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Hi folks, its time for me to kick the habit. How did any former smokers manage? I've never vaped before but I'm thinking of having a crack at it. Did you find that the best way to go, or did something else work better for you? Thanks in advance

I tried many things and the only one that worked was willpower. I wouldn't let that discourage you from trying other things though, vaping wasn't around when I gave up for example. Not being around smokers so much helped me I'd say, a combination of not going out so much and other people I knew quitting.

I've heard other ex-smokers say that the addiction never completely leaves you. For me that wasn't the case at all. It does take months and months but it gets gradually easier all the time. Good luck.

The tablets worked for me. I had one in the morning instead of that morning fag. With Champix you slowly come off smoking as well so it's slightly easier, what working for me was putting that first cigarette of the morning back by half hour every day. 2 weeks after taking the first tablet i had given up completely

Gave up 40 years ago. Saving up for my first house - £17,000 in Freshbrook!

Just stopped and that was that.

Willpower. If you just go to an alternative you are still doing the same thing. Just get some sugar free chewing gum and do that instead. 6 years for me now, don't even think about it. So glad I stopped.

Tried vaping, tried patches, tried gum, in the end the only thing that worked was Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking (educated cold turkey).

You've got to want to quit though and I found that book gave me both strength and knowledge that enabled me to stop. Over 10 years for me now.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Stop-Smoking/dp/1405923318

I tried everything and in the process of doing so I cut down and down and down and eventually just stopped. After a few months I had one with the lads in the Sir Dans before a Swindon match and I felt sick. It was horrible. Not touched them since them.

The final straw for me was seeing a former colleague @ GWH. He wasn't a smoker but he had lung cancer. Must've been only about 40 - 45 years old and he had brought he son with him to go to the appointment. Seeing that little lad with his old man was truly sobering. He looked terrified. I'd like to say this story has a happy ending, but it doesn't. RIP Gavin.

Champix.

I was on 40 cigs a day. More at weekends. Within a couple of days of using champix I was smoking zero and didn't even want one. I wasn't even advised to stop buying cigs. I had some with me but just did not want them.

The course lasts for 6-8 weeks (something like that), and when you stop taking them the cravings come back again. By that time, however, you have had a 6-8 week head start.

The stuff comes with some pretty hardcore side-effects for some people. Bad dreams, even suicidal thoughts, so it has to be used very carefully and is not for everybody. I was one of the lucky ones although I did have some very vivid dreams (which I actually quite enjoyed).

You might also have some other side-effects if you are a heavy smoker. My stomach was distended like you see on starving kids in Africa - something to do with chemical imbalances (which rectify themselves). I also started coughing up blood, which is to do with the lungs healing themselves.

Good luck - quitting was one of the best things I've ever done.

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking - Allen Carr

I'd smoked 15-20 per day for more years that I'd like to admit. I'd tried to stop a number of times, but I was much better at starting again than stopping. I was skeptical about 'self help' books but had seen some of my friends (who had smoked as many for as long as me) become successful through using it.

I got myself ready to stop and read the book in preparation. I stopped for a short while, but started again! I was surprised and annoyed with myself. I read several chapters of the book again and gave it another go - Something was different that time as I have never, ever wanted a cigarette again. I don't know why, but, that was the biggest change for me over all of the other ways I'd tried (cold turkey, reduction, patches, stop buying them, competitions with others etc etc). I just chose not to smoke and 12-13 years later I'm still free of it - And hate the smell of it!

Details here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Easy_Way_to_Stop_Smoking#:~:text=The%20Easy%20Way%20to%20Stop%20Smoking%20is%20a%20self%2Dhelp,empirical%20study%20of%20Carr's%20method.

Oh, and the Allen Carr book.

It was recommended to me once by somebody I was working with. At the time he was recommending it to me, we were outside having a smoke. Needless to say it did not fill me with confidence.

I'm not saying the book doesn't work, mind.

That book massively helped me stop, and I'm a total cynic when it comes to self help books but someone gave me a copy and the author makes a lot of sense. I would not recommend any method that just replaces one form of nicotine addiction with another, which is all that vaping, gum, patches are actually doing. I got prescribed that champix but it wasn't for me - horrible side effects, but I know a couple of people it helped stop.

A simple vape for me, ignore the bullshit about them being bad for you

Been on it for a couple of years and it’s great, still have odd smoke when pissed simply for pleasure but other than that I don’t even think about the real things anymore

The point of the book is you make the decision to stop, then read it while you are smoking. You only stop AFTER reading it.

I don't want to spoil it for Mr Hunk, although its not a thriller or a real page turner and there is no magical ending. I thought it was written in a really arrogant style, but it was effective.

Mr Hunk has nothing to lose. He might as well waste his time reading it - What's the worst that can happen? He's killing himself slowly and reducing the length of his life by ingesting poison every day anyway. So if he wastes a few days reading a book then what's the issue?  [Its that sort of style]

There is a section in the book on 'substitutes' and 'wonder drugs'. Glad they worked with you Flash, but no way was I going to risk the side effects of what was available at the time for me.

I used champix twice and whilst both times i did it was a success, i did eventually start smoking again, but I think that was more down to my social life at the time. The 3rd and final time was just straight up cold turkey, no medication and that was 10 years ago now.

Out of interest, why? We don't know anywhere near enough yet whether it's damaging or not.

I found the book a massive help in 'reframing' how I thought about smoking. It gives you a different internal dialogue to have with yourself when you think about lighting up or are around smoking.

