Giving up smoking is it really that important

[billy27]

Okay I know it is, I've done it before then I started again stupidly it's been 5 years now. I've smoked since I was 17 I'm now 26 I can't afford to smoke, it stinks disgustingly and I hate being judged for smoking out and about.
I am scared of giving up and the low mood that comes, I'm scared that I might get depression as I read that's a symptom to expect when giving up? Please tell me stories of how you gave up and the benefits you've felt since. I do suffer with anxiety sometimes so I think I'm worried incase it gets worse and I can't cope etc.

Billy - I watched my mother in law die a very painful death which was smoking related, please give it up, you can do it.

I smoked for 27 years - started at 13 and finally quit 18 months ago. The 'lightbulb moment' for me was when DH had a lung cancer scare.

It was a Monday when I bought a vape pen and I smoked my final cigarette on the Thursday. Never looked back, never even been tempted.

You do not need to spend a small fortune on vaping and stay well away from those Juul and Ten Motives thingies. I used a £25 vape pen (the Innokin T18E) and 95p liquids from Home Bargain (88Vape - available in a variety of flavours and strengths). Changed the coil weekly, they were £10 for a pack of five.

Yes, there will be people who say we do not know the full dangers of vaping yet. It's true, we don't so it's a decision for the individual to weigh up. You could say that the worst case scenario is that you're killing yourself for a fiver a week as opposed to £70.

There will be others who say 'Vaping stinks and it looks stupid'. Maybe it does? It isn't as stinky and stupid as someone who would disparage others for trying to quit the cigs though, we can be certain of that.

I really don't want a vape either. The worst case scenario could he much worse than the one described above but I would judge anyone else that uses them.

My Mum died of lung cancer, she was a smoker for 35 years.

I just stretched it out so if I usually had one an hour, I'd try to only have one every 2 hours and so on. That way I slowly weaned myself off and never really thought of it as "quitting" as I told myself I could still smoke in special situations - socially or if I was having an especially bad day etc.

Eventually I was smoking so little that the addictive factor just wasn't present any more so it was no trouble to say no and at some point I realised I'd had half a pack hanging around for so long that I didn't want them any more and just threw them away. Haven't bought any since that day.

DH has changed to vapes but I don't find it is enough like smoking for me.

I have bipolar and giving up smoking hasn't hurt my mental health. I'm on month five and I've never felt better. It's the best thing I've ever done. Also had a wake up call when a friend who was a heavy smoker for years has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Please do it it's the best investment you will ever do.

I gave up when I was 28.

DP found out she was pregnant with DS at the beginning of November 94 and I stopped completely 1st January 95 . I thought I didn't want to smoke around DS but also didn't want to have to stand outside in the rain or cold when I wanted a cigarette.

When I stopped, I had no trouble at all. I think the first week was a little bit tedious wanting to have a cigarette but after that, it was fine. I didn't get depressed or anything. I had previously smoked 20 to 30 cigarettes a day before giving up. I would say I found it easy.

May be you should say you will smoke until the end of this year and then from 1st January 20, just give up. I wish you luck OP. It is important you stop for health reasons but also remember that if you don't, It will affect your appearance too

Niquitin minis are very good indeed. I used 1.5mg minty ones but they do 4mg too. You gradually decrease the number you use. It was quite painless! I had dreaded giving up smoking but in the end it was and I was determined. That was years ago. I noticed the difference fairly quickly - I didn't cough any more!

My mum nearly died two years ago of pneumonia, wich was made worse by the COPD she was suffering. Now she has to sleep at night with a machine to aid her breathing, she constantly struggles to do anything more than make dinner. Can just about make it down the garden path to get in a car or taxi. Any small sign of a cold just knocks her down completely and she can end up in hospital. She's 65, smoked for 50 years and is paying for it now - badly.

Please stop smoking.

There are some really good "stop smoking" apps out there too. They'll track how much time you've been smoke free, how much money you've saved and how long you've "extended your life" by.

Sounds naf but it really helped me the last (and final thankfully) time I tried to quit.

The Allan Carr book is great too.

Oh and save this thread or at least screenshot bits of it to read whenever you have a craving. I found I never wanted to smoke whenever I was confronted with the harsh reality of the fact - it will kill you - but it was so easy to ignore that thought when you've got 5 mins to wait for a bus and rrrrrrreally want a cigarette.

Good luck!!! It's easier by the day I promise you.

My mum died at 47 from lung cancer. She didn’t start smoking until she was 19.

I gave up over 3 years ago but did it with a vape. It’s not for everybody but it’s worked for me. Have not had a cigarette since and I was on 30 a day at that point following a hugely stressful divorce. Hideous cough went within a couple of weeks and smell and taste came back quickly. I can do long runs again without being breathless. Been life changing. It’s changed my habits too. I don’t use it in the same way as a cigarette at all. It costs me about a fiver a month so God knows what the woman who has been mentioned above was doing for it to cost the same as smoking. It’s not for everybody, it works for me. My GP is supportive too.

