trubble76 wrote:

Paula1 wrote:I've just started a course of Champix http://www.champixinfo.co.uk/

Let us know how it goes please. If my Plan A fails, that looks like a good Plan B.

Course I will

Scar wrote:

trubble76 wrote:

Scar wrote:I wonder do you plan on using those e-cigs forever or do you want to get off them at some point, too?

Haha, one step at a time. My end goal is to end my nicotine dependancy altogether. I realise I'm just breaking the problem in two and brushing one half under the carpet to deal with later, but I'm confident this will be successful for me.

Yeah let me know how it works. I'm just curious because I would think that nicotine gums, or patches would be better suited if you want to get rid of the habit before you try to eliminate the nicoting addiction. I just imagine that these e-cigs may be too close to actual cigarettes, given they contain nicotine and handle just like cigs.

You might well be right. Only one way to find out though. I will let you know how it goes.

Indeed. It certainly is more healthy than actual smoking^^

When I decided to stop I did in stages. To me smoking is based on associations. For me it became illegal for me to smoke in associated surroundings. First my office. That has been smoke free for years. Then the trains. I always use to have a puff on the way home. I never smoked in the morning. Then the last place was the pub. The only place left was the home.
By this time I had managed to reduce to 5 fags a day. I smoked them at specific times and just stopped one by one. Now I have not smoked for two years and have no longing for one. I cant stand the smell now.

BTW I started when I was eleven and lived in a house with two very addicted parents.

Scot Dutchy wrote:When I decided to stop I did in stages. To me smoking is based on associations. For me it became illegal for me to smoke in associated surroundings. First my office. That has been smoke free for years. Then the trains. I always use to have a puff on the way home. I never smoked in the morning. Then the last place was the pub. The only place left was the home.
By this time I had managed to reduce to 5 fags a day. I smoked them at specific times and just stopped one by one. Now I have not smoked for two years and have no longing for one. I cant stand the smell now.

BTW I started when I was eleven and lived in a house with two very addicted parents.

It's those associations I have the most trouble with. Have a cuppa, have a smoke. Get out of the shower, have a smoke. Finish eating, have a smoke. Get in the car, have a smoke. The list is endless, one of the most common thoughts I have is "I'll just have a quick ciggy then I'll...", closely followed by "I'll just do this then I'll have a quick ciggy"

trubble76 wrote:

Scot Dutchy wrote:When I decided to stop I did in stages. To me smoking is based on associations. For me it became illegal for me to smoke in associated surroundings. First my office. That has been smoke free for years. Then the trains. I always use to have a puff on the way home. I never smoked in the morning. Then the last place was the pub. The only place left was the home.
By this time I had managed to reduce to 5 fags a day. I smoked them at specific times and just stopped one by one. Now I have not smoked for two years and have no longing for one. I cant stand the smell now.

BTW I started when I was eleven and lived in a house with two very addicted parents.

It's those associations I have the most trouble with. Have a cuppa, have a smoke. Get out of the shower, have a smoke. Finish eating, have a smoke. Get in the car, have a smoke. The list is endless, one of the most common thoughts I have is "I'll just have a quick ciggy then I'll...", closely followed by "I'll just do this then I'll have a quick ciggy"

I know it is very difficult but one step at a time. One association at a time. You can use the other associations to remove one at a time until you only have one left.

Scot Dutchy wrote:

trubble76 wrote:

Scot Dutchy wrote:When I decided to stop I did in stages. To me smoking is based on associations. For me it became illegal for me to smoke in associated surroundings. First my office. That has been smoke free for years. Then the trains. I always use to have a puff on the way home. I never smoked in the morning. Then the last place was the pub. The only place left was the home.
By this time I had managed to reduce to 5 fags a day. I smoked them at specific times and just stopped one by one. Now I have not smoked for two years and have no longing for one. I cant stand the smell now.

BTW I started when I was eleven and lived in a house with two very addicted parents.

It's those associations I have the most trouble with. Have a cuppa, have a smoke. Get out of the shower, have a smoke. Finish eating, have a smoke. Get in the car, have a smoke. The list is endless, one of the most common thoughts I have is "I'll just have a quick ciggy then I'll...", closely followed by "I'll just do this then I'll have a quick ciggy"

I know it is very difficult but one step at a time. One association at a time. You can use the other associations to remove one at a time until you only have one left.

I thought perhaps intravenous heroin would help take my mind off the problem.

I thought perhaps intravenous heroin would help take my mind off the problem

It would really take your mind off things but create another problem as well

Heroin is a good substitute, and in some places it's easier to get and cheaper than fags.

laklak wrote:Heroin is a good substitute, and in some places it's easier to get and cheaper than fags.

I've come across ex-heroinists who claimed it was easier giving up heroin than smoking (Willy DeVille, to name one).

laklak wrote:Heroin is a good substitute, and in some places it's easier to get and cheaper than fags.

