non smoker since 1st Jan!

[NewLeafExpat]

I quit smoking for good on NYE with the help of the easy way by Allen Carr and inspiration from two bff lifetime smokers who had quit the year before. .. (if they can do it so can I)

I have to say the book changed my life and made it so EASY!

previously when I quit I always relapsed around 2/3/4 months in when the willpower faded and the mindset of deprivation/giving up my friend the cigarette kicked in.
well I certainly am not "deprived" now what ridiculous brainwashing I was under!!

so now besides a big pat on the back to me and all the other non smokers I'd like to:
firstly recommend reading the book to anyone who hasn't. you have nothing to lose other than a few hours reading.
and secondly ask all the vapers: are u "vaping" to replace smoking? to reduce smoking? are you going to be a "vaper" now forever? I have never tried it and never will I'm just curious.

yes you have given up cigarettes but you are surely still addicted and feel sad/panic/deprived when you don't "vape"

I get that its a healthier option but in my opinion you aren't using it as NRT its just a replacement 'less damaging' cigarette?

not meaning to offend or belittle ANYONES achievement BTW, stopping smoking is NOT for sissies!!!

Hi NewLeaf - firstly I'd like to say a massive WELL DONE!

It's fantastic that you've found a way that works for you, doesn't involve any costs (bar the book itself), and doesn't put money in the pockets of Big Pharma - win all the way. I wish more people would start threads in this topic promoting things like the Allen Carr book & supporting others who want to try them.

Every answer you get to this will be different. In my case, vaping is a replacement for smoking as things stand, though I've noticed that I seem to be vaping less as time goes by and I may well reduce the nicotine levels eventually.

I honestly can't see any reason WHY I should give up vaping - I have all the plus points I had with smoking (the comfort, the habit etc) and none of the down sides. Nicotine in itself isn't harmful to health in the amounts vaped, and I actively enjoy vaping. Most people have a habit and/or an addiction (think nail biting, fiddling with hair, sugar/fizzy drinks, continuous nibbling), this one happens to be mine and tbh better (or at least less bad) for my health than constant snacking would be. In my case I've tried and failed many times in the past to give up, and it's been the habit aspect that I've found hardest each time

I gave up smoking for 3 main reasons - money, health, and the anti-social aspects; I am now saving considerable money, my health is better, and I don't stink of stale smoke. I don't get that panic feeling & have to vape the second I get out of a non-smoking place (and no, I very rarely vape in a place smoking isn't permitted) & my body seems to have adjusted very well to having a low but constant level of nicotine rather than massive hits every hour or so.

Vaping IS a form of NRT it just addresses the habit aspects of smoking as well, that traditional NRTs ignore, which is why the success rate is so high in comparison.

Hi Newleaf, well done!

I am really pleased the Allen Carr book worked for you. It didn't for me unfortunately, although I do still recommend trying it to people who want to be rid entirely of nicotine because I know it does work for lots of people.

I think the major stumbling block for me was that I could never quite believe that nicotine was doing nothing for me. Since reading up on nicotine and its effects I think I was correct - nicotine does have some positive effects on mood and cognition and I miss it when it's not there - I simply don't function as well.

I am vaping to replace smoking. I never wanted to stop smoking - I enjoyed it! I just wanted to not pay through the nose to kill myself slowly and harm people around me. I have achieved that and am happy. As it turns out it was a piece of piss, so much so that I stopped smoking 'by accident', 6 months before I intended to.

Like allergic, I feel a lot less addicted than I did on fags. It's a lower level of nicotine delivered at a much gentler rate and doesn't contain the extra ingredients of tobacco smoke that work to make nicotine more addictive. I'd put it in the same category as my coffee habit now and I see no immediate reason to give up either.

I don't think it is NRT, simply because it's not medical - this is actually part of the reason it works so well: as a consumer product, there are a massive number of different devices and liquids to choose from and it's enjoyable!

BTW, lots of people are prescribed NRT long term at a 'maintenance' dose so the definition of NRT isn't necessarily something that is only used short term. It doesn't work very well (approx 93% failure rate at 1 year) but may help some people not to relapse as often as they otherwise would.

allergic and plenty thanks for your replies and well done to you too! I always feel proud chatting to people who have been successful in stopping!

I didn't realise the nicotine was delivered in a lower more stable dose so that sounds positive.

I get it that you could say drinking a morning cuppa or nighttime choccy is in a sense an addiction/habit too. its making sense.

I guess it just goes against how I got over it. my main worry when quitting was the fear of OMG how will life be as good without cigarettes as it was with them. how would i go drinking/socialising with friends without a ciggi and without feeling deprived. well the book removed that fear. I feel like with vaping you probably still have that fear so in a sense you aren't "free" . (having never tried it I don't know if that's true or not)

maybe that's just a ridiculous thought process. I mean ultimately we arent actively killing ourselves anymore so I mean that's a massive HIGH FIIIIVE.

Well done!

I stopped smoking on Jan 2nd with the help of vaping. I am still vaping, but have reduced the nicotine down to the lowest level now and hope to go 'no nicotine' by the end of the summer. I am not sure how long I will continue vaping after that, but it has completely stopped my addiction to nasty, foul cigarettes (was a 10 a day smoker for 20 years), so feel amazingly proud of myself regardless.

I'm not naive enough to think that vaping is 'good for me', BUT I feel healthier, am no longer breathless and my skin is better, teeth whiter, I dont stink of fags any more (yes!) and am a lot richer! I feel so much less of a slave to smoking now, too, as can have a quick vape whenever I want and am no longer thinking about when I can nip out for my next fag.

I gave up with Allen Carr 5 years ago, but lasted 16 months before slowly going back to cigs. I know it has worked longer term for some friends. Different strokes, I guess.

Well done!

I gave up smoking AND drinking on 20th April this year using Allen Carr, I've been recommending it to everyone.

It has CHANGED MY LIFE completely, my thinking around fags and booze was all wrong headed and I feel a bit like I've seen the light, there is a massive conspiracy around cigarettes and alcohol wrt Big Pharma/Big Alcohol that is actually terrifying when you think about it.

I've had the most bizarre reactions from colleagues and family about my not drinking or smoking any more, it's insane. And I'm really finding it hard to not be THAT person an talk endlessly about the con they are all suckered by...

haha Eleanor yes I have to tssssht all the time! first my friends who read it were babbling on to me and I was like "OK sure I'll read it . I hope I get brainwashed like you too, it seems to be working"
welllllll! now I've read it I realise I was the brainwashed one and now I can see clearly! its hard not to go around spreading the word (irritating people).

anyway I still have the eBook and audio book. occasionally I listen to the audio book while at gym just to cement my thoughts.

every now and then out at bars with friends (u can still smoke indoors here in Asia, and cigs are a pound a pack) I'm out with 10 friends smoking and I'll think about it for all of... 5 minutes Maximum the whole night!! before the book I would be itching, scratching, unable to think of anything else other than trying to justify why I should have a cig and that it doesn't really matter etc etc.. how sad to be so controlled mentally like that!?

anyway. as for all non smokers, vaping, nrt, willpower, hypnosis... the health benefits for me are the most important and amazing. from always gymming and struggling thru a 20-30 min run I can now run 1hr no breathing problems and I know that's just the beginning of the benefits....