BLOG - STOP SMOKING: Six months now and still smoke free!

It doesn't seem that long ago now when I was puffing on my last fag and saying goodbye to an "old friend" on a dark and cold night on January 9, 2012.

Six months on and do I miss the ciggies? Every now and again and I get a bit of a craving, but they last just a few seconds.

As I have said before in this blog, it has been relatively boring - i.e. no climbing up the walls in need of a fag.

But I wouldn't have been able to have done it without the initial help of the NHS Somerset Stop Smoking Service.

I haven't been to one of its sessions for a number of months now - but every now and again I get a phone call from them to make sure that I'm okay and that I'm still off the fags.

I know I can give them a bell whenever I might feel that need for a cigarette - which hasn't happened yet I hasten to add.

So six months on and no cigarettes. The only real downside is that I feel as if I've put on six stone in weight!

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012: ANOTHER month has nearly past since my last blog entry and I am pleased to report that I am still smoke-free.

I suppose I should apologise really because this "giving up smoking" blog must be the most boring blogs of its kind! Saturday (June 9) will see me chalk up the five-month barrier since quitting the habit on January 9 and I haven't really had any problems at all; like I said, it is rather boring!

But I'm still waiting for those difficult moments when I might be tempted.

One of those might be this weekend when I attend the Home Farm Fest at Chilthorne Domer, near Yeovil, in aid of the Piers Simon Appeal.

A weekend festival...it could present temptations. But I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm 100 per cent certain that I will not be tempted. After all I'm being sponsored a total of £466 by Ilminster Lions Club and Chudley International to go a whole year without smoking with the proceeds going towards the Piers Simon Appeal - it would be strangely ironic if my Big Quit failed at the Home Farm Fest which is held at Piers' home in Chilthorne.

I suppose I should take this opportunity to plug the Home Farm Fest - it will be a great weekend of live music for all the family.

For more details - log onto the Home Farm Fest website at www.homefarmfest.co.uk.

I hope to see you there!

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012: Hello - it has been a month since I last posted on my blog, but I'm still happy to report that things remain good and that I'm smoke-free.

I'm now on to Day 124 since giving up the fags on January 9 and now just over a third of the way towards raising £466 for a disaster relief charity.

I've been sponsored by Ilminster Lions Club and Ilton-based Chudley International to stay off the fags for a year and help the Piers Simon Appeal.

Having now gone 124 days, I've got 242 days to go to reach the one-year target, though I'm planning on staying smoke-free forever.

The past month has probably been the most difficult since giving up....I've been on holiday to Turkey, where smoking is very much part of the culture over there.

It could have been all too easy to have had a sneaky fag, but - hand on heart - I didn't, although I experienced those annoying cravings on more than one occasion.

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012: I hope everybody has had a good Easter break and didn't eat too many chocolate eggs.

I have to admit that I did eat too much chocolate - but I've been eating a fair bit since giving up the fags on January 9 this year.

It is the common downside to giving up smoking, but my smoking advisor at the NHS Somerset Stop Smoking Service said I would have to eat "hell of a lot" to be doing the same damage to myself as I would if I were smoking 20 fags a day.

Yesterday (April 9) saw me reach three months since giving up the fags.

Pretty chuffed to say the least. And, once again, I would advise anyone who is thinking about giving up the fags to give it a go.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012: Doesn't time fly when you are having fun! Another week has passed and I am still off the fags.

I know what you are thinking...this blog is becoming really boring because I have yet to have those bad cravings for a fag.

I suppose some people will be viewing this just like the start of a Grand Prix where you hope for a big crash, but left "disappointed" when all the drivers safely negotiate the first corner.

Well, I guess I've passed the first corner successfully having now reached Day 73 of being smoke-free, but there's still a long road to go. And, in this personal race of mine, there is no finishing post! Being smoke-free means exactly that and means forever!

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012: Today is national No Smoking Day. As I said yesterday I'm not going to start preaching to people who smoke about the reasons for giving up - I'm certain they already know what they are.

But I would suggest to smokers that they might just give a few minutes to actually sitting down and thinking about giving up the fags.

Not for one second am I suggesting that just because it's No Smoking Day today that smokers should quit immediately - if only it was that easy.

