Benefits of quitting

Kermit.de.frog

Right lads, i'm off the smokes from today. Gonna be hard but I bought a trusty e-cig to help me.

What are the benefits you got and really noticed when you quit?

The mere anticipation of same benefits for me and everyone else would give encouragement.:)

1. I get shortness of breath - this will go?
2. The smell, obviously this will go.
3. I will look better over time.
4. My teeth will over time become unstained and white again.
5. Freshness of breath.
6. That horrible feeling of physical weakness after a cig will go.

Anything else?

Chemical Byrne

1. Shortness of breath

It might go, it might not. Depends on how much damage you've done to yourself over the years.

After years and years the aveoli degrade and merge into one big sac. That is irreversible and a bad case of it is emphysema.

Totally give it up, you will feel much better but don't be expecting miracles either. You have done a lot of damage to your body.

Good luck

Kermit.de.frog

I got a fright a couple of weeks back when a man I know had to get most of his teeth out at 55 solely due to smoking.

I said to myself that's not going to be me later in my life! Wake up call. Time to act.

Uncle Ben

I gave it up four years ago after smoking for more than 30 years. I used the patches for 3 months and then ploughed on.
The first thing I got done was have the car valeted and all the upholstery and furniture in the house deep cleaned.

Even now it it's unbelievable how awful the cigarettes smell on other people's clothes even though for all those years I never thought that my clothes smelt the same.

Kermit.de.frog

Oh and just one question - i'm giving up alcohol as well. Is it advisable or inadvisable to do both at the same time? I 100% believe I can give up both.

But i'd be worried my body might get a double shock being deprived of both after so long and this may affect me?

Any thoughts on that?

Kermit.de.frog

k been 3 hours and just after dinner now and it's really tough. After a meal is the worst time. I'm holding it together though...the e-cig is a real help here...

Glad I dumped the smokes out the door earlier but even that was hard to do.

Lisha

I'm off the cigarettes now just over 8yrs. I still think and talk about them but I'm glad I'm not a smoker any more.

Breathless symptoms are gone. I could walk for ireland.
Smell is gone from me and my clothes. My car and new6 yr old new house smell lovely. Paint, furnishings and house In General are so fresh.
Everything tastes great
I always have money in my wallet.
Days out especially with non smoking family members no longer revolve around finding a smoking spot.
My teeth are good, whitening them stayed good.

I just feel so much better in every way.

Stick with it, one day at a time and all that. I agree after meals is the hardest but it is so worth it.

elfy4eva

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Anything else?

Lots and lots of money to buy nice things with.

Kermit.de.frog

@ Lisha Did you get off the cigs at your first attempt to quit? Did it take a couple of goes?

Lisha

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

@ Lisha Did you get off the cigs at your first attempt to quit? Did it take a couple of goes?

I loved smoking. But I always said I did not want to be a smoker after my 30th. When I turned 28 I stopped smoking in work. After my 29th I was pregnant and I cut down to 3 a day and once people knew I was pregnant I stopped. I always said is smoke after the baby was born but I did not. It was really hard. I focussed on the money a lot. I know health benifits are more nb but I needed to focus on the money and on my clothes not smelling of smoke.

I never tried to give them up before. But I'm so glad I stayed off them .

It really is one day at a time but stick with it. It is worth it.

Also I know that if I smoked again it would be straight back to 20/25 a day. I'm an all or nothing smoker. Friends of mine can have one a day, another girl can have 1 every few weeks ! But me if I fall off the wagon it would be straight back to full time smoking. I really would hate that.

hagoonabear

Kermit.de.frog wrote:

1. I get shortness of breath - this will go? 2. The smell, obviously this will go. 3. I will look better over time. 4. My teeth will over time become unstained and white again. 5. Freshness of breath. 6. That horrible feeling of physical weakness after a cig will go.

