Hi all.
Technically im on day 8 but yesterday i had 1 sneaky cigarette, just the one. im on day 8 now, or am i ? Do i have to restart my quit meter back to day one or can i carry on as i have realised that it was a mistake and it won't be happening again. Im in a mental conundrum at the moment and need some advice.
Thank you.
Just keep Going
I wouild keep going. I am on day 24 of my quit and was smoking over 25 a day. I wouldn't consider myself as having fallen off unless i went back to smoking several a day.
Depending on how you want to look at it this is where I am
Days since quit started 24
Days since a cigarette (lit or not) touched my lips 17
Days without Nicotine 19
Sorry to hear that :eek:
That "it was just one cig" thought is clearly the thing that has made many of us go back to smoking after years of giving up.
J x 
The day number is irrelevant. What Jenny said is very relevant. Everyone who loses their quit starts by smoking just one. Very dangerous territory.
Personally I would say day 1.... Otherwise you could "just have one"every 3 months would you still say you had given up then? IMO your quit is how long since you had even one puff on a cigarette, I quit 28th October fell off the wagon and had about 10 fags over 3 days, I still went back to day 1 tho and I have been 5 weeks quit as opposed to 3 1/2 months... It's up to you how you do it but for the purposes of the forum, the general consensus is you have a fag you go back to day 1, we have to be tough on ourselves, good luck x
I would start again - otherwise your leaving the door open to have another one and then another one - its the same as saying "I can have just one" . Just my opinion but you need to be completely free of smoking no crafty smokes here and there.
Hi all.
Technically im on day 8 but yesterday i had 1 sneaky cigarette, just the one. im on day 8 now, or am i ? Do i have to restart my quit meter back to day one or can i carry on as i have realised that it was a mistake and it won't be happening again. Im in a mental conundrum at the moment and need some advice.
Thank you.
Hi,
Firstly I'd say your quit is yours, so do whatever feels right for you. No one on the forum will judge you. Regarding your 'quit meter', for me it's very simple - if I were counting, I'd be counting 'days since my last cigarette' - after all, non-smokers don't feel the urge to have a sneaky one do they?
So 'technically' I'd say you're on day one - but it's not my quit, it's your quit, so if you want to be on day eight then that's absolutely fine; you have to man up and do this, and at the end of the day, the forum is here to help you BUT you're doing it for yourself and you make your own rules.
Go back to Day 1. It's agonising having to do it, but it is a huge incentive for never having another fag ever again. I can still feel the pain of having to do it myself back in October, when I had to go back to Day 1 after 5/6 weeks of being fag free and then smoking for just 1 day. It was so damned miserable and I was so upset at having to do it, but it was also a lesson learned....however many times I have been tempted to have "just one" since then (and there have been many).....I have not smoked because I just cannot face the abject misery of having to go back to Day 1 ever again.
If you don't go back, you are sort of saying that the odd fag here and there doesn't matter....well, it does.......one puff of a fag is all it takes to get you addicted again.
Val
Give em an inch and they'll take your life. 1 smoke today can and does become a habit , an addiction . if u want to be a smoker who does one occasionally then why bother using a quit smoking forum. If 1 smoke every once in a while makes you happy then why do /did u want to quit. people quit cos they dont want to do it anymore and many of us on here can give an expert opinion that quitting means just that. no half measures. no special cigarette once a year. I for one cant do one every now and then im an all or nothing man and i think youll find most folk on here are the same.
mike :cool:
For what it's worth - your quit is YOUR quit
It's over when you determine it to be over....
The journey to the penthouse, in my opinion, requires one year smoke free, that's an aspiration - failing once doesn't mean your quit is over, it means your progression to the penthouse is a little delayed....
Now if the terms of your quit have altered to allow the odd sneaky indulgence - I'd say yep - it's over, you have not quit, just redefined the nature of your engagement with the enemy..
If it's a never to be (deliberately) repeated blip then...
Get yourself back to day 1 - until you decide otherwise your quit is alive and your progression to the Penthouse remains a work in progress, your quit is strong, as long as you are...
Good luck to you
Mina
I'm not yet a long term quitter, just started my 2nd month, but this is my first quit, a quit I made a conscious decision to do.
There have been times when I haven't smoked for some time, hospitalization sort of puts an enforced stop to smoking and that can go on for months. But that is temporary and not through choice. 
