Go Queen K!!! You are doing so well. I've never really smoked, so no advice, but good on you mate!

Have you ever read Allen Carrs easy way to quite smoking?

While it didn't cause me to stop it was really good for putting ideas in my head so when i DID stop smoking I stayed with it.

I too started at 11 or so, off and on for year, then full time 30g a week increasing to 50gm at the end.
Financially it was a choice of Smoke or Eat at the time. but i was also lucky enough that i was getting bored of smoking.
I finished my pack and Couldn't be bothered going to the dairy to by more. Been smoke free 4 years or something now.

Benefits? Well, Not having to go outside when its cold.
Not having to stop my activities to go out side to smoke
Food Tastes AAAAAMAZING I seriously just outright appreciate the good stuff now, Its just amazing!
I smell better.
Don't feel ashamed to go outside at a friends house to have a smoke. I can stay in and chat and natter and enjoy their company without thinking "oh i REALLY want a smoke but this convo it too good leave but i REALLY want a smoke"

I feel healthier Despite the fact that i've had (unrelated) health issues. I hate to think how bad They would be if i still smoked.

I am not being controlled by Something that Thinking back to it, i never ACTUALLY enjoyed. Thought i did, but didn't.

And i can sit here and think. As a non smoker i am saving myself 50k+ in my lifetime that i could spend one something that's ACTUALLY awesome.

Oh, and I just want to say that as someone who's father has smoked heavily my whole life, it is really sad, but also completely not surprising, to now be waiting to hear how long it will be before his lung cancer kills him. I'm not trying to guilt you into quitting, but just say that I think it's awesome you want to do that for your son.

Yay! Go you, 10 days is awesome!
Benefits for me are not stinking, not standing outside in the cold because I'm desperate.
I was a smoker when I got preg, and I did not stop right away, I cut right back but kept smoking a few a day for about 1/2 my pregnancy. I didn't loose the cravings for a few years, especially when out drinking but I'd find that I'd bludge one off someone and it wouldn't be nearly as nice as it smelt and I never really finished them because they made me feel sick and dizzy... Sick and dizzy! Imagine what that is doing to your body!! Anyway, it's been 18 years now and the smell of them makes me want to vomit.

Hang in there, you can do it!

I smoked socially years ago and HATED the smell in my hair of all places. Gross.

Well done Queen K. You CAN do this!!!

Im loving this thread, and will refer back to it - as stopping smoking is on next weeks thing to do list!

And like you QK, I will HAVE to keep some in the house - as I feel quite trapped if I dont have any in the house (I know this from past experience). I definately fare better if I have a few in the housee 'in case of emergency'.

I know you wanted advice from EX smokers. And clearly I dont fit that right now. But - one thing in the past - was if I had a craving, Id tell myself that Id wait 20 mins, or 30, or whatever I decided, and see how I felt. That kind of broke it down into a more manageable chunk of time. Then after that time period was up, I would give myself another time period. I have, a few times, quit for many months/over a year (many tries!).

What caught me out each time was thinking that I could have 'just one' when I thought I was over the addiction. Just one evolved into just one pack... etc etc etc.

i Quit when i got pregnant and been smokefree ever since. Loved the fact that i smelt nice, and my teeth were not yellow anymore. Clothes didn't stink. I felt really clean and fresh if that makes sense. Everything tasted nicer after a few months.

My children are now grandparentless, and 3/4 of those deaths were due to smoking related illnesses.

Neats.



This really helped my brother, but I do think you have to have a very logical mind to use it....hence perhaps why it suits some people, and they rave about it...they literally stop and don't even crave it afterwards...and notsomuch other people.

And I should say.... you are one of the strongest people I know.....YOU CAN DO THIS!!

I've been smoke-free 14 years after smoking for about the same length of time. I decided it was time to quit when I realised that some of the teenagers I was teaching thought I was cool because I smoked (they could smell it on me). I didn't want smoking to be one of the things I influenced them on so I gave up.

I was at the point you are at - I had gone off the taste of cigarettes and I hated the smell of them on my hair, my clothes and in my car. I think being at that point meant I was finally ready to give up and I simply stopped, cold turkey one evening and never looked back. I didn't even finish my last cigarette - I think I took about 2 puffs and realised I really didn't want to do this any more so I stubbed it out and my smoking habit was over. I had just started going out with a non-smoker at the time so that probably helped make it easier too. Hopefully having your son encouraging to stay smoke-free will do the same for you.

My sense of smell became very acute quite quickly (so I felt ill every time I smelt cigarettes on anyone else) and I got back my sense of taste (which I hadn't realised was lacking until it returned). It took a few days for me to stop noticing the revolting smell of stale smoke wafting up from my hair when I had a shower. My circle of friends at work changed as I wasn't spending my breaks in the smokers' area any more. It was actually really nice getting to know all the non-smokers. On the whole they were generally more positive and fun to be around than the smokers and a much younger crowd too (so maybe it was their youth that made them more fun and positive rather than their not smoking). I would have been saving money too which helped me pay for a trip to Nepal and Tibet and then on to London for my OE.

