i feel your pain. I've been trying to give up for about seven months, obviously not doing very well. But in those brief periods where I held out for at least a week, I revelled in breathing deeply and clearly, being able to smell food and outside, not smelling myself and being allowed to spend that money on a CD instead of tobacco. Remember that smoking takes from the enjoyment of other things.
I've also found it helpful to remember that its just hundreds of little habits, rather than one big one.
Listen to me....what do I know.
I stopped smoking early February. Throughout Feb/March I probably had about 7 cigarettes. In the last month I've had none, and I finally consider myself a non-smoker now, as opposed to a reformed smoker. Go me!
I read the Allen Carr book - Easyway to quit smoking and although I found it quite patronising and occasionally inaccurate, it worked. The main point it makes is that the whole willpower technique doesn't work very well because people feel like they're making a sacrifice. The nicotine is out of your system in a very short time - about three weeks. What makes it difficult to quit is that you feel like you're denying yourself a pleasurable activity.
So..basically the book does this kind of positive conditioning - it keeps hammering home just how much better you'll feel about yourself not smoking, and in particular how you won't need to rely on this crutch to enjoy yourself when you're at a party, or to help de-stress you; after all - non-smokers aren't any worse off than smokers stress-wise or sociability-wise. It made a whole lot of sense to me. Unfortunately in the second half of the book, whilst trying to rebut the types of arguments smokers have made for smoking, the author lets himself down a bit. It's obvious that he has to work very hard to make his particular theories fit every single scenario, and some of his logic is flawed. He's also at his most patronising. It's irritating, but it was easily ignored for the greater good.
Quitting was still a bit of work - whenever I got stressed, or if I was drinking, I'd have to remind myself just how little smoking does for me - for example, I'm mature enough to deal with stress without relying on a chemical fix; or I'll feel sooooo much better the morning after if I haven't been smoking as well as drinking. Or reminding myself of how disappointing the last cigarette was. Probably it'd be quite a good idea to smoke a whole lot more than normal just before you quit, just so you're left with a bad memory of it. The night before I decided to quit smoking I'd gotten extremely drunk, and smoked way too many cigarettes. I felt like death for the whole day, and read the book that afternoon.
The best thing was it happened fairly much exactly the way the author said it would - after about three weeks the physical cravings went away, and the habit was all that I had to deal with. Also relayed in the book was the prediction of this great little moment: about a week after I'd quit, I left a cafe after meeting a friend for coffee, and I realised that for the entire duration of the date it hadn't even occurred to me that I might want a cigarette. Just that little thing was a real boost.
choicie. positive conditioning + no willpower, I think I can do that. I get the denying yourself the pleasureable thing - I don't smoke at home & it's no problem, but when I'm at work it's a killer: I'm constantly hanging out for that 5min break every couple of hours & I see it as my escape & one little pleasure.
//I don't smoke at home & it's no problem, but when I'm at work it's a killer: I'm constantly hanging out for that 5min break every couple of hours & I see it as my escape & one little pleasure
Try to find yorself a new pleasure to replace it, something you can look froward to but that hopefully won't kill you. That way instead of constantly trying to not think of one thing you can just change it to thinking of another, fill the void.
you must be the stupidist fucker in the world, you would stop if you wanted to. It's actually up in the air whether nicotine is chemicaly addictive or just psychologically addictive anyway. It's not like it's heroin. How? throuhg away your cigarettes and don't buy them again.
grow up, you think quiting smoking is so hard, yeah I think all those people with congenital heart defects, genetic predispositions to cancer really care about your 'disease'. If you were a desert island with no smokes you would be a non smoker and probaly forget you ever were, simple.
By making a big deal out of it your making it worse. If you can give up coffee, you can give up cigarettes.
Sorry, I'm sure there are plenty of others who could give you some useful advice.
um, giving up is hard, you'd be the first ex-smoker I've met who said it wasn't. & after 10 years smoking it kinda is a big deal.
So now all I've gotta do is find a desert island & avoid talking to people with congenital heart defects & genetic predispositions to cancer. stellar advice.
But you do make a good point - don't buy them again... so simple, so true.
//So now all I've gotta do is find a desert island & avoid talking to people with congenital heart defects & genetic predispositions to cancer. stellar advice//
no, just don't put a cigarette in your mouth, light it, and inhale. You have control over your movements don't you?
