Quiting smoking - Any tips

By far the biggest proportion of ex-smokers did it cold turkey (seem to remember seing it was about 95%)

Don't do anything which puts nicotine back in your system whilst trying to give up - that just puts you back down the withdrawal ladder and prolongs the pain. After a week, it improves, after a month the physical addiction is very manageable.
 
But then you get nicotine back in your system.

Indeed.

The choice there is all about intentions... giving up nicotine entirely, or simply harm reduction by leaving cigarettes behind?

If your intention is to be done and dusted with nicotine use, then stay away from ecigs (or perhaps consider a nicotine-free option whereby you're only simulating the 'action' of smoking).
 
Just stop. It is EASY. Think of it like this - if you have a cigarette, then you will only want one again later on. So you are back to square one if you have one, and the same if you don't. So you might as well not bother! Addiction is all in the mind.
 
I didnt download that quitnow app but have just installed it to see how many cigarettes i smoked and how much money i have saved.

cigarettes not smoked 7,900
money saved £1,185
time saved 32 days :)
 
Buy yourself a MK1 MX5 with the money you are saving.
It is genuinely cheaper than smoking (to someone smoking a lot).
Therefore you are healthier and have a new hobby!
This is just an example, as you can use many other ways of motivating yourself.

Perhaps treat yourself to a holiday, and the fancier the holiday is depends on how much you save from smoking!

I wish you the best of luck OP! Keep posting your progress.

I didnt download that quitnow app but have just installed it to see how many cigarettes i smoked and how much money i have saved.

cigarettes not smoked 7,900
money saved £1,185
time saved 32 days :)

7900 fags costs way more than £1185!
Isn't a 20 pack around £7.50 now?
 
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I didnt download that quitnow app but have just installed it to see how many cigarettes i smoked and how much money i have saved.

cigarettes not smoked 7,900
money saved £1,185
time saved 32 days :)

productivity lost £2,000
fat gained 10 kg
 
Good on you for giving it a go. My few tips are; don't pick a day; set yourself a three day challenge then reset the clock and do it again for a little longer, but at the end of each challenge congratulate yourself (not with a fag though:p). Or do my tried and tested way, just stop; don't pick a day as you are setting yourself up for failure from the get go, plus you'll feel crap at the end. Keep active, do not let you mind to wonder, the bored mind will trick you, keep that mind going, the times you normally go out and have a ciggy, notice this and occupy yourself with something mentally challenging.

Good luck. :)
 
Here is a good tip:


If you want to give up because it is dirty and stinks and costs money then just be determined and do it and remember why. But if you are not really into quitting you are going to need serious help and you will probably fail many times. You gotta want it to be honest smokers who quit before and relapsed like me know this.


I am finally at the bit where i find it disgusting and that came after years of being a smoker and bit by bit i would find it more repulsive so in the next few months i will quit for good. That is a serious commitment for me as i do not drink anymore either. Those two togeather and being bored or nervous means i will almost certainly smoke a fag and near the end regret it and the taste in my mouth is always awful.
 
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Buy yourself a MK1 MX5 with the money you are saving.

Dam I love your line of thought - though I bought a MK2.5 :p

Seriously though OP from my experience it genuinely does get easier - I stopped around 8 years or so now and I honestly couldn't afford to start back up. Not that I ever would mind you, I'm the worlds worst now if it comes to walking down the street and walking into some random persons second hand cigarette smoke! I had a friend at work (who loves a good cigar with his whisky) and knows how much I love my malt whisky surprised as I said I'd never smoke again. It's not just the smell / cost / health issues. It's rapidly gaining a stigma as a "unhealthy and bad" thing to participate in. It wasn't at all like that in the mid 80's when I stared and 20 Marlborough cost me about £2.20!

Times have certainly changed and in this field it's for the better in my humble opinion. To answer your original question OP I'd suggest you try the Halls menthol eucalyptus sweets as that's what I used and after one of these you really wouldn't want to try a cigarette!
 
I smoked 30 a day for 15 years. I'd have thought there would always be a underlying craving but there's not. It's been about 7 years since I quit and it seems like I was a different person.

The method I used was long long term. I tried patches, gum and cold turkey and failed so I devised a new method. I went down to silk cut for about 3 months then I went down to silk cut ultra light for another few. Then I went to the doctors and got champix pills. The biggest problem I had was keeping my hands busy. Those pills gave me some mental dreams thiygh, really good lucid stuff.
 
I started when I was about 15 then stopped when I was around 22...I used the silk cut method from 20 Regal Kings or B&H to 10 Silk Cut..I was ****ed off with withdrawing my shirt from my arse after trying to get a decent drag.
Anyway, I started again after about 2 years after attending my mates wedding and getting good n drunk...had a fag then another for the road.
I still smoke now, I'm 37 this year.
I am planning on quitting when I go on Holiday at the end of the month as the kids (14 & 8) don't know anyway and I'm always sneaking off for a smoke.
My biggest problem is that I like it.
 
I started when I was about 15 then stopped when I was around 22...I used the silk cut method from 20 Regal Kings or B&H to 10 Silk Cut..I was ****ed off with withdrawing my shirt from my arse after trying to get a decent drag.
Anyway, I started again after about 2 years after attending my mates wedding and getting good n drunk...had a fag then another for the road.
I still smoke now, I'm 37 this year.
I am planning on quitting when I go on Holiday at the end of the month as the kids (14 & 8) don't know anyway and I'm always sneaking off for a smoke.
My biggest problem is that I like it.

Okay without try to sound either patronising or condescending - do you genuinely believe your kids (14 & 8) think you don't smoke? Do you really think they can't smell it on you?

You say your biggest problem is you like it which is fair enough. But take a step back here - do you also really like the taste first thing in the morning? And how do you like spending (I'm guessing) around £7.00+ for 20 smokes? Also do you need this addictive and destructive drug in your life? Or are you better than that?
 
On day 8 myself....bit of a "pro" (at failing) as have given up about 20 times in last 20 years...and started again varying from 10 weeks to 3 years once.


Good financial motivation is put the money aside and make a point of spending it on things you wouldn't have got otherwise.

Worked for me when i realised after 7 weeks off them i could get a £200 8800gtx (few years ago)

Money not the reason or issue now (smoke rollies) just need to stop as i am 40 this year and its killing me literally....very prone to flu type bugs and chest infections....time to think of future.

Quiting is one thing but staying off them is another...dont be tempted to have just the odd one...fatal mistake.

Its one of the hardest things you will ever do
 
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