Smoking

[Jack Jenkins]

Hiya Louis....You gotta give up mate !!! I smoked for nigh on 50 yrs,gave up 18 months ago,Champix was my saviour, I`ve got COPD which never gets better,and an extra 2 stone.
Best of luck Lou.

[Doc Vernon]

Just a little reminder Lou mate!

There is No Smoking Allowed at this abode! You will have to go outside for that ,but hopefully by the time you come and visit (I hope so) you will have mastered the coffin nails! Eeeeeek! LOL!
Cheers

[Jim Brady]

Louis,I went out today to see the Liverpool game at my local,it was like New Years Eve it was chokka!!Just the body heat alone made one feel claustrophobic I thought what it would've been like in the past with all hands smoking,I was a very heavy smoker and I think the best thing that ever happened was bringing in the smoking ban.What I have observed is you dont see many men going outside for a smoke,I would imagine that it must be 99% of men that dont smoke and mostly outside the women have taken over.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[cappy]

Louis,I went out today to see the Liverpool game at my local,it was like New Years Eve it was chokka!!Just the body heat alone made one feel claustrophobic I thought what it would've been like in the past with all hands smoking,I was a very heavy smoker and I think the best thing that ever happened was bringing in the smoking ban.What I have observed is you dont see many men going outside for a smoke,I would imagine that it must be 99% of men that dont smoke and mostly outside the women have taken over.
Regards.
Jim.B.

what was the score jim

[Jim Brady]

Cappy Liverpool 2 Newcastle 1 (L'pool own goal).Unfortunately Manchester City won also so they won the league having said that a very good season for Liverpool.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[happy daze john in oz]

Louis,I went out today to see the Liverpool game at my local,it was like New Years Eve it was chokka!!Just the body heat alone made one feel claustrophobic I thought what it would've been like in the past with all hands smoking,I was a very heavy smoker and I think the best thing that ever happened was bringing in the smoking ban.What I have observed is you dont see many men going outside for a smoke,I would imagine that it must be 99% of men that dont smoke and mostly outside the women have taken over.
Regards.
Jim.B.

There they were all ready to claim the title and waht did they do, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

[Red Lead Ted]

For the past three weeks I have been engaged in a major battle with my will power to stop smoking.
It is a hard fight, a little voice in my head keeps saying just have one it will do no harm.
The reasons I am trying to quit are, when I take my two dogs out for their daily walk I am stopping more often to catch my breath and also I am fed up standing outside in the wind and rain to have a fag whenever I go out.
The worst times for me are the mornings. My daily routine has been to read the newspapers on line and log on to this site with lots of coffee and cigarettes, now it is just the coffee.
The fight is far from over, the drug will not let me go easily and I know it will be a long time before I can say I am an ex smoker.

Louis, There is the perfect way out for you out there mate {PATCHES} The thing is where you put them Leg ..no...Arm no.....Shoulder no..... Put them over your eyes................ You might fall down the stairs a few times, Or walk into a few walls but at least you cant find your cigs Terry.

[Roger Dyer]

Hi Louis,

I don't know whether you are aware of this, but, almost three years ago, member Graham Payne found himself facing the very same dilemma that confronts you at this time. Like you, seeking the advice of fellow members he posted a thread entitled ' Smoking advice - Help Needed". To date, that thread contains 30 pages of well-wishes and advice from we fellow members and it occurred to me that it may well be to your own advantage to read through that thread. I'm not sure if Graham is still weed-free, but would like to think so. As you are now beginning to discover, mate, giving away the 'habit' is a lot harder than taking it up. No matter what method you choose to help you through this, you will eventually realise that your own will-power is the best of all.

Like many merchant seamen, I was a very heavy smoker for more than fifty years. Christmas 2009, the kids and grand-kids had said their goodbyes for the night and I was standing outside in the garden enjoying the cool of the evening, after a very warm Australian day.... then it happened !!!. Without any prior warning whatsoever I suddenly realised that, having drawn air into my lungs, I could no longer exhale. Terrified, I was barely able to call out to my wife for help as my consciousness began to fade. Almost resignedly, I bent forward over a garden table, the sense of panic replaced by an almost calm sadness as I accepted that my time had finally come. Suddenly, realising that air was expelling from my lungs, mild panic returned accompanied by overwhelming relief and a deep desire to go on living. Tentatively, at first, I took a small breath, fearful that my lungs would again malfunction,but when that seemed to work I began to breath more deeply, thankful that I might live a little longer. An ambulance arrived and rushed me to the nearest hospital where doctors and nurses began fussing over me as my wife looked on, her gentle smile belying the concern in her eyes. Later, that evening, after things quietened down a doctor informed me that my bending forward over the table had probably forced air from my lungs and saved my life. You can be lucky sometimes. This doctor also diagnosed emphysema and told me that should I choose to continue smoking I would be dead within a year. As it happened the original diagnosis was correct. Smoking has left me with 70% of normal breathing capacity which is a lot more than some emphysema sufferers can claim. My condition was monitored regularly but with medication it has stabilised and now my specialist tells me he does not wish to see me for three years (and I thought we were getting along so well). It can never get better, of course, but with life-long medication I may still have a few years left in me yet....I bluddywell hope so.

As for my breaking the 'habit', the fear I experienced that night has served me well and I have never smoked since. Initially, I bought a months supply of patches ( which come in three monthly stages of varying nicotine strength to wean you off the habit) After about two weeks I discovered that I didn't need them anymore. Fear and good old will-power was sufficient for me to shed a half-century of dependency. Louis, there will be times when temptation comes a-knocking on the door, but ignore it. Think about that cough that no longer hangs around like it once did, or your breathing which is now less laboured than it was before, and think about the extra money you have in your pocket each week. You'll find it gets a little easier with each passing day, until the time will come when, with a feeling of joy (and inner pride in the will-power you didn't think you had) you revel in the knowledge that you have it beaten. As our shipmate, Brian (Kong) has mentioned, FEAR will instil a great desire for self-preservation. It is an incentive to do the common-sense thing and in partnership with willpower should be more than enough to rid you of this accursed habit. That night, over four years ago, in the space of less than a minute I experienced the greatest sense of fear I've ever known in my life and also the greatest sense of elation. It came out of the blue and the memory still haunts me sometimes. Louis, don't let it happen to you, mate......good luck.

..........Roger

[Louis the fly]

Hi Roger I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your post, you were in exactly the same position as I am now and the same could happen to me.
I would like to hang around a bit longer to see the grandkids grow.
I am winning the battle so far and every time temptation calls I intend to read the post again. Thank you.

[Captain Kong]

Just remember Louis, everytime you feel like a ciggie, just Think,.
I AM GOING TO DIE A HORRIBLE PAINFUL DEATH.
THINK FEAR!
have a nice day
Brian. and Good Luck. It does get better.