Do ex smokers REALLY save money?

La_Tristesse_Durera

I hope so!!! I've gone from 20+ a day to around 40 per week

So £5.10 x 7 = £35.70, now £5.10 x 2 = £10.20

And I really notice the difference, I'm going to try and stop full time at the end of next week

skystar

freeloader wrote:

I think every smoker wants to quit if they're honest, but they have to come to the realisation themselves. All you can do is to support your hubbie when it dawns on him. I know from experience that nagging doesn't work.

He has tried a few times to quit. Didn't try very hard tho' I think the problem is that he actually enjoys it. I know a few people like this and thats the main reason they don't want to give up.

But agree the nagging defo doesn't work.....dunno why coz it works for everything else :rolleyes:

DrFluffy

cantcope wrote:

Am thinking about how much i spend each month on smoking. I've saved a bit by switching to rolling my own (well with a machine) once i get home but still spend about £60 - £70 a month on packet cigarettes, tobacco and papers....

Thing is, do people who give up really save the money? Or does it just get spent on something else?

I would love to give up, especially before the ban in public places next year but would also like to save some of the money i dont spend on it. Maybe half for the pot and half for a night out each month.

Any ideas on how to be strict with myself to save the money and also keep me not smoking?

I'm going to aim for giving up next monday.

If no one else has suggested this (I'm feeling tired and lazy tonight!) enrole in an NHS smoking cessation clinic... They have different strategies to help you stop, depending on you and your life style etc... ranging from cold turkey (rare!) through to nicotine replacement therapy though to Bupropion (if your addiction is extreme).

Ask your GP to be refered/for contact details - they will love you as referal is one of the things they get bonuses for, and you will hopefully meet others in the same position as you for help and support...

freeloader

pounds_and_pensive wrote:

I'm quite keen to quit, more because smoking makes me feel 'dirty' than because of the money, much as it's needed. I've tried a couple of times, and found it had a really weird effect on my sleep patterns, which are odd enough already. The first time, I hardly slept at all and was buzzing around like a demented lunatic - the house had never looked cleaner. This was also accompanied by an odd feeling that I wasn't 'me' any more, but a stranger in my own skin. The second time, I was like a zombie and could barely keep my eyes open, never mind clean anything. Neither attempt lasted more than a week.

What really puts me off though, is the thought of putting on a load of weight. I'm by no means obese, but the pounds I could do with dropping have already bothered me for long enough so the usual advice 'Give up the cigs and lose the weight afterwards that you gain as a result' does nothing to encourage me. There's no way I can see my excess pounds going anywhere if they get others for company, they'll just throw a welcome party for their new friends and stay here. Calories will be involved. Lots of them.

Has anyone managed to quit without putting on the weight? If so, how?

:rotfl: I can identify with the symptoms of your first attempt, and the almost magnetic attraction pounds have for new pounds. I found the withdrawal, if it can be called that, an extraordinarily odd, yet pleasant experience. I know this will sound weird, but my skin came to life.
I'm hoping that the lack of smoke in my lungs will make exercise easier and more enjoyable (one day... tum-ti-tum.... :rolleyes: ).

cantcope

I'm using patches. i tried allen carr before, even went to his clinic in wembley. no joy for me.

Glad my post has inpsired a few

freeloader

DrFluffy wrote:

If no one else has suggested this (I'm feeling tired and lazy tonight!) enrole in an NHS smoking cessation clinic... They have different strategies to help you stop, depending on you and your life style etc... ranging from cold turkey (rare!) through to nicotine replacement therapy though to Bupropion (if your addiction is extreme).

Ask your GP to be refered/for contact details - they will love you as referal is one of the things they get bonuses for, and you will hopefully meet others in the same position as you for help and support...

I'm surprised that cold turkey is rare in NHS clinics, considering how mild the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal really are, if only people realised it! I avoided the NHS simply because I didn't want it on my medical record.

freeloader

Hello wrote:

I guess I may as well 'fess up to another reason too. I had a thorough health check a few months ago and was told that I have a 20% chance of a heart attack in the next 10 years (weight is a problem too). I don't like them there odds, it's time to do something. Exercising is a struggle, I think the smoking makes this worse. My Brother loves to run for a hobby (I think I was adopted), I would love to join in one of his races one day.

I am going to see if the library does the book.

Hello

good luck :T

(and the very best of British in trying to find the book in a library)

DrFluffy

freeloader wrote:

I'm surprised that cold turkey is rare in NHS clinics, considering how mild the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal really are, if only people realised it! I avoided the NHS simply because I didn't want it on my medical record.

The suggestion of cold turkey isn't rare, but there are so few people who will follow it through without help - those prepared/able to do cold turkey tend to do so on their own without medical referal/never get as far as a cessation clinic...

IMHO the bonus of clinics isn't the free patches/other NRT delivery system or Bupropion, but the support you get from others trying to quitters...

Apparently it takes Mr/Mrs A.V. Smoker 7.2 attempts before they quit. The saving on the average smokers pocket is enough to be going on a cruise a year - that's without factoring in the cost to the NHS in saved cardiovascular, respiratory and other conditions!

also, with reference to the symptoms being mild - it really is person and genetic make up specific..

freeloader

DrFluffy wrote:

The suggestion of cold turkey isn't rare, but there are so few people who will follow it through without help - those prepared/able to do cold turkey tend to do so on their own without medical referal/never get as far as a cessation clinic...

IMHO the bonus of clinics isn't the free patches/other NRT delivery system or Bupropion, but the support you get from other trying to quitters...

Apparently it takes Mr/Mrs A.V. Smoker 7.2 attempts before they quit. The saving on the average smokers pocket is enough to be going on a cruise a year - that's without facotring in the cost to the NHS in saved cardiovascular, respiratory and other conditions!

also, with reference to the symptoms being mild - it really is person and genetic make up specific..

I'm sure you're right, but it worked for me, and I am still astonished at how easy it was, even after 20 years of full-on (escalating) puffing.

Now, what I really need is an easy way to shift the smoking-cessation-related pounds, apart from boring old "eat less, exercise more" (which is 1,000,000 x more difficult than stopping smoking )

freeloader

freeloader wrote:

I'm sure you're right, but it worked for me, and I am still astonished at how easy it was, even after 20 years of full-on (escalating) puffing.

Now, what I really need is an easy way to shift the smoking-cessation-related pounds, apart from boring old "eat less, exercise more" (which is 1,000,000 x more difficult than stopping smoking )

actually, all this talk about cold turkey is making me peckish - is there something wrong with me?