I have to stop smoking but everyone around me smokes. I have been smoking for 37 years and yes I have already added up how much I could have saved!
I have a slight incentive as in hubby had to go drag a doc in last night as I was coughing so much I couldnt breathe, had injection to 'open my chest' and have medicines for Bronchial Asthma. There are 2 more of these injection things in the bag which apparently I have to have tonight and tomorrow, God knows who is going to be sticking needles in me!
My mum died of cancer, that didnt stop me. There are no 'patches' here and I cant do gum. hubby is out now and he got rid of all fags before he left.......he didnt know about the Golden Viginia in my secret box though! This Golden Virginia I swear is NOT the same as in UK and I have no idea what the hell I could be smoking HELP!!
Unfinished, PLEASE I beg you dont post long articles I wont read.
Anyone gave up this habit have any tips please?
Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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I managed to stop for a couple of months by just sucking polo mints Ayisha. I am sure they have something like that there. Also i have heard the new inhaler is good, maybe get someone to post them or bring them over to you. Good luck
Posts: 895 | Registered: Sep 2007
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Web site: www.tabac-stop-center.com or call directly 002 012 310 2130 or 012 230 6195 Tabac Stop Center, 8 Taha Husein Street, apartment 1, Zamalek, Cairo
Good luck and much power to you and hopefully you will be successful. Smoking is such a nasty habit!!
Btw I smoked for couple of years but it was more due to social pressure. Once I knew I am carrying my first child I gave it up without any problem since I wasn't addicted to it.
Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Amr-: i been trying to quite smoking for last 4 month's now every time i go to work i start smoking
i was considering chantix not sure when i would start trying it
can you get this in Egypt??
Couple of months ago I tried to get Zyban here then I was told about this but was told you can no longer buy this in Egypt.
I used Zyban in 2004 and got down to 1 a day, more due to me being stubborn. Then I came here for 2 weeks and forgot to bring them with me, by the time I went back to UK I was back to 20 a day
If you find Chantix or Zyban here Amr please let me know.
Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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i already asked several pharmacy's they are importing it for me once i requested i just cant deiced yet
one of the issue is chantix is extremely expensive of course not expensive as smoking i do 2 packs a day merit blue chantix course http://www.chantixvarenicline.com/buy_varenicline_cheap.htm around 800 $ add 150 $ for tax tea money what ever and pharmacy revenge we looking at 950 $ for full 3 months course
also to consider the side effects are like wicked crazy with chantix starting with depression ending up with suicidal ideas
posted
Amr I got the Zyban back in UK. There is a huge campaign there to stop smoking and its all free. I joined a group called New Leaf (Govt Funded) where I got counselling and a letter for my doc to prescribe Zyban, unfortunately you cant go buy it over the counter like here or I would be asking people to bring it over! I went every 2 weeks to the counsellor then stopped when I had 'failed'
Zyban can have similar side effects to Chantix. I think it was banned in USA? It was originally given as an anti-depressant and they discovered in something like 90% of people using it they had stopped smoking! If I could get it here I would definately use it, it works, I have NO willpower and with Zyban I didnt WANT to smoke.
Just had a read of that article. I disagree as Zyban does really reduce the craving, it did with me anyway. I started on it 11 days before the quit date (this is the plan you make for yourself), I think for the first week you take 2 pills then reduce to one while you are still smoking as normal. on day 11 you should be able to stop smoking, most find they have reduced smoking so much that stopping is no problem, I was down to 1 a day out of sheer stubborness!! I have a mental blockage! Smoking is my FRIEND!! *wah wah wah*
oopss sorry, bit emotional
TL, im having trouble with your dailynewsegypt links, they open but with no story or anything, even tried typing the address in but its the same Thanks for the Tabac one though, looks interesting.
I have a friend in Alex who does hypnotism, waiting for her to visit Luxor
-------------------- If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them. Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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By Safaa Abdoun First Published: September 12, 2008
In Egypt, where smoking indoors and in hospitals is socially acceptable, where cigarettes are cheap, and where there are 16 million smokers, increasing annually by a 7-percent rate, quitting smoking isn’t exactly an easy feat.
The country and its population have long resisted the global anti-smoking trend and government’s lightly-enforced laws limiting the practice, which remains common among Egyptians regardless of age or social class.
For this reason, I Quit Smoking (IQS) has come to Egypt with the mission of helping smokers quit this habit as well as raise awareness about it's adverse effects.
IQS is a clinic for quitting smoking which was founded in 2001 at Waterford, Ireland by a team of professionals, specialized in electronics, medicine, physics, acupuncture and marketing.
