Still going. Breathless.

At the end of next month, September, I will have been off the cigs for 8 years.
Now, if you knew me you would have said it was impossible. I thought it was impossible.

Advise for young smokers, stop now! Please.

You see, as you get older, the effects of the cigs really get to you.
Well over 7 years and it was hard work nipping down the road to the post office. This affliction has kind of crept up on me.
Is it age or the result of the fags?
My GP will possibly say it's a combination. It might be.

I just can't help thinking if I had quit when I was a lot, lot younger, maybe it wouldn't be as uncomfortable just walking.

At seventy one, it's a thing I will never know. So, just thought I would warn you.

There are so many things that can help you stop now. So go for it. Please don't leave it too late. x

April 12th 2015.

Hiya, I am now over 71. Happily, still not had a cig.
Not as much as a +Bisto Kid either. (Still like the smell though.)

I can't really tell you when I fully got over the smoking thing. What I mean, the time I forgot about them, not that I ever will but didn't think about them.
I forget I still have 200 duty frees in the wardrobe. Only if I am rooting in there do I remember.

The money I must have saved!!!
I have 2 +IPhones, 1 +Sony Tablet. One +Samsung Galaxy smart phone and a +HP laptop after my other gave up the ghost. I like my gadgets as you may have noticed.  

Also, now, get ready for this...... I have joined the Sport Center down the road. Gym, swim, aqua fit, tai chi and sauna and steam room.
To be honest, I have lapsed a bit going there. Must do better and I will.

Yup, all in all it's a good life on the other side! Worth the effort I think.

Pic taken last Tuesday, through that mist, there is the sea. Honest. x                                                      

2nd March, 2014

Yesterday I reached 70.
Nothing special or interesting about that eh? But... when I started my quit I said if I wanted a cig when I was 70, I would have one!
Quite looking forward to it I was.


So did I or didn't I? Nearly 6 and a half years later.
I will tell you, the answer is no, I didn't.
Not really in the mood for one either. Thank goodness.


There are times I do rather fancy a cig but not like it was in the early days. Now a bit like fancying a strawberry and not having any in the house. lol Can't be messed to go to the shop so just go without. Next time you see the strawberries, you just don't really want one.


Yup, those 200 are still in the wardrobe in the original duty-free packing.


Got a good few things with money I have saved. Not all at once of course.
New Samsung Galaxy 111..... second hand (but in really good condition) iPhone.
New camera and a Sony Tablet.

Over 6 years.

Hello, not updated this since February. Too busy frittering my time on Candy Crush on F/B and doing family tree. Also it's been a good summer this tear so sat out in garden a lot.
In April we had some things done around the house so it was rather traumatic!!

But anyway, at the end of September I have not smoked for 6 years. Really quietly pleased about that. Didn't really think I could do it.
I don't miss them now. It's been a long trail but I got there or rather, here.

Saved a small fortune too. (I like that bit by the way.) I know they like to hide packets of cigs now but in the smaller shops I stand on tip toe to see how much they cost now.
Yes, a fortune.  

Still have those 200 duty frees, still all wrapped in the packets. Not only do I rarely think of them, I rarely think of smoking either.

I still pop back to the Stayquit site........ a site I would recommend to anyone. Free and loads of support.

Take care, x

Feb 12th. 2013.Tuesday.

Hello all once again.

Hiya Ellen. Just found your supportive comments the other night. Thank you.
I think we should be very proud but somehow, I'm not. I just think I was silly to start smoking and wish I never had. But what is the use of that? It's in the past.

Trouble is you just don't realise how addictive it can be. Some can switch on and off but I never could.
(Let this be a warning. lol)
Take care all, soon be Spring, daffs popping up already! x

At Last!

Here I am again, at last. No sighing please.
I wanted to get back on here to maybe, as Smokelessellen said, if we only help one person to quit, it's good!
I fully agree with you Ellen.

