Time to Quit

Yes thats right, after nearly 23 years I'm going to give up smoking.
Actually the missus said to me the other day that she wants to quit, I havn't tried because I knew I couldn't if she didn't and vise versa, so just went down to the chemist and bought a couple of "Ciganot"s , it's a plastic smoke to help curb the habbit of actually smoking, I don't think the nicotine thing is going to be much of a problem, it's the bit thats in the mind is going to be the tough part, so I pre empted a strike on that by buying fake smokes :-D

What gets me is all these quit smoking aids are 10 times more expensive than smokes.... what the hell is with that?

I think I'm just going to miss being so cool with a smoke hanging from my mouth :-D

Anyway........ here goes.... :major

 

Yeah but also think of how much "Coolness" I'm gonna lose :-D

Nah seriously, thanks for the wishes, I guess only time will tell, even if it fails and we end up smoking a quarter of what we do now then that will be something (Edit: scratch that, it's not gonna fial :strong ). We're trying to figure out how best to go about it, whether to stop dead (no pun intended) or to try and cut down first.
Not sure which would work for us.

Like I said, the hardest part I think is going to be the thing missing from my hand, hence buying the fake one. The real test will be my next day off work when I sit at the PC playing COD or some such game, thats when I smoke the most.
I actually found myself smoking one after almost every match in COD Black Ops online the other day, well simple math tells us thats approx 5-6 per hour!
I don't know why, it's almost like a "Phew, I survived, time to relax with a nice smoke" ... at least for 8 seconds before the next match starts, and then I play with it in my mouth , the smoke rising up and blinding me in one eye lol

Oo Oo, so maybe that means giving up smoking will improve my skills in COD online :-D ..... hows THAT for an original reason to quit lol

 

you'll be fine, so long as you don't get one of these inhalators

LOL looks like a tampon :confused wouldn't smoke one of those...


anyway, good luck!!!!

 

Good on you Ned, by far the dumbest thing I'm hooked on. Thought of going cold turkey often enough. Will quit some time- sooner the better.
Best wishes and stay strong. Keep us posted, it may just inspire me and others here aspiring to quit.

Cheers..

 

Good for you and the Mrs Ned, go for it! it's really too bad that everyone's different so try smoking the tampon or the gum or the patch. Whatever works initially but you'll still have to wean yourself off those too. I noticed that the first two weeks was essential in breaking the chemical addiction.

After that it's all behavioural, exercise, munch on low cal foods, avoid situations like going to a pub, using a basic yogic breathing technique (do the following for 4 secs each, breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold) or for as long as you initially can, that worked for me whenever I felt the need. One other thing is not to do it during a stressful time, like New Years, perhaps Valentine's day would be better.

A friend and his wife quit but they took Chanpix and are still smoke free several years later. Lot's of options and I hope one or more work for you.

 

Yeah Iam 24 and tring to quit. I found vapor cigs to work with the cig being in hand and etc.. also it has charger/plug in to your computer usb if you want.

 

Ned, I truly wish you and your wife complete sucess with kicking the habit. I understand 100% about wanting to quit and the wife not being ready to. I keep telling myself I am strong enough to quit even with her smoking but who am I fooling. It is a very nasty habit that is very hard to kick, but I believe if you two support each other each day it will be easier. Well, that's if you don't kill each other first. :-D
I'm joking. :-D Good for you both and the health benifits you gain from it will far out weigh the "cool" you may loose. Except of course if you are walking around with a "tampon" in your mouth and that would REALLY hurt the "cool" factor. :-D

All the best to you both,

Ian

 

Ned, I really wish you, and your wife, the best in your quitting smoking. :major
I've had deaths in my extended family due to the weed.
Fortunately none of my immediate family (including me) smoke.
So that's one less health item we have to worry about.

Keep us informed of your progress.

Bazza

PS: An old MG thread that may help you (and yours) give up. :-D
Quiting smoking.
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=126555

Baz

 

You can't believe everything you read

Good luck Nedlamar, hope you get through the first few days and keep going.

