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Thanks mate. Think I'm gonna take a look at fisherman's friends. They're small and of similar size and have quite a few different flavours. I can't do mint, they seem to do something to me aswell.

I don't know whether becoming addicted to the lozenges is actually serving me well. The fact I have turned back to lozenges rather than succumbing to ciggies is reinforcing to me that the addiction is most definitely nicotine and not the physical act of smoking. Smoking is what left me feeling like crap more than lozenges. Smoking is the act with the most downsides. It's why I didn't want to dally with vapes, it's too akin to smoking with the physical long term effects on the body still unknown. I don't want to be stuck on lozenges for the rest of my life. I just need to find an alternative to the lozenges now. As I say I'm a very active person, always on the go so I am feeling the positives of not smoking on my body and that's with still eating the lozenges. I just need to be free of the drug that is nicotine. I think I will do as you say my friend and find myself the alternative to these Nicorettes and set a pack in date for these. Anyone got any alternatives to Nicotette fruit lozenges? Same taste and same size minus the nicotine?

Just popping in to update. The phonecalls with the prescriptions have finished. I missed a call and that was the end of that. As I said at the very start they're not bothered about you as a person or how you're doing. It was all just lip service to give you the prescriptions. I think there was probably some sort of local funding from government and they just have to keep throwing prescriptions around to keep receiving the government money so they're not really bothered about the individual. Anyway, onto this week. I don't know why but there were temptations this week. Id been finished with the lozenges for a week or two and midweek this week, Wednesday to be precise, had me thinking the unthinkable. I never succumbed to the pressure. I thought how horrible it would be in the end. The feelings of anxiety I used to get off smoking are still in my mind. I know how smoking used to make me feel and it was not good. All them feelings have gone this last 3 months odd, and that is because I have packed in. I was around at my lads mum's on the Wednesday in question, I had to go in the kitchen to get a plastic bag to take some stuff she passed me, her ciggies were on the side, open with a good few ciggies gone so she wouldn't notice if I took one. It was a quick temptation, the thought was gone as fast as it came but the temptation was there. Can't work out whether I've actually won with that battle by not taking one. The temptation being there probably means the opposite but the knocking back of the temptation must cancel that out. Needless to say last night I went to boots and got myself a weeks worth of lozenges. I need to kick this nicotine habit. I know I don't want to smoke, Ive knocked that temptation back. Just got to kick the lozenges now. It's like nicotine in a different form is taking a hold now.

I add my 1,207 cigarettes into this fire. RIP to the lovely Jill and thank you ever so much for the kind words of inspiration.

Oh no, has jillar passed away?

Thanks for your kind words Gene. Means a lot mate. Your previous posts helped me aswell.

Just checking in again. Had a stressful week or 2 just gone. Been in and out of the hospital with my son, appendix had to be removed. All went well then we were back about a week later with a flare up. Thankfully it came to nothing. Never once felt the need to head to the shop for the dreaded ciggies. I feel like a non smoker now. Sporadically having the lozenges. I can go without them but still like the taste so need to get going on finding myself a pack of nicotineless lozenges. Could be the final hurdle. Haven't been out for a drink as yet which was always a hurdle in the past. I actually feel like I don't want to drink anymore aswell as that makes me wake up the next day feeling like death warmed up no matter how many I have. I sometimes think I have some sort of allergy to drinking and ciggies as both make me feel anxious, alcohol the day after and ciggies as and when I'd have one. Maybe my body is telling me to steer clear of alcohol aswell. Anyway, got to keep fighting the good fight. Off the patches and only sporadically taking lozenges as I say. It's been a good few months. Just got to keep going.

