That's enough. Time to quit.

wessa · **Posted:** Sun May 18, 2014 6:09 am

So, after 25 years of puffing away on the weed I have decided, that's it.
It is not so tough during the day in the office but once a few pints land on the table in the evening it becomes just about unbearable.
I have said it many times, I can quit smoking but I would have to quit drinking at the same time!
I have always said to myself that I'm a social smoker. Unfortunately I have a very social lifestyle :-(

Anyway, it has now been two weeks without a fag, thanks to the Nicotinell chewing gums. Not easy.
Amazingly enough if I get over the urge of reaching out for a cigarette and go for one of these nicotine gum sticks instead, the urge for a fag goes away within about 60 seconds.
Surprisingly enough, it is possible to chew on one of these AND have a pint at the same time too, so far at least.
So, for the last two weeks I have been chewing away and I am hoping that I can start weaning myself off the Nicotinell gums very soon and start cheating myself with normal chewing gums soon.
Have any of you done this before and have you succeeded to kick this filthy habit?

I'm really determined to kick this sh$&#!

Cherrs/Wes.

Driver8 · **Posted:** Sun May 18, 2014 7:15 am

Congrats on the 2 week milestone Wes! :thumbsup:

I've never smoked myself, but my father did (as do a number of my friends) so I know how overwhelmingly hard is can be to quit. My dad had to have a heart attack (a non-fatal one fortunately) before he decided it was time to stop. It sounds like the gum is doing the job for you, but if you still find it a struggle, I might suggest giving vaping a go : a friend of mine who has smoked for 40 years is a month into using a vape pen, and is loving it.

PS - As a non-smoker I must just say that the phrase, "social smoker" is something of a contradiction in terms IMO! :poke:

zak57 · **Posted:** Sun May 18, 2014 9:08 am

It's hard, very hard. I have tried to stop numerous times to no avail. Now I use nicotine gum and e-cigs which seem to work in terms of satisfying the cravings. The e-cig route may the way to go for you, I now prefer using e-cigs to the real thing as they provide the nicotine hit without the bad after smells and offensive smoke. That said, the ability to use them in places where smoking is not allowed can lead to over use so some self restraint is required. Use them like you would a normal cigarette and you'll save bucket loads of cash to spend on more lings!

MattC · **Posted:** Sun May 18, 2014 3:38 pm

You can do it! They say the first month is the hardest. Personally after a few days without a smoke I'm ready for war! It's a struggle but if you stick in there it will be worth it in the end

Watch nut · **Posted:** Sun May 18, 2014 5:29 pm

Good luck with that, my wife and mother in Law went to a guy called the mad Russian, I guess he is a hypnotist it's probably a 50/50 thing that works but 8 years later neither one of them ever smoked again,my wife quit for me because I couldn't stand it.

P51 · **Posted:** Mon May 19, 2014 4:57 am

Good for you Wes. If it works for you, then go for it. Congratulations.

I recently cut my consumption to 8 smokes a day from about 20. Could not do it overnight, but over about 4 weeks I got the hang of it. Down as low as 6 (which was crazy) and up to about 12. Its the nicotine that drives the cravings, but the habit of picking up a stick and lighting up is all too familiar for most who smoke. Some days I am a little off and go up to 10, but in the main 8 is about the right number for me and I stick to it. I only smoke after a meal and at a break, so one every 2 hours, so its regular. I don't take a packet with me wherever I go, so they say at home; which is where I only smoke now.

Now anyone who says it can't be done, well I can report that it is possible. If you can't give up, like me (I love a smoke), then dropping down to a more manageable number has so much benefit on your health, its incredible. And it is doable. I am walking actively everyday to lose weight (10 kgm in 6 weeks), which is also possible whilst cutting the smokes. I am not craving cigarettes or food and I am losing weight too. Only diet plan is; no snacking, no sugar and about 2/3 of my regular meals instead of the bigger servings. I never was one for junk food, so that's not a problem. Habit on reaching for biscuits and chips has all stopped and I feel really good for it.

But, its surprising how much habit does play a big part in this. My body now knows the regularity of smoking I am wanting to work to and the cravings have stopped. I am also spending less on smokes, so its a benefit to my hip pocket as well. Food is not an issue now as my body has got used to it, and I seem to have side stepped falling off the wagon.

If you can't go cold turkey like Wes, then try seriously cutting down. There is always a smoke to be had later and the day goes quickly. Try a few drinks without the smokes too. Its surprising how you can master coping with this as an extra challenge!

rplace · **Posted:** Mon May 19, 2014 5:52 am

Keep at it man, never quit quitting. Thankfully I've never had to try but for some close friends it has been hell...but worth it in the end. I say a new watch on the 1 year anniversary of quitting for some motivation. Or perhaps in your case no new watches till you make it a year. :nana:

Desert Hiker · **Posted:** Mon May 19, 2014 7:15 am

Carrots (buy new Breitling after 6 months of no smokes), sticks (no new Breitling until you've saved enough from no smoking to buy another one), and timeframe goals are OK. Try adding a goal based on something that's meaningful to you.

