12 months almost without a Fag

[birdy]

Stopped smoking last november can't remember the day but a year approx, In the early days its tough when after smoking for nigh on 40yrs you just stop ,certainly missed the act of smoking not sure about the addiction to nicotine thing but anyway i cant ever see myslf lighting up ever again but never say never. To be honest i have not noticed any medical benefit in fact ithink stopping has caused more problems, Doctor told me that i had been having a daily anasthaetic (spelling ?) for the period i had smoked and it had masked some discomfort feelings that i now have .Obviously it would have been better never to have started to smoke and i think education to prevent others from starting needs altering because it does not seem to be working as it seems more youngsters than ever now smoke .Each county could have a place of learning that all school children attend in their early years it should be ex smokers getting accross the info and should include some graphic harsh content . How much if any impact did smoking have on type 2 and its complications ?

[bel]

Congrats on being cig free for a year, brillant well done

I know i started smoking at school and even though i knew it was bad, i just thought i will give up before it does me any damage and anyway it won't effect me, i won't get addicted

What a silly girl i was then :-[

[Perpetua]

Many congratulations Birdy!

I do wonder though, even with hard hitting anti smoking education for children, how effective it would actually be?

When you're young/younger you do, well I did, think that you're immune from any future health issues from smoking . . . I don't think anything would have put me off of smoking if I'm honest.

As young women, we also used smoking as a means of 'weight control' with ciggies being an appetite suppressant . . . being thin, was more of a priority than a healthy lifestyle.

Sad but true.

[bel]

Yes very sad but so true for me aswell Perpy

[ian]

Big congratulations Birdy,i was so proud of myself when i got to the magic 12 month mark cig free.Now just need to cut my 2ml a day out and i can quit nic forever.Easier said than done but i will do it eventually

[jerryrm]

Congratulations, Birdy and well done. I'm afraid that educating kids about the dangers of smoking won't do much good. No doubt a few will learn and not take up smoking, but most think that it can't happen to them, so it won't have any effect.

[Gordy]

congratulations on your anniversary Birdy

i'm not sure that education is actually lacking... i was well aware of the dangers of smoking from a very early age.... in fact i didn't even start till i was 23. at which time i hung out with new friends and the odd 1 or 2 social ciggys quickly became a daily habbit

[birdy]

I still reckon get kids at say 8/9 and give it pretty bluntly with pictures and people telling of their been there done it experience and add in the odd gravely ill person struggling to walk and breath etc and i think it would hit home much more than say warnings on cig packets and the like that almost now blends in and is hardly noticeable, Need also to try and at least get to zero nicotine vaping and just hope the boffins don't come up with some other reason not to vape .

[Anne (fuzzy)]

To be honest, even though it's not been that long since I packed in smoking, I haven't had any health benefits that I'm aware of. I don't have more energy, don't feel fitter, food tastes no different and my sense of smell hasn't improved. Maybe it's because I'm still passively smoking? I don't know.

It's a good idea IMO, to think back to our very first cigarette. How disgusting it tasted and it made us (well, me anyway!) dizzy.
It was a boyfriend who started me smoking. We were walking alongside a river. He gave me a cigarette and said try it. I didn't want to, but he insisted I gave it a go as he said it was enjoyable and everyone who was anyone smoked. It made me cough as well as dizzy and I almost fell in the river. I was 16 at the time. But that was the start of it and I smoked ever since. The boyfriend, who I'm still in touch with on facebook, gave up years ago, but I was well and truly addicted, thanks to him.
We were still at school at the time taking exams and we smoked behind the bike shed, then sucked polo mints to get rid of the smell before we went back to class!

Did anyone actually enjoy their first cigarette? It would be interesting to know.

Edited to correct a 'typo'. (My excuse and I'm sticking to it! )

[Jemima]

That is wonderful, well done Birdy!

[monster74]

Well done Birdy!!!

I didn't enjoy smoking for the first few weeks I did it, but I persevered, what's that about :/ then preceded to smoke for the next 25 yrs. I stopped because it was so expensive and I hated the social stigma. If I am honest I really liked smoking, but vaping is slowly filling the gap.

N x

[Sandra (aka Chillax)]

Well done and a huge CONGRATULATIONS :-)

[Arcane]

Nice bench mark birdy! One I someday will attain

I remember my first puff. My gran left her's burning in the ashtray while she went to the kitchen to make a cuppa ... I sneaked a draw wondering what was so fascinating about these smoking sticks that the three main adults in my life smoked. God; I thought I was going to pass out and it tasted disgusting!!! Decided I would never do that again...

... until I hit high school and met peer pressure. Funny thing; the holidays I went without.

The effects of smoking is every where. On the packets you buy, posters in the doctor's waiting room. Educationally, maybe there is something lacking in the delivery to make younger people understand what exactly they are doing to their bodies if they started. But peer pressure often nullifies any understanding education/common sense anyone has. Mayhaps subconsciously we all think we have a little of Superman in us and a fag just wont be our kryptonite.

[birdy]

Most of the anti cig stuff now is so common place nobody takes any notice, Just saw a tv prog showing effects of ignored diabetes - Feet turned gangrenous and needing to be amputated - now thats hard hitting , The anti smoking is not working with the young especially female of today and needs a change of attack.