I've tried cold turkey but I'm a nightmare to be around, but is this the best option? the giving up smoking industry is worth millions and can end up costing more than smoking would. I wanna do it for free TBH as my main reason is financial. any advice? none of the keep[ing dog ends in a jam jar of water nonsense as I have no sense of smell.

any advice gratefully received (he says rolling a fag)

Get the tablets from your GP - zyban was semi successful but champix worked a charm - 40 a day to 0 in less than a week, and haven't looked back

Cheers for that, I'm also concerned about the habit of holding a smoke, is that hard to kick? 31 years I've been a smoker and I'm scared lol

I haven't missed it at all and was a heavy smoker for more than 20 years. You're supposed to take the tablets for a week before trying to give up, but after about 5 days I didn't feel like smoking - really weird

that sounds like a go for me, they do it in Oz do you know ?

I don't - I got them in the UK. May have to ask, and I don't know how expensive they would be here but well worth it in the long run - saved me a small fortune

I went cold turkey. Found out I was expecting and stopped straight away. I was living in a shared house with 3 other heavy smokers at the time so the following is what I did before we moved into our own smoke-free home.

The shared living areas became smoke free. Roomies smoked in their rooms, but the kitchen, living room etc where cleared of all smoking apparel and I cleaned them really well too to remove the smell (as much as I could)

I identified my weak/trigger points. For me, it was after a meal, break times at work, driving and having a drink. The drinking was easy, cos I abstained from that too. Workwise, I worked through my breaks and stopped going outside. After meals, I would go and do something straight away such as do the washing up etc. When I was in the car, I chewed gum instead. The initial craving only lasts a minute or two. If you can do something for that period, you can then work on the psychological craving.

Clear your home, work, car etc of all evidence of smoking. Clean as much as you can to remove the lingering smells. Clean your clothes, even those stored away as cigarette smoke invades everything. You really don't notice it until you have given up. Find a hobby you can do to keep you busy during those periods of craving. Crosswords, drawing, modelling...anything to keep you occupied.

It isn't easy. And you will get to a point (after about 2 weeks) where physically, you feel awful and you will wonder why on earth you are giving up smoking if it makes you feel like sh1t. But you MUST get past this bit as once you are over it, it will get MUCH easier.

Good luck, and if you feel like a bit of encouragement or support, just shout up

I gave up two years ago after over thirty years of smoking thanks to Alan Carr and his 272 page book. I smoked my last fag while reading the last page and haven't looked back since. No withdrawals, no grouchiness - it was amazingly easy.

Give it a go...

I gave up alcohol after reading Alan Carr's book .I only wanted to cut down but by the time I had got through the first ten pages I was convinced not to drink again.The main thing that stuck in my mind was reading that alcohol was poison.That was enough for me.Haven't touched the stuff since.

Yes, they do.

That's great! Alan Carr certainly knew how to put us off our addictions

Besides restoring my health, I've so far saved $13,000. Not bad for a $13 book

Mate, if i were you I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole

http://www.depressionet.com.au/treat...cns/zyban.html

I quit a 20 year habit cold turkey after reading the Allen Carr Easy Way book and having the ideas backed up by his DVD.

PM me if you, or anyone else, is interested on where to find it on-line, I've had several success stories from people I have recommended it to elsewhere. To be honest on some other forums it is the only reason I am active there.

The central idea is that you can't crave what you don't want, no willpower required. If you can deprogram your brain and realise that smoking gives you NO benefits whatsoever then that is most of the battle won.

The fact I can quote this stuff verbatim a few years on (I can't remember when I quit, seems another life away now) goes to show that it 'sank in'.

The Allen Carr book works for some but you have to WANT to quit and be receptive to the idea that there are no benefits to smoking. None. Not relaxation, not a release from boredom, not a weight loss aid, nothing.

As for his quit drinking book, that hasn't bedded in so well with me.

I second all the above post. I also gave up cold turkey having smoked a pack a day for 25 years. I read that giving up smoking for a nicotine addict was even more difficult than for a heroin addict to give up heroin.

Here's one of many reports on the net...

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/29/ma...ted=all&src=pm

With this understanding, I accepted it would be a journey, one day at a time, with the first two weeks the most difficult, to break the physical addiction.

Each day I just told myself to just get to the end of a fortnight... and then each day became easier.

For two years I kept my last two remaining cigarettes in a box on the top shelf in the pantry. It was like a psychological safety net so I knew they were there "in case". (It took away the panic of not having any.) I stuffed my face as an alternative and accepted it was better (in the short term) than smoking.

Accept it will be hard... and just do it... one day at a time... with an initial focus on getting through the first two weeks any way you can. I have done this. Not one cigarette in over ten years.

If you are an addict, and you stop smoking, you should also understand you can't ever just have one cigarette... or even a puff... some time down the track. Remember, it's an addiction. Reformed junkies can't have heroin, sober alcoholics can't have a drink and ex-smokers can't have a cigarette.

It's difficult to quit... but once you know what you're dealing with, the achievement of beating the addiction is very satisfying.

Good Luck.

PS: Plan ahead and pick a significant date to stop - so you'll always remember the date you won!

I've just done a search on Champix and its side effects can be even more distressing.