My short story on how I gave up Cigarettes

[Andrew Reeve]

 

Today is my nine year anniversary since I gave up smoking cigarettes and it was one the best decisions of my life. Back in May 2012 I became ill with influenza and had to go to bed for several days to recover and during this time I was unable to smoke, which actually helped me to give up.

I had tried several times over 15 years to stop smoking and always failed even going back onto cigarettes after three and a half years. Sure it’s never easy to stop smoking and after all of the failures I finally succeeded “Do not give up on giving up Cigarettes”

 

[King Cotton]

Congratulations, Andrew! Nine years is long enough, I'm sure, for even the smell of fag not to cause second thoughts.

I stopped just over 2 years ago, on the day after the Thai general election, I was so miffed at the result! But I was only an evening smoker, enjoying a few roll-ups with my nightly Leo, out on the balcony and watching the fire-flies go their crazy ways.

Well done, anyway.

 

[DPat]

Good on ya, Andrew. Completely cold turkey? or did your body crave that nicotine still and you switched to gum or patches?

[Alice]

Hello Andrew

Great story with a happy ending, unfortunately now in my Forties and still smoking and starting to get worried about my long term health. I have set a give update as the last day of this month and plan to start June in very positive mood.

[Andrew Reeve]

Hi Alice and for the 1st week when you stop smoking, keep yourself very busy and only surround yourself with non-smokers and also plenty of walking as it helps.

I tried to give up for years and eventually I won the Battle. 

[Lucjan]

Hi, my experience proved, that all is related to the to the mind set. If you really want, the addiction of your body to nicotine ist NOT the key. It will disappear after 3 to 4 days. The key problem (at least in my case) were routine activities, e.g. coffee and a cigarette, glas of wine and a cigarette, stress and the believe that cigarette will help me. So, the real challenge to was to get control of these routine behaviors.

I did not use any other means of compensation lack of the nicotine. And it worked for me well.

Hope, my comments might show you some direction and at the end lead you to success.

[Alice]

Thank you Andrew and Lucjan for you advice and before I stop at the end of the month, i have been reducing the amount of cigarettes i smoke on a daily basis. Normally I smoke 25 Cigarettes daily and now down to 19 and the hope is it will be down to less than 10 before months end.

[Lorraine]

Husband stopped smoking back in 2018 and was not easy for him or me. Talk about mood swings and I can see why couples get divorced.

 

[King Cotton]

I reckon Lucjan had it spot-on, re it being a behaviours issue, rather than a physical/mental addiction. Like I posted earlier, I only even thought about a smoke, once I'd poured a beer and that was as late as 8 in the evening. And being able to give my stopping that psychological prop of using the election fiasco as justification for celebrating giving up the 'stupid smoke' just made it that bit easier.

[ThaiChapter]

well done everyone who were able to kick the habit. 

i have stopped many times to then unfortunately pick it up again. 

but Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking book helped me alot to set the right mi dset to make it happen. 

and being ill is the best and easiest time to stop since there is no natural craving during that and rest is just maintaining the flow of telling smoke thought to back off. 

[DPat]

I've heard of so many people quitting after reading the Allen Carr book. 

@ThaiChapterare you off the ciggies now or you got dragged back in by them!?

[ThaiChapter]

I saw this question coming @DPat

i wish i could state that they are history for me but that's not the case. 

on a positive note ive been preppin mentally for a good week to make my move. 

[Andrew Reeve]

There is always the reduction method and can be achieved over 12 weeks,

If you smoke 25 in a day, aim to reduce to 24 on week 1 and then 22 on week 2, 

By the time you reach week 6 or 7 you will be down to 12 or 13 a day and just keep going with the plan.

This worked for a friend and he has been off them for a little over 23 years and he always mentions this to smokers as you still are getting nicotine, while reducing the number you smoke.

Even if you cannot kick the habit, but reduce the amount of cigarettes you smoke, I would consider it a win.

[ThaiChapter]

Thats one great way indeed  @Andrew Reeve

many friends around shown success like that. 

am more all in guy, all or nothing, cold turkey for breakfast:) 

[Andrew Reeve]

Keep on trying Thaichapter and you will be successful, even if it takes a few years to quit.

