Damien

Alan Carr is indeed highly recommended, however the prerequisite for drinking his brand of kool-aid is that you really do want to quit and that you openly acknowledge the sustained harm that you are doing to your health, that you are shortening your lifespan considerably, and that your demise will be an extremely painful one. I was an invunerable and inveterate heavy smoker from the ages of about 14 until 35 and I also recognise the absence of any tangible benefits from smoking first hand, from the death a loving and beloved mother who was a conscientious and dedicated smoker for the majority of her life. If you are not in denial (most smoker truly are) then quitting will be unpleasant for a short period of time, but quite do-able. It is not at all like coming off heroin or other class A substances. If i learned one thing from Alan Carr's Easy Way To Stop Smoking book, it is that you should embrace the feelings of discomfort whilst you are ridding yourself of cigarettes. Recognise that you are not 'giving up' or 'forgoing' anything - purge that thought from your mind immediately. In truth, you are ridding yourself of many noxious poisons which if continually ingested over any prolonged period of time, WILL without doubt, be the cause of your painful demise. Also you can forget those anecdotal stories of the elderly relative who smoked their life long, and who lived to a 'ripe old age'. Next time your are out and about see how many smokers you can spot in their 60's and upwards. As age increases, numbers are in sharp decline as the reaper takes his easy pickings. Whilst experiencing the discomfort of withdrawal (and discomfort is all it is; you are not going to die from stopping smoking, but you must certainly will die from it if you persevere) you should convince your mind that this discomfort is a direct effect of your body shaking itself free of the dependency. With the passing of each smoke-free minute, you are moving inexorably towards becoming an ex-smoker. In my case, i recalled experiencing an epiphany-moment about 2 weeks after determining to stop, and in one crystalline moment, i realised my mind was no longer consumed with thinking about smoking every 5/10/15/30 minutes. I could manage without, I had moved beyond and that was indeed a brighter and sunnier day than i had experienced in a very long while. To those who really want to quit but are finding it difficult to stick with; i would recommend not to do nicotine patches, tabs or vaping, these only serve to maintain your nicotine dependency. how the heck do you think you will ever be free of smoking if you maintain this dependency on such an addictive substance ? Sure nicotine is much less harmful than all the hundreds of other chemicals added to tobacco, but it is the gateway substance that sure as night follows day, will lead you back to cigarette smoking. Whilst transitioning to becoming an ex-smoker, do things that make you feel good about your body and about yourself (gentle sports, massage, sex, vigorously chew gum, whatever) whilst staying clear of those places or those occasions that you most strongly associate with lighting up. And at all costs, stay well clear of alcohol for several months after you have successfully stopped smoking and are no longer thinking about having a cigarette on a daily basis; we know full well how alcohol will weaken your resolve and in an alcohol-induced lapse of judgement it is stupidly easy to find a cigarette back between your fingers and some generous soul offering you a light. Before you realise it, you are once again a habitual smoker only now, you are most likely many pounds heavier than when you were previously a smoker and most likely your self-esteem has tanked as well. And finally, i would suggest not to be indifferent or liberal-minded to those around you who continue to puff on one and to poison your air. For their part they will be envious of your achievement and at every opportunity, will cajole and persuade you into stepping back into their ranks. Instead, i suggest to be steadfastly militant and politely intolerant to them in so far as they are in fact being indifferent to your health and blasé about limiting your natural lifespan. ...bit of a rant i know. But i wanted to contribute somehow and to make a valid first post. Take from the above what you will. The combination of Alan Carr's musings and my own experiential conclusions were what enabled me to kick a dependency of 21 years (and the relapses which did occur were always as a direct consequence of drinking). Without any doubt whatsoever, cigarettes helped to see off my mum who mentally remained extremely agile and in complete defiance of the cancer which devoured her body up to the dreadful end stage when in hospice and receiving paliative care, the pain became insufferable and increased dosage of opiate pain medication took control of her mind as well, she let go and drifted into oblivion and her mind & her body gave in....this had she not been a smoker, undoubtedly a good few years before her natural lifespan would have been up. To the committed smokers, keep at it ! No-one should deny you your liberty and no-one should sermonise or lecture you on smoking's ill-effects; you are fully aware of them all, right. You pay attention to those gruesome images on the packets, don't you? A smoker needs to want to stop and to recognise that they may need supportive friends and family to realise this goal. BUT arriving at the decision to want to stop is a conclusion only you yourself as a habitual and/or addicted smoker can arrive at. To all those waivering smokers amongst you, consider this: the benefits of stopping most incontrovertably outweigh the costs, on a long-term perspective. If anyone is still reading and genuinely wants to quit, i would hope there might be one or more helpful suggestions in the above ramblings. And as your bonus for making it this far and to finish on a positive note, just think of the money you will deprive the treasury of and instead will able to pour into the slots. Peace everyone