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Anyone recently quit smoking?


whitehorses
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As Glasto wasn’t on last year I decided to quit on what would have been Glasto weekend. All going pretty well so far, haven’t had a single one, but I know I’m going to want to smoke at Glasto...

Has anyone else recently quit and got any thoughts/advice/strategies to share? I’d like to think I’d just have a few cheeky ones each day and return to normality still in quit mode, but that might be unrealistic... 

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I quit using champix and Allen Carr’s how to stop smoking permanently book. That was seven years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. By the time glastonbury comes round you’ll be 1 year a non smoker and that is amazing!  I would recommend an e cigarette - they actually look like cigarettes and you inhale and blow out vapour. You can buy non nicotine cartridges.  The one I used was called VIP electronic cigarette.  I personally think  havng a couple of cheeky ones at glasto are the wrong thing to do as you’ll have undone a whole year!  Alan Carr’s book is great as well and the combo worked for me..

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I quit about 3 weeks ago. Started reading Alan Carr's book after stopping smoking. Think I will go for a vape for Glastonbury. Personally I can go without smoking without any problem except when I drink and then it's a lot more difficult. Think a vape for nights out might be the way forward.

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14 minutes ago, Glasto peaches said:

Allan Carr’s book is absolutely brill, I couldn’t put it down. 

Couldn’t agree more. I stopped in 2002 after reading that book. I read it over a few times before taking the plunge and such was the positivity I had no problems. As I remember it, the physical addiction goes after 3 or 4 days and after that it was a question of getting over psychological barriers - going to the pub without fags, not having one after dinner etc. Never been tempted since, but don’t know how I would have fared without Allan Carr’s help!

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2 minutes ago, henry bear said:

Couldn’t agree more. I stopped in 2002 after reading that book. I read it over a few times before taking the plunge and such was the positivity I had no problems. As I remember it, the physical addiction goes after 3 or 4 days and after that it was a question of getting over psychological barriers - going to the pub without fags, not having one after dinner etc. Never been tempted since, but don’t know how I would have fared without Allan Carr’s help!

100% this. I’ve still got on my shelf and I like knowing it’s there 

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3 minutes ago, henry bear said:

Couldn’t agree more. I stopped in 2002 after reading that book. I read it over a few times before taking the plunge and such was the positivity I had no problems. As I remember it, the physical addiction goes after 3 or 4 days and after that it was a question of getting over psychological barriers - going to the pub without fags, not having one after dinner etc. Never been tempted since, but don’t know how I would have fared without Allan Carr’s help!

Yeah... I wasn’t a massive smoker, but absolutely loved doing it at Glasto. So that will be a big psychological barrier. 

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On 2/9/2019 at 8:25 AM, caballosblancos said:

As Glasto wasn’t on last year I decided to quit on what would have been Glasto weekend. All going pretty well so far, haven’t had a single one, but I know I’m going to want to smoke at Glasto...

Has anyone else recently quit and got any thoughts/advice/strategies to share? I’d like to think I’d just have a few cheeky ones each day and return to normality still in quit mode, but that might be unrealistic... 

I quit the January before last glastonbury, cold turkey style (helped by the fact I was ill with a chest infection at the time).

For me the fear of how difficult would be kept me smoking for a long time, but in reality I found it much easier once I figured out the cravings are just pangs that only last a few minutes and come and go (I used to think the cravings would be continuous and would last for days/weeks!). 

Agonised about whether to smoke at the festival, decided to and then miraculously managed to stop with no issues immediately afterwards. 

However due to a horrific experience at work started smoking again a few months ago! Intend to stop soon- key for me is not to start smoking when things are bad as feeling doomed is my trigger for smoking! 

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On 2/9/2019 at 8:25 AM, caballosblancos said:

Has anyone else recently quit and got any thoughts/advice/strategies to share? 

For me, vaping e-cigs were my downfall last time I packed it in. Different for everyone, but I found they didn't hit the spot, but were enough to remind me of what I was missing. At festivals I reckon I regress to an adolescent, and the naughtiness of a ciggie is part of the appeal, if not the main appeal. Fake fags are just too virtuous for me, so I'd steer clear, but that's just me.

As for strategies, it's been weighing on my mind lately, being as I am in my longest abstinence to date - last one was around August - and I know I'll fall from grace if not careful.

The thing that has kept me on the wagon so far, on the occasions when I could have pinched a sneaky one from someone, is to value the record length of time as a thing to hold onto. Right now, I have a "record" of six months. If I have one cigarette - lasting 5 mins - I will lose that record for good - no way I can get it back. And once the record is gone, why not have a second, then a third? There's even a chance you'll be so disappointed with yourself that it might spoil your festival.

So my tip (feeble though it probably is, it's what I'll be trying) is to not just value "not smoking", which you'll convince yourself you can always go back to, but to value the record time so far achieved, which once blown with just the one, cannot be regained. 

Whatever happens, good luck to you!

 

 

 

 

 

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@Mr.Tease good luck when you try again! Yeah work stress, and sometimes boredom, are big triggers for me outside social smoking. 

@sparkythetortoise your festival smoking sounds like mine! And I kind of do keep track of how long it’s been, but mostly I try to banish all thoughts of it. That helps me the most. Whenever I’ve tried a vape in the past I’ve coughed my guts up weirdly. But not sure I’ll be able to go 6 days in those fields without. We shall see... good luck to you too! 

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I wasn't a HUGE smoker, probably 15 B&H a day at one point for three years, until St Patricks day 2018... I had tried and failed a few times before but I do not miss it all now.

Chew gum for the first few weeks, lot of it… I mean, just keep your mouth and mind busy, packets a day.

The thing with the cigs, I found it more out of force of habit, driving to work, full time after being at the football, walking to certain places etc… I went Benicassim and across a few states in USA over the summer and I knew if I could do those especially with no cigs I had beaten it.

I cannot wait to be one year smoke free on 17th March, and to celebrate with a rake of Guinness.

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I only ever really smoked when I had a drink and i find a vape fills the whole perfectly, at a fraction of the cost.

Just starting use a dry herb vaporiser for certain occasions which I'll also be taking to the festival for the first time this year.

Also my first festival being a vegan.

And my first with the teenage kids.

And the first in a proper camping area instead of tagging onto our CV west pals.

Sheesh perhaps I'm too old for all these firsts!

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I quit in 2000 and never went back. I am one of those all or nothing people though. I don't recommend having a few and then going back after the Festival to not smoking. When I first  quit taking some deep breaths help get over the need to have cigarette. It gets better with time. If you are thinking of a toke or two that is a different story. ;)

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Never, ever, ever think you can have 1 or 2 and it will be ok or think you'll buy just a pack because you're having a beer or out out!! A slippery slope i have been down too many times. 

I've managed to get myself off them again now but the summer is always a killer, be it in Ibiza or Glasto, the odd couple of snouts always turn into months tied to the fags again.

A vape is not the same BUT it helps to appease the urge long enough for the craving to subside. 

Stick with it, good luck ?

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