I’m on the younger end of gen X, but I’ve been a pack a day smoker for 26 years now. From a medical standpoint I know I really really need to quit. What cessation methods worked best for you? I’ve tried vaping in the past, just felt like it was masturbating instead of sex, and everyone prefers sex. Tried Chantix, the side effects were awful. Waking up scared shitless from nightmares wasn’t something I can handle. Tried cold turkey, that never works for me. Anyone have success with something like a combination of zyn and füm? Any input welcome.
Read Alan Carr's book to help get yourself into the right mindset.
This is The Way. I started cigs at 12 (oh, the 80s!) and finally kicked them at 45. Carr’s book was instrumental.
Yup. Mindset is soo important and the way he lays it out is perfect.
Or listen to the audiobook. It’s on Spotify and other places as well.
Yes, yes, yes. I read it and quit the day I finished it. Never smoked again. That was 9 years ago this weekend.
Yup. Mindset is the most important part of quitting & his book really sets it.
Underrated comment.
OP: You have to want to quit. Not in the “I know it’s a good idea, so I probably should” way. You have to decide that this is it. No more. Ever.
The cravings fade. They suck at first, but they do fade. I smoked a pack a day+ for 30 years after growing up in a house with 2 smokers. I have been breathing that shit in all my life, and for a while it was great, but what that shit does to your body is insane, and I have a big fucking scar on my chest to remind me of it every day. Quitting is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Without this, you will fail
Def underrated comment. I knew I “should” quit but never really “wanted” to quit. I had quit the usual dozen times before my wife got me a vape and I’ve been on that since 2019. Started with 24 mg juice and am now down to 3mg. It is easy to overdo it though since it doesn’t reek like cigs do so you’ll still need to give yourself some limits ie no vaping in the house or car.
This comment 100%. You must want it. There has to be some trigger event strong enough to make you want to do it and then stick to it.
For me it was waking up feeling like garbage every day. Coughing, clearing my throat, tasting and smelling like an ashtray, all to get to the first drag and a cup of coffee to wash it down. In the end, one morning I had a cold and was doing the morning ritual of coughing up all the phlegm, and decided - no more. Quit right there and then and stuck to it. Not easy, but you must, 100%, want to quit.
This is the thing. I tried to quit multiple times and failed. But I remember sitting at my desk talking with a fired while playing Doom2 and he was like, I think I am going to quit and I was a like cool, I have been wanting to so I am to. Never smoked again. I was 21 and smoking almost 2 packs a day and felt like shit. Only smoked for 5 years, but still. Seemed easy.
This.
Adding on: sometimes it takes a couple of "quits" to figure it all out, and employ all the tools amd techniques you learn and learn from your mistakes.
For my 3rd attempt, I finally got it right. And the above poster is right: you've REALLY got to want it.
I used a combination of: tapering down # of cigs to the patch, then taper down that, behavioral changes (what were my triggers and how to address those), breathing, heck I even timed my "nic fits" because I knew they'd end around 7min! ( 3 min in...only 4 to go!), reward system, and jolly ranchers.
I even had a fake minty cig I could use to keep my hand busy because it was so used to holding something and if I needed a "puff" it gave me that sensation 🤣.
I used to take "non smoke breaks" at work once I realized how many breaks smokers were taking every hour all day!
I smoked for more than 30 years, and Zyban did the trick for me. I started taking the pills and within about 45 days I wasn't smoking anymore. That was almost 15 years ago.
Same here. I quit in 2002 and haven't had the urge since.
2001 thanks to Zyban.
Same, zyban was what finally worked. And any time I was even mildly tempted I reminded myself that “if I never smoked again I would never have to quit again.” That backwards logic worked for me because I knew I wasn’t a smoker.
Alan Carr's book. It's kinda weird how effective it is. He tells you to keep smoking whilst reading, & by the time you're finished reading you no longer want to smoke.
Also worked for me. Actually an enjoyable read (or audiobook). I also think taking a minimum of 30 days off of alcohol while you are quitting is imperative
I’m not sure why this book works, but it also worked for me after several cold turkey quit attempts. It seems weirdly repetitive and there’s no magic to it but by the end, I stopped smoking. I smoked my last cigarette in July 2012.
This is what’s worked for me after smoking for 30 years. And many, many attempts at quitting.
Yep, this book worked for me. Had to read it twice to let it really sink in.
