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"quit" (21)
Rosalie
(59 years
)
Nationality Swiss 31 August 2021 |
I smoked my first cigarette when I was 17 and my last on 14 April 2013 , not counting 18 months of not smoking when I was 30 years old. A whole life with tobacco - it was my oldest friend. I quickly smoked a packet a day and at the end of my time as a smoker I was on 2 and a half or even 3 packets a day. Strangely, I found it harder to quit when I was 30 than I did this time. Back then I had made a bet with myself: You're going to quit, you're going to show everyone that you can. A year and a half later I relapsed, which is not surprising because I'd already won my bet, I'd successfully quit, and the smell of a cigarette that a friend lit in front of me was so tempting Anyway, this time it took me a year and a half to decide to quit, to prepare myself, to convince myself that I could do it, however hard it might be. And then one day when I was surfing the Web I came across Stop-tabac.ch by chance and I've been on it ever since. My decision was made and it was time to start acting, and it is Stop-tabac that has helped me, and all the members of the team who have helped me patiently and calmly, picking me up whenever I felt down. As much as I wanted to quit smoking, I didn't want those around me to suffer because of it, and I didn't want to put on weight. I therefore used Zyban in the way prescribed by stop-tabac and in the following months I took Prozac to get over the difficult moments and avoid testing my resolve. To control my weight, I drank sparkling water every time I felt the need to raise something to my lips. I drank it directly from the bottle like a baby, and sometimes drank 3 liters in a day, but it worked. So, now I'm 64 and rediscovering tastes and smells that I knew in my childhood and that I had lost. I've also got my breath back so I run, I walk, I swim, I live. The smokers around me don't bother me now either. In fact, when I see someone smoking, especially a woman, I think it looks very unsightly, very ugly. I feel so strongly that it's a drug that I want to tell them, please stop destroying yourself. But you can't make other people happy, can you?
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• 40 to 60 years old
• Quitting methods
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• Ex-Smokers
Mathieu
(56 years
)
Nationality Swiss 31 August 2021 |
Hi there, I consider myself to be an ex-smoker now. I quit on 14 mars2016, thanks to your site which I came across by chance. I read the testimonies by other people, then I started a blog myself and received testimonies from other people who wanted to quit like me I read the site often, and encouraged other people myself. In fact it's a sort of bet with myself if other people can do it then why not me. That's the challenge I set myself and so far, I'm holding out. The day I came across Stop Tabac was for me the turning point. Articles, personal stories and lots of other things beside have been created to help you and I think that's great. I was an alcoholic but have been sober for 19 years and now I'm in charge of a help association for alcoholics. You see, anything is possible. Although I have problems just like everyone else, I no longer need a glass or a cig to solve them. Whether you're happy or sad, neither alcohol nor tobacco help us it's just an illusion, a feeling of wellbeing that's very fleeting, but also sneaky because you have to regularly increase your dosage and by the time you've realised you've got a problem, it's generally too late, you're addicted, and at that point you start saying, I'll stop! But tomorrow! I could write pages here, but I just want to tell those who want to quit: YES, IT'S POSSIBLE. Best wishes, and thanks again.
