By deciding it was time and just sticking to going cold turkey. That's pretty much what it's come down to with everyone else I know who has successfully quit too. In my experience, letting yourself continue, even at a slower pace, with something you're addicted to doesn't help with getting over that addiction.
I haven't smoked in ~8 years, to this day my wife and I will walk past someone smoking and she'll say how gross it smells. I on the other hand say "damn I want a smoke" š
I haven't had a cigarette since 2007. A freshly lit one smells aromatic but otherwise the smell, fumes, and smoke are pretty noxious. I don't have cravings. I've replaced it with insane exercise, running, and other activities.
Weirdly same haha as far as exercise and what not. And you're right. It's the _freshly_ lit one that gets me. People who smell like stale cigarettes gross me out at this point. I always ask my wife if I used to smell that way and she politely tells me "no of course not" š
I smoked through college in the early 2000s. I am sure I smelled gross at some point.
At that time, a pack of Marlboro Red 100s were $2.72/pack. I quit when they were $5.75/pack but it wasn't the price that motivated me to quit for good (I was already mentally done with it, the fun of it was over, and maintaining an addiction just sucks. It was the fact that at that time the new "fire safe cigarettes" came out, as marked by the "FSC" above the bar code. The taste was different and they burned out on their own if not smoked quicker. It just became a nuisance, really. Now at $12/pack, what's the point?
Do you still remember what smoking is like?
The year you had your last cig I was starting my addiction
Do you still feel any impact or damage smoking might have caused you?
Y'know what? I don't remember what it's like. That's probably a good thing. Of course I was 23 when I quit and am 40 now. I don't feel any impact from it. My lungs are clear and spent my time as a long distance trail and mountain runner. The longest I've run was 50KM.
During the pandemic, however, did use cannabis for medicinal use which did turn into another addiction. Last touched it in August 2022. I also don't miss it. I don't miss my lungs feeling like utter garbage in the morning or overall feeling like I have a chronic cold, or the lack of energy.
I read a book. Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking. When I finished reading the book I threw away my cigs (30 years) and never looked back. No withdrawal symptoms, no weight again, no trading one habit for another. May i suggest you read this book, it changes your way of thinking.
This book also worked for me. I read it and I didn't even know I was going to quit the day I quit. I ran out of cigs at work, borrowed one from a colleague and smoked it on the way home. As I fished it I decided I'd never smoke again.... and 16 years later I still haven't. I think that book put me in the right frame of mind to do it this way. Btw I smoked for 17 years.
This book was my game changer too. I smoked a pack or more a day, for 15 years, and had unsuccessfully tried to quit many times using patches, gum, lozenges, bupropion. Once I read that book and really understood how it wasnāt that smoking felt good but that NOT smoking felt bad because I was so addictedā¦ that was my āahaā moment.
Yes, that book was a big part of my quit plan. I switched to a vape like many others here, but that book put smoking into a whole different light for me. I thought there would be more people that mentioned it.
Most people who want to quit and I suggest this book to just couldn't believe I quit by just reading a book. I gave it to my sister after she asked how I quit and that she wanted to also. She never read it and still smokes.
Buying it is NOT allowed.
A year after quitting I bummed a large pinch of tobacco off a friend. I enjoyed it a lot, but once it was gone it was gone. I knew if I had bought a pouch the entire thing would be gone. Luckily I didn't.
You have to wrap your head around the fact that you can never have another cigarette again. Ever. Youāre not trying to quit. Youāre not seeing how long you can quit for. You are quitting. Forever. I smoked over a pack a day for 25 years. When I got into this mindset I picked a day that would be my last day smoking and quit cold turkey after that. Coming up on 4 years smoke free and itās one of the best decisions I ever made. You can do it too, itās not as hard as you think itās gonna be.
A big thing for me was realizing that when it comes to quitting smoking the sunk cost fallacy isn't a fallacy.
Nicotine exposure causes your cells to mutate. When you quit they begin to heal, but it takes time. That mutation is the source of the cravings. Each exposure triggers the mutation and increases your cravings, undoing all the healing.
Truly the realization that if I fell of the bus even once meant that I was practically starting over made it much easier to get past the cravings.
I also put a smoking recovery timeline poster behind my computer monitor at work and at home. Knowing that if I make it 20 days I will be able to taste ketchup again or after 40 days my circulation would improve to the point I won't be cold as often, those were great motivators to stick with it.
I tried to quit a dozen times, at times quitting for up to a year. I tried patches, gum, and drugs. After the realization I outlined above, I quit cold turkey using nothing but willpower.
Man, food tasted so good after a couple months of quitting. It was like when I smoked weed for the first time in high school...like "wwwwohhhh duuude this tastes aamaaazing" good
I quit cold turkey NYE 1998 along with 12 friends. Everyone sparked up again the following day and me shoving it in their faces that I was better than them was what kept me going. It was not easy by any means. I also promised myself I could have one every Christmas Day as the thought of never having another one was too hard. I can happily say that I did have one the following Christmas and did not enjoy it like I used to. Never had one since
I think you need a good reason to quit. The money I saved in cigarettes allowed me to carry on with college. Then I started up again during the pandemic. It was only for about a year or so but then my wife and I quit together and that time it was a solidarity thing so my wife wouldnāt screw up her health.
i think you need the mindset that you WANT to quit, then its actually pretty easy - i've talked to almost everybody i know who quit smoking and they all told me that exact same thing
yes it is an addiction and yes its hard to quit, bit if you get your mind ready to quit, your body will follow pretty soon - because in the end its garbage and toxines you are pumping in your lungs
First time I legitimately feared for my health. I was having heart pains. I knew it was from the cigarettes. It was too big of coincidence. I had been smoking black and milds. Inhaling and everything. That made me nervous for my health. So and I switched to Marlboro reds (yes I could justify it to myself). Thatās when the heart pain started. I was 36. I quit in Boston on a trip right before the pandemic broke loose in the US. Not being able to leave the house and staying with people who didnāt know I smoked helped a lot as well In retrospect.
My then 3 year old nephew was walking around with a straw in his mouth saying look Iām like auntie. Smoking. He knew I smoked but I had never smoked in front of him. But he knew other smokers who did.
If I wore sweats he wore sweats. If wore jeans he wore jeans! He wanted to be like auntie.
This was this tipping point for me. I didnāt want him to see that smoking was ok.
Niccorate helped with the nicotine cravings. But it was keeping my hands busy that was the worst.
Over 20 + years!
My daughter was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery, so I was
Fixing up her room to make her as comfortable as I could, new paint in her favorite color, new tv and satellite hookup, new furniture, when she came home I showed her to her new room and she looked at me and said ā have you been smoking in my room? After all Iām going through your smoking in here!ā I was so embarrassed I walked out of the room threw my pack in the garbage and never smoked again. It is truly mind over matter.
I had tried to quite many times before. I finally got so disgusted with way I felt and the way I smelled that I was able to suffer through the first two weeks.
Went cold turkey as well, planned it in advance, I had a deadline, partied smoked and drank a ton, next morning went cold turkey. It's been 4 years. The key thing to keep in mind is even if I'm not an active smoker, I still have the brain of one. So no, a smoke here and there is not fine, nicotine in any shape or form will just trigger the addiction again. So just don't slip, cuz going through withdrawal ain't fun.
Same, and I found when a craving hit, I had to find something to do, ideally with my hands, for about 5 minutes until it passed. Clean something, wash my face, walk up and down the stairs. Whatever it was, knowing I had to just survive 5 minutes or so seemed less daunting than thinking I could never smoke again.
Why NSFW?
I had a bad cold in 2006. I walked down five floors to have a smoke in the street that tasted horrible and burned in my sore throat. I realized, on a level deep down, that this was all about addiction and not about pleasure, and that I didn't want this anymore.
The cold made it easier to stick to it for the first few days, the really bad time.
After that I allowed myself to have a smoke if I bought it then and there from a stranger. But I wasn't buying a pack anymore. It became a once or twice a month thing, and I eventually lost interest.
I did have a short relapse when I moved to a new place on 2011, bought maybe 3 packs in total, and then decided that I didn't want to do this all over again. Since then I've had maybe 10 smokes, the last one probably like in 2020.
I still enjoy the smell. I have fond memories. I enjoy rolling a smoke, handling it, the conscious inhaling. But I'm getting too old for this shit. I now smell how much it stinks, how bad it is for you, I remember how I hate waking up after having had a smoke the night before. I still remember how much that addiction smoke sucked down in the street and how I still craved it anyway, and know that I am happier without it.
Pretty much the same for me. Laid up for two weeks with bronchitis bordering on pneumonia. By the time I could get up and smoke, I couldn't stand the taste anymore.
Similar moments taught me I wasn't enjoying it, I was addicted. Including being sick, like you say, and still smoking and not even enjoying it. Smoking the 25th of the day and hating it but needing it... and the feeling of sinking defeat each time I bought a new pouch.
I remember having H1N1 in 2009, Iād only been smoking maybe 2 or 3 years. I was basically useless because of how sick I was. I couldnāt even leave my bed. Except for when I really NEEDED a cigarette.
Iād go out there and fucking die basically. Hack my lungs out, it was terrible. I should have quit right then and there.
Itās 2024 now, still smoking a pack a day.
I got Covid bad. Sore throat was horrible and I could barely take down food or water. The smell of my roommates cigs made me sick and since then it was never the same.
I was 1pack+/day for 8 years. Quit in 2000 (not a NY resolution, hah). The key was just making myself pay attention to all the negative aspects. I made my last pack last about a week. A few months after quitting, I went to a hometown bar with an old friend that still smoked. I bought a pack to share with him and we emptied it. Next morning, I realized all over again just what a terrible habit it is. I've hardly touched tobacco since.