I don't smoke anymore but want to read this.
That book is sorcery. I read it in 1999 and wasn’t even particularly motivated, just wanted to know what all the fuss was about.
But it worked, and I’m still a non-smoker a quarter of a century later.
Yep. This book was a miracle for me.
Please please what is the name of this book
Sorry, I forgot he spelled Alan one of the wrong ways...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Stop-Smoking/dp/1405923318
Fascinating. My kid used to bite kids in daycare. They suggested I get a book called Teeth are not for biting or something like that. I was like no way will this work. We read it a few time and they stop biting kids!
Me too! I smoked a pack a day for 32 years. I read the book and had my last cig 3/12/2020. It was super easy. I've also recommended it to many others who have had tremendous success with it. Prior to reading the book, I'd tried patches, chantix, hypnosis, vaping, etc. None of that worked. I highly recommend this book to every smoker.
Same
Came here to mention this book as it worked for me. It may be a mild form of brainwashing but it works. The best thing the book does is that it demystifies the quitting process. Many people have a problem quitting because they've made the mental hurdle much larger than the physical one and Carr's book tackles that head on. It is very obvious from his writing that he was a longtime smoker as he knows all the justifications and rationalizations we use to keep smoking.
This worked for me to and it honestly was easy. It gets you to pay attention to the withdrawal symptoms when they come and actually accept them as one less that you'll never have to deal with again and how NOT bad it actually was.
Great book
Came here to day this. All the campaigns saying smoking is bad for you don't work, smokers already know it's bad. But his book makes you analyze why you smoke and what you get out of it.
/Spoiler alert, you get nothing out of it.
Switched to vaping. I started at 18mg of nicotine and have decreased to 3mg over the course of 5 years. I don’t miss cigarettes at all especially the cost and the mess.
Vaping saved my life. A big part of smoking for me was the oral fixation/ hand-to-mouth and habit as well as the excuse to remove myself from any situation and "take a break". Vaping 100% scratches that itch. I miss the buzz of that first ciggy of the day, but I definitely don't miss the smell or cost or detrimental health effects.
Same. Both my wife and I switched to vaping nearly ten years ago. She’s completely finished and I vape here and there.
Haven’t felt this healthy since I was maybe 20.
This is the answer for me. I read the Carr book and tried Chantix three times. The initial nightmares and depression were terrible. By the third try it didn’t even work a little bit. I was transitioning to vaping but still couldn’t give up the analogs. Met a woman for whom smoking was a deal breaker but she had no prob with vaping the Juul. 5 years off them now. I might have one a few times a year but can’t finish half of it and curse myself afterwards. I once heard Dave Chapelle refer to vaping as an exit strategy. Very true for me. Not so much for him.
Also switched to the vape and brought down the nic factor over time and eventually it was so low I just put it down.
This worked for me as well. Smoked 20 years, tried patches and other methods, but they didn't work. Vaping worked for me because I craved the routine and the oral habit, reducing the nic levels over 3 years made it work for me.
This is how I quit! I started at 18mg, I'm at 12 now, gonna go down next time I have to buy liquid.
I like being able to taste food, and I'm a runner now!
The Vape worked for me also, but I did it in 5 months and got down to like 2 mg then just put the vape in the trash one day.
I went down to 0 mg nicotine, and kept vaping, eventually I was reaching for the vape less and less, until one day I didn't bother charging the thing. That's been about 5 years now.
Previous to that, I quit once before. The job had someone come in and give classes to help us quit (a long with nicotine replacement... I used the patch). Was quit for 23 months to the day, but life stresses got me back on them. About half the people in those classes are still quit probably 15 years later.
This is a really valuable answer. Vaping might not be perfect but it's so much better for you than smoking that there's almost no comparison. I don't understand the vape hate, it's a great example of real harm reduction in action.
The only way that worked for me was cold turkey. It can be really awful but it doesn't stay that way, once you break it, it stays broken. Good luck!
I smoked a pack and a half, 2 packs a day for about 25 years. Tried the gum and the pills with no success. I went cold turkey with a one hitter filled with the devils lettuce that I would take a hit off in the evening if it got too tough. It's been 10+ years now.
clutches pearls Not the "devil's lettuce"! 😅
Yep! I figured that modern problems required modern solutions.
