how the hell do I stop smoking?

I quit 9 months ago using the patches and chewing gum, not the nicotine gum cos I can't stand the flavour! I put every penny saved towards the wedding which really helped our budget. And I set up an inspiration page on pinterest - take a look, the link is in my sig x

I'm not a smoker so can't really offer any advice BUT an old colleague of mine and her hubby quit smoking together and with the money they saved over a 12 month period, went on an AMAZING 5* two week holiday to the Maldives!!

My dad quit years and years ago by sucking mints (not good for the teeth) but then switched to sugar free gum. He still has to have gum in the car / van!

OH quit by using the Nicorette spray but then became addicted to that instead! Eventually managed to get him to kick that by refusing to kiss him after he sprayed (it tastes nasty!)

I've never had to "give up" smoking because I've never been a proper smoker - I can smoke one weekend and then not smoke again for a year - but like WickyWack above, my mum's friend gave up smoking and used the money he saved to go to Australia a year later.

I gave up 2 years ago, i used to leave my bank cards and money at home when i went to work so i didn't have the money to buy them, and then by the time i got in from work it was time to sort my son out homework/dinner/bath /bed and then cause i was at home by myself, he was in bed and i couldn't go out and get some even if i wanted to!

I did eat a lot though!

I brought an e-cig but didn't use it, was just a bit of security knowing it was there.

The money i saved went on a lovely leather recliner 3 seater and 2 seater :-)

Go to your GP and get champix, it's the only method of quitting that doesn't include nicotine, so after 72hrs it's all in your head. Everything else keeps you dependant on nicotine.

**BT**

My OH and I quit in January and then fully in April - we went on to e-cigs in Jan because we were starting to talk about planning to start a family, then we went to an open evening at a fertility clinic and spoke to the egg sharer coordinator and she said one of the stipulations was that you must be a non smoker, we responded 'oh it's OK we're on the e-cigs' and she said no, you'll be tested for nicotine. We dropped our e-cigs in the bin on the way out and didn't look back.

It was not easy coming off the e-cigs though, it was as hard as coming off real cigs. We were on holiday the following week and oh lord were there tears and tantrums! We sat through an entire meal one night taking it in turns to silently cry because the other was being 'mean'!!

Seriously though, it's completely do-able. I smoked since I was about 14 too (21 years!!!!) and my OH was a pretty heavy smoker who LOVED smoking and had no inclination to quit ... and we've both done it. So very proud of us, a non-smoker could never appreciate the constant torment of quitting!

OH had her nicotine test last week and passed, such an awesome feeling

I'm not a smoker but my Mum smoked for years, said one day she was giving up and that was the last she smoked.

She had chewing gum a lot and said when she had a craving she'd drink a glass of water and felt it helped a bit, other than that it was will power.

I'm sure you can do it...good luck!! Just think of all the benefits you'll feel and money you'll save! Let us know how you get on