I hear ya rdor, but you give me a rash. It's like having an arguement with a dad:
"don't take drugs"
"why not"
"because they're bad & I said so"
how can I agrue with logic like that...
// It's actually up in the air whether nicotine is chemicaly addictive or just psychologically addictive
// anyway. It's not like it's heroin.
I'd always understood that nicotine is much more addictive than heroin. Still, that came from a high school teacher and then various magazine & newspaper articles over the years, so it's hard to say it's "fact".
I guess the fact that junkies generally up and die on you within a couple of years makes it hard to make accurate comparisons! ;)
i dunno about it being more addictive than heroin, but i know for a fact its far more poisonous in concentrated form...you couldn't just mainline nicotine like you can with heroin (supposedly)
//no, just don't put a cigarette in your mouth, light it, and inhale. You have control over your movements don't you?
Ok. Extremely over simplified. Try instead, whenever you feel an overpowering need to smoke, to break it down. It's easy to say, ok I'll just have one, so instead think of all the minute actions, instead of the one larger one, you will need to do. Get in car, go to the shops, buy cigarettes, open, select, light, inhale. You can stop yourself at any one of these small points and end up not smoking
Regarding the addictive thing... I didn't have any problems giving up smoking except for the times when I'd normally pop out for a ciggie - coffee break time, out socialising, or when someone said something nasty to me on nzm ;) so for me it was just the habit I had to break. However, a friend who quit smoking six weeks before me reckoned for a couple of months there'd be times she needed a cigarette so bad she was sobbing. There's no way it's as physically addictive as heroin, but some people seem to suffer some pretty bad withdrawal effects.
Regardless of the physical addictiveness, I think it's really unfair to just say "just don't do it". Everyone has baggage, everyone has bad habits that they have trouble kicking - binge drinking, eating poorly, procrastinating, the way they treat people, the way they conduct relationships; just smoking is a more obvious one. Telling people to Just Get Over It isn't very clever. People need more practical help than that.
I dont smoke. I had my first smoke when I was three years old - my family didn't want me to smoke so
figured that by giving a three year old a ciggerette, they would hate it so much the memory would last forever and they would never try another ciggerette again. It kind of worked a bit, but I am far too curious a person to have never tried it again.
I tried it again,when I was drunk, but I didn't particularly enjoy it, and so never became an addict. When one of my older brothers found a pack lying around our house he had some, then when I asked to try it, he put his ciggerette out, looked down, said "no" and then threw the pack out.
You could always use my Mothers method for how she stopped smoking. My Dad threatened not to marry her if she kept on smoking. She quit and hates smoking with a passion now.
If you want to quit then good luck, from what I've heard its incredibly hard for some people.
i quit smoking (tobacco only) on Waitangi day and how did i do it?? i just quit and started exercising immediatly, had to stop drinking 2 days later for a few days but it was well worth it.
Gave up New Years..actually 2nd day of this year cos I still had to have them for the celebration on the 1st..Its called will-power, mind-power, your choice to be a healthier person.
My specific reasons
The thoughts of:
1) Scabs, beggars, askers, cant afforder's.
2) Save my lungs for other things - you could say preserving health.
3) Fresher breath, clothes, air
4) Greater feeling when people assume you smoke!!
5) Discourages others (but not entirely) not to smoke whilst your there
6) Everyone around me (crew, friends, colleagues (most)) all do it so its nice to have some1 who doesn't.
May I suggest you buy you some space candy sticks..Those white candy sticks with the little red thing at the end. Its really fun cos they look so real from far away..hahaha..maybe take them with you to a club..LAME AYE..but yeah..GIVE UP IF YOU WANT TO. Its really the person behind the cigarette. If you know you really want to give up you will if you're not really ready it means you dont really want to give up cos of social reasons or what have you. Have faith to be smokefree. Its a great feeling...you could always start up again...kidding.
I smoked 20 camel ciggies in about an hour and a half. I have NEVER EVER been that sick, for about 3 weeks afterwards I fely pretty grumpy, but every time I would try to light up, I would want to throw up. That was 6 years ago, and I still cant really smoke now.
