Topic: Smoking???

[lushy86]

Nice one Mick - I have given up a few times using different methods and been suckered back in by the just the one won't hurt thing! - I hate that I am a smoker and my daughter is so upset with me and nags daily - I'm getting up the courage to do it again as I can really feel the effects now I'm in my forties.  Good luck - I'll be joining you soon  :)

Lushy x

[darren2007]

i tried to stop using patches but dident work iritetted me to hell but just been to docs today and said i wanted to stop so i came away with some tablets called zyban was goin to start taking them tomorrow untill i read all the side affects and things so im goin to give will power another go first

[Mr Smith]

To anyone out there it will be the best days work you have ever done in packing the weed in, I tried it once with mi Dads pipe full of twist and never again, good luck, :)

[lewic]

Agree with Barnowl, smokers pay way more into the governments coffers than they take out, so no need to feel guilty!

I stopped 6 years ago with the help of the late great Allen Carr. His books changed my outlook on the habit, they really should be taught in schools.

A friend of mine who smoked until recently was unluckier than me, she now has emphysema and 15% lung function at the age of 45, and has been told she needs a lung transplant but is not well enough to withstand the operation.

[Uncle Joshua]

smokers are a huge drain on NHS resources you are well shot of them.

That always amazes me, smokes and drinkers are both blamed for costing the NHS a fortune, but I'm sure both groups over a life time pay in waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy more than they take out.


Its only been 34 hours but the changes are amazing, my taste buds have changed and I'm no longer sure I like coffee, my in laws came round tonight and poped out for a cig and I was sure the house was on fire!! my daughter came down stairs about an hour ago and told my how much my skin had changed.


And, I have £25 in my pot. :)

[saddad]

Keep it up Mick... another 48 hours and you will be able to pay for all of next years seeds... even at T+M prices...  :)

[daileg]

ill agree again with barnowl

what i will say Ive tried several times lasted months at a time and still i ended up getting dragged in have tried patches Zyban and the new wonder drug champix first i began to see things with Zyban then my temper and had  a short fuse like you couldn't believe i wanted to kill Someone the one day as he cut me up. Champix the wonder drug leaves you feeling tired as you can never sleep if its not the nightmares sleep issues its the possible other side affects that make you wonder whats worse the drug or the nicotine .
look I'm no hypocrite my dad died of heart attack mu uncle died of angina my mother suffers from emphysema (stopped smoking after 40 years) 40 per day 

Yet i still smoke i smoke because i do i dont care what the costs are the government can put it up and up
the point is until i decide to stop on my terms when i feel it is right the more people that moan and moan will not make it any quicker for me to come to this decision will be on my terms

Will add anyone who has I wish you all the best stay strong and above all never forget your doing it for your self worth and health  ;D

[Hector]

smokers are a huge drain on NHS resources you are well shot of them.

That always amazes me, smokes and drinkers are both blamed for costing the NHS a fortune, but I'm sure both groups over a life time pay in waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyy more than they take out.

Actually they don't Mick :)

Anyhow, well done you! Not easy kicking the weed :)

[OllieC]

According to this link http://www.the-tma.org.uk/tobacco-tax-revenue.aspx the total revenue from tobacco sales in the UK is £10billion a year.
I have in my head a figure of around £90billion for the annual cost of the NHS.

It looks to me like they're  paying about 10% of the budget for the NHS. I don't know if this is proportionate to their extra cost or not...

Of course, many smokers get diseases that are nothing to do with smoking - I would guess my cost to the NHS has been around £4k this year, none of it self-induced!

[springbok]

I gave up Jan this year with the help of the NHS stop smoking service and Champix tablets.  Not had a cigarette since and still have no desire to have one.  In fact I have become one of the worse ex smokers around I think, I HATE the smell and the site of cigarette ends.  I smoked for 20 years, 30 a day.

Its hard at first, but keep going, you may have a blip or two...but that's pretty natural, as long as you stay focused that you don't want to smoke any more  you should beat the habit... Good luck.

[Hector]

According to this link http://www.the-tma.org.uk/tobacco-tax-revenue.aspx the total revenue from tobacco sales in the UK is £10billion a year.
I have in my head a figure of around £90billion for the annual cost of the NHS.

It looks to me like they're  paying about 10% of the budget for the NHS. I don't know if this is proportionate to their extra cost or not...

Of course, many smokers get diseases that are nothing to do with smoking - I would guess my cost to the NHS has been around £4k this year, none of it self-induced!

Are you assuming that all the tax revenue from smoking goes to the NHS....I dont think so!!!.

There are also clinical costs, staffing costs, ex staffing costs such as occupational pensions...etc etc.
I am not knocking smokers. I am just saying its a myth that smoking pays for the NHS treatments.

[betula]

I smoke but I do not defend the habit.

Sick of the latest craze of smoking being the new number 1 evil.

People who drive and fly in planes do not seem to worry about the crap they put into the air.

As for cost.Paid in all my life so what the heck.Our government can afford wars and expenses so they can add me to the list.

What I find really funny is people who I have smoked with for years.They give up.Suddenly they have this strange condition that means lots of arm flapping going on and pretend coughs.Give me a break.

Good luck to all who want to give up but please watch out for the arm flapping discease.

[OllieC]

According to this link http://www.the-tma.org.uk/tobacco-tax-revenue.aspx the total revenue from tobacco sales in the UK is £10billion a year.
I have in my head a figure of around £90billion for the annual cost of the NHS.