Quitting is not that easy really. I used to think if I could stop smoking for one day I would have cracked it.
WRONG!
Not for everyone though. Some lucky ones just sail through it. Not me.

But at the end of March I will have been quit for five and a half years, not a cig, not a cigar or pipe. lol

Just to say good luck all you quitters if you happen to read this. Just grit those teeth and stop. You will be glad you did in the end. Honest.
Take care, x

Over 5 years now.

It's been over 5 years since I stopped smoking.
I am quietly pleased. Maybe I should be over the moon after all this time.

I do hope if anyone has ever read this blog, that they have or even are doing well. I think the trick is to really, really wanting to quit.

I found it a good deal easier when those horrible craves lessened. I know when they came they seemed intense although they may have only lasted a few seconds.

All the best to all my reader. Take care. x

Hello out there.

Well, it's been a good while since I wrote on here. Hope all is well with anyone who reads this! lol

I have not had a cig for 5 years and at the end of November, two months.
I can't quite believe it really. Asthma chappy pleased with me, re asthma, not stopping smoking. But I think he has said I was good for stopping once. If not, he should have.

The best bit is that I very rarely fancy a cig now. Yup, me who used to eat them as they were going out of fashion. Ok, not eat them but smoked as if there was no tomorrow.
I still have 200 duty frees, unwrapped, in the wardrobe. Forget they are there.
I mean, I know they are there of course but just don't think about them.

If you are considering of giving up now or maybe in the New Year, please try www.stayquit.co.uk

Well summer has well and truly gone, realy cold here. Floods in parts of the UK. Poor things.

Stay safe and warm please. x x x x

I did it!!!! Four Years.

Four years, 48 months and if I could do the maths, a lot of weeks and days. lol

That is how long I have been without a cig.

I am quietly pleased about it too.

What lovely weather we have been having lately. Very unusual for England at this time of the year. Not usually the kind of weather when you can sit out in the garden in warm sunshine anyway.

Feel sorry for the Isle of Man, they have rain but I am sure that they and Ireland will send us some soon.

Have a good weekend folk. x

Still going strong.

On the 30th Sept 2011 I will have been cigarette free for four years. I still find it hard to believe.

I was one of the ones who didn't find it easy. I had a mental block I think. Three days and the nicotine is out of your system. The thoughts lasted much longer for me.

So, stopped when I was 63 and stayed stopped. I decided that I would have a cig when I was 70 years old. That age is rushing along now.

I tried all sorts to help me stop. Patches, inhaler, Zyban and finally, Champix. I smoked a few after taking Champix. (Not recommended!) I felt so ill that it put me off smoking. But not for long.
Anyway, I kept at it and I am where I am today. :<))

I think the trick is to go minute by minute, keep putting off having that cig for a few minutes, then put off for an hour and keep going. Grit the teeth and ride out the urges.
Hope you maybe one of the lucky ones that find it quite easy. Lots of people do.

When I buy our lottery ticket I look at the price of cigs! Goodness me, I don't think I could afford it now.

I also used the website Stayquit. Such support and make online friends at the same time. It is free. You can either go private or public. Rant and rave and if you are public there will be people that have had the same things happen to them. Worth a look. Only need an e-mail address and that is kept private and you can have a "funny" name. No need to use your own name if you don't want to.

http://www.stayquit.com/
I don't get commision for that!!!
If you are trying, thinking of trying, good luck. Just go for it, keep trying and one day you will be four years too.

I will go now before my head grows so large I won't be able to get out of the door. lol
Take care all. x

Well, not a one.

Hello, good to be back.

The good news is that I am just over 3 and a half years cig free. The other good news is that although I still think of them now and then, I don't want one. Well, I don't think I do. lol

My plan was to have a cig when I get to 70. It's getting nearer so, will I?
I bet you I would be on about 20 a day again by now.
I noticed that the brand I used to smoke, (the cheaper end of the market,) were £6. something.

I bought a smashing little mobile /cell phone last week, I couldn't have done that if I still smoked. Would have to sell t'old fella on eBay to fund my habit.

