Quitting smoking

[Catalyst]

1) Behavior replacement. You need to find something to do for those "special" smokes so to speak. For every time you would have smoked, find a replacement behavior that feels rewarding.

2) Do not be afraid to try patches, lozenges, gum, or a combination of two or all three. I used patches and lozenges myself. For the lozenges, I didn't use a whole one, I just used it while I had the craving then stopped, and sometimes saved what was rest of that one for the next craving.

3) Self care. If you think sleeping off a craving would be a good idea, and you're in a place you can safely do it, then do it. Drink a LOT of water. It will help get rid of the nicotine already in your system faster.

4) Try Nicotine Anonymous or similar support group, or a quitting smoking class. Sometimes it helps to go through it with other people. NicA also has an online support group that does meetings through PalTalk. After several quit attempts, the one where I was going to meetings regularly was the one that stuck. And if you like, you can email to have a NicA chip sent to you for milestones. I carry my 1 year chip with me everywhere I go, and hold it sometimes when I get the urge to have a smoke (usually seeing someone else smoking).

 

[Cactus]

Smoked a pack a day for 17 years, quit 2006 using Chantix. Chantix does produce nightmares, but after a few days the craving was gone so I stopped the smokes and the Chantix.
I quit because I was becoming winded just from walking. Without Chantix, I'd still be smoking.

 

[Catalyst]

I wasn't allowed to take Chantix because I already had a bad reaction to Wellbutrin, which is another drug used for quitting smoking.

 

[Progster]

As with everyone else I tried smoking

I never tried it - why? What's the point? Why would I want to fill me lungs with burned plant material? That's not what my lungs are for - it makes no sense. I always hated the smell and the way people think it makes them look cool or grown up - to me it is just stupid and illogical, a short cut to an early grave. I can't understand at all why people want to start smoking and it's unbelievable how many people do. I have critical judgement and don't automatically want to do things just because other people are doing them.

 

[Alis1998]

I have been smoking a few years and what I can tell you when I quited is to find something to do, like a an distraction instead of smoking. It can be as simple as chewing gum, but you can also stim if you want.

For a motivation was rewarding myself at every month that I didn't smoke with something I love. I choosed video games because it is something I enjoy alot. For me that is also a big distraction and I can still use it in the long run.

Also with the money I saved I got some things to pay which I always wanted to do as well. This was a big thing for me. I choosed however to do things with my boyfriend but I can understand that not everybody has a partner. After a while you can treat yourself with some luxerly of your liking. Which can be anything.

What I did is that I actually went to the doctor, and asked what the best method was for me. He gave me some medication however with some anoying side effects, but it helped for the time I took them. Don't recommend medication however because of the side effects. What I still do however is keeping a lighter. Whenever I am outside I just switch it back on and off if I feel stress. Just makes me a bit more calm.

But what I recommend is keeping track of what you eat when you stop smoking in consideration people overeat to feel some kind of joy similair to cigs. I never gained a pound but that is because I am stricts.

What I also did is kept a journey/notebook for myself and wrote down whatever my thoughts are. What I have noticed, how I feel, what the benefits are and the list goes on.

I wish you alot of luck and remember, you can do it.
A mistake can happen but if you continue to stop smoking, every day making an effort then you can still do it!

 

[sparks]

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

It's possible. I am a member of many of the main forums under the name of Mandro but I'm more of a lurker.

 

[Pats]

@Voltaic I wish you success.

 

[Mary Terry]

I quit smoking many years ago by eating spicy BBQ potato chips every time I craved a cigarette. It satisfied the oral fixation, kept my hands busy, and the spiciness on my tongue helped me be patient until the craving passed. As others have said, the craving for a smoke will pass within 5 - 10 minutes. Deep breaths to fill your lungs with clean air and lots of water also help.

 

[FreeDiver]

Luckily for me. I never got the habit to begin with. My mother was a heavy smoker and the second hand smoke was enough to make me not want to. Plus she was smoking about 1.5 to 2 packs a day, very expensive.