It looks to me like they're  paying about 10% of the budget for the NHS. I don't know if this is proportionate to their extra cost or not...

Of course, many smokers get diseases that are nothing to do with smoking - I would guess my cost to the NHS has been around £4k this year, none of it self-induced!

Are you assuming that all the tax revenue from smoking goes to the NHS....I dont think so!!!.

There are also clinical costs, staffing costs, ex staffing costs such as occupational pensions...etc etc.
I am not knocking smokers. I am just saying its a myth that smoking pays for the NHS treatments.

Just trying to bring in some numbers - I'm surprised that it's such a low figure, actually - you'd think smokers pay for the whole NHS several times over from some of the smoking industry's propaganda. Smoking related diseases are often very expensive to treat...

I would be interested to know how much obesity costs compared to what fat people pay in extra tax though... smokers get a lot of grief for their addiction compared to other unhealthy lifestyles.

[SamLouise]

Good for you Mick, and anybody else who has given up the fags.  Have never been tempted myself but I can appreciate the difficulty of giving up after a period of substantial use.

Anyway, on another board I use, there's some great advice and information from other people who've recently given up and whilst I can't link you because it's a members only (closed registration) site, I can copy paste over some more helpful, encouraging posts if required! :)  Quite a few of them have mentioned about getting the old taste buds in working order and being able to breathe more freely after just a week or two :)

[Baccy Man]

According to this link http://www.the-tma.org.uk/tobacco-tax-revenue.aspx the total revenue from tobacco sales in the UK is £10billion a year.
I have in my head a figure of around £90billion for the annual cost of the NHS.

It looks to me like they're  paying about 10% of the budget for the NHS. I don't know if this is proportionate to their extra cost or not...

It is usually sugested that the NHS spend less than 5% of the annual budget on smoking related illnesses. The significantly higher £5 billion figure the british heart foundation recently came up with for treating smoking related illnesses is said to be around 5.5% of the NHS budget.

These discussions rarely seem to go anywhere as although it is clear the healthcare costs for any smoking related illnesses could easily be covered by the revenue raised on tobacco products if the government actually allocated that money to the NHS it is harder to quantify the other potential costs involved. Smokers are less likely to be around long enough to collect a pension, they are less likely to need long term treatment for health problems due to old age, they are less likely to require long term residential care etc... on the other hand there is the direct or indirect taxation they will not be paying, loss of earnings etc...Just about anything could be included as a potential cost making it virtually impossible to come up with a figure of what a smoker costs & contributes vs a non smoker.

A cost-benefit analysis of smokers concludes "the objective of raising revenue from smoking is more of a priority than reducing smoking rates" but this is irrelevant too as if everyone gave up smoking tomorrow the government would simply raise taxes elsewhere to compensate for the loss in revenue.
http://www.library.nhs.uk/respiratory/ViewResource.aspx?resID=245547

People opinions differ on this subject & nobody seems willing to change their opinion whatever facts are quoted.

[Hector]

Agree Baccyman but picture may have changed in the 9 years since that report. E.g. There are Smoning Cessation Posts across the UK now ...big push on this in last 5 years that I know of. You are spot on however, when you say that monies from a source such as smoking/alcohol don't necessary ensure matched funding to smoking/alcohol related services. I am going to shut up now, as  I dont want to interfere with Micks post. Last thing for cost benefit analysis buffs  ;)
http://money.uk.msn.com/tax/articles/article.aspx?cp-documentID=4750489

and ps good for you Mick. Not easy to give up, so hats off to you :)

[littlebabybird]

how is it going today?
ok i hope
lbb

[ourdai]

I gave up 40-50 a day over 20 years ago, I can't believe how much they cost now.

Having tried many times, I failed as a result of the 'one won't hurt' syndrome so I haven't touched anything since.

Don't weaken - the first 3 weeks are the worst but I was still tempted for about
3 Years but it is worth it - honest!

[shirlton]

I smoke but I do not defend the habit.

Sick of the latest craze of smoking being the new number 1 evil.

People who drive and fly in planes do not seem to worry about the crap they put into the air.

As for cost.Paid in all my life so what the heck.Our government can afford wars and expenses so they can add me to the list.

What I find really funny is people who I have smoked with for years.They give up.Suddenly they have this strange condition that means lots of arm flapping going on and pretend coughs.Give me a break.

Good luck to all who want to give up but please watch out for the arm flapping discease.

I'm afraid that I am one of those people who cannot stay around smokers.Smoking left me with COPD and I just can't afford to breathe in the smoke either from fags or bonfires.

[sambucus]

...the healthcare costs for any smoking related illnesses could easily be covered by the revenue raised on tobacco products if the government actually allocated that money to the NHS

As you clearly know the revenue raised is not directly used to fund NHS treatment, therefore my earlier comments with regard to the burden placed on British taxpayers to fund NHS treatment for self inflicted health problems of smokers are perfectly valid.

...virtually impossible to come up with a figure of what a smoker costs & contributes vs a non smoker..

Actually it is very simple to quantify, a smoker will always cost more & contribute less than a non smoker.

Baccy Man, you are far worse than 'the average smoker' as you own a website with the sole purpose of advocating people grow tax free tobacco & therefore contribute nothing to the state for the healthcare they will inevitably require. Such websites are in very poor taste & should not be allowed in the public domain.