materialcontroller

It's the internet, not a nursery school. If anyone gets upset by some bad words online, perhaps they should stay at home wrapped up in cotton wool.

spouse of scouse

Congratulations to those who have given away the ciggies, and to those who are trying. Next time I go to my doctor I'm going to ask for some help to do the same. I'm 60 years old, and have smoked since I was 15. Have 'given up' three times, during pregnancy, but have made no attempts since then. To be honest I'm scared, I'm such a hopeless addict. But I'll give it my best shot. Thanks for the inspiration to those here who have done this/are doing this

Nutmegger

All us ex-smokers will be pulling for you! You can do it! I smoked a pack a day, often plus, for twenty years, and have to admit the impetus came from having a new, non-smoker OH. Are there any special things that trigger you to smoke? For instance, some people automatically light up when they talk on the phone, or pour a cup of coffee. For me, the worst was when I had a glass of wine -- the ciggie came automatically at that point. So I also had to stay away from the wine for a while, until I "broke the link," as it were. As I've said in this thread, mints were my best friend during quitting -- I always had a little packet in my pocket ready to grab one. Good to stick in your mouth and to keep your hands occupied with the packet! When you come out on the other side, you are going to enjoy food more, realize how you used to walk around in an aura of smoke -- your clothes, your bags, your hair -- and there will be a whole new you.

SultanOfSwing

You can do it. Everyone's different so everyone has their own approach but to be honest I just quit cold turkey. Admittedly, I'd only been smoking 10 years when I quit, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. While I wasn't a heavy smoker unless I was drinking, I was a habitual smoker, so the hardest part for me was breaking that habit of always smoking at the same times every day, or during the same activities (waiting for a train, driving into work, that kind of thing). Not saying that'll work for you but as far as I remember, it takes about 3 days for all the nicotine to leave your system (possibly less if you drink a lot of water) and after that is gone, it's all mental.

At least it was for me anyway, but there are tons of different stop smoking aids around now so you'll be able to find something that works for you whatever you try.

civilservant

Good luck! My wife has been smoking for nearly 25 years, so she is right there with you - I know it's going to be hard for because she has plenty of 'triggers' for when she would smoke, In the morning, after work, after eating, before bed... it's not going to be easy, but it's so worth doing.

Guindalf

As stated up-thread, there is no magic bullet, nor is there a single way that works for everyone. For some, it's cold turkey, others need the patch or gum/lozenges. For me, it was Chantix

In the 42 moths I've been smoke free, I have survived a job loss involving being stabbed in the back by a so-called 'friend', been through a job where I virtually had to beg for hours and sometimes only got one hour for a whole week and even lost both parents and went through a huge fight with my sister, with whom there is no chance of reconciliation.

So don't give me the 'I can't cope with triggers' crap. It's all down to will power, with or without the extra help. I never really wanted to quit, but now I've been smoke free for over three and a half years, I'm so glad I quit.

Oh, and for the record, I turned 60 in October and I started smoking at the age of 12.

Rete

I stopped twice. Once for three months on Chantix. Then one day gave in to a crave and bought a pack. Another time it was with the patch and that worked for about 3 weeks.

I've been smoking, like you, since age 15. So for me that is 55 years. Never gave up with pregnancy because drinking (which I don't do) and smoking weren't prohibited back then.

You can try aids, they do help, particularly Chantix if you can stand the side effects. But you must really want to quit in order for it to work. Hubby did it cold turkey and we have a 2 pack a day man. Used Nutmegger's trick of peppermints to kick the habit. Still uses them today after 18 years of not smoking. Best of luck to you.

caretaker

Like spies under harsh interrogation, turn the pain around and make it work for you - learn to relish your withdrawl.

civilservant

Nearly 4 months at this point. At what point do they say you have officially broken the habit?

caretaker

ECID Some people start again after quitting for years.

SultanOfSwing

That's a tricky one, because it's hard to put a time on when the habit is actually broken. You're probably already there but the transition from consciously choosing not to smoke and simply automatically not smoking isn't something I remember noticing. Even now after nearly 15 years, I still occasionally want a fag, or have dreams where I still smoke even though I know it would be a terrible idea to start again .

Rete

I believe the answer is "never"

civilservant

Yeah I can see that - I think the addiction, much like any other, is always going to be there. I don't think about cigarettes anymore, even when my wife does outside to smoke, but if I'm stressed about something at work sometimes I'll think that I'd really like a cigarette if I still smoked - without the temptation to actually have one.

scot47

The addiction never goews away. Be vigilant. For me quitting ( and staying quit) was harder with cigs than with alcohol.

Now 29 years since my last drink and 25 since my last smoke.

Nutmegger

It probably depends upon the individual. You are in early days yet, but when I had got a number of years past quitting, I began to find the odor of cigarette smoke completely nauseating. Nowadays I think I'd be physically sick if I tried to drag on a cigarette. As I think we discussed earlier in the thread, I am also ultra sensitive to the smell lingering on people's clothes, in rooms, etc.