h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You know it makes sense.

I might be sitting here having my last drag before going to see my heart surgeon all according to what he says , we haven't bought any since I last saw him a month ago, trouble is I keep finding old pouches of tobacco stashed all over our house .

I wish you luck with giving up the ciggies
I havent had one since last September, havent even wanted one. I did'nt compensate food with fags either,so havent put on any weight at all. I did use the patches for two weeks though, maybe that had something to do with not eating more.

I think your openness about how this makes you feel is an important factor and will help you see it through. Rich.

to both of you. You can do it.

Websailor

Yep, sounds like you're doing pretty well.

As far as those food cravings, I have heard that drinking ice water can help in a pinch. It does a bit to stop the craving and also helps to temporarily suppress your appetite (I think by literally contracting the stomach).


And remember, even if you do slip again, do not think of it as a failure, just part of the process.

..and, as you may have guessed, I slipped back into a 30+ a day habit within a couple of months.

Cold turkey is hell. I know I have to give up, but I can't face that again. And I *have* to give up. Those of you who have met Lainey will know that she deserves better than to watch as her excitable, wide-eyed husband with all his lust for life coughs his way into an early grave within a couple of decades. I can't bear that thought. Hit me with a bus or set a bunch of junkies on me if you must, but for God's sake don't let me die of idiocy.

On Saturday night, we went and sat on the beach for an hour and I made her tell me her fears, then I told her mine. I wanted to understand both of us, to rationalise the decision and make it inevitable. It had the desired effect; I know now that every drag is the inhalation of a fool.

But - and I'll say it again - cold turkey is hell. I regret every lapse I had, every cigarette I made an excuse for, hate myself for giving in at those weak moments. One that went well with the Malaguese wine. A couple because I was stressed. A handful because they were social. All these undid the good work I did for four months: the weeks of obsession, craving, waiting for the nicotine receptors to shut down; the mood swings, physical pain, comfort eating and weight gain. Only 4% of people last four weeks off nictine cold turkey. I managed four months. But I fed the receptors, and they won. I'm back at square one.

I cried on the beach when Lainey told me she'd give up the veil, the beach and the horse and carriage if it meant I'd give up.

I went in to town today for an appointment at the NHS Stop Smoking shop. I chatted to Paul for the best part of an hour, and really got on well with him. I think he quite liked my reasoned, rational philosophy about giving up and genuinely respected my previous attempt at cold turkey ('You did - you gave up. It was staying off that was the problem, right?'), and for my part he didn't talk to me like I was an idiot and expained some of the science in adult terms without trying to dumb them down for a layman. He was a very interesting man.

The upshot of our conversation is that I've been described Champix, which sounds scarily like the kind of magic bullet I spend so much time decrying. It works by effectively shutting off the nictoine supply to the nicotine receptors in the brain, which become dormant and then die. However, while they're still kicking, it convinces them to act as if they were receiving nicotine, meaning that your brain is convinced that you've just had a fag all of the time. You smoke as normal during the treatment, but after a week or so cigarettes begin to taste so unpleasant that you stop smoking them. You don't have to pick a day to quit, because you naturally wean yourself off them as they start to taste as they would to a non-smoker. You don't get cravings, because the chemicals that the nicotine receptors pump into the body keep coming. My big lifestyle change will be - eat breakfast to slow the absorption rate.

Too good to be true, right?

Champix has side-effects. I can expect nausea, maybe even vomiting, sleep deprivation and migraines (both of which I suffer from regularly already), depression. Of course, these are common side-effects with all prescription drugs, and all are infinitely preferable to lung cancer, heart disease and the inability to steal a quick single on the cricket pitch. I'll have further appointments to keep track of this, and if I'm sensible I'll let them know how I'm feeling and we may have to adjust the dose accordingly.

Champix has a 65% success rate, which doesn't sound much when you constantly see that 80% of people thought their hair was shinier after using a partcular shampoo. But I know enough about clinical trials to start a discussion about them, and there are mitigating factors. Champix has thus far been prescribed to only the most hardcore smokers for whom all other avenues have failed - people who failed on everything else. And the dropout rate is included in the 35% 'fails', so those who have suffered from bad side-effects and stopped taking the pills (rather than go back to their doctors) are included in these figures. So for someone like me, it's a pretty safe bet as long as the side-effects aren't too bad. The worst case scenario is that I have to stop taking the pills and go cold turkey. I'd do that if necessary.

For now, I just smoke as normal. On Friday, I should have my prescription; on Saturday, I start popping the pills. A week later, the cigs should start to taste unpleasant, at which point I'll just stop smoking them. By the time we get back from The Gambia, Lainey should owe me the cricket bat she's been promising me if I gave up for the last four or five months.

The real prize, though, will be to be there at my own kids' weddings. I feel uneasy that it's going to take some hardcore medication to get me there, but I don't think they give prizes for the most hardcore quitter of the year. For once the destination is more important than the journey.