After years of research in auricular therapy, the Reflection Instrument Scanning Electro-pulse device, and the core of the IQS method, was created. It uses pain-free electrical stimulation to the reflex points on the ear, which helps break up the tobacco substances accumulated in the organs.
In addition, it also eliminates the person’s craving for smoking while controlling the stress level by releasing endorphins, the “feel-good substance,” which replaces nicotine in the body.
Electro stimulation is a soft current that stimulates the nerve plexus in precise points; the frequency creates a tuning fork like effect which excites the targeted nerve endings without pain.
The stimulation is made on the ear because all parts of the body are connected to the external ear at very precise points.
IQS was brought to Egypt by Dr. Wael Safwat, manager of IQS Egypt and a smoking cessation consultant. “In Egypt, there are only around three or four specialized in smoking cessation. Patches and other medicines [to help quit smoking] are expensive when around 70 or 80 percent of smokers are from low economic classes,” he said.
“However, the IQS method is relatively affordable by everyone; it is all about sessions which can be given at a range of prices from LE 10 to LE 500.”
“The first day a person comes in, he talks with me and the psychologists and after his or her evaluation we determine the treatment program,” explained Safwat.
According to Safwat, the first three to 21 days are the most challenging for anyone who wants to quit smoking as the person experiences withdrawal symptoms.
Each session at IQS is 20 to 40 minutes, the first two are the most important and it is recommended that they are taken in the first two days. Then a session after 21 days and another one after six months. The entire IQS treatment program is six months, during which the person takes up to five sessions.
“All this entirely depends on the person and whether he needs them. For example they could follow up with us on the telephone or come in every once in a while,” said Safwat.
The IQS treatment program involves another integral part: homeopathy. At IQS Egypt, Dr. Heba Haddara, expert in human genetics and holistic medicine practitioner, is responsible for the homeopathy part of the program.
“Anyone coming in has to have the will to quit smoking. However not everyone has the power to quit even if they have the will and this is where I step in,” said Haddara.
The treatment starts with determining the reason why the person has became attached to the cigarette in the first place, whether it is psychologically, environmentally or for other reasons.
The doctor then starts evaluating three facets of the person: the physical, the mental and the emotional.
“The physical aspect is known as we all know the effects of smoking on our health. However when we start talking to the person, we have to find either a mental or emotional reason for their smoking that makes them dependent on the cigarette,” explains Haddara.
“I do not only help them in quitting smoking, but support them to be physically, emotionally and mentally balanced,” she added.
There are two main reasons the majority of people coming to IQS want to quit smoking.
The first is religion — a relatively recent fatwa has condemned the practice as haram, religiously prohibited. The second is their fear of being diagnosed with a serious disease, such as cancer or susceptibility to heart disease later on in life.
While the age range of their patients is varied, it was the relatively older ones who were serious and were able to completely quit.
IQS has more than 300 centers open worldwide in over 30 countries including the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, as well as in several Middle Eastern countries including Algeria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
Usually after two half hour sessions, on two consecutive days, the patient is free of dependency. A third session is available as part of the package
Tabac Stop Center uses new technique to help smokers give up their habit
CAIRO: Earlier this year, Kenza Badawi was desperate to stop smoking after 20 years of addiction. After trying many unsuccessful methods, she flew to a clinic in Geneva called the Tabac Stop Center (a registered company in Geneva) and finally kicked the bad habit.
“In just one hour I quit,” she explains excitedly, “I couldn’t believe it, so I decided to try to open the center here in Cairo for all those who want to quit too.”
So Badawi, who is half Swiss and half Egyptian, and her daughter Nour Aboulela flew back to the center where they took courses and got diplomas to practice the clinic’s techniques here.
Treatment is achieved using a laser beam, but the word laser shouldn’t scare off prospective clients. It is actually a painless process using cold laser therapy that gives off neither heat nor light, but which produces a concentrated beam of energy that is directed at certain nerve ends.
The simple explanation of the method is that there is one control center at the base of the brain called the hypothalamus which releases endorphins. These are the feel-good hormones that are released when people do things like eat chocolate, have sex or sit in the sun.
If you smoke, the hypothalamus becomes dependent on nicotine, among other things of course, in your system to produce endorphins. Addiction to cigarettes results from the fact that, when we smoke, the nicotine passes into the bloodstream and causes the endorphin rate to increase.
After smoking a cigarette the endorphin rate in the body rises rapidly and after the cigarette it falls again. What this laser does is help the body release these hormones naturally without a dose of nicotine.
