Stopping Smoking Support thread

[Edina Street]

The prices of cigarettes are now so unrealistic that the government are now just about practicing prohibition.

For those most addicted suicide may now actually even be an option.

What is the alternative to stopping smoking? Smoke that home made rubbish that our streets are now getting flooded with? And yes, our streets are becoming flooded with it.

How do I know that the streets are becoming flooded with it? Quite simply, when the raids begin, and the tabloids begin documenting it, the list of criminals that the police will be arresting will include old disabled grannies that live in old peoples homes. And when Grannies in housing shelters are buying from the street, we know that the prices of cigarettes must now be unrealistic, and the streets must be literally beginning to flood.

The quality of the home made stuff is rubbish. Utterly disgusting and completely horrible.

This stuff will definitely damage your lungs, give you blood clots and a heart attack. As our streets "and old peoples homes" are becoming filled with it, the most addicted users that buy this filth will soon be suffering major health problems.

The moral and ethical question is, who is to blame for this? The user? The dealers? Or the Government?

Anyway, I have been smoking since I was 17-years old. At my worsed chain smoked 100 per day. I have already had a heart attack and suffered from PAD, and have also stopped smoking twice only to restart again.

However after the latest government price hike and having tasted that home made trash and felt my left foot get colder and colder, that is it, I am out.

From now on it is the tobacco flavoured vape with 18mg Nicotene.

Good luck to anyone else that has decided it is time now.

P.S

(If your Grandmother or Grandfather is one of the remaining old school that got to their 80's just to become a criminal that buys, or even deals in this filth, please be aware that this is not something you should take lightly, and this "will" be their final months on this planet). The stuff is simply "boaking", and smoking it is the equivalent of having a terminal illness.

[Pedantic_Hibee]

I used to smoke 20/30 a day and I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve quit for a day or two. Cut down to about 10/15 a day last year but I genuinely thought I would always be a smoker. I bought an Aegis GeekVape in January and since then I’ve bought about four or five packets of fags this year (generally if I have a day on the beers as it saves me bringing a charger and a big bottle of vape juice with me).

The most surprising thing is I can buy a packet on the Saturday morning, have a skinful, finish off the packet on the Sunday and go straight back to the vape. That would have been unthinkable for me not so long ago.

I still want one, I always want one. But what stops me now during the week or if I am having a quiet weekend (which is most weekends) is knowing that if I have one I’m then left with another 19 cigarettes I “need” to smoke.

What is this homemade stuff? I’ve never even heard of it.

[Edina Street]

I used to smoke 20/30 a day and I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve quit for a day or two. Cut down to about 10/15 a day last year but I genuinely thought I would always be a smoker. I bought an Aegis GeekVape in January and since then I’ve bought about four or five packets of fags this year (generally if I have a day on the beers as it saves me bringing a charger and a big bottle of vape juice with me).

The most surprising thing is I can buy a packet on the Saturday morning, have a skinful, finish off the packet on the Sunday and go straight back to the vape. That would have been unthinkable for me not so long ago.

I still want one, I always want one. But what stops me now during the week or if I am having a quiet weekend (which is most weekends) is knowing that if I have one I’m then left with another 19 cigarettes I “need” to smoke.

What is this homemade stuff? I’ve never even heard of it.

I understand completely.

There is only certain things that the vape is compatible with, and going out drinking is not one of those things.

I travel to and from London for two days every seven days. The vape is not compatible for this, as I am very heavily addicted, I require to be sucking on the vape every few seconds, and keeping the vape charged during such a long journey has its problems.

So for those two days I will revert to normal cigarettes.

However I will pay three times more to buy them out of the shop, rather than smoke the gutter trash that is going about.

[Pedantic_Hibee]

Did you ever read Allen Carr’s book?

[Edina Street]

Did you ever read Allen Carr’s book?

No. The only action I ever took to attempt to stop smoking was visit VPZ in Portobello.

Like you, I am pleasantly surprised that the vape has actually worked.

I genuinely thought that my life was as good as over and that I was literally about to knowingly kill myself via smoking, because I simply could not stop.

[Pedantic_Hibee]

No. The only action I ever took to attempt to stop smoking was visit VPZ in Portobello.

Like you, I am pleasantly surprised that the vape has actually worked.

I genuinely thought that my life was as good as over and that I was literally about to knowingly kill myself via smoking, because I simply could not stop.

I thoroughly recommend the book, good Sir.

[Edina Street]

I thoroughly recommend the book, good Sir.

27879

[EH6 Hibby]

I started smoking at 12. On average smoked around 15 a day. Could easily get through 40 on a night out. I would panic if I was down to my last few and wasn’t sure where I’d get more. Ashamed to say I was so addicted that I smoked during my pregnancy. After 21 years smoking I Went to doctors for help and was made to go to smoking cessation classes, they really did work for me. There was a doctor present who issued prescriptions for Champix. You start taking it while still smoking and set a stop date for week 2. By day 8/9 I was having to remind myself to smoke, I wasn’t reaching for the pack the second I woke up. Stopped smoking on week 2 and haven’t had a single cigarette since. I lose count but it’s been at least 16 years. 3 full time smokers from work stopped using it too after my success.

[Scouse Hibee]

The long term affect of vaping will likely turn out to be as bad as smoking, from one addiction to another.

[Stairway 2 7]

The long term affect of vaping will likely turn out to be as bad as smoking, from one addiction to another.

It 100% won't. They are very well studied. They obviously aren't good for you but aren't even a fraction of the harm of cigarettes, the reduction in heart disease and cancer outcomes alone makes it a no brainer. Obviously the best outcome would be switching to vapes if it stops the smoking and then stopping completely. If that can't happen though the effects population wide are multiple times worse from smoking. I've never really smoked personally but have read enough and no the effects of smoking on the NHS, thankfully smoking figures are plummeting

[Dmas]

I started smoking at 12. On average smoked around 15 a day. Could easily get through 40 on a night out. I would panic if I was down to my last few and wasn’t sure where I’d get more. Ashamed to say I was so addicted that I smoked during my pregnancy. After 21 years smoking I Went to doctors for help and was made to go to smoking cessation classes, they really did work for me. There was a doctor present who issued prescriptions for Champix. You start taking it while still smoking and set a stop date for week 2. By day 8/9 I was having to remind myself to smoke, I wasn’t reaching for the pack the second I woke up. Stopped smoking on week 2 and haven’t had a single cigarette since. I lose count but it’s been at least 16 years. 3 full time smokers from work stopped using it too after my success.