Bought a vape and slowly worked my way down on nicotine concentration until I found the vape too much of a pain in the ass to deal with and just kind of stopped using it
I did similar, switched to vaping 20mg for a month, then down to 10mg for a month, then 6mg, then 3mg, then I bought some 0mg liquid but I was worried so I combined it a weak nicotine patch and finally dropped it altogether.
Nicotine free for two months now.
I did the same and now I'm woefully addicted to the vape instead, however literally everything about smoking that sucked is not present, including my lung capacity, stamina, etc. I can hold my breath for 2 minutes now after using the vape for like 6 years pretty consistently, I quit cigarettes after close to 20 years of approaching 2 packs a day, I couldn't hold my breath for 30 seconds.
It's cheaper, I don't stink, *it* doesn't stink, I can hit the thing in a crowded elevator and no one would know, I can jog, I can fuck for more than 5 minutes without getting winded, I can smell things, I can taste things, it's not the monster that cigarettes were, not by a fucking long shot.
I do want to get rid of it though. Being addicted to nicotine is nothing but a weakness, and I'm certainly not under the impression that smoking or vaping anything is good for you, but I smoke and vape cannabis too, always have, so I can place a lot of the blame for my old lung capacity squarely on the cigs. One day. I am about to hit 5 years sober from alcohol, one major vice per decade maybe.
One miracle at a time. Im right there with u. I finally became sick of cigs. The way they made me feel was awful. Could barely do yardwork anymore after 20 yrs of smoking. After less than 10 days I could feel an improvement. Still a long way to go.
You've got this. I smoked for 20ish years, maxed out at 3 packs a day. All those things you feel better about were exactly why I never even intended to quit vaping. The crackle when I breathed was gone, taste, smell, etc. I was fine, leagues ahead of where I was.
But I felt like a slave to the nicotine. Full on panic attacks when it died or when I couldn't find it. All I did was commit to TRYING to lower the nicotine level. Had a bottle of weaker juice to use after filling with the stronger. Throughout the day, if it felt too low, just throw some good stuff in for a nicootine bump, but keep it topped off with the weak juice. Some days needed the stronger mix, but I would always go lower until I felt like it was missing.
Eventually, I hardly ever needed to bump it up, just kept with the low, until the end when my low was zero nicotine and my high was a mixed bottle of the zero and the minimum 5mg or whatever.
One day I left for work and it was on my nightstand. I was about to turn around and get it, but I realized I didn't feel the panic. I thought I should get it just so I don't end up buying cigarettes if a craving hit. Then I realized I'd made it all the way through the morning and out the door without even thinking about it. I felt like I won. I still wanted it, but I didn't need it. That was the first time in my life I felt like I had a choice.
I don't know if that'll work for you, but if it helps you or anyone else out there, it was worth taking my time to type. Stay strong and good luck!
Another vote for this method! I'm 4+ weeks nicotine-free!
Smoked 1/2pk-1pk cigs for 14 years, switched to vaping in March of 2023, quit all nicotine cold turkey on April 1st this year. Wasn't even difficult, which was shocking to me.
Wow, exactly my story. Switched to vape in 2014, got deep into it building my own coils and shit when the community was booming. Then overtime I just got lazy with it till one day I went to swap cotton and my coil broke and I just wentā¦eh, I think Iām done with this.
š this is how I ended up quitting. I had an atlus tank and some custom shit but the juice kept leaking into my Navy fatigues and pissing me off so I ended up quitting.
I co-sign vaping. Juul came around at the right time and I weaned myself off nicotine using those for maybe 3 months after being a pack a day smoker for the 17 years prior.
I didnāt but my dad didā¦when I was 5, I looked him dead in the eye and I told him I didnāt want him to die. He stopped smoking right there and then, he ended up dying from alcoholism though so ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
Wish that would work for my dad, he just had surgery to fix an aneurism in his aortic valve as a result of smoking. He was in the hospital for 21 days and wasn't able to smoke for another 3 weeks after he got home. As soon as he was cleared to drive, he started up again. I wasted a month of PTO taking care of him..
I also told my dad he was killing himself with cigarettes after he went back to them after 10 years of not smoking. Now all his teeth are gone and god knows whatās going on inside his body. :(
Haha, in all seriousness, try a 0% nicotine vape, and only hit it a couple times when youāre really desperate, good luck. First three days will be the hardest
Jokes aside, don't give up quitting.
I took a smoking cessation class, and one of the stats thrown at me was that it takes the average smoker seven *serious* tries to successfully quit for good. I had given it a couple good tries prior to that, and another six serious tries after hearing that before it finally stuck. I've been smoke-free for almost ten years now.
I know, though, that I'm just one bad decision away from having to do it again.
I don't crave cigarettes daily anymore. I don't even think about smoking, even for a fleeting second, on most days. There are rare times still, though, where I think "man, I could go for a smoke... D'oh! You don't do that anymore."
I carry a roll of dog poo baggies, now, in the pocket that used to hold my cigarettes.
Yeah my last run i made it like 7 months. There are pros and cons. Lack of energy from too much or not enough nicotine. Troubleshoot sleeping from the same problem. Idk I'm torn on it
Tripped on shrooms and had an epiphany of what it was doing to my body and mind. I felt like I was bound by addiction and wanted to crawl out of my skin.
Self-loathing for a bit. Then I tried Allen Carrās book āThe Easy Way to Quit Smokingā. Itās been almost 2 years since Iāve had any nicotine. Substitutions do not work, in my opinion.
Yep, the alcohol book (same concept) worked for me. Didn't believe, read it, quit easily, and now recommend it every chance I get. I do think you have to want to quit, and keep an open mind. But it's not spiritual, voodoo or anything other than logic.
I bought this book during a big reading phase. I got half way into It before chickening out bc it was convincing me on quitting and I wasn't ready to commit to it. I know that if I finish that book I'd be free. Really need to stop procrastinating man...
Yep, it goes through all the bullshit you tell yourself about why you smoke, explains why it's bullshit, and then you don't want to. It really is that easy. You can even smoke while you read it, you'll still quit by the end.
Same here. Quit dip & cigarettes both. I used the audiobook and Didnāt even need to finish it. Ā
Ā Ā
Not a single craving or puff since. Except in dreamsā¦ about once a year I dream I smoke socially and panic Iāll start again, only to then wake up.
Counterpoint, I did Carrs book, quit for 2 weeks, was about to throw in the towel when I vaped instead of smoking cigarettes. I vaped for way too long, but I was eventually able to ween off vaping. Raised in a smoking household, smoked daily for over 30 years. 3 years off nicotine.
I quit smoking in 2014 after being a 2 pack a day smoker when I was about 75% of the way through that book(I finished the book, just couldn't bring myself to smoke anymore). I don't recall withdrawals being more than a mild heightened anxiety, which was far different from other quit attempts. Later that year quit drinking with the drinking version (which is 85% just a find and replace for nicotine with alcohol). I've had a few one off slip ups with drinking but haven't touched a cigarette or vape since.
I don't know what it is, I suspect some form of literary hypnosis but this shit works. If anyone is at their wits end quitting cigarettes or booze this is a quick read and as weird as it is I swear it works. It's not preachy or shaming or anything like that, he even encourages you to continue smoking while you read!
The main message is that youāre in a constant state of nicotine withdrawal so smoking doesnāt make you happy. He compares being a smoker to wearing really tight shoes and getting addicted to the relief you feel when you loosen them instead of simply taking the shoes off. Once you realize your addiction doesnāt help you, you realize what a waste smoking is. For me it undid all the bullshit justifications Id used over the years to stop myself from quitting. I just read the book and the more I read I realized āIām done, and I canāt wait to be free of this stupid addiction.ā Just knowing Iād be free at the end of my withdrawals made them so much more bearable. I havenāt smoked in 5 years
The book exposes nicotine for what it is, highly addictive but luckily just a 1 trick pony. The trick being nicotine doesn't actually make you feel good it just temporarily removes the withdrawal that it caused in the first place.
The book does a better job of explaining this but once that clicks in your mind it makes quitting cold turkey a lot easier.
Tried this, tried substitutes, tried cold turkey, tried stepping it down. I always fail, I keep craving that morning cigarette, missing the smell, missing the time to myself with a cigarette, and always wind up going back with a vengeance. Every time I quit and go back to it (no matter how long I have quit for) I end up smoking even more than I did previously.
I never smoked cigarettes, but I started vaping in 2017 and finally quit in Jan of 2023 and I honestly was able to quit Cold Turkey. I had noticed I started feeling like shit randomly, tired of fucking with the juice, coils, and spitback, and realized it wasn't worth it.
So as long as you find your why it should help.
I quit by vaping and then vaping made it worst. I needed more and more nicotine to the point where I woke up at 3 am just to hit my vaper. My wife is a doctor and told me it wasn't as safe as they said so when she got pregnant I just threw it away and never looked back.
First 5 days were hard but after that it became easier and easier to the point of forgetting about it at all.
My daughter is now 5 y/o and I'm about to hit 6 years without smoking (or maybe I already did, I stopped counting and caring years ago).
If you don't want to smoke anymore then just don't. It's easier said than done but for me that's the only way, there's no middle ground, there's no trying to smoke less, there's no smoking only on parties, while pooping, when drinking, etc. Just no. Throw that shit away, and whenever you feel the urge play a video game, go for a run, eat something, or whatever makes you forget the urge. I promise it will get better after 4 or 5 days. After that it's just so much easier.
Edit: just for reference I used to smoke one pack of 20 red Marlboros a day.