I am here to say that it can be done. Not easy but neither was starting to smoke. Remember feeling quite ill. But it soon grabs yer.
Good luck if you are trying. Take care. x

Three and a half years.

Hello,

Well, here I am at three and a half years, cig free.

Even I am amazed.

Now and then I think I would love a ciggie. But the real craves have gone and sometimes I go for a day without remembering I smoked. lol

That was my biggest problem. For some reason I just couldn't and even now, can't forget the silly things.

I still act like a Bisto kid at the smell of a freshly lit cig. Strangely enough, NOT in enclosed places. But even then for a second or two, they smell good.

I still have the 200 duty frees, still unwrapped behind me in a cupboard. Forget which country they came from now. I do forget they are there though.

Spring is here in good old England, had a few warm days. But today it is clouding over and soon we will have rain, (so they say.)

Not complaining though. The world has had a few heartbreaking disasters since I last wrote in here so what's a shower or two?

Love to all.

Good luck new quitters who may read this and well done to anyone who has already beaten the addiction.

PS. I am not and never will be one of the reformed smoker types. I promise. Ha ha. x

3 whole years........

I say ---------> in 4 more days (Bedtime,) it will be three years since I last had a cig.
Yup, me, fagash annie.
So the 30th of Sept 2007 was my first day without a cig. I do have to admit that it wasn't the first time I tried to quit. Oh no.
Some of my quits lasted a little while and some just from waking up to actually going downstairs!
But now I have done it.
I must admit, even now and then I quite fancy one. I wonder if it was worth quitting? One life so enjoy it I think. Why go through all the quit stuff?

Well, saving my life, saving my money.
I am not sure whether I am a great believer in passive smoking but I don't rule it out either.
Too late for stopping for my kids, both in their 40's now. One smokes and one doesn't. Himdownstairs doesn't either.

I have bought a Wii for exercise. It's good fun too. I try and walk a good bit if possible too.
I don't work now so am not as active as I used to be. Don't have to get up at silly o'clock. Don't work the late shifts either. So it would be easy to put on tons of weight. Mind you, I was very skinny at one point. Maybe the bit of extra weight makes me look better. (If anything can!)

Ok, bragging over. Take care. x x x

Still not smoking.

Well, it's summer in England. Yup, rain, thunder and lightening the other night too. Breezy today but now dry.
BUT somehow I can't wait until it is the end of September. http://www.stayquit.com/ will ask me if I am still smokefree! The answer is yes.
Well up to now it is and I really want to get to that three year mark.
I don't want to wish my life away, I mean I am now 66 and time goes so fast as it is. But that red light and the email from Stayquit cheers me up no end. Must get out more eh?
I sometimes chat with a lady who gave up smoking on a Christmas Eve. (Must be about 5 years this Christmas if not more.) She said she chose Christmas Eve as the shops would be shut. That of course meant she couldn't go and buy any. Then she found out the store at the end of the road was open for a few hours. But bless her, she didn't give in.

Me and sister went to London in June for the weekend. Met up with cousins we haven't seen for years! Good time too.

Take care and have a great weekend. x

Still going.

Here I am, over 2 and a half years later and still not smoking.

Yes, me, the one who was first in the shop to buy ten or even five! In fact you could buy them singly at one time.
You could win them on the slot machine. My sister was good at that and used to sell them to me. lol
That's going back a good while now. Too long.
If you are thinking of it please don't leave it as long as I did.

It's a case of "Mama don't preach" isn't it? I don't want to do that.

Take care and have a great week. x

March 2010.

Just passed the two and a half years without a cig.

I still fancy one now and then but suppose as I have often said, they may be on my mind for a long time. I mean, I smoked for a long time.

But on the good side, it's so much easier. Don't get that gritting teeth feeling anymore. Just a passing fancy.

I really hope the New Year Quitters are doing ok. It will be about 3 months so if you are one of them, good going.

