Giving up the dreaded Weed!!!!!!!

[Smudger]

It helps, as someone else has said, to be positive and refer to yourself as a non-smoker, rather than a quitter.

My wife and I both gave up on the same day about 20 years ago, on a Sunday. We had had some friends round for dinner the night before, we were all smokers and they had stayed late. We must have smoked 20 each, and the house stank (and the kids were still at home then). We were sitting reading the Sunday papers, both smoking, when my wife said "It's National No-Smoking day. After this one I'm giving up." And she did. So did I. And neither of us have smoked since.

I realised that I would need some help, so I packed all my cigarettes (we bought them 800 at a time), my Zippo lighters, lighter fuel etc. in a carrier bag. The next morning I went into the smokers' staffroom at work, and announced that I was now an ex-smoker, and that the contents of the bag were up for grabs. Well, I could hardly go back after that.
I also told the kids at school what I had done, and they were very supportive.

My only regret has been that I put on more weight (I was already about 15st) and that has caused health problems down the line. I should have thought that through, and started at the gym and not spent the money I saved at French restaurants. But my doctor reckons that I am still better off with diabetes than smoking...

 

[bugbear]

I'm convinced that there is a 'cure' for smoking but do not think that we will ever be allowed to have it (like a cure for the common cold).

Do they keep it in the same place as "the" 100 mpg carburetor?

BugBear

 

[Smudger]

 

[promhandicam]

This doesn't include economic losses due to non-fatal ill-health and loss of productivity due to 90,000 early deaths a year.

Surely this should be economic gains due to not having to pay out an old age pension. :wink:

I'd be interested to know how much more it would cost the NHS if everyone quit smoking. I guess that cases of lung cancer would decrease but this would quite probably be offset by an increase in other cancers or things like strokes. My guess is that it would cost a lot more in the long term as rather than having a nice quick (and cheap) heart attack you will have many more people with dementia needing long term care. I guess the answer to that is that, as happens now, it will be families that have to bear the brunt of caring for those with dementia and so the cost will be hidden.

. . . Smoking costs the NHS £5 billion a year, or 5% of the entire national health budget.

An interesting comparison in an article in the timesis that the cost of caring for the elderly is set to double from £10 billion to £20 billion by 2026.

Thanks guys, every time I feel like a smoke I will just pop back and read through this thread

Best you skip the bit above then :lol:

In all seriousness Mike, I wish you all the best and hope you continue to persevere.

Steve

 

[Smudger]

The point I was making was that it isn't a purely profit-driven tax.

I'd also love to hear more about the smoking 'cure' and the cure for the common cold. I could do with that one.

 

[Mike.C]

Still hanging in there [-o< Although its tough when I pass a pub and have to walk through what seems like a solid wall of smoke made by those poor sods forced to have a puff outside come rain, hail, or shine.
There again the other side of the coin is that those non smokers inside, are no longer being forced to breath in second hand smoke against their will

One thing that is driving me mad is the endless bloo-y government tv adverts trying to convince me to give up smoking #-o #-o I feel like screaming HELLO, I GET THE MESSAGE. NOW STOP REMINDING ME HOW GOOD A CIGAR TASTES AFTER DINNER.

All said and done though, I know its only been a few weeks, and it maybe all in the mind, but I am sure that I feel much healthier. I can certainly smell things better, and I am convinced my taste is improving.

Sorry to bore you guys, but I just thought that I would let you know how its going, and to say that if anyone else is thinking about giving it up, but have their doubts, well if I can do it, anyone can.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Smudger]

Not bored at all. You're doing well, show off a bit!

 

[The Shark]

Hi Mike,
Well done! Keep it up.
I only smoke after ***, so not very often :roll: :-$ :wink:

Malc

 

[xy mosian]

Hi Mike,
.......
I only smoke after ***, so not very often :roll: :-$ :wink: ....

Malc

Niether do I, I have been known to steam a bit.

xy

 

[Smudger]

"I say, I say, I say - does your wife smoke after ***?"

"I don't know - I've never looked!"


Boom boom, coat, door...

 

[hog&amp;bodge]

Top one Mike Another day added on to your life

..Just had my brother round & he smokes,
I let him smoke the odd cig in the house..but hell it takes hours
to get rid of the smell..

Check this out heard about it few months back....
http://www.pri.org/health/global-health ... g1411.html




fcuk you tax man the people are on to you.....