 

[Fino]

I tried it because I had quit self-harming, mostly at the insistence of friends, so I started looking for socially acceptable ways of self-harm that aren't viewed as self-harm, such as smoking and tattoos.

But I quickly stopped because it was expensive, took long, and didn't hurt enough.

I don't find that or any other individual substance addictive. Substances in general and self-harm I find addicting but nothing specific.

 

[Fade2black]

Here's my experience if it helps....I've had depression from about 14 years old until now and I'm in my late 50's. I started casual smoking at about 14 and I'm sure it was a subconscious masochistic choice to do so. I never felt addicted until I was about 30 and tried to quit. From the next 18 years I tried to quit probably a thousand times. In the end, I did quit. It took tremendous willpower abstain and it was cold turkey. At the same time, I also stopped drink coffee, alcohol and anything that made me want to smoke. This also included avoiding places where people would smoke. For me, I have a hobby that when I'm finished, I always relaxed and lit up. I had to stop that trigger as well.

I've been smoke free for about 8 years. Do I feel like a million dollars now that I'm a nonsmoker? No. I still have the same problems, same life and I don't feel any better physically. At more than $7 a pack, I know I've saved a bunch of money. What is rewarding, is that I'm no longer a slave to those nasty things.

On a side note, even after 8 years of being smoke free there are times I still feel the urge. Usually triggered by a momentary feel, sight or sound.

 

[Autistamatic]

On a side note, even after 8 years of being smoke free there are times I still feel the urge. Usually triggered by a momentary feel, sight or sound.

That's an important issue to note in this thread, and the reason why so many people relapse, particularly when people are feeling weak. Happy Birthday btw
My wife & I, along with most vapers I've known or interacted with, don't feel that urge any more. Ever. There are a few I've come across on forums that do still get tempted, particularly in the first few months, but most who continue to vape, with or without nicotine, don't often report that urge. It's a discussion topic that comes up often.
I never stopped vaping and still do 5 1/2 years later. Why? Because I don't want to feel that temptation and risk undoing what I've achieved. Like you I struggled so hard to give up and failed so many times so I am aware of my weakness in this area of my life. Vaping does me little to no harm, it's pleasant and it's costs me next to nothing these days. As long as I can vape I know I'll never want a cigarette again. It also helps fill the void that needs to tinker with things.

 

[Catalyst]

On a side note, even after 8 years of being smoke free there are times I still feel the urge. Usually triggered by a momentary feel, sight or sound.

I've heard similar things. Like, anything you can do to avoid relapse, you're doing the rest of your life. You never stop being an addict, you just stop letting it control you. You can't let your guard down completely. I find I can relax a little now, but at the same time when I see someone smoking, I want to ask if I can take a drag off of it. I still have dreams where I smoke too. I'm only a year and a half into my quit, but I know the actual addiction is forever.

 

[Gracey]

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

How?

What thoughts helped?

Did you just decide ‘I am no longer a smoker’ and that was it?

Were there any wobbles at all?
Any moments you were really tempted to smoke a cigarette again?

And well done.

 

[Nitro]

How?

What thoughts helped?

Did you just decide ‘I am no longer a smoker’ and that was it?

Were there any wobbles at all?
Any moments you were really tempted to smoke a cigarette again?

And well done.

The governor of my commonwealth added a $1 a pack tax to them.

I was financially motivated.

Day one, I had an e-cig to get me by, hit it about three times, but the next morning I decided that the nicotine crutch was still cheating and put it in the trash after breaking it.

I had patches from my doc, but decided that wasn't the way to go either.

For the first month, every time I got stressed out, I would reach for my shirt pocket, but there were no more cigs there, so I just rode it out.
After meals were the worst times.

I was pretty crusty that first month

After the first month passed, I had no more desire to smoke at all.

I paid $7.35 USD for the last pack I bought, and placed it in a toolbox drawer unopened as a reminder to never spend another dime on them ever again.
I hope they one day turn to dust in there.

