The Nicotine Huddle

Is it my imagination or is there a new Civilisation, a new bread dwelling outside of todays Pubs, clubs and Restaurants.
I remember the days when going down to the local was a great experience. You may have the one or two punters outside on the mobile conversing with his or her other half. It once was a quiet place to be, somewhere you could take a deep breath before entering these smoke filled living and breathing establishments.

To my amazement last night, on arrival at the local watering hole, I had to fight my way through the Nicotine huddle that had congregated on the steps of the local. I just wanted to have a quiet pint and enjoy the World Cup on the Big Screen T.V. There seems to be many more people that now spend more time outside the pub than inside. The white smokey haze that build up outside would have put any Icelandic ash cloud to shame. It was a true sight to behold. The beer garden seemed to be empty of smokers, they needed to huddle with each other, they felt the need to belong to these door dwelling creatures of habit. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining at all, it just interests me the way things have changed. I'm sure there are many a relationship that have sparked outside these establishments, a quick glance at a fellow smoker, offering to light up a comrade in arms. "You wouldn't have a light"? been the overused cliche of the night. Its a real ice breaker if you ask me.

I found myself outside with an addicted Cigarette Smoking friend where the atmosphere was 3 or 4 stages uptempo compared with inside the pub. Do smokers really have more fun? Maybe they do! It was the group mentality I enjoyed, everyone there was a smoker, like minded people who had created a place to combat the various smoking bans that currently outlawed fellow Nicotine chasers in pubs and clubs across the Uk and Ireland.
The ban seemed to clear the air in the pubs and clubs inside anyway. But what it also created was a sub culture of smokers that wouldn't lie down. They needed their fix and this surely was their compromise, this place was a symbolic free haven where they could smoke their cigarettes and be social animals all over again. They hunted in packs, they came in droves.

Could this place be infiltrated by a reformed smoker like myself....Not sure if I was successful, but I gave it a try. I asked a few lads if they were happy about smoking and 80% showed me a want and need to give up. So this new smokers Haven, this refuge could possibly be a place where quitting could be discussed but maybe not practiced. Maybe I wasn't so welcome after all. It would defeat the Huddle's purpose. I was a spanner that wouldn't put a stop to this small and new society. Anyway Huddle on guys and I will see you outside your local sometime soon!! And one thing I forgot to say earlier. There are no pros to smoking.

The Nicotine Huddle

Health Warning - Procrastination Kill Your Quit Smoking Attempt!

When an individual takes the plunge and decides to quit smoking, it is deemed as the first of many stages on the road to Health. Unfortunately there is one long word in the english language that can scupper the quit smoking attempt. Procrastination is the smokers enemy, it is nicotine's buddy.

Once procrastination (or the art of putting things on the long finger) takes a hold of you, it is an uphill battle to shake it off your back. Nicotine addiction loves people who Procrastinate in quitting smoking, its part of the building blocks of self doubt. Once there is self doubt this beast they call old Nic can buy time. It gives him enough rope to reel you back into where he wants you and cause you to fail in your quit smoking attempt.


You may remember the times where you most enjoyed smoking cigarettes, the situations where you felt they helped you. Stop right there! This is just an illusion, a lie, a deceitful trick that your addiction can play on your human and fragile mind. On the contrary there is no physical satisfaction or gain to be had by smoking cigarettes, the proof is everywhere in your everyday life. What the addiction doesn't remind you of is the, smell, the shortness of breathe, the unhealthy gums, the dry throat, the cough, the wheeze. Total Quit Smoking Cessation is the only way forward!



Nicotine is surely a great master of deceit, you only remember the good times with smoking even though there are none. What I'm really trying to say is don't put off another minute of your time in Procrastinating the Quit Smoking Process. Decide that your gonna do it and follow through with the program. Nicotine is not your friend, it is a vile enemy that will discard you when your health finally implodes. Old Nic will just move onto his next victim and weave his magic again in another quit smoking attempt. Please promise yourself to fight this plague of Nicotine and rid his possession from your life for good....
Remember the long finger can Kill you quit smoking attempt

Health Warning - Procrastination Kill Your Quit Smoking Attempt!

Quitting Smoking Is So Easy?

I remember not so long ago having a conversation with a non smoking friend of mine. He made a claim to me that quitting cigarettes was such an easy thing to do. I was taken aback if not stunned at this bold and brash statement. 

 How could he make this assumption without any experience or knowledge of the addiction? We argued for 30 mins and came to two very opposite opinions and agreed to differ. In other words I backed down and let him think he had made a valid point.

It was easier for me to do this as I thought it would be impossible to educate him in the trials and tribulations of a seasoned smoker like myself. If only he knew and could feel how difficult in reality it actually was to kick this vile habit and addiction. His simple answer to the problem was "just don't light up and stop altogether".This annoyed me as much as it would annoy any smoker that regrets taking up cigarette smoking.

His statement festered in my head for a long time after that, it didn't sit easily with me. I began to think alot about what he had to say. I took on board what he had said and began to doubt what I had always believed to be true, that giving up cigarettes was indeed extremely difficult. What if he was right, what if we are just led to believe that the task in hand of quitting smoking is an uphill battle. I decided  from that moment on that I would change my mindset and  train of thought. Maybe there was some truth in the statement, if we start the journey of quitting cigarettes or any addiction we need to banish all pre conceptions and  anecdotal hearsay regarding the difficulties in quitting smoking.