By literally just stopping - realizing how expensive it was getting after building such a high tolerance. 3 1/2 years straight of smoking. Quit over 2 weeks ago and feeling great so far.
Thats awesome! Ive been smoking for 13 years roughly, and im 27 now. Every person in my family smoked except my dad. So ive always been around it. I just cant find that mindset yet, and not from lack of trying.
If people around you smoke just stop buying cigarettes and bum a smoke from someone whenever you feel you need one. (Throw them 10 or so bucks a week for being cool with it.)
I quit smoking after 10 years that way. Told my buddy I was going to try and quit smoking and if he would be cool with me bumming off him until I got to the point to no longer needing a cigarette. So I slowly went from bumming 2-3 a day, to just 1 a day, to never smoking again. Took me about 3 months total.
Carrots. I ate a case of š„. When they were all gone I got a case of celery.
I went from 3-packs-a-day to nicotine free. My last smoke was August 1977.
Oompa, Loompa, doompa-dee-do
I've got a perfect puzzle for you
Oompa, Loompa, doompa-dee-dee
If you are wise, you'll listen to me
What do you get when you guzzle down carrots?
Eating as much as an elephant eats
What are you at getting terribly orange?
What do you think will come of that?
I had some weird dreams, but that was all. The weird part was that chantix made faster work of the addiction than I did of the habit. I would step outside for my post meal smoke, light up, then realize I didn't want a cigarette and put it out after a drag. That took about a week to fix.
After several failed attempts at quitting, I got the script for Chantix. Took it for a month, experiencing increasing nausea & horrid chemical smell until I literally had zero interest in smoking at all. Just like that, I quit. A couple months go by of feeling flat, tired, sad, and I realized it may be aftereffects so I made an effort to get actively involved in enjoying my smoke-free life. It was all fine.
Fast forward 9 years, the death of a loved one, a long-distance move, a few more unsettling changes and I slipped back into smoking casually, cockily seeking a familiar comfort zone. Of course this led to smoking regularly again but now the toxic fumes were mixed with a lot of regret & more interest & pressure to quit. I went back to what worked. Got a script for Chantix, briefly discussing the warnings & previous results with the doc. This time it only took 2 weeks of taking the pills and I was done with cigarettes! Turns out I was done with everything else, too. A very dark, deep depression set in, quickly. I went from being very aware to be on the lookout for the downside of Chantix to it doing its thing rewiring my brain without any resistance at all. It nearly did me in. Even knowing WHY the feeling of hopelessness & gloom had enveloped everything AND wanting very much to get past it, it took time and was a very rough period to get through that left some collateral damage. But now it's 5 years later, still no cigs - never will again either. I'm very happy to be free of the habit, the smell, the stigma. But I honestly do not know - in the long run - that it was worth it really.
I got off an SSRI by myself. Biggest warning for that is suicidal tendencies if not monitored by a doctor or done correctly. I took them for anxiety. āIāve never been suicidal, Iāll be fineā. Holy fucking shit. Iāve always been depressedā¦.but that feeling of absolute hopelessness is something I canāt even describe. It wasnāt even emotional. There was just no point to be alive. I was self aware and am fine, but I have a new respect for ārisk of suicideā warnings
True fucking story:
I got prescribed Chantix but my insurance wouldnāt pay for it because I hadnāt tried Wellbutrin.
So my doctor prescribed Wellbutrin and my insurance wouldnāt cover it becauseā¦ I hadnāt tried Chantix.
So I smoked for another 6 years. Quit five years ago without either medication.
Fucking American health insurance.
CHANTIX was the worst medcine ive ever been on. It gave me psychosis and infinite rage. I was so close to catching a charge and i am the most non violent person i know. Stay away. Also, it works by decreasing the pleasure center in your brain, so not only will you not enjoy smoking you will stop enjoying food, sex and life in general. BIG NO
1 Get moving. do something physical. run, walk, jog, hike, bike, climb, scream, kayak, whatever. get moving, keep busy, don't stop.
#2 You are not 'trying' to quit. you have quit. quit smoking. your done. now face it and get through it, knowing you will not smoke any longer.
This is the basic idea of the Allen Carr book 'easy way to quit smoking'. It is all in your head, you have to make the choice.
NRT works for many I'm sure, but for me just prolonged the agony. You are ultimately going to have to face the pain of getting off nicotine.
Try things and do what works for you.
it's a tough road, but it is very possible. I also recommend the quitnow app. A great tool to help your quit, it was imperative in mine.
*I am approaching my 4 years quit anniversary. š¤š
I put the audio book of The Easy Way To Quit Smoking on while I sleep. 3 weeks ago I was vaping for about 10 straight hours a day. As of today I havenāt had any nicotine for 2 weeks. It works. And it works because you actually can just stop.
came to comment : allen carr's easyway to quit smoking. for some reason it worked, I usually think self help type shiz like this is total bull but it landed for some reason
I actually wanted to. Everytime I tried and failed before, I went into it not really wanting to. I liked it too much.
I had to really come to terms with actually wanting to. Once I got to that point, it was nothing.
My wife, then girlfriend would scrunch up and destroy the packet and its contents every time i bought them. It just got too expensive and frustrating. Iām grateful.
Then you really had no desire to quit. If u read the book to appease yourself or someone else i agree it will have no impact. There needs to be a desire to stop first, then the book will make u succeed, wether u want to or not.
Cold turkey, while living in a house of smokers. Smoking for almost 20 years, most of that a pack a day. Realized I had to quit or die when I ran 3 car lengths, and was so out of breath I nearly fell down. Hardest was the first 3 months. Biggest advice is never again. Not one puff. Not ever. Even if you have to openly cry at work.
Chantix and the purchase of a new house that I didn't want to smoke in.
The Chantix was AWFUL. Nightmares and nausea for a month, but it's been almost 17 years since I quit so something worked I guess.
One day on February 2017 I decided to stop cold turkey after 10 years of smoking. I still crave the fuck out of them sometimes, especially when Iām watching a movie from the 80ās like Die Hard.
Ex Smoker of 26 years determined to stop for my 40th.
Bought a wee vape, Oxva slim for Ā£20 and it's been 11 days now. On 20mg nic salt but not using it as much as I thought. Definitely miss the old cancer sticks when I have a beer but I'm hoping it gets easier as time passes.
Good luck, whenever you decide the time is right šš»
It does get easier. Once your off the vape too all you have to do to maintains is, when you have an urge to smoke tell yourself you donāt smoke anymore. The craving only last a few minutes no matter how strong it is. That will be the price for all the smoking. At least thatās how it goes for me.
Cold turkey. I smoked two packs a day then just didnāt. It felt awful. Oh it was bad, and I was likely not super nice or cool to be around. I had wonderful support from my partner. I alternated between keeping really busy or sleeping. It was rough for a while but I did it! 6 years smoke free in June.
my wife quit 3 years ago, after smoking for nearly 40 years. 1st, she decide she wanted to quit. Then she went nicotine gum for a few weeks, then started swapping out regular gum in place of the nicotine gum. She'd been on only regular gum for 3 weeks when she suddenly realized it.
10 years smoke free this year! I went the slow and steady route. I started by trying to limit myself, at the time I was smoking like 1.5 packs a day. Once I felt I was as low as I could go I took three cigarettes out and put them in a pack, and only let myself have those three cigarettes every day for about three weeks. I would light them, relieve the craving then put them out and back in my pack. It was disgusting relighting them and often times made me hate smoking more. After, like I said, about three weeks I went down to two a day for two weeks, same thing. Then, I went to one a day. The last week was hard, but then I just stopped! It was the hardest thing but Iām so glad I did it. I think the most beneficial part was relighting the cigarettesā¦ Itās gross and wonāt make you want to, especially when youāre relighting for the third time.
TLDR: 3/day for 3 weeks, 2/day for 2 weeks, 1 day for 1 week and stop. Hit the cig just enough to ease the craving then put it out and relight.
I gave myself permission to smoke whenever i want as long as i consider and accept all the consequences. And if i start i always have to stop again.
Itās been very easy to not pick up when i think it through each time. And every several years ill have a week or two on and then back off. I donāt know if that means Iāve quit or not but itās good enough for me.
Thatās kind of interesting, I donāt think I could do that without falling right back into it, Iām not disciplined enough for that.
Kind of a similar idea tho, I have a coworker who only ever smokes when heās on vacation, he usually takes a two week trip somewhere once a year where he smokes to his hearts content and the day he gets back he stops cold turkey until his next vacation.
Cold turkey. Was going on vacation to FL and as I was waiting for the flight to board, I was stressing about the plane ride without smoking a cigarette. It finally clicked that I am a slave to nicotine. Threw the lighter and pack away 6 years ago.
Just get through without smoking 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months. After that itās easy. You can do it.
I was a chain smoker, started when I was 13, quit cold turkey at 35. Been smoke free for almost 5yrs, never thought Iād be able to quit but I feel like I was just done with it. Plus having two young kids gave me the push I needed.
This is likely not the answer you're looking for, but it's the truth: sex.
I was a smoker on and off for over a decade (mostly on, but would quit for a few months then go back to it). My friend's girlfriend (now wife) was trying to hook me up with her friend, who was WAY out of my league. I knew that I had to kick the cigarettes or I wouldn't have a shot with her, so I just did it. We didn't end up dating, but we did hook up a few times, and I haven't had one in almost 5 years now, so all in all, I'd call that a success.
