Anyone successfully stopped smoking? How?

[ataloss24]

I smoke about 20 per day.

I could say I used all my willpower to fight a heroic battle against nicotine addiction & finally quit after many failed attempts & was so proud of myself etc etc but that wouldn’t be true.

The reality was that the government increased taxes to the point at which a packet of 20 cost more than £3. I simply couldn’t justify spending that much on cigarettes at the time so I quit.

I've tried to give up so many times, even tried vaping but didn't agree with me so stopped that and went back to cigs. I've tried Alan Carr, Paul MCKenna etc.

I wish there was a rehab for smoking! I've never really wanted to give up but know I need to. I think need to be dropped on a desert island where I can't just wander up the road to the corner shop 😩

Sorry OP just realised this is no help, solidarity though.

Alan Carr's book "Easy Way to Stop Smoking". Read it while you're still smoking. It's not a particularly well written book but it really gets to the heart of what drives you to keep smoking and how to change your mindset about it.

Champix

15 years ago now

watch your mood though- I had to stop taking them after 6 weeks as I started crying non stop 😟

never had a fag since though

I was on 20 a day and one day I bought a vape pen I thought I would alternate between smoking and vaping to cut down on cigarettes, I didn't really want to but smoking was killing me.
From the moment I picked up the vape I've not touched a cigarette. That was over 8 years ago now i just have to give up the vape!! But without it i would still be on the cigarettes.

Alan Carr. You smoke as you read it. Honestly didn’t have any cravings and didn’t miss it. Doctors should prescribe it!

Cold turkey.
The want and need to be a non smoker was greater than my need for cigarettes.

I'm 10 weeks into quitting after 35 years of smoking 20 a day. I wanted to try champix but it's not available anymore so I bought Zyban tablets and just did it. It was easier than just going cold turkey.

Pregnancy. Although patches and gum are cheaper than babies.

I just decided I wasn't going to do it anymore.

The first few days were tricky. After that any craving is psychological rather than physical and I wasn't going to be dictated to by a habit.

I smoked 20 a day for well over a decade when I stopped.

The upsides of quitting were obvious. The smell, the cost, I didn't want those little lines around my mouth, the yellow stained fingers.

You can do it OP!

I smoked for over twenty years, and I stopped at the end of 2019 with the aid of patches from my doctor.

It was about the 15th time I'd tried. I never thought I'd succeed, but it's coming up to five years now.

All GP surgeries have smoking cessation clinics these days.

Good luck! You'll save a fortune and your health will improve.

I figured if I could quit for my babies when I was pregnant then I could do it for them now, rather than have them lose a mother at some point through a horrible illness. Just accepted it was going to be shitty and cracked on with it. A couple of years later I still get the odd craving, eg when sat in a sunny pub garden, but they pass quickly and on balance being a non smoker is a lot lot better than being a smoker by a magnitude.

I was quite a heavy smoker for 12 years. It took a few attempts but gave up 23 years ago. Nicotine gum was what worked. It's revolting and you really don't want a fag afterwards. Also, get used to the idea that on a level you may well always miss smoking, which is definitely a manageable thing. I wouldn't go back, now I am fit and healthy. But I still dream about smoking occasionally.

Decided to have a baby. Probably maybe not a lot of help, sorry 😁

This! Chose a day and time and just did it, 44 years ago. Absolutely no point in still using nicotine if you're trying to break the addiction!

I tried the smoking cessation service at the pharmacy and read Allan Carrs book at the same time. Those 2 together finally helped me quit after about 7 years of half-hearted attempts, haven't smoked in 3 years now

Before that, I did start by reducing one cigarette at a time and that definitely helped me reduce, the first cigarette of the day got pushed back to 9am then 10am etc until I wasn't having one until after dinner but I could never completely quit, Allan Carrs book helped with that!

Sorry, 34 years ago.

I vaped and had nicotine gum. I discovered that if I kept a base level of nicotine, even if it wasn't as high, I was much calmer. Smoking cigarettes gives you a load of nicotine and then you have none, which can make you jittery.

I don't use the gum these days, unless I'm at the cinema or on a plane. I'm on a fairly low level of nicotine now compared to when I started this, but I vape (low nicotine) all the time. But I'm not planning to stop because I enjoy it so I haven't tried to quit that!

This was a while ago but the Allen carr book and a stop smoking app helped me. I remember it gave me badges the longer I hadn’t smoked for, starting from 20 minutes after my last cigarette (heart rate returning to normal). Good luck

I did it slowly over a number of weeks, dropping 1 cigarette per week from my daily allowance (week 1 = 20 a day, week 2 = 19 per day, week 3 = 18 per day and so on).
As the allowance per day reduced, I pushed the time of the first smoke later in the day and spaced them out evenly until bedtime. By the last week my 1 allowance of 1 per day (post dinner) had become take it or leave it and whilst I have had the odd drunken relapse over the years it makes me feel so crap the day after there’s no way I’d go back to it.
It’s really tough but you can do it! Good luck

I did but I vape!

I've cut my nicotine liquid down to the lowest & really need to take that final step but I do enjoy vaping so it's hard!

I don't smell anymore, if I get a cold that's all I get not a hacking cough, I can exercise so to be honest I'm happy enough with the situation!

Obviously from a Mumsnet point of view I am the devil incarnate but 🤷‍♀️

Well I’m on day 1!

I got a chest infection over winter, so I did it off the back of that. What made it easier was living in a cold place so I just didn't fancy going outside to smoke. By the time I got over the chest infection, I'd lost interest generally.

Setting exercise goals also helps, because the two habits are not compatible.

Yes it's a very good book. The trick is to look at not what you are giving up but what you will gain. A phrase that particularly stayed with me (when I look with a touch of envy at smokers, especially on Mediterranean holidays) is "You wouldn't look at heroin addicts injecting themselves and wish that was you". It worked for me, good luck.

I also kept track (for about 3 years) of how much money I was saving on a very crude hand drawn "thermometer" chart.