Wednesday 11th March (2nd Wednesday of March each year) is no smoking day.
Is anyone going to try to give up?
Who has kicked the habit in the past? how? advice?
Loads of anecdotes please
What other addictions have forumites managed to give up in the past.1994_snorting_cocaine.gif
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My wife and I both kicked the habit just over three years ago, and therein lies the secret I think - it's easier when there are two of you. We went from 40ish a day (each) to zero with no silly patches or inhalers and whatnot, just a grim determination that neither one would be the first to cave in and light one up.
Personally I don't think the patches, gums and whatever are a good idea, as it's the nicotine addiction you have to quit, and you do that within 2-3 days of no intake, then the rest of the struggle is with the habit and the routine.
I was shocked to find that within two days my sense of taste, which of course I never thought had changed, returned - it really was that noticable. I also find that as an ex-smoker I now really, really notice the smell of other smokers - we must have stank of it!
I gave up a lifelong heavy pipesmoking habit on December 24th , year before last. I took a long last drag and chucked it in the bin at the airport on our way to England for Chistmas.
My thinking was: It's Christmas and I'm going to be in England, therefore I'm going to be miserable therefore I might as well be bloody miserable. It worked. I was miserable.
Three weeks later, back in Spain - job done. Still get pangs after over a year but not too bad.
Spain tried a smoking ban but left it up to the bars and restaurants to decide whether they would be smoking or non smoking. In our village three bars (out of about 15) went non smoking. Two lasted a week and one managed a year before reverting.
Even as a non-smoker, there is nothing sadder than, in the midst of a British winter seeing 25 people huddled together outside a tiny pub puffing their eyeballs out and looking miserable.Originally Posted by chaggle
Hi TwistedMe and WelcomeEven as a non-smoker, there is nothing sadder than, in the midst of a British winter seeing 25 people huddled together outside a tiny pub puffing their eyeballs out and looking miserable.
Of course in Spain a lot of drinking is done outside anyway 8) so even when they do bring in a total ban it'll be easier than in England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smirting
The term 'Passive Smirting' can also be associated with the pastime for those who stand outside with friends or colleagues but do not actually smoke
I'm not so sure about that. There seems to be a vibrant social scene between people outside of pubs and restaurants, with people chatting who would never have met otherwise. They always have a subject to start the conversation ... how awful it is that they are being forced outside like this. I reckon they will soon start breeding, if they haven't already, and we will gradually move towards a new species of tobacco-hardened humans, born ready-addicted to nicotine.Even as a non-smoker, there is nothing sadder than, in the midst of a British winter seeing 25 people huddled together outside a tiny pub puffing their eyeballs out and looking miserable.
Thought I'd get in forst with the Daily Mash Article
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/s...-200903051623/
Margaret Gerving, from Peterborough, said: "I was delighted when the smoking ban came in because it meant I could finally go to the pub without being killed.
"But then I didn't, mainly because I'm not the sort of person who likes going to pubs. I prefer to stay in with a carton of pomegranate juice and a bag of pine nuts and make long lists of all the things I want banned.
Perish the thought.
Now to get the image of a baby sticking Nicabate patches to it's forehead while chewing nico-gum out of my head.
non smokers live for ever obviously. As an unrepentant smoker i do have to admit to not minding the smoking ban, as most people i would wish to talk to are outside shivering and wet with me. We are forced (if you like) to chew the fat with the tart, bouncer,hard man, geek, regular,you name it!. What i mean is, as far as the "pub" goes it promotes more interaction. As opposed to go out with your mates, drink with your mates stagger home with your mates! Cant be bad surely. BTW first post (yay for me)
BTW I've just weighed myself. 95 Kilos, up from a steady 80 before I gave up smoking over a year ago. That's a big increase! Why does that happen? I'm not aware of eating or drinking much more although I suppose I might be. I am aware of hunger pangs. Am I satisfying my need for nicotine with food?
Pretty much, but remember;I am aware of hunger pangs. Am I satisfying my need for nicotine with food?
a) Weight is less of a danger than the ciggies
b) It's probably easier to modify your diet and get a bit more exercise than giving up smoking was
Too right. Even the Tobacco Advisory Council (a tobacco industry stooge) admits that nicotine is more addictive than any other drug including heroin
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm
Gives my BMI as 29.1
Phew that was close!!!