This is the route I went down as well, after many failed attempts on will power alone, I went to the doctors, who prescribed champix but only through attending the classes would I continue to get this, carried on as instructed and haven’t smoked since.

I’m not sure champix is still available however I think it was withdrawn from UK and Europe don’t know why which is a worry 😂 only side effect I had was some crazy dreams but had a quick Google which says Pfizer planning to reintroduce it in 2024 so maybe worth speaking to a doctor, the classes where also very helpful it’s good to know other people in the same battle rather than a friend or family member just telling you not to do it like it’s as easy as that.

[Hibrandenburg]

I used to smoke 20/30 a day and I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve quit for a day or two. Cut down to about 10/15 a day last year but I genuinely thought I would always be a smoker. I bought an Aegis GeekVape in January and since then I’ve bought about four or five packets of fags this year (generally if I have a day on the beers as it saves me bringing a charger and a big bottle of vape juice with me).

The most surprising thing is I can buy a packet on the Saturday morning, have a skinful, finish off the packet on the Sunday and go straight back to the vape. That would have been unthinkable for me not so long ago.

I still want one, I always want one. But what stops me now during the week or if I am having a quiet weekend (which is most weekends) is knowing that if I have one I’m then left with another 19 cigarettes I “need” to smoke.

What is this homemade stuff? I’ve never even heard of it.

The first time I tried substituting cigarettes with a vape I was similar to you. I would have the occasional fag because I preferred cigarettes.

The second time I went 24 hours without nicotine and had the vape sat on the table in front of me but didn't touch it and the effect was that it changed my attitude to the desirability of the vape and could hardly wait to use it. I avoided cigarettes completely for a few weeks and when I had a technical problem with my vape I tried one and it tasted so awful that I waited until I solved the vape problem rather than smoke another fag.

I'd been smoking since I was 12 or so and started vaping with 18mg nicotine and have reduced that gradually by 3mg steps to 3mg. It's been a life changer for me and all the horrible side effects of smoking fags have gone. Like many who stopped smoking cigarettes, I ask myself how did I put up with the awful smell, cost and health issues that come with smoking cigarettes. I used to tell myself I really enjoyed it and truly believed that until I stopped. Now I just need to get off the vape after going from 3mg to zero nicotine.

[Callum_62]

I've been an ex smoker for about 12 years now

Used to smoke about 20 a day

I think it's really a personal psychology thing on how to stop

Id done the usual stop for a few days here and there buy never really quit - I knew we were trying for a baby so probably a driver but the final "switch" in my brain was caused by watching the doco "the tobacco conspiracy"

Youl find after stopping for about a week that your suddenly aware on things you weren't before - like how bad it stinks

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[Jack]

It 100% won't. They are very well studied. They obviously aren't good for you but aren't even a fraction of the harm of cigarettes, the reduction in heart disease and cancer outcomes alone makes it a no brainer. Obviously the best outcome would be switching to vapes if it stops the smoking and then stopping completely. If that can't happen though the effects population wide are multiple times worse from smoking. I've never really smoked personally but have read enough and no the effects of smoking on the NHS, thankfully smoking figures are plummeting

That will be the legal vapes. The market is currently flooded with illegal vapes that are considerably worse than cigarettes. Trading Standards can barely keep up destroying them!

[Bridge hibs]

I was a 40/60 a day smoker, much more when on holiday. My biggest concern when I thought about stopping was how the **** am I going to cope after my morning coffee or after something to eat !!

There was no concerns about the damage it was doing to my health, the health of those around me passively inhaling my second hand smoke, the yellow, formerly white ceilings in the house or the stale rank smoke on my clothes

I did it though, made easier because my Wife never smoked and she supported me all the way. I went cold turkey, the benefits far outweighed the negatives mentioned above, 100% willpower and Ive never put a cig near my mouth in going on around 15 years

Best thing Ive ever done, no book, no patches, no vapes, no hypnotherapy. My willpower is **** and even now its **** with regards fitness, diet, diabetes management etc, maybe Ive used it all up in one go but if so its definitely been worth it

[Pedantic_Hibee]

I was a 40/60 a day smoker, much more when on holiday. My biggest concern when I thought about stopping was how the **** am I going to cope after my morning coffee or after something to eat !!

There was no concerns about the damage it was doing to my health, the health of those around me passively inhaling my second hand smoke, the yellow, formerly white ceilings in the house or the stale rank smoke on my clothes

I did it though, made easier because my Wife never smoked and she supported me all the way. I went cold turkey, the benefits far outweighed the negatives mentioned above, 100% willpower and Ive never put a cig near my mouth in going on around 15 years

Best thing Ive ever done, no book, no patches, no vapes, no hypnotherapy. My willpower is **** and even now its **** with regards fitness, diet, diabetes management etc, maybe Ive used it all up in one go but if so its definitely been worth it

Incredible. I salute you, well done my good man and you should be very proud of being able to do that.

[Pedantic_Hibee]

27879

That’s the very one. It might not, but it also might just change your life.

[Bridge hibs]

Incredible. I salute you, well done my good man and you should be very proud of being able to do that.

Thanks mate, and it wasnt easy and I can totally understand those who find it a struggle, the morning coffee and cig probably bothered me more, I could have just given up the coffee too I suppose

Nah no ****ing chance 🤣

[Pretty Boy]

I was a 40/60 a day smoker, much more when on holiday. My biggest concern when I thought about stopping was how the **** am I going to cope after my morning coffee or after something to eat !!

There was no concerns about the damage it was doing to my health, the health of those around me passively inhaling my second hand smoke, the yellow, formerly white ceilings in the house or the stale rank smoke on my clothes

I did it though, made easier because my Wife never smoked and she supported me all the way. I went cold turkey, the benefits far outweighed the negatives mentioned above, 100% willpower and Ive never put a cig near my mouth in going on around 15 years

Best thing Ive ever done, no book, no patches, no vapes, no hypnotherapy. My willpower is **** and even now its **** with regards fitness, diet, diabetes management etc, maybe Ive used it all up in one go but if so its definitely been worth it

I was the same.