Same here. Cold turkey 12 years ago for me!✌️ Going through the withdraw symptoms was unbearable, but I think the horror if it scarred me so that I never wanted to pick up another cigarette again. And after the 4th day, I didn't even crave it anymore. This after smoking a pack a day for 11 years and countless failed attempts at quitting.
Seeing what my father went through in his final days (Lung cancer) was enough to make me quit.
Dealing with my mother’s chain smoking habit made me never want to start! She ended up with COPD but died from Alzheimer’s.
No shit. My mom spent the last decade of her life tethered to an oxygen machine. I realized it was within my power to stop that from being my fate.
One thing to add to what others have said is I found I missed the habit of taking a break. It then dawned on me that I could take a break without a cigarette. I would step out on the deck with a cup of coffee or a glass of water or just take some deep breaths and savor the moment. That has now become a good habit for me. There is the physical addiction and people deal with that in the way of their choice, but there is also the habitual patterns of grabbing for a cigarette that it is best to be prepared for.
Oh, yeah, the habitual patterns have been worse for me than the physical withdrawals. Day 9 now, but I've been forcing myself to take the dogs out back every couple of hours and just walk laps around the yard. The backyard is a bit of a trigger for me, but it's getting better.
Great work! Keep it up.
Nicotine lozenges
This is what finally did it for me after 20+ years of being a relatively heavy smoker.
Chantix, worked like a charm. I did have very weird, vivid dreams for a while but it didn't affect my waking psyche.
Same here. Dreams were wild. Super vivid. Mind of a fun side effect.
Same here. Truly a miracle drug that most likely saved my life.
Chantix just made me forget to smoke at some point. It worked like magic! Highly recommend.
Champix for me too. Took them for 6 weeks whist I smoked, then haven’t smoked again for 17 years. Didn’t get the awesome dreams.
I smoked reds for 35 years. I started vaping when the office went to “you gotta leave the property to smoke”. Every 6 months I would cut the nicotine levels. Started at 24 mg (very hard to find) then down to 3 mg. I ran out of juice on a holiday weekend so I spent the first day in the movie theater where I knew I couldn’t smoke/vape. I kept busy for the first week. It was rough. I felt brain dead for that week. After 3 days I didn’t want to ‘start at zero’ again so I kept at it. I’ve been nicotine free for 5 years (September 2024).
I took a bunch of mushrooms and the mushrooms told me I should stop poisoning my body with nicotine. I quit. No issues.
Wellbutrin
Same. Smoked from the womb to 36 at least a pack a day. Thanks to wellbutrin I just lost all desire to smoke and haven't smoked in 13 years now.
Same for me. I smoked from ages 13 to 26. When I decided to quit, my doctor gave me Wellbutrin. It made it really easy to quit. A few years later, I took to smoking cigars. I didn't just puff cigars though, I full on inhaled. When I started feeling like I "needed" to smoke, I asked my doctor if he'd give me Wellbutrin again. He did and I've been smoke free since 2001.
I was coming here to say this. My friend was a 25-year career military guy and smoked like a freaking freight train. He finally was able to quit with Wellbutrin about 10 years ago. Good thing too, they adopted a baby in their early 50’s. 😳
Wellbutrin made it permanent. I did patches when I was 23 or 24, and I quit for a couple of years. Then I started again. Then I used patches and quit for a couple of years. Then I started again. This happened over and over again until I was about 40. Usually, I would start again because someone around me was smoking, and the smell would make me want one. Or I would start dreaming about smoking, and then I would rationalize to myself, saying I’ll just get one pack. I’ll just smoke a few and throw the pack out. That never worked.
Then after having quit for about a year, I went on Wellbutrin for depression. I didn’t notice when it happened, but at some point, the smell of secondhand smoke repulsed me. I thought it was disgusting, and I had no desire to light up again ever.
Vaping - by starting out at decent nicotine level, getting a device that was pretty powerful and trying loads of flavours until one clicked.
I'd tried every damn thing - this was the only thing that worked. Haven't smoked in 7 years. Almost done with nicotine tapering, never felt a side effect.
And all the gross smoking health issues - gone.
Good luck whichever route you try.
Same. Quit with vaping.
Smoked longer than I want to admit. My husband and I quite Dec 26, haven't had one cig. We use Zyn (3 mg) and for the first 6 weeks we used Zippix Nicotine Toothpicks - Zip More, Smoke Less (zippixtoothpicks.com) - and Zyn at the same time, that helped with the need to have something to fiddle around in my mouth.
