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hi i started smoking about 4 yearsa ago and have seen my consumption of the deadly weed go from 10 to 40 a day
i really want to give up because of my health
i lost both of my parents to lung cancer so it does worry that im smoking so much
has anyone given up succesfully and if so can you give me some advice all i have been offered is patches i dont think i have enough will power to do it just with patches
any advice gratefully recieved
ta
xx david
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Meg
Hi, i gave up smoking just over two years ago, i used to smoke 40 a day and had done since i was about 22. I had an awful cough and cold and one night couldn't breathe, which in turn, unbeknown to me, brought on a massive panic attack, family phoned for ambulance, they were great but there was nothing really wrong with me other than panic, and it scared me so much - the not breathing bit, that i never touched another ciggie since that day - no patches, nothing - i coped just fine and it is one of my biggest achievements to date (apart from my four kids, of course) so give it a go, try anything that is on offer, take every bit of advice that is given good luck you can do it
Hiya Dave
I smoked for 20 years before giving up in January and have been tobacco free for nearly 10 months now. The patches do help but stopping needs a good deal of willpower too! The first few weeks are the toughest but trust me, you start to think about smoking less and less as time goes on. After 10 months, I do still get the 'fancy' for a cigarette when I'm out having a beer and someone near me smokes, but that's all it is and I soon forget it.
The important thing to remember is that a craving only lasts about 3 minutes so before you give up, think of some things you can do when you get the cravings. I tried slowly sipping really cold water which worked for me but other things that you can do are eat a piece of fruit, chew the end of a pencil or even 'smoke' your pen if its the habit that you're missing!
It might be easier in the first couple of weeks to avoid going to places that you associate with smoking e.g. the pub until you are confident that you can manage without a cigarette in that situation. Enlist the help of your friends and partner to encourage you along and not to tempt you by offering you a cig. You could also try saving the money you would spend on cigarettes by putting it in a jar and at the end of the first week you could treat yourself to something nice like a relaxing Indian head massage, a tasty takeaway or something new to wear. If you keep saving the money as you go along, you'll soon be able to afford a break away somewhere nice :D
Try doing some other stuff when you would normally smoke - take the dogs for an extra walk or start a campaign to get fitter and use the time doing some exercise to make yourself feel really good. The one thing not to do is substitue smoking for another bad habit like eating junk food - that was my worst downfall when I stopped and I quickly put half a stone on, but I've lost it again now.
If you've been to the smoking cessation nurse he/she should have given you some info on making the steps towards stopping, for example get ready to stop by reducing your daily intake and set a date for the real thing. He/she should also have given you some info on the benefits of stopping including how your body will improve from just a few hours of not smoking through to what the benefits are after a few months and more.
Good luck - go for it, you know you can do it!
Jo xxx
When at the docs the other day to discuss my panic attacks and to get meds i asked about giving up smoking too, i know its a disgusting habbit but hey i cant help it . Doc gave me a card for a dept in the NHS that support people giving up smoking Telephone number is 0845 601 3116 my doc says they will give loads of support and a letter that you can take to your docs that will give you free prescription for patches or whatever method you chose to give up. The NHS give you one chance to give up if you fail but you still want to try giving up then you then have to pay for patches etc yourself. I hope this helps you lovie xxx Ps.have decided to wait until im feeling a bit more like myself before giving up cos i think it will increase my panic attaks craving a ciggy doc tended to agree with me and gave me the advice and number for nhs anyway.
Love Sarah-Jane xxxx