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Made the spur of the moment decision yesterday to not buy and more tobacco and attempt to stop smoking. Again. Have enough to last me the rest of today and that's it. Not vaping or anything else, just quitting. Trying to find other ways to distract myself, hoping sorting the house out will finally start happening because of this. We'll see.
At one time I used to enjoy it despite the health side of things. Over the past few years through everything it's what I've had to try and destress a little or to have a quick break outside for 5 or 10 mins. I could have turned to drugs or drink during these times but thankfully I haven't, just had a fag instead. But the past few months I've really not been enjoying it and the past few weeks even less so. Think the cost of living crisis is adding to my thoughts too as it's a struggle at the moment as it is. Not that this will make a massive difference to that but cutting back where I can will all be a help.
So yeah, tomorrow could be an interesting day but really want to do this if I can. Really don't want to start eating more instead like I did last time I quit. And I hope I'm not jinxing this by posting about it but I'm really want to be able to do it. If anyone has any suggestions on how to keep busy etc no matter how stupid they are, it will all be appreciated. As will random and stupid comments or anything else.
Wish me luck.
Good luck 🤞
Just take each day as a victory.
I’ve not “given up”, I just haven’t smoked for seven years- makes it easier to handle as giving up sounds a bit too final and scary!
Do it.
Things can only improve and get better.
Best of luck. I've not given up, but your post made me realise I've not smoked now for a decade this month September 2012 my last fag. I bet if I were to buy a packet today I'd be hooked again by Friday.
What helped me is I started couch to 5k when I stopped. Going from a heavy smoker to being able to run 5k made me feel super human and reinforced my will to keep on not smoking.
You can still have a "little break outside for ten minutes." Have a "not-smoking break," go for a walk round the block.
Having a cube of blu-tak to squeeze between thumb and forefinger helps considerably.
Best of luck and well done for doing this.
Good luck with it. I’ve not had a fag for about 7-8 years now. I do vape though, mainly as I find it still annoys the sanctimonious ‘uuuurgh… your habit is disgusting’ brigade which was the main reason I smoked in the first place 😃
Really don’t want to start eating more instead like I did last time I quit
I always found that you just eat more snacks anyway once you’ve stopped. You may fight it, but it’s just the way it is. So I did myself a series of ‘motivational’ illustrations to remind myself which ones possess fewer calories. Hope it helps…
Good luck, it can be done! 🙂
Good luck, for me it was all about getting through the first month, after starting to smoke quite late in my early 20s. Not smoked now for ~17 years.
Good luck with it! You _can_ do it, if you want to.
I'm sure others will have used other methods, but I found Alan Carr's Easy Way book genuinely worked. It works by gradually convincing you that there is no benefit to you from smoking. And it's that simple.
He - and others - talk about a "big monster" and a "little monster" in addiction. The little monster is the physical addiction, the cravings, the come-down, from whatever the addiction is. That's easy to kill off, it just takes a bit of time - actually only about 24-48 hours for nicotine until your body's flushed it out of your system.
The "big monster" is the part of you that feels like you're missing out on something good, like you're "giving up" something rather than just not doing it any more because you don't want to. If you can deal with the part of you that still thinks you _want_ to smoke, or drink, or eat sugar, or take class As, or whatever, then you're not addicted any more.
And it's dealing with the "big monster" that's the hard part and takes thought and consideration, stepping back and seeing what harm the addiction is doing you and why you're better off without it. Addiction counsellors often say "there's no power in will power." You can't give up forever by will power alone, without forever feeling like you're missing out on something you really enjoy or want to do - and usually the same will power that you're trying to use to give up, is the same will power that will say go back to it anyway!
But you can give up anything by removing the desire to do it. Alan Carr's book was great for me by gradually breaking down all the reasons I told myself I liked smoking, and replacing them with reasons I found smoking horrible and smelly and expensive and antisocial and unhealthy and all the stuff I already knew anyway. And I'm not giving away the book's secret, because it's not a secret, but it takes time to read and think through all the stuff, to change your thinking. "Without thinking, there's no change."
