Day 28 - Stoptober Done!

So, since Stoptober is a 28 day challenge, I guess I've done it! I started at the end of September, but either way, I made it.

Question is - am I still craving cigarettes? Yes. I would be lying if I said I wasn't. There's a part of me that always will want to smoke, but that doesn't mean I will. It has been a huge part of my life and ultimately it was a tough decision between health and smoking. I chose health.

I am still considering buying a 0 mg e-cig to replicate the hand-to-mouth habit and inhale/exhale aspects of smoking, but I have been told it could set me back rather than be of any benefit to my quit. :confused: (Ignore this paragraph - I have again been persuaded otherwise!)

Anyway, from this day on I'm not going to meticulously count down each day of my quit and I am just going to live my life as a non-smoker. Obviously I will when I get to a milestone (2 months, 6 months, a year), but the less I focus my life on smoking, the better.

Thanks for the support on my 22 day thread, I probably wouldn't have made it this far without it! :)

12 Replies

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  • Well Done!! Im doing the Stoptober too...although I still have 3 days to go! lol

    Feels good doesnt it though :D

  • Well done LewisS, you too magicmom, 28 days is a fantastic achievement! Be proud, you deserve to be!

    One observation, from one CT quitter to another - your comments around "I am just going to live my life as a non-smoker...the less I focus my life on smoking, the better"... spot on, so please think long and hard before buying any form of e-cig, will it really benefit you in any way if you're a month down the line with these aspirations?

    One month though, great job! :)

  • Fantastic and well done:)

    Just my own opinion, I used the step down patch, and am free of that now, the reasoning was that I did NOT want the hand to mouth association of smoking.

    So if your doing ok with out the e-cig why bother! :confused:

    Man congrats you deserve it, big achievement :p

  • Lewis

    So well done my love:). Another successful quitter in the making, this sounds like 'the one'. A lot of positivity on here at the mo.

    Howver, I have to agree with Hawk and Tracey - please, please don't go down the E cig Route, especially as you've not used nor needed it this past month. IMHO it could be detrimental to your quit.

    Fi x

  • Fantastic news, you should be as proud of yourself as we are of you. :D

  • Thanks everyone!

    Yeah I guess that is quite contradicting, to want to live life as a non-smoker, but still wanting to replicate the habit by vaping. I probably won't buy one, but if I got to a point where I felt I would relapse, I'd rather get one of those than a packet of cigs!

    I do think this quit is the last quit. I would be so disappointed in myself if I were to smoke. What really makes me think I have the motivation this time is that even when I was absolutely hammered, I still turned down the offer of a cigarette, which I have never done before.

    Hope I will be posting a thread in a months time! :)

  • Yeah I would only get an Ecig if it was that or a cig moment. Because I think the psychological hit you take when lapse is worse than the physical.

    Anyways, well done to you! and i agree your a non smoker now, no need to count everyday just enjoy them :) xx

  • Well done. Everyone else has said it all so I will echo it - if you don't need an ecig there is no point in potentially spoiling your quit by buying one.

  • Lewis,

    Four whole weeks is massive, stand proud :D

    As others have said, having come this far please don't give in to the e-cig. You're a real non-smoker now; I don't see many real non-smokers feeling the need to take up the e-cig. These thoughts are nothing more than your demon trying desperately to lure you back, inch by subtle inch, to the horror of addiction - never forget how you longed to be free in the first place, and never forget that dropping your guard for 'just one' will put you right back to day one.

    You're over the hard bit now, and moving forward you should feel nothing short of amazed at how much better you'll start to feel. Never look backwards to the false promises of nicotine - look forwards to freedom!

  • Lewis, as the others have said 4 weeks is brilliant and you should be very pleased with yourself. Here's to the next month:)

  • Cheers everyone! :)

    I really hope this is the last time. I'm feeling quite positive since I rarely think about smoking now, which is unusual for my quits (I usually can't stop thinking about smoking!)

    The only worry for me is that I once made it over 8 months and then let myself take that one drag which led to a downward spiral of addiction. This time I have the benefit of having no influences; none of my friends smoke, I no longer stay at my chain-smoking aunts and I have finished college.

    I would be so disgusted with myself if I even contemplated smoking this time. I need to keep reminding myself why - my health, teeth, skin and life. Smoking is something I did during the bad times of my life and now I need to move forward and make some changes.

  • You're well on the way to being a "way of life" non-smoker, ie it's something you used to do and don't think of anymore.......as I think you've figured though, don't get an e-cig, why do you need it? You've got this far without it, it could end up being one more thing to have to conquer; let's face it, the fags are enough!!

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