Brigitte
(41 years
)
Nationality Swiss 31 August 2021 |
The month of May is coming the beautiful month of May. Last year I said to myself I'm going to quit. I can stop whenever I want, anyway, so I'm going to stop now. 2 packets a day, the smell, the smog, as I called it.the cough in the morning, the hoarse voice, and often the fear of straining something or coughing my lungs out! So when May came along with the challenge of 31 days of not smoking (in Switzerland) I thought to myself, why not? Suddenly people were saying chicken, you don't dare! and you won't last 3 days all around me. This lack of faith in me annoyed me. Yes, I'll admit it, I stopped smoking to shut my colleagues up and leave them to get on with their gossiping behind my back! That was 16 May 2015 Twelve months later, they've stopped offering me cigarettes in the morning with a wicked smile, and one member of their clan has even joined me over on this side of the fence. It was the first time that I'd tried to quit smoking. I was 42, and I'd smoked since I was 16, so you can do the maths. At first, I played the hard woman the smell didn't bother me in the slightestand then I decided to stop lying to myself! It stinks, and now I can't stand those who make the air around me smell disgusting, and make all my moments smell and taste disgusting. I suppose I've become a bit intolerant. Now, I make people smoke outside when they come to mine, and if I'm forced to go somewhere where people are smoking, I wash my clothes as soon as I get home. Apart from bringing out this pretty crazy side to me, quitting smoking has also given me a fantastic trip to London. I honestly put the price of two packets of cigarettes in a piggy bank, that's 11.60 francs a day. I split the pig open in February, went on the trip, and I still didn't spend all the money I'd saved! And the best thing is that no longer smoking has brought me back the taste of my meals, the smell of flowers, my breath when I go on long walksmy dogs thank me every day. I haven't put on an ounce because I didn't replace my cigarettes with food. *I am already quite round, so I was very strict with myself about this :o).* I can only encourage those who read this to go for it and to ignore all those friends who say you won't be able to do it. They say that because THEY wouldn't be able to do it. Nobody believed in me on 16 May last year. Nobody! (I didn't even believe in myself!) I am proud of myself today, and I'd like to thank everyone at Stop-Tabac, where I was able to find everything I needed to be successful. I'll never be a non-smoker, I will always be an ex-smoker, a bit like alcoholics who no longer touch a drop. To quit using a drug is to carry on living, and it's wonderful!
Maud
(33 years
)
Nationality canadian 31 August 2021 |
Hello! My name is Maud and I wrote my personal experience on this site just under a year ago, when I quit smoking. It will be a year in a few more days and I'm proud, extremely proud. I'm writing again today to show you that yes, it is possible. A year ago I smoked a packet of cigarettes a day. I no longer touch cigarettes and it's not torture, it's a joy. Believe in it, try it, and try it again. And say stuff it to the people who don't believe in you. Find your own motivations, write them down, at home, at work, in the car (thank goodness for Post-Its!). I've had a pretty bad year, to be honest I've cried, I've lost sleep, I've ballooned in weight (gained 22 pounds!), I had pimples all summerbut I came through it all. I gave myself a year to evacuate cigarettes. Here's the proof of it. *I cried for hours on end for no apparent reason. My best friends tried to help and ended up laughing at me, while I was still crying! But it passed. Now I've got my spark back! *I lost sleep. Yes, and that still happens from time to time. I look at the positives hot milk before bed, relaxing infusions, soft music, baths with candles and essential oils. My little girl loves it. So do I. Trying to cure your insomnia is not so bad after all! *My weight has ballooned. Ah yes, I must admit that that is really unpleasant. But I had accepted it might happen and I think that it has really contributed to my success in quitting. A year of being chubby for a healthier life. I'll take it. If I start attacking the green beans instead of the biscuit tin, the scales will soon start smiling again. And with them, my clothes. And as for me, I'm not even thinking about it! *I broke out in pimples in the summer. That, girls (and boys) is the time to go to a beautician for a bit of facial pampering. Take some time for yourself, look after yourselfwhat could be better? I'm now starting my new, healthy life as an ex-smoker. My two best friends have just quit, too. They are sick of having to go outside to smoke when we're all inside! If they are reading this, I'd like them to know that I believe in them. Finally, if I've got enough willpower to quit smoking, I've got enough willpower to achieve many, many things, haven't I? Woohoo!"
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• 20 to 40 years old
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• 20 to 40 years old
• Quitting methods
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• Women
• Ex-Smokers
Cedric
(37 years
)
Nationality Swiss 31 August 2021 |
I waited for the desire to quit smoking to come to me. I had tried to stop ten years ago but without any real conviction. Then one morning about a year and a half ago, I was outside smoking the last cigarette in my packet and it was so cold it was snowing. I realized that part of my actions were dictated by tobacco, and that made me want to stand up to it. I decided to free myself and I quit. I'd been smoking for 20 years, and the desire to quit only came to me once in all that time. I didn't want to miss the boat. Tobacco left my life just like that, and I didn't miss it, because I defied it. I also defied all the people who told me I'd only last a month, and then 2 months, then 6 months, then a year My defiance allowed me to never let down my guard.