 

Good luck Ned!! It's difficult to quit, especially the first weeks or months. Try to stay away from activities that you associate smoking with. Drink plenty of water, juices etc. to cleanse your body from the toxins. What helped me to beat the urges/cravings was/is to go for a walk, anything that distract you from the nicotine receptors in your brain asking for a fix. Decades ago when I quit for 9 months I did crochet so many doilies and tablecloths to keep my hands busy and don't even like crochet stuff so I gave them away.

Don't go for Champix, the prescription drug that's supposed to help to quit. I've read about (mental) side-effects that ain't too pretty. In the USA it's called Chantix, thanks to the FDA who didn't want the drug sound like "champion" and requested the mfr. to change the name.

If you find that your appetite is increasing go for carrots to eat or stick them in your mouth instead when having the cravings for sweet stuff.

Here's a thread that FredG started some years ago and there are a few links (I recall) in there that may help you. http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=143686&highlight=quit+smoking&page=7 Seeing that thread and link made me decide to quit and did so.

Here's a link to Smokers Helpline in Canada. http://www.smokershelpline.ca/

My hubby quit for a few months this summer but went back on again. Bummer! At least he hasn't been smoking inside the home since I quit cold turkey on May 23, 2009 @ noon after abt 50 years of smoking.

Good luck Ned and keep in touch in how you're doing right here in your thread.

 

Well I was secretely hopeing to quit smoking this year to safe some money up for the xmas. I did quit then I went to cut down a lot. Now kinda back to where I was. But I really want to quit as well but just don't know when to start. Maybe new years resolution? Those vapor cigs I seen were pretty cool but I didn't want to smoke them after reading people comments on blurry vision and blind! Even tho regular cigs are more chemicals man I went back to normal cigs.

 

Good luck - I quit after smoking for over 25 years . . . while it was the hardest thing I've had to do, it was also the most rewarding. I haven't had a cigarette for over eight years now . . .

I did have to use the gum - and you have to be careful how you chew it and be patient with it for the first week. I also had to have a "placebo" cigarette for a while, in that I needed to have something in my hands. You can use a pencil or a pen shaft cut down to a cigarette size. I found that half the battle was the physical actions of smoking - something nicotine gum or patches does not address.

Best of luck to you in this endeaver. If you are like me, you have way enough coolness in reserve to make up for any loss . . . just ask my wife.

On second thought, don't ask her . . . :-D

 

Ned, stay with it, encourage your wife and yourself to do it for the healthy aspect, if nothing else. I used to deliver babies and would spend hours and hours (frequently all night long), waiting around in the delivery suite with nothing to do. I used to smoke 2+ packs a day for 25 years. I developed a mild case of emphysema and C.O.P.D. (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) that severely limits my ability to do any exertion (running, swimming, etc.)
I was STUPID - an M.D. who should have known better. I am paying for it now.

I am retired, play golf 3-4 days a week, and have to ride a cart instead of walking, which is really how it should be played.
I went to a friend (a shrink) and he hypnotized me and instilled into my head that I was no longer a smoker, didn't want to be, etc., etc. It worked.
I threw a gold Dunhill lighter and a new pack of cigs out the car window on my way home and have never smoked another again.
That was 20 years ago, when I was 50. I am living proof you can do it.
Do yourself a favor and live a happier, longer, healthier life by quitting. It is the hardest thing I have ever done, but it has really paid off.

Best of luck.

 

Thanks everyone for your encouragment, info and links.

Yesterday went fairly well, I had 1 when I got up, 1 on the way to work and 1 when I got home, mind you in order to resist the urge at work I went a 10 hour shift without a single break lol, I figured if I went outside it would be all too easy.
In actual fact it's not too bad so far, not had one today yet, hopefully wont.
Sitting here with my plastic smoke in mouth and feel 85% satisfied.

To save confusion and to answer a few comments, this plastic smokes has no tar or nicotine in it, it's simply a hollow plastic cig with a cotton insert injected with a kind of minty (menthol to other smokers lol) taste, but very mild.
I didn't want to do the patches or gum or supliments etc because as a couple of you said, you basically swap one drug for another.

