Near enough two weeks for me. I always go the usual cold turkey, no patches, E fags or anything like that. Been here before several times but am more determined than ever.

I've written off this month. January's always shite so have decided to occupy myself by shifting a stone and nailing the fags for good. 5lbs gone already (just by knocking beer and carbs on the head).

Shiny - listen to Enforcer. Thinking of the health risks always works for me. Also think how much you'll save as a result of not smoking. You might not see much of it now due to maybe eating or drinking more to compensate but a 10-a-day habit = £1k a year. Think what you can do with that.

Keep going all

You're spot on roly.

I plan to move house this year which is always expensive, plus planning to try and have a holiday in the summer, so any extra cash is always welcome!

Agreed

You reckon we should set up a 'Vaping' thread?

Is this a modern version of a gay penfriend?

Coming up to three weeks without a fag, for me

How's everyone else doing?

Not so well for me. Seems old habits die hard!

Either that or it's just the stress of owning a 20VT!

At 60 a day, I'd say my habits were rather bad AND I own a 20 vt

You using anything to help shiny? Might be worth you looking into it, rather than going cold turkey.

Substitutes might help your cravings, although your habits need to be changed too

I miss most of my fags, but especially that first several in the morning, so have had to change my routine a bit in the mornings.
After that, I'm fine (ish)

Just a quick question. When people are saying they have 'not had a fag in x days' (and i'm speaking as someone who has never smoked) are they still counting e-cigs and patches etc?

I thought the whole thing with cigarettes is that it's the nicotine which is addictive and other wise just the habit/security blanket that having a cigarette in your hand gives you?

So i'm not surprised if people are reporting 'no cravings' or withdrawal symptoms etc, if they are happily topping up their nicotine with patches and e-cigs as required.

I can see the reason for these products, I hate the fact that when you decide to give up something, it doesn't start out easy and get harder, it starts out soo hard and then gets easier over time, so products which ease this initial spike are always welcomed.

But I imagine it must be so easy not to push yourself, just think "ooh i feel the urge to smoke, quick i'll have an e-cig" rather than "ooh i feel the urge, but i've already used the e-cig/patch today,lets try and go for a few more hours", because these products are available.

I wouldn't say I had quit caffeine if I switched from coke to coffee or chocolate for example.

As mentioned, Caffeine is my bug-bear and last year i 'quit'. However when the nights started getting longer and I started waking up to the sound of my alarm clock, rather than the sun coming in through the curtains, the caffeine returned, first in the form of a pre-workout supplement i had which had caffeine in it, then coffee, the cola, and now Pepsi Max (loads more caffeine than normal coke) I've never ventured to the Red-Bull, Relentless type drinks mainly becuase i'm not a fan of the taste.

However i have recently started to 'quit' again. Cutting out the Pepsi Max, switching to fruit Juice and my usual squash. The only exception i will allow myself to start with is perhaps a small bottle of coke (not pepsi) at the weekend to start with and then i'll push myself to not buy that after a while. The only coke i will have from there on in will be as a mixer

I gave up caffeine a couple of years ago. It took around 2 weeks for the withdrawal headaches to stop though. I now drink decaf tea (which tastes the same as normal tea) and occasionally get caffeine free regular coke from France as a treat. Sainsburys cloudy lemonade is now my fave fizzy drink and it has no caffeine or sweeteners in. If you're getting enough sleep then you don't need the boost from caffine, so I make sure I get at least 8 hours a night.

Back to smoking, yes when people say they've not had a fag in x days, they mean they've not had a real fag (one that contains all the poisons, carcinogens, tar etc.). E-cigs and patches are really quite safe in comparison.

This is the nub of the matter. E-cigs don't contain the tar, CO and all the other nasties. Nictotine is relatively harmless in small doses, much the same as caffeine. With patches and E-cigs you can reduce the strength too, meaning that although the habit is there the phyical addiction can be weaned and then you've won half the battle.

Once the habit no longer satisfies the addiction, due to the addiction not being there, then the habit will be a lot easier to break too. Anyone who has never smoked won't understand, but smoking is about far more than simply inhaling burnt tobacco.

I know hardened givers-up will groan, but it's worth mentioning again: "The Book".

Allen Carr's EasyWay to Stop Smoking

A couple of things:

firstly, this Mr Carr is not that dreadful, smarmy excressence smeared all over your TV;

secondly, this book is not American;

thirdly, whatever you may think of it (whether or not you have read it), it could help you to stop.

I smoked between 20 and 60 a day for almost 20 years, and I LOVED it - morning, noon and especially night, a minute without a Stuyvesant Red on the go was a wasted minute. However, in the last years, I increasingly knew I had to do something, but didn't. I am blessed with the world's weakest willpower, which makes me great if you need someone to go to the pub with on a Tuesday, but it's crap when you want to do something difficult.

Whilst on holiday with a friend, I ran out of things to read and she started to read this book. I wanted nothing to do with it. We had bought it a year previously and it sat by the bed and made us feel guilty and scared for a whole year.
Anyway, I reluctantly began to read it, nurturing hatred and scepticism in my heart. Discovering it wasn't written by an American helped (although it revealed ugly things about my own prejudices) and I found that by just following what the book says, it became less scary and in fact, I grudgingly had to admit that it made sense. I still didn't think I'd actually stop smoking, mind you. By the end of the book (and the holiday), my friend and I both decided to give it a go (you set a date to stop as you near the end of the book) and threw away all our fags and lighters - though sadly not our hangovers, what a holiday! - in the bins at Goa airport.