I was never as heavy a smoker as you, probably 10-15 a day, more if I was drinking. I started at about 17 because it was 'cool'. Smoked all the way through uni then just decided to stop and that was it, I just did. It wasn't easy and I'm certainly not advocating anyone should just get on with it. There's a reason there are so many tools and other supports out there to help stop, it's really hard and truthfully I still miss it sometimes when I'm out for a drink despite stopping well over a decade ago. I know others find the smell of smoke disgusting but when I walk past a smoker outside a pub and get a smell of fresh smoke I still get a craving.

My father in law was a cold turkey job as well. He was a really heavy smoker, 20-30 a day. When I first met him he rarely seemed to have a fag out of his hand. He had a lung cancer scare and went for a CT scan, was told it wasn't cancer and continued to smoke away despite quite clearly having something wrong with him. He didn't have much choice about going cold turkey because he had a massive heart attack not long after and we were told to prepare for the worst. He spent the best part of a month in a hospital bed and has never smoked since. He was offered additional support but said the month of having no access to a cigarette had got him over the worst of it and he swears he doesn't miss it at all.

On the topic of vaping I take the point about it being better than smoking and certainly as a tool to get people away from cigarettes it's useful. What concerns me is how obviously vapes, particularly the disposable ones, are now marketed at young people and children. They no longer seem solely a tool to help people stop smoking but rather something people who have never smoked choose to do. I suppose the counter argument is that many young people who now vape might have started smoking if it wasn't for the fact vaping is now cooler. Equally though I know people my age and older who never smoked or who had been stopped for years who now vape.

[Bridge hibs]

Agree PB about the vapes attracting younger folk, disposable in more ways than one, the path between the Range which I use often when walking the dog, Asda and the path that leads to Musselburgh is littered with them

My dog doesnt run out of the bushes with half a tree in its mouth like when in his youth, he emerges from the bushes with a ****ing multi coloured vape in his mouth nowadays !! 😩

[sleeping giant]

I hadn't even heard of home made fags. Are you meaning folk grow their own tobacco?

[Hibrandenburg]

I hadn't even heard of home made fags. Are you meaning folk grow their own tobacco?

Ooooh, that sounds interesting, if it's a thing I might start again. :greengrin

[Edina Street]

Ooooh, that sounds interesting, if it's a thing I might start again. :greengrin

If you like the taste of trodden on tobacco swept up off the factory floor then go ahead.

They taste a bit like when one done a short sharp shock and found themselves without any canteen money so had to go around the cells offering a free ashtray emptying service to other HMP residents, before emptying the dog ends into acquired Rizzla papers.

As soon as you light them huge bits break off making them an added fire risk.

When you inhale your face goes bright red and tears come out of your eyes.

Most people that I have spoken to have worked out that they simply can't be duty frees, because they are actually cheaper than duty frees.

The other theory was that they are from an HM Confiscations Warehouse. Perhaps even the backs of lorries.

But I am now convinced that they are simply swept from the factory floor, because if they were duty free confiscations, or from the backs of lorries, they would taste a lot better than Saughton Rollies. But they don't.

[Bridge hibs]

I hadn't even heard of home made fags. Are you meaning folk grow their own tobacco?

I used to buy a couple of ounces of baccy from under the counter at my local shop, £5 a pack and a guy at my work who was always skint would give me the money for it.

Basically well sealed packs that to the experienced baccy smoker would look perfectly legit, until you opened it and tried to roll a fag 🤣 twigs, sawdust, maybe a few crumbs of genuine baccy but not a lot else, there was a petroly honk to it but obviously it wasnt petrol or he would have had his looks improved 🫣

He smoked it though and as it was so cheap he just asked for more, mind you though, I havent seen him about for a few years, wonder if he has given up 🫣

[CropleyWasGod]

Trying hard not to make this read like a PR post.

For context, I'm a practising hypnotherapist, with a high success rate in helping people stop smoking.

I'm curious as to people's experiences, or thoughts, about hypnotherapy. Most of my clients for smoking cessation are women, which is similar to the gender-balance for other issues I support people with.

I'm guessing that most, if not all, posters here are male. So I suppose my questions are:-

If you have tried hypnotherapy to stop smoking, how did it go?

If you haven't tried it, what are the barriers preventing you?

[Edina Street]

Trying hard not to make this read like a PR post.

For context, I'm a practising hypnotherapist, with a high success rate in helping people stop smoking.

I'm curious as to people's experiences, or thoughts, about hypnotherapy. Most of my clients for smoking cessation are women, which is similar to the gender-balance for other issues I support people with.

I'm guessing that most, if not all, posters here are male. So I suppose my questions are:-

If you have tried hypnotherapy, how did it go?

If you haven't tried it, what are the barriers preventing you?

My Brother "claims" that he stopped smoking after visiting a hypnotherapist at the Stevenson College in 2004.

He started smoking again in 2011.

However not everything my Brother says can be believed, though I can think of no logical reason why he would lie about this. But then again, my bro does not require logical reasons.

I personally have always considered hynotherapy to be quackery.

I apologise if this offends you. But you should not be offended as ultimately I don't actually know.

Perhaps you were even the hypnotherapist that cured him for 7 years?!

[Bridge hibs]

Trying hard not to make this read like a PR post.

For context, I'm a practising hypnotherapist, with a high success rate in helping people stop smoking.

I'm curious as to people's experiences, or thoughts, about hypnotherapy. Most of my clients for smoking cessation are women, which is similar to the gender-balance for other issues I support people with.

I'm guessing that most, if not all, posters here are male. So I suppose my questions are:-

If you have tried hypnotherapy, how did it go?

If you haven't tried it, what are the barriers preventing you?

By the way mate I wasnt knocking hypnotherapy or any other stopping smoking methods, I know you never thought that anyway and good luck to folk who go down this route, would be good to hear those stories

[CropleyWasGod]

My Brother "claims" that he stopped smoking after visiting a hypnotherapist at the Stevenson College in 2004.

