A serious smoking thread.

[Tigerlily]

Hi All,


I've decided to pack in smoking once and for all!

I've joined an online "quit plan" and I'm going through a weeks' preparation at the mo. The site has a support forum but I don't like the layout so I thought I'll set up my own!!!
The only problem I have is that I'm the only member and I can only talk to myself for so long! :chuckle:


If anyone is thinking of quitting/ trying to quit/ successfully quit then please have a look at the forum. Even if you don't want to join in, I'd appreciate any comments :mand:


Here's the link.... http://quitsmoking.forumco.com/

[fatbloke]

What a great idea!!
but can you check the link Julie its not working on my machine

[Tigerlily]

will do Terry.....






...... Just checked the link and it works ok for me :scratch: .... must be that odd machine that you use!



Does it work for anyone else???

[bigredduke]

Best of luck Julie - I hope that there Dazzi is also quitting!

[Tigerlily]

Thanks Paul :mand:


dazzi doesn't smoke... never has! (sensible bloke!)

[fatbloke]

All fine now Julie Thanks

[Tigerlily]

Glad it's working for you now :mand:

I can't believe how easy it was to set it up!!! Free too!!

[jill]

Added my story, to get it off the ground!

Well done for considering it, it's hard, but worth it.

Good luck
Jill

[Tigerlily]

Thanks very much Jill! I'll go and have a read :mand:


I've tried before but I've got so many reasons to quit that I'm more determined that ever that I'll do it this time!

[Paranoid Dave]

get pudding-head on there :D

[Red]

Is this another alternative UKMOC site as it looks like over half the members are from here if that is Bodybag just joined. Will have to tell the other half about it as he has just had a very bad experience at the doctors on there quit smoking group and came away even more determind to smoke as they had seriously P***** him off!

[Tigerlily]

Hi Red,

I've only posted the link on here so far, that's why all the members are off here.

Let your hubby know about it! It can't be any worse than his stop smoking group!

[cosmicknome]

Hello i stopped smoking over two and half years ago and i have got to say it's the best thig i have done.
If iwas going to give advice i would say take it at a day at a time, and just because you may fall down once or twice doe's not mean you have failed.
Go for it!

[cassiopia]

Quote Mark Twain "Quiting smoking is easy, I know I've done it thousands of times." Good luck, it will be hard to do.

[sadbiker]

i say good move. i spent 3 days in hope hospital watching someone die due to their lungs being completely shot due to smoking. the crying shame was his heart was as strong as a ox. there was nothing that could be done.


it takes a lot of determination and willpower. hopefully next year things will be easier when all the new laws come in.

what you have to remember it is not just your selve you are helping but those closest to you.

so chin up and give it your best.

[markus]

I quit a little over 2 years ago, when i did i used a spreadsheet from a friend that would automatically calculate how much i was saving money wise on a daily basis - it really helped, especially when i looked at it after 6 months and noticed and saved around a grand and a half already!!
I did however find ways to frittle the money away, but i reckon if you put the money youd use to buy your cigs in a jar each day you could buy yourself something fantastic in a year....mmmmmmm like nice shiny ohlins mmmmmmmmmmm....why didn't i do that bit

[Tigerlily]

Thanks for all the encourage everyone, I know it won't be easy but I know I've got to do it.

It's good to know that there's people out there that have quit successfully :D


The quit plan that I've joined has a table that tells you how much you've saved and how long you've added to your life. Watching the numbers increasing on there should keep me motivated!

[katana]

I quit for a year and then started again. But I'm the worst kind of smoker, a social one. Or in the evenings not during the day. Wierd or what.

[Tigerlily]

I have a friend like that, she doesn't smoke all day but as soon as the kids are bed she starts smoking!

[gary tompkins]

Best of luck Julie - it's well worth quitting

I packed in smoking after 2 attempts back in 1993. No patches or stuff like that available then so it was far from easy, but I'm glad I stuck at it.

20+ a day smoker at the time when a packet of fags cost just £1-20

I shudder to think how much cash I'd have blown on fags by now, or the sorry state my lungs would be in :eyepopping:

[Tigerlily]

Well, I'm off to a damn good start! Not had a cig today!!! :woot:


I'm very proud of myself! :D

[Scotty]

uh i could possibly get some cheap patches for you if you want

oh and well done so far :hissy: ?

[Tigerlily]

Thanks Dave, I'd take you up on the offer if I wasn't allergic to them!
I persevered with them for a while a few months back but they drove me crackers and I ended up partly using that as an excuse for starting to smoke again.

I'm doing it cold turkey this time!! It's not half as bad as I thought it would be :D

[Scotty]

rarrrr, hard core then :shocked:

[Tigerlily]

:chuckle: Not got much choice really! The nicotine chewing gum is gross, hypnotherapy cost a fortune (I know - so do cigs but I don't want to get into that argument!) and I can't use the patches!


It's down to a positive attitude and will power this time!

[Nonnie]

Go for it girl. The first day is the hardest. You have done it. You really have done it. Now, remember you don't smoke tomorrow when you wake up. Just remember how good the feeling is that you didn't have one today and work towards that for tomorrow night.

