[Thad E Ginathom]

Well Abhi, good for you on reducing your actual smoking to [near-]zero. Yes, it has to be an improvement. But your long term major investment in nicotine?

[carboy]

Originally Posted by abhi182

as an insurance against accidents/big tobacco led banning

I am always a bit worried about liquids, but hardware shouldn't be a worry - it's mostly from China and fasttech would always be there.

About liquids, my fear has reduced recently. A few US politicians have come out in favour of ecigs & also NHS in the UK has also come out in favour of ecigs. So I don't see that much possibility of eqliquids disappearing from the market - there may be more regulation & prices may increase & variety may decrease, though.

[vinay kamath]

The writing is on the wall!

[abhi182]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Well Abhi, good for you on reducing your actual smoking to [near-]zero. Yes, it has to be an improvement. But your long term major investment in nicotine?

It's just a risk hedge Thad
I will explain through a few observations I have made over this period

a) The good news is that my morning nicotine craving is a lot less intense
When I smoked, I HAD to HAVE my morning smoke with coffee as the first thing before I could transform to a normal human being
Not the case anymore with my vape - I can now wake up..spend some quality time with my wife and dogs before i get any urge to vape..
I guess it is a good omen that I may potentially be able to cut to zero too

b) The interesting news is that I now find the smell of smoke difficult to bear ...with the precondition that I have been able to vape my strawberry cheesecake or lemonade vape :P
If however it has been a while since I last vaped, the same smell starts to feel enticing

Now (A) is certainly a good sign but given (B), i really don't want to be in a situation that I fall back to smoking if (A) does not happen
Therefore the long term investment (which is technically not a financial investment given the years worth of Nicotine supply in the freezer cost me less than half a month of smoking)
Of course, if (A) happens in due course, this stockpile can lie there for an eternity (or at least till I give up the ghost) gathering ice crystals if not dust!

Originally Posted by carboy

I am always a bit worried about liquids, but hardware shouldn't be a worry - it's mostly from China and fasttech would always be there.

About liquids, my fear has reduced recently. A few US politicians have come out in favour of ecigs & also NHS in the UK has also come out in favour of ecigs. So I don't see that much possibility of eqliquids disappearing from the market - there may be more regulation & prices may increase & variety may decrease, though.

I guess my worry is that the situation is a bit unpredicatable..
Which is why I have created the aforementioned stockpile in the deep freeezer..
FWIW I am mixing my own liquids now - the primary contents are un-bannable (i wonder if that is even a word) viz vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol and food grade flavors
The last bit is the fun part, I have picked a good amount of FlavorArt and TFA (The Flavor apprentice) food flavor concentrates on a recent trip and it is quite addictive (in a quasi-culinary way) to mix them in varying proportions to see what you get in the end

[Dr.Naren]

I have been smoking since last 7 years (7-8 cigarettes / day). I had tried to quit few times and it never happened. I was wondering how many cigarettes I would have smoked till date and did a rough calculation. It's around 20,000 . A cigarette used to cost 6 Rs when I started smoking and now it's 15 bucks . Again a rough calculation and I would have spent 2 lakhs only for cigarettes.. WTH!!! If I had saved this money, I could have bought a bigger turbo, intercooler and many more mods for my S-Cross haha. We are all car guys here.. Let's start thinking this way and don't burn money on cigarettes.

OK it's day 1 and let me see if I succeed this time.

[Srini76]

Originally Posted by Srini76

Dear All, I am not advocating nicotine in this thread but just sharing how I have managed to get off cigarettes and vaping has helped me do it _ done with it !............. My next goal is lasting out till 1st sep and ending the 3mg stuff on or before 1st sep !!
Thanks, Srini

As a continuation to my earlier post - YES I lasted without cigs from 15th July to Sep 1st _ Yes I continue to vape but surprisingly it has come down too _ I did not do it honestly it just happened !! I am now on a combination of 3mg and 0 mg and My avg liquid consumption is below 2 ml a day - all vaping liquids ordered now are 0 mg and I have about 3 - 4 3mg's left which I intend to blend and end vaping too !!

Incidentally starting walking today as my annual bike ride is in Jan 2nd Week - This is its planned to Dandeli, om beach and Shirdi from Chennai and back - Next goal is to shed 20 Kilos in 4.5 Months - I am 5'10 and currently weigh 85 kilos !! Need to make it 70 (yes it comes to 15 Kilos) but if i aim for 20 maybe i will end with 15 !!!!

Regards,

Srini

[Rohitj92]

Trying to quit since 1st January 2017 but still not succeeded. Feel ashamed of myself. But have taken the decision to quit from tomorrow which is very firm. Have 10 cigarettes with me right now. Thinking of finishing them and then not buying any at all. Lets see how it goes this time. Wanna really be successful this time.
PS: i dont wanna try alternatives such as vaping. Any other suggestions are welcomed.

[govigov]

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

Wanna really be successful this time.

The new year resolutions rarely work. You can see that it is the month of January that has the most number of people opting for gym memberships. If you want to be successful a resolution, don't make it a new year resolution, as these are the least likely to succeed ones.

Instead, make one in the middle of the week, like the one you just made, something like, "I will not smoke after I wake up from bed tomorrow." Then just stick to it. For nicotine, it is a war of your willpower vs the strength of nicotine. Sometimes, your willpower may loose, that is ok, but once it starts winning the battle, don't give into nicotine.

