Moot_Geeza wrote:

Bought a pack of 20 while I was in the pub, gave maybe 8 away to other drinkers but I'm lumbered with a few at home and I can't help it.

This is actually where I want to be, biting a pack when drinking as I do enjoy the act of smoking, but not doing it during the week or when waking up. Just figure that a decent period of being off them is required first

It's been just over two years since I had a fag. I miss them in summer but I doubt I'll ever have one again. Once Charlie got to about 6 yrs old I knew I had to give up. I never smoked in front of him or in the flat, and he never knew I smoked, but I noticed he was starting to smell my jacket and he asked what the smell was once. It was easy after that. Despite all the many attemps before I gave up that night. Took my usual walk outside when Charlie was asleep and smoked the rest of the pack and have never even thought about touching one again.

Heh, classic.

On the 10th it will be a year since I vaped and in November, 2 years since I quit smoking.

There's no real advice I can give - it's fuckin hard! It IS all habitual though, I still get urges now, but usually based on triggers.

Don't worry about the occasional lapse, as long as you don't lapse into habit.

x

Flush quickly.

It is a hard thing to give advice for as every quit is different. I always got frustrated when I heard the likes of "such and such happened and that was it, I haven't smoked since!" I never felt that moment. I tried for years to quit. From a few hours, to a couple of days, 6 months, to 3 fucking years! Yes, I was absolutely mortified that I managed to screw up a 3 year quit. A screw up that was the result of a simple lapse on a night out.

But I was that kind of smoker. I could never have just one. I always envied people who could quit and then have the odd fag on a night out. Not me. One smoke and I'd be down to the corner shop first thing the following morning.

In the end, feeling like I'd tried everything, I decided to do an NHS quit class. Part of the reason being they offered free patches or whatever else suited you. I think it was a 7 week class. Meeting once a week for an hour in the arse end of Maryhill (Glasgow). It was fucking grim but it worked. It was oddly satisfying watching the numbers dwindle every week. We must have started with about 20 and in the end there was only about 5 left.

For the first time in my life I actually feel confident that I'm done for good. I still miss it and I still get the odd craving but fuck me the benefits massively outweigh the temptation. My life is different now and that helps. I have a partner and baby on the way so I can't see myself ever screwing up now. Smoke free 5 years come this November.

Is 76kg fat, or are you 5'2"?

"Really should" is of course vastly different to, "really want to". Going to be difficult until you reach that mindset.

Bump but for a different kind.


I've been a pretty regular habitual weed smoker for a long time now. But over the past couple years, even moreso since the pandemic struck, my intake has risen and risen.

Now, don't get me wrong, there is a large part of me that believes that, if I didn't have weed, I'd have probably went off the deep end. Especially at the beginning of the pandemic and first few months of lockdown as the whole world stopped. I'd be wrecked with fear at work, coming home in tears, isolated from my gf and pals, but a quick bift or two at night and some games helped me calm down, find some chill time, and recharge for the day ahead. I wouldn't ever do it before work or before a drive, but it was still quite a bit. I'd definitely still feel the affects the morning after.

But as we came out of the worst of it, as things opened up and levels and restrictions eased, I was still consuming the same amount. I'd have days off, have things to do, but the habitual part of me was just screaming "this is shit, get home, spin one, you'll be fine". I was getting aggro at the slightest things, not enjoying time with her or my mum, just wanting to get things out of the road so I could be alone and smoke. And, dear readers, that's not really that good. She also hated it, constantly reminding me of "what if I got stopped" and she was right, I'd lose my licence, my job, and feel like I'd have lost everything. Its not good. I always felt that you couldn't get addicted to weed, and part of me still believes that, but like I said, I'm a habitual person. I get set in my ways and then find it hard to get out of them.

(side note: I think it's also part of seeing my mum and dad both wrecked by the drink. It's what took my dad in the end, so I've always leaned way more into spinning a spliff than pouring a drink. Probably something hereditary in there about an addictive personality.)

So I had seen a UFC fighter I follow post about Natural Strains, a CBD company based somewhere in England. I'd see him spark up big chibas full of street-looking stuff. So I looked into it. 100% legal, barely any THC in it. Went a week or two cold turkey and was struggling, so thought I'd give them a try.

And by fuck, it's working. I'm feeling less of a brain stone, more of a body one as the CBD works. Still feel completely with it, not that baked way you got with street shit. It's not the same, but hey, it's legal and I'm still going through the 'event' of rolling with it, so it's doing the job for me. Plus, they also regularly email me with discount codes. What fucking dealer has ever done that for me? Heh.

I dunno where I'm going with this. I was just very scared a while back this was something I was going to have to hide, to be ashamed of, to deal with. Always every couple weeks going through that motion of texts with tardy as fuck dealers and the para of getting it and driving home. I looked forward to houses and kids and stuff and thought to myself how in the fuck was I ever gonna pull it off whilst always thinking Gav m8 just blaze up, you'll be fine bro. But I seem to have stumbled upon something that's really working for me, and I know there's maybe a couple on here that could do with hearing it too. Doesn't have to always be that way, you know?

Anyway, cheers, off to Forza.

No, haven't yet tried it dry without tobacco, another one of my habits is I've always been a full snout jointman.

Here's the sauce:

https://www.naturalstrains.co.uk/

I started on their version of white widow, which has the highest CBD value at 20%, and it got me pretty mellowed I gotta say! Slept like a baby, just like I would on street bud. Couple weeks back the much weaker Biscotti at 6% was heavily reduced so I ended up getting a half oz for £50 which is insane. The full oz was £80! Again, what dealer does that?? I'm enjoying the weaker flow though, keeps me pretty switched on while helping my sore muscles after a tough shift (I've bad knees, not the best for a porter)

Let me know how you get on.

I was at a family thing today and couldn't believe it when an uncle told me his 20 cigarettes are now £14. When I quit about 7 years ago I was paying around 9 quid I think. £14?!

A couple of days is optimistic, a pack of straights goes quickly, especially if you're out. A pouch of baccy lasts way longer. Straights are good for a night out tho.

Congrats! If you really want to give up it's not a problem but getting to that mindset is difficult. For me it was a son but a pandemic will do it.

I gave up 6 weeks ago and miss it dearly. Last time I gave up I managed 6 months, but even after all that time my mood didn't recover. I'd estimate I was about 20% grumpier at all times, and this instantly lifted the moment I started smoking again.

Anyway, the shittest thing is I don't even save any money, as food is more expensive than tobacco and the amount I am eating since I stopped is a joke. My cravings for sugary stuff is really hard to manage. At least with cigs they make me uglier on the inside first, and then very slowly after that. Eating  unhealthy, however, had made me almost immeidately minging.

Grouchiness and craving sweet stuff is part and parcel of giving up smoking really. It's just an indication of what a shit, addictive drug it is. At least giving up heroin just makes you sick for a while. Giving up fags turns you into a fat asshole.