Ideas.............
> Be able to walk from Central up to Mid-Levels without using The Escalator.
> Take a photographic hike from Dynasty Court on Old Peak Road up to the Peak, around the Peak Circle Walk and then back down.
> Enjoy the length of Dragon's Back.

Yes, the above are really fitness goals, but odds are your aerobic capacity is suffering from the smoking habit. I never smoked, but use performance/fitness goals to stay in shape for backpacking, mountain biking and other activities that wouldn't be enjoyable if they were a real physical struggle.

Go for it and best of luck!!!

Desert Hiker

Wim · **Posted:** Mon May 19, 2014 7:41 am

I stopped smoking on the 24th of March this year. I just became 33 years old and said it was about time I quit. All my friends stopped smoking already for a few years so I was the only one left. Having smoked for about 15 years a pack of Marlboro's per day in the week and sometimes 2 per day in the weekend it knew I could not do to without any help. So I went to my doctor and he advised me to take Champix. Don't know if the name is the same everywhere in the world. It worked perfectly! The first 10 to 12 days, you just take a pill and you continue smoking. After a few days, the urge to smoke goes away and if I smoked, I didn't like the taste anymore. The 11th day was my birthday and I decided that that was going to be my first day in my smoke free life. Have not smoked since and I'm not having real difficulties to leave it. Keep it up Wes! If I can do it, almost everybody can!!

wessa · **Posted:** Mon May 19, 2014 4:03 pm

Thanks for the words of encouragement gents!
So far so good, still going strong.
I never thought beer and mint flavoured chewing gum could go together.
Not the same as beer and a cigarette but it seems to work :-)

P51 · **Posted:** Mon May 19, 2014 11:13 pm

wessa wrote:

Thanks for the words of encouragement gents!
So far so good, still going strong.
I never thought beer and mint flavoured chewing gum could go together.
Not the same as beer and a cigarette but it seems to work :-)

Try dark rum & mint. Yum. Wonderful.

sco · **Posted:** Tue May 20, 2014 1:19 pm

Good job on wanting to quit. I am positive that the only way to really quit is to actually want to quit. If you love the act of smoking and don't really want to stop ... well then you may be a lifer!

On February 19th 2005 I decided I was going to quit smoking. I called up a buddy and told him that I was quitting. He of course didn't believe me, because I had been down that road before and always went back. In fact my dad and I both smoked and my dad quit first. That was great inspiration. Back to the story, my buddy said, "Ok, me too, let's make it interesting." I asked how many cigarettes he had that day (it was noon) he responded "12". I asked him if he wanted to start fresh the next day, but nope he was ready ... it was ON! So, we decided that the first one to take a puff of a cigarette owes the other guy $50.00. Now, this was NOT about the $50.00, this was about pride! He called me back shortly after we hung up and said that one more guy wanted to be apart of the bet. So now if I slip it's $50.00 to one guy and another $50.00 to the next. A year went by... no one slipped, we doubled it.... another year went by, my buddy says "maybe we should just add $50.00 each year instead of doubling. I really don't want to have to buy you a house one day due to a drunk night out!" I agreed, so now here we are 9 years later, all three of us non smokers, and if one of us slip... well that's $450.00 to one guy and another $450.00 to the other. The bet was motivation, and I still have strange random urges, but I know I'm much better off without the cigs.

Good luck, and fight the good fight, you seem like a great guy and I bet your family would like you around for a long time!

With that said we meet every so often for a Cigar! :nana:

Brice · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2014 11:52 am

I know it's a tough struggle you're fighting for, Wes.
Maybe my own experience can help.
As a somehow daily heavy smoker, I've turn me free thru sport: fitness, running and/or swimming every day.
It has been a 30 years battle, when smoke enjoyment slowly regresses as training improvement and endomorphin comfort produce their cool effects.
I wish you the best of luck.
That is a great challenge that worth it !

Cheers,
Brice

RXPete · **Posted:** Wed May 21, 2014 7:24 pm

Good Luck. You'll feel a heck of a lot better for doing it. I used to be an infrequent social smoker in high school and college but quit when my cardio fitness wasn't up to par. I was mountain biking one day and had a difficult time getting up a hill. As soon as I got back to the car, I took the pack of cigarettes and threw them out. The most difficult time for me was when I was with friends having a beer. After a while it got easier. Even after I quit, I'd get cravings, but after a while, even when I caved in, the cigarette tasted like crap. Thank goodness.

BTW.. in the US, weed is slang for marijuana. lol

Biz · **Posted:** Sun May 25, 2014 4:44 pm

RXPete wrote:

BTW.. in the US, weed is slang for marijuana. lol

Yeah, I was confused there for a second.

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