Safe ways to give up smoking?

[Laura05]

Hi all don't boo but i'm a smoker and it was my new years resolution to give up anyway but i don't know if its safe to use things like patches and lozenges whilst pregnant. I'm not a heavy smoker, max 10 a day and to be honest sometimes the smell makes me heave never mind actually smoking but i'm worried i might not be able to give up cold turkey if you know what i mean.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated and please don't judge my filthy habit lol

No they will both work equally as well.I have read them both!

Nothing much to add really other than I was smoking 30 a day pre pregnancy and gave up cold turkey when I got my BFP. I got one of those inhalers but never used the cartridge things so was just an expensive piece of plastic but it did help me to do something with my hands. Sounds cliche but do you knit/ sew etc? Even now, at 32 weeks I find this helps in the evenings. I also kept an old ashtray with a little mix of ash and water in it outside my backdoor to sniff if the temptation got too much, it smelt vile and stopped me wanting one.

I agree it's so refreshing to have a supportive, non judgey thread about smoking as we're not stupid and we know the effects.

Best of luck to you!

Another vote here for the Allan Carr book. I had the "womens" version & DH had the "normal" one, we did look to see what the difference was, but although I can't remember exactly, it wasn't much.

We've both been clean for over 5 years now.

I have tried every method going (apart from tablets, which obviously aren't safe in pregnancy). Alan Carr lasted about a week. Inhaler the same. Patches about 3 weeks. The only thing that has made me stop completely has been cold turkey and the knowledge that I had to for the sake of my baby. The first 3 days were hell, the next few tricky, then absolutely fine. Easier on the will power than nicotine replacement, for some reason.

Good luck. :)

I agree that pg is a big motivating factor. I was lucky I got pg when I did, I had already given up for a few months and the pg stopped me from falling off the wagon - and now I am so over smoking that I'm very sure I'll never start again. I used to follow the pattern that I'd give up for months or even years and then start again, often in the summer after having the odd crafty one in a beer garden with a drink or something. Being pg totally removed that opportunity and hopefully being a parent and having LO around etc will mean I'll never be tempted to even have the odd one again. I don't miss it at all now.

I don't know how I would have been if I'd had to give up when pg though, as it is such an emotional/stressful time anyway, so I sympathise. Although I gave up just before xmas last year, so I knew that as I'd got through xmas without one I had really achieved something. So I don't think there is ever a "good time". My only advice and what I found the book helped with is to get it into perspective. YES, cigarettes are very addictive and yes it will be hard to start with, BUT it will get easier and easier every day as long as you don't let yourself get too worked up and you stay strong mentally. And one day like me you'll wonder why you ever did it in the first place. And trust me you will feel so much better in so many ways if you stop and you'll never regret it. x

Allen Carr. Allen Carr. Allen Carr.

That's all.

PS Stopped smoking 3.5 years ago.

Well done on wanting to do something about giving-up
I was a smoker, 20 a day, NY resolution was to give-up and cut-down to 10 a day, then under 5 a day and becoming was my incentive to give-up. I went cold-turkey at first but found it so hard -20yrs of smoking from early teens! Went to a fresh-start NHS stop smoking group where you have the support, help and advice (I thought it wouldn't be my type of thing but is excellent) patches, lozengers etc. are all better than smoking! They prefer not to prescribe lozengers for pregnant Women but would prefer that to a ciggerette. I gave-up with patches which I was able to discontinue after about a week as it was the inhalator that worked for me - at first with the nicotine cartridges which I cut down and then with nothing using the inhalator as a prop for the hand-to-mouth action you have with a ciggerette! Also worth noting at the stop smoking groups everything is by prescription and with a maternity card not having to pay for prescriptions it doesn't cost a penny to give-up so even more incentive.
Well done for wanting to give-up, it can be done - I thought I wouldn't ever be able to give-up! Good luck with it.

Meant to type 'becoming pregnant was my incentive to give-up' (and pleased I've forgotten how to spell ciggy!)