Given up Smoking
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Has anyone given up smoking recently? What are the best tips you can give? It’s not for me but for my brother.
People do say the best way to give up smoking is going cold Turkey. Personally I cannot do this myself and I would recommend asking a doctor because they can suggest so many ways!!
I gave up smoking when I was younger. Drinking more caffeine helped me, chewing nicorette gum and going cold turkey. For about two years I still had craving but I don't even think about cigarettes anymore
I hate that I was ever a smoker. I gave up for 2 years at one point through willpower alone. Started again when my dad passed away & my mum was very poorly. I finally gave up for good 4 years ago. I was given the medication champix by my GP. I had some strange side effects on it but honestly can say best thing I ever did. 2 weeks into taking it I chucked cigs in bin & not touched one since. They say ex smokers are the worse when it comes to criticism & I'd agree. I loath the smell of it now & cant stand to be around anyone who has been smoking.
Absolutely! I don't deny that ex smokers are the pits! Perhaps we are angry with ourselves that we were stupid enough to try the stuff and can't tolerate those who haven't had the lightbulb moment. Just playing devil's advocate. 
sunny101 Oh yes, I'd agree with that. I'm definitely annoyed at myself for ever being so stupid & frankly weak. I'm not afraid to admit I'm more than a bit ashamed & appalled I ever smoked.
jennywilks It does! And think about how much cake you could buy with the savings!
Considering that cigarettes are around £10 a pack, you could upgrade from Lidl cake to M&S super cake.
I went cold turkey about 10 years ago (no patches,gum or anything), not easy and to be fair I still get the odd craving but don't have one. You have to be determined to do it
I went cold turkey 24 years ago, I just told myself each morning 'I won't have one today' (rather than looking at it long term) it worked well for me but as people have said above you do need determination and willpower. 
Similar to others here. I just stopped one day and stuck with it. I had cravings earlier on but not any more. Coping fine here
After years of trying everything under the sun to give up smoking - I did , almost accidentally , with no effort at all !
Started vaping , just to try ,and experimented with various contraptions over the first few weeks . Spent over £100 on several models over the first month , but found an "Aspire" one that worked for me .
That was four years ago (on 300 cigs a week - £120 in those days ) since then total cost of vaping is less than£10 a month.
Worked for me (though have I actually given up when I vape is a moot point )
Advice ? don't just try one - remember you are spending £100 + a week on **** or rollys . I probably tried 5 or 6 at a cost of over £100 before I found the right vape .
Trial and error , its about replacing the comfort you got from smoking - not about being an idiot and producing huge plumes of smoke .
I spent £100 -£120 on vaping equipment 5 years ago (most were binned ) but the ones that worked (and I am still with ) have saved me over £120 a week for the last 5 years ! not to be sniffed at !
Any questions ,advice , please ask . Unlike many I'm a member of this site to help fellow members , as we all should be .
Congratulations for improving your quality of life. It's really hard to give up smoking.
LordUnbox Thanks . I smoked for years - tried everything to give up . To be fair I still vape so haven't totally given up , but 5 years since I smoked tobacco .
I give the teenagers down our Pub a a lecture most nights about smoking . Not confrontational (known most of them since they were babies !). Maybe some of it gets through ? Not cool , not clever , not healthy .
Anyone who thinks giving up smoking is tough - should try giving up cancer!
It's easy to stop smoking - the problem is not starting again
. However you stop it's essential to remember that it only takes one cigarette to get back to square one.
Never say "giving up smoking" or "given up smoking" it implies you've given up something you wanted. The more you use the words "give up" the more you'll convince yourself. remember you're getting rid of something you didn't want - it's best to use the words STOP or STOPPED.
It's my opinion that people think stopping smoking is difficult - because they've been told many thousand times it is.
Can only agree wholeheartedly . When I was a kid ,many years ago !, it was "cool " to smoke !
sadly it is addictive as I found out over many decades of being an addict to tobacco .
I'm a vaper now - some may say not much better , and I wont argue - just say that if not completely safe its certainly less damaging than cigarettes .
How many thousands of pounds have I spent on **** in the last 30 or 40 years ? Got to be £5000 + a year ! Imbecillic to say the least !
We chained ourselves to this addiction many years ago - because we thought we were "cool " years before "social media " influenced our behaviour as it sadly does these days .
I've "maybe " saved my health a bit by switching to vaping , debateable OK . But have certainly saved my wallet £500 + a month .
What I don't get is that youngsters (supposedly the best educated ever ! ) are still smoking (to be cool?)
Probably amongst the drugs available to kids these days nicotine is among the least harmful - but why bother at all ?- beats me !
Golfforall Although not an advocate of nicotine replacement, I compare it to asking an alcoholic to switch from whisky to rum, and having been a very heavy smoker then becoming addicted to Nicorette Gum I believe that smoking is over 99% habit and very little actual addiction to nicotine. So "cold turkey" with help can be the best way to stop.
The addiction is virtually extinct after a few hours which is why smokers really crave their fix when deprived for a few hours, to top up and start the withdrawal again. It's why cutting down will not help a smoker stop it's easier for heavier smokers to stop, so by becoming lighter smokers they make it harder. If people could stop by cutting down there'd be very few smokers left.
I used to smoke for a brief while during a very short period of my life and I have quit without knowing why. I associated smoking with a stress relief trick and when I was no longer stressed it was easy to quit.
I'm a smoker and I don't really try to give up. I know it's not good to smoke, but I don't drink alcohol at all.
I suppose you are free to play cancer roulette with your own health as long as you don't puff around non smokers. But what I truly hope is that you are not one of those people who plead poverty but happily chuff £300 per month into your lungs. (Based on £10 per day per month).
I've tried all sorts over the years the only thing that has helped was just switching off, something just clicked and I quit. Having tried and tested almost all of the substitutes, nothing helped, worse still I found out too late I was allergic to the patches arm almost doubled in size!
An e-cigarette was the only way I could give up smoking.. it’s so much cheaper, they say its 90% better for you than smoking (yes I realise that it’s not been around for long enough to know the long term effects but they are healthier than smoking!)
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