# Smoke Free Members



## Done_Fishin

I just noted that GeekGirl is taunting the fact that she has been smoke free for 6 months .. 


Congratulations TJ .. keep it up .. :woot::woot::woot::woot::woot:

I gave up smoking when my daughter was about one year old .. and about a year before I came to Greece. That was over 20 years ago now .. The longer you stay clean the easier it gets .. 
Unfortunately my wife didn't stop, so I still get the secondary effects from a committed heavy smoker .. but the good news is that I work in a Smoke Free Zone .. anyone who wants to smoke has to go do it on the road outside the front door of the place we work.


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## dai

i stopped for 2yrs and then started work selling them within 2 months back to 40+ a day
the longer i was stopped the harder it got it did not get easier,will ahve to stop again when i retire will not have the money to waste on them b&h 25's $12.80 a pack and the tax increases every 6 months


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## Done_Fishin

I stopped many times before I kicked the habit the last time .. you never really stop but you have to force yourself not to want them. I had succumbed more times than I remember to cutting back stopping and then starting off again.
When I met my wife I hadn't smoked for 3 years, it took just a few drinks in a bar in Athens a few nights after I met her and I was on 20 a day again (should have realised what getting involved with a Greek might mean !! :grin

If you know that you'll have to give up some time, why not do it now .. apart from the stain on the health there's also the strain on the pocket as you say.

as an ex smoker I know it's difficult .. needs a lot of determination and support from those around you.

Hats off to anybody that manages to kick the habit. Also means that you'll be paying less taxes to the Gov't :laugh: if you need extra incentive


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## dai

i enjoy my smokes


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## Done_Fishin

Who DIDN'T ???? :grin: 

been there & I have all those little answers ready too!

Until you're ready and you're committed to killing the habit, there's no way a smoker will stop being a smoker .. even at pain of death :grin: give the blindfolded man a cigarette :laugh:


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## speedster123

i had no choice :upset:
i quit in oct before the first operation, the pet scan showed a small spot on the lower lung, which turned out to be melanoma. :sigh: [skin cancer which spread]
but fear is a great motivator. so i quit.... again.:4-surrend
they operated before xmas, and i still have discomfort 
now they say to take interferon, if the next scan is clean, for a year.:4-dontkno


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## Done_Fishin

Cancer is all around us .. I lost an Aunt to it, I lost a cousin to it. My Grandma battled Breast cancer when she was in her 40's (we lost her when she was in her 90's), my sister is keeping it at bay after an operation to remove a lump and a relapse when she went down with Leukemia years after being clean .. 

They say it can be hereditary so I have to keep my kids aware of the possibilities, assuming that they are mature enough to understand.


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## speedster123

i lost a sister when she was 14, and i just lost a 43 yr old sister, 14 months ago.


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## oldmn

I can happily say that We have been smoke free for 3 yrs and 6 MO.
The wife and I quit at the same time.(and survived)
We used zyban (payed for by Health insurance) worked with group called free and clear. we set our quit date for the 20 Th of Oct, I quit on the 17 Th and the wife quit on the 19 Th.
Neither of us has had so much as an urge for a smoke.:grin:
To all tht are quiting Hang in there.
To all that want to quit, Like someone said you have to really want to quit or nothing works.


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## AKAJohnDoe

I was smoking 2-3 packs a day when I quit in 1978.


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## JohnthePilot

I tried many times over the years to stop but without success. Then, in 2001 I nearly lost my legs through blocked arteries caused by smoking. I had major surgery (aorto-bifemoral bypass) and that was the shock I needed. It will be seven years this year. Most of the time I don't think about it even when amongst smokers, but very occasionally, I fancy one. I know that that one would be enough to set me off again so I just think about something else and the urge goes. I used Nicorette chewing gum and found it a great help.


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## Deleted090308

Wasn't it Mark Twain who said: "Quitting Smoking is Easy, I've Done it a Hundred Times!"?