Anything that helps.

But keep this in mind. You can't just let this drug quit for you. You should still follow some of the advice you got when you DID quit cold turkey.

Keep up the good work.


Oh, you know what you need? More stress!

Am most perturbed by this Daily Mail article. 'Is This Smoking Pill Safe?':

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-509683/Champix-Is-smoking-pill-safe.html

Story (four-fifths of word count): Woman with recent, severe history of depression starts taking the drug, which is not recommended to anyone with a recent or severe history of depression. She 'became so moody that even her mother-in-law noticed something was wrong' (I'm sorry, that bit is just hilarious however you read it) and refused to see her GP, before attempting suicide. Then she stopped taking it and started smoking again, and everyone is really happy for her.

Scary stuff, eh? One anecdotal story about a woman who attempted suicide after taking the pill, and a statistic that 62 people felt 'suicidal feelings' (Just for balance: Deaths of lung cancer over the same period: 40,000. This isn't mentioned in the piece, oddly)

Footnote: Dr Alex Bobak, a specialist in giving up smoking and who has worked on trials of Champix, is quoted at the bottom as saying 'I am convinced it is giving up smoking, and not the effects of Champix, which have caused some people to feel suicidal... interestingly, in trials on people trying to quit smoking, those taking Champix reported feeling much less irritable and depressed than those taking a placebo pill... I would urge people not to be put off taking this drug. Remember, more than 50 per cent of long-term smokers will die prematurely as a result of a smoking related disease.'


The links at the bottom of the page offer 'Quit Smoking With Hypnotherapy', 'Quit Smoking In One Hour With Bio-resonance Clinic' and, bafflingly, 'Top Brand Herbal Party Highs'. I might stick with the Champix, thanks.

Thanks, Zero

I kind of see myself as joining forces with it. It helps me quit, then I need me to stay off it.

You're sensible enough to realise when you're getting really depressed. I shouldn't worry. We'll keep an eye on you. And Lainey will be close by. And Paul. Give it a bash.

Rich, it is me again. I am so sorry you fell off the wagon. PLEASE don't wait till you are so ill you couldn't smoke if you wanted to. That's what happened to my husband. Once you have seen the dreadful effects of emphysema, one of the results of smoking, you wouldn't touch one again. I take it you are coughing as Lainey would be less concerned otherwise.

Personally I believe the only way to stop is cold turkey, but you have to have huge willpower, and your life is stressful which doesn't help. Once you stop you start adding years to your lifespan. I promise you - my husband was diagnosed when he was 54, and they were talking wheelchairs, nebulisers etc. and he couldn't walk four steps. it is the most terrifying thing to experience, either as patient or carer. Oh, and for good measure it is revolting too.

He is now 70, and apart from his lungs is as fit as he was at 50. There is no doubt if he hadn't stopped smoking he would not be here now.

If you are taking a drug, take notice of your own feelings, and ask friends and family to note any changes in you that worry them. There is one drug that caused huge concern about suicidal thoughts etc. but unfortunately I can't remember the name. Just be very careful. Swopping one problem for another isn't the answer.

I do hope you succeed this time. YOU CAN DO IT! You did four months. If at first you don't succeed ...... etc.

and best wishes to Lainey - that girl clearly loves you to bits and deserves your love and commitment too.

Websailor

Incidentally, my husband's consultant refused to treat him if he continued smoking!

I have just read the article, and I know you don't like the DM but their reports on health related issued are pretty accurate and balanced. I suspect you are the wrong temperament for such a drug so do please be careful. Any signs you or Lainey are not happy about, give it up.

Websailor

Rich, if you don't quit smoking I'll come round there and rip your can crusher off the wall again

It's the toughest thing you'll ever have to do. it's also teh single most important improvement to your health you can take.

I'm off 'em nigh on 2 years now, and don't miss them at all. Dai is still struggling to quit. Everyone needs to recognise their own motivators and use whatever aids will work for them.

Very good luck with it

Rich.

I was prescribed Champix. It only worked for 5 months for me, but that's because of what happened with my marriage.

Anyway. When I started taking Champix, and forgive me if things have changed, but you're supposed to chose a day between day 8 and day 14 to give up smoking. Mine was day 9 and I didn't choose that date. It chose me. On day nine every time I lit up a fag I threw up. Definately not a good way to smoke. That was it for me.

I can't go onto Champix now because I'm on anti-depressants, but I so wish I could give up again.

Good luck my friend!

I must be some kind of freak. I really didn't find it that hard to quit. Sure I had all the cravings and withdrawals, but I think the key thing was my attitude about "slipping". I said I quit on New Years Day 2004, but I smoked sporadically for the first three months. I might have gone through 6-10 packs in that time total. The key was not feeling like I failed every time I had a cigarette.

