| Archive for U.K Chat A U.K General CHAT FORUM,For the people of the United kingdom, X-pats and friends |
| Evie |
The Mega Stop Smoking ThreadRight gaz you have inspired me to try once again to give up the evil weed, i only lasted 3 days last time but i'm really going to try, so i will head out tomorrow morning and get some patches, chewing gum and the like, will deffo need chewing gum don't want to end up eating everything in sight instead lol, i smoke 40 a day at £5 a pack thats omg writing it down is causing me pain, thats £300 quid a month, £3600 a year, thats shocking to be honest, we don't go on holidays because we can't afford it, no wonder so wish me luck on my next attempt of quitting.
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| lil eva |
You can do it Evie!
Another good tip,is when you are watching tele or anytime you might have had a cig,is to eat an orange. Peel it,then segment it and by the time youve done that and eaten it the feeling for a cig has passed.Also sucking icecubes is supposed to help 
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| silver fox |
i smoke but only tobaco with menth tips never try to stop ,its they only pleasure i get now 
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| Chrissy Canadian |
good luck evie! you can do it sweetheart!
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| Liam |
I quit them nearly 4 years ago Evie...used patches for 12 weeks and never looked back...now I wonder whay I ever smoked....believe me you can do it and you'll never regret it. | ||||
| Baldrick |
Re: The Mega Stop Smoking Thread
Evie, I've told you before and it's still true, that you'll stop if you really want to. So get on and stop. It's mind over matter...simple as that! |
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| Bravo |
Do or die, there is no try 
How long would you have to be stopped smoking to consider you've got over the worst? A week, a month? I'd say three weeks really, because then you are over the worst of it, the habit is broken, and the health effects are starting to kick in. Also, by the three week stage, you have gone through so much you never want to go through that again
So, three weeks. You get 6 proper cravings a day, they last three minutes each. 18 minutes a day for three weeks is all you need to get through. If you do pick up a ciggie, promise me one thing. This is all I ask of you. Give it five minutes before you light it. Look at a clock and wait five minutes. Will you do that for me, hun? |
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| Evie |
Yes i will tony, right kids are dressed and i'm off out to get my patches, managed my cup of coffee this morning without the wheres my fag routine, but only been up a couple of hours, feeling quite good about it really, last had ciggie at 10pm last night, dont want to kill anybody YET
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| lil eva |
Nice one Evie,well just think in 20 minutes it will be 12 hours
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| Woodfold |
Bravo's recommendations sound just about right to me Evie. I stopped in 1962 and the first two or three weeks were the worst. The drop off in craving is gradual so if you get strong cravings, and you will, in the first week, the second and third weeks see them reduce very quickly.
One other thing which will give you a buzz is being able to tell all and sundrie that you have stopped smoking. You get a real feeling of superiority when you can refuse a ciggy and look a bit critical when the person offering the fag lights their own up. Eventually, seeing others smoking won't bother you one iota. After all, it is their choice if they want to commit slow suicide. The one thing you will have to look out for is the stage when you have stopped and you think to yourself, "I'll just have another fag for old times sake and then I'll stop again." Don't go down that path it is bound to start you off again. Good Luck and be firm.
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| Evie |
Thanks for the tips guys, patch is now in place, today is going to be easy i will be busy cleaning etc, it's tonight when i sit down to watch telly that it will be hard but i'm keeping positive and o/h said if i stay of the fags for a month i can keep all my wages next month and buy what i want, now there's an incentive if ever iv'e heard one 
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| Liam |
Evie...I remember reading in a book one time that smoking a cigarette, instead of relieving the craving for nicotine actually creates the need for more hence the addiction.....when you get rid of the poison out of your system (and it doesn't take very long) your body won't need the nicotine so you won't have the cravings. The patches will help you get over the initial part of it but you won't need them later on either.
Another thing I did was to put the money by each day.....talk about incentive...I saved for a year and ended up with enough to have a terrific holiday. Good luck with it....and remember as Woodfold said NEVER take that one cigarette...not even put one in your mouth.....I stopped and failed many times because I was of the illusion I could have 'just the one'...and that was enough to start me off again...... I can tell you Evie...life without cigarettes is an altogether better, cleanier, healthier and happier life.... SO 
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| Evie |
awww thanks for that liam  i am suffering at the moment feel all tight chested and the only way to explain it, is like i feel panicky, coughing a lot but still hanging on in there, i'm determined.