He started smoking again in 2011.

However not everything my Brother says can be believed, though I can think of no logical reason why he would lie about this. But then again, my bro does not require logical reasons.

I personally have always considered hynotherapy to be quackery.

I apologise if this offends you. But you should not be offended as ultimately I don't actually know.

Perhaps you were even the hypnotherapist that cured him for 7 years?!

No offence taken. It's a valid view, even although I would obviously disagree :greengrin

It's part of my job to educate people about the realities of the process. And one of the realities is that, for many people, it works.

[Scouse Hibee]

It 100% won't. They are very well studied. They obviously aren't good for you but aren't even a fraction of the harm of cigarettes, the reduction in heart disease and cancer outcomes alone makes it a no brainer. Obviously the best outcome would be switching to vapes if it stops the smoking and then stopping completely. If that can't happen though the effects population wide are multiple times worse from smoking. I've never really smoked personally but have read enough and no the effects of smoking on the NHS, thankfully smoking figures are plummeting

I don’t believe it, far too many dodgy vapes about.

[McD]

My Dad quit smoking, 31 years ago, after being a smoker for 23ish years.


His motivation to do it, of all things, was us going on holiday and the airlines had stopped having smoking seats. He’d tried a couple of times to do it cold turkey and ended up going back. This time he spoke to the doctor, who suggested/prescribed nicotine patches. He’s never smoked since. He's always said that the hardest moments were the typical smoking times, like waking up in the morning and instinctively looking for cigarettes and lighter, or when he got in the car, he would always start the engine then immediately push in the cigarette lighter and be looking for his cigs.


He also used money as a motivator o keep going, putting away the money he would normally spend on fags, and every couple of weeks buy himself a treat like a cd or something similar, as a reward for keeping going. Then when he hit certain milestones, like 6 months or a year etc, he would get himself some new golf irons, or a new camera, all using the money he’d have literally burned on cigarettes.


I’m glad he did, as his health would likely be worse today for him not stopping, and at the time I remember little things like the living room seeming ‘clearer’ in the mornings, and the smell of smoke disappearing quickly.

[Edina Street]

I don’t believe it, far too many dodgy vapes about.

I stopped smoking for a while back in October after my release from hospital where I had blood clots and blue toe syndrome. For six days I did not know whether I was walking out of the ward, or hopping out on one leg.

I walked out on Deltaparin injections and Warfarin Tablets.

I also discussed with professionals my circumstances with cigarettes, and for a few days I tried various products which simply did not work.

Then one morning I decided to visit VPZ and I bought myself a vape with Tobacco flavoured Nicotine, and I was actually able to stop smoking.

Since then my Warfarin levels were always between 2.0 and 3.0 for months, until last month.

For four weeks now my Warfarin levels have been below 2.0, which means that my blood is to thick and I am once again at high risk of blood clots.

My ankle has went red and my left foot feels cold, which means I probably am getting blood clots again.

Is it any coincidence that four weeks ago I began smoking again? And not just any cigarette, but that filth I was telling you about.

In fact, I will confess that I allowed that filth into my house last May.

By June I have a thread on this Forum asking members of Hibs.net for advice on how to cure pneumonia after my mother suffered a bad bout of it and was given only 85% chance of survival. My Mother suffered "six" other bouts in quick succession lasting all the way up to October 6th when I got admitted with amputation being a possibility.

My Cat of 16 years of age suddenly died of Kidney failure in January.

However since October when I went on the vape, my Warfarin levels were always fine and I managed to recover from PAD and Blue Toe Syndrome at the same time as vaping. My Mother also stopped being readmitted with serious bouts of Pneumonia. Unfortunately my Cat still died.

The fact that since I have began smoking that filth again, my mother has not been effected does not mean anything, as I have been doing my smoking outside this time, and not in the house.

However I had my last Warfarin check yesterday morning, and I was yet again only 1.8. I literally came home and made this thread. Since making this thread I found "one" cigarette in my van and smoked it this morning. Apart from that I have been vaping.

I am highly confident that next week when I go for my Warfarin check my Warfarin levels will be between 2.0 and 3.0.

In fact, my left foot is feeling better today already.

So I think I have enough personal evidence to conclude that the vape is the lesser of two evils.

What I can't say for certain is whether it was the smoking in general, or just the smoking of cheap filth? Had I not came across the cheap filth, would the smoking of cigarettes from the shop still have caused me to almost suffer an amputation, with the passive effects also nearly killing my mother, and actually killing my Cat.

Disclaimer - For all animal rights activists, my Cat had a great life, was the most well looked after and happiest Cat in the world, was four years older than her natural sperm, and it is my deepest regrets that what I did may have caused added or quickened her demise.

[silverhibee]

The prices of cigarettes are now so unrealistic that the government are now just about practicing prohibition.

For those most addicted suicide may now actually even be an option.

What is the alternative to stopping smoking? Smoke that home made rubbish that our streets are now getting flooded with? And yes, our streets are becoming flooded with it.

How do I know that the streets are becoming flooded with it? Quite simply, when the raids begin, and the tabloids begin documenting it, the list of criminals that the police will be arresting will include old disabled grannies that live in old peoples homes. And when Grannies in housing shelters are buying from the street, we know that the prices of cigarettes must now be unrealistic, and the streets must be literally beginning to flood.

The quality of the home made stuff is rubbish. Utterly disgusting and completely horrible.

This stuff will definitely damage your lungs, give you blood clots and a heart attack. As our streets "and old peoples homes" are becoming filled with it, the most addicted users that buy this filth will soon be suffering major health problems.

The moral and ethical question is, who is to blame for this? The user? The dealers? Or the Government?

Anyway, I have been smoking since I was 17-years old. At my worsed chain smoked 100 per day. I have already had a heart attack and suffered from PAD, and have also stopped smoking twice only to restart again.

However after the latest government price hike and having tasted that home made trash and felt my left foot get colder and colder, that is it, I am out.

From now on it is the tobacco flavoured vape with 18mg Nicotene.

Good luck to anyone else that has decided it is time now.

