Stop Smoking Discussion

Bobrobin_2

Phoenixx73 wrote: »

Is it worth the £250 investment? (I have tried patches, gum, sprays,lozenges, hypnotherapy and just about every other method which dosn't require a perscription and still cannot break my 40 a day habit)

My answer would be NO!
Try your Doc ask for CHAMPIX, it's a 2 a day tab a 3 month course but it works.
It's cost on perscription is 6 65! (I prepay) against 250. You do the math..
Remember will power is the BIGGEST factor :j in quitting.

Phoenixx73

That's the biggest problem though. Even with the best intentions in the world, my will power is non existant. It has always been the same. I once managed to stop for 2 weeks but as soon as the first stressful situation came along i buckled.

MistyBlue_3

I have read every post and I know how everyone has felt/is feeling. We know we want to stop but because we've either experienced the effects of life without a cigarette or read about the withdrawal symptons then we know exactly what to expect when we try. I've also been there and looked up every smoking/nonsmoking website and read every bit of information there is. I even did a lot of research on the subject of smoking. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I know off by heart how much cigarettes cost to buy over any given period, every highly dangerous chemical that went into making every one, every disease as a result of smoking etc. For some collecting all this information is like we're trying to build ourselves up to one of the biggest moments of our lives.

In the past 30 years of smoking I think I must have tried every method to stop. From a little patch to a bigger man that said, "Look into my eyes when I click my fingers you will never smoke again." Hmm! Of course I went home and smoked.
Everytime I think I knew that before I even started I wouldn't kick the habit. I knew everyone has their own way of stopping and that is only because the time is right for them.

Just after Christmas a friend told me about Champix so I went to the doctors, giving her a fright as it was the first time in over 16 years, got the all clear and started taking it.
While taking 0.5mg for the first week you are still allowed to smoke but you have to stop by the second when you move up to 1mg. I have to say that Champix does send a block to the brain and you don't want to smoke. You can also request little encouraging text messages from Champix at a time to suit you. I picked 7am and it's been really nice waking up to a little message from them every day.
I still don't trust myself 100% though. Although I don't want to smoke, for now I make sure someone is with me when I go to the shop, in case I'm tempted to buy a packet.
A little mind over matter is called for in some cases. Like when the phone used to ring I would think of a cigarette as soon as I heard it. Now I try to switch that thought to a glass of water, a handful of currents etc as soon as I see an image of a cigarette appear in my head. Although I don't actually want a cigarette the image and thought is till there sometimes.

The statistics say in my two weeks of stopping smoking I've gained years back onto my life. I have also put a few extra pounds on but the way I look at it is that the extra pounds can be removed when needed and I can't get the extra years of lost life back. So as far as food & snacking goes well then I would say ... eat and never worry about the pounds.
Right now I've finished this I'm off for a cuppa and big cream bun ... ok a slight fib its a sliced carrot this time ... I ate the big cream bun earlier!

Bobrobin_2

LOL

You are allowed to smoke after even the second week of Champix, but, the taste is so that you don't really want to anyway, the cig is terrable, yuk yak! splutter... Then cough n hack. No nicatine satisfaction.
It's all down to the habbit, this needs working on.

2 pork pies 250 gms nuts 2 cream buns 3 sticks of blackpool rock, none of doing any good, my belt is getting far too small now.

Good luck

Nessa56

Hi hope you don't mind me coming in here.

As you will see by my signature, I have stopped smoking for over a year now, have put on a few pounds (erm, a stone) but hey the feeling I have from not smoking is worth every pound, and I am now about to start on the first diet of my life.

What I wanted to share was how I managed to give up, I have smoked for 37 years and for the last 15 was on about 40 a day. I tried everything, patches, hypnotherapy, more patches, cold turkey, nothing worked for more than a week.

Then I discovered the Allen Carr clinics, expensive (but not as expensive as a months smoking for me). about £220.00

It consisted of 5 hours in the afternoon talk mainly with 20 mins hypnotherapy and on my life I have not had even a single puff since.

I cannot recommend it enough.

However you manage it, good luck to you all and well done

varuca

Totally playing devils advocate ....... smoking IS the worst thing you can do to your health, apart from running yourself through with your own sword in the core of a crocodile filled nuclear reactor but.... you get a larger private pension 'cause you ain't going to live as long.

mais.braeholm

I have stopped smoking for 6 months now. I was a smoker for 50 years and have tried before.

I tried hypnotherapy which did work until a crisis hit my life and someone, kindly, bought me a packet of cigarettes.

I twice tried patches, but was smoking whilst wearing the patches, but then on the 22nd October, I went for laser thereapy and it worked!!

Why is this treatment not widely known. I told my doctor and he was very interested and took note of it for people in the practice who wish to stop. It cost me £40, which I would have smoked in 8 days.

weeneldo

If you live in the Greater Glasgow area you can get a 12 week course of Nicorette patches from your local pharmacy for £9 if you pay for prescriptions and for free if you don't! You just go into the pharmacy once a week to collect your patches and they gradually work you down the doses. They can also refer you to all kinds of local support groups and sources of advice as well as having the pharmacist's expertise.

Folk in other areas: pop into your pharmacy and ask if they offer any kind of Smoking Cessation scheme. I know that lots of NHS health boards (especially in Scotland) offer similar schemes to the one in Glasgow, whereby you can get heavily discounted/free patches direct from your pharmacy. Also I know a lot of GP practices run nurse-led smoking clinics.

contribute_good_news

As the article disscus smoking isn't harmful just to health of human but it has also affect on smoker's wallet.Which means also income besides health of family as everything is connected.According to data gathered at site of non profit and educational international tv channel on topics of health and enviroment etc..Supreme Master Television under section harms benefit flyers states as follows:" Since the public smoking ban in Great Britain, 70% of the businesses reported a neutral or positive effect. "

And "In his annual report, UK Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson said a public smoking ban would save an estimated £2.7 billion: £680 million saved by having a healthier and more efficient workforce; £140 million saved through fewer sick days; £430 million saved from productivity loss from smoking on the job; £100 million saved from clean up costs related to cigarette smoking. "

At their site or on youtube you can also watch show from Patrick Raynolds:"A talk with your kids about smoking."

Mr.Patrick Reynolds has establish Foundation for smoke free America and is giving lectures worldwide.

hethmar

Just wanted to add my support guys. I stopped smoking 10 December 2006 (its one of those dates you will always remember ) I had been on 30 a day and Id smoked since I was 15 - so over 40 years. I stopped at last by using the inhalators. In fact I still keep one handy in case I get stressed. The inhalators dont contain all the killer chemicals that fags have and are a support to you.

The other thing Id recommend is downloading a little program called silk quit meter. You put in the number of cigs you smoke - be truthful - the cost of the cigs and then the program ticks away all the time and you can check how many fags you havent smoked, how much money you have saved and how much time you have potentially added to your life After I got to 5000 fags not smoked (and it didnt take long ) I knew Id kicked the habit. Just imagine 5000 fag butts on your desk - yuck - and the other thing is, have a goal to spend the money on. In my case £2k a year saved which is nearly £8k saved now.

My first goal was having my front teeth capped - always longed for straight teeth but couldnt afford it cos of the fags and anyway, if you smoke you kill your gums and the crowns fail anyway. So after 6 months I got my crowns and then I went on to saving for a new designer bag and so on. I also donate money every month to charities by standing order. This is money which would have gone up in smoke but is now being used positively. Its another incentive not to return to the fags as you would deprive the charities.