With this in mind I started afresh, I threw away all my original  thoughts on the subject and said to myself how easy it was to quit cigarettes. I became very positive about the whole quit process and the penny dropped. Many thoughts that swim around your mind during a quit attempt are of a negative nature, they can hamper your success to be nicotine free any time soon. The crux of it all is to beat this habit from the positive perspective. Laugh at yourself, belittle the habit, tell yourself that you could have quit years ago. Convince your mind that you are know taking back control of the habit, its now in your hands, Don't beat yourself up, don't stress, just stay focused on the task at hand and most importantly don't get consumed by the whole quit process. Its just something you wanna do!

Back to my friend and his bold statement that changed my way of thinking. I never told him that I thought he was right because he didn't see the habit from where I was standing, he couldn't understand the hold it has over you. He acted as the catalyst, but my new train of thought was all down to me, I was the catalytic reaction. Keep the faith and soldier on. I'm routing for you all....

Quitting Smoking Is So Easy?

Cold Turkey - For the Strong Minded Cigarette Quitters?

Ever wonder why some people say it is so difficult to quit smoking the Cold Turkey way. Well maybe they could be wrong.

Millions have QUIT well before smoking cessation aids became popular. This is probably the more traditional route to take. It requires strong willpower, very much depending on the level of your addiction and your desire to give up smoking.
The first thing that one must do is finish the rest of that pack you have in your pocket. The approach I would take for this is to make sure you smoke the last cigarette in your last packet before you go to bed.

The reasoning behind this is very simple. Its all about timing. Many times before I had promised myself to quit but always had a few cigarettes left in my last packet. I never discarded them just held onto them as my crutch. They were a constant reminder to me of what I really was. I was someone unwilling to let go of this vile habit, it had consumed me. When you smoke the last cigarette in the packet at least you have to go somewhere to get more, its an obstacle that lends itself to your full recovery as an ex Smoker. You will need many of these to be truly successful.



Set the Date
This is of utmost importance, it gives you a chance to get focused and make any preparation you may need to give yourself the best of chances. Once the date is set, stick to it, don't procrastinate!

Vulnerable Times
Draw up a simple chart listing the times that you would normally smoke. List the situations that make you feel stressed and cause you to light up. When you have the list completed, reflect on what you have written. Choose alternatives that place you in less stress positions. Dont go to work early, change your route if at all possible. If you are stressed, take time out to breathe deep slow breaths. Smoking actually ads to stress even though you may feel relieved. It raises the blood pressure and speeds up metabolism artificially.


Exercise and Nutrition
Sounds a bit of a cliche, but its true. Walk more often, cycle to work, jog or do whatever you feel will help clear the head and be of benefit to you. Drink plenty of water. This is something I have always done during a Quit. Anytime I felt the urge to light up a cigarette I would drink a glass of cold water and it worked for me. Eat plenty of fruit and veg, remember you need to clear your body of all those nasty toxins and this will really help.


Social Life
This is an important one. For me I avoided going out to pubs, clubs etc for a few weeks. I needed to give my body a chance and stay well clear of temptation. It is only for a short while, just long enough to build confidence and re train the mindset. When the time comes and you go out with your friends and stay away from the cigarettes, you will feel on top of the world. The dreaded Alcohol is one of the main reasons people fail in their quit attempt, so stay away from it for as long as you can.

These are only guidelines to Quit Smoking the Cold Turkey Way, everyone is different. I am not from a medical background, just speaking from experience. Give it a go and let me know how you get on with your Quit.

Cold Turkey - For the Strong Minded Cigarette Quitters?

So why do smokers just like you find it so difficult to quit smoking?

Making the decision to quit smoking isn't easy and it is even harder to put it into practice. So, only smokers with great willpower manage to beat the Nicotine habit without any kind of help.

Statistics show that every year about 70% of the smokers want to quit smoking, but, sadly, less than 5% actually quit. In general, it takes 3 or 4 attempts to quit smoking permanently*.

This is because cigarettes create both a physical dependence (on nicotine) and a behavioral (or habit-based) dependence.

Until now, the various methods to quit smoking only contributed towards overcoming the physical dependence by administering anti-depressive treatments, or by replacing the nicotine inputs by patches or chewing gum.

Even a major nicotine gum manufacturer is now recognizing this fact by telling smokers that if they want to quit smoking they should cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoke at the same time as using their product - they suggest that it can take anything up to 9 months to quit smoking completely!

Overcoming this behavioral dependence connected with the physical act of smoking is an important part of quitting the "Habit".

We all know that the "habit" of smoking cigarettes is associated with a whole series of rituals that cannot be easily abandoned overnight, which makes getting help with the willpower to quit smoking cigarettes even more important.

More than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are smoking related. Smoking cigarettes increases your risk of lung cancer. You know that smoking is bad for your health, yet at the same time you also know how hard it is to quit smoking. You have probably tried to quit smoking several times. Nobody has said that quitting is easy. nicotine exerts a physical and mental hold on you that is a major barrier to quitting smoking.

So a small percentage of smokers have found it easy to quit smoking without some form of help. The cravings for a cigarette when you quit smoking cold turkey can be intolerable. The immediate withdrawal symptoms of quitting like irritability, anxiety, headache, depression, lack of concentration and restlessness can overcome your will power and next thing - you are back to being a smoker.
Some smokers have found nicotine replacement therapies like Nicorette, Nicoderm, Nicotrol or Nicquitin have been a help, but for many who have tried them and failed there has to be another approach to quitting smoking.

NicoBloc simply allows you to continue smoking while you are quitting but control the amount of nicotine you take into your system.

You can quit smoking - millions of people around the world have successfully quit smoking. It doesn't matter how long you have smoked, you can quit!

So why do smokers just like you find it so difficult to quit smoking?