Essentially, the increase in production of endorphins decreases the withdrawal symptoms of quitting smoking, making it a painless experience. Within three days, when all the nicotine is out of your system, you will no longer be addicted.
According to Aboulela, treatment doesn’t stop the psychological flashbacks. “After a meal, when you’re on the phone ... Certain activities that are related to your smoking habits will remind you of smoking, but you won’t actually ‘need’ a cigarette anymore.”
Unfortunately 10 percent of people do go back to smoking although they are no longer addicted. Usually after two half hour sessions, on two consecutive days, the patient is free of dependency. A third session is available as part of the package.
Badawi says that the 10 percent that go back to smoking are the ones who come with a partner and are not convinced. “If you made the decision yourself, we guarantee you will stop smoking,” she says.
The center also offers sessions to avoid weight gain after quitting. They do sessions that specifically relax the mouth muscles so one does not resort to overeating to get rid of physical tension.
The best part is there are no side effects, as it is a totally natural process. People with heart diseases, cancer or recovering from a serious operation can do it too. They also have a topologist (the art of well-being) and a psychologist that can do light hypnosis and try to convince a patient to stop before undergoing laser sessions.
The Tabac Stop Center method comes with a written guarantee and one year’s follow-up, free of charge. It is approved by the Ministry of Health in Egypt
For more information check out the Web site: www.tabac-stop-center.com or call directly 002 012 310 2130 or 012 230 6195 Tabac Stop Center, 8 Taha Husein Street, apartment 1, Zamalek, Cairo
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Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
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There is a quit smoking centre in Heliopolis Amr...
I will help you stop smoking.. I will just break your fingers
I used to say the only way I could stop smoking was if I went in a three month coma! But, 2 years ago I quit cold turkey and it is one of the best things I ever did...
Good luck you guys, I won't pretend it is easy but I do advise you don't rely on methods or counselling etc to beat it. Just get your mindset fixed and go for it. I think relying on methods or people will just make you feel dependant on something and that is the one thing you are trying not to be Posts: 11097 | From: Cairo | Registered: May 2008
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I know LF will lecture me here because I have been saying for the last year that I want to quit smoking. Keep talking about it and I don't do it. The truth is I had quit - cold turkey - for almost one year. But as soon as I moved to Egypt I started again.
Cold turkey is the best way to go. Keep the chemicals out of your system. It only takes 48 hours to detox your body from the nicotine. Drink lots of water and stay away from smokers for at least 2 full weeks. After the 2 weeks you will see someone light up and think to yourself "I can't believe I ever did that".
Posts: 1626 | From: whatever, wherever | Registered: Jul 2008
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The hardest part for me was I was a social smoker and I am VERY sociable. Beer and cigarettes were beautiful together but not so good seperately. I never stopped going out though, I wanted to force myself through it.
I set up a reward system. I saved all the money I would have spent on cigarettes and I would treat myself... generally to Champagne
I understand it is different here though as fags are so cheap!
Mini (cute nick) if you have done it before you can do it again. You have to WANT WANT WANT to stop though.
Posts: 11097 | From: Cairo | Registered: May 2008
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Remember when we tried to buy a bottle of Champagne at JW Marriot? We would have had to save all out cigarette money for about 10 years to have afforded that one!
I know I can do it again. The problem is every time I quit, my other half starts smoking again so I always have to help him finish the pack.
