Erana

I am a young mother of two beautiful children and they are the main reason for me giving up. The other two main factors were health and money.

It all began when I was 16 - the attraction was the head rush that smoking gave me. My mother told me it would go away, I didn't believe her. And then next minute there was no head rush and I couldn't stop smoking.

Just before my partner’s 25th birthday, we decided we would stop. It soon came to the day of my partner’s birthday and that was our last day of smoking.

The first few days were the hardest. I felt sick, dizzy and not focused but it helped having the support of my partner and my mother.

For me I found the blogs that everyone else had sent through on this website were great and helpful. The blogs made me feel like I had someone to talk to about quitting. Blogging gave me a chance to get whatever I was feeling off my chest and I didn't use any patches or gum. My way was hard but I coped. I just got busy at work, went for walks and joined the work indoor netball team. Keeping busy is the way if you don't want to think about smoking. Also my mum had told me if I make it to my birthday, she will take me out for dinner.  Who can resist food?

On my 25th birthday, it will be three months exactly. I love my family and they are my drive to keep myself from smoking. Having extra cash is always also a bonus. My advice is find your drive and stick to it, set a date and psyche yourself up until that date. Tell everyone you’re going to give up on that date.

Be strong for yourself, don’t listen to negativity.

Chrissy

I have strong memories of us kids going on long trips, piled in the back and Mum and Dad would chain smoke.  While growing up this caused me to really hate cigarette smoke, but at 18 years old I started smoking too.  Most of the people around me smoked and I really just stopped resisting.

When my mum was about 55 years old her doctor told her that her lungs were shot, her chain smoking and chronic asthma gave her little hope of any quality of life so she was told to quit smoking.  We never knew how hard it was for her to quit. I just thought she had given up and that was it.  In the days following her death  we found a diary that she had used to record her quitting experience; it talked about how hard it had been for her.  It made me cry.

You don’t often realise that your whānau need support to quit. You just think good on them and that’s it really.

When I realised how hard it had been for mum and that she still managed to quit.   I knew I had to quit too.  It wasn’t easy for me. I’m not one of those people that can just give up straight away.

Smoking caused me to feel guilty and I hated it and wondered why I would want to feel like that. Why would I keep on doing something that made me feel bad? So I quit smoking and know it was the right choice. Replacing my habit took some work. Walking and changing my routine helped me a lot. Thanks Mum.

In remembrance of my beautiful and brave mum Kuini Hoera (nee Manihera) 11.03 1937 – 15.09.1997

Ricky

Smoking was normal for me. I had smoked a pack a day since the age of 15. I worked in a shearing gang and that’s just what you did every hour on the hour - we would stop for a five minute smoke break. For 20 years I put my money into cigarettes.

One day I got really crook. The doctor told me I had pneumonia and asked if I smoked.. I felt so bad at the time that I told him I would give up straight away. The doctor looked at me like as soon as he turned his back I would be outside having a smoke, but I never did. I quit smoking that day and never went back.

It wasn’t easy though. I still got cravings. Every time I felt like having a smoke I would go for a run, not a long run though because I was too unfit, but I would run at least a short distance.

Seven years after quitting smoking, I feel much better. I kept up with the running and now I do a triathlon once a year. Quitting smoking was definitely the right choice.

Paula

I gave up smoking for my kids. They really hated me smoking and they hated the amount of time it took me away from them.

I knew quitting was going to be horrendous because I was the sort of smoker who would start panicking if I was down to my last cigarette, even though I knew I didn’t need another smoke for an hour. However I was determined the addiction would not beat me – quitting does not work if you are half hearted. 

For the first three weeks after quitting I was very angry - angry with myself and angry with the addiction. Stopping smoking also meant temporarily avoiding situations that triggered cravings, such as chatting on the phone and sitting down for a cup of coffee. I had to stay away from smokers.

Now I feel much better physically and I can feel the oxygen going into my lungs and my kids are very happy that I have quit.

Linda

I first lit up at 13 and egged on by my friends and the desire to be cool. I started smoking more when I studied nursing and started work – it’s a stressful job and you go out the back to have a smoke after working your butt off.

When I became pregnant I stopped smoking because I knew I had to quit for the baby. That didn’t last and I started smoking soon after my son was born. I finally quit when I started working on a smokefree project. Quitting with a support person is very helpful.

For me the biggest benefit is healthy children and feeling proud about myself.

Smokefree diabetic

Hello

I have type 2 diabetes.

Yes, I was a smoker until five year ago and still manage to stay away from it.

When I was told that I had type two Diabetes, I was in a shock. I was told that if I kept smoking I would have a stroke or a heart attack, and my circulation would go, and so on. I didn't want that as I'm still young.

I tried to give up smoking so many times and ways but na, no luck. The more I tried the more I got stressed. The more I got stressed the more I smoked - until one day I thought I will make a plan for myself -  and yes, I was ready to give up as well.

The most important thing for me was that I didn’t tell anybody except my partner that I was quitting and so people couldn’t ask me, "Did you have one today, how many did you smoke today?" This would have got me going to have more smokes.

I continued to smoke for about two weeks but I wrote it down every time I lit up. The following week I asked myself, “How am I going to quit one cigarette a week and what time will suit me?” I figured it out and away I went.

It became a competition in my mind saying, “I'm in charge not you.” But I also had one when I really wanted one.

The other thing I noticed was I was starting to taste food and could climb up hills without huffing and puffing.

Over the second and third years a packet a day went down to a packet every two days, then three days, until I went down to half a packet a week. One day I could not stand the smelly things anymore and just gave up. I thought, "Right, if I need one I can go and buy a packet and no one can stop me because they don’t know I’ve quit."  I haven’t bought a packet since then.

One thing I allowed myself is to put on weight - two stones of it. Now I've made a pact with myself to lose a stone a year as I’ve got about four stone to lose.

I also know that I would never go back to smoking again. However I must say that if I smell someone who had a smoke five or ten minutes ago it still smells lovely, although sometimes it makes me feel sick. What I have learnt is that I need to do one thing at a time and that is what works for me.

I hope you can do the same but hey, you need to pick something that’s going to work for you. Maybe my story will give you a start, and you will be so proud of yourself once you have achieved your goal.

Smokefree diabetic

David

Kia ora

Hey, on the 8th April 2005 I gave up a 50-a-day habit and I could not have done it without the Quitline, so I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone at the Quit Group. The advice was bang on the money and the people who called on the phone to check in were just awesome. Even in the second week when I had my Really Bad Day and was really grumpy, the woman fully understood. To whoever that was – I am sorry I was grumpy and thanks for understanding and being so nice and so damned cool.

I did an equation to see what 110 days smoke free means to me:

= 5,500 ciggies not smoked.

= Five and a half rugby fields if all those ciggies were laid end to end

= $2,750 not spent (110 more days and I get my plasma TV!)

= 7.7 grams of tar not ingested

It's cool eh. And, day by day it is a really good equation to do; I found it really helped so you may want to pass it on to others?

So thanks again – sincerely – you guys totally rock.

No reira, hei kona mai me nga mihi.

David Collinge.