@crustycrab I didn't either now wondering if I can hold out but we can do it, I read that when you crave one you should nibble on carrot sticks or cucumber sticks as holding it mimics a fag. No idea how helpful that is

Really taking this all onboard thank you everyone I've done it before and I kept it up for a year I just need to find that willpower again

Still going. Although I'm feeling a bit edgy that will pass. Keep going!

My df smoked all his adult life. He had mental health issues (mainly depression and attempted suicide at least once that I know of) plus he worked in fairly stressful environments (the military and then the oil industry) where everyone seemed to have unhealthy coping mechanisms.

He died of lung cancer whilst I was six months pregnant with dc2. To say he regretted not stopping would be an understatement.

A lot of my colleagues moved to vapes and then stopped altogether. I smoked as a teenager with an eating disorder and found ordinary chewing gum really helped.

I smoked for 40 years ( started at 14), and tried to give up several times, without success.
I got so sick of myself, I got Champix through Lloyds pharmacy, got the 30 day one to try it out and never smoked again. And what's more, I don't want to!

I think every smoker has a 'thing' that makes them quit. I swear by Champix, the Carr book did nothing for me, cold turkey? Nah, lasted less than a day, nor did Niquiten etc, but they worked for others. You need to find your own magic, but boy is it worth it!

My MIL died from lung cancer which spread very quickly to the rest of her body and was definitely related to her decades of cigarette smoking.

My Dad has COPD so his chest can get really bad and even the slightest cold can be serious. That too is definitely smoking related.

Then there is the smell and the expense of it. I am not a smoker, but I do have to visit my elderly parents at their house sometimes and I do know that when I return to my own I really stink of cigarette smoke (my mother still smokes and will never give up).

Please give it up.

Honestly OP, try champix.

I feel like I cheated when I quit as it really wasn't hard because of champix. I smoked for 14 years about 25-30 per day. Hardly any desire to smoke for a few months and now I don't have any desire at all. If anything, the smell actually makes me feel sick now when before I quite liked it.

It’s vitally important

I recently did a placement on a respiratory ward and met people suffering from COPD, it’s a bloody awful disease. Thankfully I gave up smoking 12 years ago but if I hadn’t I would have stopped right there and then after seeing that. Many of them were younger than me and they were struggling for every single breath. I held the hand of a 40year old ex soldier while he cried telling me about how fit and active he used to be and how now he couldn’t even walk across the room to put the kettle on. Heartbreaking 😥

I was a heavy smoker, I used nicotine patches to quit. I don't think I could have managed it without them. Also the smoking ban has helped enormously, I hardly ever come into contact with people smoking now, apart from the odd person in the street. It will be 15 years in March for me, I'm so thankful that I managed to quit when I did.

@billy27 Ask your Dr if you're suitable for Champix tablets. They have a great success rate in stopping smoking but were originally developed as an anti depressant. Nearly everyone I ever put on them experienced a lift in mood. Clearly, not suitable for everyone but if it is a real worry of yours then they could be the answer.

I LOVED to smoke, started at 13, and if I could have, I would have continued to smoke.I smoked 10 - 17 cigs a day, would easily increase that to 2 packets on a night out. Started dating someone who didn't smoke 12 years ago and that's when it started to annoy me - the smell, the smoke and that horrible feeling in my throat in the mornings. I stopped, from one day to the next, went cold turkey and it was fine. I couldn't even imagine inhaling smoke anymore, makes my throat want to close up.

I think every smoker has a 'thing' that makes them quit.

This is true, we need all the methods because we're all different. If something doesn't work for you, try something different. Whatever method you choose, you'll likely do better if you have support, whether that's friends and family, stop smoking services or mumsnet threads.

I started smoking age 12 and carried on for 3 decades. I tried lots of times to quit and sometimes managed it for a few weeks or months but always relapsed.

My 'thing' was vaping. It's been 6 years now. I just checked my old spreadsheet and in that time I have not-smoked 33,285 cigarettes. DH switched over at the same time and the combined savings have enabled us to pay off our mortgage. I think we spend about £7.50 a week between us on vape stuff.

I still vape and I'm still somewhat addicted to nicotine, although a lot less so. I never get that climbing-the-walls feeling I used to get if I'd gone without a fag for a few hours. Nicotine on its own is not much of a health risk - it's about like caffeine. I can enjoy a vape with my coffee and still breathe.

My health has massively improved, I'm counted as a non-smoker by the NHS and I no longer smell. Best of all, I'm relapse-proof.