Given up smoking

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Comments

  • Well done all you that have stopped -it IS lovely being outa the pit-I can say that hand on heart. For those that aint quite- prepare and dare yourself to be free.

    Whatever you think of me and my slight dogmatic stance, think of this:


    Do you smoke for the reasons you shouldn't -how long have you known you shouldn't?- has it stopped you in the years you smoked?

    Freedom, I really believe, comes from the realisation the REASONS YOU SMOKE ARE ABSOLUTE GARBAGE and cons-I mean big style!!

    the big light for me was ignited as soon as my focus went away on why I shouldn't smoke and the idea that it was going to be really really hard. What better serves the tobacco companies than millions of people believing that-eh?

    you are all lovely people, i am sure - don't let the evil nicotine monster strip you of that.


    xx
  • Hello all - just managed to get through the thread!!! Congrats to all you non smokers - had my last cig last nite! This is my 2nd time this year - did it Jan cold turkey and started again mid Feb (that darn alchohol stuff don't do much for ya willpower!) Got a treadmill and took up running in March! I found I had so much extra energy when I gave up I needed something to tire me! Am very familiar with Paul McKenna's disc - and it seems to work as long as I do what he suggests - but I've tried them all in they past (patches - gum - zyban!)and have just downloaded on the link - thanx - it all helps! I've discovered I love running (although a novice) and the fact that the blood seemed to actually go to my calves after just a day is the best incentive yet!
  • Hello JJ - well done for making it through all 7 pages!! Sounds like you know how you're going about this and your motivation is strong this time around - good luck!

    Know what you mean about the blood flow - the first post-quit run i did last week my legs felt so much stronger. Wasn't expecting it, but suppose it makes sense as my muscles must be getting a whole load more oxygen without all the nasty chemicals in my system.

    Keep us posted
  • jj -keep strong - keep your motivation up, read that link and believe it all, think about "willpower" and ask yourself :"if I realised smoking did F all for me would I need willpower?-just a thought:O))

    funny spooky but a lot of the funny sensations you feel when you stop is actually due to getting the oxygen that you are meant to have and the nicotine leaving your body. having the fag will deprive you of the oxygen again, stop the feeling of nicotine leaving BUT will ensure that you have to go through the same discomfort between 1/2 hour and an hour later......etc etc etc......forever and ever. None smokers don't have this feeling at all:o-

  • Thanx 4 the encouragment - it's later i will need reminding! And probably more advice on running!! Have entered The Race For Life an need to get some training in if I want to run it all - still run/walk at the mo! Have got 3 weeks left!

    Always want to have a smoke about a month into it - just when I start getting mouth ulcers! Hoping the running will keep me going cos I surprisingly noticed a difference immediately!! I didn't expect any improvement for about a week!!

    Ridiculous how smoking takes over though isn't it? It dictates your life really!!
  • true JJ -it does take over. Aint it daft that we have so called "special ones" like in the pub, in the morning and after a meal AND e have some that really taste awful and sometimes make us cough and splutter. How can the same product from the same packet change its affect so easilly - what magic is that?
  • Tobacco company Hocus Pocus!!!!

    Will now take back my life and do something constructive with my time!! (don't think that means sitting with my laptop for half a day)! Have now read the e-book - so not wasted a whole afternoon!

    Loving the new circulation thing though and surprisingly cheerful for the 1st day!!!!
  • Welcome aboard JJ07!

    Good luck in the RFL! It's a real fun day out - my mum has done it before (being a bloke I'm not allowed). Don't worry too much about walking some of it. You won't be alone. I'm sure you can get up to speed in three weeks though.

    It's really good that you have something to aim for. It's going to make your more determined to stay off the smokes.
  • best of luck to you JJ. With all the advice and support on this thread i'm sure we'll all kick the habit.
    i found in the past that it only takes 24 hours of non smoking to notice a difference when running which is great for motivation. Did a gentle 5 miler today and it was a joy. Didn't even concentrate on my breathing as wasn't ever really out of breath. Maybe i wasn't going fast enough!
    On the down side I've had to leave my friends in the pub after a couple of shandys as can't risk getting tipsy when people are smoking around me. Shame as little bored now and it's a lovely evening.
    Short term loss, long term gain. GRRRRRR
  • Hi JJ07. Good luck with your run! I'm taking part in the Race For Life tomorrow in Edinburgh. I had a practice run around Holyrood on Thursday and the weather was perfect! Not sure what it's going to do tomorrow.
  • RFL such a great way to start running - but then i would say that as that's how i started!

    You might find the atmosphere is enough to carry you round on the day - and if not, there will be plenty of people walking all or part. Main thing is to enjoy it - and if you can steer clear of the fags till then you'll be feeling great!
  • Feel the need to add another GRRRRRRRRR to the thread.

    Struggling today.

    Cigarettes bad, oxygen good. Cigarettes bad, oxygen good ... blah blah blah

    Is quite heartening to think that however grumpy i feel i have actually got to the stage where having a cigarette won't make me any less grumpy - just a different sort of grumpy as having got this far i'd be disgusted with myself if i jumped off the wagon (falling off is a different matter and not to be ashamed of).