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| lil eva |
Only thing to do hun,is to keep busy.That will pass.......promise
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| Baldrick |
Evie, keep yourself so occupied that you won't think of having a fag. |
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| Woodfold |
Evie - The Cough - people talk about a smokers cough but it is when you stop that the cough gets worse. Let me explain why. I'll try to not get too technical: In the windpipe you have a lot of little hair like projections which do the job of moving mucous from the lungs and windpipe upwards so it can drain into the throat. This is happening all the time when you don't smoke. When you take a draw on a cigarette you not only inhale Nicotine but you also inhale Carbon Monoxide (the stuff which kills you if your gas heater isn't working properly) and a host of other things, many of which are carcinogenic. The Carbon Monoxide causes the lilttle hair like projections to stop waving about and hence you don't get the drainage from the windpipe and lungs which a non smoker gets. As a result, the mucous which then builds up is the stuff which makes you cough when you get up in a morning and periodically through the day. This is the "Smokers Cough". Now this is the important bit: When you stop smoking you stop breathing in Carbon Monoxide and all these little hair like projections begin wiggling about again and start moving the mucous from your respiratory system. There is quite a bit down there because the only way you have had drainage before is by coughing, which isn't very efficient. Now these hairs start the mucous shifting and for a short time they are working to get rid of the stuff which has been there some time which makes you cough more to help with the clearing process. Once the hairs have got an equilibrium between mucous being formed and drainage then the cough will disappear. Now, if you think I am telling you some tale or other just ask at your Doctors and he'll confirm it - this I can guarantee. Keep hanging in there - you have begun to win. 
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| Evie |
wow very informative cheers for that, i'm going to win i am  , o/h is amazed right now, he thought i'd be down the shops hours ago, go me
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| Liam |
I went through that too Evie....but think about it...how long does that sense of panic last...a few minutes and it's gone....all of that becomes less frequent as the days go by.... I remember those feeling so well...and I know everyone's different but I wasn't just a smoker..I was a professional smoker...in the house...out socialising...sneaking off to smoke during work.....I've been there done that and got the teeshirt....Evie if I could stop anyone could...now the smell of smoke makes me sick.....truthfully my only regret is that I smoked for so long without seeing the light. There's a book on the market I read and found quite good by a guy called Allen Carr...it's called the 'Easyway to stop smoking'...It made a lot of sense to me and I would say influenced me in my decision to stop with determination. Now get busy and remember every day you're closer to not needing them. |
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| Evie |
Your right liam the panicky feeling only last a minute thats the time i need to go do something pronto, professional smoker is me as well, you can't get through 40 a day and not be lol, iv'e smoked for 10 yeas started when i was 22 daft i know, i used to hate smokers then ended up one myself but not for long i'm so determined this time i can feel it in my bones that i'm going to do it
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| Woodfold |
Don't end up like this Evie. We want all the balloons out for a successful transfer from Smoker to Non Smoker. 
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| Evie |
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| Liam |
That's the spirit...and remember if you need any encouragement or advice just pm me . I'd do anything to help others stop smoking...I watched my father die from lung cancer as a result of a lifetime of smoking....I swore it wasn't going to happen to me..yet I continued to smoke...such is the power of the weed...but when you understand it and realise that you're not trying to stop...you have stopped and what's more nothing is going to change your mind..then you've won.....
There are little freeware programmes out there that'll calculate how much you've saved...how much you've added to your life from the time you stop...they're finicky and fun...if you feel like it try one of them,....I remember I used to get a kick from watching the stats change from day to day....one of them suggested that it would be nice if someone dropped an envelope through your letterbox every week with say maybe £100 in it....extra cash for you to do as you please....wouldn't that be very nice indeed...now how much were you burning every week........ 
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| Evie |
I like all them suggestions, goes to look for the sites, cheers mate
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| Baldrick |
Here's another suggestion...the O/H and I stopped smoking on the same day. We had a bet that the first one to start again lost £50. Try having a bet with your O/H for £250 and see how that works.
We used will power...only because there were no patches or gum then....and that was 25 years ago. I was doing at least 30 a day and O/H was doing about 10. I've never regretted stopping one little bit. |
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| Evie |
Cheers baldrick, he dosen't smoke so whats he going to do lol, at least i don't have anybody in the house that's still smoking, now that would be hard. | ||||
| lil eva |
I have  but im going to give it a go
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| Baldrick |
Go on...if us lot can do it, then so can you!!! |
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| Liam |
Do you smoke Anne?? | ||||
| lil eva |
I do love yes.