Funner too, so I'm told.

Just in case it wasn't clear, the heroin line was just a joke.
I prefer opium.

trubble76 wrote:

Scot Dutchy wrote:When I decided to stop I did in stages. To me smoking is based on associations. For me it became illegal for me to smoke in associated surroundings. First my office. That has been smoke free for years. Then the trains. I always use to have a puff on the way home. I never smoked in the morning. Then the last place was the pub. The only place left was the home.
By this time I had managed to reduce to 5 fags a day. I smoked them at specific times and just stopped one by one. Now I have not smoked for two years and have no longing for one. I cant stand the smell now.

BTW I started when I was eleven and lived in a house with two very addicted parents.

It's those associations I have the most trouble with. Have a cuppa, have a smoke. Get out of the shower, have a smoke. Finish eating, have a smoke. Get in the car, have a smoke. The list is endless, one of the most common thoughts I have is "I'll just have a quick ciggy then I'll...", closely followed by "I'll just do this then I'll have a quick ciggy"

I think that's actually more of a problem than any craving. You keep thinking that you're about to do something then realise that it was 'have a cigarette'. The habit of the ritual serves as a time marker for the long term smoker.

Btw, I smoked 20 marlboro reds a day for 10+ years, and drum tobacco for years before that... been smoking since i was 13.... and I just did the cold turkey routine, using the flight back from the UK to give me a head start. I think it's by far the most assured way of giving up as you cut out your dependency in one foul swoop.

If you think it's difficult, remember that you actually give up smoking every single day for a good 6 - 8 hours when you go to sleep! I nursed all these positive thoughts for a while prior to trying. Honestly, it's nowhere near as difficult as it's made out to be, although I think you're going to have trouble with the ganja and losing willpower when stoned.

Spearthrower wrote:... although I think you're going to have trouble with the ganja and losing willpower when stoned.

That's possible, however, I'd really like to exhaust every other option available to me before I give up on weed. I'm dismayed at the thought of no more spliffs, the only thing I ever excelled at was spliff rolling, it's one of the few things I do that gives me pride.

I'm just over two years nicotine free. Did it with champix finally.

I had quit earlier for a couple of years after an injury and six months in bed but started again. I know now that I am not able to have just one. After two years the first time it took exactly one cigarette and I was back to twenty a day.

The champix was pretty painless for me.

Paula, having any extreme dreams? That was the only side effect for me, these crazy vivid dreams, some of which almost went as far as well, you know, reminded me of being fourteen again...

Scot Dutchy wrote:When I decided to stop I did in stages. To me smoking is based on associations. For me it became illegal for me to smoke in associated surroundings. First my office. That has been smoke free for years. Then the trains. I always use to have a puff on the way home. I never smoked in the morning. Then the last place was the pub. The only place left was the home.
By this time I had managed to reduce to 5 fags a day. I smoked them at specific times and just stopped one by one. Now I have not smoked for two years and have no longing for one. I cant stand the smell now.

BTW I started when I was eleven and lived in a house with two very addicted parents.

Not bad. It's similar to me. For myself personally (maybe it was the same for you but of course each person is different), smoking is about the action and the aesthetics, and the social side. I only enjoy smoking in certain situations, but not so much in others. I only tend to choose to smoke when it feels appropriate to me, although sometimes a cigarette isn't necessary. I suppose it depends if I have any on me.

trubble76 wrote:

Spearthrower wrote:... although I think you're going to have trouble with the ganja and losing willpower when stoned.

That's possible, however, I'd really like to exhaust every other option available to me before I give up on weed. I'm dismayed at the thought of no more spliffs, the only thing I ever excelled at was spliff rolling, it's one of the few things I do that gives me pride.

Hehe me too!

I'm not suggesting giving up on that, just putting it on pause for a couple of weeks to get yourself through the nicotine withdrawals.

At the end of the day, if you're not going to use tobacco anymore, it's bye bye to rolling anyway, except for altruistic rolling for your pals!

Take the average lifespan of smokers, compare it to the average lifespan of non smokers, divide the difference by the number of smokes and you come up with an entirely specious number for how many minutes each cigarette is going to cost you.

I gave up smoking 8 years ago almost to the day,(14 January 2003). Cold turkey. It was the hardest thing I've ever done.I had tried everything else,from patches,to inhalers,to pills to hynoptism.Nothing worked,until I actually WANTED to give up,which was not something I could force. I smoked for 35 years. At the time I quit I was smoking 70 a day. By that stupid ten minute idea, I should have died 5 years before I was born.

BUT there is STILL a strong chance I will develop emphysema and die with it rather than from it . I may also develop some form of cancer such as lung or bladder cancer. I might be OK,as there is no genetic predisposition to cancer in my family of which I'm aware. The males in my family all die from artereosclerosis..

trubble76 wrote:

fastonez wrote:

trubble76 wrote:

I'm afraid I disagree. It most certainly is an addiction, despite your experiences.