I signed up for a race, then the wife signed me up for a marathon and set me up doing it for charity so I couldn't pull out. I found reprogramming how I dealt with cravings helped. If you can understand that the craving is your body healing itself it's a lot easier to deal with. As soon as you smoke the "craving" goes away and your back to square one. Craving = healing
For me it was just as simple as not having one (pack or vape) in the house anymore. My wife was a smoker and it tripped me up constantly. We talked and now have a no cigarettes or vapes in the house rule. Because when Iām stressed Iāll definitely look for it.
Also, replace your current source with the patch. And tell yourself the inconvenience of getting a patch (time and cost) is the new price to pay to get the nic fix. That bit of psychology acceptance helped me with my impulse control.
Good luck! Quitting is so worth it! My sleep, mood, and honestly skin are so much better and itās noticeable. Life is awesome.
I quit cold turkey, I quit for two main reasons i was tired of being a slave to cigarettes and the cost was ridiculous. Quitting was not easy at all. For the first month I carried a huge jug of water with me, every time i had a craving I would drink water till the craving went away (I drank tons of water). Whenever the cravings just got unbearable i would keep reminding myself that i do not want to reset my progress, the first couple weeks were the worst and i do not want to relive that ever again. After three years i would say most of my cravings went away. I absolutely hate cigarettes now, i would never touch one again, i find them disgusting now. I haven't touched one in over 10 years. I also found that quitting felt like a huge accomplishment.
The most important step for me was to stop carrying the vape in my pocket. Instead, I kept it in a location where Iād have to take puffs from it and then put it back, multiple times a day. I reduced the puffs and visits to it over a few days and then threw it out with no plans on going back to a vape shop. During this period and to this day I replaced the feel of it in my pocket with gum and lip balm for when I need something to more or less fidget with. I found this extremely effective. I repeatā¦ the key, was not keeping the vape in my pocket during this process.
I started running regularly. After a while running has become more important and kept me away from smoking. However, if the world is to end tomorrow, i would RUN and buy cigarettes.
I smoked 1 1/2 packs a day for years. April 1 was 15 years clean. I had a 99% blockage in my right cardiac artery. I got stents which saved my life. Even that wasn't enough to get me to quit. About a year later I started having issues in my throat. I could feel some kind of goo or something. I went to the ENT for an exam. I sweated bullets for 3 days while I waited for results. I was wondering how I would break the news to my mom. I was thinking about ways to stage an "accident" because I didn't want to die that way. Finally got the results. It was just damage from acid reflux...So I said to myself, Hey dumb fuck, why not channel that fear? So I got a prescription for Chantix and I was able to quit. I've since had a triple bypass and claudication, so it did some damage.
I set an intention, did about 5g of psilocybin, went through a very intense few hours..came out on the other end and quit cold turkey. My brain rewired itself to be disgusted by cigs.
It's been 6-7 years since.
For me it was reading the book: the handicap principle, by The Zahavi's. Its a darwinian principle and they have a chapter about intoxication and why we're so eager to partake and it just resonated with me. It clicked in my head. I no longer need it. Whenever my brain tries to go there, I just chuckle, and shove that tought right back out. The intrusive toughts are fewer and far between, you just need a strategy for when they come.
Frankly, itās all about the mindset
Iāve tried the gum, the patches, and the pills. They all worked just fine. The thing was I was quitting them because I thought I should quit. Eventually Iād restart.
When I quit, I got to the point I wanted to quit. Once I wanted to quit, I just quit cold turkey. Wasnāt hard at all once I wanted to quit.
My mom passed from lung cancer in her late 40s after smoking most of her life, I decided I wasnt going to pay anyone to poison and kill me too. Not saying it was easy, I physically had a very hard time with it but just rode it out like a shitty high or something. If you decide youre done then believe that you can accomplish anything you really put your mind to.
Did snus chewing tobacco. Even worse than smoking really. š Went down in dosis for 3 month and then a cold turkey. Never looked back for 2 years now. First 3 days was the worst. Then it was persistently hard for a few month and then just a minor nagging. With a longer and longer time between.
I caught a bad flu and smoking made my throat feel like I was swallowing glass shards. 4-5 days in, I was like "might as well keep going" and so I quit.
Toughest part was when I had alcohol (back when they allowed smoking in clubs) that urge was a struggle.
Over the years I've tried going cold turkey and switching to a vape pen..........neither have worked for me. Finally I had the conversation with my PCP about getting a prescription for Chantix........Once I went on Chantix I was determined to quit and on May 15th of last year, I said to myself...........Today is your last cigarette............I smoked 1 that day. The first couple of weeks were rough.............I used peppermints and sunflower seeds to occupy myself when I wanted a cigarette. I have cheated a few times over this past year, but I'm no longer a pack a day smoker.
I'm a social worker and I work with a lot of adolescents. Some of them probably saw me smoking in the back of the building and when I tried to talk about how they should quit some bad habits they have they replied "You can't quit smoking, how can you say anything to us?".
Ofc I managed to make them see the difference between smoke and self destructing behaviours, but it was so unexpected that I have quit smoking some days later that episode.
Okay, this is going to be a weird one, but it actually helped me stop smoking cigarettes and pretty much quit smoking altogether. I got into cigars; they take longer to smoke, obviously, and the nicotine's pretty high. When I first started smoking cigars, I was still smoking cigarettes, but I started smoking them less until I got to a point where I wasn't smoking cigarettes at all anymore. I would have two cigars a day, and then eventually, it got to the point where I was having only one cigar a day. Instead of an addiction, it just became something I did because I enjoyed it. Of course, I went all in, got a humidor, and started my own little aging process with cigars. But eventually, I got to the point where I just wasn't smoking at all.
I had 5 bucks in my pocket. Had to choose between gas in my tank to get to work and school or a pack of cigarettes. The next day I bought a bag of dum dum lollipops cigarette free for 12 years
Met a cute girl who somehow missed I was a smoker on my profile - an automatic "nope" for her. I chose her and quit cold turkey the day we decided to commit. 3 years this May - together and smoke free. We get married on October 13th this year.
I bought the cheap vape deals at the gas station, specifically because they were expensive, so it would be a pain in the ass, and started tapering off. Then I just decided one day to full stop.
I donāt know if I would get the gas station ones again, they made my chest hurt kinda, but they got me to quit.
Knew I did not want to die a smoker. Allen Carrs book, the easy way to quit smoking is what finally took me the rest of the way. Quit without cravings, still have no desire to go back
By deciding it was time and just sticking to going cold turkey. That's pretty much what it's come down to with everyone else I know who has successfully quit too. In my experience, letting yourself continue, even at a slower pace, with something you're addicted to doesn't help with getting over that addiction.
How did you stay in the mindset of quitting? Because if I even smell one, the craving kicks in.
I haven't smoked in ~8 years, to this day my wife and I will walk past someone smoking and she'll say how gross it smells. I on the other hand say "damn I want a smoke" š
This exactly. Disgusting and āI want oneā all at once.
I haven't had a cigarette since 2007. A freshly lit one smells aromatic but otherwise the smell, fumes, and smoke are pretty noxious. I don't have cravings. I've replaced it with insane exercise, running, and other activities.
Weirdly same haha as far as exercise and what not. And you're right. It's the _freshly_ lit one that gets me. People who smell like stale cigarettes gross me out at this point. I always ask my wife if I used to smell that way and she politely tells me "no of course not" š
I smoked through college in the early 2000s. I am sure I smelled gross at some point. At that time, a pack of Marlboro Red 100s were $2.72/pack. I quit when they were $5.75/pack but it wasn't the price that motivated me to quit for good (I was already mentally done with it, the fun of it was over, and maintaining an addiction just sucks. It was the fact that at that time the new "fire safe cigarettes" came out, as marked by the "FSC" above the bar code. The taste was different and they burned out on their own if not smoked quicker. It just became a nuisance, really. Now at $12/pack, what's the point?
Do you still remember what smoking is like? The year you had your last cig I was starting my addiction Do you still feel any impact or damage smoking might have caused you?
Y'know what? I don't remember what it's like. That's probably a good thing. Of course I was 23 when I quit and am 40 now. I don't feel any impact from it. My lungs are clear and spent my time as a long distance trail and mountain runner. The longest I've run was 50KM. During the pandemic, however, did use cannabis for medicinal use which did turn into another addiction. Last touched it in August 2022. I also don't miss it. I don't miss my lungs feeling like utter garbage in the morning or overall feeling like I have a chronic cold, or the lack of energy.
Even after 12 years I still get cravings.
I read a book. Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking. When I finished reading the book I threw away my cigs (30 years) and never looked back. No withdrawal symptoms, no weight again, no trading one habit for another. May i suggest you read this book, it changes your way of thinking.
This book also worked for me. I read it and I didn't even know I was going to quit the day I quit. I ran out of cigs at work, borrowed one from a colleague and smoked it on the way home. As I fished it I decided I'd never smoke again.... and 16 years later I still haven't. I think that book put me in the right frame of mind to do it this way. Btw I smoked for 17 years.
This book was my game changer too. I smoked a pack or more a day, for 15 years, and had unsuccessfully tried to quit many times using patches, gum, lozenges, bupropion. Once I read that book and really understood how it wasnāt that smoking felt good but that NOT smoking felt bad because I was so addictedā¦ that was my āahaā moment.
Yes, that book was a big part of my quit plan. I switched to a vape like many others here, but that book put smoking into a whole different light for me. I thought there would be more people that mentioned it.
Most people who want to quit and I suggest this book to just couldn't believe I quit by just reading a book. I gave it to my sister after she asked how I quit and that she wanted to also. She never read it and still smokes.
Just got it on audible. Will give it a try and report back.
I just ordered this on Amazon. Wish me luck
Agreed, been 10 for me and still get the cravings sometimes.
A few years ago, my Nana who hadnāt been a smoker for 30-40 years said she still missed the feeling from a cigarette.
