Giving up smoking... what's the longest you've lasted?

Bard

Yes, it's a poll...

corkey

Hi Bard

Been off :smoke: now for 3 months newyears night was the last one, Smoked 20 cigs a day for ten years i will tell you feel better and boy the money comes in handy:)

Enygma

Off em since sometime at the start of january, bout a week after new years.
Still get a bit jittery, I was a pretty heavy smoker. Been off them for 3 months before. I'll be satisfied after 2 years.

As for the money, don't notice any huge improvements, took a pay cut about a month before I quit and started swimming and going to the gym too.

bombidol

im off them about 7 months and i wont be going back on them, i dont even feel the urge anymore, its gone. one day i said these things arent going to run my life, and i got rid of them, no starting monday or next month or after exams, that day that minute and that was that.

BomB

flyz

Longest I've ever lasted was about 3 weeks

how did people gave them up?
Did ye use patches or what?

I'm in the process of reading Allen Carrs 'Easy way to Quit Smoking at the moment'

corkey

:alien: Cold turkey the only way, Used the patchs last year lasted 3 weeks only your only fooling yourself otherwise

bombidol

Just do it, a lot of people just give up to try it or because their family and friends are annoying them to do it. there is no easy way and the first few days are bad enough, you probably wont sleep. one little helpfull tip i always give people is to quit at night, for example if you wake up and have a smoke thats it you pretty much screwed, if you try and quit during the day your brain has a reference to nicotine and its gonna be hard, when you get up in the morning dont have a smoke just keep going.
it really is all in the head cause after a few hours all the nicotine is gone from your body and after about 2 - 3 days your brain stops craving it after that you dont need it. so going back on after a few days is pointless you are getting something you dont need.
as for the perks of giving them up, Wow, seriously i can tell you, you will be a new person, but only when you truly think you are over them.

1: You will have a pocket full of change, not the price of twenty smokes
2 : You will hae A LOT more energy
3: You wont get out of breath getting out of bed
4: You will be a stronger more confident person ( the smokes wont determine what you do)

one more thing, people who smoke generally think that they could give up any time and that the smoke dont rule what they do, Talk to someone who has given them up and they will explain how free you will become, its not just "givin up the fags" it Is a life changing experience.

BOmb

Bard

I'm planning to give them up (:smoke: again!) soon... but this time for good... and I *do* mean for good (forever).

All it will take me is will power... I just have to really WANT to give them up and I'm not sure I do yet... but I'm getting there

flyz

Originally posted by bombidol

1: You will have a pocket full of change, not the price of twenty smokes
2 : You will hae A LOT more energy
3: You wont get out of breath getting out of bed
4: You will be a stronger more confident person ( the smokes wont determine what you do)

one more thing, people who smoke generally think that they could give up any time and that the smoke dont rule what they do, Talk to someone who has given them up and they will explain how free you will become, its not just "givin up the fags" it Is a life changing experience.

BOmb

that's what the book is telling me
yer man who wrote it used to smoke 100 ciggies a day.
Plus I've seen it work on smokers I never thought would quit

Kolodny

This sounds really bad, but I've never actually given up because I know I should - I just gav up for a couple of months about 3 years ago because I had a chest infection that turned really nasty. I haven't even tried to give up since then but I have cut down a lot. Next New Year maybe.....

bombidol

i never read that book, thats just my own ideas and fellings towards the subject, but i heard the book is good.

BoMb

Blade

I'm off them 8 months now, I was smoking over 20 years and ended up on 40 John player blue a day. It was actually the first time I'd ever really made an effort to give them up and it worked a lot easier than I thought. I'm not generally a person who has any will power so I'm still kinda surprised that I was able to do it.

I had tried the patches about 5 years ago but they just gave me rashes but this time round I just used the nicorette gum. Started on about 10 to 15 of the 4mg a day then when I got that down to about 5 a day I went onto the 2mg etc. You have to do these things at your own pace, f*ck what everyone else tells you to do.

viking

Originally posted by flyz


that's what the book is telling me
yer man who wrote it used to smoke 100 ciggies a day.
Plus I've seen it work on smokers I never thought would quit

Yep, Allen Carr's book did it for me. I actually stopped smoking while I was reading it even though he says you should only stop when you have finished the book.

And it's so true, you do have more energy, food tastes better, beer tastes as it should (hmmmm...), etc, etc. The only time I used to miss them was after a shag, ahhh post-coital nicotine.... but you soon get over that.

Oh, and I'm off them 4 years and 6 months.... :P

viking

plastic membrane

I never thought i was addicted until i came to Castlebar, damn town.

I think the only way i'll quit is to find some kind of remote monestary and shut myself off from humanity, followed by the intense ritual of getting battered with the sack cloth and ashes 'till i can't take it no more..