But perhaps give it a thought as to when you want to give up. Perhaps even pencil a date in your head?

Stop smoking specialists say that nine out of ten smokers want to quit because of health concerns and the rising cost of the habit.

As part of the anti-smoking campaign, the Cresta leisure centre in Chard is today holding a free talk and smoking cessation NHS advice from 10am to 12noon. There will also be a free leisure centre pass for every non-member who attends.

For more details – contact Cresta on 01460-64084.

I've now been smoke-free since giving up cigarettes on January 9.

I got help from the Somerset NHS Stop Smoking Service which can be contacted on 0303-0339840 or text MYQUIT to 80010 for free help and advice. Go on - give them a shout.

TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012: What a weird night! I had a dream that my bid to give up smoking for good had ended in miserable failure.

I woke up in a real panic thinking my two months' of good work had come to an abrupt end.

Thankfully, it was not too long before I realised that it had all been a dream!

For a moment I felt really cheesed-off and guilty that I had supposedly had a fag. I was really relieved when I realised I hadn't.

Tomorrow is the national No Smoking Day and I'm not going to start preaching to the smokers out there that tomorrow's the day when you've got to stub it out.

I don't think doctors really go on any more about the dangers of smoking to their patients who smoke - so I'm not either. I think, to be honest, all smokers know that smoking isn't good for them and it is up to them to say "enough is enough" and try to give up.

If you are reading this and just found out that tomorrow's No Smoking Day; I wouldn't necessarily say that tomorrow is the best day to quit.

What tomorrow could be, however, is the day when you decide to quit the habit and you set a date as to when you are going to start your campaign.

For example, you might decide tomorrow that you are going to have another week smoking and give up on March 20; another month and give up on April 13; or another six weeks and give up on April 24.

The important thing, in my opinion, is to be realistic in your quit date. Suddenly waking up tomorow and think "I'm going to give up smoking today" could work for a few, but not for the majority I reckon.

Personally I gave myself a good month between taking the plunge and making the decision to quit to actually stubbing out the fags. I had a date in my head as to when I was going to say "goodbye" to the fags and, to be fair, I smoked as if smoking was going out of fashion, but once my quit day arrived, that was it.

You have to gear yourself up for giving up the fags. And although I still class myself as a "smoker who isn't smoking" I would say having now gone over two months smoke-free, if I can do it, anyone can do it.

TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2012: I am now onto Day 58 of my stop smoking campaign and things are still going extremely well.

I have refrained from having a cigarette now since January 8 - which does, I have to say, seem a long time ago!

But I am delighted with the way things have gone, although I can't be lulled into a false sense of security.

I know from my previous attempt to crack the habit several years ago, that just one cigarette now would see back on the fags.

I've just got to say NO!

May I also take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support - it is very much appreciated.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012: It may have been a couple of weeks since I last "blogged" - but do not fear, I haven't gone back on the dreaded fags!

I am still smoke-free and now on Day 43! Doesn't time fly when you are having fun? The big news is that I've received a further financial incentive to stay clear of the dreaded cigarettes.

I've now gone six weeks since quitting the habit on January 9 and was quickly given some extra pressure to succeed when Ilminster Lions said they would sponsor me £1 a day for charity to stay cigarette-free for a year.

The Lions said they would donate £366 to a charity of my choice if I stayed clear for a year under the proviso that failure to do so would see the sponsorship deal stubbed out.

But now the pledged sponsorship has risen to £466 with Ilton-based company Chudley International offering a further £100.

I've already said that I intend to donate the money to South Somerset-based charity, the Piers Simon Appeal, which helps to support areas hit by natural disaster around the globe, which was launched following the death of former Yeovil College student Piers in the Asian tsunami of 2004.

Chudley International, on the Ilton Business Park, has been acting as shipping partner for the Piers Simon Appeal and only recently transported education aid to children in a poverty-ravaged area of Sierra Leone in West Africa.

And, when sales manager Adam Chudley, himself an ex-smoker, heard of my challenge – he felt he had to give his backing.

I’m amazed that me giving up the fags could, all being well, raise £466 for charity. I’d like to thank Adam for his pledge of support.”

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2012: I have - for the first time since quitting nearly a month ago - had a sudden urge for a cigarette!

I was sat here at work and for a split second nearly got up from my desk...as if I was to go outside for a fag.

