As you may have gathered from the title of my thread I do want to stop smoking but I know it will take grit and determination as ive I have tried several times to stop with limited success (my last attempt coming last year (2 days) but a stressful day at work left me reaching for the ciggies again. I have enlisted the help of this forum as a support base.
I am a 25 year old male (been smoking since I was 16) I mostly smoke tobacco and some days I lose track of how many I do smoke (probably 10-20 a day) I have been previously bad on weed but I have managed to give that up this year (despite a few relapses)
My worst times are:
The morning brew
Winding down breaks
Dinner breaks at work
During alcohol consumption
My old man passed away due to lung cancer last year (ud think that would make want to quit on the spot but it hasnt) it shows how much of a tough addiction smoking is to actually quit.
I have also been struggling with a gambling problem for a while also (which has been more financially and emotionally draining than smoking) had a nasty relapse with that on friday night but i am on the right track with it (lets ****** keep it that way shall we)Im going to find giving up smoking tougher than giving up gambling I know it already.
Im going to start by going cold turkey tmoz and contemplating not having a drink for the rest of the month to aid the abstinence from smoking, im not going to start tonight as ive been smoking for most of the day and will find the cravings too tough to resist this evening.
The methods ive previously used are patches (chucked them in the bin because they irratated my arm and created discomfort) I do have an e-cig but no filters AND I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE BOUGHT SOME IF I DIDNT GAMBLE THE REST OF MY WAGE AWAY.
The hard work starts from tomorrow
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Rob
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You have certainly come to the right place for support!! Give it your best shot - set yourself targets and reward yourself for meeting them (not with cigarettes obviously). We are all here to help.
I have had 3 cigarettes today (last one being an hour ago) even though its only 3 cigs its still a few smokes tho. Im not getting myself too down about it, if we didnt make mistakes and learn from them we wouldnt be human.
I had been watching this for a bit of inspiration and it has been a bit of an eye opener:
Its worth having a read through the links in my signature and the bottom 2 are free online quit smoking programmes.
IIRC they both suggest that you start following them before you stop smoking.
Reading up about nicotine and addiction and what to expect while quitting helps you get your head around what is happening and how to secure a successful quit.
If you can change the way you think of smoking then it will make it more straight forward. Try to let go of the idea that quitting is a sacrifice and that you are denying yourself some kind of pleasure. In reality you are denying yourself nothing, look on it as a positive situation regaining health, wealth and control.
95% if a quit is in the mind, nicotine as a drug doesn't cause as strong a chemical dependency as we are led to believe, after 3 weeks the chemical withdrawal in done but over the many years of smoking we create a conditioned response to light up at numerous times and in numerous circumstance. Unlearning these habits (for lack of a better word) isn't easy you just have to practice and the more time you do it successfully the easier it becomes.
You can do it, both the gambling and the fags. You really have to want to do it. Yes, it will be twice as hard, stopping two things at once, but the rewards will be doubled and you will be cheered on twice as loudly!
Just think of the wonderful new life which is there, just waiting for you.
Welcome back Rob, and well done from me on getting to grips with Day 2. The first 3 days really are the worst in my opinion and once you're through them you can start to count down the hours to the end of your first smoke-free week.
Very glad to hear that you've armed yourself with plenty of NRT this time. I know many people can & do manage to quit CT and I have huge admiration for them but I know that personally I couldn't have done it. Knowing you have some NRT to turn to can truly make the crucial difference and I hope that proves to be the case for you.
Lovely to meet you by the way.
PS: Did you manage to kick the gambling issues into touch? If so, it goes to show that you have the strength and will-power you need to do the same to the Demon Nic.
Day 2 is over and done with in a couple of hours time when I grab some 40 winks.
Some very testing times lie ahead and it's not gonna be easy.
I'm like you for the fact that there is no chance of me quitting via CT at all.
Let's see how it goes & thanks again.
Sadly at present I haven't managed to get on top of the gambling but that's an issue that I will deal with separately. I have a specifically set up support network for this. I have however started to make headway with it again which is good :).
Quitting smoking is undeniably harder and if I can conquer this then there is nothing I can't achieve.
The reason for my absence has been coz I totally went of the rails & started smoking again. Got a couple of nights out planned this weekend so I'm going to be trying to stop again from Monday
The reason for my absence has been coz I totally went of the rails & started smoking again. Got a couple of nights out planned this weekend so I'm going to be trying to stop again from Monday
Indeed it is Monday to morrow, so come on let's get underway. Make this day, a quit day.
Nothing to be lost by not trying! We are here to support each other through those difficult times,
So I wish you well and do hope tomorrow is the right day for you!
You can do this, as form me, I cannot believe I've come this far, and the main contribution to my quit is the power of the people on the forum, just brilliant
From my e-cig using experience, it doesn't matter whether it has filter or not. Coz it contains no tar and other harmful chemicial things like tobacco.
Yes let's do :). For now what I can say is that I feel good for stopping & I don't need cigarettes in my life all they'll do is drag me down. I felt the difference at the gym today even in this short time
Hi Rob, having looked back at your previous posts it seems that alcohol is a quit killer for you. You posted a couple of times that you expected you'd smoke on nights out and you did.
If you really want to quit, you need to stop repeating previous mistakes and avoid situations that are likely to lead back to smoking. Half hearted rarely, if ever, cuts the mustard when it comes to quitting.
Reading that back it may sound harsh, but if you really do want to quit smoking then you have to do what it takes. Going willingly into situations that are likely to cause you to want to smoke will just make it nigh on impossible to build a solid quit.
The question you have to ask yourself is are you prepared to do whatever it takes to quit? Are you prepared to avoid excessive alcohol to preserve your quit? Repeating history will just lead to the same end result.
You can do it, plenty have, but rather than really wanting to quit, you have to really, really, really want to quit
I know what you mean about not charging the e-cig before you go out. I was in that flat battery situation a few months ago. It's like having cigarettes but no lighter!
Best of luck with the new quit and I look forward to seeing how it goes.
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Todays Quit Train - I will not smoke today
day 5 since i quit smoking cold turkey 
