Arnold wrote:
> Anyone managed to give up cigarettes and alcohol and never looked back?
>
> If so, I would be interested to know the techniques you used, coz I am
> struggling with 'will power'!

Alcohol never had any huge attraction for me, so if I occasionally buy
wine for a family dinner, most of it gets thrown out. I'm single and
live alone, and gave up partying a long time ago. If I'm out for
dinner, I'll sometimes have a drink, but I don't usually. Cigarettes
- quit just about a year ago. I tried a lot of times, but it was never
the right time. So, you have to want to (at least in the back of your
mind) AND it has to be the right time. Last year, it was the right
time for me. I just quit cold turkey and have never had a real urge to
start again - I just imagine how the smoke feels in my throat, how bad
my house smelled, and how much I coughed. HOWEVER, the old "saw" is
true - if I knew I had only a year to live, I'd start again in a
minute. LOL. I don't miss the taste or the feeling - just the action
of smoking.

Don't be afraid to get all the help you can - only about 1 in a
thousand people can quit successfully cold turkey, and there's nothing
wrong with getting support. OTOH, my son quit chewing tobacco cold
turkey, so here are two of us in the same family, doing it. In my
case, better late than never. ;-)

Good luck.

N.