I tried to stop,but O/H was smoking infront of me and the bloody will power went I know its down to me and only i can do it.I don't smoke infront of my grandkids....never have done,so if i can refrain while they're about i can do it
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| gaz |
Re: The Mega Stop Smoking Thread
well i wish you luck im finding it quite easy atm my 3rd day has gone ok |
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| lil eva |
Well done Gaz
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| gaz |
just remember you dont need a fag thats what i have been telling myself and its working up to now fingers crossed that website that bravo posted t'other day has helped me with tips this is it
http://whyquit.com/ |
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| gaz |
this is horrible
http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_02_17_smoke_in_lung.html scroll down and look at the pics |
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| gaz |
http://whyquit.com/whyquit/mutilate.html | ||||
| Evie |
wtg gaz your doing great, i haven't been tempted to have a fag as yet i'm doing well
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| Bravo |
Well done on day three Gaz, thats a big milestone, as today you fully clear all nicotine out of your system.
Evie, you have also cleared a big milestone...the one of actually making the decision and following through with it, well done. Gaz has already found it, but for you: http://whyquit.com/ The benefits you are already receiving: Within ... 20 minutes
12 hours
48 hours
72 hours
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| Josie-lufc |
Those piccys are horrible.
Ive never smoked in my life but my cancer will eventually spread to my lungs, Im dreading it. |
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| Evie |
Looking forward to my taste especially returning i can hardly taste a thing. | ||||
| Baldrick |
Go for it...the first week or two will be bad but......keep finding things for your hands to do. Half of the problem is that you're used to having a fag in your hands. Pick something else up..a pencil for instance...play with that and then put it down.
Remember....will power is the key....Keep saying...I do not smoke, I will not smoke. |
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| Evie |
I WILL NOT SMOKE, cheers you lot, who needs smoking groups when you've got your internet buddies to get you through it, o/h is making my favourite dinner tonight, he's well chuffed and amazed. | ||||
| Bravo |
Best also be ready for the tough bits.
Tough times will come, get yourself ready for them, your plan of action etc. If you remember the 5 minute rule, you'll be fine. Once you actually made a proper decision to stop, it really isn't all that hard in truth. It's only hard if you start giving yourself excuses to restart. Take those away and it's pretty much a heck of a lot easier than you thought it would be
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| gaz |
well done |
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| Chrissy Canadian |
good going to you both! you'll get through it!
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| Baldrick |
Keep it up you two. We're always here if you need help or encouragement. | ||||
| lil eva |
Oh FFS.............just told o/h,that from Thursday morning when i finish work,i'm going to stop smoking.
Not an ounce of bloody encouragement  All he said was "who you?"I said no Connor He then said uh,thats come out of the blue.
I'll bloody show him,last time he said that he would stop too,but after 1 night he was fit to kill.I will stop
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| Chrissy Canadian |
awwwwww anne, that's great hun! never mind him, you can do it girl!
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| lil eva |
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| gaz |
go on do it hun show him that u can |
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| Bravo |
Thats fantastic news Anne, go for it!
Now.....time to get Lynn back on track
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| Baldrick |
Come on Anne, sod everyone else...do it for you!! | ||||
| Evie |
Come on anne you can do it, we can all do it together, still haven't had a ciggie day 1 down, i don't even feel like one this morning going good
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| Woodfold |
It looks like Evie has started a mass Stop Smoking Campaign. Both Bravo and Gaz have posted some great links, one of which verified my earlier comments about "little hairs in the respiratory system going on strike". The pictures of clean and diseased lungs are quite graphic and, if they put these on fag packets, ought to be very effective.
I think it would also be useful if more knowldge about Tobacco came into the picture so here's a link to Wikepedia which will give still more information about Tobacco and its Properties which might help. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco In the "Active Substances" section you'll find a bit more detail about the stuff smokers take into their lungs, some of which may surprise you. Radioactive residues aren't one of the things anyone tells you about for example. One of the constituents of Tobacco Smoke is Carbon Monoxide and this attaches itself to the red blood corpuscles, which carry oxygen round the body, to give a more stable blood compound than the Oxygen one making the body short of Oxygen. This is why smokers get breathless more easily than non smokers. The other thing which this does is reduce the amount of oxygenated blood which gets to the heart. What do you do, as a smoker, if you get stressed or very worried? You increase the number of cigarettes you smoke hoping it will settle you down - am I right? This then increases the amount of Carbon Monoxide being cirulated round the body, reduces the amout of Oxygen getting to the heart muscle, in the worst scenario this can cause a heart attack. This effect is known as a myocardial infarction. This link shows how smoking effects the heart and arteries. This link gives some graphic details of this aspect of smoking. http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_02_18_circulatory_damage.html I wish you all good luck with stopping smoking and if you find that you can't stop, and I don't believe that at least you will have had evidence of how bad it is for you. |
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| lil eva |
I've even recruited a friend at work.I told her last night of my intentions and she is making an appointment today for the docs
Well done Evie
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| Baldrick |
More support for you Anne. Good. Keep going girls. It will be hard for a week or two but then the withdrawal eases off. Just keep saying...I do not smoke. Tell everyone you've stopped 'cos you'll feel a right pillock if you start again....lol |
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| Evie |
ohhh hey i really feel like having a ciggie now going to go sort through the washing until the feeling passes.