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i feel your pain. I've been trying to ...
i feel your pain. I've been trying to give up for about seven months, obviously not doing very well. But in those brief periods where I held out for at least a week, I revelled in breathing deeply and clearly, being able to smell food and outside, not smelling myself and being allowed to spend that money on a CD instead of tobacco. Remember that smoking takes from the enjoyment of other things.
I've also found it helpful to remember that its just hundreds of little habits, rather than one big one.
Listen to me....what do I know.
I stopped smoking early February. ...
I stopped smoking early February. Throughout Feb/March I probably had about 7 cigarettes. In the last month I've had none, and I finally consider myself a non-smoker now, as opposed to a reformed smoker. Go me!
I read the Allen Carr book - Easyway to quit smoking and although I found it quite patronising and occasionally inaccurate, it worked. The main point it makes is that the whole willpower technique doesn't work very well because people feel like they're making a sacrifice. The nicotine is out of your system in a very short time - about three weeks. What makes it difficult to quit is that you feel like you're denying yourself a pleasurable activity.
So..basically the book does this kind of positive conditioning - it keeps hammering home just how much better you'll feel about yourself not smoking, and in particular how you won't need to rely on this crutch to enjoy yourself when you're at a party, or to help de-stress you; after all - non-smokers aren't any worse off than smokers stress-wise or sociability-wise. It made a whole lot of sense to me. Unfortunately in the second half of the book, whilst trying to rebut the types of arguments smokers have made for smoking, the author lets himself down a bit. It's obvious that he has to work very hard to make his particular theories fit every single scenario, and some of his logic is flawed. He's also at his most patronising. It's irritating, but it was easily ignored for the greater good.
Quitting was still a bit of work - whenever I got stressed, or if I was drinking, I'd have to remind myself just how little smoking does for me - for example, I'm mature enough to deal with stress without relying on a chemical fix; or I'll feel sooooo much better the morning after if I haven't been smoking as well as drinking. Or reminding myself of how disappointing the last cigarette was. Probably it'd be quite a good idea to smoke a whole lot more than normal just before you quit, just so you're left with a bad memory of it. The night before I decided to quit smoking I'd gotten extremely drunk, and smoked way too many cigarettes. I felt like death for the whole day, and read the book that afternoon.
The best thing was it happened fairly much exactly the way the author said it would - after about three weeks the physical cravings went away, and the habit was all that I had to deal with. Also relayed in the book was the prediction of this great little moment: about a week after I'd quit, I left a cafe after meeting a friend for coffee, and I realised that for the entire duration of the date it hadn't even occurred to me that I might want a cigarette. Just that little thing was a real boost.
Flipping heck. It didn't look that ...
Flipping heck. It didn't look that long when I wrote it.
choicie. positive conditioning + no ...
choicie. positive conditioning + no willpower, I think I can do that. I get the denying yourself the pleasureable thing - I don't smoke at home & it's no problem, but when I'm at work it's a killer: I'm constantly hanging out for that 5min break every couple of hours & I see it as my escape & one little pleasure.
smoking a cigarette right now, tastes ...
smoking a cigarette right now, tastes amazing
me too. tastes like shit....
me too. tastes like shit.
maybe you need a change of brand what ...
maybe you need a change of brand
what you got?
marlboro... I've always said if your ...
marlboro... I've always said if your gonna kill yourself you may as well do it with a quality brand.
anything but rothmans...
anything but rothmans
anything but 'lights' that's just ...
anything but 'lights'
that's just crazy shit
//I don't smoke at home & it's no ...
//I don't smoke at home & it's no problem, but when I'm at work it's a killer: I'm constantly hanging out for that 5min break every couple of hours & I see it as my escape & one little pleasure
Try to find yorself a new pleasure to replace it, something you can look froward to but that hopefully won't kill you. That way instead of constantly trying to not think of one thing you can just change it to thinking of another, fill the void.
you must be the stupidist fucker in the ...
you must be the stupidist fucker in the world, you would stop if you wanted to. It's actually up in the air whether nicotine is chemicaly addictive or just psychologically addictive anyway. It's not like it's heroin. How? throuhg away your cigarettes and don't buy them again.
//throw//, I havn't had coffee......