We tried and failed before to quit by vaping.
If you go with Zyn here's a tip. Buy some Altoids, dump them out and use the container for the Zyns - much easier to open (esp. while driving).
It wasn't easy - but it wasn't nearly as difficult as trying other ways had been. If you smoke first thing in the am- put a Zyn on your nightstand, pop it in before you get out of bed - really helped to curb the desire at the start of my day.
I smoked a pack a day for 20 years and eventually switched to vaping with some success. Once I realized how stupid that was and how dumb it looked, I figured I should just stop altogether.
Last year I was diagnosed with coronary artery disease / hardening of the arteries. In fact one artery calcified and disintegrated. The other is 80% blocked. Thankfully they’re my vertebral arteries but immediate changes had to be made. I still miss it everyday but for my health and those I love I quit cold turkey. Coming up on 1 year.
Cold turkey for me. The key for me though, regardless of the method, is that i really wanted to quit. How many times did I try quitting because I thought ‘i should’ rather than ‘I want’. It’s a different mindset and with ‘I should’ I just didn’t have the commitment it takes because it’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do. ‘I should’ doesn’t come from within, it comes from outside factors.
You mention that you need to, but do you really want to? Not trying to be an asshole at all here, it’s just when you decide you really want to, that you are 100% done with it, almost any method is likely to work.
I started up again during a clear mid-life crisis - pack a day. It wasn’t until I came out of the tailspin and figured out how I wanted to live the second half of my life that I found my self-worth and love again and quit. And it was harder than the first time.
I wish you all the strength to quit because it is worth it - because you’re worth it 💕
your brain has to relearn how to live without the nocotine. that will take years so dont expect it to go away overnight. but it can be done. my wife uses a vape , i smoked but not as much, but it still took years to not want one. admit you are powerless, look into the AA process on how to live with your addiction. nicotine addiction is addiction. addiction is using a substance to numb your feelings. no one wants to feel things! yuk lol
Switched to vape and then quit that after about 8mos. Vaping was a lot easier to get off of, it would seem there’s more addictive things in cigarettes than nicotine.
it would seem there’s more addictive things in cigarettes than nicotine.
There have been stories for years about cigarette manufacturers putting other things in them to make them more addictive than nicotine alone.
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13d
The problem is that everyone wants to quit, until the nicotine withdrawal hits. Then ou still want to quit, but suddenly find yourself in the convenience store buying a pack.
Nicotine drives behavior. This sucks, but isn’t a reflection of who are in any real sense. It’s just a fact of nicotine addiction.
I was able to quit, but one critical step was to stop beating myself up because nicotine kept providing rationalizations for why smoking was ok this once. Eventually the desire for nicotine went away, but it was hard, and made me mame a lot of mistakes along the way before I was able to finally rid myself of it.
I was a heavy smoker until I got sick. For me it was cold turkey with the aid of celery and carrot sticks. I put bowls of lemon candies and mints everywhere. The key for me and my success was to make a plan. When I felt like I wanted to bite someone, I consulted my plan. It was a list of anything I could do besides snap at one of my family members. It helped!
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13d
34 yrs of smoking a pack a day, next month will be 6 years clean. I made it through patch level 1, then when I went down to 2 I lost my freaking mind, doc put me on anxiety meds. I just had to cold turkey it. My immune system went into overdrive and I ended up with skin infections, sinus infections with non-stop nose bleeds. It was wild af for a while. Happy to say that I’m ok now but I still love the smell and I think about how nice one would be at least once a week, or when traffic sucks. I probably miss the car and task complete cigarettes the most.
I smoked for almost twenty years. Quit in 2009. Used the nicotine gum and followed the instructions to the letter. It wasn’t easy but it worked. I haven’t smoked since the day I bought the gum. I don’t miss it one bit. So far all my lung scans have been clean.
Was a smokeless tobacco user for close to 35 years. Used those nicotine lozenges to quit. Started with the stronger ones for a month or so, then used the ones with less nicotine. Haven't had tobacco or nicotine lozenges in 6 years.
I put them down and never picked them up again. My motivations were not wanting to spend 5 minutes coughing every morning when I woke up, and the cost of them was getting out of hand. Packs were 99 cents when I started. I couldn't imagine paying today's prices.
Cold turkey
Cold turkey. Both tobacco and weed. So glad I’m through with that shit.
