stopping the cigs

[myrio]

hi sorry not been on site since january a lot going on .I REALLY need to stop smoking i am type 2 using nova rapid and lanctus .i have tried patches , pills and potions but still smoke . I just have no will power i wondered who else has stopped smoking and how did they manage it .Ta

 

[Frenchman]

I found being diagnosed with diabetes was the key for me. Before then I hadn't really faced up to my own mortality but now it was here for real.

Think about blocked arteries, your heart and amputation. Also stay away from places you used to enjoy smoking, the main one for me was/is the pub garden.

I've only been off ciggies for 5 months but hopefully have cracked it this time, I do occasionally have a craving but resist ! Really wanting to do it is the main thing.

 

[daisy1]

I gave up smoking on the third attempt. Pure willpower didn't work for me. I used nicotine chewing gum (Nicorette) 4mg to start with and chewed away non-stop. They gave me awful indigestion and my jaw hurt as I was chewing so much. The aim was to never feel withdrawal symptoms which I couldn't have resisted. Then after a while I reduced to 2mg. When that felt OK I cut the gum tablets in half, then quarters, mixing the bit with normal gum until I was taking such a small portion that there really was nothing left and it was just psychological. This process lasted 6 months. So then I switched to ordinary chewing gum no nicotine at all and it worked. I never smoked again. I just cannot ever have that first cigarette. (That's how I restarted smoking once). Just like an alcoholic can never have that first drink. This was 25 years ago. But smoke doesn't smell repulsive to me at all and I know I could start again in a heartbeat!
Good luck!

 

[adm]

I used Swedish Snus to quit smoking completely, 6 months ago and never looked back. I'd previously tried all the other approaches without success.

The Snus is basically a little teabag type thing full of moist tobacco that you pop under your upper lip and it just releases flavour and nicotine for an hour or two.

It's similar to Nicotine gum in approach, but I found it was much, much better at stopping nicotine cravings.

It's different from American Chewing tobacco and dip products in that it doesn't give you cancer due to steam pastuerisation in the manufacturing process. Swedish men have the lowest amount of cancer deaths in Europe, and the highest amount of Snus users......

It's also cheap. A tin costs about £4 delivered and will last four days or so. Compare that with the cost of the fags, or nicotine gum or patches....

You can't buy it in the UK, so you have to buy it online. www.northerner.com is a good online store.

If you want a "tobacco" experience, but not smoking then give it a try...... going cold turkey is the best overall approach of course if you can do it.

 

[adm]

I found being diagnosed with diabetes was the key for me. Before then I hadn't really faced up to my own mortality but now it was here for real.

Think about blocked arteries, your heart and amputation. Also stay away from places you used to enjoy smoking, the main one for me was/is the pub garden.

I've only been off ciggies for 5 months but hopefully have cracked it this time, I do occasionally have a craving but resist ! Really wanting to do it is the main thing.

REALLY, REALLY, REALLY think about blocked arteries! I just had a coronary angioplasty this week for a blocked artery and it wasn't much fun. Caused by 25 years of smoking. I spoke to the consultant and he told me that of the 70,000 angioplasties they do each year, the vast majority of them are caused by smoking. The really scary thing is that there are many, many more smokers going around with this problem undiagnosed. Then couple that with the lung cancer risk, and start to get really scared.

 

[Magill]

I stopped just over 3 years ago and sorry - I was willpower and an unusual start. I wouldn't recommend how I started off though. I was hit twice by a very large articulated lorry at 70 mph and required major surgery on the spinal area. Recovery and learning to walk again occupied every waking minute and there was no way I was prepared to get someone to "wheelchair me" outside to have a cigarette.

Yes it was tough but when I was eventually discharged from hospital after 3 weeks I knew I was over the worst and it would be stupid to start smoking again. The problem is not so much the smoking - it's the habit. I really didn't miss it in hospital as I was fully occupied by the physio. Once I got home it was different as I was still largely immobile but I had so many things to relearn again it was a matter of keeping busy. What did help me a lot was a bit of advice from one of the nurses (and I found this can apply to anything bad for you). What she told me was if I found myself longing for a cigarette just tell myself I could have one in 15 mins if I still REALLY want one then go off and do something that interests you. I thought it a bit curious but what I found was you forget all about the cigarette as you are distracted by whatever you are doing. Don't clock watch - you have to actually do something as it is all about breaking the habit. I found it works with food too if it is something you really shouldn't be eating.

I will always be grateful for that 15 minute rule and I am glad to say cigarettes really don't bother me now.

 

[bretty]

i stopped the second i found out i was dabetic. as i need to change my diet and the way i lived so i thought i would change the whole lot, now if i feel the need for a cig i have a paice of fruit. and feel so much better in my self.

 

[Ardbeg]

Myrio,

This similar previous thread might help:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=11249&p=114616&hilit=electronic+cigarettes#p114616

 

[catherinecherub]

There is a vaccine that is about to be tested, (results in 2012). If it works it will mean being able to quit and avoid relapses. No good for someone who wants to quit now but still a step forward.

http://www.physorg.com/news193659870.html

 

[foxglove]

Started smoking when I was in my very early teens and managed to give up when in my thirties. Then had a very freindly neighbour move into the flat downstairs who smoked, got to know her and was continually offered one and eventually gave in!! Smoked again for several years and then stopped again, thankgoodness. BUT, I must add I never really enjoyed the smoking although I was addicted.Feel soo much better for not. (Just wish that I could get off the sweet stuff and lose some weight.)Don't want to change the theme to this thread though. :mrgreen:

 

[bretty]

does smoking have any effect on diabeties type one at all ????? i havent smoked for 2 weeks but would love one