Starting today: Hello All This is the start... - No Smoking Day

No Smoking Day

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Starting today

nsd_user663_51263 profile image
21 Replies

Hello All

This is the start of my quit. I've been a smoker for more years than I care to remember and now I've decided that the time has come to stop, and stop for good.

I've said this so many times before but I really mean it this time, I've even reached the stage where I'm smoking without realising that I'm doing it so I've got to get some sense and break the habit once and for all.

I'm going to use the cold turkey method and just try and get myself weaned off smoking one day at a time. I am desperate to stop smoking so I'm hoping that with my willpower and the help and support of all of you other quitters I will have the strength to keep going.

One thing that I would like advice about is whether I'm right in keeping cigarettes in the house. I have 8 left that I thought I would keep rather than get rid of. I don't mean to keep them as a 'standby', it's just that in the past, when I've been on one of my many halfhearted attempts to quit and found the going tough, I've fallen into the trap of going out and buying them with the intention of having 'just one'. Of course I've inevitably ended up just smoking the lot whilst telling myself that once they're gone I'll start again - famous last words! My train of thought at the moment is "I know they are there and I don't need or want to smoke them" but please tell me if you think I'm deluding myself.

Day one begins for me now then.:)

Linda

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nsd_user663_51263
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21 Replies
nsd_user663_20558 profile image
nsd_user663_20558

Welcome to the site Linda. Congratulations on a great decision. And take it from me and a lot of other successful quitters on here; this thing really can be done.

I can't really answer your question about keeping cigs - I know people who have kept a pack in their drawer and never touched it. Personally speaking, I couldn't have done it, and putting some distance between myself and the nearest available smoke was best for me! You must do what feels right.

The main thing is to keep taking one day at a time. There's loads of good posts on here that can help motivate you, and lots of other people who are in the same boat, so use the site as much as you can, it really helps!

Have a happy smoke free day :)

Helen

nsd_user663_51074 profile image
nsd_user663_51074

Hi Linda,

good luck and remember take each craving one at atime dont think about tomorrow. My partners gran decided to quit at 61 and she kept a box of ten in her kitchen in the cubard, in her mind she told herself, if i want one i will have one no one wil ltell me what to do :-) and she never ever had one. It was her comfort that got her through it. she been taking into a nursing home now she is 83 and they found her 10 box when clearing her things that was sat there untouched for 23 years :-) you do that if you need to, my advice is if you snap and going back on them for what ever reason your going to get them all be it in the kitchen or a garage 2 mile away, you will get them lol

nsd_user663_9130 profile image
nsd_user663_9130

All the best. Hope it goes well. If you find yourself reaching for the pack just run over all the reason why you want to quit, or go for a walk or something.

Stay strong.

nsd_user663_48218 profile image
nsd_user663_48218

Good luck Linda. I am also on day 1 and am looking forward to celebrating the milestones. Stay strong and trust your own gut. But also have a llok round the forum and see what other people have said. I think it's great having somewhere I can go to get answers, hints & tips, or just to have a little rant to blow of steam.

I have been lucky so far in that I haven't had any massive craves today but I know that not only is every person different, no 2 quits are the same. Be patient and I know you will get there. We can help each other if we get stuck.

Here's to the rest of your life!!! :D

nsd_user663_51263 profile image
nsd_user663_51263

Thankyou for listening and also for your messages of support.

I'm still not sure I'm being entirely sensible for hanging on to those last few cigs but if they are still in the drawer in 23 years time like your partner's gran's were DJC then I'll be more than pleased with myself.

At the moment I'm feeling motivated and positive, I so want to stop smoking. The one thing I must try to do is to stop secretly thinking as if I've got a mountain to climb. I must remember that quitting it is a perfectly achievable target if only I am prepared to knuckle down and make sure I don't drop my guard.

I'm fine when I'm busy but I need to be prepared for those relaxed moments when the reminding triggers that make me think about smoking seem to crop up. I do think the answer to this is any type of distraction so I will try and use this stategy to help me through the difficult times, I'm sure there'll be plenty of them.;)

.

Stay strong everyone, I'm going to do my best to stay that way too.

