Tell me all the good things about stopping smoking please

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I’ve smoked since my mid teens, at times up to 40 a day I now smoke about 20 a day.

After a few half hearted failed attempts I’ve decided that this time will be a successful attempt! I’m goi to use patches, an inhalator and listen to Allen Carrs audiobook every night in bed. (I have all of these ready to go).

I know the health risks, I know how much money I’ve smoked, I know my clothes stink .... I am still a bit nervous (I don’t even know what of!) about quitting . Shamefully, my biggest motivation is money and smell - it should be my health but thinking about that has never worked for me. I’m spending around £12 a day on cigarettes, I enjoy smoking but I so much want to quit!

I need ex smokers to tell me all the fantastic things about being a non smoker (partly so I don’t light one now, partly so I have real life stories to aspire to!)

You'll be much nicer to kiss
You'll be better off
You'll live longer
You won't constantly smell of smoke
Your home won't smell of smoke

I can’t wait to get rid of that horrible smoke smell! I can smell it in my hair even after I’ve washed it (sick not envy )

I used Champix.
A long expansive breath in is still (after about a decade) much nicer than a puff of cigarette ever was.
I don't get colds or sinus infections any more.
Food and drink is just delicious now.
I don't have to spend money on fags
I don't have to live my life around cigarettes
My house, car and self smell lovely
My gums and teeth are so much better
I can exercise and my energy levels are much better
Don't need to have people look down on me for smoking
It's a million million times better

You won't have to try to find somewhere to go for a puff.
You will be able to do flights ( when we can again) without feeling twitchy.
You won't have to stand out in the cold/ rain multiple times a day.
You'll lose any smokers cough.
Your teeth and gums will be healthier.

Your sense of smell will come back properly - something about smoking dulls it. One day you will realise you are smelling flowers and spices and things properly and it’s amazing!

You’ll save £360 a month! You can save up for something you want or treat yourself every month

Your teeth will look whiter and brighter, so will the whites of your eyes. Your skin will have more glow to it. Your breath will be fresher and you’ll taste food better.

I had a 40 a day habit and I haven’t smoked in 15 years. Allen Carr is great for taking the focus of the fags. After a month they won’t be such a big part of your life and you won’t define yourself by your relationship to them... it’s freeing not to be a smoker.

You can do it!!

Quitting is the best thing I have ever done. I feel so free. This huge stress of addiction is gone. I’m aware this sounds a bit OTT but it’s honestly been so free-ing. I think I’m off them five years. I smoked for nearly 20 years and was on 15 a day minimum. I smoked through bronchitis.

I did Allan Carr too and my advice is to not just read it/listen to it. You need to really process the ideas being presented. Ask yourself if you agree, are you aligned with each chapter. And if you’re not, listen again and think about it until you are. You are retraining your brain. I wish you so much good luck, I’m so excited for you!!

You have no idea how bad you smell at the moment. When you have given up and you smell another smoker, you’ll cringe, but you'll be pleased you don’t smell like that any more. (Speaking from experience!)

I will give you reason to quit op
I'm 42 smoked since my teens . In November I had a cardiac arrest and died in my hallway in front of my kids absolutely no warning other than what I thought had been heart burn and reflux for years turned out to be angina. I was in a coma for 3 weeks they thought I wouldn't make it but thankfully I'm still here to tell the tale . They put a stent in a blocked artery . Hope that helps 🤷‍♀️

The best thing is the difference to your self esteem and confidence. And all that has a knock on effect on your looks, health, relationships, hobbies and wealth. I thought I would never be able to stop (heavy smoker) but it was the best thing I ever did.

Eleven years ago, I had to tell my daughter, and then my frail mother, that I had lung cancer.

The look on their faces ( I can still see my mother's eyes when I told her, in my nightmares).

If you stop, you will never have to do that to those you love.

Stopping smoking is easy when you have a lung cancer diagnosis. Don't wait for that.

I'm still here, and cancer free. But I'm in constant pain from the operation to remove the tumour.

Be wiser than me, please.