    ;)
  • grumpiness has never really killed anyone, cigs have. imagine how grumpy you'll be after having a fag and after the initial very short term relief is over and you are stuck in that trap again with slightly less confidence than before.

    all fags really do is relieve the irritation that the one before it created -simple as that.
  • First off, congratulations and well done for making it this far. I stopped 2 months ago and it gets a lot easier.
    I do still get cravings but i just think how sick and dizzy i'd feel if i gave in.
    Can't help with the running times cause i only started running as i gave up, trying not to put on weight lol.

    Once again well done, and keep it up!!
  • Hi all.

    Congrats on all your achievements, it is seeing threads like this reminds me of being a smoker.

    I stopped last February and took up exercise then running and it was the best things I have ever done. It was a skiing holiday in Jan 2006 I realised I needed to loose the fags and get fit.

    For me, it was being addicted to something like tobacco that was abhorrent, I should be able to have more self-control and break free from the drug peddled by big-tobacco.

    When giving up I took the cold-turkey approach - I took up breakfast (nicotine stimulates a glycogen release to the morning ciggie is like a meal), I also started drinking green tea - for when I had a craving.

    I found this a good read

    http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact11.html

    So from a sedenty smoker, I am doing 1.37 half marathons, lost 2-3 stone and an feeling so smug,

    Reward yourselves with the money you have saved.

    A relapse is simply that - don't use it as an excuse to go back, it is just a stumble.

    Good look to you all.
  • Hang in there Spooky! Don't be grumpy...you're now free from the slavery of tobacco! That is something to be happy about?

    Moobaloo; get out there and have a few pints! The only wasy to deal with it is to tackle it head on. Once you've had a smoke-free evening in the pub you will have so much more confidence.

    You are just as likely to go back to bad ways if you sit at home getting bored.

    Rant over...I'm off to the pub!
  • Thanks for all your welcomes and RFL good luck messages. Also great to chat with others giving up at the same time - thought runners would be superfit and non smokers!

    Don't worry Spooky I'll get to that grumpy stage in a couple of days! But it does pass and you become less of a grizzly!! Just mad with self didn't keep it up last time cos now gotta go through it all again!

    As for the pub - personally gotta keep off the drink - think it's sensible not to disinhibit self control in the early stages! Few wines and I might be on my way to the nearest ciggie vendor!!
  • the "how will I manage in a pub" or "how will I manage after a meal" notions are the friend of the nicotine monster and tobacco industry and only there because you smoke.
    Just as an heroin addict freaks when he aint allowed his/her next fix.

    when has the expression "cold turkey" come to be associated with getting off fags. Don't think it was attributed to it before the manufacture of products to stop you came about- just a thought..

    seen an heroin addict "turkeying" eh?
    Now you who have stopped, do you reckon it is THAT BAD?.

    Heroin really does have a bad physical withdrawal and mental one on top.

    Smokinng CAN be difficult psychologically, only if you believe it does something for you and/or you are really gonna suffer and "cold turkey" implies that. Step out of the box and enjoy being free from smoking and it's myths alonside the myths about stopping --"cold turkey" my arse -what a joke.



    well done all you stopped and stoppers


    xxxxxx
  • Hoose-Goer I'm assuming that the "cold turkey" description by Stevo was referring to stopping smoking without the aid of NRT rather than stopping smoking being like heroin withdrawl? At least thats how i read it.
    Well, like JJ, I have chickened out of socialising at the pub tonight. Its only been a few days and don't want to risk all the good work. Getting back to a nromal but smoke free routine asap will be necessary for sanity.
    Anyway, well done fellow non-smokers. Another day completed smoke free.
  • Addiction is complex and has physical and psychological consequences for us on an individual basis depending on our own individual chemistry.

    It’s something I’m really interested in and I suppose I’m interested in how we use drugs of all kinds and the benefits or negative effects they have. I also work with former opiate addicts and alcoholics and have done for around 5 years. I work with men and women leaving their addictions behind, so my work is centred on rehabilitation, lifestyle changes, cognitive behavioural therapy and holistic work.

    I’ve found a simple description of heroin. “Heroin, a highly addictive drug derived from morphine, is obtained from the opium poppy. It is a "downer" that affects the brain's pleasure systems and interferes with its ability to perceive pain.”

    I’ve also found a definition of nicotine.

    “Nicotine is a stimulant drug, but paradoxically effects of both stimulation and relaxation may be felt. The mental and physical state of the smoker, and the situation in which smoking occurs, can influence the way in which a particular cigarette will affect psychological perceptions. The addictive effect of nicotine is linked to its capacity to trigger the release of dopamine - a chemical in the brain that is associated with feelings of pleasure. “

    Heroin is a class ‘A’ illegal drug and very addictive. Millions of pounds are made on the black market and there are associations with gun crime, gang territory clashes and drug related crime.