Linda

nsd_user663_20558 profile image
nsd_user663_20558

Great attitude. Here's some things to try when those moments crop up.

Silly computer games, great for keeping your hands busy

Knitting (if it's your thing! It certainly helped some people on here)

Give yourself a manicure - by the time you're finished the crave will be gone and your hands will smell so lovely you wouldn't want to sully them with a fag anyway.

Sugar free lollipops. Frozen grapes. And if you don't care about calories, I highly recommend werthers chewy toffees. Saw me through many a bad moment.

Go for a walk. Boo took up geocaching (you can search for it on google) and ended up walking miles and getting fit and taking her mind off the bad days!

Bake something.

Clean something - sadly my own cravings were never diverted into something useful like reorganising the kitchen cupboards. I wish they had been.

If all else fails, have a bath and go to bed early.

Keep going, just choose not to smoke hour by hour if you need to, but keep making the right choice, and you'll get there.

H

nsd_user663_37244 profile image
nsd_user663_37244

Good luck Lynda you are already 1 day ahead of me. As the last smoker in my house I have thrown away all lighters cigs ashtrays the lot. The reason is that there is no reason for them to be in the house anymore I hope it works for me, but whatever works for you is right for you :)

nsd_user663_51263 profile image
nsd_user663_51263

So I'm now into day two of trying to get used to this new way of life - so far, so good.

I am trying to keep myself busy Helen - you gave me some good tips and I am trying very hard to resist the urge to snack on anything I can get my hands on as a means of compensating for the lack of cigarettes. I've noticed I've put on a few pounds lately and I want to lose them quickly so the last thing I will be doing will be to start eating any more than is necessary.

Barrie, welcome to the forum. I still have those remaining cigarettes in the house but so far I haven't been tempted to touch them. I'm just going to leave them for the time being (I don't know why because I'm determined not to smoke them) and just see how I get on.

To be honest I don't think today has been too difficult but I'm not sure if my brain has actually realised yet that it hasn't had its daily dose of nicotine - I'm sure time will tell though.

I have found that drinking a small glass of tonic water (low calorie) seems to help take the edge off any little cravings that I have, it also seems to be curbing my urge to eat instead of smoke.

I'm so glad I've got round to actually doing something about my smoking, I've been promising for ages that I would quit but always finding an excuse to put it off til the next day - which of course I put off as well. I know I can do this and that I can function perfectly well without smoking - I just need to prove it now.

Linda

AngryBear profile image
AngryBear

Welcome!

Barrie, Mark & Linda, welcome and all the best.

As you've seen this forum's a marvel, it's the best tool I've had in the 53 days since I've stopped, and that's a bloody miracle at the rate I smoked!

I kept fags around until last week when I gave them away just to stop them going to waste as the tobacco was drying out. I didn't keep them for any particular reason, I just hadn't had any smokers round to give it away to and didn't want to waste it, seemed a waste of cash.

As Helen said, keep busy, gardening worked for me. I used to take deep breaths, still do at times, enjoying the fact that I could without it catching. Smell your hands and clothes; no faggy smell, I did that a lot too.

It gets better and easier with time, it did for me anyway, but one thing I have learned on this forum; it's different for everyone so do what's best for you and stick with it :)

nsd_user663_26699 profile image
nsd_user663_26699

Hi Linda,

I am one of those people who decided to keep the cigarettes in the house. In fact, they are still in the cupboard as I type, but I never think about them any more. I quit almost two years ago.

In the beginning I kept them for two reasons: a) so that I could feel strong for not touching them, and b) so that if things went horribly wrong they wouldn't be too far away.

One philosophy I had when I first quit was that although I had decided to quit smoking, there was no reason why I couldn't take it up again in the future if I wanted to. This took away the fear of 'never being able to smoke again.' After all, quitting is a choice, not a punishment!

By having the cigs close at hand it reassured me that I wasn't depriving myself of a pleasure. Instead, I was proving to myself that I could live without smoking even with cigarettes close at hand (i.e. the defiance method).

To each their own, and up to you to decide what suits your character best.

I hope that helps.