Drunk pirate

I try to convince my ma but she just wont listen....I wan't her to stop coz in my life i've seen people die from the little white stick. I just don't want my mam to be one. I've seen the way she smokes after she trys to quit and it's really depressing.

When she quit she was more active and wouldn't stay in bed all day. It's probably the reason I don't smoke drink or take drugs. Advise for all of you if you wanna quit great 4 u but if u won't you will be letting down all the people you love and love you.

It's a dieing shame

stu_69

gave up when i was 17 and 6 years later still, but I am thinkin of starting again. don't know why

nanook

I gave up about 7 weeks ago and started on the patch's and i have to say only for them i would still be smoking. They give you a give a boost, now trust me it is only a mind trick but it does help,
I was off them about a week when i realised that i had not put on a patch that morning,, decided i would see how long i would go for without the patch but kept it in my wallet just in case. Took it out of the wallet after three days and never looked back since.
Went out on Paddies night, got totally wasted and bought a cigar cause i wanted to blow circles , but i was really really very very drunk. But the whole point of this is i used to smoke 30 - 40 a day, I dont smoke anymore and i dont think i will, i could be wrong on that but i dont think i will.

BTW the ppl who say you save all the money or have more change in your pocket, if you are going to give up then put that money aside every week and then you will see it if not you will never see the benfits.

If you are thinking of giving up then good luck, to all of you who gave up and are still off them well done.

leeroybrown

I haven't had a cigarette for almost 21 years.

(The fact that I never actually smoked in the first place is merely incedental )

Cake Fiend

Originally posted by stu_69
I am thinkin of starting again. don't know why

That doesn't make sense. Why the **** would anyone want to take up smoking again? At 23, you can hardly use the 'peer pressure' or 'looking cool' excuses.

I've been gradually cutting down for a while - went from rollies to Marlboro (red) to B&H to Camel Lights, now trying out 'Kent' Silver (4mg, 0.4mg) with intention to eventually switch to Kent Gold (1mg, 0.1mg). I've tried the cold turkey route a couple of times; it probably would have worked if I'd been giving up as part of a group, not on my own. I see myself smoking only socially (out drinking etc) within six months, then eventually probably giving up altogether.

One think I've found is that it's much easier to give up/cut down when you're sick - i switched from 20 B&H a night (when I worked nights) to 10 Camel Lights a day (about a quarter of the nicotine of 20 B&H) after about five days of a heavy cold. I wanted a smoke, but didn't want anything too strong, so I switched to the weaker brand. Best tips I could give someone trying to give up is to try it if you get sick if you can't before, and if you're going the cold turkey route, try to get some friends to give up with you, so other people are relying on you - I find that I'm much less likely to let other people down rather than just letting myself down.

ykt0di9url7bc3

i went off fags for 4 years and went back on them for a month and got my self off them...
i love fags but hate my asthma!

and i have found better things to smoke;)

dccarm

I 'tried' to stop loads of times and had some abysmal failures. My worst was in the region of an hour. I stopped in June and for some reason I really believed that I wouldn't smoke again. It was like I'd had enough and that was it. All the other attempts it seemed to me like I was just seeing how long I would last before I had one. The book helped a lot, but more in convincing me that I wanted to stop, I didn't follow it all to the letter. I do agree what he says about gum and so on though - if you try to use props to get over it then you are still convincing yourself that you want a fag but won't give in. Its simple really - you don't need a cigarette, so why would you need a substitute?

Best of luck to anyone thinking of stopping. And best of luck to those of you who aren't!

Mr.Applepie

Never started

Redshift

Im off them three years now and its the best thing I ever did without question. I used the Nicorett inhaler but only when I felt like I was cracking up, its quite good and It gives you someting to hold. Also go to www.quitsmokingsupport.com some great people there got me though the worst of it.

Cheers

Redshift

daftbegger

But then again...I have a mind of my own!!
AND mental strenght!!

atgate

Just over a year.

Started when I was 12!! Smoked till just before 30th b'day. I planned it for about 6 months to get my head ready. For the first couple of days I used patches AND those under tounge tablets. Then just patches for another 4 weeks. Haven't touched a ciggie since... I feel like I will never smoke again but there is always the fear... I also never felt better then I feel now - I had to diet and start regular exersise to lose the 2 stone I put on after quitting, but at least the rabbit food actually *tastes* of something now.

leeroybrown

Maybe a few of us non-smokers should take it up for a couple of weeks so we would have to stop.

(I'm noit sure would endorsing this make me too popular with the Health Boards.)