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| Baldrick |
Stop thinking about it!! It WILL pass!! |
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| Chrissy Canadian |
and the good thing is, once you've quit, your lungs will start to turn pink again after awhile and you will me much much more healthy... so you have that to look forward to
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| Bravo |
It was day two when I got my biggest ever craving. I'd just had breakfast and all the lads went outside for a smoke. I could quite gladly have killed for a cigarette right there and then. Of course I didn't, 5 minutes later, the urge was still there but nowhere near as strong. This I think will be your biggest test though there are a couple more to come. I'm willing you onwards, all of you |
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| Baldrick |
Something no one's mentioned..well, I don't think they have.
Some 15 years ago when I was living in London, my step-daughter worked as a croupier in a swanky London gambling club. She'd start work at about 10pm and finish at about 5am. Then she'd come home and always woke me up. Not because she was making a noise but because the stench of cigars and cigarettes was that appalling. Literally, she smelt like a dirty old ashtray and we had to change her bedsheets every day. |
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| Evie |
Yeah iv'e been having really strong urges today but i'm still hanging on in there guys, i will stop smoking, i will stop smoking, | ||||
| Liam |
You're doin' great Evie...hang in there...those urges won't be so strong after a while...that's just the nicotine monster wanting to be fed...starve the b**tard until he's dead..then bury him deep.....I killed him off so can you
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| Evie |
heheh love that description liam
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| gaz |
i had a craving at about 11 o clock but that soon passed | ||||
| Baldrick |
Go on gaz...keep with it. DON'T give in!! |
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| Baldrick |
I'll tell you now that the pleasure of an after dinner cigarette is one which still haunts me and I stopped 25 years back. It WILL take time. It WILL hurt you to stop...don't be under any illusions. BUT, it will be worth it. healthwise and financially. Keep the faith!! | ||||
| Bravo |
There does come a time when the cravings stop. I'm a relatively new non-smoker, only two years...and I honestly can't remember the last time I had a craving....I think it might have been somewhere around the six month mark, it just popped up out of nowhere and then went back to where it belonged
When I was 'trying' to stop before I actually stopped, one of the biggest things that got me started again was the thought that it would never get any easier....so I'm just trying to let you know the truth of it, that it really does get easier, the days keep on rolling on. BTW, you should all look into getting a stop smoking meter, it lets you know how you are doing: http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksDMeters.html
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| gaz |
thanks for all the advise its all helping | ||||
| Chrissy Canadian |
awww glad to hear that gaz |
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| Bravo |
Here's one for you....think of the absolutely vile and evil toerags that get rich off the suffering of the ordinary person.
You pick up a cigarette, you line these scumbags pockets: Link Just something for you to think about
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| Woodfold |
Lady Nicotine is a crafty old b*****d Bravo. I had been stopped 4 years when I had an occasion when I had been extra busy and I suddenly went in my pocket for a packet of fags. The urge for a fag was strong but only very transient, just a matter of seconds. If I had actually had any fags in my pocket the chances are I might have started again. Lady Nicotine waits until you are having a low in your day and then she'l come back - just for an instant to tempt you. It only happened the once and hasn't since and that is after 46 years keeping her away. The smell on people who smoke is just somethig else. As Balders says, he could smell his daughter when she came home fom work. I had one member of my Staff who used to smoke both cigarettes and a pipe. If I was sat behind my desk and he came into my office - I used an open door policy - I knew who it was before I had lifted my head to see. When I had stopped smoking but used to go to my local Working Mens Club, where most people smoked, I was often woken in the night my a smell of burning. This, I found, was coming off my clothes which I had hung up before getting into bed. It is surprising how this smell becomes very noticable when you have stopped smoking yourself. Then, of course there is the brown staining on the ceiling which has to go and the smell which comes off the furniture and curtains. The curtains ae easy - they just got washed - the furniture took longer. Good luck you guys - it looks like you are all winning and in a couple of weeks time you'll wonder why you ever started. |
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| Evie |
Excellent advice all of it, still hanging on in there, baldrick love the signature hehehe | ||||
| lil eva |
Well thats me finished my nights until Sunday,so i have just had my last cigarette.