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## Done_Fishin

I used to say it too! 

along with "*stopping is easy, NOT starting again is the difficult part!*"


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## Deleted090308

I stop smoking every night when I go to bed. :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

I don't ... my wife smokes and she frequently gets up when I go to sleep !!! :laugh: I just stopped buying them for *MYSELF *and putting them in *MY *mouth :grin:


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## speedster123

having a cold one used to inspire me to smoke
:4-cheers::4-cheers:


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## Done_Fishin

It never "inspired" me .. it was ALWAYS the cause of me starting again .. I have since learnt to be stronger under the influence :grin:


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## Geekgirl

I didn't realize how much of an impact of my gloating about my success to stop smoking would cause. :1angel:

Heres my story:

I started smoking when I was 13 yrs old. .stealing my moms smokes and hanging out my upstairs bedroom window to enjoy them. Finally at age 15 she said if your going to smoke you smoke downstairs so you dont burn the house down :laugh::laugh:
So I smoked at least 10-15 a day for the next 29 yrs. Smoking more at times especially when drinking. I really never did quit when I had my child ( I am really embarrassed to say) but had at least 1 a day when pregnant. Son was low birth at 5.8 pds but was always very healthy and a weight lifter today at age 14. Knows what he wants in his body which is a good thing.

To stop smoking I used Chantix. It did have side effects, the upset stomach but after 20 minutes the discomfort was gone. They suggest using for a 12 week program but I only needed for 4 weeks. Yeah thats it, 4 weeks..... I couldn't believe it myself. I dont and have not had a craving since my quit date. I have friends and family that smoke and I hate the smell and wish they would quit but I still have no desire to start back up. I will never touch another cigarette.

One thing I do hate is this darn weight gain I have. Its only 8 pounds but on a small framed body like my own it shows ( at least to me). I spoke with a friend who owns a Health Shoppe and she said she knows 
5 people who used Chantix and stopped but they all gained 20+ pounds and more so I should be thankful.....and believe me I am 
To help remove this extra weight I have been doing Taebo 5 days a week and taking some herbal and organic products to increase my metabolism which has slowed to a crawl. I take Cortiblocks Plus and use Shaklee products which help retain muscle tone while I lose fat. The main reason I never quit before was I didnt want to get fat but I have dealt with the fact that I will gain until I reach my plateau and start losing.

I have been told my skin looks much better and I look healthier. Smoking does cause wrinkles and dries out your skin....

So thats my story and Im sticking to it :laugh::laugh:


Thanks for listening and I hope all that desire to quit is as successful as I was


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## Done_Fishin

Thanks for sharing TJ ... 

My first was when I was about 8 years old .. as I got older I was using my school-lunch money to buy a pack of 5 or 10 ciggies on my way to school. Hid them in a "Golden Virginia" tobacco tin at the back of the place where we lived. It had a fairly sheltered alleyway which was all dirt & back-fencing to the back entrance. I had lifted a clod of grass away from a back fence and poked the tin in there everyday as I returned home from school. Always left by the back and returned too.
Can't remember when it became apparent that I was smoking. Maybe much later in another place we lived after my elder bro was told to stop hiding himself away in the upstairs toilet to have his cigarette.
I remember one time at age 16 I swore never to smoke again after a visit to a local dance hall, where the mixture of cigarettes and drink made me sick. Left the remains of the packet in the toilet as I went to rejoin friends outside.
At age 18 I was smoking when I was working evenings in a pub... after returning from my daytime job. How many times I forced myself to have "just one after meals" is beyond me, but always the initial boredom of a slow evening pushed consumption higher. Either that or a night out to the dance hall with friends .. always a killer, and if I went having stopped, I left with a cigarette in my mouth!

It took me years to stop as a youngster, hadn't been smoking for 3 years when I met my wife at the age 27 but it only took a bar and company in Athens on my first visit to get me started again in 1978. The following day I was on 20 a day again .. we moved to Greece in 1987 and I had already stopped smoking AGAIN by then .. Only had one relapse on a beach about 10 years ago. Midday and we had a beach all to ourselves, my wife my 3 kids and I, we had a couple of cold beers and some ouzo .. and I decided I wanted to have a cigarette .. only the tears in my wifes eyes made me stub it out immediately after I had lit it up .. just one puff .. haven't tried again since ... yet !!! ....


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## oldmn

I had a doctor tell me once the only people that quit cold Turkey are the ones that keep trying,
I quit way back in the early 70's for a year then went on 6 month cruse (Navy). it wasn't till 30 years later that I finaly managed.