I am going to be a permanent quitter - I am a non-smoker now. I've just spent an evening in a pub (smoke-free zone thank goodness) and watched so many people going outside in the cold and wet to have a fag, and it makes me think "you know I wouldn't mind a smoke myself" :eek: Wouldn't that be easy, then tomorrow I'm a non smoker again - I don't think so. :mad:
I haven't come this far, gone through these last 34 days just to throw it all away and have to start again. Actually, I say this because I wouldn't - I'd just become a smoker again I know I would, it's far easier.
Each to his own of course, but to my mind it's all or nothing. That is something you have to work out for yourself. Nobody said it would be easy. Good luck.
Hi, first off don't beat yourself up over it. 1 cig in 8 days is not the end of the world. For me personally when I've stopped before, if I'm only a few days in having a fag doesn't seem that bad because I think it's only a couple of days...the more the days add up the more of a shame it would feel to have one again.
So for me I'd stay on day 8 and if that one cig, or even if you end up having one at day 16 or whatever, means that come three months time your not back to smoking full term and the periods between cigs is getting longer, or even stopped altogether, then I'd consider that a victory.
Yes undoubtedly it's a difficult line to tread because like people say, one cig can spell disaster but it depends what motivates you...
Medically total withdrawals from any drugs is not recommended, and is certainly CT is by far the hardest way to do things... But keep at it and if you really want to stop you will x
Give em an inch and they'll take your life. 1 smoke today can and does become a habit , an addiction . if u want to be a smoker who does one occasionally then why bother using a quit smoking forum. If 1 smoke every once in a while makes you happy then why do /did u want to quit. people quit cos they dont want to do it anymore and many of us on here can give an expert opinion that quitting means just that. no half measures. no special cigarette once a year. I for one cant do one every now and then im an all or nothing man and i think youll find most folk on here are the same.
mike :cool:
I'm sorry but that's poor advice to someone who is obviously trying, life isn't about all or nothing... That's a very unhealthy view on many things in life, not just smoking. Although I agree 'just one' does lead 'some' back to being full time smokers, that theory doesn't apply to everyone. The stop smoking theory can be applied to many other medical addiction where people are slowly weened off whatever their addicted too, and I'll think your probably find those who just totally stop with whatever their addicted too, usually relapse.
As for the forum, I'm sure it's a public one, and if someone goes from 10/20 a day whatever to the odd social one or in times of desperation then I believe they should be allowed the support the rest of us full time quitters receive.
I believe that with most things in life its more about enjoying the journey rather than arriving at your destination.
But in this case its all about the destination and getting there by hook or by crook. How we all get there will be different. What works for one will not work for someone else.
But just like learning to ride a bike - when you fall off you just have to get straight back on. If you say I can't do it and throw the bike in the shed you never will learn.
:):):):)
I'm sorry but that's poor advice to someone who is obviously trying, life isn't about all or nothing... That's a very unhealthy view on many things in life, not just smoking. Although I agree 'just one' does lead 'some' back to being full time smokers, that theory doesn't apply to everyone. The stop smoking theory can be applied to many other medical addiction where people are slowly weened off whatever their addicted too, and I'll think your probably find those who just totally stop with whatever their addicted too, usually relapse.
As for the forum, I'm sure it's a public one, and if someone goes from 10/20 a day whatever to the odd social one or in times of desperation then I believe they should be allowed the support the rest of us full time quitters receive.
Mash's post wasn't poor advice, it was honesty. If you can quit while having a fag every now and again, even "in times of desperation", good luck to you. I've never met any successful quitter yet who can have the odd fag without it turning into a full-blown relapse, but there you go.
If I'd read your reply to this post after my first week quit, I'd have blazed up immediately. It's saying that it's OK to smoke every now and again. That's not poor advice, that's frankly, for a quitter of my type, dangerous.
As for the "sudden quitters (of whatever addiction) usually relapse" section, the less said about that the better.....
I think you should go back to day 1, purely because i dont think you will get the same satisfaction beacuse you know you had a cheeky one. I have days where i fancy a fag but now i wont because i dont want to go back to day 1, hopefully this time round you will feel the same. You are doing so well, maybe if you are struggling you could get some help, you are going ct arent you? Anyway, whether you stay on day 8 or go back to day 1 you are still doing really well, keep trying Find that determination again xxx Good luck xxx
Mash's post wasn't poor advice, it was honesty. If you can quit while having a fag every now and again, even "in times of desperation", good luck to you. I've never met any successful quitter yet who can have the odd fag without it turning into a full-blown relapse, but there you go.