I loved being able to have a night out without waking up in the morning feeling like I'd been licking an ashtray. It was also great not having to clean up cigarette butts out of the garden (I'd always smoked outside) and not having to clean the ashtrays in the car. As others have said it was liberating not having to plan where and when I'd have my next cigarette. I smoked rolies and it was nice not having to roll those any more as well.

with staying smoke-free QueenK. It really is worth it.

I love not having to work out when I can have my next cigarette

Waking up in the morning feels so much better, and recovery from a cold is much quicker! I used to cough and cough for weeks.

I never feel like one when I see people smoking anymore, but often in a stressful situation I'll find myself thinking 'if I were a smoker still I'd be having one right now!' . A few deep breaths and blowing out the air seems to work though

Well done on the first 10 days! It gets easier with time

I've been smoke-free for 3months now. I live the exta time is spend with DD, and knowing that she won't 'know' me as a smoker.
The way i prevent myself from smoking is to mentally tell myself "you can't afford it!".
I've also encouraged my mum and bestie to quit too. YAY

Go you, amazingly proud of you for this!!
I odn't smoke, but as a wife of someone who has been smoke free for the last 8 weeks it is amazing!!
DH is finding he has more taste for food especially. He's saving the $$ he would have spent on smokes and we're using it to build up a library collection. I don't have to worry about the kids getting into the ash tray and best of all, hopefully my wee ones won't have someone to mimic as their Papa is their hero and they were already smoking clothes pegs.

Just wanted to share that when my Bestie Died. Lots of "exsmokers" started smoking (including his partner at the time.) and they were trying to give me smokes and saying its okay, its totally understandable.
But i actually just did not want to, besides He HATED smoking (but understood people did it) and i like to think he would have been proud i didn't use him as an excuse to start again.
But i also really felt like i dealt with the whole thing better than they did, (though could could have just been because i'm a heartless ice queen) but the smoking didn't seem to help any of them at all. I think the not having to think about "when can i have my next smoke" Was a big help!
That and the chain smoking some of em did surely would have made them feel ill!!!

I think all i'm saying is that i think i deal with stressful situations better without it

I smoked heavily (at least a pack a day) for 10 years and gave up when I found out I was pregnant.

When my first born children died I did go and buy a packet of cigarettes and a 12 pack of beer as an: up yours - stuff you all kind of thing. But I only smoked that day and I didn't enjoy it.

The pluses for me was saving money (I just couldn't afford/would refuse to pay that amount of money for fags) and my sense of smell and taste came back which was cool.

I also didn't like the smell on my clothes/body and certainly didn't want my children smelling of it!

But, what stopped me from starting again (mostly) was the thought of that first drag: head spinning and the taste.

Strangely, I still miss the anti-social part of smoking - I liked going outside in the cold by myself to have a cigarette. Now I get the same from a run.

You can do this.

Word for word - I agree with this entire statement.

except the 3 year part - that's all Goats!

Just to add, I used Alan Carrs easyway book and it worked for me but it didn't work for my Mum so I have no idea how it works but I put out my last cigarette, told myself I'd never smoke another again and that was it...I had cravings but they were manageable. For me it was the 'fear' of what it meant to be a non smoker - I was afraid to give up for so many reasons. But once I conquered the mental aspect of it (mind over matter) I was good. That was 08/08/2010 so 18 months ago.

Now, you know I can't lie here QK - I have had a few (literally just a few) ciggies since. Beginning late last year and ONLY when I'm drinking. It hasnt made me want to start again, I don't crave smoking at all and I still consider myself a non smoker! lol

Hypocrite much?

Anyway, you're a smart woman and smoking is so stupid - it really is. I mean, how funny is it that any time I burnt toast or overheated the frypan and filled the kitchen with smoke I would open all the windows and doors, bundle up the kids and head outside into the fresh air....but I'd light a ciggy while we waited for the smoke to clear! STUPID!

I didn't realise you'd already been smokefree 10 days - honestly, the hardest part is over - it gets easier. And every time you put yourself in a situation where you were most likely to have a ciggy (first thing in the morning with ya espresso) and you DON'T have a cig, you literally get stronger until one day you'll realise you've gone 3 espresso days without even thinking about one.

Good for you.

I feel so much better when a non-smoker. Everything improves for me - all the obvious things like energy levels, motivation, breathing and also my skin looks heaps healthier (in my opinion all smokers have a mildly yellow tinge), but beyond all that my mental state improves significantly.

I have been smoke free for 10 months now started about 12. I am 58 now gave up the day my 30th grandchild was born, still crave now and then , but not too bad. I used champix, it was really good apart from the feeling sick thing Funny thing is lol I have been over seas twice since then.... lets you know how much I was spenting on the cigs.

I gave up smoking when I found out I was pregnant with DD1 and have never looked back.

I have found I don't get chest infections anymore.

One of the best things I think is that I no longer smell.
Smokers stink. It doesn't matter how clean they are, or how many mints they suck on - I think they still smell

Good on you for being 10 days smokefree. That is a huge accomplishment.