//throw//, I havn't had coffee...
clearly you are not a smoker rdor...
clearly you are not a smoker rdor
well I used to be but one day I ...
well I used to be but one day I thought, god this smells bad...
no addiction genes I guess. No more addictive than caffeine anyway.
rdor, you're an idiot without a clue....
rdor, you're an idiot without a clue.
lucky guy...
lucky guy
grow up, you think quiting smoking is ...
grow up, you think quiting smoking is so hard, yeah I think all those people with congenital heart defects, genetic predispositions to cancer really care about your 'disease'. If you were a desert island with no smokes you would be a non smoker and probaly forget you ever were, simple.
seriously? i ain't even interested in ...
seriously?
i ain't even interested in giving up smoking, i'm just here for a bit of good cop bad cop,
By making a big deal out of it your ...
By making a big deal out of it your making it worse. If you can give up coffee, you can give up cigarettes.
Sorry, I'm sure there are plenty of others who could give you some useful advice.
um, giving up is hard, you'd be the ...
um, giving up is hard, you'd be the first ex-smoker I've met who said it wasn't. & after 10 years smoking it kinda is a big deal.
So now all I've gotta do is find a desert island & avoid talking to people with congenital heart defects & genetic predispositions to cancer. stellar advice.
But you do make a good point - don't buy them again... so simple, so true.
...until you are offered one in a ...
...until you are offered one in a smokey room
//So now all I've gotta do is find a ...
//So now all I've gotta do is find a desert island & avoid talking to people with congenital heart defects & genetic predispositions to cancer. stellar advice//
no, just don't put a cigarette in your mouth, light it, and inhale. You have control over your movements don't you?
Christianity we sould shut it and let ...
Christianity we sould shut it and let some nice people give hun some practical advice.
yeah ok //You have control over your ...
yeah ok
//You have control over your movements don't you?
hilarious
I hear ya rdor, but you give me a rash. ...
I hear ya rdor, but you give me a rash. It's like having an arguement with a dad:
"don't take drugs"
"why not"
"because they're bad & I said so"
how can I agrue with logic like that...
Tobacco smoke gives you wrinkles, makes ...
Tobacco smoke gives you wrinkles, makes you look older. There.
and you don't want to look like your ...
and you don't want to look like your dad just yet. Haha, er...
moisturise...
moisturise
// It's actually up in the air whether ...
// It's actually up in the air whether nicotine is chemicaly addictive or just psychologically addictive
// anyway. It's not like it's heroin.
I'd always understood that nicotine is much more addictive than heroin. Still, that came from a high school teacher and then various magazine & newspaper articles over the years, so it's hard to say it's "fact".
I guess the fact that junkies generally up and die on you within a couple of years makes it hard to make accurate comparisons! ;)
I agree with rdor here, the idea that ...
I agree with rdor here, the idea that smoking is hard to quit has been forced down our fucking throats by society.
i dunno about it being more addictive ...
i dunno about it being more addictive than heroin, but i know for a fact its far more poisonous in concentrated form...you couldn't just mainline nicotine like you can with heroin (supposedly)
//no, just don't put a cigarette in ...
//no, just don't put a cigarette in your mouth, light it, and inhale. You have control over your movements don't you?
Ok. Extremely over simplified. Try instead, whenever you feel an overpowering need to smoke, to break it down. It's easy to say, ok I'll just have one, so instead think of all the minute actions, instead of the one larger one, you will need to do. Get in car, go to the shops, buy cigarettes, open, select, light, inhale. You can stop yourself at any one of these small points and end up not smoking
Regarding the addictive thing... I ...
Regarding the addictive thing... I didn't have any problems giving up smoking except for the times when I'd normally pop out for a ciggie - coffee break time, out socialising, or when someone said something nasty to me on nzm ;) so for me it was just the habit I had to break. However, a friend who quit smoking six weeks before me reckoned for a couple of months there'd be times she needed a cigarette so bad she was sobbing. There's no way it's as physically addictive as heroin, but some people seem to suffer some pretty bad withdrawal effects.
Regardless of the physical addictiveness, I think it's really unfair to just say "just don't do it". Everyone has baggage, everyone has bad habits that they have trouble kicking - binge drinking, eating poorly, procrastinating, the way they treat people, the way they conduct relationships; just smoking is a more obvious one. Telling people to Just Get Over It isn't very clever. People need more practical help than that.
//I agree with rdor here, the idea that ...
