Ex Smokers, can i ask a quick question please?

[AgentFelix]

How did you quit?

NRT
Champix/Zyban
Gradual Reduction
Cold Turkey/Willpower
Other - hypnosis/acupuncture etc

I'll be back in a few hours

TIA

Oh, in case it matters, I want to know if Joel Spitzer (Why Quit) is correct about most smokers quitting cold turkey. I don't have many ex-smokers in real life to ask.

[6monthson]

Champix. Tried cold turkey, managed about 2 days. Tried patches, managed about 2 months but constantly cheated by taking off the patch and having a sneaky fag. Read the book, but it made absolutely no impact on me.

Champix was horrible, but I'm so glad I did it.

[Tapirbackrider]

With a mixture of willpower and bronchitis - 9 months and counting.

[CairoPrankster]

Hypnosis which, as a previous poster has said, is like cold turkey but with added woooo. This worked for about a year and then I started again.

I gave up cold turkey eight years ago and have not touched one since. It was on the day I started uni and I just didn't tell anyone that I was a smoker, by the end of the first day the smokers had made their quiche and I wasn't in it never looked back

[HenriettaChicken]

Cold turkey. Made a deal with my friend that I'd quit smoking if she quit drugs. I quit smoking. 5 years later she quit drugs. So it worked in the end!

[SauceForTheGander]

The book

[SauceForTheGander]

I went to Allen Carr session in the olden days when you were encouraged to smoke throughout them. I used to also read the boom to remind myself to stay on track for first few weeks. After failing to give up on a large number of occasions I found this method easy.

I gave up that day, nearly 12 years ago after being heavy smoker.

I've had handful of drags when hammered out if curiosity and never been tempted back. I'm still bewildered as to why I loved it so much. Giving up is one of the few things in life that I feel genuinely delighted with myself about.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

Cold turkey. No problem didn't miss it at all. But I found out I was pregnant so had no choice but to stop. Never looked back and won't ever start again!

[Showtime]

I seem to be the only one to have used the NHS counselling system, where you get to try all the aids before choosing best for you (Nicotine patches, after fifty-a-day.) Their figures show the system's more effective than DIY, so good luck with stopping, but give it a go if needed.
Been fag-free six years now, and never tried to stop before.

[AgentFelix]

Yes it is anti-social now, not at all like it was in the early 90s' when I started.

I did stop when I was pregnant but found it very hard. Throughout I just thought of it as a non-smoking phase and I started again before I'd left the hospital. That was 11 years ago and I've had about 5 serious attempts at quitting since then.

[acrabadabra]

Cold turkey. Helped that I'm lazy and by the smoking ban which closed my works smoke room and having to go outside the pub in all weathers.

I still consider myself a smoker even though I haven't had a fag since 2006. Don't think about it much at all now but for a few years I could often have begged one from a person walking down the street. Weird how in less than 10 years it's become so anti social.

[carben]

Cold turkey on 1/1/2001 - had several attempts prior to that but my heart wasn't in it until the final one. Felt worse for months after as all the gunk left my body but now I cannot stand the smell - even in the street-and never ever crave one.

[adagio]

Tried a number of things over the years - Zyban, Allen Carr books (big one, short one, and one for women); Allen Carr 'course' in a hotel; willpower (a few times) both 'cutting down' and cold turkey; stopped publicly but became a secret smoker - hid behind the greenhouse in a special coat and hat when DH in the bath; ran out of milk necessitating trips to local shop numerous times?!

Finally, got pregnant and stopped cold turkey - will never smoke now as I know full well that one fag will lead to the next and before I know it I will be smoking again, and now I have the baby I really don't want to be a smelly smokey mummy (or popping outside when I should be giving her attention).

In fairness, when I finally did stop it wasn't so bad as I expected,the growing bump was a huge incentive...

[PearlyWhites]

Cold turkey/ willpower has been four years one month

[Mintyy]

Cold turkey. Had 5 serious attempts (of no smoking for more than a year each time) before I finally cracked it, and I believe I have now. It will be 5 years for me on September 20th.

Lets face it, stopping smoking is hard but its not that hard. If someone told you that the next cigarette you smoked was going to kill you, for certain, within an hour, you wouldn't smoke it.

[juneau]

Cold turkey for me. I just didn't want to smoke any more. Gave up in 2000. I literally never think about smoking any more and I know I'll never smoke again. Filthy habit. I can't believe I ever smoked.

[Yamyoid]

Yy cabbage. I remember sitting on the loo in bars chuffing away on my inhalator!

[Yamyoid]

I've tried zyban, patches and the inhalator. Can't imagine going cold turkey. I probably liked the inhalator best because I was in control and have the nicotine fix in a very similar way to a cigarette when needed. But ultimately it's pregnancy that made me stick at it. It's now been 2 years (with the odd fag when out drinking). I think cost is the other factor for why I've not started again.

[rednellie]

Cold turkey/pregnancy. 3 years ago, usedto be on 20 per day, rollies. I've had the odd relapse then just cold turkeyed it again!

[CabbageLooking]

I set a date for quitting and before that tried to think very carefully about each cigarette I smoked and consider whether I really enjoyed it or not. Then I went cold turkey from the date set and had an inhalator if I found I was struggling (not for public use really; they look like a tampon).

[AgentFelix]

Good luck toiletbrush

Mushi thanks for your post. I will come back and read it when I find I'm talking myself into smoking again. The amount of times I have got to 3 months nicotine free and then started again due to a petty argument with DP or because DS is trying my patience. I always tell myself it will help but of course it doesn't.

[MoodyDidIt]

cold turkey nearly 4 years ago but was only on 5 - 10 a day

also have slipped up once or twice when pissed

[MushiMushi]

Oh I will also add, that I found the iphone app 'my last cigarette' brilliant help. You enter the details of how much you smoke etc, and when you quit, and it gives you info like how much you save and how much nicotine and tar etc is left in your system. Whenever I felt bad I'd just check where I was up to and it would make me feel great. I still check it occasionally....I'm on day 258 of being a non smoker and not smoked 5159 cigarettes

[ChoudeBruxelles]

Cold turkey. Had tried other ways but they don't actually stop the nicotine.

[scaevola]

Pregnancy, which gave the resolve for cold turkey.