So I quit smoking.

The follow is a quote from posts I made elsewhere. I'll tidy it up later:

Started around 15 or 16, was a 25-a-day kind of smoker until 23:00 Tuesday night.

On the patches this morning and so far, I'm finding it easier (and less scary) than I expected. It has only been 16 hours though

Had a quick forum search and there don't seem to be many 'i've quit smoking' threads prior to this one. I guess either the median age of OCAU is a bit young or most of us just don't care.


As for motivation, mine is purely financial. My reckoning is there's a lot of fun toys to be had for $400 a month which are probably a whole lot more useful than 800 odd cigarette butts.



I've heard of a bunch of people who used it to quit successfully. It's always something I meant to look into but I guess I kind of forgot about it this time around. I've been considering quitting for financial reasons for about a year, if not more. Monday night I decided I'd do it. Went to the Chemist yesterday and picked up some patches and today was quit day.

22 and a half hours into my first ever attempt to give up

I've actually been enjoying the cravings. I'm having fun figuring out what's chemical, what's physical and what's habitual. I think so far almost all my cravings are habitual:

10 minutes until a meeting at work - I should have a cigarette.

After dinner - I should have a cigarette

Walking from the car to the station, waiting for a train, station to work, work to station, station to car, etc. - I should have a cigarette.

I say 'should' because that's how it feels. I don't necessarily want one, but I feel like I should have one because I usually do at that point. I find the need to smoke strongest just pre or just prior to a situation in which I can't smoke (trains, work, etc.

As I said earlier I'm still finding it reasonably easy - which has pleased me no end. I think I've been in better spirits today than I usually am - whether this is pride within myself or a sense of success, or even a chemical thing, I don't know. I was suspecting to be a bit cranky but if anything I'm less cranky than usual

I even got confident enough with myself this afternoon that I went down with the blokes from work I usually smoke with. I was able to happily suck on my bottle of water while they smoked and surprisingly didn't have any craving at that point at all!

Only forseeable hurdle is a Mother's day dinner on Sunday. My parents are some of the most dedicated smokers you'll ever meet. Dad smokes in the shower (I shit you not) and Mum will light a smoke before the last one's stopped smouldering in the ashtray. I'll be in a room with both of them. Considering how this afternoon's little experiment went, I'm kind of looking forward to the experience as another 'test'.

Quote:Originally Posted by Pishtachio
I would freaking go nuts

Trust me, I was bloody scared after I bought my patches yesterday. I'd never tried to give up before and suddenly I wasn't sure if I wanted to.

If I hadn't have told anyone of my intentions yesterday I think I would've backed out this morning and lit up another smoke. Put off quitting until tomorrow. That's half the reason I'm posting here - to further motivate myself and have something to look back on. Give it a go some time - so far (and I know I'm not even 24 hours in yet) it's not that hard!


"there's a lot of fun toys to be had for $400 a month which are probably a whole lot more useful than 800 odd cigarette butts."

This is what I keep coming back to. Only two months saving and I can have a decent holiday - or a new lense - or do up the car a little bit.

Looking forward to having more money and being a bit less of a social outcast

Thanks for everyone's support.