Sorry about the rant, I hope it helps in some way. Well done on quitting smoking, it's a positive choice and you'll improve your life by leaving it behind. 🙂
Good luck!! 👍
My father-in-law did this in his mid 60s. Had smoked all his life then decided one day he was going to stop and he never had a ciggy again. No patches or anything. This is despite his wife still smoking.
It can be done.
We used to live by the mantra 'a drinks too wet without a cigarette'... Then when I quit 20 years ago I realised how much nicer beer tasted!! I'd buy those signs @binners but I cannot agree with #1 regardless of the sentiment 😉
I’d buy those signs @binners but I cannot agree with #1 regardless of the sentiment 😉
Yeah - all kinds of wrong that first one! And he claims to be Northern!! 🤣🤣
Good luck Gnusmas, rooting for you!
The next bit may be a bit heavy, I apologise if it is. It's meant to be motivational, not a lecture...
My Mum and Dad were both heavy smokers, my Dad especially so (I think he got to 60 a day at one stage). They are both dead now from smoking related illnesses. You sound like you want to do this for yourself, but take strength in the fact that you are also doing it for you kids.
Yeah – all kinds of wrong that first one! And he claims to be Northern!! 🤣🤣
I can assure you that this is purely in the context of mid-morning snacks where I would have had a fag 😃
To put things in perspective regarding my relationship with food since packing in smoking: I’ve recently started a freelance job where I have to go into the office instead of WFH. I’ve lost a stone in 6 weeks because I’m out of reach of my fridge during the day 😂
Just over 16 years ago I said to myself that I would never have another cigarette. Keep telling yourself that and believe in yourself. Best of luck fella,
Good luck mate! I really should join you but................
Just make sure the will power is there.
I finished my duty free 1.5kg of tobacco at the beginning of last year so started buying tobacco locally but they are weak, very weak. I guess if you smoke normal cigarette or tobacco nowadays your chance of quitting might be easier.
My trick is to get my colleagues travelling overseas to buy me some duty free tobacco, but most tend to give me a good lecture about smoking ... yeah right. They might as well just tell me the truth that they are lazy or can't be arsed to buy some for me. Bar stewarts!
Anyway, I still enjoy my tobacco and found some "cheap" Riverstone brand to cover for my habit for now. But trying to stretch 50g for a month is trying at times. LOL! My roll up is thin ... sometimes very thin.
Oh ... I ain't giving up.
Anyway good luck to you.
oh ya ... if you are a heavy smoker you might need to quit slowly rather than instantly coz you might "die". That's according to my mum's observation. According to her that might due to a sudden shock to the system because of nicotine starvation. She told me "look so and so were heavy smokers and out of a sudden they quit, then few months later they died". She is just an ordinary housewife LOL! I told her their contract with grim reaper was up for collection. Nothing to do with their habits.
With all the things you've been through out of your control this is payback time, take control of this, it will be tough, stick it to the man, we stand behind you, 💪
good luck Gnusmas.
I no longer smoke but I do vape. I know it's not the same thing but it does keep me off the fags, my lungs feel a lot better for it, and I don't stink ... well, not of fags anyway.
If you've got the will to do it cold turkey you have my full admiration.
I hope I’m not jinxing this by posting
On the contrary, publicly announcing your intention to quit is a recognised part of a successful strategy to stop smoking. You are more far likely to fail if you keep it as "your little secret", I suggest that you go around announcing it to as many people as you can.
Although you say that you don't want to don't totally dismiss nicotine replacement treatment, if you find yourself in a crises a NRT chewing gum or lozenge is far far better than "just one" cigarette to help you cope. The moment you have a cigarette you are a smoker again, NRT chewing gum or lozenge doesn't count - you remain a non-smoker.
