Quitting smoking

[Voltaic]

I am a smoker. Have been even before I was eighteen. It is not something I am proud of at all, between eating up my lungs and money, it is a nasty habbit that I would rather break. Problem is that sweet nicotine, and how ingrown it has become into schedule.

Along with being a smoker, I am a avid skier, biker, and hiker. With each passing day, the time I spend on my feet makes me grow in strength, but smoking is holding me back from the real things in life that bring me happinies. I have to choose between doing what I love, and smoking. Simple enough dessission, in execution it is a lot more different.

actually quitting smoking is to say the least hard, but I have to keep in mind not impossible either. The nicotine addiction is one element, but far from everything. How it is part of my schedule is a big factor. Smoke when I get up in the morning, after my meals, before I go to bed. I have been doing this for years, changing is a intimadating prospect.

I would compare smoking to eating in some respects. Both are a means of consumption. Eating food, smoking smokes. When you smoke as much and as long as I have, you consume smokes just as much or even more than food. Taking that away feels like a large part of your life just gone. So much of me enjoys smoking, it is hard to argue with that side. Who doesn't over eat just because that food is way to good? its bad for you but you do it anyways. I know it is bad, but it feels to good.

I don't think pure abstinance is the right way to go about quitting. I have learned from my repeated and quickly crushed attempts at quitting all together right then and there that this task will not be initiated by impulsive and unprepared spur of will. Though those moments of strength are apeasing, they are only moments, and soon fade back into "I want a smoke"

going off temporary emotional highs to put down the smokes isn't working. But does quitting need to be done all at once? such a monumental task, breaking years of habbit, all together, all at once? Would it be nice? yes. Practical? no. This needs to be broken down into a checklist step by step proses. incramental steps, instead of climbing a sheer cliff. No matter how I do this, it will be hard.

Any tips?

 

[Isadoorian]

Nicotine supplements (Patches, Gum/Spray)

 

[SusanLR]

I was the same for 30 years.
A smoke after meals and at bedtime.
Then suddenly I found I had liver cancer and the doctors said I had to stop since now I only have
half a liver.
I don't think the smoking did it, but, it may have contributed to it. Who knows.
It wasn't due to drinking as I only had an occasional cocktail with dinner in a restaurant or a glass
of wine.
Well, I was told to stop that also. That wasn't so hard, but, to stop smoking cold turkey was.

Most think it is the nicotine that keeps us wanting to smoke.
Chemically in the brain, it is.
But, I also found that watching the smoke and having something to hold in my mouth was a part of
the relaxation. Like when we chew on a straw or pencil. It's like a type of stimming.

Maybe a combination of nicotine patches along with something like a straw or toothpick to chew on
when you want to relax could help.
I still find myself wanting a smoke during times of pressure.
I've never tried the vape, but, I think you can get them with no chemicals. Just the vapor and some
flavor if you want. Never checked into it, but, I think I may just to find out what it's all about.

 

[OlLiE]

i smoked for about 15 years
i stopped cold turkey,
no support medication

my tips & tricks:
- i usually stopped after a night of of heavy smoking when i felt like crap in the morning
- your body actually is actually no longer addicted to nicotine after a few weeks
- after that it becomes a mental thing, ie smoking related to riggers / habits
- an actual craving only lasts a few minutes, if you can survive those you can move on:
- apples and drinking water during those minutes help kill the craving
- take one day at a time
- accept that 'failing' and smoking 1 cigarette is not an excuse to stop trying to stop, try and understand the trigger, and move on
- day, becomes days, becomes week/s, become month/s, become years/s

i've stopped for 15 years now

 

[Fino]

Let's say I smoke five times a day, smoking ten cigarettes each time, totaling to a little over two packs. You're probably not smoking an exact amount that you count, so the first thing would be to count and find an amount you often do. And let's pretend that number is fifty.

For some length of time, let's say a week, you smoke one less at each time: 9 each time, for a total of 45! Then at each chosen interval, such as a week, you lower it by one.

Close to three months later you're down to 4! Then you remove one of the smoking times and smoke three for a week. Then two for a week. Then one for a week.

I love gradation! This sounds fun to me! I was gonna making a topic about gradation at some point.

I'm so OCD that this would probably work for me, but I'm sorry if it was all just a dumb rant for you!

Replacement behaviors might be helpful, if you haven't tried that. You do the same schedule, it's just something else instead. Whatever you think you might like a game on your phone, a book, a paddle-ball... anything!

Thinking about why you started might help, maybe? If you're treating anxiety or something like that, then that would give you something else to focus on.

 

[Bolletje]

I quit from a 2 pack a day habit by going cold turkey. I had nicotine tablets in case the cravings got too bad. And (this is going to sound dumb) I had stocked up on breadsticks and baby carrots. Whenever I really felt like smoking I would just grab a breadstick or carrot, hold it like a cigarette and chew on it until it was gone. My boyfriend didn’t quit smoking, so I just joined him on his smoke breaks with my trusty breadstick or carrot.
I ended up only needing the nicotine tablet once.
It’s been almost two years now, and I hardly ever miss it anymore.