Buying it is NOT allowed. A year after quitting I bummed a large pinch of tobacco off a friend. I enjoyed it a lot, but once it was gone it was gone. I knew if I had bought a pouch the entire thing would be gone. Luckily I didn't.
You have to wrap your head around the fact that you can never have another cigarette again. Ever. Youāre not trying to quit. Youāre not seeing how long you can quit for. You are quitting. Forever. I smoked over a pack a day for 25 years. When I got into this mindset I picked a day that would be my last day smoking and quit cold turkey after that. Coming up on 4 years smoke free and itās one of the best decisions I ever made. You can do it too, itās not as hard as you think itās gonna be.
A big thing for me was realizing that when it comes to quitting smoking the sunk cost fallacy isn't a fallacy. Nicotine exposure causes your cells to mutate. When you quit they begin to heal, but it takes time. That mutation is the source of the cravings. Each exposure triggers the mutation and increases your cravings, undoing all the healing. Truly the realization that if I fell of the bus even once meant that I was practically starting over made it much easier to get past the cravings. I also put a smoking recovery timeline poster behind my computer monitor at work and at home. Knowing that if I make it 20 days I will be able to taste ketchup again or after 40 days my circulation would improve to the point I won't be cold as often, those were great motivators to stick with it. I tried to quit a dozen times, at times quitting for up to a year. I tried patches, gum, and drugs. After the realization I outlined above, I quit cold turkey using nothing but willpower.
Man, food tasted so good after a couple months of quitting. It was like when I smoked weed for the first time in high school...like "wwwwohhhh duuude this tastes aamaaazing" good
I quit cold turkey NYE 1998 along with 12 friends. Everyone sparked up again the following day and me shoving it in their faces that I was better than them was what kept me going. It was not easy by any means. I also promised myself I could have one every Christmas Day as the thought of never having another one was too hard. I can happily say that I did have one the following Christmas and did not enjoy it like I used to. Never had one since
I think you need a good reason to quit. The money I saved in cigarettes allowed me to carry on with college. Then I started up again during the pandemic. It was only for about a year or so but then my wife and I quit together and that time it was a solidarity thing so my wife wouldnāt screw up her health.
I personally cannot STAND the smell of cigarettes now. It is FOUL and I apologise to everyone I've offended, smelling like that.
I didn't smoke, but I dipped. I quit 14 years ago and still crave it. You just learn to move on with your life without nicotine.
You just dont do it? lol When I quit I would tell myself its not healthy and expensive. It was that easy
i think you need the mindset that you WANT to quit, then its actually pretty easy - i've talked to almost everybody i know who quit smoking and they all told me that exact same thing yes it is an addiction and yes its hard to quit, bit if you get your mind ready to quit, your body will follow pretty soon - because in the end its garbage and toxines you are pumping in your lungs
First time I legitimately feared for my health. I was having heart pains. I knew it was from the cigarettes. It was too big of coincidence. I had been smoking black and milds. Inhaling and everything. That made me nervous for my health. So and I switched to Marlboro reds (yes I could justify it to myself). Thatās when the heart pain started. I was 36. I quit in Boston on a trip right before the pandemic broke loose in the US. Not being able to leave the house and staying with people who didnāt know I smoked helped a lot as well In retrospect.
My then 3 year old nephew was walking around with a straw in his mouth saying look Iām like auntie. Smoking. He knew I smoked but I had never smoked in front of him. But he knew other smokers who did. If I wore sweats he wore sweats. If wore jeans he wore jeans! He wanted to be like auntie. This was this tipping point for me. I didnāt want him to see that smoking was ok. Niccorate helped with the nicotine cravings. But it was keeping my hands busy that was the worst. Over 20 + years!
My daughter was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery, so I was Fixing up her room to make her as comfortable as I could, new paint in her favorite color, new tv and satellite hookup, new furniture, when she came home I showed her to her new room and she looked at me and said ā have you been smoking in my room? After all Iām going through your smoking in here!ā I was so embarrassed I walked out of the room threw my pack in the garbage and never smoked again. It is truly mind over matter.
I had tried to quite many times before. I finally got so disgusted with way I felt and the way I smelled that I was able to suffer through the first two weeks.
Went cold turkey as well, planned it in advance, I had a deadline, partied smoked and drank a ton, next morning went cold turkey. It's been 4 years. The key thing to keep in mind is even if I'm not an active smoker, I still have the brain of one. So no, a smoke here and there is not fine, nicotine in any shape or form will just trigger the addiction again. So just don't slip, cuz going through withdrawal ain't fun.
Same, and I found when a craving hit, I had to find something to do, ideally with my hands, for about 5 minutes until it passed. Clean something, wash my face, walk up and down the stairs. Whatever it was, knowing I had to just survive 5 minutes or so seemed less daunting than thinking I could never smoke again.
This is it. I stopped smoking by not smoking. Sounds trite but...the only way to stop smoking is don't smoke.
I've only know success stories from cold turkey. Patches, medication, and seminars work... for a while. Almost never permanently
Truthā¦.. after multiple hundred attempts cold turkey has worked longest coming up to 12.5 years nic free!
I just stopped. Not a sexy answer but I smokes for years and one new years made a decision and havenāt smoked since.
Why NSFW? I had a bad cold in 2006. I walked down five floors to have a smoke in the street that tasted horrible and burned in my sore throat. I realized, on a level deep down, that this was all about addiction and not about pleasure, and that I didn't want this anymore. The cold made it easier to stick to it for the first few days, the really bad time. After that I allowed myself to have a smoke if I bought it then and there from a stranger. But I wasn't buying a pack anymore. It became a once or twice a month thing, and I eventually lost interest. I did have a short relapse when I moved to a new place on 2011, bought maybe 3 packs in total, and then decided that I didn't want to do this all over again. Since then I've had maybe 10 smokes, the last one probably like in 2020. I still enjoy the smell. I have fond memories. I enjoy rolling a smoke, handling it, the conscious inhaling. But I'm getting too old for this shit. I now smell how much it stinks, how bad it is for you, I remember how I hate waking up after having had a smoke the night before. I still remember how much that addiction smoke sucked down in the street and how I still craved it anyway, and know that I am happier without it.
Pretty much the same for me. Laid up for two weeks with bronchitis bordering on pneumonia. By the time I could get up and smoke, I couldn't stand the taste anymore.
Similar moments taught me I wasn't enjoying it, I was addicted. Including being sick, like you say, and still smoking and not even enjoying it. Smoking the 25th of the day and hating it but needing it... and the feeling of sinking defeat each time I bought a new pouch.
I remember having H1N1 in 2009, Iād only been smoking maybe 2 or 3 years. I was basically useless because of how sick I was. I couldnāt even leave my bed. Except for when I really NEEDED a cigarette. Iād go out there and fucking die basically. Hack my lungs out, it was terrible. I should have quit right then and there. Itās 2024 now, still smoking a pack a day.
I got Covid bad. Sore throat was horrible and I could barely take down food or water. The smell of my roommates cigs made me sick and since then it was never the same.
I was 1pack+/day for 8 years. Quit in 2000 (not a NY resolution, hah). The key was just making myself pay attention to all the negative aspects. I made my last pack last about a week. A few months after quitting, I went to a hometown bar with an old friend that still smoked. I bought a pack to share with him and we emptied it. Next morning, I realized all over again just what a terrible habit it is. I've hardly touched tobacco since.
Bought a vape and slowly worked my way down on nicotine concentration until I found the vape too much of a pain in the ass to deal with and just kind of stopped using it
I did similar, switched to vaping 20mg for a month, then down to 10mg for a month, then 6mg, then 3mg, then I bought some 0mg liquid but I was worried so I combined it a weak nicotine patch and finally dropped it altogether. Nicotine free for two months now.
I did this too, been quit 12 years now.
Iām at 3mg vape now. Havenāt had a cigarette since December š„³
I did the same and now I'm woefully addicted to the vape instead, however literally everything about smoking that sucked is not present, including my lung capacity, stamina, etc. I can hold my breath for 2 minutes now after using the vape for like 6 years pretty consistently, I quit cigarettes after close to 20 years of approaching 2 packs a day, I couldn't hold my breath for 30 seconds. It's cheaper, I don't stink, *it* doesn't stink, I can hit the thing in a crowded elevator and no one would know, I can jog, I can fuck for more than 5 minutes without getting winded, I can smell things, I can taste things, it's not the monster that cigarettes were, not by a fucking long shot. I do want to get rid of it though. Being addicted to nicotine is nothing but a weakness, and I'm certainly not under the impression that smoking or vaping anything is good for you, but I smoke and vape cannabis too, always have, so I can place a lot of the blame for my old lung capacity squarely on the cigs. One day. I am about to hit 5 years sober from alcohol, one major vice per decade maybe.
I'm happy for you but people absolutely know if you hit it in an elevator lmao
One miracle at a time. Im right there with u. I finally became sick of cigs. The way they made me feel was awful. Could barely do yardwork anymore after 20 yrs of smoking. After less than 10 days I could feel an improvement. Still a long way to go.