P.S

(If your Grandmother or Grandfather is one of the remaining old school that got to their 80's just to become a criminal that buys, or even deals in this filth, please be aware that this is not something you should take lightly, and this "will" be their final months on this planet). The stuff is simply "boaking", and smoking it is the equivalent of having a terminal illness.

What’s the homemade stuff you talk about.

[silverhibee]

Trying hard not to make this read like a PR post.

For context, I'm a practising hypnotherapist, with a high success rate in helping people stop smoking.

I'm curious as to people's experiences, or thoughts, about hypnotherapy. Most of my clients for smoking cessation are women, which is similar to the gender-balance for other issues I support people with.

I'm guessing that most, if not all, posters here are male. So I suppose my questions are:-

If you have tried hypnotherapy to stop smoking, how did it go?

If you haven't tried it, what are the barriers preventing you?

I haven’t tried it and the reason for that is I like a nice joint at night time. :greengrin

I stopped last year for about 6 months then started again at Xmas.

[CropleyWasGod]

I haven’t tried it and the reason for that is I like a nice joint at night time. :greengrin

I stopped last year for about 6 months then started again at Xmas.

So it's you I smell wafting across my back fence ? :greengrin

The 2 aren't incompatible.

I've had a few clients who wanted off the fags, but the ability to have a joint when they want. It's a little trickier, depending on the amount of tobacco in your joint, but the important part of the process is giving you back control.

It's a little bit like those people (and I used to be one) who would have 10 fags when they're out drinking, and then never smoke for weeks, until the next drink. My ex hated me for that. :greengrin I had no explanation for that at the time, but in hindsight I was exercising a level of control that was reduced when I had a drink.

[Edina Street]

What’s the homemade stuff you talk about.

It is poison.

They wholesale at £35 a Carton and sell on the streets at £50 per carton.

In 9 years in the courier industry I have never came across dodgy cigarettes, yet in the last month I have received three offers from three different suppliers to transport this rubbish to Edinburgh.

However, all three sources are unaware that I already know about the products, and almost suffered an amputation because of them.

Therefore I completely understand that due to the prices, people need to make a living, and I deal with so many customers I do not keep record of names nor addresses and have no wish to get them raided, nor to accept the work. I have politely turned them down.

The point is not to grass them up, nor make them money, but to make people aware that this cheap filth is not the solution, and stopping smoking is the solution.

There are a lot of people turning to this rubbish however.

One elderly man with COPD got whisked off to hospital the other day clutching an oxygen bottle. He might be getting released today. This guy also coincidentally has been smoking the cheap filth.

[Bridge hibs]

Not so much stop smoking but related nonetheless, many moons ago on my wedding day my old father in law picked me and my best man up from Oxgangs, the old yin drove a cramped old nissan micra and we all smoked at the time, he smoked cigars

My bro in law was sat in the back with the only window being the wee clip open one. The old yin had his window open and my bro in law flicked his cig out of the drivers side window, however it blew back and dropped down the neck of the old yins shirt

He was screaming green murder as the cig singed his shirt and his back and the more he flapped the more the cig travelled. 3 of us bouncing around screaming like jessies in a wee micra was pure mr bean stuff

Unfortunately I made it to the church on time, fortunately the old yin only suffered minor burns and a few burn holes on his shirt 🤣

[Scouse Hibee]

I stopped smoking for a while back in October after my release from hospital where I had blood clots and blue toe syndrome. For six days I did not know whether I was walking out of the ward, or hopping out on one leg.

I walked out on Deltaparin injections and Warfarin Tablets.

I also discussed with professionals my circumstances with cigarettes, and for a few days I tried various products which simply did not work.

Then one morning I decided to visit VPZ and I bought myself a vape with Tobacco flavoured Nicotine, and I was actually able to stop smoking.

Since then my Warfarin levels were always between 2.0 and 3.0 for months, until last month.

For four weeks now my Warfarin levels have been below 2.0, which means that my blood is to thick and I am once again at high risk of blood clots.

My ankle has went red and my left foot feels cold, which means I probably am getting blood clots again.

Is it any coincidence that four weeks ago I began smoking again? And not just any cigarette, but that filth I was telling you about.

In fact, I will confess that I allowed that filth into my house last May.

By June I have a thread on this Forum asking members of Hibs.net for advice on how to cure pneumonia after my mother suffered a bad bout of it and was given only 85% chance of survival. My Mother suffered "six" other bouts in quick succession lasting all the way up to October 6th when I got admitted with amputation being a possibility.

My Cat of 16 years of age suddenly died of Kidney failure in January.

However since October when I went on the vape, my Warfarin levels were always fine and I managed to recover from PAD and Blue Toe Syndrome at the same time as vaping. My Mother also stopped being readmitted with serious bouts of Pneumonia. Unfortunately my Cat still died.

The fact that since I have began smoking that filth again, my mother has not been effected does not mean anything, as I have been doing my smoking outside this time, and not in the house.

However I had my last Warfarin check yesterday morning, and I was yet again only 1.8. I literally came home and made this thread. Since making this thread I found "one" cigarette in my van and smoked it this morning. Apart from that I have been vaping.

I am highly confident that next week when I go for my Warfarin check my Warfarin levels will be between 2.0 and 3.0.

In fact, my left foot is feeling better today already.

So I think I have enough personal evidence to conclude that the vape is the lesser of two evils.

What I can't say for certain is whether it was the smoking in general, or just the smoking of cheap filth? Had I not came across the cheap filth, would the smoking of cigarettes from the shop still have caused me to almost suffer an amputation, with the passive effects also nearly killing my mother, and actually killing my Cat.

Disclaimer - For all animal rights activists, my Cat had a great life, was the most well looked after and happiest Cat in the world, was four years older than her natural sperm, and it is my deepest regrets that what I did may have caused added or quickened her demise.

I still don’t believe it!

[Stairway 2 7]

I don’t believe it, far too many dodgy vapes about.

Well obviously if you buy dodgy vapes or fags then hell mend you but legitimate vapes have been studied well and the difference is so obvious it's ridiculous, cigarettes are obviously as bad a thing as you can voluntarily do to yourself.

That's the problem with scot and uk gov saying they will ban flavoured vapes from shops, counterfeits will go to 90% of sales. They saw an explosion of fakes in Australia when prohibited started and gang wars. You think they would learn from 500 years of failed prohibition on drugs

[silverhibee]

So it's you I smell wafting across my back fence ? :greengrin

The 2 aren't incompatible.

