I lit my first cigarette at a holiday camp when I was 11 or 12. But I consider that I didn't really become part of the smoking clan until I was 15, when I was smoking a good 20 cigs per day. That was fine and we were all much less aware of the harm that smoking could do. My father died age 59 of cardiovascular problems due in large part to cigarettes. My mother stopped smoking then but it didn't stop cancer of the vocal cords catching her and then, 15 years later, cancer of the larynx. As for me, I carried on smoking a packet a day minimum. Quitting was out of the question and I never even tried once in nearly 30 years (except during my pregnancies, when I was lucky enough to be repelled by the smell of cigarette smoke). However, two summers ago, we went to Scotland on a family holiday, and stayed in the middle of nowhere with only sheep for company. It was here, among all that nature, that my husband and I decided to smoke our last cigarette. The fact that we were away from our normal lives for three weeks was really essential. In the first few days I would pace up and down like a bear in a cage, especially in the evenings at the time when, a few days earlier, I smoked the best cigarettes. But I held out. I went walking down the empty roads or cried in the fields and I came back feeling calm. The hardest thing was coming home to our old routine and the little habits we'd forgotten. I discovered a little trick that helped me a lot instead of settling down on the sofa at the end of the day, I'd take myself off to bed with a good book. I'd never smoked in my bedroom so the call of cigarettes wasn't as strong there. Now there's nothing much other than driving and the odd bit of road rage that make me think of cigarettes. I used to smoke a crazy number of cigarettes in my car. Two things stop me from going back to cigarettes: the memory of my dependency and the feeling of panic I used to get when I saw that my packet was nearly empty. I used to have to get in the car and drive as long as it took to find somewhere to buy cigarettes. Sunday was an awful day for that. Whenever I see people queuing on Sundays and bank holidays at the only kiosk that's open in the area, I tell myself I had a lucky escape. Another thing that plays in my favor is the awful smell that surrounds smokers and the image that they project. I used to be someone who drove around with a cigarette in her mouth, one of those people who lights up in the street, and the smell of stale tobacco clung to me despite my best efforts. Now I think people who walk around with a fag in their mouth look awful and it's really unpleasant when wafts of tobacco smoke reach my nostrils when a smoker says hello, even if they've already stubbed out their cigarette. All is not rosy in their world. I think I'm more or less cured, but I've put on a lot of weight while compensating, especially at the wheel (packets of sweets, little detours to the bakery). I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel where that's concerned but it will have taken two years (6 August) to stabilise and start getting back to normal. My kids help me to stay off cigarettes I think they would resent me and be very disappointed if they caught me smoking again. Getting some outside help might have stopped me gaining 22 pounds but however you go about it, quitting is really worth it.

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I quit about 5 months ago and after many several attempts to stop smoking and this is the first time I have felt confident that I will not smoke again, because this is the first time I have realised that I don't want to smoke, I don't like to smoke, and that I really never did. Once I understood that there's a lot of misinformation about smoking I felt free from the trap. After that it was actually easy. The benefits of not smoking far out-weigh any desire to have a cigarette ever again.

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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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Hi, everyone. Cigarettes and I, we had a great love affair. I smoked for 22 years and I tried to quit lots of times (at least 6), and failed every time. I stopped smoking for two years but still thought that one or two cigarettes a day couldn't do me any harm. That's how I started again every time I didn't want to give up the enjoyment of smoking a cig with my friends on a night out or at work. Unfortunately, that just meant that I lapsed back into being a smoker. You smoke one, and then two and before you know it, you're smoking 10 a day. Now I no longer smoke at all and I've learnt the hard way that the most important thing if you want to quit for good is never to touch another cigarette, even months or years after quitting. Thanks.

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After smoking for 33 years knew I wanted to give up 10 years ago and have several attempts. About 2 months ago I decided I had to try again. I brought a box of Nicotine patches which I have found kills the craving and my usual amount of tobacco. I started with the patches and a promise to myself not to buy any more tobacco and for the next couple of weeks only smoked a couple a day, almost always at night. Knowing the tobacco was running out I approached the day of reckoning without knowing if I could hold out and resist the temptation to buy more. I was still using patches but something would trigger it and the thought of having a smoke would invade my brain. I did the distraction thing a few times, got drunk more often than I should and ate snack food. I thought about reneging on my promise or recycling tobacco scraps (butts). Today is 6 weeks since I "gave up", 4 weeks since I smoked a cigarette and 2 weeks since I used a patch. I tell myself I've taken up "not smoking" . I know I'll feel bad for couple of month as my body starts to repair, I never want to smoke again so I'll just have the cope. Thanks for all the great stories everyone, it helps.

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My name is dawit 31/m.i smoked for 13 years and joints 3 years .i quiet with the help of this apps I really appreciate it.before I can't pass even one day then I downloaded it and with daily advice I am woundering I pass 3 weeks I am so happy.daily that send me advice helped me to quite with out any problems.becouse they told me what will happen to me and I am ready to face the problems really I am woundering this apps daily they send to me advice.i used nicotine patch with this one at 1 week I hate deeply when I smell smoke and I pray also daily now I am free from any problems.the main thing is our brain!no one help us just only they give us advice.we should prpaire our brain.i am wondering how powerfull is our brain totally I am new man that sharp fast my talent and eduction outomatically.for 13 years problems solve with this app than you very much even I had not go to doctor self healing with the help of advice this app.i bilve any man can stop smoke with this app whatever years they smoked it's our brain thank you that give me apportuntinty for this testimony lord bless you all!!!

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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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Hello everyone! I would like to share my uplifting story with all those who are still struggling to stop smoking for good. It's now 5 months since I last touched a cigarette, and it wasn't at all easy to quit! For about a month, I really struggled with anxiety and obsessive cravings. Then, after the second month, everything fell into place! No more urgent need to smoke, just a little desire (more like a thought) from time to time. I can hardly believe it myself and yet it's true. For a month now, my life has been changing. I feel that I am not at all the same. I was scared that my personality would change: I thought that quitting smoking would make me less interesting and shyer, that I would be less fun. And in fact, to my great surprise, the opposite is true! I am much more open to other people, less stressed, and very confident in myself and about the future. As well as the classic health benefits that come with quitting, for some weeks now I have felt an urgent need to put my whole life in order!! I've learned that I am a strong and motivated person who is full of life. It's as if I must appreciate every second of my new life and have learned how to put my worries into perspective. After having put up with my bad moods before, my friends and family now appreciate my enthusiasm and good humor! Long live non- smokers!!

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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!

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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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