Mossy Monk

i did some sums tonight and it proved to be a real eye opener. if i gave up (tried before and failed ) i would be saving in the region of €161 a month. that might be all the incentive i need. 12 fags were thrown in the fire and my journey begins

The_Bullman

Maybe a few of us non-smokers should take it up for a couple of weeks so we would have to stop

this makes no sence at all.

but back on track. thankfully I am off the smokes about 2 months now. I found that it was impossible to quit ith my job where everyone knew that i smoked and offered cigarettes every day and there where smoke breaks every 10 mins.

since i was sacked it was far easier to quit than it was when working there.

fi

Originally posted by flyz
Longest I've ever lasted was about 3 weeks

how did people gave them up?
Did ye use patches or what?

I'm in the process of reading Allen Carrs 'Easy way to Quit Smoking at the moment'

the only way a person can possitivally give up smoking is a few things all combined, firstly they have to set a date, and aim for that mentally.

then they could try to go to a lighter tar like JPBlights

and when the day comes have lost of support and not put yourselff into a tempting place untill the cravings have gone.

this is how i did it, and i tried several times to quit the longest was 7 weeks, but on NYE 1999 i had that as my goal and i ahvent had a puff since.

determination is also needed.

leeroybrown

12 fags were thrown in the fire and my journey begins

Precisely 9.41 seconds later loud screams were heard followed by the sound of an ambulance coming to take Mossy to the burns unit.

The ultimate way to quit would be to move to a remote place where no tobacco is available. (although, that said, the tobacco companies would probably start regularr air-drops to keep you supplied via your credit card.)

Mossy Monk

Originally posted by leeroybrown
Precisely 9.41 seconds later loud screams were heard followed by the sound of an ambulance coming to take Mossy to the burns unit.

thankfully i'm not bad but it is a bastard when there are 2 other smokers in the house. i will completely stop though. my nerves are at me and i suspect a sleepless night tonight but it will be better for me in the long run

SantaHoe

Think I gave up one time for about 9 hours, although I was asleep at the time.
I've tried the patch, gum, those inhaler things... and I crack every time (on the same day as I "quit") ... I guess it's all about how badly you want to quit, which in my case isn't all that much yet.

So far I've found the gum to be most potent with the least weird side-effects.

My dad gave them up after smoking for ~25 years... took 3 weeks on the patches, has been off them for about a year.
I never thought I'd see the day when I have to worry about wether my smoke is bothering him
There's hope for us all.

schrodinger

I lasted until the end of this post. Longest ever.

Mossy Monk

i have failed miserably again . better luck next week :rolleyes:

bucks73

I was off them for 18 months but started up again four years ago when I had to say a prayer at a mates wedding and was pretty nervous.

I decided last night to give them up again before seeing this thread. Bought some nicorette this morning but tasted rotten. Wont be having that again. Will just do it like I did before, cold turkey. And no pub or drink for two or three weeks.

MrPudding

I tried stopping twice, first time I lasted 7 hours. I don't think I really wanted to stop. Second time I tried it's 19 months and counting, I don't think I'll ever smoke again. I really wanted to stop this time I think that's the difference. What Tushpusher says is more or less how I managed. Set a date. A came back from France with a load of tobacco and just decided that when it was finished I was finished. As the stock went down I was thinking hmmm one week to go, then, oh that's about a days worth, to finally, well this is my last rollie. And that was it, stopped dead with no problem. I was very suspicious of myself for a few months as it appeared to be too easy but, 19 months later and no cravings I think it just might have worked.

WhiteWashMan

on my second term round.
hopefully can last longer than the 10 months before.
currently on 4 months and counting

dont miss em, but i do have a funny cigarette every now and then

Dr. Loon

I managed a day once. I'll give up when I want to, I think it's the only way you really can, and currently I don't want to. I enjoy my smoke.

Originally posted by WhiteWashMan
dont miss em, but i do have a funny cigarette every now and then

What's that then?

colinsky

I quit on Bastille day, so I'm around eight months right now. Doing pretty well -- and saving a lot of money, I have to say. (I was about a pack a day -- one an hour, plus or plus). Only the first two-three months were bad.

I had tried to (well, was somewhat forced into) quitting once before, with the patch. Wasn't really that into it, so obviously it didn't work. I found I was fine with the intial application, but as soon as I dropped down to the next nicotine level, it was too big a jump and I couldn't take it.

My real time, I did a lot of "research" in advance, and did much better preparing. I decided not to go with any of the nicotine replacement approaches -- patch, gum, etc. (I did, though, find gum especially useful for long non-smoking airplane trips). Instead, I used the drug "Zyban". It helped quite a bit.

Probably the most helpful tool I used was the internet -- a few scattered message boards, and especially this page. I highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of quitting but is scared of the prospects.

helen_br

Are rollies worse for you than Marlboro's then? They never seem to have any figures on the packet.