 

[Theta.G]

But does quitting need to be done all at once?
Absolutely not.

This needs to be broken down into a checklist step by step proses. incramental steps, instead of climbing a sheer cliff. No matter how I do this, it will be hard.

Any tips? ...
Your body is addicted to more than just the nicotine. Cigarettes are loaded with tons of other addictive and nasty substances.
Switch over to vaping.
Not all at once.
Continue to smoke, then vaporize some ejuice when you feel like it. Gradually you'll start vaping more and more until eventually your off cigarettes and all of their additional additives.
With vaping lets say you start at 18mg(nic) / ml.
It is much, much easier to scale that down. 18 to 16. Adjust. 1-3 weeks.
16 to 14.
14 to 12.
12 to 10 or 8
and so on.
You don't have to use those exact numbers, your body will tell you what it can and can't handle when scaling down.
In the mean time if you know where to look it's way cheaper than cigarettes and more enjoyable. You'll be able to breath normally again and feel better after about... 1-2 month from your last cigarette.

I have changed many serious habits and addictions this way. Substitute for something objectively less addictive, then reduce until your off the hook.

Good luck

 

[Gritches]

I smoke <5 cigarettes a day now, usually less than 3, down from a 1-1.5 packs/day.

As with any addiction, the behaviors that accompany the intake of an addictive chemical matter more than the actual chemical itself.

I used to smoke much like you do. Most cigarettes were tied to specific events like eating, showering, etc. Those were the cigarettes I found really hard to give up. The cigarettes that were really easy to give up were all the "just because" cigarettes. And since I gave those all up, smoking is like...$1 a day for me, and I get to have my cake and eat it, too.

 

[sparks]

After over 30yrs of smoking and numerous attempts to give up I decided to try vaping. That was 7.5 yrs ago and I've not smoked a cigarette since. I wouldn't even try a real cigarette now just in case I found that I still enjoyed them.
Health wise, I feel so much better these days. At first I had problems with my gums and digestion but that passed.
The addiction hasn't gone away though. I became obsessed with vaping, I spent loads of money on hand made equipment and eventually I started making my own devices and juices for myself.

 

[Progster]

I've never been a smoker, never wanted it, never understood it or saw the point, but my partner was. He quit it thanks to Champix (or Chantix). It stops or reduces the cravings and reduces the pleasurable affects of smoking so you don't want to smoke. It's available over the counter. The drawback is that it's quite expensive, but so are cigarettes.
Varenicline - Wikipedia

 

[Suzanne]

The one time I tried, I did what apparently is the norm - coughing etc and thought: what is the point? And have had zero desire to smoke.

In truth, there is no logic in smoking to me and thus...

My husband smoked for years. Tried to give up, but never succeeded, because he loved smoking. Just as you described.

We started to study the bible and he soon learned that if he wanted to please our Creator, he should not smoke and thus, with much prayer and supplication, he succeeded and has never picked it up again.

He still likes smoking though, but the more he is around smokers, the less he likes, because of the smell.

I would suggest, perhaps smoking one less for about a week and then, add another count, so by the end, you find you have learned to use your time for other things.

 

[Autistamatic]

This is a very long post, but it's worth reading if you really want to quit smoking

I got my first ecigarette 5 years ago and never smoked again as did my wife. Between us we went through 5-7oz of tobacco a week and it cost a fortune. Her chronic asthma just went within weeks. Instead of going through 3-4 ventolin inhalers a month, 1 lasts her 6 months now.

NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) which is comprised of patches, gums, lozenges etc. has a dreadful success rate (3-5%) barely above that of cold turkey. Counselling, quit groups, hypnotherapy also don't fare well. The 3 month quit figures which are the ones usually published can seem quite impressive, but the amount of smokers who have relapsed after a year drags them down to a very unimpressive level.

There is much speculation as to what aspect of vaping is so effective at helping people quit but I'll list a couple below. I would also recommend reading up on it via some of the vaping forums and blogs. www.ukvapers.org is a wonderful resource for information.

Before anything else, don't think of nicotine as your addiction problem. Nicotine is not addictive when administered separately from tobacco. The addiction to smoking comes from the habit more than anything else and there is evidence to suggest that many tobacco additives that have been used for centuries (and some more recent) may have addictive properties too. It is for this reason that NRT fails so often yet vaping so often succeeds.

Smoking is habitually addictive in the way that any other activity can be. Sex, gambling, shopping, video games, social media and even exercise are medically acknowledged addictive behaviours to name a few. We get into a routine with smoking that can be hard to break. After a meal, during a break from work, when driving, when drinking alcohol or coffee and the old cliché of the cigarette after intimacy. Vaping provides a similar activity to do that replaces smoking which patches, gums etc. simply fail to emulate. You hold something in your hand which you raise to your lips and inhale. The vapour has density to it like smoke does - it's thicker than air - you can feel it pass between your lips when you exhale.