Claudia
(41 years
)
Nationality Holland 31 August 2021 |
It's now 6 months since I stopped smoking. I wore patches for the first 2 months so I had time to change my habits without missing the nicotine. After that, I stopped using the patches and apart from feeling a bit on edge from time to time, everything went really well. To be honest, my last few years of smoking were completely devoid of pleasure and full of guilt, and I realize now that it was harder to smoke than it was to quit! Let's stop talking about how hard it is to stop smoking - all that does is scare smokers and put them off trying to quit. Personally, I stopped smoking without any great effort, without gaining more than 4 pounds, and without making myself into a martyr. The desire to smoke is like a beast in your belly that demands feeding It is not really you it got introduced into you and can leave again. The sooner you stop feeding it, the sooner it disappears. Cutting down on cigarettes just keeps the beast alive. I would like my personal experience to reassure smokers who want to quit that it is not so difficult. Since I stopped smoking, I enjoy my life a lot more. I no longer have to live with the guilt I felt in relation to my children, my health and my wallet. I'm finally at peace with myself. That really makes it worth giving up for good. Forget whatever people have told you, and make quitting work for you. You'll soon see that it's much easier than you thought!
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• 40 to 60 years old
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Anonym
(62.7 years
)
Nationality canadian 08 September 2020 |
Well here I am reading testimonials of successful quitters, recent and years gone by. I stopped smoking today. I have been a smoker for 54 years of my 62+ years, and cannot remember not even ONE DAY without those bastards. I will not share the reason I got tricked into addiction, that is, smoking in the first place; suffice to say, I was very young, and very vulnerable. Hopelessness, anger, frustration, defeat, and a battered self worth is all tobacco has to offer. Regardless of one's intelligence, addiction, is addiction, period!! Two options become ultimately apparent; keep on the speeding path toward early death, or QUIT!! It became that simple to me a few days ago. Last week I walked to the end of my driveway, and was panting from the uphill return to my home. When I thought about it, I remembered a number of times I had to sit down from my renovation efforts at home, excusing it as "renovations are intense work, and I am, after all, 62 years of age.............." They taste like crap, they smell like crap, they get ashes and yellow everywhere, clothes and all. Anyways I didn't really come here to tell you all what you already know. I read some pretty emotional testimonials here, and really wanted to say THANK YOU, ALL!! I felt alone till now, and my gorgeous wife of 35 years quit smoking 11 years ago, and I couldn't find the strength it took for her to quit, and use it on myself. All the testimonials I read here have helped me tremendously to get through DAY #1!! So, THANK YOU, AGAIN!! Still it is a lonely walk of shame for the time being, but as one testimonial said it best, and hopefully this is true, "the first few days are the hardest". Thanks again, everyone, and best of wishes to all!! :)
Elise
(28 years
)
Nationality French 11 December 2016 |
My story with tobacco finally looks like a success story and the app 'Stop-Tobacco' was really decisive in that success. I started smoking around the age of 15 years old. At first, I never thought I could be addicted to it. I would only smoked sporadically without ever buying my own cigarettes. But by the age of 20 I was smoking every day around 10 cigarettes a day and any attempt to quit was quickly followed by a relapse. I did manage to reduce the number of cigarettes I was smoking at times (especially between 24 and 26 years old) but I never completely gave up smoking altogether. In the last two years, I had become really upset about my smoking habits, for various reasons: my teeth were becoming BROWN, the number of cigarettes I was smoking was increasing (I started chain smoking), but the idea to quit seemed more and more difficult. And all of a sudden things worked out! Here is what I have done. 1. First, I told a few relatives I was quitting NOW, so that it pressured me to keep up with my commitment 2. Second, I downloaded the stop tobacco app and read it every day, several times a day. 3. Third, I used tobacco replacement therapy after a month (the first month I did it without but I gained weight; as soon as I introduced the replacement therapy, I stopped eating compulsively) 4. Fourth, I didn't chose a holiday period to quit, as I would usually do, but a normal work time. I think it's best to stop when it seems most difficult. 5. Fifth, I was not drinking alcohol during this time. Drinking would have favoured a relapse. And to my surprise, it worked out! I can proudly say that it has been 297 days. I have gained 34 days of life and 1888 euros. Now every time I see someone smoking my brain produces some kind of red signal: "Danger! Danger!" What used to be my best friend has become my ultimate enemy. I want to warmly thank the designers of the app. I couldn't be more grateful.