If I'd read your reply to this post after my first week quit, I'd have blazed up immediately. It's saying that it's OK to smoke every now and again. That's not poor advice, that's frankly, for a quitter of my type, dangerous.
As for the "sudden quitters (of whatever addiction) usually relapse" section, the less said about that the better.....
Well said!!
I've quit smoking - I haven't smoked since the date in my signature, i also went through 2 days of hell this week not smoking. Had i sparked up, there's no doubt it wouldn't have been just the one, by now I'd be smoking again full time.
Have also had quits where I smoked "just one" 'cos i was angry, on a night out or was with my friends and so on and it has never been "just one" any more than an alcoholic can have "just one" drink.
You are in the right place. There is so much information, advice and inspiration here. Everything you need to help you get free of the evil weed.
Oh I fell for the 'it's a special occasion I can have one' on previous quits too. It doesn't work, well not for me anyway. Straight back to 20 a day either within days or definitely within months. My new mantra is NOPE. Not One Puff Ever. I learnt that here! Takes all the indecision away, that wavering, that doubt. As soon as you think about it, stamp down on it with a big NOPE. I'm doing the best I've ever done and really feel like I'm going to make it this time. That really is thanks to all the support and advice on here. Come join the journey, it's tough but I'm told the view from the top is brill and if I make it I will not have had a single puff for a year!
Sorry to waffle but if having the odd one in previous attempts didn't work it probably won't work again. My feeling now( I'm on week 7) is why on earth would I want one anyway, they're not special, they're just smelly and disgustng. Use your previous attempts to inform you on this one..... I'm an expert at that, I've stopped counting how many times I've tried to stop but I think the support on here is going to get me through the moments of doubt this time.
Good luck
I certainly hope so Sue - looking forward to treading the path to the penthouse (once I understand what that is lol - I even read that the odd one on special occasions doesn't count and is OK - not my experience on previous quits, but can I get to a point where that can be true?)
I am only on day 42 but if it helps my understanding is that to get to the penthouse you have been cigarette free for a whole year. Not a single cigarette or even a puff to have passed your lips. That's the basis I'm working on.
I've seen that too, people declaring a year when it's not been a year; I know of at least one that smoked early on, but I only remember it because the person concerned made a fuss with a "do I, don't I" thread about first wanting, then having a fag, then going on about whether to go back to day one, and didn't :rolleyes:.
The thing is when you're in the early days, every day matters when you're counting, but you get to a stage when the days have racked up, you have lost count and a few days taken off your quit don't matter, as is the case with the five year quitter I guess.
For me, it has to be "kept simple". I always used to say "each to their own, it's your quit" etc., but nowadays I can't do that. If I do, I feel like I'm saying "it's alright, one won't hurt".
It's not a "blip" or a "slip", it's a smoke so you have to start over. That's my view, but a view that I was given in my early days, and I've got to 20 months with it, so it'll do for me.
It's a difficult one isn't it?
Personally, I'm not prepared to enter the penthouse unless & until I have been totally smoke-free for a year. As with others, the thought of having to return to Day 1 is a very good incentive to preserve my quit and I wouldn't feel right about entering the penthouse on any other basis. On the other hand, I wouldn't have an issue with someone having a brief, one-off lapse and deciding not to go back to Day 1- it really is each to his own I think and I'm certainly not going to judge anyone.
Everyone's journey is individual and personal but as long as we reach the same destination eventually, it matters not.
I'm not accusing people of saying they are smoke free when they aren't :eek: I am referring to people who have posted that they have smoked
I suspect this may be referring to what I said earlier in this thread. Yep it is true that in the first few days I did have a couple of puffs. And by that I mean light it up have a drag then stop myself and put it out.
Reasons I didn't reset to Day 0
1. I didn't want to give up trying - too easy to say "failed again" and just go back to 30+ a day
2. I wasn't a user of this forum back then so wasn't aware there were "rules" surrounding this.
The difference now between my quit date and the last time I even touched a cigarette is becoming inconsequential as its a matter of a few days.
Its now been weeks since I last had a drag which for me is remarkable since the last time I went a day without a cigarette was about 32 years ago.
Sticking to my quit date this this. 
the worst 2 weeks of my quit!