If it was an addiction, I would get cravings and go cranky without cigarettes, but I don't. Does that sound like an addiction? The "addiction" is in your mind, if you believe you're addicted you behave like it. Most of the pleasure of smoking is in the action, the ritual of it.

Considering the strength of evidence which shows nicotine to be highly addictive, you are going to have to present more than an anecdote. Nicotine addiction (so you say) was not a problem for you, therefore all the evidence is wrong?

If you have the evidence to back up your claim, I would be fascinated to see it. BAT would be too, and they will pay well.

I think fastonez is too quickly to say that smoking is non-addictive, but i did had a similar experience with stopping. I used to try to stop and wasn't successful for four times. Just before i finally stopped, i smoked the most, with a some 30 sigarettes a day. I had a heavy flue for a week in which i was only awake for one hour a day and totally forgot to smoke. After five days i was better, and i had forgotten to smoke. I had the idea that i was always doing something, but couldn't remember what. When i remembered it was smoking, i decided to stop. but, i smoked one sigarette a month, before i really stopped 3 years later. Now, when i get a smoke i get ill from it, strangely enough. So, i can't smoke anymore. When i stopped smoking (heavily) i hadn't even planned it, and it worked.

I also know how bad the addiction can be. I had times that i woke up for a smoke, but my cigarettes were done, so at 2 at night i went looking for shops in the city, but couldn't find any. strange that i could stop so easily finally.

Daan wrote:
I think fastonez is too quickly to say that smoking is non-addictive, but i did had a similar experience with stopping. I used to try to stop and wasn't successful for four times. Just before i finally stopped, i smoked the most, with a some 30 sigarettes a day. I had a heavy flue for a week in which i was only awake for one hour a day and totally forgot to smoke. After five days i was better, and i had forgotten to smoke. I had the idea that i was always doing something, but couldn't remember what. When i remembered it was smoking, i decided to stop. but, i smoked one sigarette a month, before i really stopped 3 years later. Now, when i get a smoke i get ill from it, strangely enough. So, i can't smoke anymore. When i stopped smoking (heavily) i hadn't even planned it, and it worked.

I also know how bad the addiction can be. I had times that i woke up for a smoke, but my cigarettes were done, so at 2 at night i went looking for shops in the city, but couldn't find any. strange that i could stop so easily finally.

I guess it's almost like the body telling you to stop (via getting sick and not being able to handle smoking) has a lot more effect/strength than you mentally telling yourself you want to stop.

I've known many people who have stopped smoking because of getting sick for days on end.

On another topic, I've heard of people getting very sick after quitting. I guess it's a form of shock to the body.

It's inspiring to see that many have quit after so many years of smoking.

I'm currently (trying) to quit myself. I find it goes back and forth, with this trying business. One day, I'll go with only having 1-2 and then the next day, I don't have that kind of willpower.

Exercising definitely helps, and gives you a window of time afterwards, of not feeling like a cigarette. But mustering up the motivation to exercise as well, is something that is not that easy.

Mantisdreamz wrote:I guess it's almost like the body telling you to stop (via getting sick and not being able to handle smoking) has a lot more effect/strength than you mentally telling yourself you want to stop.

I've known many people who have stopped smoking because of getting sick for days on end.

On another topic, I've heard of people getting very sick after quitting. I guess it's a form of shock to the body.

It's inspiring to see that many have quit after so many years of smoking.

I'm currently (trying) to quit myself. I find it goes back and forth, with this trying business. One day, I'll go with only having 1-2 and then the next day, I don't have that kind of willpower.

Exercising definitely helps, and gives you a window of time afterwards, of not feeling like a cigarette. But mustering up the motivation to exercise as well, is something that is not that easy.

The flue had nothing to do with smoking. I had smoked for seven years and never was ill because of it. I guess i was lucky. But, for three years i had a giant urge to smoke, mainly because i liked the habit. i did smoke occassionaly in those years, first once a month and than once every two weeks.

I guess if you really want to stop, try not to smoke for several days, and when you get the urge only smoke one and nothing else for more than a week. But, in earlier attempts i was far less lucky in quitting. It was also the distaste just before i quitted (it was in 2003, so i can't remember it correctly i suppose). I smoked a package in one day, and did five days for shag. In the month before i quitted i smoked the most ever. I had a sour throat, that hurt everytime i smoked. I had to finish a paper, and smoked eight sigarettes because of the stress. I didn't finish each of the eight, because of my throat. But, i started with a new one because of the stress, it wasn't relaxed anymore. So, maybe this negative experience with smoking made me stop eventually, though i hadn't planned it at the time.

Hope you will be able to quit. Good luck with it!