The missus is finding it harder I think, she was at home yesterday and had about 10, which is a huge drop for her.

Also you have to remember there's still a handfull of smokes in the house, I'm not throwing them away simply because it's my money :-D
Although I think there's only maybe 8 left and I think I'm going to take the 2 I didn't smoke yesterday to work with me as a temptation and breeze through the day :strong

Don't tell her but I got 1 pack stashed for emergencies lol, in hind sight that seems like a lame idea but in honesty it's more for her, I dunno just in case she has a freak out in the next few days when the smokes are all gone, she doesn't know about the pack and it's hidden... and no, I have no intention of smoking them.

For me, having a pack in the house is a challenge, I like to be able to do things the hard way to prove to myself that I'm great lol, lay temptation down and resist.

If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything

George McFly.

But truely thanks for all your support

 

Ned, I tried to quit smoking by smoking less every day. That worked only for a little while for me. Within a few weeks it was back to "normal".

I also learned from my past attempts to stop smoking that I CANNOT have even have 1 cig. or I will start up again.

The best results have been and were for me to quit cold turkey, put away the ashtrays, dump the lighter and all cigarettes in the trash can. One's got to seriously put your mind to it otherwise it is too difficult to succeed. That monster of nicotine addiction is really, really serious. Always to be alert NOT to go back on them. Tough stuff Ned, but you CAN make it, as long you're determined that quitting is forever, but take it seconds, minutes, hours and days and weeks and months at a time.

I was hypnotized to stop smoking in 1 session, didn't have to come back according to the doc. Well.... the ciggies tasted horrible for the week after that and that bad taste went away after that and therefore kept on smoking. See, I wasn't determined enough to stop.

To select a time or day to stop didn't work for me either. I just stopped on May 23, 2009 at noon and said this is it!! because the ciggies tasted bad already since Jan 2006 but my receptors wanted the nicotine fix so I didn't even enjoy the smoking for a long time.

Chewing the gum made me cough and gave me a dry throat. The patches gave me red hot and very painful burning hives right where I did stick them so had to stop that. Realized then that I had to do it on my own, using my own willpower and determination.

Sometimes I really do feel the urge and long for the "good old" days in the past. Of course that's a lie my brain tells me because, even though I enjoyed them at that time, it's so bad for one's health.

One time I quit cold turkey for 9 months, my hubby was smoking at my side. It didn't bother me because I was determined but caved in when there was a family situation that was difficult to cope with. I was climbing hills with renewed ease while my hubby huffing and puffing behind me. That was decades ago. Therefore, quit while you're still young and you will reap the health benefits to a greater extent than when older. It also seems that with every new attempt to quit it seems to be more and more difficult to quit. So quit while you're ahead Ned.

Even if your wife doesn't quit, YOU can quit. Perhaps your wife will be encouraged by your strength and try to quit as well. Really there is no excuse not to quit if your partner is not ready to quit.

I told you the above about me to let you see the traps that one can fall in if not determined and serious enough about quitting.

Again, good luck Ned!!

 

Everybody said dont quit cold turkey to me thats better then going less and less... I find myself without smokes more moody and not as happy when not smoking.. Instead of going out and doing things I want to lay in sleep and get time past me.

 

See how we all take different roads to achieve the same goal? It took me some 7 serious and a few drunken tries before I quit for 6 years. Each time I learned something about the addiction and my reactions to habitual and stressful moments which helped me to see the devil in me better the next time, which was only me and my addicted brain and persona. :-D

Last time I started smoking was when I was in the hospital of all places! I got bored and had to go outside to smoke of course and there was a posse of us in wheelchairs out there and in the middle of winter! Blizzard here? What blizzard? How insane is that?:eek

It took me four more years to quit again just last year. I hope 'I got it right this time.' Excuses, excuses and more excuses in my case. Just like dieting, you can't go on a diet but one can do a lifestyle change.

