To ask you what has changed in your life once you quit smoking?

[proseccoaficionado]

That's it, folks.

I set my date for the end of January (some stressful events in January).

Please tell me the positive aspects of quitting smoking, what has changed in your life and please, your top tips to stay away from it.

I have to admit I'm a bit terrified and never tried to quit before. I want to do it once and for good.

Thank you and a Happy New Year, everyone

@proseccoafficionado sorry I posted earlier when you were quitting at the end of the month well done for bringing it forward!!
There is never a good time best just to crack on, good luck for tomorrow and just stay positive

Oh god ignore me. You mean you're starting the book tomorrow!
I may have quit the fags I now need a brain transplant

@shecamefromgreece Yep, at the end of the month. I convinced myself I'll jinx it if I bring the date forward😂😂😂 I'm a piece of work.

@FascinatingCarrot BEST OF LUCK! We can do it! My date is after January though

@FascinatingCarrot the smoke free app is really cheap and it seems great, I just got it.

I wasn't planning to quit in 2019, I was going to focus on shifting this 3 stone I need to lose - then I had a TIA on 28th December.

The doctors told me it was a warning sign that I had to look after myself better or next time it could be a massive stroke instead.

So, no more cigarettes, alcohol or take aways for me!

This thread has been very motivating for the cigarettes!

Good luck to everyone

Ok, I paid the one time buy for the smoke free app! Yay me!

Well done OP! You can set your quit date in advance and it'll help you get ready for it too

@takitaki Best of luck!!!!🥂 (oh crap that emoji isn't good is it?)

Screw the takeaways too, I only have 1-2/month but I'm a sucker for takeaways and I could do with losing about a stone too.

Gave up 5 years ago today and have never gone back.

I was a dedicated 20-a-day smoker and had been for 20 years.

Benefits in no particular order:

My skin is better.
I have more energy in the mornings.
I don’t stink! I don’t need to worry constantly about the smell on me, my hair, my clothes.
I don’t have to loiter outside in all weathers like a leper to get my nicotine fix.
I’ve saved shitloads of money.
My teeth are whiter & breath is fresher.
I can walk up a flight of stairs without getting breathless.
I never gave to think about buying cigarettes, running out of cigarettes, making sure I’ve got a lighter, worrying about when I can get out for a fag etc (the constant crappy addiction).

@NotDoingThat ohhhhh okay I had no idea you can set the date. Doing it now, thank you!

@2019Reasons I remember when I was at my old job and had to actually RUN downstairs for a cig, as my boss was a bitch and she hated smoking. I'm not joking when I say running. I was like a criminal on the run. Jesus. So embarassing.

1 year 8 months and 11 days Smoke Free

I vape instead. Still get the occasional urge then walk near a smoker and that puts me right off. Dear god they stink! Feel ashamed realising that's what I smelled like ALL the time.

I've really got into niche perfume now and my fag money has gone into a very expensive collection of wonderful smells instead.

And coffee. Not Starbucks or Costa. Really nice independent coffee shops as I can taste it properly now.

I don't puff and wheeze now and I walk everywhere.

Feeling so much better as well in general. I haven't had my annual chest infection since I gave up and I get over bugs much faster. Did have a problem with my bowel habits for a bit as my morning fag used to trigger the morning poo LOL. But body has adapted. It was that or burst!

Just don't ever give in. That one will become just two and so on.

Oh, and my gum disease has gone. Took a lot of work by the dentist and hygienist but finally my gums are what they should be.

I'm coming up to 19 months quit and would never go back. I went cold turkey but the biggest piece of advice is not to set yourself a date. I'd been thinking about it for a while and then one night when I was round at a friends house, I was half way through a cig and I thought 'I really don't wanna do this anymore.' So I went around the side of their house and smoked the last half alone in the knowledge it would be my last one. I left the rest of the pack there and text my friend the next day and asked him to get rid of them. It was suuuper hard, but I had made the decision at the right time for me and it was not a pre planned date. If you get a moment like that, please jump on it!

Also, the smug feeling you get once a craving is gone and you haven't caved in, is 1000 times more of a rush than you'd get if you smoked!

Good luck

I vape now, haven't touched a cigarette for over 3 years. But tbh apart from I don't stink anymore I don't know if I look or feel better!!
However I KNOW I'm healthier and that I've cut my risk of major illnesses and I'll (hopefully) live longer.
I used to be so stressed when I was smoking thinking that I was going to die and i don't have that anymore.
Also smoking is so anti social I'd spend all my time wondering how I could get away for a smoke. I vape in my house and my friends do t mind me vaping in their houses.

@madeinthe80z I chose to set a date because of that bloody Allan Carr, he better be right lol!
@Babysharkdoodoodoodo so many health benefits!

I can't wait to come here in a few years and say oh hey no sinus infection or oh hey, no mucus in my throat!!!

@ineedtostopbeingsolazy I know, at times smoking does make you feel isolated, doesn't it?!

The change is I won't end up in hospital with fucked up lungs as my mother did, resulting in a long illness then her early death.

@Vicky1990 I am very sorry for your loss and big congratulations for quitting!

Honestly give it up. People can get lung damage even after they've stopped, if they smoked long enough.

I loved not having to go outside in a cafe.

I loved not freezing on the patio.

Best of all, I loved not being "owned" by smoking.

I never really missed any of those things I was sure I would, if I Haiphong. I saw the con trick.

I never really missed any of those things I was sure I would miss, if I stopped.

I saw the con trick.

Following with interest, as i hope to finally give up the fags sometime soon! My only issue is that i love smoking , and also I work in an outdoor job where everyone smokes!!

I am really really struggling with deciding when to finally give them up. I'm not ready just yet. But I have a vague idea that I will be trying to quit by middle of the year!

Looking at it this way- i smoked every year of the 2010's... I want to enter in to the 2020's as a non smoker! ☺️

Best of luck to you @proseccoaficionado

You think you love smoking because you’re addicted.

Do you think meth users genuinely love meth? Did you love smoking immediately? Or do you love it now because your body is trained into that dopamine loop? Do you actually love the feeling of relieving addiction?

Thank you so much for this thread.

I read it yesterday, bought the Allan Carr (Audio) book. Listened yesterday. Stopped smoking. Hurrah!

@MaidenMotherCrone YAY, you!!!🎉🎉🎉 Keep us posted! Best of luck!

@winterhappiness You have no idea how many excuses I have not to quit. But then I read this thread. And the ones I have pale with the benefits people have stated here. Trust me. They know both sides of the story and I'm sure they're right! Let's do it!