Embrace the withdrawal symptoms - it means that you are doing something fantastic for your body! Ideally take up a new past-time - change the routines of your old life. Definitely up your exercise regime, more bike rides, running, etc, it will drive home to you why you are doing what you are doing.
Good luck and try to give regular updates on here, it will help you and also others thinking of stopping their nicotine dependency.
I gave up cold turkey. Must be around 25 years now. Allen Carr's book is good. The idea that helped me, which may have been from the book, was to view withdrawal symptoms as a good thing. It is your body getting back to normal.
This will be the best dicision you have ever made it was for me, after many failed attempts I have not smoked in 12 years.
As mentioned by other the Allen Carr method is great.
Set up a money pot and put your cigarette money in that treat yourself at the end of the week month the money adds up very quickly.
Drink plenty of water and be aware of how much your eating as food tastes so much better.
You can do this you will start to see the benefits after the first few days
Also before you give up totally you should have a last cig ... just to say goodbye to smoking.
Once you think you have succeeded you should celebrate with a cig. Just one for old time sake.
The tip that worked for me in addition to hypnotherapy, was to treat the craving like a small child which was about to run into a busy road. An immediate “NOOOO”
Then move on, with something else. Don’t allow yourself to procrastinate over it.
Luck is over rated, you have got this cracked already!
Set up a money pot and put your cigarette money in that treat yourself at the end of the week month the money adds up very quickly.
This is a great idea. I was smoking about 15 fags a day. The money I would have spent on those I saved up and in a surprisingly short stretch of time it paid for a very nice new bike
I was smoking about 15 fags a day.
That's the problem. You could have smoked some roll ups instead and the amount tobacco could be half that. You can even save on the amount spent and still enjoy it. Give it a try.
Oh I never smoke cigarette coz that's disgusting and unhealthy. Roll ups taste much better and less expensive.
Currently, I spend about £23 per month for 50g of tobacco.
If the price continues to increase I will have to buy some organic tobacco from the Borneo native people because they grow a lot of tobacco for their own consumption. No chemical treatment just pure tobacco.
When you going to give up being an arse, though?
When you going to give up being an arse, though?
The key is to moderate consumption.
Anyway, if he is happy giving up then by all means.
Good luck in this @gnusmas. Have tried to stop a fair few times and still want to. Keep us updated and hopefully will spur a few more of us to quit
Once you think you have succeeded you should celebrate with a cig. Just one for old time sake.
If that's a joke, it's crap. If you're serious FO.
I've just done some work on a rental for the brother in law and many a time I've had to listen to the crackling smokers voice and cough whilst the neighbour was on the phone in the garden. The other day whilst fixing the soil pipe I happened to look over into next door and the image above is pathetic compared to the frisbee sized ashtray with a fricking waterfall of fag butts cascading over the side and onto the garden table.
Put me off smoking forever!
Be strong, repeat to yourself 'I'm not a smoker' and then think back to who you were when you never smoked. Worked for me
If the price continues to increase I will have to buy some organic tobacco from the Borneo native people because they grow a lot of tobacco for their own consumption.
But how much will the flight/boat/seaplane to the native Borneo people's organic tobacco plantation cost you Tintin?
I can't see the cost savings.
But how much will the flight/boat/seaplane to the native Borneo people’s organic tobacco plantation cost you Tintin?
I can’t see the cost savings.
Only buy them when I can coincide with my visit home. No, not going to simply fly home just to buy them that will be silly.
In the meantime I just buy whatever tobacco is the cheapest locally here. My favourite Old Holborn original is nearly £30 for 50g here ... Whattt! .. the last time I bought my Old Holborn from duty free they were 10x50g for US$34 at Dubai. Back home organic strong dark tobacco, wrapped in tobacco leaf, is probably around £1 or £2 for 50g from the native.
When you look at the scumbags who own tobacco companies, not giving them one penny more will be most satisfying.