    Nicotine is not an illegal drug and very addictive. The UK government also makes millions of pounds on various levels of tax that consumers inadvertently pay. I used to be a smoker and when I discovered that our government made huge profits from tobacco addiction, I was appalled.

    Let’s not forget alcohol. “Alcohol Dependency is by far the most common addiction and is responsible for the deaths of many thousands of people every year. Government figures suggest that up to 9.7% of the UK population may be classified as dependent on alcohol. “ Maybe someone else can shed some light on how many billions of pounds the alcohol industry in the UK is worth.

    My suggestion is that just because heroin is illegal, doesn’t mean the effects are worse. Our legal drugs are extremely damaging, but the difference is that our government profits from it.

    Anybody got any chocolate? ;)

  • Brilliant bit of info Karen.

    I am certainly not saying that heroin is worse becfause it is illegal. In my experience coming off heroin as far as "physical withdrawal" is concerned is harder than coming off nicotine. On the psychological side they can be equally as hard at least. I am uncomfortable about calling the experience of smoker coming off fags , "cold turkey" because the thought that they'd have to go through a big trauma when getting off simply is not true. However, as you know many smokers stop using all different therapies without a trauma or aid of other drugs. If you believe it's gonna be hell -guess what? If you believe that getting off chocolate is going to be hell -guess what?

    Stories in ads about how hard it has been over the past 3 weeks. The recent nicotinell one with the woman going on holiday or summat -what torture she had to go through -even with the patch -crazy!!!- though the patch helped a bit. Dunno about you but on the psychological side such ads don't help in making you feel confidence - "ohh its gonna be reall tough", "it could be hell but needn't be but still its gonna be tough" -"three months patches you'll need to stick on you -ie "you are in for the long haul" . Not the best start in stopping -I truly believe. Alongside the fear that is induced by the constant telling us how bad it is and how it is gonna be hard for you to smoke in more and more places - kicking the fags of course will feel traumatic and dare I argue that the emphasis of what I described above will make it seem 10 times as bad as it actually is. I have stopped loads and loads of times -early on it was "hell" with and without nicotinell -maybe I was wrong - maybe "cold turkey" does aptly describe my early experience(so I apologise). However once the focus shifted away from how hard stopping will be (my early experiences not helping) and how it was killing me and I realised that smoking had very little if not any benefits - my later stops involved no massive "cold turkey" (thats why I don't like the term) or physical pain, just a little physical niggle for a few days. I am not arrogant enough to claim to be "the exception" -I am just an ordinary fella though a bit eccentric. In the right frame of mind -stopping can be a pleasure. The real traumas I had, in the end, were due to smoking not stopping.


  • Morning all - I do agree the trauma is more in the head prior to stopping than it is in the body after!

    Of all the methods of stopping I do believe that 'just stopping' worked best for me. It bothers me for a few days (addiction-wise) but after that I know in my mind it's just my own routine and habit that make me want to smoke.

    With the replacement methods I found I was constantly reminded of my non smoker status and wanted one even more!!!
  • I will concede that more recent ads for patches have give a positive message(maybe they saw error of their ways).

    Karen - does it not seem strange that the methods promoted by the goverrnment involve keeping the tobacco companies alive ie NRT. Why not other therapies? -just a thought. Would it not suit the government more to have a load of people addicted to nicotine via patch, gum or other means of administration than off it altogether and maybe an outright ban? The health benefits will save the NHS and the patches and gum will save the industry. Government would hate it if people just got off the fags using no nicotine product wouldn't they?
  • JJ - you are dead right -you can whip yourself into a frenzy prior to stopping. It is in your head and many fail not because of the physical withdrawal but more with feeling deprived of their crutch.
  • Morning early birds.
    It would be interesting to know what money the government make from NRT. Is it just the VAT?
    Woke up dreaming that I had buckled and smoked 20 fags yesterday. Took a few seconds to realize it was just a nightmare. Phew
  • well the government will benefit from a tobacco industry being open rather than non existent. Keeps people in jobs etc. Nicotine only come from tobacco plant dunnit?

    bet you were glad moo - what a nightmare it ould have been if you smoked again eh?
  • some evidence suggests that the "preferred" methods are not the best. Karen maybe interested in this link - like to hear what people think:


    http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksCAids.html
  • on success rates: Could do a summary but you lot are best making your own minds up about the facts, All helps clarify things and hopefully keeps peops off 'em.

    http://whyquit.com/pr/051906.html
  • hmmm - how were the people allocated to the methods? Did the people select their own method of trying to give up and hence were those on the gum and stuff people who had already tried going cold turkey but not succeeded? It may all be a bit more compicated than the graph makes it look.

    If you're going to criticise patches etc on the basis of that study, you also have to have a pop at counselling that only did half as well as cold turkey
  • that is true bear -the counselling that they offer can be equally as useless -it depends on the messages and approach. I am not solely having a go at NRT -actually NRT is a preferable addiction than smoking cigs and the like. But IMHO - it does not help cure nicotine addiction.
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