Fourteen years here and never even thought about doing it again!

Amazing that people use nicotine to quit nicotine.  I stopped cold turkey 1 Nov 2005.  At $62.50 a carton of marboros, hot damn, look at the $$$ I'am saving and that's here in Texas, USA.  And that was because I also had clogged arteries.

wow... the trifecta...     

seems to me it's a bit like a general anesthetic... you don't know how you're gonna react til you try it for the first time...  

I think with Tom's 14yrs and WOM's near 10... you guys have definitely got it licked....  

good inspiration...  

Me n Kitteh enjoying our ciggies as usual. Now we grind our own unprepared tobacco and we cut down the monthly price for ciggies by 90% !! -It´s TRUE !

I finally went cold turkey and quite on Good Friday last year so I am about 9 months and a few days. Having a bit of a problem with my breathing but have started an exercise program that is helping. If you haven't quit, please try before it is too late. Lost my Mom to lung cancer a couple of years back and just hope I did not wait too long.

Bravo Frankie!   

On another note (no pun intended), Phil Everly died today from COPD.  :'(

Smoked for 43  years so I do have COPD.  A mild form but enough that if I'am stuck ay the end of a parking lot I'am huffing and puffing when I get to the door.  So my advice is quit now, and at the price for cigs. damn its damn near to costly.

Will be 4 years for me on Jan 15... another milestone I am pleased to reach in much better health than if I had not quit.

Not only is my breating better, so is my sense of taste and smell.  I had almost forgetten how good is was to smell the Sunday roast as it cooked away.... and the taste, oh so much more flavoursome and enjoyable now I'm not smoking.

To all who have quit, good onya...

.... and to all who haven't, please do.  It will be the best decision... health-wise and financially.

I put my cigarette money away every week and it has added up to quite a tidy sum. Now to decide what I want to buy for myself!

It's easy to quit.
I do it several times every day....... 

One day when you find breathing is a chore and not a natural way of life, you will wish you had quit. Trust me, I know this and only say this out of love and concern for those who think it won't happen to them. It will happen, it is just a matter of time.  :')

yes....  I have sat next to someone in the specialist rooms as they have had heard..... 'we've found two shadows on your lung'...  then it's a whole different ball game...  

Yes, gospel.

I had no problem in deciding what to do with my ciggie savings.  Upgrading/building computers became my new hobby/distraction, and most goes on that.  Not only that, I never eat out, go clubbing or pubbing, don't run a car, rarely need to buy new clothes and never go to cinemas, theatres or concerts... meaning I can probably save more than most to feed my PC addiction and home entertainment needs, such as DVDs and CDs, etc.

Oh, and while some of you might hink I'm a tight arse, which is totally true as well, part of the reaon I don't spend money on such things is down to having mobility issues/being unable to travel very far without suffering motion sickness.  It just means that I don't/can't enjoy a night out like most people can.

An information update for anyone interested in this type of quitting drug...

Friend went to the doctor to chat about best method for quitting..... Doctor said would not recommend Chantrix for the reasons stated above...

He did however recommend another medication, Zyban.... with the following explanation:

Chantrix was deliberately designed as an anti smoking tablet which can have some abrasive effects on the personality.... 

Zyban was originally devised to be an anti anxiety anti depression tablet where it failed to live up to expectations in it's design, it did however become an equally effective pacifier of the receptors in the brain with far milder overall effects...

I just thought, given the negative experiences people have had with Chantrix... anyone considering this kind of method, may be interested to know there is a similar and safer alternative available...

Friend starts today... we'll see how it goes..  

Zyban info...  link...

how ya going Po'  

I tried Zyban twice during previous attempts to quit and both times had quite devastating consequences.  Let's just say that I became aggressive, violent and my moods swings were unpredictable.  I was like the Incredible Hulk on steroids and sometimes so totally out of control I'd hurt those I love and most important to me.  What was worse, there was nothing I could do to stop it, and when I was told later of what I had done I couldn't remember any of it, all I'd recall was darkness and shadows, murky something or others that made no sense to me at all.

So why did I try it twice?  There were other factors involved the first time, and because much of it was a blur, I didn't understand what had happened to me.  It was only during the 2nd attempt that I had family members around who recognised the symptoms and coached me down before I'd done too much damage.  However, it took several weeks after I stopped taking the Zyban for me to return to normal.

Now I know of several people who tried Zyban and had similar issues to me, so mine is not an isolated case and anyone who is prescribed it needs to be aware there are side effects and should only take it under supervision so that early intervention is possible should there be an adverse reaction such as the one I experienced without realising it.

So yeah, please be cautious and speak with your doctor to get all the relevant information prior to taking it.  Zyban may be safe for some but it's not for everyone.

thanks Starkers.....  I'll keep a watchful eye out....

that kinda rivals the Chantrix stories...  

it's all making cold turkey sound good...  

  yep, that's about it..... good one Doc...    

Yes, cold turkey was the only option left for me, given my Zyban experience and the fact that nicotine replacements seemed to prolong my craving... plus the fact I could never get the darned patches to stick and the gum/lozenges tasted like crap.

My doctor prescribed Champix [same thing as Chantix] but I only took it for the week prior to quitting and had to stop due to feelings of irritability and not wanting a repeat or similiar to the Zyban episodes.  I was supposed to take the remaining 8 weeks supply to better my chances of quitting  but I wasn't taking the risk and it wasn't necessary anyway.  Due to my commitment to quit I was in control from day 1.  It has been 4 plus years now and I've not once felt like taking the filthy habit up again.

thanks Starkers... passing that on...

in an ideal world... the tobacco companies would take the nicotine out... then it would be a clearer choice for people to smoke or not.... and easier to give it away...

but less taxes to be milked...

nothing bought legally... should be this medically hard to give up....

even I can give up chocolate for awhile... without this drama..