I dont want to give up but I know I should...

[ms2004]

Smoking. I stopped smoking fags about a year ago but its the same old story. Started eating more, drinking more, my fingers got bored and I craved a fag. So, I started smoking cigars instead. They are b****y expensive but I thought Id be able to have a couple a month and be satisfied. Now, I smoke one every couple of days and its costing me as much as the fags did.

What do I do? I know I should give up because they are bad for you, but I actually quite enjoy it. I go into my shed and leave it looking like its on fire (all the smoke), now the wife has made it clear.....GIVE UP OR ELSE.

Theres very few pleasures in life left and all the good ones are bad for you.

 

[securespark]

Ask her if you can swap the Virginia shag for a different kind of shag.....

Seriously, I gave up in April 94. Got a new car, never been smoked in before, thought I'd give up and put the proceeds to paying off the car.

Worked a treat!

However, I now weigh 19 1/2 stone.......!!!!

 

[Zampa]

People are always banging on about the health risks of smoking....

My grandfather smoked 50 strong cigs a day....

Didnt do him any harm whatsoever....although he did die when he was 30!


Seriously....why dont you jsut cut down....?...start at 10 fags and have one less every day....till you get to zero..then miss a day and start again.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What I found worked for me was to avoid the psychological impact of saying "I have given up". Much like the AA approach, I did it one day at a time, and said "I will not smoke today".

I found cravings easier to deal with not by saying "no I must not because I've given up", as that makes the craving so much worse, as you think it's always going to be there. I'd say to myself "I'll just wait one more hour", and guess what? The craving went away, mostly, and when the hour was up it did not come back. It was easy to say "I'll just wait another 30 minutes", or "I'll just wait another hour now".

The other psychological benefit of the one day at a time approach was that if I did smoke, I didn't feel that I had failed, and it was all hopeless, it was "OK, I failed yesterday, but I will not smoke today". That way if you go out on the p*** and smoke all evening you don't feel that on the next day you are starting all over again - the next day is just like the day before the one where you smoked, you won't smoke today, and you'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow.

Nicotine is an extremely addictive drug, research has shown that it has one unique property compared to any other drug - the brain "learns" to be addicted, and remembers it. In other words, once you have a nicotine addiction, you could be nicotine free for decades, but smoke one cigarette and you will be just as addicted as you were the day you first stopped.

This is why cutting down, even to only smoking once a week, or once a month, will never work as a strategy for giving up, only for cutting down.

What works for one person in giving up doesn't necessarily work for someone else, but I think that one thing is true for everybody - you have to really want to give up. Doing it because you "know you ought to" is not quite enough.

I wish you success.

 

[Nige F]

Change to Capstan full strength Better still get a pipe...but do NOT smoke clan 3 Nuns is nice...anda modern Churchwarden pipe, off the net..sat in the shed....Wonderful

 

[Slogger]

smoking is a sign of weakness

smoking is a disgusting thing to do to you body

smoking kills

wtf do so many smoke for

 

[ninebob]

You may remember from my posts leading up to my birthday on July 3rd, my intention was to give up completely. My way of thinking is very "scientific, analytical, etc". So I told myself that my 25th birthday was halfway to 50, and if I wanted to get the rest of the way I had to knock the fags on the head.

It didn't work, but having already posted my intention on this forum somebody gave me some good advice: you don't give up smoking, you just POSTPONE the next cigarette.

I used this to good advantage, every time I feel like one I hold on and hold on, and within a month I'm down from 20-30 a day to 5-10 a day. So it does work....

 

[Steve]

smoking is a sign of weakness

smoking is a disgusting thing to do to you body

smoking kills

wtf do so many smoke for

for once, slogger, i am in total agreement with you.

 

[2scoops0406]

the subject says it all, you have to want to give up, otherwise you will fail, Ed reformed smoker gave up 2/1/1997

 

[Moz]

My father who was fit as a fiddle but a 60 a day smoker , ........not too end but he was in my childhood memories always smoking fag in hand or side of mouth , he was a semi pro footie player in his youth an them days YOU HAD TO SMOKE /cultural thing 60s smoke YES..

anyway around 91 , I FORCED him to see a Hypnotist (SP?),he gave up an was fit as a fiddle for about 2 weeks then ...

within 6months he had had 2 minor heart attacks but only the 1st hospitalised him , an 4 strokes the last one major which to this day has left him dragging himself about his left side dead ....

WHAT A WONDERFUL SON I AM ... ........

 

[confidentincompetent]

I packed up for 18 mths after reading allenn carrs 'How to stop smoking the easy way' It was the same approach as ban all talks about and it worked . But!!! I came off a pair of steps broke me arm 6wks off work no driving etc. Just one drag spoilt it and the craving started all over again GRRRRR. Wish I could get back that frame of mind that stopped me ten yrs ago. But I seem only able to go about 2 wks before I start again.
Any 1 tried Hypnotist does it work??
I done the patches but its the mind thing thats not working

 

[kevplumb]

ditto marra one fag after 2 yrs
back in the same boat

 

[Moz]

confidentincompetent
"Any 1 tried Hypnotist does it work??"



yep if you read my old daa who after 40 yrs on cigs bing over night ,NONE afte Hpyno ... then the shock to his system tore him apart

this left that very FIT FELLA .. like a spastic , in legs an movement ..eating is one handed an very slow


DONT EVER DROP A DRUG LIKE CIGS ...as your body CANNOT cope ...

local Hypnotists are being warned they will be sued til they die over their quick fixes ...

 

[securespark]

I did the same. I stopped overnight, but I was on 20, maybe 25 a day.

No ill effects.

Weeeble, dor, kerp........plor!