Alex.

nsd_user663_51263 profile image
nsd_user663_51263

Hello Angry Bear and Alex

Thankyou for the welcome and also your words of encouragement and support. It's such a help for me be able to share this quit experience with others who know exactly how it feels and I'm sure it's going to make the whole process easier for me to adjust to.

I do think that quitting affects all of us in different ways and that we all have our own strategies for coping but I think you summed up my approach to it perfectly in your last post Alex - I am not going to allow myself to think of quitting as a punishment even if in the future it does seem to be one.

At the moment I think I'm still in a sort of honeymoon period, it is only my second day so I don't think it's quite sunk in yet because so far it has been easier than I expected. I'm just waiting for the mind games to set in now and hoping that if they do I will be able to fight them off without too much trouble. I don't know if I believe it but the saying "No pain, no gain" comes to mind so I'm going to try and keep that in mind if ever I'm tempted to weaken.

Still, as I've said it's been 'so far, so good' so I'm hoping I might be lucky and continue to feel this way.

Linda

nsd_user663_26699 profile image
nsd_user663_26699

Hi again Linda.

It doesn't necessarily have to be difficult, although there are likely moments when you will falter and have to fight back. This seems to happen particularly when an event happens that would normally have you reaching for a cigarette, such as when you are nervous (for ex. after an argument), or on the contrary, when you are completely relaxed (for ex. having a nice cocktail while on holiday). Other triggers can occur when you encounter a physical situation in which you would normally smoke (ex. as soon as you land from a plane). You need to mentally prepare yourself for these types of situations so that when they occur, you already know what you are going to say to yourself. Each trigger conquered will help make it a lot easier the second time around.

There has been a lot of talk recently (and not so recently) about nicotine addiction and the difficult psychological effects of smoking. This can lead people to think they should be running into difficulties, whereas some people have little to no symptoms of withdrawal, and don't have a hugely difficult time fighting a psychological battle against smoking either. If you can manage just fine with no major difficulties, then you certainly don't need to look for reasons; just be happy!

Alex.

nsd_user663_51263 profile image
nsd_user663_51263

I agree Alex, it doesn't have to be difficult if you really want to do it.

I think think it's being able to dissasociate ourselves with the sudden urges to smoke, the ones that appear from nowhere such as in the situations you quoted as examples, that are the hardest to deal with.

How we handle them depends I suppose on how committed we are to giving up smoking, I think it is all down to how strong our willpower is but I accept that smoking is an addiction that for many of us is so hard to overcome - Nothing is impossible though if you really want it and are prepared to put the effort in. I hope this doesn't make me sound over confident, I have tried (halfheartedly) giving up in the past but my failure was my own fault, I gave in too easily, probably because I didn't really want to quit if I am honest.

This time round I have given a lot of thought to how I am going to tackle my quit.....

Firstly my reasons for quitting - I am fed up with smoking on my own in my back garden because I am now ashamed to smoke when out socially - hardly anyone smokes anymore these days. I'm also sick of wasting my money on a habit that everyone knows is bad for our health.

Yes I did enjoy smoking but something has made me finally see the light and I know for sure that I've got dig my heels in and quit now.

I am finding that a sip of tonic water seems to take the edge of any little cravings and I've got some tiny sugar free mints (I don't want to put any weight on if I can help it) that I can keep with me when I'm not at home - these too seem to have the desired effect at the moment.

I'm not necessarily focused on counting the days this time. I'm just aiming at concentrating on the positive aspects of quitting so that I don't it to become too 'all consuming' at the expense of everyone and everything else in my life.

Linda

nsd_user663_51074 profile image
nsd_user663_51074

Hi and welcome Linda, congrats on quitting, I will be joining you rom sunday, really looking forward to it. Your doing great from what i'm reading and its giving me useful tips for when I stop.