 

Good luck Ned! I got a thread around here somewhere when I quit. I think cold turkey is the best way. Appropriate for the coming holiday. At least in the US.

Some 2007 vintage thread on quitting smoking. http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=126555 :-D

 

I'm not a smoker, but I know from experience (working on losing weight and developing a habit of regular gym visits) that it's much harder to break a bad habit when you're stuck at home with nothing to do.

Start working out, get her hooked on gaming, whatever it takes, but it really is much easier if you keep yourself and your mind too busy from thinking about the fact that you really want to smoke. As you probably know, or you wouldn't have done that 10-hour shift without taking breaks.

Augie's got it right. You've got to change your lifestyle, since your current lifestyle involves smoking. Lifestyle changes are much easier if you plan them around your life, instead of trying to force your life and habits into someone else's idea of a healthy lifestyle.

Good luck, and keep at it! You're off to a good start.

 

Nothing is insane enough to fill one's nicotine cravings with a "fag". Been there, done that. :-D

Congrats that you quit last year augie. :cool Yes, absolutely, it's a lifestyle thing and for some it may take a lifetime of having to be on the alert in order not to fall into that nasty habit again. Just like an addict/junkie. I read somewhere that some carry an addiction gene and therefore it's harder for some to quit than for others. Don't know whether that's true or not.

 

Exactly! I've got my previous addictions under control to the point that they don't even 'tug' at me anymore.:cool I'm of northern euro descent, my dad , uncle, granpa were all drunks and this is from both sides of the family. Nature or nurture, most likely somewhere in between.

Sorry Ned, I'll shut up now.

 

I quit smoking for ten years but lost it and started again (no excuses) I have tried several times since to stop again but the will power is not there, i am tested twice a year for lung function as part of my rehabilitation and they remain fairly good so no panic yet.

I stopped drinking many years ago and now do not touch a drop of alcohol (i was an alcoholic) so i suppose one out of two is better than nothing?????

I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor Ned you will i am sure give up the smelly weed.

Always say to your self "i do not like them and i do not need them"

 

Well it's day 3 of the attempt, the missus had a fit last night, I seriously think cold turkey is not for her so we're going to try the "Less and Less" aproach with me as her guide. In other words I'm going to keep a check on what she's smoking.
We both agreed if she goes cold turkey then she's going to cheat when I'm not around.

We normally buy smokes from the reserve, meaning $10 for 200 so the financial incentive is not there, but I told her I'm not going out to the res anymore and what she smokes will come from full price store cigs..... NOW the financial incentive has been added. It's worth a shot.

This whole thing was her idea, she doesn't want to quit smoking, she wants to stop coughing.... so I'm going to guide her through it.

As for me...... man this is a piece of cake so far, I got my plastic smoke and I'm pretty much good.
So I had 3 on Friday, 1 yesterday and none so far today and if I'm honest the craving is minimal. Hopefully I continue to feel this ok about it because it's been a breeze and they often say the first 72 hours is the hardest.... if this is as bad as it gets then I got this thing in the bag already :-D
The plastic smoke is REALLY helping, I knew the chemical addiction wouldn't be too much of a problem for me, more the thing missing from my hand.

The real test will come later today when I fire up COD online, thats my big "Smoke time" thing although I played the Sims 3 last night and I usually smoke a lot playing that because it's so slow paced but didn't have any although the craving was a little stronger...... but once again my plastic pal to the rescue :strong

All in all for myself I think it's going well so far, I know I'm only a couple of days in but it's much easier than I thought it would be.

Funny thing is, I don't really want to give up, I enjoy smoking and have for many years but I do worry about my health so I've started..... I may as well see it through to the end..... no sweat.... Ol' Ned's got it covered

Oh and I promise I wont lie to you guys, thats pointless lol so if I fall off the wagon I will come clean about it

 

"Oh and I promise I wont lie to you guys, thats pointless lol so if I fall off the wagon I will come clean about it"

That actually helped me a bit. I had posted here and on another forum, the shame of posting that I had smoked helped me a time or two when I was tempted.