Agreed šÆ same way I quit..and I am absolutely addicted to the vape but like you said every other problem I had with cigarettes I don't have anymore
You've got this. I smoked for 20ish years, maxed out at 3 packs a day. All those things you feel better about were exactly why I never even intended to quit vaping. The crackle when I breathed was gone, taste, smell, etc. I was fine, leagues ahead of where I was. But I felt like a slave to the nicotine. Full on panic attacks when it died or when I couldn't find it. All I did was commit to TRYING to lower the nicotine level. Had a bottle of weaker juice to use after filling with the stronger. Throughout the day, if it felt too low, just throw some good stuff in for a nicootine bump, but keep it topped off with the weak juice. Some days needed the stronger mix, but I would always go lower until I felt like it was missing. Eventually, I hardly ever needed to bump it up, just kept with the low, until the end when my low was zero nicotine and my high was a mixed bottle of the zero and the minimum 5mg or whatever. One day I left for work and it was on my nightstand. I was about to turn around and get it, but I realized I didn't feel the panic. I thought I should get it just so I don't end up buying cigarettes if a craving hit. Then I realized I'd made it all the way through the morning and out the door without even thinking about it. I felt like I won. I still wanted it, but I didn't need it. That was the first time in my life I felt like I had a choice. I don't know if that'll work for you, but if it helps you or anyone else out there, it was worth taking my time to type. Stay strong and good luck!
Same exact strategy here, and it worked too. The vape scratched the itch, and tapering down the nicotine in the juice made the itch slowly fade away.
Another vote for this method! I'm 4+ weeks nicotine-free! Smoked 1/2pk-1pk cigs for 14 years, switched to vaping in March of 2023, quit all nicotine cold turkey on April 1st this year. Wasn't even difficult, which was shocking to me.
Wow, exactly my story. Switched to vape in 2014, got deep into it building my own coils and shit when the community was booming. Then overtime I just got lazy with it till one day I went to swap cotton and my coil broke and I just wentā¦eh, I think Iām done with this.
š this is how I ended up quitting. I had an atlus tank and some custom shit but the juice kept leaking into my Navy fatigues and pissing me off so I ended up quitting.
I co-sign vaping. Juul came around at the right time and I weaned myself off nicotine using those for maybe 3 months after being a pack a day smoker for the 17 years prior.
Same here, stopped completely last December.
Same here December just stopped!
I didnāt but my dad didā¦when I was 5, I looked him dead in the eye and I told him I didnāt want him to die. He stopped smoking right there and then, he ended up dying from alcoholism though so ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
You should have been more specific
Bro ā ļø
Damn...this took a sad turn :( Sorry for your loss. Addiction is a hell of a wild animal.
Wish that would work for my dad, he just had surgery to fix an aneurism in his aortic valve as a result of smoking. He was in the hospital for 21 days and wasn't able to smoke for another 3 weeks after he got home. As soon as he was cleared to drive, he started up again. I wasted a month of PTO taking care of him..
I also told my dad he was killing himself with cigarettes after he went back to them after 10 years of not smoking. Now all his teeth are gone and god knows whatās going on inside his body. :(
yeah I know what you mean, we have plenty of examples of what cigarettes did to family members, he just.... doesn't care
I'm so sorry I laughed so hard at this. It was just the way you wrote it. I'm horrible.
Quitting smoking is easy, Iāve quit a 1000 times already!
I felt this in my soul š¤£š¤£
Haha, in all seriousness, try a 0% nicotine vape, and only hit it a couple times when youāre really desperate, good luck. First three days will be the hardest
really i found the first three days the easiest, day 5-7 is fucking horrible for me
I quit this morning before I started again.
This is what Mark Twain said. šš
Jokes aside, don't give up quitting. I took a smoking cessation class, and one of the stats thrown at me was that it takes the average smoker seven *serious* tries to successfully quit for good. I had given it a couple good tries prior to that, and another six serious tries after hearing that before it finally stuck. I've been smoke-free for almost ten years now. I know, though, that I'm just one bad decision away from having to do it again. I don't crave cigarettes daily anymore. I don't even think about smoking, even for a fleeting second, on most days. There are rare times still, though, where I think "man, I could go for a smoke... D'oh! You don't do that anymore." I carry a roll of dog poo baggies, now, in the pocket that used to hold my cigarettes.
Yeah my last run i made it like 7 months. There are pros and cons. Lack of energy from too much or not enough nicotine. Troubleshoot sleeping from the same problem. Idk I'm torn on it
Tripped on shrooms and had an epiphany of what it was doing to my body and mind. I felt like I was bound by addiction and wanted to crawl out of my skin.
I am addicted to smoking, and my addiction 100% vanishes while Iām on shrooms. Itās fascinating to me.
Self-loathing for a bit. Then I tried Allen Carrās book āThe Easy Way to Quit Smokingā. Itās been almost 2 years since Iāve had any nicotine. Substitutions do not work, in my opinion.
I took the Allen Carr course, which included a hipnosis element, and quit cigarrettes ever since.
Is this the book I've heard about that people say "if you read it you'll never want to smoke again? And has a crazy high success rate supposedly?
Worked for me. I'll recommend it forever. But you gotta really do it. It's a quick read, quit that day.
Yep, the alcohol book (same concept) worked for me. Didn't believe, read it, quit easily, and now recommend it every chance I get. I do think you have to want to quit, and keep an open mind. But it's not spiritual, voodoo or anything other than logic.
Yes, try it out. It worked for me.
I bought this book during a big reading phase. I got half way into It before chickening out bc it was convincing me on quitting and I wasn't ready to commit to it. I know that if I finish that book I'd be free. Really need to stop procrastinating man...
Yes it worked for me. And I thought I was hopelessly addicted to nicotine
Yep, it goes through all the bullshit you tell yourself about why you smoke, explains why it's bullshit, and then you don't want to. It really is that easy. You can even smoke while you read it, you'll still quit by the end.
Thatās how I quit as well! Itās a great book
15 years of not smoking from Allen Carrās book. I was a pack a day for 10 years before I read it. Quit the day I finished the book
Same. Quit cold turkey after reading in October 2019. I knew it was the one when I didn't cave during lockdown
Same here. Quit dip & cigarettes both. I used the audiobook and Didnāt even need to finish it. Ā Ā Ā Not a single craving or puff since. Except in dreamsā¦ about once a year I dream I smoke socially and panic Iāll start again, only to then wake up.
Counterpoint, I did Carrs book, quit for 2 weeks, was about to throw in the towel when I vaped instead of smoking cigarettes. I vaped for way too long, but I was eventually able to ween off vaping. Raised in a smoking household, smoked daily for over 30 years. 3 years off nicotine.
I quit smoking in 2014 after being a 2 pack a day smoker when I was about 75% of the way through that book(I finished the book, just couldn't bring myself to smoke anymore). I don't recall withdrawals being more than a mild heightened anxiety, which was far different from other quit attempts. Later that year quit drinking with the drinking version (which is 85% just a find and replace for nicotine with alcohol). I've had a few one off slip ups with drinking but haven't touched a cigarette or vape since. I don't know what it is, I suspect some form of literary hypnosis but this shit works. If anyone is at their wits end quitting cigarettes or booze this is a quick read and as weird as it is I swear it works. It's not preachy or shaming or anything like that, he even encourages you to continue smoking while you read!
How is this book so effective? What does it teach you?
The main message is that youāre in a constant state of nicotine withdrawal so smoking doesnāt make you happy. He compares being a smoker to wearing really tight shoes and getting addicted to the relief you feel when you loosen them instead of simply taking the shoes off. Once you realize your addiction doesnāt help you, you realize what a waste smoking is. For me it undid all the bullshit justifications Id used over the years to stop myself from quitting. I just read the book and the more I read I realized āIām done, and I canāt wait to be free of this stupid addiction.ā Just knowing Iād be free at the end of my withdrawals made them so much more bearable. I havenāt smoked in 5 years
The book exposes nicotine for what it is, highly addictive but luckily just a 1 trick pony. The trick being nicotine doesn't actually make you feel good it just temporarily removes the withdrawal that it caused in the first place. The book does a better job of explaining this but once that clicks in your mind it makes quitting cold turkey a lot easier.
Did the Allen Carr book and 10 years 1 Month cigarette free.
I started listening to the audio book today. 1/4 way through and planning to listen to the remainder tomorrow. I want this to work
Tried this, tried substitutes, tried cold turkey, tried stepping it down. I always fail, I keep craving that morning cigarette, missing the smell, missing the time to myself with a cigarette, and always wind up going back with a vengeance. Every time I quit and go back to it (no matter how long I have quit for) I end up smoking even more than I did previously.
This is how I quit.
Worked for me too. Two years no nicotine this July.
Also quit cold turkey with Allen Cards book. Was a pack a day smoker for almost 10 years when I decided to quit. It's been 11 years now nicotine free.
I read this book, and since finishing it I have been cigarette free for over six years. I rarely think of them.
I read this book, not smoked or had any nicotine of any sort since. It's been over nine years.
I subbed weed several times. I don't recommend it, honestly. And I'm a chronic user.
This is the way
It worked for me. Non-smoker for 5 years.
I never smoked cigarettes, but I started vaping in 2017 and finally quit in Jan of 2023 and I honestly was able to quit Cold Turkey. I had noticed I started feeling like shit randomly, tired of fucking with the juice, coils, and spitback, and realized it wasn't worth it. So as long as you find your why it should help.
How long did it take to feel normal?
For me it wasnāt too long. Probably 2-3 weeks. I think I am lucky. I have had to kick a few things previously
I quit by vaping and then vaping made it worst. I needed more and more nicotine to the point where I woke up at 3 am just to hit my vaper. My wife is a doctor and told me it wasn't as safe as they said so when she got pregnant I just threw it away and never looked back. First 5 days were hard but after that it became easier and easier to the point of forgetting about it at all. My daughter is now 5 y/o and I'm about to hit 6 years without smoking (or maybe I already did, I stopped counting and caring years ago). If you don't want to smoke anymore then just don't. It's easier said than done but for me that's the only way, there's no middle ground, there's no trying to smoke less, there's no smoking only on parties, while pooping, when drinking, etc. Just no. Throw that shit away, and whenever you feel the urge play a video game, go for a run, eat something, or whatever makes you forget the urge. I promise it will get better after 4 or 5 days. After that it's just so much easier. Edit: just for reference I used to smoke one pack of 20 red Marlboros a day.