I told myself that i would finish this morning and then that gives me my days off to get my head around it. I used patches before and TBH i couldn't tell if they worked or not,so i think i'm going to try the lozenges.I've only known one person who has tried these and they worked for him.I'm not going to have them all the time though,just when it gets really bad. All the ashtrays are in soaking and when i go shopping i will buy pot pouree to put in them. I'm already getting where i'm embarrassed at the cig stench on my clothes and the smell in the car,so heres to a sweeter smelling me HERE GOES.....................
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| Woodfold |
Good luck Anne. |
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| Evie |
WTG anne it's going to be hard but i already feel much better especially with my breathing, i actually run upstairs this morning and diden't need to catch my breath at the top, feels brilliant. | ||||
| Baldrick |
Go for it Anne....you know it makes sense. |
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| Evie |
Well have starved off the cravings for today also, it is so hard, have decided i'm going to save all the cash and take the kids to disney land next year, they'll love that. | ||||
| Josie-lufc |
Brilliant idea Evie, good luck with it | ||||
| Bravo |
Keep it up guys, you are doing sooo well.
Do you feel like you have burst out of a paper bag? A sort of awakening? It's like the world was always there but now you can see it, breathe it, smell it. Good, eh?
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| Liam |
great idea Evie.....if you have money left over can I come too
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| Evie |
I do feel like that bravo it's amazing and i said elsewhere i ran up the stairs and diden't need to stand at the top to get my breath back, and the house no longer smells like an ashtry, iv'e cleaned so much over the last few days, never seen the place so spotless a good paint over all the walls and you'll never know a smoker lived here, ohhh and the doctor noticed my patch today, got some nice encouragement from him also wtg me.
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| Baldrick |
Just wait till you clean the windows!! |
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| Bravo |
That's awesome Evie
Remember too that your body is now totally free of nicotine
Now I know you wont start again because I know you'll never want to go through that again Just keep on your toes complacency-wise, as it will every now and again come up to bite at you, just a quick 'down boy' is all you need
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| Evie |
Yikes balders, i'm going to do them tomorrow, your so bloody right tony, i never want to go through these 3 days ever again, it's been proper hard, a few times i did think of just giving in, but today i walked past the shop to the chemist and the thought never even crossed my mind to go in and buy ciggies, i really do know now that i will never smoke again, not even that 'one' which has been said, my sister is going to give up now as well, which i'm well pleased at, i'm going to start a trend see if i can get my mum to stop to
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| Liam |
Take a look....
and that's only 599 of 4000 
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| Evie |
omg is that for real there is 4000 different things in them, blimey now i'm cringing thinking of all them horrible nasty fags iv'e put down my throat ewwwwwww.
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| Liam |
Even formaldhyde used in embalming dead bodies | ||||
| chimp |
i got some duty frees that a mate brought me the other day - hope i'm gonna sell them and i've pencilled in next Monday as my stopping day | ||||
| Evie |
You go for it chimp, we'll all be here for you on monday
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| Bravo |
I chose a Monday to stop too, not sure why. Good luck with it though mate, good on yer |
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| chimp |
Thanks Evie | ||||
| gaz |
ive gone another day smoke free im quite proud of meself | ||||
| Bravo |
You have done so well Gaz, not only in stopping, but also in setting off this chain reaction thats got everyone else either stopped, planning to stop, or thinking about stopping! Well done!
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| Baldrick |
Bloody well done to you all. It's not an easy thing to do...but you're winning. | ||||
| Baldrick |
Well come on Anne, how's it going? Tell us how you're feeling. We want to know! | ||||
| lil eva |
I'm ok Balders.I wanted one when i came back from shopping,but that was habit,not craving.I haven't craved a cig,but i have felt like there was something i should be doing with my hands.O/H isn't helping,he is picking a fight and i just know im going to get the blame,he'll say its cause i need a cig and i don't!
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| Baldrick |
Anne...there's a saying....Strength through joy!! Always here with a helping hand. |
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| lil eva |
Thanks | ||||
| Liam |
Don't give in to the temptation to fight or smoke.....both are bad for you.....just get yourself on here if things get bad and we'll help you all we can
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| lil eva |
cheers hun
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| Chrissy Canadian |
that's right liam... that goes for me too, to all you lovely peeps here that are quitting smoking... cheers
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