I think I knew I had succeeded when I would find an old stale pack under the car seat or in a coat pocket and not hesitate to throw it out.

I had a couple of cigarettes after that, usually at bars, but when I did, it only confirmed that I had quit because I hated them and couldn't get the taste out of my mouth.

Recently I tried to show someone how to blow a smoke ring and completely failed because I really can't do it anymore.

Hi Webbie,

This is a totally seperate issue, but the reason I don't like the Mail is, *specifically*, its sensationalist and misleading science reporting - particularly the healthcare advice it gives.

I think people are grown up enough to decide for themselves whether or not immigration is a good idea and what limits it should have, or whether high house prices are more important than the natives of Devon villages being driven out by second-home owners. The Mail's views appeal to a lot of people on issues like this; some see them as the voice of reason, some see them as far-right nutters. I don't hate the Mail itself for representing the views of a large proportion of the population - I may disagree, a lot of the time, but they're entitled to that.

Health journalism is a different matter. Editorial decsions that affect millions of people's lives have to be made ethically. People read and act on the advice they read in newspapers because they aren't informed enough to make their own decisions, so they expect journalists to know what they're talking about. The Mail is second only to the Express in terms of misleading people. Sensationalist journalism that changes people's lifestyle decisions actually costs lives, where a debate on the benefits of the European Parliament may not.

I really don't want to pick this one apart, but the woman concerned had suffered from depression in the past and refused to see her GP. This is an educated guess, but I'd imagine that because her husband had given up on the drug, she pressurised her GP into giving it to her as well in the same way that cold sufferers hassle their GPs into giving them useless antibiotics. She shouldn't have been prescribed the drug in the first place if the content of the article is true. She ignored the side-effects, saying she refused to see her GP (maybe she can say she wasn't told that she should, but there's a huge leaflet in with the pack that explains all the side-effects and says you should consult your GP if any become serious). I was told that if I get any side-effects, I should call straight away and get an appointment, because reducing the dose is usually the best way to keep off the cigarettes and on the programme.

Suicidal feelings, depression, anxiety and irritability are all closely associated with smoking, and one meta-analysis has shown that smoking is a *cause* of depression (a meta-analysis is a combination of all studies rather than just one or two).

The Mail does this - it picks one story of someone who had a bad reaction to a drug and smacks a headline like 'Is this smoking pill safe?' on top of it. The answer, when applied to one woman, is probably 'no'. The answer for just about everyone else in the population is 'yes, and it's far better than heart disease or cancer'. But do people study scientific papers and meta-analyses before deciding? Of course not. They read the paper.

My aunt is a Mail reader, and on the basis of this article I had to sit and chat with her for quite a while this afternoon convincing her that all the evidence says it is safe. I find it worrying that, had I spoken to her before getting proper medical advice, I would have carried on smoking, putting myself at much greater risk. If I had been less well-informed, I would have become one of the 40,000 on the basis of one newspaper's desire to sell copy, and might even have been arguing against your husband's experience on the basis that it's safer to keep smoking than give up (I hear, constantly, that the smoking ban harms people's health because they get a bit wet when it rains).

Anyway, I'll leave that there. I could go on for hours

***

Gosho, you're motivating me in the wrong way. I want you to come over for a week, rip the can crusher off the wall, bring a load of obscure beer and play for the Cavaliers. Promise that you'll do all of those sometime in the next decade and I'll be off the tabs straight away

VV: 'When I started taking Champix, and forgive me if things have changed, but you're supposed to chose a day between day 8 and day 14 to give up smoking. Mine was day 9 and I didn't choose that date. It chose me. On day nine every time I lit up a fag I threw up.'

Paul said you're meant to choose a day, but his feedback is that nobody does. 'It chose me', as you say, is where the decision is made. When I get to that day nine phase, I plan to have a lovely glass of port after every meal, then try to smoke a cigarette. I will hate the cigarette. So I will lose the association I have between fortified wine and pleasure - Malaguese wine was the first reason for me starting again. I intend to keep trying to smoke that cigarette for as long as I can just to associate it with nausea.

I'm really glad you managed to give up on Champix - it gives me hope! - but I'm sorry you couldn't see it through. The Government record people as having given up after four weeks, which helps their stats but not people (after four weeks the nicotine receptors are merely dormant; it takes four months to kill them completely). I really hope you get the urge to give up again some time soon. If there is one way to die in pain and extreme suffering, it's through smoking.

Thanks, everyone - I'm so grateful for your messages and continued support. I will beat it.

(And yes, Zero - you're unique )

In the next decade? Yeah, I can manage that. So that means you've smoked your last cigarette, right?

And by the way, you have to come over here some time in the next decade and taste all those obscure beers without the detriment of them travelling 5000 miles. Although I think the one I just drank could travel to the moon and back without any deterioration in quality