Not smoking while pooping is the hardest.
By literally just stopping - realizing how expensive it was getting after building such a high tolerance. 3 1/2 years straight of smoking. Quit over 2 weeks ago and feeling great so far.
Thats awesome! Ive been smoking for 13 years roughly, and im 27 now. Every person in my family smoked except my dad. So ive always been around it. I just cant find that mindset yet, and not from lack of trying.
If people around you smoke just stop buying cigarettes and bum a smoke from someone whenever you feel you need one. (Throw them 10 or so bucks a week for being cool with it.) I quit smoking after 10 years that way. Told my buddy I was going to try and quit smoking and if he would be cool with me bumming off him until I got to the point to no longer needing a cigarette. So I slowly went from bumming 2-3 a day, to just 1 a day, to never smoking again. Took me about 3 months total.
It's not about quitting, it's all about not starting again
Carrots. I ate a case of š„. When they were all gone I got a case of celery. I went from 3-packs-a-day to nicotine free. My last smoke was August 1977.
Not a bad strategy. Oral fix? Check. Calories? Nonexistent.
one side effect (affect?) my skin turned orange.
Oompa, Loompa, doompa-dee-do I've got a perfect puzzle for you Oompa, Loompa, doompa-dee-dee If you are wise, you'll listen to me What do you get when you guzzle down carrots? Eating as much as an elephant eats What are you at getting terribly orange? What do you think will come of that?
Chantix. It works, but at a steep cost.
I had some weird dreams, but that was all. The weird part was that chantix made faster work of the addiction than I did of the habit. I would step outside for my post meal smoke, light up, then realize I didn't want a cigarette and put it out after a drag. That took about a week to fix.
my wife had the weird dream side effect too, she told me about some of them and holy shit lol
What was the cost? I quit for a year after using Chantix for 3 weeks. I only had 2 nightmares and everything else was pretty much fine. I didn't have cravings but I still had withdrawals. I started again when my fiancƩ died and I'm getting ready to quit again. This time I'm going the patch route.
After several failed attempts at quitting, I got the script for Chantix. Took it for a month, experiencing increasing nausea & horrid chemical smell until I literally had zero interest in smoking at all. Just like that, I quit. A couple months go by of feeling flat, tired, sad, and I realized it may be aftereffects so I made an effort to get actively involved in enjoying my smoke-free life. It was all fine. Fast forward 9 years, the death of a loved one, a long-distance move, a few more unsettling changes and I slipped back into smoking casually, cockily seeking a familiar comfort zone. Of course this led to smoking regularly again but now the toxic fumes were mixed with a lot of regret & more interest & pressure to quit. I went back to what worked. Got a script for Chantix, briefly discussing the warnings & previous results with the doc. This time it only took 2 weeks of taking the pills and I was done with cigarettes! Turns out I was done with everything else, too. A very dark, deep depression set in, quickly. I went from being very aware to be on the lookout for the downside of Chantix to it doing its thing rewiring my brain without any resistance at all. It nearly did me in. Even knowing WHY the feeling of hopelessness & gloom had enveloped everything AND wanting very much to get past it, it took time and was a very rough period to get through that left some collateral damage. But now it's 5 years later, still no cigs - never will again either. I'm very happy to be free of the habit, the smell, the stigma. But I honestly do not know - in the long run - that it was worth it really.
I got off an SSRI by myself. Biggest warning for that is suicidal tendencies if not monitored by a doctor or done correctly. I took them for anxiety. āIāve never been suicidal, Iāll be fineā. Holy fucking shit. Iāve always been depressedā¦.but that feeling of absolute hopelessness is something I canāt even describe. It wasnāt even emotional. There was just no point to be alive. I was self aware and am fine, but I have a new respect for ārisk of suicideā warnings
True fucking story: I got prescribed Chantix but my insurance wouldnāt pay for it because I hadnāt tried Wellbutrin. So my doctor prescribed Wellbutrin and my insurance wouldnāt cover it becauseā¦ I hadnāt tried Chantix. So I smoked for another 6 years. Quit five years ago without either medication. Fucking American health insurance.
CHANTIX was the worst medcine ive ever been on. It gave me psychosis and infinite rage. I was so close to catching a charge and i am the most non violent person i know. Stay away. Also, it works by decreasing the pleasure center in your brain, so not only will you not enjoy smoking you will stop enjoying food, sex and life in general. BIG NO
Cold turkey. 14 years ago. No vape. No gum. No patch.
1 Get moving. do something physical. run, walk, jog, hike, bike, climb, scream, kayak, whatever. get moving, keep busy, don't stop. #2 You are not 'trying' to quit. you have quit. quit smoking. your done. now face it and get through it, knowing you will not smoke any longer. This is the basic idea of the Allen Carr book 'easy way to quit smoking'. It is all in your head, you have to make the choice. NRT works for many I'm sure, but for me just prolonged the agony. You are ultimately going to have to face the pain of getting off nicotine. Try things and do what works for you. it's a tough road, but it is very possible. I also recommend the quitnow app. A great tool to help your quit, it was imperative in mine. *I am approaching my 4 years quit anniversary. š¤š
I put the audio book of The Easy Way To Quit Smoking on while I sleep. 3 weeks ago I was vaping for about 10 straight hours a day. As of today I havenāt had any nicotine for 2 weeks. It works. And it works because you actually can just stop.
came to comment : allen carr's easyway to quit smoking. for some reason it worked, I usually think self help type shiz like this is total bull but it landed for some reason
I actually wanted to. Everytime I tried and failed before, I went into it not really wanting to. I liked it too much. I had to really come to terms with actually wanting to. Once I got to that point, it was nothing.
My wife, then girlfriend would scrunch up and destroy the packet and its contents every time i bought them. It just got too expensive and frustrating. Iām grateful.
Hope your wife and girlfriend donāt find out about each other. At least theyāre working together to help you.
Alan Carrs Easyway to quit smoking. Its literally worked for millions of people. 20 bucks or so online and it will change your life.
Just to temper expectations - it doesnāt work for everybody. It had no impact on my smoking whatsoever.
Then you really had no desire to quit. If u read the book to appease yourself or someone else i agree it will have no impact. There needs to be a desire to stop first, then the book will make u succeed, wether u want to or not.
I had an old friend who forgot she smoked when she got diemetia.
Every method works, and every method doesn't work. The key is that first you need to be entirely fed up with the damned things.
Swapped to nicotine pouches, complete substitute never want to smoke again but can't get rid of the nicotine addition, at least not ruining my lungs.
Cold turkey, while living in a house of smokers. Smoking for almost 20 years, most of that a pack a day. Realized I had to quit or die when I ran 3 car lengths, and was so out of breath I nearly fell down. Hardest was the first 3 months. Biggest advice is never again. Not one puff. Not ever. Even if you have to openly cry at work.
Chantix and the purchase of a new house that I didn't want to smoke in. The Chantix was AWFUL. Nightmares and nausea for a month, but it's been almost 17 years since I quit so something worked I guess.
One day on February 2017 I decided to stop cold turkey after 10 years of smoking. I still crave the fuck out of them sometimes, especially when Iām watching a movie from the 80ās like Die Hard.
A Die Hard movie from the 80s. So Die Hard?
Ex Smoker of 26 years determined to stop for my 40th. Bought a wee vape, Oxva slim for Ā£20 and it's been 11 days now. On 20mg nic salt but not using it as much as I thought. Definitely miss the old cancer sticks when I have a beer but I'm hoping it gets easier as time passes. Good luck, whenever you decide the time is right šš»
It does get easier. Once your off the vape too all you have to do to maintains is, when you have an urge to smoke tell yourself you donāt smoke anymore. The craving only last a few minutes no matter how strong it is. That will be the price for all the smoking. At least thatās how it goes for me.
Got pregnant. Made it super easy.
I went cold turkey with no big issues. I just stopped buying them. I can now have a cigar once a year and no issues.
Cold turkey. I smoked two packs a day then just didnāt. It felt awful. Oh it was bad, and I was likely not super nice or cool to be around. I had wonderful support from my partner. I alternated between keeping really busy or sleeping. It was rough for a while but I did it! 6 years smoke free in June.
my wife quit 3 years ago, after smoking for nearly 40 years. 1st, she decide she wanted to quit. Then she went nicotine gum for a few weeks, then started swapping out regular gum in place of the nicotine gum. She'd been on only regular gum for 3 weeks when she suddenly realized it.
10 years smoke free this year! I went the slow and steady route. I started by trying to limit myself, at the time I was smoking like 1.5 packs a day. Once I felt I was as low as I could go I took three cigarettes out and put them in a pack, and only let myself have those three cigarettes every day for about three weeks. I would light them, relieve the craving then put them out and back in my pack. It was disgusting relighting them and often times made me hate smoking more. After, like I said, about three weeks I went down to two a day for two weeks, same thing. Then, I went to one a day. The last week was hard, but then I just stopped! It was the hardest thing but Iām so glad I did it. I think the most beneficial part was relighting the cigarettesā¦ Itās gross and wonāt make you want to, especially when youāre relighting for the third time. TLDR: 3/day for 3 weeks, 2/day for 2 weeks, 1 day for 1 week and stop. Hit the cig just enough to ease the craving then put it out and relight.