Well done.

[Spud]

I so could be joining in the righteous side of the argument. I gave up New Year, 1 week on the gum and then thoughed it out from there.

Was doing really well, everybody proud (had been a 30 a day Red Marlboro smoker for 20 years)

Pause to light cigarette.....................

Then personal life went down the tubes, ended up at a mates for emotional support and dug into his Bensons, and have kind of been smoking again for the last week. Insert every swear word you know - at maximum volume:hissy: :Furious: :thumbsdown: :scratch: :fou:

That's me - can resist everything except temptation. Breaking strain of a warm mars bar

[sadbiker]

Good one. Keep it up for life......

Remember the advert with the women gasping for breath and putting on her oxygen mask. It is so true, problem is once you get to that stage your lungs are "F*****ed", it doesn't take much more to go down hill further. And as you are Manchester based I am sure you don't want to do time in Hope Hospital.......

So everyday remind yourself it is not just for your own health but for your friends and family. Bonus points are more money for petrol to feed the monster habit.

[jill]

Hi Tigerlily

Keep up the good work. It will be hard for a while, but you can do it. Keep reminding yourself of all the reasons you're doing this - hopefully mostly for yourself.

Well done.:biggrin:
Jill

[Nonnie]

Don't beat yourself up. You know you can do it now. Have another go when you feel more together.

p.s. Does Benson know you're digging in to her?

[benson]

And from such a distance too!!!! :shocked: Is it wrong that I haven't noticed??:shocked:

Keep going Tigerlil - I quit about 7 years ago now - and have definitely spent all my money on bikes instead! (and wine...)

Spud - just remember that there's always a next time and that time might be the right time. As for the warm mars bars - I feel a little faint!!!!!

[cosmicknome]

Keep the good work up remember to start with just a day at a time.
I remember on the previous times i gave up i had such great plans of what i was going to do with the money i saved and then failed.
Remember it's not about the money you save or the family and freinds that maybe giving you a guilt trip about it, it's for you.
When you do beat it you will so havr read beaten a drug that is more addictive than heroin.
Sorry that was bit intense but it's something i feel strongly about.

[Lady-Bob]

I stopped smoking for a year but started again... mainly because Strumpet wouldn't stop.

I really let myself down and need to give it a go again. I'll have a look at the link and let you know. :heart:

[Spud]

Spud - just remember that there's always a next time and that time might be the right time. As for the warm mars bars - I feel a little faint!!!!!

Always nice to know that there is someone else out there who remembers that a mars a day helps you work, rest & play!

[bod]

Hmm..changed from 20 a day Marlboro Lights to full stregth Red's about a year back, as if I was going to stop I was going to go out with a bang!

But still smoking still,will do it one day before the missus leaves me after 10 years of nagging me to stop.

Good luck though Julie and keep us posted with the good news:mand:

[Tigerlily]

I was brave enough to venture out of the house today and got to the shops.... Walking straight past the cig counter didn't bother me in the slightest! I can't see myself ever buying a packet of cigarettes ever again! :mand:


I can't thank you all enough for your comments and support, even cosmicnome's "intense" post has struck a chord with me because that's how I view cigarettes now - they are just like any other drug addiction, you get a buzz at first then smoke then to feel normal and satisfy your body's craving.


Any comments are welcome - even horror stories, reading this thread helps to keep me motivated :D



I'm soooooo glad that I've packed in and I feel better for it already!



StayQuit is well worth looking at if anyone is seriously thinking of quitting, the weeks' preperation and the task you're given to do really do help!



Thanks again everyone :tiger:

[BabyDriver]

Hi Tigerlily - hope you made it through day three too! I found the threes (days, weeks, months) as critical milestones. I've become a non-smoker three times (you aren't giving up anything in my view your gaining so it's not quitting). Once through shear willpower and I stayed off for nine years. Once using all the nicotine substitutes and stayed off'em for a year or so and then finally five years ago I went to a hypnotherapist on Harley St - Bingo! So far so good! Good Luck

[Tigerlily]

Good grief! You quit for 9 years and then started again????? Whatever possessed you to go back to them?

I'm finding it surprisingly easy and I'm not really missing it. I thought it'd be a struggle after 18 years and several half-hearted attempts. I'm putting it down to my attitude and the weeks' preperation this time. I can't see myself ever going back to it :woot:

[MrsJel]

Good luck - hope you keep going and as others have said, do it for yourself, the benefit for others is a happy side effect.

I started smoking at the age of 11 and quit at 19 (probably knacked my lungs already). Even after 20-odd years as a non-smoker, I sometimes have a ciggie or a cigar (usually after a few drinks or when I've got a coffee after a meal).

Carole

[Tigerlily]

Thanks Carole

I've got a long list of reasons to quit and I'm right at the top of it! Maybe that's partly why it's much easier this time? I can feel the benefits already, including some which I didn't expect like being able to wake up more easily in the morning (that'll come in very handy with the kids going back to school very soon!!)



I'll never be a slave to nicotine again!