**** em.
@chewkw this thread is about Gnusmas giving up - you’re being pretty insensitive - if you haven’t got anything supportive to say, then there are other threads for you…
Here, here!
Good luck. Stay strong
@chewkw this thread is about Gnusmas giving up – you’re being pretty insensitive
But on the plus side chewkw taking upon himself to discuss his own personal smoking habits re-enforces the claim that idiots smoke 💡
Reinforce the positive.
For me each day of not smoking was something I looked forward to. It takes a mindset change, but once I flipped form something I missed to something I no longer did; each day was a huge victory and felt positive rather than negative
If an idiot like me can do it! 🙂
With all the things you’ve been through out of your control this is payback time, take control of this, it will be tough, stick it to the man, we stand behind you, 💪
This.
Pob luc bud.
Good lad. You'll never regret it. I still have the odd cheeky one when pissed but it just makes me realise how minging it is all over again.
Good luck. If you need a moment's break from everything, just come and post on here
It's so so hard. I think it's important to recognise that it is so damn hard. I never thought I'd be able to do it.
Now 2 years on and I'm so glad that I did. Be in for the long haul. It's so much easier to quit once that 4 or 5 times.
It gets easier each day.
Giving up smoking will make you even less like chewkw - that’s a pretty strong incentive in any weak moments you have. Good luck!
3 years since I quit now- I'll very much echo what Cougar said about not stopping taking breaks. I spent a long time preparing for quitting, and one of my big concerns was missing those five minutes to myself. I kept doing it, just without the smoking.
I used a combination of Allan Carr audiobooks, NHS counselling and then Champix (nicotine receptor blocking drug). I was definetely ready to stop though, and haven't wavered at all. Being around smoking doesn't make me want to start again, which surprises me.
PM me if you want any help
get an espresso machine and drink vast amounts of coffee.
yes, its one stimulant for another, but tabs dont half make you feel physically rubbish across several metrics and you dont realise until you have quit
I did exactly that too. I just stopped buying them.
Then i didn't have any.
And i still don't.
And it's still the best thing i've ever done to myself.
My wife and I quit together a few months before we married. I think the fact we couldn’t let each other down made it easier. It really didn’t take long until we didn’t even consider smoking.
My old man used to work for Philip Morris and caned 7 packs a day and he managed to give up* so you definitely can!
*apart from cigars and a pipe.
Knocked smoking on the head 22 years ago (scarily). Was on something between 15 and 30 a day. I've never read - or indeed even heard of - the Alan Carr (he's very versatile for a comedian) book, but can relate to the concept of the big monster. For me, it was breaking the link between booze and fags (also the post meal cigarette).
Basically though I was sick of being "dependent" on something. And the cost (and they were cheeeeap compared to now).
Key for me was taking it one day at a time. Crucially if I did relapse occasionally (and I did in the early months) I didn't use it as an excuse to start again. I'd seen too many people (myself included) say "I'm proud of myself, I lasted 12days/weeks/months this time" and promptly start smoking again.
So the key mindset now is that you're a non smoker. If you have the occasional relapse don't use it as an excuse to become a smoker again. From now on you are a non smoker and you are no longer in thrall to the weed!
And Chewkw with his Borneon 'tobacco'. No wonder he has a slightly left field sense of humour 🙄
Flip the perspective - enjoy the withdrawal cravings, they’re your new high, and you’re stronger than the cravings!
It’s cringe, but be the best version of yourself you can be today. You know that the best thing to do is to not smoke today, so do that.
for me it was all about getting through the first month,
Agree, the first month is key as it firstly removes the actual chemical addiction and then the habitual side (which is a main part of it)
For me it took a couple of years before I had 100% forgotten all about it.
Everyone is different mentally but when I decided to give up I knew I would be giving up for good and never smoking again.