BMI Categories:
- Underweight = <18.5
- Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
- Overweight = 25-29.9
- Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
This thread was not only about tobacco and this is currently newsworthy so no apologies for resurrecting it
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2...rugsandalcohol
Could it be that that is because they are illegal?But the shadow home secretary, David Davis, rejected any changes that would confuse the public. "Drugs wreck lives, destroy communities and fuel other sorts of crime - especially gun and knife crime."
So the government has a chaotic and confused approach but he rejects any changes that would confuse the public.
Thanks to the government's chaotic and confused approach to drugs policy, young people increasingly think it is OK to take drugs,"
The Government was and still is guilty of either very woolly thinking or deliberately misleading the public for some reason.
By their analysis, alcohol and tobacco are rated as more dangerous than cannabis, LSD and ecstasy
On UKS it seems remiss not to at least point in the direction of the vast quantity of evidence we have on this subject:
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Jan 21;(1):CD003999.Links
Update of: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005;(1):CD003999. Relapse prevention interventions for smoking cessation.
Hajek P, Stead LF, West R, Jarvis M, Lancaster T.
Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, Turner Street, London, UK, E1 2AD.
BACKGROUND: A number of treatments can help smokers make a successful quit attempt, but many initially successful quitters relapse over time. Several interventions were proposed to help prevent relapse. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether specific interventions for relapse prevention reduce the proportion of recent quitters who return to smoking. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register in August 2008 for studies mentioning relapse prevention or maintenance in title, abstracts or keywords. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials of relapse prevention interventions with a minimum follow up of six months. We included smokers who quit on their own, or were undergoing enforced abstinence, or who were participating in treatment programmes. We included trials that compared relapse prevention interventions to a no intervention control, or that compared a cessation programme with additional relapse prevention components to a cessation programme alone. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Studies were screened and data extracted by one author and checked by a second. Disagreements were resolved by discussion or referral to a third author. MAIN RESULTS: Fifty-four studies met inclusion criteria, but were heterogeneous in terms of populations and interventions. We considered 36 studies that randomized abstainers separately from studies that randomized participants prior to their quit date.Looking at studies of behavioural interventions which randomised abstainers, we detected no benefit of brief and 'skills-based' relapse prevention methods for women who had quit smoking due to pregnancy, or for smokers undergoing a period of enforced abstinence during hospitalisation or military training. We also failed to detect significant effects of behavioural interventions in trials in unselected groups of smokers who had quit on their own or with a formal programme. Amongst trials randomising smokers prior to their quit date and evaluating the effect of additional relapse prevention components we also found no evidence of benefit of behavioural interventions in any subgroup. Overall, providing training in skills thought to be needed for relapse avoidance did not reduce relapse, but most studies did not use experimental designs best suited to the task, and had limited power to detect expected small differences between interventions. For pharmacological interventions, extended treatment with varenicline significantly reduced relapse in one trial (risk ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.36). Pooling of five studies of extended treatment with bupropion failed to detect a significant effect (risk ratio 1.17; 95% confidence interval 0.99 to 1.39). Two small trials of oral nicotine replacement treatment (NRT) failed to detect an effect but treatment compliance was low and in two other trials of oral NRT randomizing short-term abstainers there was a significant effect of intervention. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: At the moment there is insufficient evidence to support the use of any specific behavioural intervention for helping smokers who have successfully quit for a short time to avoid relapse. The verdict is strongest for interventions focusing on identifying and resolving tempting situations, as most studies were concerned with these. There is little research available regarding other behavioural approaches. Extended treatment with varenicline may prevent relapse. Extended treatment with bupropion is unlikely to have a clinically important effect. Studies of extended treatment with nicotine replacement are needed.
I gave up smoking over 15 years ago with a bit of self hypnosis and will power I changed from a smoker to a non-smoker over night with out becoming Mr. crouch this time. every other time I tried to stop smoking all my family and the dog would hide in the shed, I was nasty and bad tempered this was why I could not stop then I relised that the reason for stopping was not mine but some other reason. But over 15 years ago I stoped I changed my usual habits like tea and ciggie for one and found my own reason to stop then with the help of self hypnosis and my will I changed to a non-smoker.
Oh and a little video for your entertainment, its an old one but fun..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ivb8o57_wc
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