Stop smoking apps

[nsd_user663_15752]

Ive been downloading a few stop smoking apps and wish they had been in place when I stopped (they actually most likely were but I didnt have a smart phone then). Anyone with a smart phone or tablet etc should look into these, I bet they would really help.

One I found called smoking cessitation, you put your quit date in and how much you smoked, and it shows money saved, time since last smoke, time saved and cigs not smoked and also has a health benifit counter. About 15 different things that have a percentage count that increases the longer you go; things like circulation has improved and your risk of this that and the other has decreased. I bet looking at that every time you have a crave would be a real incentive not to smoke.

[nsd_user663_53437]

thanks

Thanks Dave, just downloaded it! Fantastic!!

[ukexsmoker]

I don't have a smart phone

Maybe I can afford one with the money I save from not smoking

I use quitcounter on my desktop

[nsd_user663_54305]

Stop smoking apps - dontcha just love em, spewing out statistics left right and centre - you gained this much money / energy / life, what a smasher you are, you raised this much for charriddeee etc. etc.

Well actually, no. Not for me anyway. If they work for you then that's just fine, at the end of the day the only thing that matters is the end goal, rather than how you get there. But - for me they send a dangerous subtext - "I've deprived myself for xx hours / days / weeks".

I'm over it, I've moved on, I'm not counting.

[nsd_user663_15752]

Stop smoking apps - dontcha just love em, spewing out statistics left right and centre - you gained this much money / energy / life, what a smasher you are, you raised this much for charriddeee etc. etc.

Well actually, no. Not for me anyway. If they work for you then that's just fine, at the end of the day the only thing that matters is the end goal, rather than how you get there. But - for me they send a dangerous subtext - "I've deprived myself for xx hours / days / weeks".

I'm over it, I've moved on, I'm not counting.

Then don’t use them then, but if you think you're over it and moved on, after two months, you are totally ignorant about the drug you are addicted too.

What exactly are you defining as the "end goal"? To me, the end goal is death, if I make it to that point without smoking, then I’ve succeeded. Anyone who has smoked opens the nicotine receptors in the brain that are open till death, the option to smoke will always be there and it’s a fight for life, an option that would never occur to a 'never smoker', hence why we will always be ex-smokers, never non-smokers. Over two years down the line, I am still aware of this. Becoming complacent like you clearly have will most likely lead to a relapse.

Over 99% of quitters, when you actually look at the statistics, people who have been quit 5 years or even 10 years will relapse at some point before they die, it is almost guaranteed. Nicotine is the most addictive drug on the planet, and the need for it can rear its head even decades after a quit. This is a fight that will last the rest of our lives, so anything like these apps to keep us informed of the health benefits is a good thing. If you don’t think so, then don’t use them, but you seem like a prime example of a relapse statistic to me.

[nsd_user663_55597]

I like the apps.

[nsd_user663_55563]

I like the app that I use. It's wildly off target on how much money I saved as it did not know that I could make my 25g of baccy last 4 days at a push and my rollies were a bit on the mean side. I've yet to find this £100 pounds I'm supposed to have saved. But still it makes me feel richer

[nsd_user663_54554]

Ok I'll lob my two-penneth in I think.

I actually get where Egg is coming from, I hope for many years ahead where I don't think at all about smoking. Complete indifference to smoking, that's my end game. It's surely every quitters wish - to get to that stage of life as quickly as possible. I'm not counting the money, or the cigarettes avoided and yes I have an app. But I do pay attention to how long it's been to gauge my likely physical recovery, and in that way it's useful, I don't have to use my fingers and toes.

The money. I'm 42, I have a family and it's not mine to burn, and I feel so so guilty about the financial cost of smoking. But then I fell into it in youth club at 15 and try telling any 15 year old stubborn idiot lad that they will waste many thousands of pounds of future income if they carry on behaving like that. Hopeless.

And I don't care that I've avoided smoking X hundred cigarettes when I can't even calculate the X thousand that I've smoked over the years.

So for what it's worth I'm on the fence, as it's each to their own, whatever works for you to stay smoke and nicotine free forever more. I'm just trying my best to get to the point where I'm in that space. I have an app, I don't use it much but many will, and apps are to be encouraged if they help to reinforce ones' self-belief, and illustrate the benefits of quitting in the early stages. It's personal.

Dave, a perfect post about complacency and I read up on nicotine receptors as a consequence of what you wrote. Scary, and valuable, thanks for that and you've made a difference. Egg I have no doubt that you as a fellow Conqueror will make it to the penthouse

PS I think I've found a great explanation about what happens to the brain in the first few weeks, this thread inspired it so there's the value of the forum, I'll re-read and post the link when I'm off an iPad....

[nsd_user663_54554]

Here's the link referenced previously. The body of the article has a hyperlink for anyone with a PHD in cellular biochemistry to take you to to the real indepth stuff. It's the scan image I found interesting.

drugabuse.gov/news-events/n...

[NicFirth 10 Years Smoke Free]

@AnEggIsAnEgg I think its one of Allen Carr's principles not counting, and I'm sure it works for some, I certainly see the reasoning.

However like everything with this addiction its about how you "spin" it. For me although I'm well beyond milestones being of anything more significant than just something to make me smile they are a note of the tuning point, a celebration of the moment I took back control and said enough is enough.

[nsd_user663_55597]

Thanks for that link Hawkeye - very interesting to read.