[Proxima]

Fantastic guys! Keep it up and keep them out!

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Your comments, encouragements & reinforcements such as the ones below help to a large extent. Just FYI, been a smoker for 27 years.

Great that you are off something that kills nearly 50% of those who use it. I have been off since Dec 2006.

Most smokers need something in their mouth (do not get me wrong). Have yo tried Nicorette. I get it from brother in UK and it costs around Rs. 4-5/pc, same as a cigarette. I have found it very helpful (of course will power and determination is the stongest predictor of success). My doctor in Apollo and most others consider it as medicine, and they are of the opinion that it can be taken on a long term basis. Even Obama was in the news recently, and Benowitz (referred above) said that he did not see much harm in Nicotine. Like a cost-benefit: getting addicted to Nicorette or any chewing gum is substantially less harmful than inhaling carcinogens.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Have yo tried Nicorette. My doctor in Apollo and most others consider it as medicine, and they are of the opinion that it can be taken on a long term basis.

I am using Nicogum 2mg on and off, when the craving is really high - that's about 2-3 gums a day. The rest of the time I'm using a variety of lozenges, mostly Halls, to keep my mouth busy! I'd rather not be on nicotine at all on the long term - it's makes it easy to go back to smoking again.

My expectation to get over the withdrawal symptoms is anything between 6 weeks to 3 months. Have gone through the pains of quitting before, only to have it come back after 1 month. In the meanwhile my family bears the brunt of my irritability. They understand (I hope) that it's a passing phase, and that's what is important.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I am using Nicogum 2mg on and off,I'd rather not be on nicotine at all on the long term - it's makes it easy to go back to smoking again.

Could be different results for different people since we all are different, but I have been using Nicorette since Dec 2006 and have not smoked. I get Nicorette 2 mg 105 pcs at 10 pounds and 4 mg 105 pcs at 9-10 pounds. The 4 mg is cut into two pcs (to save costs, since both 2 mg and 4 mg cost the same). I eat around 2 pcs of 2 mg and 4-5 pcs of 4mg (cut into half), so my total consumption is around 6-7 pcs (perhaps 8-9 on long nights). Trust me, the medical opinion is that Nicorette is quite benign compared with smoking. The only real issue is the cost, which for me is Rs. 30-40 per day. Not much of long term damage (you can do your own research). By comparison, the cost of smoking 10 sticks of Classic /India Kings was perhaps more in monetary terms, and substantianlly more in life lost.

However, Nicorette is not available in India, and has to be procured from UK/US. There are reputed online UK sites that deliver in India (but at a cost), and it is best to order in bulk to spread the fixed shipping cost over a larger consignment.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

... ...I have been using Nicorette since Dec 2006 and have not smoked.

But the point of the stuff is to help you give up nicotine, and, if I remember rightly, the course is supposed to be a couple of months, not a couple of years! Certainly not for the foreseeable future!

So you're still a nicotine addict; you've only changed your method of getting it. You have not handled the addiction at all.

Of course... It is your right not to do so, and at least you have chosen a method of getting it that is healthier for the people around you.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

So you're still a nicotine addict; you've only changed your method of getting it. You have not handled the addiction at all.

It is not the nicotine that is life-threatening, but the various 3000 carcinogens in a cigarette that are. Of course, any addictive substance is dangerous, but I have received medical advice (which would generally be considered to be from reputed doctors) that Nicorette (which is pure nicotine and some sugar) itself is quite benign (even though it contains nicotine, which is addictive). You can choose to believe it or treat it as hog-wash. I do have a Nicorette addiction, but no alcohol for me at all. So at least I can be forgiven one relatively harmless addiction. One day perhaps I shall get over it also.

[carfreak]

Hi guys,

Just now came across this thread!!Glad to see so many who are trying hard to quit over here in t-bhp. i have been treating patients last 2years on substance abuse and though we mainly concentrate on alcohol, we have also been concentrating on nicotine dependence a lot. And i can understand how tough it is for someone to quit this addiction. well, there have been so many posts and many of you have tried various techniques. if you guys have any doubts you can ask!!

[rrs1951]

Originally Posted by Rodie09

Since Jan 1, I have stopped smoking.....................in front of my wife .
Mods, please excuse for the use of dots, thought my post would have sounded bland otherwise.

Congrats, Rodie. Welcome to the club!

I used to smoke about 10 cigarettes a day till a year and a half back. One day I decided to quit and have stuck to that decision ever since. It requires a little bit of will power, which I think all of us have. The withdrawal symptoms last a week or two, during which time you have to be careful. After that, it's easier.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I've heard it said that clean heroin, in controlled doses, delivered by clean needles is not that harmful either. I've also heard it said that it is easier to quit than nicotine. Glad to say I never needed to try.