Jeremy
(30 years
)
Nationality Swiss 31 August 2021 |
Hello everyone. I started smoking when I was 12, which might seem young, but if you start at that age, it's just to fit in with the group, to seem cool and not get rejected. But at that age, you also have no idea how much smoking can damage your health. I got caught up in the whirlwind. At 16 I managed to stop smoking for a year, but a short period of depression followed and I fell back into it, dragged down by a friend who was doing just as badly as I was. I should never have restarted! A few years later, I started realizing how much cigarettes were damaging my healthwhen I ran I tasted blood, I threw up more often, I was nervous, on edge, often tired, my breath was like a camel's and I started really worrying about how stained my teeth were getting. Then I met a 45 year old woman with a hole in her throat. She'd had a tracheotomy (already, at her age) because of smoking, so I couldn't understand a word she was saying. And that was the trigger for me. As soon as I got home, I threw away all my cigarettes and now I haven't smoked for a year. I still think about it, because you need a lot of willpower to quit, but it's changed my life. My skin is brighter, I no longer have stained teeth and I have reduced my risk of getting cancer. And I hope that everyone who wants to quit smoking does it, because now I miss certain nights out to avoid suffocating on other people's cigarette smoke, and I'm sick and tired of washing clothes that stink after less than an hour!! Now I know how left out non-smokers can feel and I really regret having put a cigarette in my mouth for the first time. Honestly, you're better off without them!
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• 20 to 40 years old
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• 20 to 40 years old
• Cancer
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• Men
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Georg
(67 years
)
Nationality Swizerland 31 August 2021 |
I was a hardened smoker, and when I decided to stop I was smoking two packets of cigarettes a day. The ones I smoked were those brown tobacco cigarettes that stink and have no filter - those handed out to the army in the 60s! I was 37 years old and had been smoking for twenty years. Because I knew that my behavior caused me to argue with my friends and family, that I was setting a bad example to my children and that I was damaging my health (and no one even mentioned passive smoking then!) and above all that I was being very stupid, I decided to finish with cigarettes. I had to take the plunge. I decided that, in fact, I only enjoyed about four or five cigarettes of the forty or so I smoked per day, and that if I managed to resist these the battle would be won. Furthermore, I decided that I would no longer lower myself to such a pointless act. Armed with these arguments, and knowing that it had to be all or nothing, I stopped smoking overnight. Once you've decided to quit, the following are the keys to success: *Learn to resist the four or five cigarettes that seem essential (first thing in the morning, after a meal, and so on). You must learn to put up with the craving for about one or two minutes per cigarette, and make sure that you distract yourself during this time. After 4-5 weeks, the intensity of the craving dies down and it disappears completely after 2-3 months. *Have a steel resolve, and simply refuse to raise a cigarette to your lips. *Do some physical exercise. *Stop thinking that we are all victims of modern life and that cigarettes can help us to fight our depression. After the experience I had, I believe that only willpower and good sense can put an end to the habit of smoking. I'll let you imagine what I think of patches and other hypnosis methods - anyone who claims to have found a solution for hardened smokers is on to a very lucrative commercial product. Still, if one of these products helps you to quit, why not! I can't rave enough about the sweet things in life that tobacco robs us of while we are its victims, and that we rediscover as soon as we free ourselves from its grip.
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