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## Done_Fishin

@oldmn ... you confused me for a moment .. wondered why anyone would want to quit "cold turkey" .. although I must admit I avoid it :grin:


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## Geekgirl

I never had the will or the discipline to do it cold turkey


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## speedster123

People should not stop cold Turkey, they should wait for the summer..

I quit for 5 yrs, got tanked at a wedding and smoked cigars, inhaled some, and i was off to the races again.

Some Dr.s equate the addiction with heroin .

I imagine its harder for some than others, especially if you have an addictive personality disorder.


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## oldmn

@Done_Fishin Nice play on words.:grin: I suppose if a person was not familiar with the term it would be confusing. (cold turky : with out assistance).
@Geekgirl 
8 Lbs ray:
I am still fighting mine. Still packing an extra 40.:sigh: 
But getting better I was closer to 50 over.


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## Done_Fishin

the only way I have found to lose weight was to suffer from a gall stone .. found myself going to the hospital one dark night when I was packing around 105Kg's due to the most annoying pain and nausea which stopped me from sleeping. Got hooked up to a drip for a week .. no food whatsoever, had my op and was kept on a drip for a few more days before getting some really inedible boiled chicken, cooked without salt. I couldn't eat it so I ate the jelly that came with it and some small toasts that are found here.
I left the hospital 2 weeks later weighing 80 kilos however I quickly went back up to 90 as I had a few more weeks at home to recover .. at home I was just few steps from the local baker and fresh hot bread ... but it's the only way I know to lose weight ..


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## speedster123

I knew a guy that said:

"there were no fat people in a concentration camp"

he was being facetious, and a bit crude i guess, but the point was made.


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## Midnight Tech

I don't smoke, but my mom did. She had to go to the doctor several years back, who sent her to the cardiologist. He sends her immediately to the hospital which is next door to his office. 
She gets in the car, lights one, takes one draw off it and puts it out. That's been several years ago.
So, basically she quit by getting the [expletive deleted] scared outta her.


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## Done_Fishin

My Dad quit after his first stroke .. he was told bluntly quit or else!
He survived about 7 years after that with just a few minor strokes .. his last stroke though put him in hospital where he was thought to be doing fine until they realised he had ruptured some internal organ, and due to the stroke they couldn't operate. 

They put him on a morphine overdose for the pain and he slept his last days away.
we lost him at 83 years old , his mum lasted into her 90's.


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## Dunedin

I`m not surprised TJ is so pleased with herself. I think she should be really proud and I am so envious. 

Here`s another one who is in the middle of trying to stop. I`ve tried a few times over the years and always failed.

Now I really want and need to stop. My daughter, who I love more than life itself, has been in Australia since last September and we are going to visit her in June. Oh how I miss her!! I will never survive the long plane flights if I don`t stop. Besides, I now feel like a leper here in Scotland. Smoking is banned everywhere.

TJ.....I smoked while I was pregnant and both my kids weighed almost 9 lbs! Both have always been healthy and my son is fitness fanatic and weight lifter too. How strange!

I have been trying to stop for months by cutting down, and although I can do that, something always comes along to make me fall off the waggon. I think I will have to go cold turkey.

Anyone got any helpful tips??


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## Geekgirl

Not that this is a tip or anything, but you have to want to quit or there is no use trying it will make you and everyone around you miserable


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## speedster123

i seen a report on tv the other week which says even if you quit, you will always have a higher risk of cancer than a person who never picked up a stoggy, but not as high as an active smoker.


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## oldmn

> seen a report on tv the other week which says even if you quit, you will always have a higher risk of cancer than a person who never picked up a stoggy, but not as high as an active smoker.


The risk drops about 10% a year for the first 5 years then it tapers of.
the longer you are smoke free the lower the risk. Like you said it will never be as low as a person that has never smoked.


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## Done_Fishin

OMG .. TJ :Wow1: ... stoppit !!! ..:grin: but not right now :laugh:


back on subject now ... as far as smoking goes .. if you've got the will you just need the encouragement and support of those around you. 
Make sure that you tell EVERYONE that you're quitting and that they have to help you do it .. 
Tyhe longer you go without the better it becomes but there is a transitional period where you need to go to Kyle of Localsh and search for Nessie ... in areas where there are no pubs, restaurants or shops!!! ( beautiful area that btw. ) If you can get one of the local fishermen to take you out in his boat for a week without any cigarettes on board do it!!
It's far easier to stop when you can't but the torment is worse .