Ejuice (eliquid) and therefore the vapour can be flavoured which engages your sense of taste and smell. Which flavour(s) you prefer are down to personal taste and you learn a great deal about how those senses vary through the population when you mix your own juice. There are tobacco type flavours, fruits, bakery, custards, mint/menthol, coffees, teas... there are endless possibilities. The one rule is that savoury flavours don't seem to work.

The third, and perhaps most important factor, is "throat hit". You know that irritation in your throat and chest when you first start smoking? The feeling that makes you want to cough those first few cigarettes that you soon get over then realise you're hooked? That's throat hit. It's that slight catch in your throat and chest that smokers start to feel as a satisfying sensation. Vaping emulates that feeling very effectively. It is caused by both the nicotine and the propylene glycol in the ejuice. Higher nicotine and a higher proportion of propylene glycol (PG) increases the throat hit sensation. Lower nicotine and a higher proportion of vegetable glycerine (VG) reduces the sensation. Raising and lowering power levels also can increase or decrease the sensation. If you choose to reduce your nicotine intake you may choose to increase your power to compensate. There is also an additive based on capsaicin which can be used to enhance throat hit.

That combination of mimicking the actions of smoking, engaging the senses of taste and smell and throat hit makes vaping a success for many, many people.
Bear in mind that in order to achieve the same levels of nicotine in the bloodstream as smoking even a low tar cigarette, you would need to vape ejuice of 45mg strength or higher. The strongest commonly commercially available ejuices are 18mg, so even using those your nicotine intake would be at least 60% less than a smoker. The nicotine is most useful for the throat hit, not weaning you off a non-existent physical addiction.

I've helped a dozen people in RL to make the switch and only 1 has relapsed, not to mention the many others I've contributed to their journey in online groups. If you do it right the chances of success are higher than with any other method. 3 of those dozen started and continued with 0% nicotine without even realising
Before I tried vaping I had tried every other method available apart from nasal spray and varenicline (my doctor wouldn't let me due to other meds I take). All the available NRT, counselling, quit groups, hypnotherapy, cold turkey, slowly cutting down, herbal cigarettes - the lot. None worked for more than a couple of weeks. I quit smoking overnight when I tried vaping. It wasn't long before I started to find the smell of tobacco smoke and stale smoky smells on people utterly revolting.

There is a definite "best practice" in increasing your chances of success which I'll be happy to share if you want to know more. It sounds like @sparks probably could do the same.
Since making the swap, like sparks described, I've built up a huge collection of gear, built my own mods and have made my own ejuice almost since the start, but as well as vastly improved respiration and life expectancy, I've saved thousands of pounds.

I hope you manage to achieve the same and I'll gladly help if you want it

 

[sparks]

Excellent explanation Autistamatic, I wish that I could explain it so well. I've also been a member of various vaping groups and they are all filled with success stories.

 

[Autistamatic]

Excellent explanation Autistamatic, I wish that I could explain it so well. I've also been a member of various vaping groups and they are all filled with success stories.

You never know - we may have run across one another before

 

[Nitro]

Plain and simple, I dropped a 38 year habit cold turkey.

 

[clg114]

I smoked until I had a heart attack at 56. I was told that if I didn't quit immediately, that I would be dead in six months. That was enough incentive for me to quit smoking. When I was 62, I got bladder cancer. When I asked what caused the cancer, I was told that it was from smoking. Two things are very obvious to me, I am very lucky to be alive and smoking is very, very bad for you. Most people are not as lucky has I have been. Why not quit now and live a long healthy life? You probably think that you have a lot of time and you probably do, until you don't.

 

[Autistamatic]

Plain and simple, I dropped a 38 year habit cold turkey.

Very few people have the strength to do that. I admire your fortitude. I couldn't do it and nor could my father after several heart attacks. I found a way though, and I'm more grateful than I can say.

 

[Judge]

My brother did it after 40 years with Chantix. Nothing else ever worked for him.

 

[Kyou Nukui]

I smoked for twenty years, and a lot of that time I never smoked tobacco on its own, just joints (tobacco with resin then later with grass when that became easily available), so it was a lot more enjoyable than cigarettes!
I hated the smell of tobacco on its own from early on, actually.
I switched to vaping and within a week I had totally quit smoking. I had a relapse later, but then I got a DTL vape (Direct to lung) and a Vapo Bowl, which is more satisfying than the old MTL vapes. I still have the MTL vapes as spares just in case.
I mix my own (very low nicotine/pg) juice, but I have not built my own mods, and I don't really want to. It is not a hobby or special interest for me, just a convenient stim, I think.
I have no intention of quitting the vape at the moment. I enjoy it.

 

[tducey]

Good for you, I wish you all the best at this time. As with everyone else I tried smoking but never liked it. Mom has been a smoker for yrs. but recently quit so hoping it works out for both her and you I say to the OP.