Posts: 1626 | From: whatever, wherever | Registered: Jul 2008
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I quit a few weeks ago thru sheer willpower,it was extremely difficult and even now i still get unbearable cravings,and i was a real bitch thru it all,but i'm better now (wink). And i won't go back cos i feel so much better having given up, i've even given up the ( other ) kind of smoking as well it has saved me quite a bit of cash which will go towards my next holiday
Posts: 3945 | From: ' Res Contr ' Amor non es guirens, lai on sos poders s'atura | Registered: Dec 2007
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Congratulations... now people in the Novotel cannot offend you by asking you to move
Seriously though dude, you don't have to smoke the other, there are other ways to benefit Posts: 11097 | From: Cairo | Registered: May 2008
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Lmao gawd i remember and it were they who were in the smoking section bloody morons ! i still think i should have told them to f**k off like i wanted to but i'm a LADY!!!!!! so stilled my tongue. very proud of myself for that lol Btw what other ways are there to benefit ? Posts: 3945 | From: ' Res Contr ' Amor non es guirens, lai on sos poders s'atura | Registered: Dec 2007
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I was a lady until one guy wanted 100le to go 14 yards in a taxi then I became the girl I was on the terraces in the good ole days Posts: 11097 | From: Cairo | Registered: May 2008
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Roflmao yes i remember soooo funny the look on his face ... priceless Posts: 3945 | From: ' Res Contr ' Amor non es guirens, lai on sos poders s'atura | Registered: Dec 2007
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hehe yes it was doubley for you tho eh? maybe we should do it again? lmao
oops sorry for hijacking your thread Ayisha
Posts: 3945 | From: ' Res Contr ' Amor non es guirens, lai on sos poders s'atura | Registered: Dec 2007
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We should do it again sometime, I love running through Cairo because SOMEBODY misread their flight time details
On a serious not Ayisha... have you considered putting nicotine patches over your eyes so you cannot find your cigarettes Posts: 11097 | From: Cairo | Registered: May 2008
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awww i was having such a good time i forgot i had to get a flight back LF !that's my story and i'm sticking to it that is why i have people to "do" for me if i'm left to my own devices i would have ended up in aswan lol Posts: 3945 | From: ' Res Contr ' Amor non es guirens, lai on sos poders s'atura | Registered: Dec 2007
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*cough* thanks for the advice LF but cant get patches here! I am NOT putting gum on my eyes!
well I think I sneaked about 6 or 7 fags yesterday but I was up till 4.30 battling in yahoo chat rooms then I couldnt sleep for coughing and didnt have the injection to 'open my chest' (vader close your eyes)
I have to stop being stubborn, time to stop. Boss says she will stop with me and smoking is now banned at work, hubby says he will also stop but its easy for him as he does every Ramadan anyway. I just keep wanting that last one
I am beginning to know how the guy on the fag packet feels
-------------------- If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them. Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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I quit cold turkey too . . . it was hard but it finally took after the 2nd attempt. I knew I had finally kicked it when I no longer dreamed about smoking . . . and I really have a hard time being around ppl that smoke now, lol, so Egypt can be quite difficult for me at times.
Ayisha, if I could help you I would. I noticed some of the quit smoking programs require weeks of using whatever aid/drug they require . . . so bringing something from the States won't be a lot of use if you can't get a continual supply of it in Egypt after you run out.
-------------------- I fell in to a burning ring of fire . . . Posts: 895 | From: NorthTexas, USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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Smoking will kill you..that's not a joke. Posts: 3219 | From: Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone. | Registered: Nov 2005
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My husband smoked for years but stopped cold turkey in the summer of 2007 in Egypt when he saw his father dying of lung cancer. I am so proud of him. He stopped in Egypt surrounded by smokers and has been able to stay off it through many hard times in a foreign country, feeling lonely in -9 degrees celsius. That is admirable. Nonetheless I still think it is sexy when he lights up one once in a blue night because it really brings back memories of sweet Cairo nights!
Posts: 2184 | Registered: Oct 2005
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well im feeling much better than I was. Had another injection last night which allowed me to breathe and sleep, was bliss!
I had only 6 fags yesterday, I set times for each. I plan on 5 today, 4 tomorrow etc. I need to re-design my mind for this one!
I am normally a morning smoker, first cig before first coffee even, but today I was up at 9 and decided 10am for a fag and actually lasted till 10.38 next is due at 12 but I will hang on till after I eat, then 4pm then 8pm then midnight and the midnight is only a maybe. Not bad from 20+ a day I think.
Thanks for all your encouragement guys, keep it coming, i HAVE to do this or die.
-------------------- If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them. Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
Ayisha, I think you should reduce the amount of daily cigarettes slowly so your body has enough time to adapt to the new situation. Little steps are better. Best of luck! Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
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I actually disagree with the cutting back theory. I tried cutting back prior to quitting... I figured I have already had 4 I may as well have a fifth before I knew it I was back up to my usual amount.
I do think though you should break associations... if you love a ciggie with your morning coffee... don't have the coffee. If you love smoking when reading a book, try listening to music. Smoking is 90% habit 10% addiction, after three days you are only addicted to the habit.
Break the habits dudes
My ex decided on the stoke of midnight millenium that he would never smoke again and he never has. Willpower is the key.
Posts: 11097 | From: Cairo | Registered: May 2008
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Hello, Ayisha, how you are doing in your efforts to stop smoking? I was just reading the following article and thought about you. Do you have a pet in the household? If so maybe that's another good reason to quit.
