122 days , some suggestions for new quitters

[nsd_user663_63134]

I'm 4 months analogue free and haven't had a single one. I get a lot of interest from smokers about my e-cig set-up and obviously they're interested in giving up. But when you've been an ex-smoker for so long, I think it's easy to forget what it felt like to be a smoker - that desperation to quit, but that hideous addiction that kept you coming back. That constant cycle of failure. I think it's easy to be scared to give up smoking and switching to vaping, scared that you might fail and relapse.

Healthcare professionals are taught about addiction and abstinence using the 5 stages of motivation model 1) Precontemplation 2) Contemplation 3) Preparation 4) Action 5) Maintenance (or relapse)

99% of smokers will be somewhere on that. It's rare to meet a smoker who has accepted their fate and said "hey it's gonna take 15-20 years off my life and wreck my quality of life, I won't see my grandkids grow up but I'm ok with that". What's more common is, "I definitely plan on quitting in the future" - that's a 1. "I know I need to quit and will do so in the near future" is probably a 2. Looking at vapes online and educating yourself and getting set up is 2,3 and 4. A lot of us are at 5 - way to go guys!

I remember cycling through this, going from "hmm I need to quit eventually" to actually considering it, finishing my last cigarette or setting a quit day, and going cold turkey. Longest stint I managed was 75 days.

When taught about this model though, it is stressed that you?cannot change where someone is on the scale. You can't force someone to consider quitting smoking if they aren't ready. People will be ready in their own time, and when that time comes, help them out, give them options, support them and educate them! But if someone is really not ready to quit, then forcing them is going to be met with hostility, resistance and sometimes failure.

It's coming up on the New Year and quitting smoking is probably the commonest new years resolution - so lets help em out by respecting how ready people are to change, and helping them when they are ready.

[nsd_user663_59644]

Great post, yes indeed this is one great method to quit, but many many other methods are also used to quit, quite successfully. It's whatever ever is best for the individual.

My word you are doing amazing. Well done you

[nsd_user663_54305]

Here's a suggestion for you, Hawkinsky - be very careful posting links to product websites; you might just give the impression that your main reason for being here is to peddle your wares.

There was a time not so long ago when we had a more proactive moderator community and posts like that would get you banned quicker than you could say 'blatant advertising'.

Happy New Year:cool:

[nsd_user663_63134]

Here's a suggestion for you, Hawkinsky - be very careful posting links to product websites; you might just give the impression that your main reason for being here is to peddle your wares.

There was a time not so long ago when we had a more proactive moderator community and posts like that would get you banned quicker than you could say 'blatant advertising'.

Happy New Year:cool:

Thanks, happy new year!