Apologies in advance

[Thunder]

Your doing great davway, i gave up on wednesday. Caught the flu and my lungs had an "episode" that were exasterbated by my smoking. So to help clean out my lungs, i have gone cold turkey too.

Everything still tastes like crap though...........and the "filtering" of my lung deposits is terrible. :

[Unco]

well done, davway. fiery got it spot on. you really have to 'want' to quit. you have to commit 100% to it and that's why you're succeeding.

good luck to all others currently kicking the habit. it is definitely a tough one.

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by stockoau

quiting is easy, or atleast for me, until someone hands you a beer. I've quit several times for periods up to and exceeding a year, and its always after a bender that I take up again. Next time I'll quit drinking as well.

The secret is to not get upset with yourself when you slip and have one smoke. Most quiters get angry at themselves that they had 1 cig, and get back into smoking because of it. The trick is to accept the "occasional" cigarette and continue with your non-smoking ways.

Treatting the odd cigarette as a "treat" rather than a lack of self control will help you stay a non-smoker.

[holmsy]

i think alot of people smoke due to habit not as much because of cravings.

good luck mate. great to hear you can feel the differences allready.

[Falcon_Crazy]

Giving up after 13 years was the best thing I ever did. taste, smell and sleep returned to normal. I didn't gain weight and drink the same as i did when i smoked - i can now appreciate the taste of beer.

I went cold turkey - kept away from mates who smoke for a bit and when at the pub, stayed well clear of the smoking areas.

Good luck - keep it up; you seem to have a positive spin in it rather than a negative one and this will get you through it.

[I FluXx I]

good luck with it all mate. Not buying smokes means more money for mods!

[Marlene]

Good luck.

My farther quit in 1989 due to health reasons and hasn't touched one since.

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Thunder

The secret is to not get upset with yourself when you slip and have one smoke. Most quiters get angry at themselves that they had 1 cig, and get back into smoking because of it. The trick is to accept the "occasional" cigarette and continue with your non-smoking ways.

Treatting the odd cigarette as a "treat" rather than a lack of self control will help you stay a non-smoker.

Exactly.

It's been 2 years now since I gave up smoking altogether ... but every so often I have had the odd ciggie ... I had one on the weekend when my mates were around on my B'day bender.

But i know it was only going to be that night ... God I felt like crap the next morning though after that ciggie ... coughing crap out of my lungs. Makes you realise how bad the cigs were and how much better you are for getting off them.

The amount of money your save is amazing.

And yes ... the intial for week or 2 after quitting ... your dreams are weird ... well mine were when i was on the patches .... so i ditched them and just kept on going without smoking.

The hard part was after filling up the car at the servo and rocking up at the counter (the normal place I used to buy ciggies from ... and having to force myself not to look up at the ciggie wall behind the attendant ... and just pay for my fuel and walk out.

But you get past it. It is hard when you are bored as well. But it comes downto will power too.

[Eb Barbie]

Originally Posted by davway

day 6 today.
havent slipped up, not even once.
had the few odd desires here and there but i think that was more of a habit thing than a craving.
that bad taste has gone and food is tasting a lot better.
oh, something i have noticed now: smokers really do smell!

Wow congratulations! You must be so proud of yourself. And yes, believe it or not they do smell! Your making good progress if your noticing that already!! Keep up the good work

[vandrsxr6]

How ya going with it DAVWAY?

I started yesterday. Been meaning do do it for a while now and it helped that i woke up with a saw throut. I've tried a few times which hasn't really worked, hopefully this time i can stick to it. I've got the patches on which are helping alot.

Fingers crossed this time lucky.

[Thunder]

I have fallen back on to the ciggies....doh!:

[Kryton]

well im still off them. i think its like day 16 or something now.
im confident enough to have my first drink without the smokes.
id say the first three days are the key to getting off them. after that you stop thinking about it and dont really want any.
i still have most of a pack of 50's sitting on the fridge. havent even wanted to have one yet.
wish me luck, im gonna crack a stubby!
this will be the ultimate test.