It was quite a weird feeling as I hadn't experienced that craving since giving up on January 9.

It literally happened just seconds ago and now - just like all cravings - it has gone as I write this latest entry in my blog.

So all is well again in my personal battle to beat the ciggies - although I might have an apple to fend off a sudden repeat craving.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012: Good morning everyone and I've just noticed the "comment" that was placed on the end of my blog yesterday by Sara Dove, the Somerset NHS Stop Smoking Service manager.

I said in my previous entry on the blog that I wasn't using the nicotine patches any longer as I didn't seem to need them and was coping without them.

But Sara has now commented that I should think "carefully" about me not using the NRT medication for less than the prescribed course of treatment.

Sara says that evidence suggests that the chances of people staying fag-free greatly improve if they complete the 12-week course of NRT.

I gave up on the patches after 12 days! I still feel perfectly fine, but I suppose it could go all terribly wrong.

Prescribed course - 12 weeks; my personal course - 12 days. I have often been told that if something looks too good to be true, it normally is just that. So I'm "cured" after 12 days instead of the prescribed 12 weeks? That does look too good to be true, doesn't it?

Good advice Sara. I will go and pick up my prescription for my next batch of nicotine patches this evening after work!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012: The morning after my latest session with the NHS Somerset Stop Smoking Service.

And I am happy to report that I gave my best carbon monoxide reading so far with the SSS - just a mere 2. When you consider that before Christmas when I was still smoking and I went along for my initial meeting with the SSS, I gave a high reading of 28; it just goes to show what rubbish must have been in my lungs.

I was also told last night that I should keep using the nicotine patches. I admit that they were a huge help when I first gave up on my quit day which was January 9 and although I had two weeks' supply, I have still got a couple of patches left - although I am now on Day 23 of having given up.

I just don't seem to need them at the moment. Although I do have a patch in my coat pocket, just in case of an emergency.

I thought I may have needed one on Saturday just gone as I went to Huish Park to watch Yeovil Town in npower League One action against Preston North End. But I didn't.

After the game, which I am happy to report saw Yeovil gain an important 2-1 success, I went off to the pub with "the lads" for the customary after-match inquest into where the afternoon had been won or lost.

Over the course of the next couple of hours, a "few" beers had been sunk and with spirits high following Yeovil's important victory, I suppose I found myself in what could have been classed as a "high risk" state of being tempted to have a fag.

I'm delighted to report that I didn't and, what was even more refreshing thinking back, was that it didn't even cross my mind.

I'm not saying that the whiff of fag smoke was not appealing, but I was not tempted.

Long may it continue....and here's to Yeovil Town's next victory!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012: It has been a whole week since I last updated my blog so I apologise for that.

But the main reason why I haven't updated the blog is because there hasn't been a lot to report in my quest to beat the fags.

I'm now onto Day 19 of the Big Quit campaign since giving up smoking on January 9 and I'm still going strong - resisting the temptation to go back to the fags.

I know deep down that I would love a fag, no matter what my brain is telling me; so I am just remaining positive and determined to say NO.

The cravings come and go, literally only for a few short seconds.

It is no different to when I gave up before for three months about five-six years ago. I had the cravings, remained resolute and said no, but eventually fail foul of the oldest trap in the book - let's see what one would be like.

That's where I went wrong last time and one fag saw me hooked once again. I'm determined not to fall into that trap again.

I know I wouldn't be able to have just one fag. I know that I would be hooked once again if I had just one.

That is why I am saying NO NO NO and so far, it has worked well.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012: The Ilminster Lions Club have given me 366 reasons to go at least one year without a cigarette.

The Lions Club have very generously sponsored me a £1 for every day I am smoke-free up to a year and for me to then donate the proceeds to a charity of my choice - under the proviso that the deal will be stubbed out if I falter at any stage over the next 12 months.

I can't thank the Lions Club enough for this fantastic gesture and incentive. £365 to a charity of my choice I originally thought was brilliant; only to be told that it is actually worth £366 with this year being a Leap Year. I am now just worried that that extra day could be pivotal to my success or failure!

But I am now into Day 12 of my personal Big Quit campaign and things are going well. It is rather boring really! I haven't been pacing up and down, fidgeting, craving for a fag - but I'm sure that will happen and I will just have to remain resolute in my drive to quit the fags.