 

[user 5053]

I was walking through Central Park, and I saw an old man smoking. Nothing makes a smoker happier than to see an old person smoking. This guy was ancient, bent over a walker, puffing away. I'm like, "Duuude, you're my hero! Guy your age smoking, man, it's great." He goes, "What? I'm 28." - Bill Hicks quote

 

[mel]

Right Mike, I gave up 32 weeks ago tomorrow. I used the patches and a pocket full of raisins! It does get easier honest but it does take time. I found that if I avoided doing things I did when I smoked it helped. I would regularly light one up when working in the shop so substituted the cigarettes with the raisins. Another good thing to stop you starting again is to calculate how much it would cost to smoke for the rest of your days (rough estimate) and remember this when you next want a cigarette, it will not just be that one but will lead to another and another and cost you that amount! I also noticed the horrid smell on other people who smoked and it does make you feel ill so I avoided them at first. I can put up with it for a short while now but still try to avoid them just in case. I have not seen any monetary gain as it has just been absorbed into the escalating bills but I do feel better for it in myself. My main problem was the coughing and for a while SWMBO thought I was still smoking! I have just stopped coughing after 32 weeks but thought it was worth putting up with after smoking for over 20 years. I do still get the craving but it now only lasts a second or two and I am over it. SWMBO is over the moon about it as she has asked me to stop for years. It did cost me over £80 in patches as I stayed the full course but it was worth every penny to be free of the dreaded weed. All the best to you mate. :wink:

no wonder i hav'nt seen you , it must be about 32 weeks alan ??

 

[BradNaylor]

Sounds like you're doing well Mike, keep up the good work!

I finally became free ten years ago and haven't touched a ciggy since. For me the turning point was the realisation that I didn't actually like smoking - the only reason it felt good to light up was that it brought relief from the withdrawal pangs that had been building up ever since I put the last one out!

This is the only reason that people smoke. They are prisoners of the poisons quite deliberately put into cigarettes by manufacturers in order to keep their customers hooked - and to hook the next generation as the older ones are killed off. Nice people!

As an ex-smoker you will laugh inwardly whenever a smoker tells you that they 'enjoy' smoking. The self delusion is amazing.

You have already got your senses of taste and smell back. You will learn shortly that you don't get really bad hangovers any more - no matter how much you drink!

:lol:

The only downside is that most people put a bit of weight on. For me this was not great. For Mailee it should prove fantastic!

Brad

 

[studders]

As an ex-smoker you will laugh inwardly whenever a smoker tells you that they 'enjoy' smoking. The self delusion is amazing.

You have already got your senses of taste and smell back. You will learn shortly that you don't get really bad hangovers any more - no matter how much you drink!


Brad

Well as a smoker I've kept out of this until now, don't think my views would be all that popular but....

The above is total crap IMO, it's also rather contradictory. Alcohol and Nicotine are both drugs, both are addictive and both are unnecessary for our survival, as are many things, cars being one notable example. To say those who claim to enjoy smoking, as I do, are deluded is an insult to my intelligence. I know the risks, I know the effects of doing so, I'm not an ***** nor am I deluded. I also try to be fair in my habit; if I have guests I go outside for a smoke.
I'd also point out that I personally know of six people who have died from cancer, including my mum. Of those only one smoked and only one other , that being my mum, lived with someone who smoked.
There are many things that deface and pollute this planet and the air that we breathe, most of them probably unnecessary. So a little less hypocrisy would be appreciated.

 

[promhandicam]

Well as a smoker I've kept out of this until now, don't think my views would be all that popular but.... The above is total crap IMO, . . .

=D>

 

[bugbear]

I'd also point out that I personally know of six people who have died from cancer, including my mum. Of those only one smoked and only one other , that being my mum, lived with someone who smoked.

So you're denying the connection between smoking and cancer?!?!

BugBear

 

[studders]

I'd also point out that I personally know of six people who have died from cancer, including my mum. Of those only one smoked and only one other , that being my mum, lived with someone who smoked.

So you're denying the connection between smoking and cancer?!?!

BugBear

Is that what I said?

 

[Argee]

I smoked for 45 years and my wife for slightly less. Just over three years ago she took a trip abroad to accompany a friend and we were, consequently, apart for nearly three weeks as a result - the first time ever. We both knew we should give up, so we took the decision to do so while we were apart, on the grounds that if we started independently, we could "compare notes" and help each other when she returned.

Neither of us have smoked since.

I totally agree with a couple of points already made. Firstly, you MUST want to do it as the number one priority. You cannot kid yourself that you'll cut down first, etc. - just want to, then stop doing it.

Secondly, the craving thing for us lasted about six weeks. There was then a transition period, during which we began to notice how vile it smelt, after which everything was fine and we've never even thought about it again. We had the advantage of never, ever having smoked indoors, so we didn't have to re-decorate, as one of my friends did recently when she stopped.

Good luck, although I think you're past needing luck now that you've seen the sense.

Ray

 

[bugbear]

I'd also point out that I personally know of six people who have died from cancer, including my mum. Of those only one smoked and only one other , that being my mum, lived with someone who smoked.

So you're denying the connection between smoking and cancer?!?!

BugBear

Is that what I said?

Looked like it to me.

The old "they say it causes cancer but a guy in my village smoked all his life and lived to be 107" style of logic.

BugBear