If you have a habit of taking breaks at work for smoking with your friends, avoid taking that break. Instead just walk around the office, or take a walk to a different place. There is a direct relation of smoking with your habits, if you break your habits, it can help with the smoking too. Like, if you always take the first tea of your day as soon as you wake up with a cigarette, then it is a habit. You will always crave for the cigarette with your morning tea, so try something different. Like, taking a walk in the morning, and have your tea substituted with some health drinks, like boost or Horlicks. Break or change your habits that you associate with smoking and it will help you to stick to your resolution. Look for small term goals, like I will go this entire day without a cigarette, then repeat the same thing again the next day. Take each day separately. If you have some friends that insist that you smoke and discourages you from your resolution, then ignore them. This is one of the reasons why people recommend that you change your work-break pattern/friends.

[Rohitj92]

For all those who are still trying, download the app 'QuitNow'. Really helping me a lot. Its been more than 48 hours for me and this is the longest duration without smoke for me. Hope this continues for weeks, months and years.

[GTO]

Another entry to this thread!

I've always been working out in some form or the other, but in the last 2 years, I got especially particular about fitness. Installed a full gym at home (treadmill + cycle + weights machine + dumbbells etc.) and got working out 5 - 6 days a week. That & LCHF healthy eating saw me lose 20 kilos.

Had set some fitness goals for myself (in terms of speed & distance) and was slowly & steadily getting toward them. Last 2 months, I hit a wall. Was not able to get past it. I knew my cigarettes were limiting stamina so decided to have them only in the evenings. That didn't work out though as the entire day was spent thinking about the evening cigarettes, and of course I cheated big time (smoking during the day). Had a Team-BHP Moderators Meet on my terrace this Thursday - smoked 7 to 10 cigarettes in that one meet! Thought I'll just quit altogether.

Done & finished. My first 36 hours in 20+ years without a Marlboro. If a two decade smoker like me can drop it just like that, anyone can. Some things that helped:

1. Fitness goals & motivation.

2. Turning 40. In your 20s, you think you are indestructible. In your 30s, you're too busy with your career to worry about other things. Once you hit 40, your career has more or less stabilised and you start thinking about other things (health is one of those).

3. Allen Carr's EasyWay book. I saw many recommendations on this thread, so read it cover to cover over 2 days. Man, he sure has a way with words. After I completed the book, I'm only thinking of 'escaping smoking'. Am celebrating that I've gotten rid of smoking. And he convinced me a smoker is no different from a drug addict.

Surprisingly, haven't got too many cravings since Friday night and it's been far easier than I thought. Weird. Had 2 or 3 mild cravings yesterday, but they went away quickly. And neither of them were too strong.

Other Points:

• Strong will / self-respect / ego / whatever helps. Once you commit, don't look back.

• Make a list of your motivations behind quitting smoking. Put your topmost priority on top of it. For me, fitness was the largest motivator.

• Am not vaping either. I'd started earlier this year, but decided to stop that too.

• Pick a good, relaxed time. I'd thought I'd do it over the new year long weekend, but couldn't wait, so stopped over the long (relaxed) Christmas weekend. I'm guessing a busy Monday would be the worst day to quit, so don't choose something like that.

• Also make a list of the cost:benefit ratio of smoking. You'll see that the benefits list runs short, but the price you pay is long.....too damn long.

• Read Allen Carr's Easyway book. It sure doesn't make it seem as 'quitting' or losing out on anything. My line of thought is more like relief from 'escaping cigarettes'. Dude - that book is like hypnosis or something. God bless that good man's soul.

• As Carr said, go out & celebrate. I went out for a nice long drive & tasty meal yesterday. Frankly, didn't really miss smoking. Even had a long 90 minute workout in the evening and felt like I was on top of the world. Am going Christmas-eve partying tonight.

• IMHO cold turkey is the best method. If a 20-year smoker like me can do it, anyone can.

• It's hard to see myself as a non-smoker, but it's even harder to see myself as someone who's unfit / sick / unhealthy.

I know it's a bit too early to post this (considering I dropped it only 1.5 days back), but I'm determined & confident.

Friday night:

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by GTO

Another entry to this thread!

Not a huge contributor to this thread, but, was in-fact glad to see your entry here.

I know it's a bit too early to post this (considering I dropped it only 1.5 days back), but I'm determined & confident.

Once a strong mind is made up, there is no going back.

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by GTO

Another entry to this thread!

Thanks GTO, that is pretty motivational. I have straight away ordered the book on Amazon( 30 days delivery :. I am seriously going to give it a shot now.

Congratulations, I know this takes a hell a lot of will power.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Not a huge contributor to this thread, but, was in-fact glad to see your entry here.

Thanks .

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

I have straight away ordered the book on Amazon( 30 days delivery :

Please cancel that order and go for the Kindle version (link). 3 second delivery . Then, read it on https://read.amazon.in or an App on your smartphone.

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks .



Please cancel that order and go for the Kindle version (link). 3 second delivery . Then, read it on https://read.amazon.in or an App on your smartphone.

Thanks. Had no idea that we could download a kindle app on the iPhone/ IPad. Just did it.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Thanks. Had no idea that we could download a kindle app on the iPhone/ IPad. Just did it.

If you aren't working this long weekend (most likely), please complete the book over today & tomorrow. Trust me, your Tuesday will be different .

Also make your own list in a word document like I mentioned (motivations, cost vs benefits).