Good Luck!

 

I mentioned that link in reply #11 :-D
Great minds save the same links.

Bazza

===

 

Well I've been playing COD most of the day and I've had 1, in 2 halves about 2 hours apart and I'm cool.
The missus is getting a grasp on it, she's had 5.
So far, so good... ish lol

Again thanks for the encouragment guys, means a lot

 

Ned, just my experience talking here. Nicotine withdrawal is rough. Go through it once and be done with it. I learned that when cutting back.

When I cut back to 4 or 5 a day, I was either wanting a smoke or dizzy from smoking.

But quit however you can! You can do it Ned. :cool

 

Same here Ned and Fred_G. :cool

 

Make sure you don't take up drinking instead. :-D

SPIKE JONES & CITY SLICKERS - COCKTAILS FOR TWO - 1945 :-D :major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvt4b_qwC_Q

Bazza

 

Or Coffee. roflmao
http://www.cosic.org/
CoSIC, the pan-European Coffee Science Information Centre, was established in the UK in 1990 by ISIC, the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee.

See thumbnail for more. :-D

 

Update, well since I started the attempt I have had exactly 6 smokes, so I guess thats about 1 per day..... but I'm disappointed because I'm not super fit yet :strong
:-D

Obviously this is not ideal but 1 a day is a fair bit better than 20.
And the missuss has so far held to her 5 per day, we discussed it last night and decided that we can both do it if we both keep a check on eachother.

I must admit though, I'm not sure if this is the addiction or just the way my mind works but I've struggled a little over the past couple of days because I've kind of got bored of trying lol, still pushing past it and yesterday was a real test since I was playing games pretty much all day. (which is when I smoke the most)

Anyway so far we're both pretty happy with the way things are going thus far, time will tell.

 

Hang in there Ned, I believe you can do it, just come on here each day and give an update, that will be the impetus to keep off the weed.

"I don't like them and i don't need them"

 

Great progress, Ned, not forgetting your good lady also.

Bazza

 

Must dissagree here, I DO like them but I don't need them :-D

Actually I have noticed that when I do have one I'm totally ambivalent about it, it doesn't wow me nor does it make me cough or think bad of them.
It's just the habbit, the plastic pal is working very well but it's just not the same.

Trying to think of an analogy to clarify, think of it like this.
I'm a gamer, my plastic pal is a 3 button mouse with no scroll...... a smoke is my Logitec 10 button hyper custom G9x... same thing but really not lol.

I wish this plastic thing was about 1/3 the weight and easier to draw on, it would then be almost identicle to a smoke but without the smoke.
The drawing part isn't too bad, just takes a bit more to get air moving.
But when I play games I've usually got a smoke either in my hand or most of the time hanging from my mouth and I've noticed this one is heavy, I mean it's not, it's maybe 3-4g but when hanging in my mouth my lips get sore and almost feel like they are cramping where I'm having to use more pressure to hold the thing there.

But such a thing does not exist so I will make do.

Having said that, one major bonus of my plastic pal is while playing a game with it hanging from my mouth it doesn't blind me in one eye the way smokes do..... = Makes me a better gamer :-D

I'm getting there, slowley but surely.

 

Incentive! :-D

Hang in there! You're off to a good start!

 

This is another incentive. http://health.learninginfo.org/smoking_cataracts.htm

More chances in developing cataracts when smoking than non-smokers. Had both of my eyes done (cataracts) in Dec. 2009 and Jan 2010. My hubby's turn, who still smokes, comes up in a few months.

You're doing great Ned... :cool

"I don't need it" was the phrase that this doc hypnotist told me to repeat all the time.

 

Update... No change, missus stil 5 per day and I'm still 1 pe day.
Is still going well with no breakdowns, she plans on dropping to 4 next week and then 3 and so on and so forth.
Not sure when I will throw my 1 per day out although I must admit as I sit here typing in my morning wakeup ritual is when I usually want and have one... this morning I don't really want one..... couldn't tell you why but not complaining :-D