There is a forum just starting for us newbies quitting this month, called the Olympic Quitters, join the more the better we are all going to need this support, and for any of you quitters already, feel free to join the more motivation to this the better :-)

D

nsd_user663_50410 profile image
nsd_user663_50410

Hi Linda. Just thought I would throw my opinion in re: fags in draw. On my first quit day, I had almost a full pack of 20 which I left in a top draw. Don't ask me why but just knowing they were there was like a safty blanket & helped me through the 1st week. I then got rid of them & although I had a slip on my birthday after toooo many drinks, I no longer need that safty blanket anymore, if fact, I very rarely think about them now! Anyway, I hope the quit is going well & i'm sure you are aware there are loads of threads to read on here that should help the cravings! :)

nsd_user663_51263 profile image
nsd_user663_51263

Good to hear from you DJ and Leroy.

Best wishes for Sunday DJ and yes, I have joined the Olympic Quitters so I hope we will all be able to support and encourage one another.

I've still got those cigarettes in the drawer Leroy and I think it is helping knowing that they are there, I suppose they are my security blanket too. I hope things are going well for you.

Well I've had a pretty rotten day today. Despite my best intentions to remain neutral I seem have got myself caught up a silly 'storm in a teacup' family spat that has got absolutely nothing to do with me. It's turned into one of those situations where people ask you for your opinion and no matter what you say it's not the right answer, even if you say you don't want to get involved! It will blow over as quickly as it's blown up but it was just what I didn't need at this point in time!:rolleyes:

Despite ending up feeling really annoyed and frustrated I am pleased to be able to say that I didn't feel the need to reach out for a cigarette, even though the thought did flit briefly across my mind for a few minutes. I just reminded myself that I would be cutting off my nose to spite my face and it seemed to work.:)

Apart from that I have to say that all is going surprisingly well on the quit front. I just hope I can keep this up because I am starting to enjoy this feeling of achievement I'm experiencing at the moment.

Linda

nsd_user663_26699 profile image
nsd_user663_26699

Hi Linda,

I hope you'll forgive me, but I couldn't help but smile when I read about your family spat. It reminded me that it's one of the worst triggers to get people reaching for a cigarette, and yet you didn't. Well done!

If you can get through all the "firsts" just as successfully, you will soon be completely free!

Alex.

nsd_user663_51263 profile image
nsd_user663_51263

That's fine Alex and I could laugh myself but sometimes these little things that you get drawn into through no fault of your own can be so annoying, especially when you're trying to stop smoking. As I said, the whole situation was really too stupid to mention and I know it will just blow over as quickly as it happened so all will be well I'm sure.

I'm not happy with today's rain, it is stotting down up here in the north east where I live and it looks like it's in for the day. I'm just sitting here having a coffee but, for the first time since I stopped smoking, I've had to fight off some very strong reminders that have been telling me how much more enjoyable it would be if I had a cigarette to accompany it.:( On a day like today though I'm glad I'm not smoking because I only used to smoke outdoors, something I would not fancy doing right now.

Linda

AngryBear profile image
AngryBear

Hey Linda

breathe deep, enjoy the coffee! Taste it too.

As someone posted the other day, have a fag with your coffee, but then what happens ten minutes after that? I missed certain smokes for a while but always thought about that; you can have the fantasy one, but what happens after that? We all know the answer! :)

Well done so far!!

nsd_user663_50109 profile image
nsd_user663_50109

I kept half a pouch iv Baccy wrapped up in gaffer tape under my satires cupboard on my quit day.. It's bin 4 months and it's still there. Even in my very low times I new it was there and didnt touch it. Dont no why I did it tho

nsd_user663_51263 profile image
nsd_user663_51263

Hello Shelly

Well done to you, it shows how strong your willpower must be not to have touched the tobacco you kept.

I've been reading some of your posts and you've done so well with your quit, you've certainly proved to yourself and everyone else that you can do it. It's only been a few days since I stopped smoking and although I'm doing okay I know it's going to take some time for me to get used to it properly.

One thing I can say is that quitting is definitely having a positive effect on my health because the troublesome cough I had seems to have disappeared already. I know quitting can be stressful for a lot of us, especially in the early days, but it may not actually be the reason why you are feeling still feeling anxious, you could be worrying about something else without realising it.

I used to have so many excuses for smoking but I know it doesn't solve or make things better.

Keep smiling Shelly and I hope you start to feel better very soon.:)

Linda

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