I've had a few clients who wanted off the fags, but the ability to have a joint when they want. It's a little trickier, depending on the amount of tobacco in your joint, but the important part of the process is giving you back control.

It's a little bit like those people (and I used to be one) who would have 10 fags when they're out drinking, and then never smoke for weeks, until the next drink. My ex hated me for that. :greengrin I had no explanation for that at the time, but in hindsight I was exercising a level of control that was reduced when I had a drink.

Not guilty, I moved from the Hill a couple of years ago :thumbsup:

I would never smoke a cigarette on its own, I find that disgusting as I do the smell of cigarettes, but put some green in a joint with half a fag and I don’t even smell the tobacco, just a nice aroma, my neighbours may disagree though :greengrin back to cold turkey on Monday though and have another wee break from it.

[Keith_M]

Reading people's terrible experiences, and the ridiculously high number of deaths from tobacco, I find it incredible that it's still legal.

I realise removing it completely would be an incredible challenge for the large number of people addicted to the stuff, but that fact that we've known about the effects of it for literally decades, the lack of government inaction until very recently is, quite frankly, shocking.

I've never been a smoker but my brother was and he sadly passed away due to lung cancer last August.

I wish you all well in trying to get yourselves free from this horrible addiction.

[Stairway 2 7]

Reading people's terrible experiences, and the ridiculously high number of deaths from tobacco, I find it incredible that it's still legal.

I realise removing it completely would be an incredible challenge for the large number of people addicted to the stuff, but that fact that we've known about the effects of it for literally decades, the lack of government inaction until very recently is, quite frankly, shocking.

I've never been a smoker but my brother was and he sadly passed away due to lung cancer last August.

I wish you all well in trying to get yourselves free from this horrible addiction.

It's falling pretty fast 45% of people 50 years ago to 14% now and mostly older. I thankfully think it will be about gone in a few generations. 45% is wild, the smoking ban must have helped greatly.

Was going to put this in pet peeves but went for a beer with my daughter yesterday and going along rose Street to get a seat outside and the outside areas were full with people smoking. Why should my daughter inhale cancer giving smoke. Lots of places in Europe have signs saying no smoking in seated areas, they should go to the side to have their fags.

[Bridge hibs]

Scary to think that tea rooms etc freely advertised smoking and cigarette brands in days of yore, this flyer from perhaps 40s or 50s

27883

Those tea rooms I believe are now Scotts Garage at the corner of Milton Road and Eastfield/Joppa

[Pretty Boy]

Reading people's terrible experiences, and the ridiculously high number of deaths from tobacco, I find it incredible that it's still legal.

I realise removing it completely would be an incredible challenge for the large number of people addicted to the stuff, but that fact that we've known about the effects of it for literally decades, the lack of government inaction until very recently is, quite frankly, shocking.

I've never been a smoker but my brother was and he sadly passed away due to lung cancer last August.

I wish you all well in trying to get yourselves free from this horrible addiction.

The change in law with regards to age restriction is the beginning of 'criminalisation'. No new, young smokers will be able to buy tobacco legally in the UK within a generation.

The issue then becomes the black market of course.

[Hibbyradge]

Did you ever read Allen Carr’s book?

That's what I was going to recommend. I started smoking at school and by the time I was 18, used to smoke 20/30 a day, more at the weekend when I was drinking. Id tried and failed to stop several times, but in my early 40s, I was given a loan of The Easy Way to stop smoking by the doctor's surgery.

To cut a long story short, when I eventually got round to reading it, I finished it the same day day, and I haven't smoked since then. That was over 20 years ago.

It's not a brilliantly written book, he's not a writer, but if you read it and do what he says, it will work. And quitting will be easy as the title says.

[Edina Street]

Had a morning cigarette yesterday morning and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was my last one so made do with the vape the rest of the day.

Woke up this morning and decided I wanted another morning ciggy so popped round to the shop.

I told the shop assistant that it will be 20 days before she sees me again.

However, hath cigarettes, "will" smoke.

Popping out right now for my forth.

So no more morning cigarettes after today.

It has to be completely quit.

[AT8]

I don’t know if they sell the in the UK, but mint nicotine lozenges are a godsend. After sucking on the first one, the very idea of smoking a cigarette is so repulsive, you’ll never go back to cigarettes again.

[EH6 Hibby]

I’m just back from a week in Tunisia. It’s still legal to smoke indoors there. It seemed about 70% of adults were smoking. A lot of French people and almost all seemed to be smokers. It’s mental, opened my case when I got back and it reeked of stale smoke.

To think that was norm here until 2006.

[degenerated]

I understand completely.

There is only certain things that the vape is compatible with, and going out drinking is not one of those things.

I travel to and from London for two days every seven days. The vape is not compatible for this, as I am very heavily addicted, I require to be sucking on the vape every few seconds, and keeping the vape charged during such a long journey has its problems.

So for those two days I will revert to normal cigarettes.

However I will pay three times more to buy them out of the shop, rather than smoke the gutter trash that is going about.I stopped smoking and switched to vaping about 10 years ago. Most of that time I had big cloud chucking vapes that were no use whatsoever for taking out when going drinking. Though I did manage to find things that I could take out and never went back to the fags.

I switched to nic salt liquid and used a smok rpm 40 which was much smaller and more practical for carrying in a pocket when out and about. The small 10ml bottles lasted for at least a couple of days. It was more like smoking than vaping, flavour apart. Would definitely recommend giving that method a try.

I stopped that completely about a year ago now. I didn't have any problem substituting the vape for the fags but I did find stopping vaping really difficult. Only just recently I noticed myself not thinking about it.

[grunt]

The change in law with regards to age restriction is the beginning of 'criminalisation'. No new, young smokers will be able to buy tobacco legally in the UK within a generation.

Pretty much the only good thing Sunak ever did. Shame that since he called the snap election the bill will no longer go ahead.

[Stairway 2 7]

Pretty much the only good thing Sunak ever did. Shame that since he called the snap election the bill will no longer go ahead.