30th birthday. Always said I would. So I did at 2359. Then hit 30, took my last puff, and threw all smoking items in the bin. Then next day I worked out it was still my birthday and smoked 2 or 3 more packs of fags. 2359 again I took one last puff and chucked the lot again. 21 years since then and haven’t touched another ciggie. Dunno just came easy. Was worried what to do with my hands (at the pub) but no issues. Biggest thing over the years is talking to car mechanics. Doesn’t seem right without a fag while staring into the engine and mumbling about injectors and stuff to the mechanic. Note my father had a hell of a time. Took years, even hypnotherapy, and even now decades later the dog smells like he had a quick sneaky one after a walk
I quit 20 years ago. After I finished submitting my taxes that year, I switched over to some tobacco-free cigarettes with no nicotine. I continued to smoke and take smoke breaks at work. It was difficult, but continuing with my regular smoking routine helped. I also carried a racketball and squeezed it as hard as I could when I needed to relieve some stress.
My sense of smell and taste were the first noticeable change. That happened after a few days. And wow did my apartment and clothes smell smoky.
I started breathing easier after 10 days or so.
I continued to take cigarette breaks with the fake cigarettes whenever I felt like it for about three weeks. I didn't try to quit. I just became less and less interested, until I was just "forgetting" to take a smoke break. One day I forgot to buy a pack, and that was that.
The whole ordeal lasted less that a month. Smoking started being gross about 3 months in.
I think the keys were:
- Waiting until I was done with my taxes and having a period of time where I could focus on handling the stress. I had actually quit smoking on 9/11 and that totally didn't take.
- Continuing with everything about my smoking routine except for the nicotine. It helped me focus on the withdrawals but I still got the work breaks, etc. Those work breaks are further positive reinforcement of smoking. You get a relaxing drug AND take a break from work. So I cut the drug out and kept the breaks.
I tried the patch and that worked until I took off the last patch.. later I found out that I had to have a bilateral mastectomy and the plastic surgeon wouldn’t do the reconstruction if I was smoking. I begged my doctor to prescribe zyban and that totally worked for me. Basically it’s Wellbutrin an anti depressant. I quit smoking in 2007 and haven’t been tempted since. Every once in a while I think I’ll start up when I’m in my 80’s or diagnosed with something terminal.
I tried everything - hypnotism, patches, gum, inhalator, Xyban (don't go near it, the mood swings were horrific). After 30 years of repeatedly failing, I went cold turkey on Day 1 of lockdown. Despite being very apprehensive about it, I read Alan Carr's book on how to quit smoking and actually found it really helpful. Was a pack a day (minimum) smoker for that entire time. Cold turkey is the only answer.
My Dad quit after 50+ years through acupuncture. That was ten years ago. He had tried everything else but always started up again.
Cold turkey, but ate a lot of Altoids.
Wellbutrin, Twizzlers, and video games. I also worked at breaking certain habits. For example, I would force myself not to have a smoke upon waking up or after eating a meal. 17 years cigarette free this coming October. I was over 2 packs a day when I quit.
Oddly enough, I still have an occasional dream about smoking.
My first grandchild was on the way and I didn't want his memories of our time together (not to mention his clothing) to be saturated with the smell of smoke like mine with my grandparents were. I got the patch and used it successfully. He just turned 10 and has never seen me smoke a cigarette in his life!
You can do this!!!
What's wrong with masturbation instead of sex? Isn't that kind of what you do when you want sex but can't have it?
I quit by switching to vape. Over time I reduced the nicotine level in my vape to 0, which was actually not hard to do and I took my time doing it. The hardest part was actually putting the vape pen away for good, even after breaking the physical addiction.
Zyban/Wellbutrin. They tell you to keep smoking when you start it. It will block the nicotine receptors in your brain and you will realize just how fucking gross the habit is while minimizing the withdrawal process. And the drug is low on the side effect profile (i didn't feel any), and generic, so cheap. Take it until you're quit for about a month or two, and then roll off.
I smoked for 20 years. It did take three attempts over about ten, but it finally clicked in 2018. Basically each attempt got me to quit for a good while, and when I did go back (usually do to some life stress issue), my consumption had dropped dramatically each time. I went from over a pack a day to less than half a pack a day, to less than a pack every couple days, to totally quit.
