guts up all day and paying $15 a day for the priviledge.

Still, so far so good here. Still havent had another and neither has my Dad. And I am wanting one less and less. My boyfriend is sitting next to me right now and he just told me that he really appreciates me not sitting next to him stinking like smoke all the time and not smoking in the new house.

Even if I couldnt do it for me, I would do it for him and my kids.

[Racecraft]

Im a pack-a-day meathead. Tried to quit only the once, lasted for 9 months and am ready to have another shot at it simply because you can't smoke in peace anymore. The laws about where you can smoke take the enjoyment out of it for me.

[Captain Stubing]

I gave up almost 5 months ago. I try to stay scared at the thought of having just one... that will undo all the crap I had to go through to get this far! After 20 years of smokin' I feel good now!

[NAK302]

it's been about 6 weeks for me now. cold turkey, with cravings real bad for about a week. my wife still smokes and the smell annoys me. how hypocritical is that
good luck with it, be strong in your mind and try not to hang around people or places that could influence you :monkes:

[Jamie XR6]

Originally Posted by nak351

it's been about 6 weeks for me now. cold turkey, with cravings real bad for about a week. my wife still smokes and the smell annoys me. how hypocritical is that

Not really hypocritical.

I gave up cold turkey in the early 90s for two years. My wife wouldn't give up but that didn't worry me too much. The hardest part was going to a pub. I didn't feel like a smoke but those smoking around me would cause my eyes to water, I couldn't handle it, or the smell. I really started to feel crook and had to leave. I just couldn't stay in a pub at all. In the end it was just easier to start smoking again.

When I gave up using patches I found that the smell or being around smokers didn't worry me at all. I had none of the problems I had after giving up cold turkey. I will not let people with a smoke anywhere near my car but being in a pub or club etc is fine.

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by nak351

my wife still smokes and the smell annoys me. how hypocritical is that

Nah, don't worry, it's not just you, I've heard it called the "annoying ex-smoker syndrome" - some say we're the worst kind of non-smokers. I try not to complain about it, I'm sure that when the time is right, there will no longer be any smokers in this house, and me complaining about it isn't going to make that time arrive any faster, quite possibly the opposite.

I started smoking when I was 15, quit a few times (cold turkey), but always started again within a short while, until a bit over a year ago (I'm 27 now).

I think it varies from person to person, I didn't find I got that much in the way of cravings, for me it was more of a physical habit, the whole "doing something with your hands" bit.

Good luck with it, to all those who still smoke and are considering or trying to kick the habit!

[T_Terror]

I quit this year after 8 years of smoking although i was on and off hardly smoking for last year.

My experience is that the social aspect pulls you in the hardest. Try to avoid going out with workmates for those smoko breaks and just fight hte urge whenever others light up.
Eventually itll start tasting like crap anyway.

[Damo]

i gave up smoking dope, that was hard enough. I think i'd be better off giving up grog rather than quitting smoking. I don't think i'll be around for too long anyway.. soo.

[GTP 320]

I gave up back in 1990,went Cold Turkey(one day i just through the packet of smokes and lighter out the car window) and have never had a smoke since.You just have to have a strong desire to give up ,it's the best thing that i have done,the food taste better and feel better for it, no more inhaling the poison.
Good luck Jac,i wish you all the best and think of all the money that you will save. lol
Cheers John

[MO]

Good Luck Jac....been on them since 12....gave up giving up..be strong hope you make it.

[The Mighty Red]

I gave up 6 weeks ago yesterday 35-40 a day for a long time , started when i was 15 now 39, along with giving up drinking it is without doubt the hardest thing I have ever done,
I was on patches for 3 weeks and then i decided to have a go without them , so far so good , i am getting really cranky really quickly over nothing, I am eating a packet of butter scotch lollies a day , i have put on a 1.5 stone since i stopped which for me is a good thing,
Gave up for 6months about 8 years ago but going to the pub everday soon got the better of me and I folded ,
This time i really want to stop and I dont go to the pub so fingers crossed i've had my last smoke!

[XRchic]

Seems to be the common hurdle is going to the pub! I agree though, the pub is hard, but I did it on Saturday night!

Another trigger for me is driving, especially long drives. Also after dinner, and first thing in the morning and at morning tea with a coffee. Talking on the phone and being on the internet are other triggers for me. Hmmmm.

Seems a fair few on here have been successful too, which is great. And yes, I am saving money - I went from smoking a pack a day (4mg smokes) of 40 down to zero - that's around $15 a day!

And Im not paying for patches etc either, so I am really saving the cash.

I am also very lucky that my partner doesnt smoke at all - so not only do I have the support, but I also dont have to smell it around me at home, or see a nice half empty pack lying around in a tempting manner...

I have to say, I am not feeling as bad as I thought I would, re cravings. And I dont think I have been as grumpy as I thought I would be either.

Good luck to all of you who are giving up as well!

Jac

[LuvinmyEB]

I stopped two weeks ago but didn't make it past the three day mark (the same day I saw what had happened to my car), I should have thrown out the rest of my smokes, lighters, ash trays etc.

I've signed up with Nicabate now and I have to set another date to give up, I get phone calls and newsletters from them. I've tried so many times to give up cold turkey and gone back to them because there was always someone else in the house that smoked.

So it looks like I'll be trying out the patches.

Good on you Jac for having such strong will power, stick with it.

[Yaw]

Mate it's been since april 2004 since my last cigarette.
Thats an honest not a single puff at all.
I started using the patches for the first two weeks and gave up them as
they just would not stick on all day as I sweat easily.
So I just went cold turkey.
Best advise I can give is keep away from drinking during the frist few months and with a smoker ban smoking inside the house.
I could still kill for one but the cravings do get shorter and shorter, that is the feeling of "needing one" lasts only a few minutes now, it no longer feels like life or death if I don't get one.
I smoked since I was 12 years old and was smoking nearly 40 a day.
My biggest thing with it was not for health or wanting to give it, it was financial. I just could not justify spending $13-15 a day on it.
I was actually feeling guilty when I did buy them in front of my girlfriend (now wife).
I wish you the best of luck and if you do faulter....just keep trying

[The Mighty Red]

lol Jac , its not until you give up that you realise how everything you do revolves around smoking, Good luck with it .