I said to myself over and over for a couple of years that I DO NOT WANT TO SMOKE before the time came and I quit. When I quit I just stopped, maybe as was said before, because I had tried ( and succeeded ) several times before.


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## ashumann12

Geekgirl said:


> Not that this is a tip or anything, but you have to want to quit or there is no use trying it will make you and everyone around you miserable



I agree, you have to want to quit, I have been smoking for 30 of my 41 years, tried to quit twice but did not realy want to. (So I didn't) Maybe one day.


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## Dunedin

I really DO want to quit but still am finding it hard to say "No".

I have not told anyone as they will just keep nagging me and I want to avoid that! 

Done_Fishin
On a Nessie hunt you are far more likely to find shops and cigarettes. I think I`d need to be on top of a mountain to get away from them :grin:

One of these days I`m just going to have to get up in the morning and not smoke. All this cutting down just does not work for me.

When you stopped did you have cigarettes in the house or did you bin the lot? I think that would drive me bonkers!


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## Zazula

I stopped cold-turkey from ~50 cigarettes per day. Had been smoking for twenty years. Had my last pack on me and was giving away cigarettes from it to friends asking for one (coz they had run out of), until it finally emptied - and only then I threw it away. Greece is a country full of heavy smokers and smoking is practically allowed virtually everywhere, so one cannot seclude oneself to a non-smoking environment. I indeed wanted to stop it. My only stratagem was that I waited till I caught a cold and my throat was sore and aching - this made my first smoke-free week easier. I had experienced my dad doing the very same thing when I was a kid, so I knew cold-turkey was doable (and actually the best way to go, from a psychological aspect, since smoking wasn't associated with a specific hard-to-break number of cigarettes; e.g. with coffee or drinks, after dinner, while on the throne, etc). I wholeheartedly wish the best of luck to anyone who gives it a serious try. :smile:


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## ashumann12

Zazula said:


> e.g. with coffee or drinks, after dinner, while on the throne, etc).












I thought i was only me who smoked on the throne!!!


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## oldmn

To the people who thinks one way of quitting is better than others.
There is no one best way to quit.
Do not discount a quiting method because someone says its not the best way.
We are individuals and different methods work for differently for each.
The wife and I used vyban and it worked great. Some of my coworkers tryed zyban with no luck. 
So the bottom line is:The best way is the one that works for you!
*Just do not give up!*
PS: We smoked for 32 years.


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## Dunedin

Thanks for the encouragement :smile:

One day soon.........


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## JohnthePilot

I agree with what you say about telling people, but not because they will nag you, for if you've stopped they will have nothing to nag you about. Rather, I find that if you tell people you've stopped some of them try and force a cigarette on you. I found it better to say nothing but when offered a cigarette, don't say "I've stopped", but "I don't smoke". They usually just accept the latter.


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## Geekgirl

My son and my husband always nagged me about my smoking, now that I have quit they dont have nothing to nag about.....imagine that !! :laugh::laugh:


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## speedster123

and of course, take it from me, you do not want to have anything done to your lungs.
if smokers could only imagine, they might quit sooner.

and i am not preaching, but i lit up when i got in the car, after a cup of joe, after a meal, when i let the hounds out.

it seemed as if smoking controlled my life.

hopefully my teeth will get whiter, that would be cool.


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## Deejay100six

Don't look back. Congratulations. ray:


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## beefers1

Last year, on a field trip to Science World (a science expo center in Vancouver) in my sci class, I saw the human body exhibit, and there was a REAL SMOKING HUMAN'S LUNG! I never did consider starting smoking, but now that's even more motivation to not start.


