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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I wrote a testimony for this site in 2003, when I was 42 years old and struggling to quit smoking. I quit on and off in the years following, and when I was 50, learned that I had cancer which had started in my airway and grown into my left lung. Although not technically a "lung cancer", I'm sure all those years of smoking didn't help. Also breathing in hair dye, because I was a hairstylist. I had to have my left lung removed, which is major surgery. Luckily I survived. I have never smoked again. I sometimes wistfully think about the (psychological) relaxing effect of smoking a cigarette, but I know it's not real, and all the pain and suffering it causes is not worth it. I'm 60 now and living my best life. But having one lung is a constant reminder of my poor choices in regards to smoking.

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I gave up smoking after a life of trying to quit since age 15. Im not sure exactly how long its been because I think if your counting the days you are in fact putting yourself under pressure and making yourself think about smoking and thats not helping you. Its hard to explain what happened to me whet I finally managed to quit.. But I can only best describe it as "A Change Of Heart" Dont make a mountain out of a molehill just make your mind up. Its easier than you think.. Good Luck. ;O)

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Dear Readers, I have been smoking for 37 years and this is my third serious attempt and it will be the final one. I will never smoke again, ever. I know this because I will not fall into the traps which caused me to start again. Always an excuse, the fact that I felt amazing, what could one cigarette do, I would just have one, etc... Once you quit, its forever, you can never have one again. I suffer from asthma and recently had trouble breathing, especially at night, coughing and wheezing was keeping me awake. A month ago, I woke up and thought to myself, if I don't stop and listen to my body, this smoking will kill me. I ordered a high-end running machine, and started a beginners training. Its been over three weeks now. At first I could hardly breathe and now I run every day, fragmented walk and run, building it up. I am so proud that I can actually run for 2 x 15 minutes with a 2 minute walk in between and am progressing daily. It has kept my weight off, and I am feeling fitter than ever before. I sleep really well, my skin looks great. I still think of smoking often, but still have acid-reflux sometimes, which will go, but is there to keep me in check... our bodies are amazing and forgiving, I have learnt to listen and trust it. Learn to live and quit

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I quit smoking in my 30s and went into major depression. I started smoking again and the depression went away after a year. I quit smoking again 30 years ago and got major depression again. I have never smoked again, but the major depression has never gone away. I take antidepressants. How can I get my brain chemicals going again without antidepressants? Or nicotine?

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Its been almost 7 months since i quit smoking but i am still facing constipation, acid reflux, belching, flatulence , allergies & heart palpitations and i am seriously worried, i have been to so many health stops but none of them seems to help , i have long changed my diet to try and alleviate the symptoms but it's just keep complicating things for me, ever since i quit i never held a cigarette nor a beer for about 5 months, Guys i need your help on how to deal with these sufferings !

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I started smoking in my teens. I have consistently smoked 3/4 of a pack a day for at least 20 years. The last 10 years I have had a chronic cough and some wheezing. I seriously tried to quit about 3 times. I never made it past a month without falling for the old "I can have just ONE, I've been so GOOD" bullshit. This time I am using patches and gum. I've been "ex-smoker" for 5 weeks now. The patches have made a big difference. Other than missing my smokes a couple times a day, I am doing just fine. I think about it less every day. I know this time that I cannot ever have even ONE cigarette. The thought depresses me but I am committed. I do not want to die young from a smoking related illness. I do not want my (nonsmoking) husband to have to watch me die, or help me lug around an oxygen tank. I started a fitness regime about a year ago, and I think that being physically fit has also helped me this time around. Its nice to breathe easier during workouts. I also enjoy laying next to my husband without worrying about wheezing or coughing. I think the time was finally right for me to quit. Still, it is the hardest thing I have ever done.

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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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A few words that I hope will help you. I'm 45, I've been smoking for 27 years, and in April 2004 I was smoking 50-60 cigarettes a day. I already tried to quit 5 times without success, and now I'm on my 6th attempt. What motivates me is a constant cough which even stops me from sleeping, having to stop 1 or 2 times in order to climb a flight of stairs, and a lung specialist who keeps saying, carry on like this, and you aren't going to be around for long. I have a little 2 year old boy, after we tried for 8 years and eventually underwent fertility treatment. During my wife's pregnancy I tried to quitbut failed miserably! Now I'm on my fifth day without cigarettes, and I'm struggling like you wouldn't believe. The first 2 days were fine but yesterday and today have been so, so hard, even with Zyban to help. How hard would it be without it? What helps me more than anything else is realizing that I was selfish for 27 years, that I've had a little boy I adore for 2 years and that the way I repay all the joy he brings me is by poisoning him with each puff of smoke I breathe out. What kind of a father am I? Yesterday morning, as I was about to crack, I came to this site and read the personal experience of a mother speaking on behalf of her premature baby who was in a critical condition. As I read on, I had a flashback to 2 years ago and realized that the little treasure we waited so long for arrived early with a weight of just over 5 pounds. I can't stop thinking that the reason for that might be his father who poisoned mother and baby, puff by puff. My fifth day is hard, I don't deny it, but I haven't smoked a cigarette. In a year I spend over 3,500 euros on cigarettes, not counting doctor's bills, throat lozenges, cough syrups and goodness knows what else, and my wife puts up with my smoking out of love for me. What kind of a person am I? I'm on my fifth day, I'm scared of cracking but I'm thinking about everything I've written and I'm determined to do this for my wife and son. I'm with all you who are ex-smokers or want to be ex-smokers, and my dream is to be able to prove that I'm a part of this family of ex-smokers. I believe that dreams can come true, and that the prizes we cherish the most are those which were the hardest to win. The best prize I could ever win would be to become an ex-smoker. Best wishes to all of you.

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That's it, I've quit. After 8 years of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, here I am going through a personal revolution. It's crazy. I can hardly believe it. I, who couldn't bear the thought of not smoking the after-dinner cigarette, the start- of-the-night cigarette, the ice-breaker cigarette, and thousands of others. How do you get over that? How do you fill the void left by cigarettes? I'd never managed to go a whole day without smoking. In 8 years! 8 years of my life where I smoked every day And now it's been a week without a single cigarette, and believe me, everything's fine! Yes, I had some cravings in the first 2-3 days, a bit of a headache, a short temperyes, that happened. But nothing terrible. I feel spurred on by all the good that I'm doing, or all the bad that I'm no longer doing. I breathe deeply, I close my eyes and I try to picture the inside of my body. It will probably take it years to recover completely, but I already feel better. It's as if an 8 year argument between my body and me has finally finished. We're speaking to each other again. Actually, my body never stopped talking to me (pain in my lungs, pain in my chest, discolored skin and teeth, breath that smelt like an ashtray) but I didn't listen. Now I'm my body's friend again, and the best thing is that my body doesn't hold any kind of grudge. My boyfriend says that I've never looked so beautiful, and as for me, I've never felt better. So come on, it's easy! Do it for your own self-esteem!"

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