My habit was costing me about $250 a month, and now I have that much more to spend on stuff I truly enjoy

 

[Gracey]

I was pretty crusty that first month

This is what worries me the most.
I can cranky on a usual day.

 

[novart]

Vaping has worked for me, and like a previous poster commented it was the flavoring heightened by my condition that made it much easier. I smoked 1-1.5 packs a day from age 17-27. I had little luck with the gas station versions, but buying better equipment and flavorings made all the difference. I also found that less nicotine = more flavoring, which only made it easier to work my way down. It took 3 months to quit cigarettes, and about three years to go from ~20mg nicotine strength to my current ~0.1-0.3mg strength. I make my own flavorings now as a hobby, but it also helps with reducing nicotine levels more slowly (and I'm not aware of anything between 0mg and 3mg sold at stores, which is a big jump).

I'm not really sure how addicted to nicotine I actually am now, I just know it feels weird when my brain is aware that nothing is in the liquid, which is why I still put the small amount in.

My lungs are grateful, my throat is no longer a distraction. Frankly the whole thing helps me concentrate better anyway.

 

[BobbiSueEllen]

I was a non-smoker until 1994, decided to start. Neither good nor wise but hey, there it was. Started as 2 cigs per day, gradually averaged 5 cigs daily. Okay, laugh, LOL, some habit. But the years rolled along, with various, short-lived tobacco-free gaps. In September 2021, I was in a near-midair collision on an airline flight...my smoking went up. In April 2022, I got non-COVID flu (am a COVID survivor, Wave 3B Upswing, Dec. '20), it was a doozy. I never smoke when seriously ill...and after that flu passed, decided to stay off. It worked...

...for 11 months (it was a good 11 months). Fast-forward to March '23: a family matter became problematic and I "went back on the pack". After 7 weeks on $4/packs (cigs are cheap in Kentucky), I got frustrated...wanted off again as I decided to plan a move back to Idaho & live with my non-smoking friends. I had a problem and was not sure of what to do about it.

On May 4th, I went to the back deck of "My Old Kentucky Home" for an early-evening smoke. It was warm, balmy and utterly beautiful weather, mixed with picturesque rolling, treed hills everywhere. I lit up, took the first drags...

It was then I decided to try an experiment: as I puffed, I focused on the setting sun & treed ridge in the distance, a mile away in the next county/time zone. I "zoned" in...oddly enough, still reflexively puffing but otherwise visually focused & locked. And had a self-conversation...

"What's the one thing you hate about smoking?"

"I hate how the smoke lingers and smells my breath and clothing."

"Do you wanna quit?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Do you taste that? From now on, you hate the taste, the smell of cigarette smoke. It'll disgust you."

"Okay."

"And from now on, whenever you feel an urge to smoke and you start to get up to go outside for a smoke, the urge to smoke will vanish. Your mind will think of anything else but smoking and you'll go right back to what you were doing before the urge hit."

"Okay."

"Remember that. And now, you can bring your focus back to your backyard and deck."

So I did. The long "100" cigarette was down to the last 2 puffs and I brought it up to finish it...but then it stopped. I looked at it a second or two...the urge vanished. So I put it out, went back in, back on my bed to watch old Johnny Carson on TV.

Within 45 minutes, that urge hit. Automatically, I rose up to sit, stood halfway up...and stopped. My mind was a blank. There was no longer an urge. I wondered why I was in this position so I laid back down, watched TV again. This repeated 3 times until bedtime.

For the next week and a half, this continued. It became less and less pronounced until it was no longer an "urge hit, get up, urge gone, carry on" by May 18th (the anniversary of Mt. St. Helens' big eruption, which I felt & heard on that day). It was 100% gone. And 11 days later, I was packed up and left Kentucky for Idaho.

Since that May day...zero cigarettes. Not the slightest urge. It's holding up. And this Saturday will be 6 months. I hope it stays holding up. In this instance, self-hypnosis worked.