Thought I’d pop in and wish you well for this morning. Lots of fag-break length videos for you to watch here:
https://youtube.com/c/AlanCarr
If the other Alan Carr doesn’t float your boat, maybe there’s something else you could do in short intervals throughout the day that would be a distraction?
Stay strong!
Good luck!
Alan Carr worked for me too - and I find self-help books generally ridiculous.
If I remember it was "If smoking is something that's positive for you why don't you encourage your children to smoke?"
I had tried to give up a few times before, but when I actually succeeded I went cold turkey.
I left it 10 years too late, but it was the best thing I ever did - but also one of the hardest things I have ever done - but you have dealt with so much over the last few years I think you'll have the inner strength to stop.
I tried Hypnotherapy, the Allen Carr book but the biggest help was tablets (Champix I think)
Just don't give up giving up!
Wow, wasn't expecting this sort of response but thankyou all for your replies. Will reread them again and answer any specific questions if I can. I was going to post again last night but thought I'd do one fresh the first morning instead.
Guess context is useful. Been smoking for around 15 years and had between 12 and 18 per day, depending on the day. When everything began happening a few years back I'm sure at one point I was easily on 40+ a day but that was then, as time has gone on since I've dropped back down.
Woke up this morning and had my cuppa and no fag. Got them all ready for school then didn't have a fag. Took them to school and I'm now home, made myself a cuppa and I'm sitting here typing this with no fag. I know its only the first morning but by now I'd have probably had 3 already. Think it's the habit of doing it that's going to be the hardest bit initially, already feels a bit weird not doing that. Fingers crossed they all come home in a better mood then they went in to make it a little bit less stressful tonight.
Think it’s the habit of doing it that’s going to be the hardest bit initially, already feels a bit weird not doing that.
It's actually the other way round. You will completely get over the actual physical withdrawal within a very few days, the psychological dependency will take months to get over.
In the early days the fact that you have given up will be foremost in your mind, after a while you will automatically reach for your fags in particular circumstances forgetting that you have given up smoking.
Good luck with today. Tomorrow will be worse. But after about 3 days it will start to get easier and the will power to stick to your decision is what will keep you going.
Keep giving updates as it will help you and others considering quitting.
I was quite a heavy smoker back in the day.
Stopping was one of the hardest things I have ever done.
I used nicotine gum to help. I used to wait until I was really craving a smoke then I would chew the gum. It only took about a week for the gum to be as "enjoyable" as a smoke used to be. I then started to replace the gum with normal chewing gum.
Worked for me.
Get an espresso machine and drink vast amounts of coffee.
yes, its one stimulant for another, but tabs dont half make you feel physically rubbish across several metrics and you dont realise until you have quit
This is sound advice imo. Yes cigarettes are often associated with drinking coffee but imo there are a lot of similarities between nicotine and caffeine. You will need a stimulant and uplift as you will struggle with concentration, you will get a hit from caffeine.
You will of course also get very irritable, it's just one of the withdrawal symptom, but it won't last.
Woke up this morning and had my cuppa and no fag. Got them all ready for school then didn’t have a fag. Took them to school and I’m now home, made myself a cuppa and I’m sitting here typing this with no fag. I know its only the first morning but by now I’d have probably had 3 already. Think it’s the habit of doing it that’s going to be the hardest bit initially, already feels a bit weird not doing that.
I suspect that habit is a big part of addiction, you associate actions with other ones. You have a cigarette after lunch because you've had your lunch so it's time for a cigarette, not because there's a conscious decision that you want one.
A while back I got into a habit of having a glass of wine whilst I made tea. I caught myself one day, I'd started cooking, poured a glass and suddenly thought, "why have I done this?" I didn't particularly want a drink, I'd just poured it on autopilot because that's what I did when I was cooking. Y follows X. That was a bit of a wake-up call.
Great start your doing well
Something I found helps was getting rid of all lighters and ashtrays anything associated to smoking was binned.