Labour and Lib dems support and I think they will bring it in. Thankfully the public are doing it themselves, it's been a straight line from 45% to 14% smoking. Also the smokers left are heavily stacked in older groups so it'll die out regardless I think. Drinking is doing the same in the UK, each new generation Drinking less and less than the previous

Cocaine, steroid and cannabis use has been going the opposite way mind you. Teenagers that have tried cannabis went from 50% to 70% in 20 years so bans don't really work it's probably education?

[Edina Street]

As a reformed smoker that only smokes for two days of each week since approximately 19th May I think all smokers are a plague to society that are killing our NHS and need to stop effecting us non smokers with their filthy fumes and need to show some will power like me.

At least for five days of the week anyway!

P.S

My Warfarin levels shot up from 1.8 to 3.4 this week. So I went from my blood being to thick to being to thin. This is explained by the fact that I quit smoking the same week that my Warfarin was upped. Had it not been for the two days of smoking my Warfarin levels would have been about 5.0 given the amount of Warfarin I was on compared to the removal of the very thing that had been thickening my blood, and I would this week be at high risk of bleeding, which is the opposite of clotting.

So whilst I do not advocate smoking, I have actually found one thing that moderate smoking may actually be good for. And that is keeping your blood from becoming to thin.

P.S P.S

And before I get dogs abuse. I do acknowledge that smoking mostly causes thick blood, not thin blood, and my point is only valid in the event that you have Peripheral Artery Disease and have been prescribed to much Warfarin in a desperate bid to combat thickening blood.

And I also acknowledge that the reason I have PAD is due to excessive smoking. So don't smoke in the first place, and you will never find yourself in a position where a few cigarettes may be the very thing that saves you from having an internal bleed.

But I may actually be the first person in the world to find a positive for smoking. In the event of a car crash, accident or knife crime, it may prevent you from bleeding out before Paramedics and Police arrive.

I can think of no other positives however, only negatives.

[Benny Brazil]

Trying hard not to make this read like a PR post.

For context, I'm a practising hypnotherapist, with a high success rate in helping people stop smoking.

I'm curious as to people's experiences, or thoughts, about hypnotherapy. Most of my clients for smoking cessation are women, which is similar to the gender-balance for other issues I support people with.

I'm guessing that most, if not all, posters here are male. So I suppose my questions are:-

If you have tried hypnotherapy to stop smoking, how did it go?

If you haven't tried it, what are the barriers preventing you?

About 10 years ago I went to a hypnotherapist to stop smoking - after one session I walked out the building and chucked away the packet of fags and didn't even consider smoking for about 8 months after it. On a drunken night out had a cigarette and that was me back to 20 a day.
Went back to a different hypnotherapist about a year later and it had zero effect, left the session and then had a fag outside the building. I put it down to being a thing that you can only do once but may be totally wrong on that.
Have tried the Allan Carr book and also vaping but nothing seems to help. Went to my GP and he was less than helpful.
Due to the cost of a pack now am going to try and persevere with the vape and see how it goes.

[CropleyWasGod]

About 10 years ago I went to a hypnotherapist to stop smoking - after one session I walked out the building and chucked away the packet of fags and didn't even consider smoking for about 8 months after it. On a drunken night out had a cigarette and that was me back to 20 a day.
Went back to a different hypnotherapist about a year later and it had zero effect, left the session and then had a fag outside the building. I put it down to being a thing that you can only do once but may be totally wrong on that.
Have tried the Allan Carr book and also vaping but nothing seems to help. Went to my GP and he was less than helpful.
Due to the cost of a pack now am going to try and persevere with the vape and see how it goes.

Interesting, thanks.

The bit in bold. A few of my clients have that "it worked before, and then I fell off the wagon" experience. I've always been able to get them back off again. The primitive brain (which is in control when it comes to habits) has that positive experience in its memory; your intellectual brain (the sensible part that knows the rational reasons for stopping) doesn't always know where to find that experience, and the tools that it used before. It's the job of the therapist to help you find them.

Sometimes, it can be down to other factors in your life that are preventing you from using those tools. Again, a therapist can help identify them and deal with them.

I'd give it another go. You've done it before, and a decent hypnotherapist should be able to give you the best chance of doing it again.

[Benny Brazil]

Interesting, thanks.

The bit in bold. A few of my clients have that "it worked before, and then I fell off the wagon" experience. I've always been able to get them back off again. The primitive brain (which is in control when it comes to habits) has that positive experience in its memory; your intellectual brain (the sensible part that knows the rational reasons for stopping) doesn't always know where to find that experience, and the tools that it used before. It's the job of the therapist to help you find them.

Sometimes, it can be down to other factors in your life that are preventing you from using those tools. Again, a therapist can help identify them and deal with them.

I'd give it another go. You've done it before, and a decent hypnotherapist should be able to give you the best chance of doing it again.

Thanks CwG
I will have a look at it again.
One question that may or may not be subjective - is there different standards of hypnotherapists? By that I mean more around qualifications etc - how do you know who to choose and not potentially be ripped off?

[CropleyWasGod]

Thanks CwG
I will have a look at it again.
One question that may or may not be subjective - is there different standards of hypnotherapists? By that I mean more around qualifications etc - how do you know who to choose and not potentially be ripped off?

There are different teaching routes, but all decent hypnotherapists should be regulated by the National Council for Hypnotherapy. Ideally, also the Complementary and Natural Health Council. Both these bodies, as well as the therapist's own organisation (in my case, the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapists) are there to protect and maintain standards, as well as providing a complaints route for the public.

Insurance is also a must-have.

All of these things come with certificates, which a regulated therapist would be able to show you.

The Hypnotherapy Directory is a good place to start. https://www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk/

When it comes to making the right choice, recommendations help, of course. But, with any type of therapy, I think gut-feeling is important. So much of the process depends on having a good empathy between therapist and client. Not every therapist suits every client, and vice versa. So shop around... talk to people on the phone... get a feel for whether you feel comfortable with them.

[Edina Street]

There are different teaching routes, but all decent hypnotherapists should be regulated by the National Council for Hypnotherapy. Ideally, also the Complementary and Natural Health Council. Both these bodies, as well as the therapist's own organisation (in my case, the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapists) are there to protect and maintain standards, as well as providing a complaints route for the public.