And, after all, it is not every day you get offered the chance to earn £366 for a charity.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2012: I am now on Day Ten of my personal Big Quit from the cigarettes - double figures!

I know it is only a small milestone on the road to me being able to confidently say that I am now a non-smoker, but if you had asked me a month ago what it would be like to go ten days without a fag and I would have said it would be "like hell."

So ten days into quitting the habit and I am pleased to report that it most definitely isn't hell! The nicotine patches, which you can gain on prescription if you join a NHS Stop Smoking Service group, have worked tremendously well.

The cravings have now all but gone and my usual fag-smoking routines are becoming a distant memory.

But I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who has asked how I am doing, wished me luck and given me support.

The Ilminster Lions Club has also given me a huge incentive to quit the habit once and for all. For full details of their pledged support - buy a copy of this week's Chard and Ilminster News.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012: It is Tuesday morning and I am still - officially - a non-smoker following my session last night with the NHS Somerset Stop Smoking Service.

The session at the Aqua Centre in Crewkerne saw me take the test where you have to blow into a machine and it can tell what your lung capacity is. Higher the reading, means that you have been smoking; lower the reading, means that you have not.

And I am happy to report that I gave a reading typical of a non-smoker.

I still don't class myself as a non-smoker just yet. Even though I am on Day Nine of having given up, I still think of myself as a "smoker, who has not had a fag for nine days!"

I think it will be sometime before I can actually say I'm a non-smoker.

I don't really get the cravings any more and on Saturday, while at Huish Park watching Yeovil Town against Tranmere Rovers, the smell of cigarettes during the half-time interval being smoked by other supporters was lush! But was I tempted to have a fag - NO I WASN'T, which is an important step in the right direction.

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2012: A week has past since I gave up the cigarettes and I am happy to report that I am still going strong.

The weekend was always going to be a bit of a test, but I came through with flying colours - not being tempted by the fags, although it was quite nice to get a whiff of a fag during the half-time interval of Yeovil Town's match with Tranmere Rovers at Huish Park.

So I am now onto Day Eight of my own personal Big Quit and the patches are working incredibly well. As you have to put a new patch in a different spot each day, it is getting to the stage where I've forgotten where I've stuck them.

Tonight will also see me go along for my latest session with the NHS Somerset Stop Smoking Service session at the Aqua Centre in Crewkerne.

It will provide me with that little bit of extra encouragement and support I need. Although things are going well, I am not taking anything for granted and a gentle kick-up the backside by my advisor will be welcomed.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012: Just like I discovered the last time I attempted to quit the habit five-six years ago, the nicotine patches are really working well.

The cravings have virtually gone and although I find myself thinking about it every now and again, I quickly erase those thoughts from my mind.

What I have to do is to stay focussed and remain strong willed.

I heard an interesting theory at the NHS Somerset Stop Smoking Service session on Monday evening at the Aqua Centre in Crewkerne.

A lady who had so far given up for 14 weeks said she was taking each day as they come.

Instead of saying that she was giving up forever, which I suppose is quite a daunting prospect for some people trying to give up; she says to herself each morning that she isn't going to have a cigarette today. Basically taking each day as it comes, which is without question much more manageable for the brain to register.

And the other thing worth noting is this same lady said she had just had the "best Christmas ever" as the money she had saved from not buying cigarettes, had been spent on making the festive season of 2011 a very special one.

To anyone reading this who is considering giving up smoking - I would thoroughly encourage you to join a NHS Stop Smoking Service group.

The advice, encouragement and the little bit of pressure that is available really is worthwhile. I take my hat off to anyone who can give up on their own without any support, but for the majority I'm sure a helping hand would not go amiss and that is available from the NHS Stop Smoking Service.

The number will be in your phone book, but for the group I'm using - the NHS Somerset Stop Smoking Service - please call 0303-033-9840.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2012: The time is approaching 9.30am and I have now gone 35 hours without a cigarette.

Yesterday was my big Quit Day and last night I attended the NHS Somerset Stop Smoking Service clinic at the Aqua Centre in Crewkerne.