Give the house a really good clean to help get rid of the smell of old smoke.
My biggest motivation was not wanting my kids to smoke I gave up when youngest was coming outside with a pencil in her mouth to copy me, I'm of the age where we used to have cigarette sweets, everyone smoked I'm sure it played it's part on why I started smoking, it's far better to set a good role model I think of all the people I know who smoke and have older kids their kids smoke too or vape, in our house the message has always been smoking is for losers they both know me and my wife smoked, it's the one habit I don't want my kids to start.
Keep at it you will crack it you have the support of all of us on here to help.
You can do this, @gnusmas. I hope you find plenty of support on here.
Another thing that may help is preparing yourself mentally for situations where you'd normally reach for the cig packet. I gave up back when smoking was still a thing in pubs, and it felt VERY odd not lighting up when everyone else was doing so.
Think about how you'll respond at other times when you'd normally smoke - waiting for a bus, morning coffee, getting stressful news etc. - and if you've prepared yourself for it to feel a little weird, you'll be better at making sure you remember you don't need that cigarette.
Although if it comes to it, just remember, as one of my friends succinctly said "the key to not smoking, is not smoking."
Oh, and worth knowing that it might take you a couple of days to get back into pooing normally - nicotine triggers both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and one of the few times your body naturally does that is when you're preparing to evacuate your bowels. Without the usual nicotine trigger, it will take a couple of days for your body to adapt to doing it itself, but drink plenty of water and it will happen. 😉
@gnusmas How are you doing with the not smoking? Make a note of how much you save and hide half in a secret place… just for a treat for yourself!
This is sound advice imo. Yes cigarettes are often associated with drinking coffee but imo there are a lot of similarities between nicotine and caffeine
This will ALWAYS remain the breakfast of champions and the best way to start the day
I can honestly say it’s the only cig I miss.
My morning routine was get up, walk into the kitchen, fire up the coffee machine, flick radio 4 on the stand at the open back door, spark up a Benson and have a smoke while drinking an Americano. Bliss. Every fag after that I don’t miss
Nowadays I’ve just replaced the Benson with a vape and it’s still the best way to start the day. Caffeine and nicotine is a dream combination, but you can still do it without actually smoking 😃
My routine was fag, then coffee and fag, followed by bowel movement whilst having another fag, followed by another one or two whilst getting ready for work. Having boosted my nicotine levels I could then ease off a bit letting the rest of the day take me to my typical 35 a day.
As they say, if I can give up smoking anyone can. Although it did take me several decades of attempting before finally cracking it.**
My favourite quote on the subject is the one attributed to Mark Twain......."Giving up is easy, I've done it loads of times"
Stick with it gnusmas, the pain is worth the gain.
Edit : ** My first attempt to give up was when I was 15 years old, I managed to give up for 2 weeks.
Caffeine and nicotine is a dream combination
Works without fail every morning for me.....guranteed trigger for a good sh1t4 before work.
Aye… you’ll never find a smoker suffering from constipation 😂
Whoever suggested rollups is not helping. The act of rolling and all the little bits and bobs just makes it even more habitual.
For me it was cold turkey. Get rid of anything smoking related, lighters, ashtray, filters, papers. Everything.
For me the important thing to remember when stressed, in no way does nicotine change my stress level. If I had a smoke, the cause of my stress will still be there.
I'd just have made myself slightly slower on the bike. So better ride the bike instead.
Whoever suggested rollups is not helping. The act of rolling and all the little bits and bobs just makes it even more habitual.
And never mind all the palaver associated with trying to make contact with native people in Borneo.
Whose daft idea was that?
And never mind all the palaver associated with trying to make contact with native people in Borneo.
Whose daft idea was that?
I'm sure I saw a TV program where some chef used to get really special chocolate from Borneo. Might just be the class A's I replaced nicotine with thou.
I’m sure I saw a TV program where some chef used to get really special chocolate from Borneo. Might just be the class A’s I replaced nicotine with thou.