Insurance is also a must-have.

All of these things come with certificates, which a regulated therapist would be able to show you.

The Hypnotherapy Directory is a good place to start. https://www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk/

When it comes to making the right choice, recommendations help, of course. But, with any type of therapy, I think gut-feeling is important. So much of the process depends on having a good empathy between therapist and client. Not every therapist suits every client, and vice versa. So shop around... talk to people on the phone... get a feel for whether you feel comfortable with them.

Sorry, I don't want to turn this thread into a thread about Hypnotherapy when it should be about smoking, but My Mother suffers from Functional Neurological Disorder which causes her chronic pain and due to her Liver Sclerosis she can't take strong painkillers, which is making her life hell. She has tried Acupuncture, Osteopathy as well as almost everything else, and nothing works.

Could hypnotherapy work?

[CropleyWasGod]

Sorry, I don't want to turn this thread into a thread about Hypnotherapy when it should be about smoking, but My Mother suffers from Functional Neurological Disorder which causes her chronic pain and due to her Liver Sclerosis she can't take strong painkillers, which is making her life hell. She has tried Acupuncture, Osteopathy as well as almost everything else, and nothing works.

Could hypnotherapy work?

Me neither, but yes.

[Andy Bee]

That's what I was going to recommend. I started smoking at school and by the time I was 18, used to smoke 20/30 a day, more at the weekend when I was drinking. Id tried and failed to stop several times, but in my early 40s, I was given a loan of The Easy Way to stop smoking by the doctor's surgery.

To cut a long story short, when I eventually got round to reading it, I finished it the same day day, and I haven't smoked since then. That was over 20 years ago.

It's not a brilliantly written book, he's not a writer, but if you read it and do what he says, it will work. And quitting will be easy as the title says.


That book was instrumental in me stopping smoking a couple of years ago after trying a number of other methods, 8 months stopped and then driving double manned I mentioned I'd stopped to the other driver and that I was still craving a smoke. He told me he'd stopped for years and assured me that if I had a cigarette I'd hate it and never crave them again. Like a ****** idiot I stopped the truck and asked the first person I saw smoking for a fag, I absolutely loved it. I'm back smoking albeit a fraction of what I used to but I know that book will have me stopped again in the very near future.

[grunt]

Sorry, I don't want to turn this thread into a thread about Hypnotherapy ...
Me neither but it seems to be in the news this week ...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/06/06/green-party-deputy-hypnotherapist-breast-size-women/


Green Party deputy is former hypnotherapist who said he could help women increase their breast size

[overdrive]

There are different teaching routes, but all decent hypnotherapists should be regulated by the National Council for Hypnotherapy. Ideally, also the Complementary and Natural Health Council. Both these bodies, as well as the therapist's own organisation (in my case, the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapists) are there to protect and maintain standards, as well as providing a complaints route for the public.

Insurance is also a must-have.

All of these things come with certificates, which a regulated therapist would be able to show you.

The Hypnotherapy Directory is a good place to start. https://www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk/

When it comes to making the right choice, recommendations help, of course. But, with any type of therapy, I think gut-feeling is important. So much of the process depends on having a good empathy between therapist and client. Not every therapist suits every client, and vice versa. So shop around... talk to people on the phone... get a feel for whether you feel comfortable with them.

Very interesting. My wife arranged to go to a hypnotherapist about her phobia of spiders but had to cancel as she tested positive for Covid. The hypnotherapist replied saying that this was very telling that she had cancelled and that she could tell from this that she neither had a fear of spiders nor had covid and that she really had a deep rooted fear of losing control most probably derived from childhood trauma and/or abuse.

All of this she apparently garnered from “sorry, I have to cancel our appointment as I have tested positive for Covid”

Absolute nonsense - no trauma or abuse, both of us had covid and she was/is terrified of spiders as is common. It really put my wife off going for any sort of hypnotherapy.

Presumably she could have complained about the woman to the relevant body?

[CropleyWasGod]

Very interesting. My wife arranged to go to a hypnotherapist about her phobia of spiders but had to cancel as she tested positive for Covid. The hypnotherapist replied saying that this was very telling that she had cancelled and that she could tell from this that she neither had a fear of spiders nor had covid and that she really had a deep rooted fear of losing control most probably derived from childhood trauma and/or abuse.

All of this she apparently garnered from “sorry, I have to cancel our appointment as I have tested positive for Covid”

Absolute nonsense - no trauma or abuse, both of us had covid and she was/is terrified of spiders as is common. It really put my wife off going for any sort of hypnotherapy.

Presumably she could have complained about the woman to the relevant body?

Jeezo .

Did she do mind-reading on the side? If so, she wasn't very good at it.

No decent therapist would do or say anything like that. It just makes the responsible ones look like snake-oil people.

To answer your question, yes, absolutely.

[Pretty Boy]

Very interesting. My wife arranged to go to a hypnotherapist about her phobia of spiders but had to cancel as she tested positive for Covid. The hypnotherapist replied saying that this was very telling that she had cancelled and that she could tell from this that she neither had a fear of spiders nor had covid and that she really had a deep rooted fear of losing control most probably derived from childhood trauma and/or abuse.

All of this she apparently garnered from “sorry, I have to cancel our appointment as I have tested positive for Covid”

Absolute nonsense - no trauma or abuse, both of us had covid and she was/is terrified of spiders as is common. It really put my wife off going for any sort of hypnotherapy.

Presumably she could have complained about the woman to the relevant body?

That's really poor.

I would urge her to try again with another hypnotherapist. I used CBT in the past to deal with my anxiety but complimented it some time later with hypnotherapy to tackle my almost crippling shyness and social awkwardness in certain social situations.

It may not be for everyone but it certainly can work. I went from being unable to maintain eye contact for more than a couple of seconds, becoming really clammy and faint when meeting new people and actively hiding when in public to avoid making contact with someone I knew but was uncomfortable around socially to working in a job that requires me to meet all kinds of new people weekly in a relatively short space of time.

During COVID when redundancy was a real possibility for me it was one of a couple of new careers I considered seriously looking into and I might still revisit it again in the future when the timing is more suitable.