That was in March 2001 and I haven't had a single drag of a fag/cigar/pipe/patch/e-fag, spliff, whatever, since.

I remember the first couple of weeks were mildly tricky, but was able to manage them using techniques in the book. My lifestyle at that time was all about the pub and I was dreading getting into the second pint and feeling that need. But it just didn't happen. Somehow, reading that book had flipped a switch in my head and I have never seriously contemplated smoking ever again. I know with utter certainty that if I have 1 fag, I will be a smoker again - for me it's a binary condition 1 or 0. But I recognised very quickly how lucky I was to have been given this chance for whatever reason and so I'll never have that smoke. My wife smoked on and off over the last few years, so I've had plenty of opportunity, but I just completely lack the desire. Another surprising thing is that I am totally unaffected by other people smoking - doesn't bother me in the least either way.


So, the bottom line is that for under a tenner, you can buy a book that *may* stop you smoking forever with no assistance from other nicotine sources. Even if you've read it and it didn't work, I'd implore you to go back and try it again. Apart from £7.99 or whatever it costs, you really have nothing to lose.

Sermon over!

Excellent posts above

I did start replying to Truffles post yesterday morning, but felt I was going off on a rant, so clicked back and logged out, knowing there would be some quality answers when I got back home and I wasn't wrong

To me, smoking is a lot more than just an addiction and habit, it's been a way of life for me, as well as a way of making friends, calming nerves, breaking the ice, etc.

I enjoyed smoking (genuinely) and could easily carry on smoking.
I'm only stopping due to it being bad for my health and is affecting my health.
If it didn't and it wasn't, I would continue smoking, as would most other smokers.

Whether someone is using substitutes and E Cigs or not, anything to help people stop smoking is a good thing.

There is still nothing that beats smoking a proper fag and that's the addiction/habit I'm getting away from.

Congratulations to you all in your attempts to kick "the habit".

With the money you are all now saving and putting away (I hope) why not put it towards an airline ticket for a visit "Downunder"? Would love to meet some more Coupe fanatics.

Who's still going?

Six weeks for me now

Exactly to the time too. I gave up at 3.10am, 6 weeks ago

Well done you! Keep it up, and it will get easier.

Brilliant stuff T. Well done!

Yep still going... 44days, 8hours and 50 mins so far

£271.98 saved !!!!

Still on the Vapour system, but gone from extra high strength to medium and been on low strength since Monday.

Been a tough week last week with some family issues at home and still made it through without one, although I pretty muched sucked my vapour fag inside out a few times

Feeling healthier too !!!!

Well done to you all. keep it up Some great posts above. Brewster is right, smoking is about a lot more than just inhalling tobacco (and associated poisons) it about habits and life style and routines etc.

Jim is bang on with his post and his story is similar to me own. i didn't have the book (it probably wasn't written then) nbut it is like flipping a switch in your head. All of a sudden you become a non smoker. It's a great feeling when you realise that has happened

good on you all

Feeling strong !!!

Well done!

I've got the same app:

I'm an hour and 20 mins off 52 days for me and £955.25 saved

The amount saved is based on me smoking 60 tailor made fags a day though lol

I've actually saved is approx £155, as I smoked roll ups, via non tax/duty methods

Not that you are counting........

£955.00 ... holy shot !!!

Good on you girl... and we both smell

Well done everyone, and just think T, that's nearly your road tax sorted for the next year.

Well done all.

Another epic fail here after doing the hard part. I don't feel too bad about it though as the main priority was to shift some weight and I got 16lbs off easy enough. Usually turn to the Cerb when I need a vice but couldn't take it out when the weather was depressingly shite, hence the fags.

I know, excuses, excuses. I'll have another crack soon when the motivation's there.

Well, not long to go before it's 8 weeks without a fag for me

I'm still loaded up inside with nicotine, but the habit is dying, so am happy with that, although still really miss that first/several morning fag/s.
Once I'm over that, I'm not too bad throughout the rest of the day.

Cheers Nellybear and yes, whilst we may both smell unfortunately, I can now really smell what other people smell of and it's not always pleasant

Thanks Truffle, although haven't really saved a great deal towards car tax, as the money is being spent on liquids and spare batteries, etc for my e cig, but my aim was never to save money, only to help improve my health

Sorry to read you've gone back to smoking roly, although fully understand why.
It's just so easy and tempting to do

The e cig has been a godsend for me and would most probably be back on the fags if it wasn't for the e cig

Eventually, I may wean myself off the e cig, but as the closest alternative to smoking, without the harmful tar and chemicals, etc, then if it stops me smoking real fags, I'll continue for as long as I need to

Well done T -

not only for your own personal success, which is outstanding, but because you are setting an example for others to follow.

It isn't every car forum that has its own Mother Theresa.

Congrats T on your tenacity, one of my mates said it took him 6 weeks to get over the worst, so there's no turning back!

Now, about my consulting fee.....

Lol, cheers both

Just a few hours to go and it'll be 9 weeks without a fag for me

Enjoying my new 'vaping hobby' (smoking e cigs)

My daughter bought me some new liquids to try and for anyone who is also 'vaping' properly, although doubt if anyone is lol, I definately recommend Cappuccino flavour, very smooth and nice

Very happy with my progress at the moment and can't see that I'm going to lapse in the near and hopefully distant future either

I'm vaping T, really really helped

Black Cherry was my fav flavour !!!

64 days now and £392.00 saved !!!