Even though it has been 16 years now, I know to avoid anything with tobacco content. If I smoked a cigarette I'd hate it. Then I'd smoke another one. Then I'd go out and buy a pack. If I took paan with tobacco in it I suspect I'd be hooked on that too. This Nicotine really, really won't let go.

It talks through a person too: all the reasons why not to give up today, all the reasons to have one more cigarette --- maybe even all the reasons to go on chewing gum. When you know the voice of nicotine, you can hear it speaking! Been there, it's talked through me, talked through my friends; know it well.

Nicotine patches really helped iron out the lows for me. They don't give a smoking-type high, like chewing gum does; they keep you below high, but above craving. There's a couple of roughish days each time you reduce the dose.

Here's a thought that helped me on the not-so-good days:

It isn't because you haven't had a cigarette that you feel lousy, it is because you did! --- If I'd never smoked, I wouldn't have felt that way and, although a cigarette would have made me feel 'better', so did a mere few days of living with it.

When I know there's only a few months of life left, I'll take to opium and go out with a grin on my face. The last time I had to take an opiate pain killer the effects were wonderful . --- but the side effects are just not worth it. It seems that nature does not give us high for free!

[raajks]

Originally Posted by Rodie09

Since Jan 1, I have stopped smoking.....................in front of my wife .

It's a good start
We can put this post in our joke section as well.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I've heard it said that clean heroin, in controlled doses, delivered by clean needles is not that harmful either. I've also heard it said that it is easier to quit than nicotine.
It isn't because you haven't had a cigarette that you feel lousy, it is because you did!
When I know there's only a few months of life left, I'll take to opium and go out with a grin on my face.

@Thad: Could we please drop this petty bickering? Nicotine, heroin, LSD, opium, go out with a grin... I think for someone like me going through withdrawal symptoms of nicotine, all that's required are a few polite words of support and encouragement, not an elaborate discussion on whether addiction to anything is good or bad. As the thread says, help us quit - not save our souls. In fact, I am also addicted to chocolates, and I am not about to give it up, say what you might about ANY addiction being bad.

[ak916]

Statement holds good for cigarettes too!

"I started off, snorting little tiny pinches, said I know I ain't gonna get hooked, not on no coke, you can't get hooked, my friends been snorting 15 years, they ain't hooked" -

Richard Pryor

[Red Circle]

I used to smoke a lot of cigarette's during my college days but decided to quit since my cardiovascular strength went down and was not able to perform my best at Gym. I reduced smoking to a great extent (2 to 3 Puffs a day) and below i have noted down the tips to my fellow Bhpian's.
For those who are trying to quit smoking, First thing i would suggest is try to avoid accompanying your Friends/Colleagues for a smoke because my personal experience is that i am tempted to smoke only when i see my friends smoking next to me and i will end up having that 2 or 3 puff's, When i am at home all day or when i don't meet my Smoking friends i never smoke. The second step is to reduce the number of cigarette's you smoke in a day and also you can reduce the number of Puff's you take from a cigarette and start doing this right now and don't wait for some auspicious day like Jan 1st. The third Step would be to indulge yourself in some kind of regular exercise may be by joining a Gym, A morning Jog, Swimming or any of your favourite Sport, This will improve your Cardio strength against all the harm those cigarette's did to your body and will further help you to stay away from it. Follow these simple steps and your Heart & Lungs will be Thankful to you and of course it take's a great will power to do

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

@Thad: Could we please drop this petty bickering? Nicotine, heroin, LSD, opium, go out with a grin...

Perhaps you read a sarcastic note in my post; it wasn't there! I sincerely wish you, and everybody else who is trying to stop, all the very best.

I've been there; I know it was tough; I know I could go back to smoking again any day, even after 16 years.

It's true I've hard a lot of very silly excuses for not giving up, but then I made all those excuses myself too as a smoker.

It really is true that it is the smoking you did that makes you feel bad, not the giving up you're doing now. If that thought does not help you, please discard it; addiction plays a million tricks, and we each have to find our own tricks to help beat it.

There's one addiction that most people don't even think about, although some tell us that it is very bad for us. It is the one that I do not believe I could ever kick, it makes nicotine look amateur --- sugar!

[Surprise]

SS-Traveller, do not put your thinking more into this program which itself will drag you.

Drink lots of water. It's very important to remind yourself, even a single puff will put you back to square one and resist to the best. Tougher period ranges just up to 90 days and if you could weather this period, you will rule the world. After that period it's only the suicidal act which will bring back the smoking disease

Welcome to the club and wish you all the best to stay on your foot