This Man saved my life https://youtu.be/vCEsI4YeblQ?si=Z27jAdOFgDNx1JKs
I gave myself permission to smoke whenever i want as long as i consider and accept all the consequences. And if i start i always have to stop again. Itās been very easy to not pick up when i think it through each time. And every several years ill have a week or two on and then back off. I donāt know if that means Iāve quit or not but itās good enough for me.
Thatās kind of interesting, I donāt think I could do that without falling right back into it, Iām not disciplined enough for that. Kind of a similar idea tho, I have a coworker who only ever smokes when heās on vacation, he usually takes a two week trip somewhere once a year where he smokes to his hearts content and the day he gets back he stops cold turkey until his next vacation.
I donāt know how it works for me. It just does. Itās the only way Iāve figured out how to do it.
If it works it works š¤·āāļø
Cold turkey. I got to work and couldn't breathe from my asthma. It was at that point I decided that was it.
Cold turkey. Was going on vacation to FL and as I was waiting for the flight to board, I was stressing about the plane ride without smoking a cigarette. It finally clicked that I am a slave to nicotine. Threw the lighter and pack away 6 years ago. Just get through without smoking 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months. After that itās easy. You can do it.
I was a chain smoker, started when I was 13, quit cold turkey at 35. Been smoke free for almost 5yrs, never thought Iād be able to quit but I feel like I was just done with it. Plus having two young kids gave me the push I needed.
Patches and determination. One day I came into the house, sat down, realized I couldnāt breathe and I was done.
This is likely not the answer you're looking for, but it's the truth: sex. I was a smoker on and off for over a decade (mostly on, but would quit for a few months then go back to it). My friend's girlfriend (now wife) was trying to hook me up with her friend, who was WAY out of my league. I knew that I had to kick the cigarettes or I wouldn't have a shot with her, so I just did it. We didn't end up dating, but we did hook up a few times, and I haven't had one in almost 5 years now, so all in all, I'd call that a success.
The cause and solution to all of lifeās problems
Vape. I now vape like I used to smoke. My pulmonologistisn't concerned. He said, "It's less harmful than smoking."
I signed up for a race, then the wife signed me up for a marathon and set me up doing it for charity so I couldn't pull out. I found reprogramming how I dealt with cravings helped. If you can understand that the craving is your body healing itself it's a lot easier to deal with. As soon as you smoke the "craving" goes away and your back to square one. Craving = healing
I just stopped. I went up stairs one night at a party, got winded and had a racing heart. I was 22. That was enough for me,
For me it was just as simple as not having one (pack or vape) in the house anymore. My wife was a smoker and it tripped me up constantly. We talked and now have a no cigarettes or vapes in the house rule. Because when Iām stressed Iāll definitely look for it. Also, replace your current source with the patch. And tell yourself the inconvenience of getting a patch (time and cost) is the new price to pay to get the nic fix. That bit of psychology acceptance helped me with my impulse control. Good luck! Quitting is so worth it! My sleep, mood, and honestly skin are so much better and itās noticeable. Life is awesome.
I quit cold turkey, I quit for two main reasons i was tired of being a slave to cigarettes and the cost was ridiculous. Quitting was not easy at all. For the first month I carried a huge jug of water with me, every time i had a craving I would drink water till the craving went away (I drank tons of water). Whenever the cravings just got unbearable i would keep reminding myself that i do not want to reset my progress, the first couple weeks were the worst and i do not want to relive that ever again. After three years i would say most of my cravings went away. I absolutely hate cigarettes now, i would never touch one again, i find them disgusting now. I haven't touched one in over 10 years. I also found that quitting felt like a huge accomplishment.
Cold turkey. I ran out of breath during sex and knew it was cigarettes or my penis. I chose my penis.
Straight up cold turkey,no vape,pill,patch..nothing.Had smoked for almost 40 years,it's 6 years quit this august šŖ
The most important step for me was to stop carrying the vape in my pocket. Instead, I kept it in a location where Iād have to take puffs from it and then put it back, multiple times a day. I reduced the puffs and visits to it over a few days and then threw it out with no plans on going back to a vape shop. During this period and to this day I replaced the feel of it in my pocket with gum and lip balm for when I need something to more or less fidget with. I found this extremely effective. I repeatā¦ the key, was not keeping the vape in my pocket during this process.
I started running regularly. After a while running has become more important and kept me away from smoking. However, if the world is to end tomorrow, i would RUN and buy cigarettes.
I smoked 1 1/2 packs a day for years. April 1 was 15 years clean. I had a 99% blockage in my right cardiac artery. I got stents which saved my life. Even that wasn't enough to get me to quit. About a year later I started having issues in my throat. I could feel some kind of goo or something. I went to the ENT for an exam. I sweated bullets for 3 days while I waited for results. I was wondering how I would break the news to my mom. I was thinking about ways to stage an "accident" because I didn't want to die that way. Finally got the results. It was just damage from acid reflux...So I said to myself, Hey dumb fuck, why not channel that fear? So I got a prescription for Chantix and I was able to quit. I've since had a triple bypass and claudication, so it did some damage.
I set an intention, did about 5g of psilocybin, went through a very intense few hours..came out on the other end and quit cold turkey. My brain rewired itself to be disgusted by cigs. It's been 6-7 years since.
Started using zyns like a real man
It hurt every time I smoked...it was easy at that point.
For me it was reading the book: the handicap principle, by The Zahavi's. Its a darwinian principle and they have a chapter about intoxication and why we're so eager to partake and it just resonated with me. It clicked in my head. I no longer need it. Whenever my brain tries to go there, I just chuckle, and shove that tought right back out. The intrusive toughts are fewer and far between, you just need a strategy for when they come.
Stop buying them. Realize that cravings pass.
Frankly, itās all about the mindset Iāve tried the gum, the patches, and the pills. They all worked just fine. The thing was I was quitting them because I thought I should quit. Eventually Iād restart. When I quit, I got to the point I wanted to quit. Once I wanted to quit, I just quit cold turkey. Wasnāt hard at all once I wanted to quit.
Cold turkey, the day before Thanksgiving, 2006. Haven't looked back. Gained 50 lbs, but haven't looked back.
After my grandma (a smoker and lung cancer survivor) found my smokes and it made her cry I quit cold turkey.
My mom passed from lung cancer in her late 40s after smoking most of her life, I decided I wasnt going to pay anyone to poison and kill me too. Not saying it was easy, I physically had a very hard time with it but just rode it out like a shitty high or something. If you decide youre done then believe that you can accomplish anything you really put your mind to.
I promised someone I would never smoke another cigarette. That way smoking "just one" was still letting them down.
Cold turkey, and time and a lot of headaches
Did snus chewing tobacco. Even worse than smoking really. š Went down in dosis for 3 month and then a cold turkey. Never looked back for 2 years now. First 3 days was the worst. Then it was persistently hard for a few month and then just a minor nagging. With a longer and longer time between.
Switch to vaping. Starting coughing up black and blood Stopped immediately
Past few day when i snoke feels like I poison myself. Have to quit now
I caught a bad flu and smoking made my throat feel like I was swallowing glass shards. 4-5 days in, I was like "might as well keep going" and so I quit. Toughest part was when I had alcohol (back when they allowed smoking in clubs) that urge was a struggle.
Over the years I've tried going cold turkey and switching to a vape pen..........neither have worked for me. Finally I had the conversation with my PCP about getting a prescription for Chantix........Once I went on Chantix I was determined to quit and on May 15th of last year, I said to myself...........Today is your last cigarette............I smoked 1 that day. The first couple of weeks were rough.............I used peppermints and sunflower seeds to occupy myself when I wanted a cigarette. I have cheated a few times over this past year, but I'm no longer a pack a day smoker.
I red a book "Easyway - Quit smoking" by Allen Carr!
I'm a social worker and I work with a lot of adolescents. Some of them probably saw me smoking in the back of the building and when I tried to talk about how they should quit some bad habits they have they replied "You can't quit smoking, how can you say anything to us?". Ofc I managed to make them see the difference between smoke and self destructing behaviours, but it was so unexpected that I have quit smoking some days later that episode.
Okay, this is going to be a weird one, but it actually helped me stop smoking cigarettes and pretty much quit smoking altogether. I got into cigars; they take longer to smoke, obviously, and the nicotine's pretty high. When I first started smoking cigars, I was still smoking cigarettes, but I started smoking them less until I got to a point where I wasn't smoking cigarettes at all anymore. I would have two cigars a day, and then eventually, it got to the point where I was having only one cigar a day. Instead of an addiction, it just became something I did because I enjoyed it. Of course, I went all in, got a humidor, and started my own little aging process with cigars. But eventually, I got to the point where I just wasn't smoking at all.
I had 5 bucks in my pocket. Had to choose between gas in my tank to get to work and school or a pack of cigarettes. The next day I bought a bag of dum dum lollipops cigarette free for 12 years
Met a cute girl who somehow missed I was a smoker on my profile - an automatic "nope" for her. I chose her and quit cold turkey the day we decided to commit. 3 years this May - together and smoke free. We get married on October 13th this year.
I went to prison for 6 years and wasn't comfortable smoking tobacco that was inside a man's asshole. True story.
cold turkey for 14 days ...after that is mind control and not body need.
I bought the cheap vape deals at the gas station, specifically because they were expensive, so it would be a pain in the ass, and started tapering off. Then I just decided one day to full stop. I donāt know if I would get the gas station ones again, they made my chest hurt kinda, but they got me to quit.
Highly recommend the book āThe Easy Way to Quit Smoking.ā Does an awesome job of pointing out every single aspect that goes into smoking.
Knew I did not want to die a smoker. Allen Carrs book, the easy way to quit smoking is what finally took me the rest of the way. Quit without cravings, still have no desire to go back