Anyone else giving up smoking?

kettricken

Hi Everyone

I did decide to try to stop smoking again. I went to the doctor and have got some patches and gum. I just cant get round to naming the day. I know I need to stop for health and money reasons, also it is not a good thing to have your 3 year old dragging you in off the door step when you are having a ciggie. I have smoked outside since her birth.
Some history for you I have smoked since I was 16 (now 47), apart from a successful attempt at quitting (credited to Allen Carr) relasped after some very distressing news. Also stopped whilst I was pregnant, now you should know here we have a miracle baby we had tried for years and had IUI and was told we couldnt conceive then hey it happened out of the blue and quite naturally, so I managed to quit then, but as soon as I could after the birth I was puffing away again.
So why cant I name the day to stop!! I keep reminding myself it is not a good habit, thinking of my daughter etc etc, it just seems as those incentives are just not motive enough yet and by god they should be. BTW my husband still smokes as well so there are always ciggies around.
Good luck to everyone else.

welshcakes

The smoking ban comes in on 1st April for us Welshies so just a few more days and then that's it. Cold Turkey. My incentive is that I'm getting married this year and my wedding dress is due to be delivered soon so I will not be allowing anyone a single puff in my home.

Shall be putting the saved money into a wedding jar with a tick list attached to the outside of it. Every time I have paid for one of the wedding items, I get to cross it through and move onto saving for the next.

Good Luck to everyone giving up the Holy Smoke

FrugalJo

coxj2901 - similar history to me, thought I'd beat it twice, but one moment of weakness and I'm straight back in full throttle. Well done so far today.

kettricken - My DH smokes too, it's not when he smokes it bothers me though, It's just something nagging me inside.
As for naming the day I think it's difficult to choose, tomorrow never comes does it ? The Carr method worked for me first time and I stopped halfway through the book, was soo easy.

welshcakes - great motivation, with the dress being delivered and visible targets.

Not coping very well today, think I need come celery or something !

kettricken

OK OK I have opened my packet of patches and now before I start using them I need to enrol on a click2quit programme, so I have sent my email to them. Right that is another step towards the big day.

FrugalJo I know what you mean about DH smoking, it is a niggle inside bit like that nicotine one it gets hold of you and wont let go. Mine tells me I need to cut back possibly even by smoking roll ups with a filter to save cash (like he does) I smoke about 20 a day certainly no more han that. But he won't entertain stopping or stopping drinking to save cash and he plays golf all weekend. I don't mind doing my bit but as I don't drink I feel that it is all coming from me. I am not sure how he will cope with a very self righteous me if I suceed.

Penny2myName

I recently gave up smoking, end of nov, I used the patches and was lucky enough that I got my last lot on special 2 packs for 5p more than 1 pack. Anyhow I have now gone 2 months without patches too. I quit as I had started going into choking fits when ever I laughed. Its not easy to do, and when totally honest yes i do still have cravings, but when i get them i remember why i gave up, and it is good to be able to laugh without coughing my guts up. Good luck to everyone that is in the process of quitting. Knowing I was able to control my smoking cravings is what has helped give me the confidence that I can also take back the control of my finances.:j

kettricken

Right I have named a day - 2nd April 2007 is the day when I intend to become smoke free, I thought 1st April would be too corny!! I have enrolled on the click2quit programme and have a personal plan for using the patches. I think I will also re-read Allen Carrs book, I feel I need all the help I can get. Apparently I will save £2135.25 per year by not smoking, that is one hell of a lot of money just going up in smoke. I had not (or perhaps refused to) think of it like that. Perhaps I will be able to afford to take my daughter to Lapland this year to see Santa.

FrugalJo

kettricken wrote: »

FrugalJo I know what you mean about DH smoking, it is a niggle inside bit like that nicotine one it gets hold of you and wont let go. Mine tells me I need to cut back possibly even by smoking roll ups with a filter to save cash (like he does) I smoke about 20 a day certainly no more han that. But he won't entertain stopping or stopping drinking to save cash and he plays golf all weekend. I don't mind doing my bit but as I don't drink I feel that it is all coming from me. I am not sure how he will cope with a very self righteous me if I suceed.

I know exactly what you mean !!

Well done on setting the day.
I read in the Allen carr book about a policeman who put a £20 note in his cigarette packet, the idea being if he smoked one he had to burn the note. Apparently it didn't work and he burnt it, but I quite like the idea - I'm sure I couldn't physically set light to a note, but I burn money everytime I light a cigarette.

Penny2myName, congrats on kicking it. I felt calmer and more confident when I stopped, less irritable even.

pounds_and_pensive

My most recent attempt at becoming a non-smoker was some time last year. Full of fire and motivation, I lasted a whole eleven hours (and admit to being asleep for seven of them...). Like plenty of other people, I had a whole stash of goals and resolutions on New Year's Eve, quitting smoking being one of them. I quickly realised that I wouldn't get very far unless I tackled my goals one at a time, and that quitting smoking would not only have to be done first, but would have a positive impact on all the rest of them, making those easier too. Consequently, I'm a quarter of the way through the year and have achieved... zilch. However, I'm now blinking in the glare of a 10,000 watt Light Bulb Moment after conceding to myself that every reason I've come up with since New Year for not quitting has not been a reason at all, but An Excuse (eek!).

A couple of things have occurred to me while reading this thread, the first being that I can't think of myself as a non-smoker - I'm 40 now (and the rest, woman!), OK... 42, and have been smoking since I was 15 - and calling myself a non-smoker feels too much like trying to white-wash my life or censor my own history (weird, I know!). I think I'd get on much better at the quitting thing if I thought of myself as an 'ex-smoker' instead. Yup, I can live with that one

I've also been thinking that if I were approached in a pub by a seven stone weakling with muscles like knots in cotton who was intent on starting a fight, I'd just laugh. Looked at in that light, I can't help wondering why I've let another Useless Weed get the better of me for so long. The middle of both ends of it is, the 'battle' to put cigarettes behind me is only really 'Me v Vegetation'. I'm letting myself be dictated to by a PLANT!

I think I can safely say that I'm now in the zone where not doing something about a situation is more uncomfortable than just letting it ride After one thing I'd like to get out of the way first (tonight's 'Life On Mars', the only thing I watch on telly and another Excuse), I intend to put my last cig out at around 10.30, then it's me v the plant. 'Do you feel lucky, Salad-features? Go on, make my day!'

FrugalJo

Pounds and pensive - I love your thinking and analysation (and your humour !) baby steps and all that.
have you read Allen Carr ? You sound like him in the battle against the weed.
Hard to believe that 100 years ago snuff takers were similar to todays smokers, now think of that.

I'm really not coping very well, had a lapse after the afternoon school rush, can't get the 'reward' thing out of my head. Just do that and I'll have a cigarette, I deserve one. Was doing okay this morning because I was busy, mentally and physically, had the endorphins whizzing round and felt good.

Enjoy life on Mars

Today has to be my last day as a slave to the weed, I just don't have time for it.

coxj2901

I'm still doing ok :j

By my reckoning now I've been smoke free for 1 day and 16 hours. I've decided to treat myself to a new pair of moulded football boots If I manage to keep this up for over 2 weeks :T

How's everyone else doing?

Rgds, John