Once again I was asked to blow into a machine which can guage whether you have been smoking or not. I'm no medical person so I don't know what the machine is called or how it works - but, basically, it is all to do with your lung capacity and higher the reading it shows, the more cigarettes you have had.

My advisor was shocked when I gave my initial reading back in early December when I scored 28 - a definite smoker he said.

But last night my reading had dropped to just three - "you are now a non-smoker," he told me. "Three or less is what a non-smoker would achieve."

Although it was nice to hear, I am not hanging out the bunting just yet! There is a long way to go before I can call myself a non-smoker.

At the moment I would tend to call myself "a smoker, who is trying to give up smoking!"

The cravings, which last barely a minute or so, are already becoming less and less - thanks to the 24-hour patches I'm wearing.

But one thing I struggled with last night was - sleeping! I'm not sure whether it is anything to do with me giving up smoking; whether it was the excitement of Gary Johnson returning to Yeovil Town as manager yesterday; or whether it was me thinking about this morning's newspaper deadline at the Chard and Illy!

MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2012: Well here we are on my own personal Quit Day and it is so far, so good.

I had my last fag at about 10.30pm last night and so I've now gone nearly 16 hours since lighting up.

Sixteen hours may not seem a long time to those non-smokers, but ask any smoker and 16 hours without a fag would seem like an eternity.

But I'm pleased to report that it has not been too painful! The nicotine patches I'm using have helped and although it is obviously far too early to start saying that I've cracked it, I'm pretty pleased that the cravings have not driven me to distraction.

But I will have to be careful not to let my guard down. If somebody offered me a fag now I would say "no." But would I enjoy it if I said "yes"? Of course - so I have got to make sure I do not give in to temptation.

So far today, like I have already said, I have had a few cravings. But I've kept busy.

One person and one unexpected event today has certainly helped to take my mind off the fags - the return of Gary Johnson as manager at my beloved Yeovil Town FC!

Johnson, the man who brought silverware aplenty to Yeovil Town during his first stint at the club between 2001-05, has been working his magic already, unknowingly, by taking my mind off the fags.

To coin a Gary Johnson word - cosmic!

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2012: There are now just a few hours to go before I bin the fags!

I went and signed up with the NHS Stop Smoking Service in early December and arranged with the advisor that my Quit Day would be Monday, January 9. So here we are - just a few hours to go.

I am getting more nervous as the hours tick by because I am determined to give up, but all smokers who go through this process know that it is a lot more difficult than it sounds.

But I'm looking forward to the challenge and receiving your messages of support!

I will 'blog' again tomorrow to let you know how I am doing.

Thursday, January 5, 2012: THERE are now just four days left before I hopefully say a "final goodbye" to the cigarettes as I look towards my big Quit Day on Monday.

I have had a number of positive messages of "good luck" from various people since my last blog on Tuesday and the story about my pending challenge appeared in yesterday's edition of the Chard and Ilminster News.

Although slightly daunted at the prospect, I am looking forward to the challenge.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012: THERE is now less than a week to go before I reach my "Quit Day" when I hope to give up the cigarettes for good.

I'm writing this having signed up with the Somerset NHS Stop Smoking Service in a bid to quit the habit.

I've been smoking for the past 20 years and have decided that now is the time to stub out the habit once and for all.

I went for an initial meeting with the Stop Smoking Service, which meets each Monday at Crewkerne Aqua Centre, just before Christmas where an adviser discussed a Smokefree plan to discuss my needs.

We decided that Monday, January 9, will be my Quit Day, so I have that date pencilled in my head now to when I will be saying goodbye to the fags.

This will be the second time I've made a serious attempt at quitting the habit which not only has obvious health risks but burns a hole in my wallet.

I tried to give up five or so years ago when I attended Stop Smoking Service sessions in Yeovil and I went for three months without a cigarette.

It was going really well but I then fell into the fatal trap of ‘trying one’ and before I knew it I was back smoking again – it was so frustrating.

I made further attempts on my own to give up again but failed miserably.

I need that support which the Stop Smoking Service can provide. Each time you go to a session you have to breathe into a machine which can tell whether you’ve been smoking or not.

It adds that little bit of pressure or encouragement to make you resist the temptation – I know it certainly worked when I last used the service.

Keep following my blog and for more details about the Stop Smoking Service phone 0303-033-9840.