Cyprus-Forum.com

[Get Real!]

I have been stopped now for over 3yrs and am also a qualified smoking cessation advisor.

Do not try and do it without NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) or patches in simple terms. Use them and keep using them as the instructions tell you to. You are far more likely to stay quitted with help. I would also recommend nicotine gum/lozenges to take the edge off the worst of the cravings, when in the pub, after a meal, when driving - whichever gets you worst.

Patches aren't cheap, but they are less than cigarettes and they won't kill you. Believe me, stopping smoking will change your life for the better.

I tried to quit once but used two patches to start with, one on each shoulder. Within an hour I had to stick another patch on each side as the craving was unbearable and by the end of the day the whole box was stuck on my back but to no avail until most fell off while in the shower.

The damn things cost around 17 pounds… what a waste… I could’ve bought two cartons of smokes with that!

[Big Al]

Mark,
I was smoking at the age of 14 and just before i quit last year i was smoking a packet and a half per day. I have tried almost every method before i finally quit.
Patches- only worked for a couple of days
Hypnosis- worked for 6 months. then after having 1 smoke i went straight back to smoking, even harder than before.
Laser therapy/pressure points- this has worked for me, unlike hypnosis it doesnt try and trick your mind into thinking you dont want a smoke. In Australia this method has an 80% success rate, give it go it worked for me!!

[Big Al]

Oh yeh, good luck, it not easy but its your life you are playing with by smoking

[murf62]

Patches are not a miracle cure, there isn't one! You have to really want to give up. Get Real!, I suspect, you didn't really want to give up enough. How can you say the craving was 'unbearable' after 1 hour?! Have you never been on a plane? How did you manage?

I don't know if Zyban is available in the RoC, but it has very good results if you can cope with the possible side effects.

Big Al, you are a textbook case. Loads of people stop for quite a few months and start again by thinking they've beaten it and just have one for old time's sake. I don't have the figures to hand, but you are far more likely to give up fully on your second attempt if you have been through this. I also fall into this category.

[Cyprus Vending]

GOOD LUCK MARK.....................................

[markwoods39]

Thanks guys for your advice. This time next week i going to be a non smoker I only had 5 cig yesterday i normally have 20 a day. Been up for 6hrs and not had 1 yet i going to see if i can go without today. To be honest i would like one now, but i not going mad for 1

[denizaksulu]

Thanks guys for your advice. This time next week i going to be a non smoker I only had 5 cig yesterday i normally have 20 a day. Been up for 6hrs and not had 1 yet i going to see if i can go without today. To be honest i would like one now, but i not going mad for 1

Have 2 then. Just kidding. Its not fun losing a loved one from Emphysaemia and lung cancer. Its a selfish act and filthy habit. You can do it. Good luck.

[murf62]

Thanks guys for your advice. This time next week i going to be a non smoker I only had 5 cig yesterday i normally have 20 a day. Been up for 6hrs and not had 1 yet i going to see if i can go without today. To be honest i would like one now, but i not going mad for 1

Try not to cut down too much before your 'quit date'. By doing this, you are making every cigarette that bit more special and psycologically getting yourself more dependant on their ability to relieve your withdrawl symptoms when you do totally quit. Better you see cigs as something that makes you smell and die of cancer, rather than something that makes you feel good after a few hours of suffering.

Hope that makes sense?

[murf62]

Oops, 1 more thing. You will never be a 'non smoker' but a smoker who is currently abstaining, like myself.

You will remain tolerant of smoke and even after 10 yrs, would still be able to take deep puffs on a cigarette without coughing. Now, that's quite different to a non smoker who has to really try hard to inhale the smoke and get addicted in the first place!

[GorillaGal]

i used nicoret gum last time, made it easy. but i also watched my mom die of emphasema--14 months in the hospital, with a hole punched into her throat so she could breathe. not a pretty sight. (mom was 59 when she died). cigarettes will never touch my lips again.