Back To The Beginning...

If you are visiting this blog for the first time then thank you! I appreciate the number of people reading my experience of quitting smoking and I hope that in some way it helps. If even one person is encouraged or inspired to stop smoking, or perhaps just to keep on trying, then my time writing hasn't been wasted.

Actually, I wouldn't ever consider the time wasted anyway, because at the time it was a very effective and helpful activity for me which definitely improved my chances of quitting successfully. And I would highly recommend any prospective 'quitter' to consider keeping their own diary or blog both to record the experience, and as an outlet for some of the challenges they might face.

Now, if you have found Help Me Quit Smoking in the hope of finding some useful tips and advice about how you can stop smoking yourself. Then you have come to the right place; I don't pull any punches and tell it exactly how it is / was. This is my real life genuine experience of quitting smoking and I wrote it as it happened from day to day. But you will have to go back to the beginning to get a proper idea of how the process pans out. So may I suggest you travel back with me to December 2005 when I was still a smoker? Click here to go back >

Happy To Help You Quit Smoking

When I started writing Help Me Quit Smoking more than two and a half years ago, I was focusing day to day on how to manage without cigarettes in my life and couldn't really imagine how I would feel as a genuine non-smoker. Now the battle is won - I am an ex-smoker and most days don't even consider life with the dreaded weed at all. Which is why I don't post here as often as I used to: The fact is; it doesn't even cross my mind. That is a good thing in my opinion as it proves that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Lately I have received quite a few comments and messages from people who are just starting out on their journey of giving up smoking, or are sometimes only several days down the line. The fantastic thing for me is that they find reading about my own experience of quitting helpful and often encouraging. Perhaps knowing that what they are experiencing is 'normal' for a quitter, or simply that they are not alone is all it takes to keep going for just another minute, hour or day.

So, do I have any tips for quitting? Well, read about how I conquered the addiction and remember, you only have to quit one cigarette at at time. Just don't give in to the one you are craving right now and the rest of the battle will follow one cigarette at a time. Take your mind off it; go for a run, take a shower, eat an apple, chew some gum, whatever it takes to get past that craving feeling - it only takes a minute and you could probably even hold your breath for that long. So do you really need to spoil your efforts so far by giving in?

Finally, you could also start your own blog or if you want to keep it to yourself perhaps a personal diary. One thing I know is that writing things down in whatever form you choose really helps - it makes you more committed to the cause and gives you an outlet when things seem grim or impossibly difficult. And who knows? In another couple of years you could also be getting messages from people who find your thoughts helpful in their own journeys to become non-smokers.

Thanks for your comments and keep them coming. Life as a non-smoker really is healthier and happier. Good luck!

Welcome To The Majority

I can't believe it is almost two and a half years since I quit smoking cigarettes. The time goes so quickly! I take it for granted now that I can breathe more easily and am so much fitter and healthier than before. It is nearly a year since the ban on smoking in enclosed public areas too; which is in my opinion one of the best things that has ever happened for people like myself who have given up smoking.

Everywhere you go nowadays you see smokers standing outside buildings getting their fix, sometimes huddled together in groups, but often standing alone and shunned by the non-smoking majority. Yes, I know it's a major inconvenience for smokers, especially when it is cold or raining, but just think of the benefits: no more orangey yellow nicotine stained ceilings, no 'passive smoking' while inhabiting smoke filled pubs, and no more going home with your clothes smelling of second hand smoke. But the biggest benefit has got to be that ex-smokers, and especially the newly given up, don't have that constant reminder of the smoking habit while out socialising; which was always the most difficult time.

So my thoughts today are with all of those new quitters out there: Welcome to the majority, stick with us and enjoy the smoke free environment of our public buildings.