Just off the smokes myself a week , 1. I was smoking the last 3 years and was out of breath couldn't even walk up the stairs I was breathless then stopped now I'm full of energy such a difference
2. Don't smell of smoke anymore
3. You ll feel better and more confident for giving up such a difficult habit
4. Depends you really might need to see a dentist if after brushing after a few months if they still stain
5. You will feel like your mouth is dirty after giving up because of your taste buds growing back and the damage the smoking has done
6. If you're not smoking fags than you won't have that feeling anymore

Also don't drink until you really get into the habit of using your ecig

Nomis21

I gave up 2 years ago after 30 years. First two weeks were hard. I drank more alcohol during that time and sucked on some smokeless cigs I bought on a Ryanair flight. After a month I lost the urge to smoke and actually felt sick when I watched a movie with someone smoking in it.

One of the biggest benefits for me was losing that nagging voice in my head telling me to stop smoking.

There was a downside... I put on 5 kilos in weight. Didn't lose it yet.

kaloshma

It's so difficult.

gerarda

I gave up some years ago, 20 would last me about 3 days or so. I started as a drunk smoker then started buying them regularly. I have since run lots of 5/10k's since and 2 marathon's. For me it was sheer will power and a strong 'want' to stop. You need to say to yourself that you are determined to quit, saying 'Maybe I will quit next week' is not good enough. One day I just stopped and that was it, its all in the mind.

luamba

When my life becomes pressurized, I am more likely to smoke more cigarettes. I have decided to quit, I am thinking that nothing could be more conclusive than the evidence that smoking damages health. In addition the vast majority of people with health problems are smokers and I don't want to be part of it. Apart from the risks they are taking with their long term health. When I smoked , I was generally less fit and more prone to coughs and other chest infections. There is no magic way to give up smoking and long term success depends very much upon how motivated and strong minded I am.

MrWalsh

I gave up 3.5 years ago after smoking for 20ish years. I was never a heavy smoker, never reached 20 a day and was on about 7/8 a day when I finally quit.

I just hated being a slave to them. For years I hated it. I hated that little voice in my hated always telling me to figure out when I could next have a smoke, always basing any travel arrangements around my habit, standing outside in all weathers to smoke, standing on dirty streets alone feeling a bit vulnerable, all just to smoke.

Anyway, when I quit I was more than ready to quit and I literally felt great mentally immediately. I never ever regretted it.

It was hard, of course it was hard, but heres the thing - it wasnt nearlt as hard as Id been expecting it to be!! And if I knew then what I know now, Id have quit years before and not kept putting it off and putting it off over the fear of how hard it would be. Thinking about it was much harder than doing it.

I immediately had improved colouring, my teeth were whiter within 10 days, I did a couch to 5k and wasnt collapsing coughing with my head bursting from it.

But really the biggest thing was just the freedom. To be able to spontaneously do anything and not have to plan to have cigarettes. To not always have to have the money to get cigarettes. To not always need to have a back up pack of cigarettes.

Its pure freedom.

ToddUmptious

I quit over a month ago and haven't looked back since. There were a few reasons I gave up - health and money being the main two - but there were other reasons that pushed me into it.

My kids would constantly be on to me about smoking in the house and would pester me every time I tried to light up anywhere near them.

Every time I went out for a drink, less and less of my friends were smoking and it got to the stage were I was standing outside the pub in the freezing cold on my todd.

I know I'm still at an early stage but its great to be able to set goals like - stay of the cigarettes for a week/fortnight/ month and actually stick to it.

Can't beat it!!

noraHUSO

Hi, I'm lucky because I have never smoked. Actually I understand why people start smoking; the pressure that they have is so hard that they need to “relax” themselves with a cigarette. My mother in law is a former smoker, she quitted after 20 years because she wanted to prove herself that she could do it. Now that she doesn’t smoke anymore she feels better, she doesn’t cough hard as she was used to, she can walk more without being winded and she doesn’t have no more tooth problem. Cigarettes are a poison for the health and I hope that one day it will be forbidden ! But let’s be realist: it’s a big industry, governments gain a lot of money with it. If it becomes forbidden I think people will keep smoking thanks to cigarettes dealer.

parkerpen

The first thing I noticed was the smell from other people who were smoking, when I wasn't. Then I realised how I must have smelled when I was smoking!

identer

You get to hang out with friends, and be sure they are not being pressured to hangout. When you smoke, your non smoking friend tend to avoid you.