[King Cotton]

Hi,@ThaiChapter, looks like many posters are on a lively and earnest topic, here, with smoking and its curtailing being such a massive issue to so many people.

Regarding your week's mental prepping, I can only wish you well with that approach, although I'd advocate skipping the prep and simply JUST DO IT, for nothing more complicated than being able to say 'there . . . sorted! If millions of others can do it, then so can I'.

At least when I did it, after the election result, I was able to mentor myself by saying 'Well, if 50 million Thais (just the adult ones) can put up with this shower, I can certainly put up with going smokeless'. And it worked; I was happy at having incurred that little hardship out of respect for the people that I now try to cosy up to. Maybe your prepping is just making the task seem bigger than it ACTUALLY is.

Well?

[ThaiChapter]

so good @King Cotton

well, i have 4 ciqs left. 

I'll do it it immediately, after those four... :( 

[ThaiChapter]

now just 3.. with one burning in agony

[King Cotton]

Terrific!

See, like I told you . . . just do it and feel so proud of yourself for doing something that you and the world knows makes so much good sense.

And maybe save the last one for your evening beer, if you imbibe, and when half-way-through - the fag, that is; not the beer! - just throw it in the hedge or flower bed or kitchen sink or whatever . . . and give it the finger (or two)!

I'll be checking, tomorrow!

[ThaiChapter]

 

did pretty much as you vizualised @King Cotton, with leos and double fingers at the end with half still left, into fire. 

so day 1 no smoking. feels allright, was tempted after breakfast. 

find myself doing small useful tasks around home and garden instead of havin a sit and smoke. energy increasing by the hour but also energy taken to fight those little devilishi thoughts. but cravings last relatively short time, matter of seconds or a minute at most, but they can be somewhat frequent at first. 

thinking where i can now donate 25k thb a year that i will save from not smoking. 

good luck to others who still smoke, make your move.. 

 

[King Cotton]

Excellentay, @ThaiChapter, as they say in those tobacco-growing countries; sarcastically in this instance, with them knowing that you've now reduced their market.

As regards 'but also energy taken to fight those little devilishi thoughts' . . . just keep busy whilst you decide on where to put that 25K baht. Jeeze! . . . you could get a decent second-hand 'Wave' to nip around the streets on, if you ever get at a loose end.

Seriously, though, very well done and I'm not only rooting for you . . . I feel sure that you'll do it.

I'll be checking, tomorrow.

KC

[King Cotton]

@ThaiChapterWell? I told you I'd be checking, albeit my 'tomorrow' being a day late, but I know you wouldn't want me snooping every day.

So, are you still off 'em? If you can convince us that you are, you're bound to make a few extra friends on here, as they'll be asking you how you did it, as if it's rocket science. And you'll just tell them, like I told you, 'Just do it - no prep, no psyching, just prove to yourself that you're the boss - the boss of the only life that you'll ever have whilst you're on this planet.'

You never know, TC, you may well be starting the TT forum's 'Smokeless' club!

Stick with it,

KC

[KaptainRob]

After a lengthy working holiday in UK I returned Downunder smoking Gauloise or Gitane, maybe 10 a day.  Following the French attack and sinking of the Green Peace vessel there was ban on French imports and I took up small cigarette-sized cigars, eg: Henri Wintermans at ~ 5 a day and almost always when enjoying an evening beer.

Came to Thailand and met a beautiful lady who refused to have anything to do with a smoker so I gave up.  11 years cold turkey now and I'll never take up smoking again.

[Alice]

Did my best and failed again and at least it was 19 days without a smoke, will try again very soon and will not give up trying to give up.

[King Cotton]

@Alice

Hi, Alice

Hard lines re that last attempt. Do you recall ThaiChapter being on this smoking forum, last month.

I chatted to TC about when I stopped and we got into a good dialogue from 20 to 22 May by when, although his posting ended on 22 May, it seemed like he'd cracked it.

Just have a butchers at what I advised TC to do - i.e. the simple 'I am the boss of this, my only life on this planet' approach - and see if it might work for you.

Just a thought.