[rodderz]

Me and missus got back from our honeymoon about 3 weeks ago, finished off our holiday supply and haven't had one since. She still gets cravings but I've been fine, havent even wanted one.

I didnt smoke much at home it's sometimes in routine like after lunch at work, but I've never been hanging for one. In the past when I've given up for a while you have one and it's like having that 1st one again...with hooks in it

[uranium_death]

Well done on giving up the cigs.

Months ago I wrote about my nail biting and how after 20 years of nailbiting (I was almost cannibalistic -ate the nail and skin) I stopped.
Many times I tried and tried and failed. All of a sudden I stopped...not planned at all.

Even then, I have noticed that my fingers don't look retarded anymore, they cleaner and there's no pain.

Now, smoking is a deadly habit that smells like the billy-o. Really glad it's going so well.

Like my nailbiting, the greatest reward isn't necessarily the physical gain, but the psychological one where you know you can accomplish the difficult, as well as do what is right for you.

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by uranium_death

Like my nailbiting, the greatest reward isn't necessarily the physical gain, but the psychological one where you know you can accomplish the difficult, as well as do what is right for you.

exactly. thats the biggest achievement for me.
if i can do something with ease, that everyone says is so hard to do, what else can i do?
4 Turkeys down and all is well!
i have passed the ultimate test and came out on top :

[Kryton]

Well, 6 months TODAY :
i havent had a smoke, wanted a smoke, cared if people smoke around me, or anything.
i think the key is the first 3 days, after that your basically set.
i feel better, i dont cough anymore, i actually had one less cold since i quit (usually get sick on season changes), i dont wake up with sore lungs after a big night drinking, generally i feel a lot better than i did.
cant say ive saved any money because i havent BUT ive had a lot more money to spend on things i want.
Anyway, give it a try, it really isnt as hard as everyone and the TV makes it out to be.
i actually found it surprisingly easy to quit without any aids or help.
what have you got to lose by trying?

when you wake up, you've already quit for over 8 hours (or how ever long since your last smoke) so youve got a head start already.

[andrewts]

Congratulations mate, good effort. And you feel better and have more money to spend to boot, why wouldn't you quit!

[sarrge2001]

Well done mate - i'm on just over 28 weeks and i agree - that first three days is the hardest bit.

I still get the urge for a ciggie, but it doesn't last long.

Buggered if i know where that extra money has gone though........

[Scareybear]

Well Done

I'm on day 10, did'nt plan to give up on new years day, but happened to finish a pack on new years eve, and pretty much thought the same as you did, meh, can't be bothered smoking any more.

If I can hold out till next month when I'm taking some holidays, I should be fine, I usually smoke more at work.

[mattl]

Congratulations mate! Good effort..I'm just lucky i have never, and will never smoke!! It's a life change you've made now mate!!

[chief]

Congrats mate. i quit because I didn't feel like a smoke and managed to stay off them cold turkey. Its not as hard as all the ads make it out to be.

[Kryton]

Looks like its now been 10 YEARS today since I quit smoking!!
Congrats to me!!
A lot has changed in the world over the last 10 years.
Last pack of ciggies I bought cost $16 something for a pack of 50's, now the same ones are around $52!!
If your thinking of quitting, give it a shot.

[black13]

Originally Posted by Kryton

Looks like its now been 10 YEARS today since I quit smoking!!
Congrats to me!!
A lot has changed in the world over the last 10 years.
Last pack of ciggies I bought cost $16 something for a pack of 50's, now the same ones are around $52!!
If your thinking of quitting, give it a shot.

Well done, i gave the fags up when they were $10 for a 50 pack, best thing i did. I reckon i would be dead by now if i didn't

[ford71V8]

Last smoke I had was Aug 22, 2001. Cold turkey, never looked back.

[beardo]

What a great thread. Another reason why forums are so much better than facebook