I wish every quitter good luck too of course. Keep going, you can do it.
anne. x

2010. Jan 20th.Latest news.

Belated Happy New Year to all.

It's ages since I wrote on here.
If you have given up the cigs for this New Year, good luck and it can be done. Trust me, it does get better with time.

At the end of March I will have not had a cig, no, not even one drag, for two and a half years. Even I cannot believe it.

Ok, it isn't easy especially in the beginning. No one said it would be though.
It is either easy or teeth grinding time.
I know I am contradicted myself but some find it relatively easy. If you are trying to stop I hope you are one of the former.

Reminding you about a good support site. http://www.stayquit.co.uk/
It's a wonderful site, well worth a try.

Take care.
anne. x

Two years.......Will I forget the cigs????

On the 30th Sept I had not had a cigarette for two years.

I don't update this site so often.

I noticed though that someone had kind of wondered if the feeling of craving or thinking of cigs or just wanting a cig would go. Well for me, now, the feeling is different. So I hope you come back and read this, it may help.

I think that depends on the person really. I am one of those who can't let go very easily.

But now the two years have passed it has got so much easier.

I think that proves that the thoughts are just in my mind, I don't or didn't really want a cig.

Oh yes, at first I did, used to lay in bed and think that I can't go through another day feeling like I did.

They say that after 3 days the nicotine has left your body and it's all in the mind after that.

It may not feel like it but after a while you can cope with any craves. I liken it to wanting a piece of chocolate and not having any in.

You can manage without it but it doesn't stop you wanting some but you can cope.

I wouldn't promise anyone an easy ride but some people report finding it really easy. If you quit I hope you are one of them.

Also, if you do want to quit and try, good luck, if I can, you can. If I can, anyone can.

X X X X X

The latest news.

Sand Art at Morecambe last weekend.

It has been a few months since I made an entry on here. Not a popular site but even so.

On the 30th of this month I will be 23 months without a cig. Not bad eh?? :<))

Last one smoked just before midnight on the 29th Sept 2007.
There is life after cigs.

It took me a few attempts to give them up. I don't apologise and I don't think I am a wimp, it is hard after many years of smoking to give them up.
I didn't really want to stop either so to me, it made it harder.

So why give up? Well, I was getting older, it happens to us all I know but 60 + was my time. I am pleased I have managed and hope I never fall back into the habit. It would be rather silly to do so but I was rather silly to start in the first place. But and this is my excuse, it was cool to smoke in the '60's. Some adverts say it was good for you.

We know better now don't we?
If you want to stop, please give it a good try. It is worth it. Honest.

Good luck.

anne. x

Keeping you up todate.

Trees in Ullswater.

Well, it's been a while since I came and wrote on here. I am sure I have been missed.

No??

Ok.

:<)

Well, I have not had a ciggy since the 29th September 2007. I think that was my first day without. Or was it the 30th???

It's well over 600 days, now how sad is that?

But I only know due to http://www.stayquit.co.uk/ Honest!!! I do wonder if I would have kept a count if I had done it without that site.

I have made some great friends from the site. Never met them but you tend to bond. We all go through the same type of things when we quit. Of course not everyone is the same. Not everyone quits in the same way either. But whatever, the support is there and it's free.

Ages vary, amounts vary too some people smoke 40 a day, some less. But whatever age and how many cigs smoked many were successful. One or two like me had a few attempts.

A few? That's a laugh. I had a lot.

I was smoking about 7 a day when I finally stopped. A bit more if I could get away with it! Goodness knows what it would be now.

I had told my old fella that I had stopped ages ago and was smoking sneaky ones.

Goodness me, I was 63!

The reason I lied and he wanted me to cut down was that one time I got an infection and had great difficulty breathing. It was very frightening. I smoked about 3 a day for a month or two. When I retired I was soon creeping up again.

Anyway I am now getting near to 20 months, four days to go! Something like that. I remember knowing to the minute when I last had a smoke.

If you do try to quit, good luck and please try and stick at it. X