The crux of it is that stopping smoking isn't actually hard to do, the withdrawal symptoms are mild and you just have to keep making the decision not to do it until they subside.

It's not a magic cure but if you genuinely want to quit I would highly recommend reading it, sorted me out after several half arsed attempts .

Exactly

The overwhelming consensus is that there are little, if any, negative side effects to it. Yes there is the odd expert who says it could be bad for you but you can probably find some “expert” in this day and age who will say fruit and veg is bad for you!

You’re right though, potential serious side effects could take years to come to light but in 15-20 years I’ll be knocking on and probably won’t give a shit at that stage of life

Vaping has done the job for me so far

John Hopkins don't agree it is safe

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/5-truths-you-need-to-know-about-vaping

So still considerably safer than the real thing though, I’ll take that

I’m not aiming to live a squeaky clean lifestyle because I’d fail that miserably in other areas

Some great advice there . I'm going to go for the Allen Carr book I think, and probably compliment it with a vape, at least to start with. I'm not a particularly heavy smoker, maybe 10 a day so I'm pretty confident I can kick it.

Will avoid the Champix, I have quite a complicated relationship with sleep and the idea of getting out of control dreams is a bit worrying, but thanks anyway.

I'd rather breathe air than an alternative to smoking. Still a habit.

I was 30 a day for 30 years, had a bit of a scare & tried Champix.  That wasn't a pleasant experience, but did the trick.  The best thing at the time was you were still smoking, but inadvertently cutting down, eventually until you stop.  Like others have stated, after about 4-6 months became desperate for a smoke (I actually enjoyed smoking). Remembered my lad had bought me an e-cig a while before to get me to stop, but I didn't get the same satisfaction.  I used this rather than light up & been vaping since (8 years). A word of warning, I'm addicted to Vaping & carry it everywhere & puff more than I smoked, albeit in shorter bursts. .  Good luck!

I also found this. I think the main thing I got from it was the realisation that it was far more a habit than an addiction and I'd been using that word "addiction" as an excuse to hide behind. I stopped while we were away on holiday, the idea being it might be easier in a less stressful environment than the normal day to day. Smoked for the first week while I read the book, finished the book, packed in smoking at the start of the second week and not looked back.

Ex 20 a day smoker for nearly 30 years. Apart from the smoking I didn’t drink much and eat quite healthy. Was also quite active sport wise, and job wise.
 One day I was jogging up my stairs in the house to get something from the bedroom, I never made it. I become conscious again in hospital after having a mass heart attack. I was 45 years old. After all the hospital checks by the doctors it was apparent my heart was objecting. Nothing like being told by a doctor that if you don’t change your ways, you won’t survive a second. I’ve been smoke free since, no alternatives required.

Getting one after work today, actually looking forward to it. Im curious to see whether I'll get the same 'kick' from doing it


I think its just the habit with me too, but I've not made any attempt to stop smoking since I started 10 years ago so I won't know if its the nicotine I need or whether its the comfort of the repetition, if that makes sense. I'll download the audiobook version of the Allen Carr thingy later

Christ, sorry to hear that happened to you. Food for thought

Was near 20 a day for near 20 years.  Giving up starts with finding a reason to do so that strikes a chord with you personally.  I'd tried once before on the basis of common sense alone, used willpower and lasted about 2 weeks.  I then bought a pack of 10, smoked one and threw the rest away.

For me there were 3 logical reasons to give up.  1.  Health (but I performed ok at squash and 5 a side).  2.   Money (it was starting to be a real waste but I could afford it month to month).  3.  lack of self control.  

No. 3 did it for me.  It was becoming unfashionable and I realised that, at the office or in other non smoking environments, I would be scheming when to have my next ciggie.  In other wo when I wasn't smoking, I was nevertheless often thinking about opportunities to smoke.  I realised that was intolerable and gave up successfully through willpower.  Really after a month or so it gets easier.  I'd say it took 2 or 3 months before I felt safe and my cravings had disappeared.  It's been easy ever since.  The health scare probably works best but, ideally, you give up before.

My wife vaped and that worked for her.  She gave up with the refills after a while and then the whole process.

It's hard work but it does, in my experience, become quite easy after a really short time.  Give it a day at a time, a week at a time, a month at a time and, before you know, it becomes easy.  First, just look for a reason that resonates with you.  Allen Carr might help?

Gave up for five years, restarted and then now haven’t smoked in 8 years.  Pure and utter will power, it isn’t easy so you need to really want it.  I used patches for the first month each time, was a total and utter bell end and started eating a lot more.

Still 100% worth it

I had to stop for my health in the short term as well as the long term.

I was barely eating and well skinny. I'd also randomly throw up (nothing) sometimes, which was far from ideal when in meetings with clients.

I went on to vaping but i was a binge smoker mostly at Football 11am to 6pm...chain smoke...then not smoke for two days.

Vaping gave me a sore throat for two days but then ok.

No way im saying vaping is harmless but better than fags...the tar is nasty shit. Cheaper too and you can get away with crafty drags here and there as long as you dont get one of those bong things.

I did it to get off fags and not make the car stink...no intention of giving up and still have a high nicotine content...addicted i suppose.

Used Alen Carr's book as a few on here suggested after vaping got old. Now an ex-smoker. Its a work of genius, would recommend to anyone else either trying to or thinking of giving up

I used Champix about 6 years ago, get it on prescription, worked well for me and my wife.

My wife has given up (with a small relapse when we were in Turkey) using Champix. She did find it a real struggle, especially when we have a drink or is under stress.