Keep focused

I am now 140 days free of nicotine. I went cold turkey after over 50 years a smoker. My greatest joy is not having to take the first one in the morning. One of the reasons I quit is because I couldn't understand why when I felt so good after waking up I would spoil it by having a cigarette. I would often wake up on a beautiful sunny day feeling at one with nature and the world then a few seconds after that first cigarette feel "s••t". It made no sense.

I also hated the process of going into a store to buy my pack or two.

The smoking ban in the UK made things worse. I would stand outside the office in the wind and rain trying to light up then take long heavy drags to "fix" as quickly as possible. Then feel guilty returning to my desk stinking of damp and smoke

I carried on like this for years until I could do it no more. A lifetime of being owned by the cigarette was too much

When I decided to quit I wrote down all the negatives and positives and read them when the cravings were bad. I initially binged on toffee eclairs , lost a tooth and got gum disease but it was worth it. I feel really free for the first time since aged 14 when I started. The first cigarette I had made me violently sick. Should have quit then. Oh by the way I have saved £1700.