There's an app that tells you how much you've saved, how your health has improved etc over time - great motivation!

I quit 11 years ago.

The best part is the freedom! You don't have to plan your life around when you can have a fag, or worry about changes to smoking policy at work.

The extra money is a great motivation.

Whenever I got a cold it would always, without fail, be followed by a really bad cough that would take weeks to shift - not any more.

I can sleep on my back without coughing now!, never could when I smoked!

No more standing around in the cold in the winter.

Put the money you would have spent on cigarettes into a jar. Even if you normally pay by card, get the cash and do it. You will be astonished how quickly it mounts up. Set yourself a target, to pay for something you really want. Anything from a new bag to a holiday (remember those?) this will motivate you, it certainly did for me.

Good luck. You can and you will do this.

Inthesameboatatmo that sounds absolutely horrific! You’re the same age as me too. I can’t imagine how traumatic that must’ve been for not only you but your children too.

Thank you everyone for your pushes in the right direction! It’s just what I need! In the time taken to read and reply I’ve just not smoked that cigarette! Not sure I want/need it right now.

I’m going to be so embarrassed when I smell myself properly aren’t I?! I spend so much money on home and personal fragrance just because I love smells - I’m not carrying the smell I think I am am I?!

Watchingthetele I completely get the addiction part - most of my time is consumed just thinking about smoking, even when I’m not consciously thinking about it iyswim? ‘I can’t stop at that shop for milk, they don’t have my cigarettes.... Oh can’t wait to get home for a cuppa and a cigarette.... Oooo a sunny day! Great I can get the washing out because it all stinks of cigarettes.....’

I quit 15 years ago after yo-yoing back and forth with smoking for 5 years. Allen Carr, patches, NHS stop smoking counselling and zyban plus lots of chocolate helped. When I really wanted a smoke I'd tell myself "I'm ok just now, I might have one in a bit." I did that for 3 months.

Best things about being a non-smoker:
No phlegmy morning cough
Less frequent colds, no more sinus infections
Amazing sense of smell and taste
Better skin

Go for it!

Keep reminding yourself that at the end of the month you'll have £360 "spare"! Infact I'd open up a seperate account and transfer the £12 a day into that account when you successfully complete each 24hrs smoke free, so you actually get to see that amount going up each day as motivation, and make sure you use it to treat yourself to something nice, something lovely, something you'd usually say you couldn't afford.

I should say I tried quitting for 5 years. I started smoking at 13 and finally quit at 30.

When you are close to someone who still smokes, you realise no amount of perfume or chewing gum covers it up..........and of course the £££ saved!

People will stop talking behind your back about you smelling of fags.
You'll no longer smell of fags.
You'll have more years in which to spend all the money you'll save.

I smoked for a few years, back in the days when it was an affordable and easy thing for young people to do socially. I'm so glad it's too expensive for my kids to even think about starting these days!

I found one of the best things was that £20 of petrol actually cost £20...and not £30.35!

Just get a decent MTL (mouth to lung) vape if you want to quit without the misery. Approx £50 for the device, £15 for 5 replacement coils (each will last 1 - 2 weeks) and £1 - £5 for 10ml of liquid in more flavours than you can imagine. Each bottle will last 3 days of heavy use.

Your skin!!! Your skin will look healthy and glowing... especially young looking. I could tell whose a smoker from a mile off! You can see it in their face.

LubaLuca I’m awarding you that goldstar because I think your comment ‘people will stop talking about you behind your back that you smell of fags’ is going to be the one of the comments that does it for me I physically cringed felt my face turn a deep shade of crimson Omfg they ARE noticing and mentioning it aren’t they?! I’ve never even thought of that before I never thought I’d be thanking someone for saying people are talking about me because I stink

I’ve tried a vape before, I’m not keen on them. Maybe the few I’ve bought have been rubbish but they leak, make me cough and splutter and I end up just putting them in a drawer and going to buy cigarettes

secular that would be a huge benefit! I’m starting to notice those little smokers lines around my mouth! Need to stop them in their tracks!