All entries for Wednesday 02 May 2007

Stop smoking!

Well, I went to a smoking cessation session this morning. They are running them at work through the NHS.

I know this has very tenuous links with Chartership but I am putting in the category of personal development, and I think it will have some effect on my work. (Or maybe I just want to be able to rant about it somewhere, and this is as good a place as any).

I've smoked on and off since I was 16, sometimes up to 30/40 a day, sometimes stopping for months on end, sometimes just having the odd one here and there when I have been stressed, or under the influence of the evil drink. Currently I smoke anything between none and 20 a day, and this seems to be related to how often I see my (smoking) boyfriend, how much time I spend in the pub and how much I am need of the emotional crutch.

Anyway, the session ths morning was attended by staff from around Uni, including 2 other members of Library staff - the three of us have now vowed to support each other and hassle each other with email should someone fall off the waggon.

We were given a variety of handouts, including a calendar, on which to mark the dreaded "quit date" and then record progress for a month - until the date of the next session. We were also given a month's supply of nicotine patches - which I am a bit scared of and will contemplate later.

So - first step - see my Bloke tonight and request his support/assistance/bullying/lecturing beginning with a request that he stops smoking inside the house when I am there (or at all, if that is possible).

Then the quit date will be set (possibly for bank holiday Monday - they suggest you chose a low-stress day, and this is less than a week away).

Then the habit-changing part - hmm, I'll need to give this more thought too.

Any other slaves to the smoke out there? Want to swap stories or just need someone to hassle you to quit? Get in touch.

See this blog for an interesting, related debate. 

Katharine Widdows : 02 May 2007 11:48 |  Tags: Change Personaldevelopment Smoking |  Comments (10) |  Close comments |  Trackbacks (1) |  Report a problem