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## forcifer

i tried a cigar, hated it, never tryed anything again. i pride myself in being against drinking, smoking at least at my age. it messes you up so badly. ive tried stuff (no drugs) and i never saw the point. if i need to relax blowing the heads off noobs in cs usually works, and caffiene works well for a high


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## TriggerFinger

i have been smoking for the last 15 to 16 years and i really wanted to quit. i tried for 3 weeks but came back. i know i need to stop but i find it hard to do so. in a day i figured that i need to smoke in the following times: after a meal, with coffee, if i'm bored, if i'm thinking and cannot get my thoughts straight and of course the best part is when i am on the throne (aahh, bliss).

i just hope one day i will have the WILL to quit.


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## oldmn

We used this program which our health insurance payed for.
http://www.freeclear.com/
We are going on to 4 years.


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## DonaldG

Congrats TJ, and everyone else who has quit the foul weed.

I managed to quit 15 years ago - I had tried all sorts of methods, cold turkey, hypnotherapy, psychology, logic, accupuncture... all failed until the my doctor suggested trying nicotine patches. Bingo, instant success - within 3 weeks I didn't need the patches.

Nicotine IS a highly addictive drug & I have heard that it is easier to kick heroin than cigarettes.

Many folk don't accept that they are hooked. I would imagine 99% of smokers don't even realise that they go through withdrawal symptoms many time a day. That is why the reach for their pack.

EVERY time a smoker lights up, they are doing so satisfy the beginnings of the symptoms. "Ahhhh, thats better" .... Of course it feels better - the craving (withdrawal symptom) has gone away and they are feeling 'normal'... 30 minutes later....


My 2 cents worth...There is no worse anti-smoker than an ex-smoker!


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## vladimirb

Well I have been smoking for the last 3 years and in that period I tryed to quit lots of time but I couldn't do it... I am to weak. When I am somewhere where someone is smoking, I can not resist - need to light one  ...
Good thing is that since I started working, I smoke like 5-6 per day which is great... Maybe in the near future I will quit... I hope


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## sobeit

I have never had the habit. I did however, try one behind the barn one time and that was that. Never even smoked that illegal stuff either.


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## Done_Fishin

I had my first ciggie about the age 8 ... my last was when I was about 35 .. it's so long ago that I forget .. since my daughters 23 now .. I must have been about 33~34 years old .. 

I must also be an exception to Don's Rule


> There is no worse anti-smoker than an ex-smoker!


 since I don't lecture or try to persuade others to quit . I will though, encourage those who want to or are trying to quit


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## Horse

I started smoking at the age of 14 and I smoked for 35 years - 60 per day. I was sitting on my bed one evening three years ago and I had a bad headache. I blamed smoking and decided there and then I would quit from the next morning, cold turkey - never had another puff since that night - three years 3 months back. Best thing I ever did for myself. 

I also don't preach to smokers, I used to really hate that when I used to smoke. I just enjoy not being ruled by the "white tube" :grin: :grin: :grin:


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## speedster123

i been smoke free for 7 months now..ray:


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## DonaldG

Congratulation on becoming a non smoker too :wave:


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## Done_Fishin

Well done guys .. maybe we can become a smokers nightmare by opening a NON-Smoking room :grin:


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## beefers1

lol virtual smoking anyone?


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## Done_Fishin

I've got mine









and there's no need for a Gov't health warning :grin:


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## DonaldG

anyone got a good 'Coughing' smilie?


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## Done_Fishin

This one just coughed


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## beefers1

where do you get those?


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## Done_Fishin

I've been looking around the forums looking for special smiley's ...


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## sjb007

Well done to everyone who has managed to quit ray:

I stopped 4 and half years ago after smoking for 20 years. I was averaging 20 - 30 a day at the time. I just decided one day that it was time to quit and that was it, simple as that, no preperation, patches or anything. I felt ready for it and that was it, I never bought another packet since. I had twice tried previously to stop during my smoking career, both attempts lasted about 2 months but I guess I was not really ready in myself and my mind to do so. 

Keep up the willpower you quitters! IMHO patches are useless, you can cover your body head to toe in them but if you dont really want to stop you wont, its all down to the will of the mind.

They do recon that ex smokers are worse than non smokers for having a dig at those who do smoke, well, this is the first time I have rambled on, but I do think if people want to smoke then let them, we cant force others to stop, all we can do is encourage once they do decide to stop.

Sorry for rambling - good luck to all


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## Done_Fishin

to ALL of us


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