Do not start smoking
I am 59 and was taught to do the draw back when i was 2 years and 10 months old. I have smoked all this time and i did stop with the help of champix for 3 months now giving it another go .
Hi tatts, I see your message has gone unreplied to. Here is my take on it, based on personal experience.
Give yourself some time to cut down the amount you smoke. Maybe over the span of a couple of months, only smoke when you really have a craving instead of smoking almost like on an auto-pilot like most of us who have smoked for a long time do.
This should get you down by half without any real discomfort to yourself and give you the good feeling that you are in control, not the addiction. Also remember - every cigarette you don't smoke is a cigarette that doesn't harm you.
When you get to this stage, get a script for Champix from your GP. When you take them, take them "with a meal" or even "in the middle of a meal" - that is eat half, take the tablet with water and then finish the meal. This will reduce the likelihood of nausea or other side effects.
Stick with the Champix and as the days go on, you will start noticing that you don't get that "kick" from the smokes anymore. You might even get an unpleasant tase in the back of your mouth when you smoke. Towards the end of the first week, you will probably notice that your smoking has somehow been halved again.
Keep going for another 3 - 5 days like this. Make a concerted effort to reduce your smoking even further. Set yourself a daily max quota. On the Champix, it's easy to set a max of 6 today, 5 tomorrow, 4 the next day and so on.
By the time you can manage 3 per day, you probably won't be bothered to smoke anymore so just take the plunge.
You will go through some cravings and some withdrawals but they are likely to be very mild because you have already partly detoxed your body by reducing the level of nicotine you inhale and Champix is also in your body partly suppressing cravings and withdrawal symptoms.. I found it good to have nicotine spray for the first 2 days but then gave that up too.
Mate stick with it. You will soon find it's the best thing you ever did.
On day 2, your heart rate will drop to that of a normal non-addict. Mine fell from 85 - 87 to 70. Image how much easier work the heart has after that.
On day 3, you will all of a sudden start smelling and tasting things you never smelt or tasted before.
Day 4, 5 and onwards, the little cravings you had start subsiding.
Best of luck