No it’s a really good point! Health is never guaranteed but paying to increase your risk of horrible diseases makes absolutely no sense whatsover. Reckon I’ve saved about £100 in the last month. Makes a huge difference on my part time wages. And that’s £100 not going towards tobacco companies who have a track record of doing things like selling single cigarettes to poor children in poor countries.
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coming up to 16 months sober of all substances and you know what I still crave for more often than anything else… A cigarette.
I’m sure if nicotine was discovered today it would have been made illegal immediately.
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I’m coming clean about smoking again. Since Christmas eve.
I know I need to give my head a good wobble!
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OK I’ve been bargaining with myself about it this morning but have finished my pack of tobacco and I’ve got some nicotine gum at home so am going to try again.
Here we go…
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Never ever give up…
Very few people do it on the first try.
For most it takes many many attempts
You’ll get there!
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Hi everyone!
Joining you all, Day 1 and ready to get through this.
Grumpy Ahole… I’m sure it’s coming. Will report back. Lol
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Yay you Sabrina! I promise you this will be the best decision you’ll take in your life if you stick with it. It sure was for me in September 2015. Set me on a path of recovery that changed my life. No joke. Wishing you all success and sharing a little wisdom I saved from another -now gone- website that helped me quit smoking. Hope it is of some help to you too.
The Quit Kit
Repost by Grammax6
Welcome Newbies! Ready to quit? Then you need a Quit Kit!
It isn’t a matter of just slapping on a patch or chewing some nic gum. Every behavior you can think of is tied to your smoking. We smoked because we were happy, sad, mad, hurt, tired, sick, bored…etc. You need to replace those habits. Take a day to make a plan.
We call it a Quit Kit. It can be anything you want. Get creative and really think about it. Some things folks have used is nicotine gum. You can buy regular gum the same size, color and flavor so you can go back and forth between the two. If you are using the patch, make sure you have an extra patch in the office, in your purse, or in your wallet, for those days when you have forgotten to put one on in the morning. It happens more than you think! Have lozenges available for those high stress / high craving times.
Have some Red Vines to ‘smoke’. Or cut up a straw into thirds…especially during high trigger times like driving. Sometimes it feels good to just hold it if you are accustomed to always having a smoke in your hand. Grab your favorite CDs or tapes to put in your car so you can put one in and sing out loud. My favorite was dancing and singing at the same time. Your brain cannot do a third thing, so thinking about smoking just disappears.
To keep your mind and hands busy, go to Michael’s or some other craft store and look for things to do. Buy something that interests you; rug hooking kits, scrap booking stuff, or Christmas stocking kits for the grand kids. Or, get some coloring books and colored pencils or felt tip pens. Stained glass, floral, tropical fish or Native American motif coloring books are available everywhere now. They make you want to do a good job. Dora the Explorer would make me want to scribble on her face. LOL!
Make a list of everything that needs to be done, or you want to do around the house. Go through each room and write down everything from cleaning out drawers and closets to painting, rearranging or redecorating. Same with the garage and yard work. Once you have your list, break it down into 5-15 minutes segments so nothing becomes overwhelming.
Make baggies of crunchy foods to satisfy your mouth so they are at work and handy to grab. Carrots, celery, chex mix, pretzel sticks (you can hold those like a cig), gum, etc. They need to be ready to just grab at any given time.
This is important!!! The Three Post Rule: When you are craving and really shaky, post and click the “I’m craving and need some help” box. Wait for at least 3 response posts before you make a decision to purchase cigarettes or to smoke. Most times, you will be fine once you read the posts (keeps you from dwelling). If not…post again and wait for 3 more.
Once you have all these things figured out you will be well prepared to handle anything and you don’t even have to think…just look at your list… Keep 1 copy at work, 1 at home, 1 in your purse or wallet, 1 in the car.
If you did one day, you can do 2. If you did 3, you can do one more. No future tripping. You can’t do a darn thing about tomorrow until it gets here. Today is a good time to quit but if you feel you can’t, then take tomorrow to put together your Quit Kit and quit the day after. Don’t set a quit date out there for 2 weeks, 1 month, etc. All you do is make yourself crazy in your head by stressing over that date. You know you can do this.
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Thank you so much!!
End of day 1 is coming soon, will be going 5o bed early.
I appreciate your post so much
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Got my 3 day notification earlier and have made it through today so far (nearly 5:30pm) without any nicotine replacement. Am going to keep the nicotine gum handy in case I really need it but so far it’s been ok.
Still not really sure how to get my mindset there - I don’t feel like a happy/ committed non-smoker. But maybe I don’t have to. I think by accepting that I like smoking I am being honest with myself. I do not like ‘being a smoker’ though and that is what happens every time I smoke. Can’t have one without the other! So yes I like the taste and smell of cigarettes, I find it comforting and maybe I will always miss that. Time will tell. But also by denying myself those small pleasures I give myself bigger rewards in the short and long run.
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Back to one week smoke free! Not used any nicotine since my last post either.
Got a trigger event coming up next month and think I will need to work on some strategies for that, but will worry about it nearer the time. For now I am mainly going with ‘suck it up buttercup’ when I need to although the cravings haven’t been too bad. Pretty hungry though 
Generally having a bit of a meh week mood wise, maybe due to nicotine or just one of those things. Either way, I’m keeping on keeping on 
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You’re doing this friend. ODAAT as always. Congrats on a week!
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Loving this thread and all the advice being given. I tried to quit a few times last year and failed miserably.
Quitting alcohol was absolutely no walk in the park but compared to cigarettes, cigarettes are just horrendously difficult to break free from 
However, after preparing myself this week, I’ll be waking up a non smoker tomorrow morning (its 8.20pm here now).
I’ll definetely be visiting this thread alot as it’s got fantastic advice and support, and this is something I need and want to quit and succeed at quitting 
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Just to show you all it’s possible. The withdrawal fase took about 2 weeks. Until 1 year it took an effort at times. It took about 3 years until I was really totally over it. After 35 years of 2 packs a day. Never again! The idea of smoking abhores me now. Smoking kills. Love.
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Today I had my car valeted with the money I’ve saved the last couple of weeks. I mainly smoked roll ups and the tobacco got everywhere. So good to have a nice clean, fresh car!
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Congratulations @siand! Woot woot! 
@Mno that’s awesome! More than 6 years. Freedom 
@Becsta I have no doubt you will succeed. You are a dogged and determined person who has climbed many mountains up to this point. This is your next mountain - and the view from the top is great. 
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Going places friend! ODAAT. Smoking is stupid. Keep going. Big congrats.
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OK so I know this is totally NOT one day at a time. And I should be sticking to one day at a time. But I haven’t and I’ve been thinking about some events I want to go to coming up which have big trigger potential.
Anyone have any experience of using nicotine free vapes, herbal cigarettes or things like that as a one off on occasions like that? Kind of like an NA beer I suppose. Just to make it a bit easier to fit in, go for ‘smoke’ breaks with friends and keep hands occupied etc.
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Only thing I ever used. After 6+ years it’s getting less and less I do use 'm. But this sort of talk still triggers me picking up a pick. All the other stuff in my mind comes too close to the real thing. And therefore not smart to do/use, like NA beer or wine IMO isn’t wise to drink in early recovery. just my opinion. do whatever you deem necessary to protect your quit.
PS. Yes I remember I thought I needed to fit in with the smokers too. And join people on their smoke breaks. With some distance from smoking I say now it’s all perception. The smokers are a minority and that minority is ever decreasing. I much rather stay in and stay warm.
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