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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I so wish I still smoked

56 replies

Tintackedsea · 28/06/2023 23:03

It's been well over 10 years since I quit but fuck me I miss the fags. I don't miss the poverty and the stench but I miss the 5 fucking minutes to myself. I miss the time out. I miss the decompress.

I'm not going to start again but...

AIBU to just miss smoking?

OP posts:
Auldspinster · 29/06/2023 00:51

I quit 17 years ago and haven't had as much as a puff but if there was to be a healthy non stinky cigarette I'd be right back on them.

Nikki360 · 29/06/2023 01:08

I stopped 14 years ago and still miss it. I loved smoking. That first one with your first drink. The after dinner one and the five minutes peace one in the garden. I think the ones I miss the most are the balcony ones on holiday when you have had a shower and you pour a drink and light up and just sit and chill. Maybe I just miss the carefree me when I was young and stupid and everything didn’t feel like a health risk. I miss that.

AllOfThemWitches · 29/06/2023 01:08

Kudos for quitting!

Sid077 · 29/06/2023 01:09

I quit 9 years ago and the thing I miss most is the appetite suppressant. I enjoy walking by smokers and inhaling though, a friend once best described smoking as like your first love, fondly remembered but ultimately best moved on from.

TrickorTreacle · 29/06/2023 01:11

@CallieQ - I agree with you - you may not have done ciggies nor have I, but I think YABU because other people in this thread are trying to kick their habit. It's not the easiest thing in the world.

ladycardamom · 29/06/2023 01:11

My eldest was 13 this month. So about 13 years and 8 months since I gave up. I tell myself if I live til 80 I'll take it up again! I miss it too.

Dontcareforthehaters · 29/06/2023 01:58

I gave up 20 years ago. I used to smoke 30 day and honestly, I loved it. I gave up through 1 session of hypnotherapy, I didn't think that it would work so I found a hypnotist that offered a money back guarantee. I couldn't believe that it worked. I have had so many dreams where I have been smoking and I wake up feeling really guilty. It's so intense. I definitely miss smoking.

DaftyLass · 29/06/2023 03:52

I quit in 2012, after 20 years of it
I miss it, at least once or twice a year, where I think I'd kill for one, but I far haven't gone back.
It was gross, dirty, smelly, sickening, expensive.....but I do miss it as bit.

FunkyBuddha85 · 29/06/2023 12:02

Aww man. I still do it! I've beaten myself up so much over the years with shame and guilt...
In the end I just do what I want... my father and grandparents died early, nothing to do with smoking so I figured I'd just do it when I fancy...

Pixiedust1234 · 29/06/2023 12:11

I hear you. Unfortunately I know that just one puff will send me back to 20 a day so I don't. But if ever I walk past someone smoking I do dawdle a little and do deep breathing exercises 😂

Tidsleytiddy · 29/06/2023 12:29

I packed in the fags after over 30 years of smoking. Love my vapes now

Deathbyfluffy · 29/06/2023 12:33

Don't start again - it's a filthy habit that's among one of the most inconsiderate activities for those around you (only maybe pipped by those people who let their kids play loud things on a phone / tablet in a restaurant...!)

You've done a good thing by stopping - it's okay to miss it, but don't cave.

MrsSlocombesCat · 29/06/2023 12:36

Try vaping. It’s a really good substitute.

Verv · 29/06/2023 12:49

YANBU I struggle horribly with smoking.
Keep quitting, and then the minute the pressure is on, the niggle becomes unbearable and im back on them again.
on off on off on off, it drives me mad.

It's the morning coffee and cigarette for me.
Absolutely nothing beats the pleasure of a strong caffeine hit combined with a fag and 10 minutes of peace and quiet before the madness starts.

Im pretty sure that if I was permitted one wish on the subject it would be that they were harmless rather than wishing I never started in the first place.

Original poster
Tintackedsea · 30/06/2023 23:09

Definitely not starting again.

1000000% (is that a thing?) not vaping.

I think an awful lot of my "urge" is nostalgic. Back in the day I was young, slim, confident, moderately attractive... and I smoked.

OP posts:
MyEyesAreBleeding · 30/06/2023 23:13

The only thing I miss about it, it's the way it punctuated evenings and meant I could take a break from people and conversation if out. I can't really just go and stand outside now 😂 that would not look good

Nat6999 · 30/06/2023 23:25

I miss the first smoke of the day & having a smoke in a pub with a pint of Lager. I stopped smoking completely 8 years ago, having gone from 40 a day to only being a social smoker, I've been off the booze since December 2017. I don't miss either separately but just having that cigarette with a drink inside a pub,

NeverDropYourMooncup · 30/06/2023 23:33

It's a mini meditation.

You stop what you're doing, go to a different place, usually outside - and then, for five minutes, you're focusing on taking deep breaths and exhaling slowly whilst your eyes relax their focus to mid distance and you're just observing the world and the sound of your breathing.

There's no reason why you can't do that.

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 30/06/2023 23:35

Yup, been 20 years here, and I'd still love a fat.

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 30/06/2023 23:35

Fag!! 😆

MrsALambert · 30/06/2023 23:37

Quit 11 years ago and still miss it. I’m still on Nicorette gum and I’d never go back to smoking but some days the cravings are strong.
I even craved cigarettes and beer when I was pregnant with my second

neilyoungismyhero · 30/06/2023 23:42

I finally gave up 37 years ago. I used to dream sometimes that I'd caved and had one and it was so convincing I'd wake up and believe I had.
I always knew if I had one I'd never be able to give up again, it's what kept me going, but I loved smoking.

Justcallmebebes · 30/06/2023 23:43

I hear you too OP. I gave up many years ago but still crave it in certain circumstances. I use nicotine lozenges occasionally

honeyfox · 30/06/2023 23:44

Don't ever regret giving up. I gave up for 9 months in 2002, cold turkey, after reading the Allen Carr book. Had a stressful time with my Masters and went back in them. Now, I haven't smoked full time in almost twenty years but I still have a couple a day in the evenings. I wear a bit of a patch during the day. I wish I'd stayed off them properly.

Notanotheruser111 · 30/06/2023 23:56

15 years for me and I still think about how good a smoke would be multiple times a day.

sometimes I think I’ll start again when I’m 80 or so