Class A? LOL! My suggestion is NOT to go anywhere near that stuff in Borneo coz if caught they hang you no question ask.
For OP, you will be fine if you are a moderate smoker I mean my 50g tobacco can last me for a month. Just need to be disciplined.
Just managed to get my German colleague to buy me 300g of Old Holborn Original from Deutschland. Woohoo! They are cheaper by £10!!! I was going to get him to buy me 1kg but decided it would be risky for him with the custom. Never mind I shall ask other colleagues to buy me some when they visit EU or wherever with duty free. LOL!
Class A? LOL! My suggestion is NOT to go anywhere near that stuff in Borneo coz if caught they hang you no question ask
Who is going to Borneo?
Doesn't matter.
There's only one thing that got me to give up. Getting close to the age my dad died. He died painfullyhm, one morning over breakfast. I've got the same sluggish heart valve apparently. It'll be the one failed on him. Familial issues.
Almost nine months now and frequently, normally on a night, I have nicotine pangs so bad I end up scoffing too much food, which is, admittedly, just as bad. There are packs of cigarettes I haven't given to neighbour's. I keep them there to remind me not to touch them, at home, or out.
I'm currently under-exercising, because my daily routine is completely destroyed(locked down in China). I have to push myself to do other stuff. Maybe download some plays and walk around outside within my community keeping my mind off the exercise. I'm also moving my multi-gym to another room so I actually use it regularly, not just sometimes.
Getting older, you discover you're not indestructible anymore. I realized that continuing to smoke is just harming myself, and shortening my life drastically. That's how I stopped, and will keep stopped.
This is morning 3, as far as updates go all I can say is I still haven't had a fag. Yes, the want is there but so far I've been managing to not have any. Still going cold turkey, rightly or wrongly.
Like has been mentioned it's the morning one and having one after food. Although a lot of it is in the evening when I'm home by myself and they're all in bed. Sounds stupid but that's the truth, think it's been something to do to help pass the time. Desperately trying not to fill that void with food again.
Well done, the first couple of weeks are really difficult and as you say, the connection to daily events is the hardest to resist.
Just keep reminding yourself that you are never going to smoke a cigarette again, it’s what worked for me.
This is morning 3
It doesn't get any worse in terms of physical addiction/withdrawal symptoms, from now on it gets easier in that respect - you are over the most difficult and challenging bit!
However the psychological dependence will remain for weeks and months and you must be careful it doesn't catch you out, especially at social events - don't get tempted by "just one".
Everyday will get easier and you will spend longer and longer periods not thinking about fags.
Well done for getting over the hardest bit!
Definitely need to watch the psychological element, especially in the first few months where you think you've got it cracked.
I stopped 25 years ago and still feel a pang for a fag with the first sip of beer in a pub; but it now passes in moments.
Never feel that desire in any other situation.
Human minds are odd things.
It's been 2 weeks since I spontaneously decided to try and give up smoking so here is the latest update.
I'd decided to try and do this cold turkey, not easy at all after over 15 years of smoking. No vapes, patches, gum or anything else to replace the nicotine, just will power. The first few days were pretty tough, really missed the morning fag and post food fags. Surprisingly missed the habit of doing it more than the nicotine itself I think.
But I haven't given in to it and I'm pleased to say I haven't had one or succumbed to any alternatives. I know it's still early days and anything could happen but at this moment in time it's going pretty well. Haven't felt any differences as yet apart from my breathing in the morning is better. Only downside is some extra snacking which I kind of expected so that will have to be the next step I guess.
Great work Alan
I've been there, it sucks but does get better!
I miss the habit from time to time even though it's over 20 years since I regularly smoked. Holding things like a pen seems to help me
I've now reached the point where if I get drunk and snag a cig off someone I regret it a lot afterwards and it puts me right off any thoughts of doing it regularly