My efforts are not going brilliantly but I have been told to stop 'beating myself up' about it. i did get down to 6-8 a day but am up to 10-12 now, but from 25-30 a day I think im still on the better side. Its just a case of 'setting my mind' to it and I do want to stop as I am still having breathing problems. Willpower is not one of my strong points though and being stuck inside while im sick is not helping much either!
-------------------- If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them. Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Amr-: i already asked several pharmacy's they are importing it for me once i requested i just cant deiced yet
one of the issue is chantix is extremely expensive of course not expensive as smoking i do 2 packs a day merit blue chantix course http://www.chantixvarenicline.com/buy_varenicline_cheap.htm around 800 $ add 150 $ for tax tea money what ever and pharmacy revenge we looking at 950 $ for full 3 months course
also to consider the side effects are like wicked crazy with chantix starting with depression ending up with suicidal ideas
I know it seems expensive Amr but this is a wonder drug really and worth every penny. I have not smoked since my quit date and I am very happy with the results!!
I haven't had any wierd dreams other than the normally wierd dreams I have anyway . I do feel a little nauseated for about an hour after I take the pill but thats it so far and I had smoked almost a pack a day for the last 20 years. Quitting smoking is the hardest thing I've ever done but Im so glad I've done it
Good luck I know you can do it !!! Posts: 1121 | From: Too crazy to look at a freakin map to find out.. | Registered: Sep 2006
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i wish i can stop too but oh well, at least when i die, ill die looking cool.
anyway i dont buy it...my great granny was 97 when she kicked it and her diet all her life was pizza hot dogs beer and cigarettes. she was the tiniest thing too and even survived a house explosion! and she swore that beer kept her alive so bloody long.
Posts: 2757 | From: YOU CAN ONLY SEE WHAT I CHOOSE TO SHOW, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE YOU JUST DONT KNOW | Registered: Oct 2007
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i tried zyban and chantex misspell oh well.. anyways they dont work for me.. u have to really want to quit u cant just think oh i wanna quit cas it wont work its all in yr mind.. addicted or not.. if u really wanna quit u will just quit buying and grabbing for them.. but buy 1 pack and take 1 cig out.. then throw the pack away.. one problem is yr so use to having that cig on yr lips.. so suck on the cig when yr craving then in time u will get use to no smoke and just quit.....
-------------------- your ass is so tight when you fart only a dog can hear it.when you queef only a cat can hear that one. Posts: 9776 | From: You like If only mosquitoes sucked fat instead of blood. | Registered: Jul 2007
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quote:Originally posted by tina kamal: i tried zyban and chantex misspell oh well.. anyways they dont work for me.. u have to really want to quit u cant just think oh i wanna quit cas it wont work its all in yr mind.. addicted or not.. if u really wanna quit u will just quit buying and grabbing for them.. but buy 1 pack and take 1 cig out.. then throw the pack away.. one problem is yr so use to having that cig on yr lips.. so suck on the cig when yr craving then in time u will get use to no smoke and just quit.....
Exactly, it is all about your state of mind and your will and intent. Half heartedness will not work.
Posts: 11097 | From: Cairo | Registered: May 2008
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quote:Originally posted by tina kamal: i tried zyban and chantex misspell oh well.. anyways they dont work for me.. u have to really want to quit u cant just think oh i wanna quit cas it wont work its all in yr mind.. addicted or not.. if u really wanna quit u will just quit buying and grabbing for them.. but buy 1 pack and take 1 cig out.. then throw the pack away.. one problem is yr so use to having that cig on yr lips.. so suck on the cig when yr craving then in time u will get use to no smoke and just quit.....
Exactly, it is all about your state of mind and your will and intent. Half heartedness will not work.
i always say i wanna quit.. for my health but i dont quit cas i like smoking...i do believe it is all in the mind.....like a security blanket.. lets say u have alot of sex.. can u turn it down at will?? can u not eat that last piece of cake?? its all the same u will do what u want cas yr telling yrself u can not quit.....i have tried patched and gum and the losenges as well...but until my mind is ready to quit them other products are a waste of my money...
Posts: 9776 | From: You like If only mosquitoes sucked fat instead of blood. | Registered: Jul 2007
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When I found out my 7 year old neice had a hole in the heart but also need an arterial switch operation I stopped smoking.
I do not want her to smoke when she is older and if she does I do not want to be the one who influenced her!
Posts: 11097 | From: Cairo | Registered: May 2008
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smoking does NOT look cool! that idea went out with mini skirts LAST time
-------------------- If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them. Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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by just sucking polo mints Ayisha. I am sure they have something like that there. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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