//I agree with rdor here, the idea that smoking is hard to quit has been forced down our fucking throats by society//
exactly, it's an excuse to further reglulate and eventually criminalise a drug that has no psychoactive effect on the basis of public health.
It's scientifically true that some ...
It's scientifically true that some people just find it harder to give up than others.
Here is an article about it
http://www.apa.org/releases/smoke99.html
I dont smoke. I had my first smoke when I was three years old - my family didn't want me to smoke so
figured that by giving a three year old a ciggerette, they would hate it so much the memory would last forever and they would never try another ciggerette again. It kind of worked a bit, but I am far too curious a person to have never tried it again.
I tried it again,when I was drunk, but I didn't particularly enjoy it, and so never became an addict. When one of my older brothers found a pack lying around our house he had some, then when I asked to try it, he put his ciggerette out, looked down, said "no" and then threw the pack out.
You could always use my Mothers method for how she stopped smoking. My Dad threatened not to marry her if she kept on smoking. She quit and hates smoking with a passion now.
If you want to quit then good luck, from what I've heard its incredibly hard for some people.
i quit smoking (tobacco only) on ...
i quit smoking (tobacco only) on Waitangi day and how did i do it?? i just quit and started exercising immediatly, had to stop drinking 2 days later for a few days but it was well worth it.
....as for the "have i gone back to ...
....as for the "have i gone back to tobacco since then" the answer is No.
Yeah Sam, about time. Good for you ...
Yeah Sam,
about time.
Good for you man.
cheers irie. the only problem ive ...
cheers irie.
the only problem ive had since then is ive gained 7kgs despite the exercise program
but anyway ive also lost 2kgs thanks to copious amounts of Apple Cider Vinegar daily.
sam, take up a sport to keep your ...
sam, take up a sport to keep your weight in check. Even rough bogans can play sports like tennis.
Nah not tennis. Badminton is far more ...
Nah not tennis. Badminton is far more grym
Take your propaganda elsewhere, jimi. ...
Take your propaganda elsewhere, jimi. Tennis is a highly evil, necromantical sport.
Nah bro tennis sold out when Bjorn Borg ...
Nah bro tennis sold out when Bjorn Borg quit. Did you know he performed Satanic rituals before playing? Stefan Edberg once walked in on him.
Badminton is where it's at nowadays though.
I would like to offer you some advice, ...
I would like to offer you some advice, but i can't really unless you want to try my method.
I just stop.
I don't know how, i just can stop instantly.
about the brand of cigies: Dunhill reds 4 lyfe
dunhill reds??? during my cigarette ...
dunhill reds???
during my cigarette days it was always holiday 20s.
Apprently smoking can cause cellulite, ...
Apprently smoking can cause cellulite, however how much truth is in that is debateable. Personally, I just stopped one day cause it stinks.
Gave up New Years..actually 2nd day of ...
Gave up New Years..actually 2nd day of this year cos I still had to have them for the celebration on the 1st..Its called will-power, mind-power, your choice to be a healthier person.
My specific reasons
The thoughts of:
1) Scabs, beggars, askers, cant afforder's.
2) Save my lungs for other things - you could say preserving health.
3) Fresher breath, clothes, air
4) Greater feeling when people assume you smoke!!
5) Discourages others (but not entirely) not to smoke whilst your there
6) Everyone around me (crew, friends, colleagues (most)) all do it so its nice to have some1 who doesn't.
May I suggest you buy you some space candy sticks..Those white candy sticks with the little red thing at the end. Its really fun cos they look so real from far away..hahaha..maybe take them with you to a club..LAME AYE..but yeah..GIVE UP IF YOU WANT TO. Its really the person behind the cigarette. If you know you really want to give up you will if you're not really ready it means you dont really want to give up cos of social reasons or what have you. Have faith to be smokefree. Its a great feeling...you could always start up again...kidding.
//May I suggest you buy you some space ...
//May I suggest you buy you some space candy sticks..
Actually, I did that once when I was trying to cut down and it really helped.
I smoked 20 camel ciggies in about an ...
I smoked 20 camel ciggies in about an hour and a half. I have NEVER EVER been that sick, for about 3 weeks afterwards I fely pretty grumpy, but every time I would try to light up, I would want to throw up. That was 6 years ago, and I still cant really smoke now.
spliffs ok though...