Im not going to post durations anymore, just check in every so often and update that I'm still going strong. I think if I keep updating like a 1 week, 2 week, 3 week etc. etc. It is like I'm counting the days, whereas I'm not anymore. Anyway, no phone consultation this week. As I said last time I got 2 weeks worth of patches and lozenges to see me through the 2 weeks. I'm still on the patches daily, but the lozenge use is down. I find I don't need to be eating them as much as I was. I think it's about 3.or 4 lozenges a day now. I may at some point just buy a packet of non nicotine fruit lozenges and give them a go as I think it's the fruity taste I like more than the nicotine within. That's a plan for the next few days. Things are going well. I've got more energy now. I noticed when having a football kick around with my son. I had to walk up 10 flights of stairs in a block of flats yesterday with a smoker work colleague. He was puffing and panting at the top and I wasn't even out of breath. All noticeable things for me that are evidence of the progress made. I still haven't been back the gym. I need to get myself back in there but that's more of me finding the time than actually avoiding it. I have my son around a lot so squeezing gym sessions in around work and my son is hard at the moment. I've got a little exercise bike in the house so may try and fit in half an hour a day on that to start my fitness adventure and the gym can follow that. Small steps at the moment. One thing I have noticed with every quit, and moreso with this. When I was a smoker I would bite my nails a lot. Now Ive got proper finger nails. The biting of the nails is a nervous smoker thing. The anxiety of the wait for the next ciggie making you go for the nails.

4 weeks completed. Had my weekly phone call today. She said there won't be a call next week so she's giving me a double prescription. 2 weeks of patches, fine I said. Then she said I'll give you 80 lozenges to cover the full 2 weeks. I had to be a bit persuasive with her explaining I've had 80 a week so I want 160 for the 2 weeks. After a little umming and ahing she agreed. They're probably after trying to not lay out as much money now. I actually asked her when we can start lowering the dosage of the patches and she said give it a few more weeks, maybe week 6 or 8 she said. I had to explain that the lozenges are the big help at the moment so thats why I want the full weekly quota again. I find that sucking a lozenge for about 45 mins is a great substitute for a ciggie. I think I'm becoming addicted to lozenges. I'll have to find some zero sugar lozenges for when I ween off the nico lozenges. I know when Johan Cruyff the Ex Holland and Barcelona player packed in he became addicted to lollipops.

Into my 3rd week. Still on the 16 hour 25mg patches and lozenges alongside them. Feeling good. I know how to occupy my time now. The gym could be calling tonight if I can gee myself up. Been throwing myself into tidying the house massively. All stuff that would have been put off if I was still heading to the back door every 45minutes to an hour. When smoking it felt like I was just sitting round waiting for my next hit of nicotine. Now I'm getting stuff done. This thread and updating the progress is therapeutic for me at the moment. Hopefully there will come the day when I only pop in to say hello and help other people with their quit, I must say though I know that day is a while off yet, got to kill my own addiction first. Until then though I'll keep updating my progress. NOPE

what's all that about? That post above is acting like it's quoted something I wrote but I wrote no such thing. Same thing happened at the start of my quit.

Just been reading the first few pages of this thread I started. I forgot I even packed in for a month last August/September. Absolutely nuts. That was a cold turkey approach though. I'm fully equipped this time round with plenty of NRT. As I say I'm on prescriptions at the moment from the smokefree intitiave in my city on the NHS. I've paid for 3 months pre paid NHS prescriptions. I'm not going to let them start lowering doses until I'm happy and ready myself. At the moment I feel the patches and lozenges are a massive help.

2 weeks now. Still on patches and gone back on the lozenges. The lozenge lasts a good 40-50 minutes to waste away in your mouth whereas the spray was too quick. I find using the lozenge substitutes for a ciggie quite well. Haven't had many cravings at all. They come and go, mostly in stressful situations. I'm using my time well though. That time not spent sitting on the couch waiting to go for a ciggie. Feel more energetic to get stuff done around the house. Ciggies really did drain me of any energy to get anything done.

Just over a week in now. Had my second consultation. To be fair the consultations are absolutely nothing. Just some woman trying to speak without being spoken to. Probably just trying to get as many calls in as she can in the day to get her wage. I understand that. The conversation went along the lines of "So how you doing. That's great. Right I'll sort another prescription out for patches and lozenges." I cut her short and basically said jib the lozenges I want the mouth spray. She sorted it and I picked them up straight away. Will get on the spray sometime today. Patches must be doing their job during the day, administering the nicotine.

Very dubious of clicking a disguised link off someone posting their first ever post on a forum. Would advise that no-one else clicks the link also.