I got pneumonia. Couldn't breathe. Threw out all the remaining cigs and vape equipment. I was 42 had been smoking since I was 14. The first week is HARD.! It's not just the cigarettes either. You have to reset your everyday life. What's your left hand going to do while driving? What are you going to do after eating? God forbid you have a beer/drink, how is that even done without a cigarette.? These are the hardest part. Nicotine fades from your system quickly. I have heard it takes 3 days to rid your body of Nicotine. A week to deal with withdrawal. After that it's all mental.
Never smoking more cigs than the day before. Smoke 30 today. Tomorrow smoke 29. Not 29 is your max. And on and on. I had a few screwups but I just started again. Stop smoking in your trigger places. Stop smoking in the car. Or after work. Or during yard work or whatever. Replace the cig with a low or zero calorie drink. Iced tea with splenda. Get into seltzers (non alcohol) Start talking short walks with a cold non-boozy drink after.
I forgot to add. One of the supermodels back in the day did this to quit. Less smokes each day. I remember reading about it and used that when I was ready to quit.
Also! Read everything you can about the benefits of quitting.
Went on Wellbutrin for other reasons. Immediately killed my want to smoke. Really slowed down my drinking, too.
FWIW Zyban is the same as Wellbutrin, but you might have better luck getting your insurance to cover Wellbutrin than Zyban.
I don't know that I can recommend this, but after a few attempts I realized that I had a chemical addiction and a whole bunch of psychological and emotional habits around the addiction as a separate issue and that tackling all of that at the same time was too much.
When I finally quit I gave myself about two weeks. And I mean I REALLY gave myself that time. I surrounded myself with nostalgic, non-stressful video games and movies from my childhood and bought an essentially bottomless bag of weed. I ended up basically sedating myself for about 10 days while all of the physical stuff worked itself out cold turkey, sleeping and napping about 12-14 hours a day.
It was much easier to deal with all of the psychological and emotional stuff afterwards without my body pounding the drum for nicotine at the same time. It wasn't pleasant, but it was much less unpleasant than previous attempts, and it finally stuck.
Heart attack pretty much ended it for me. Now I use Zyn if I get a craving
I started taking wellbutrin for other reasons. Losing my desire to smoke was an amazing side effect. With no effort I'm down to 1-2 a day and even those I can easily live without.
23 year smoker, quit in '04.
Tincture of Lobelia, two drops in a cup of coffee or tea 3x a day and switched to herbal cigarettes. Also plan on sleeping a lot more for a week or two.
The lobelia helped with withdrawl and cravings, the herbal cigarettes hammered home that the act of smoking was 100% relative to nicotine and not a habit in itself.
My wife, also long time smoker, quit with help from accupuncture.
I quit 2 months ago. I used a combination of reading Allan Carr’s book and taking Champix (I think it’s called Chantix in the US)
ETA: My husband quit cold turkey 4 months ago
Smoked from 1996 until 2017. I really wanted to quit this time so I started cutting down gradually until I felt stupid that I was still doing it and I stopped… still smoke weed though
Addiction therapist here- there isn’t one tried and true method for all people. The key here is to keep quitting. Seeing professional help, increasing accountability (by telling all your friends and family you’re quitting) and changing behaviors associated to smoking (ie- stop smoking indoors, in car, or avoid smoking at times you would usually smoke generally making it inconvenient to smoke before you quit) can all add to your success. I quit about 24 years ago- hope you find your way asap
Quit a 15 year habit right after back surgery. My doc told me that smoking harms your discs’ ability to regenerate themselves. Never wanted to have ruptured disc pain again so I quit the day I had surgery, cold turkey though I did have some good painkillers to take the edge off/sleep.
Smoked for almost 30 years.
Girlfriend got cancer, and it didn't seem right to keep going. The only time I want a cig is if I get drunk, but I'm trying to cut that out, too.
I did it when I changed jobs and moved to a different part of the country. It was relatively easy to just redefine myself as somebody who doesn't smoke. It's not like people were trying to stop me from quitting before, but there was something about people just not expecting me to smoke.
I understand it might be a fairly extreme solution if you don't happen to be in the process of a major life change.
Wellbutrin
Cold turkey. I smoked for 33 years and then made my mind up, and quit. Best decision ever.
I did cold turkey but made sure I had equipped myself for it. Ready to breathe through serious nicotine fits. Knowing that one breath could be a distraction and focusing on the next and the next and next until my emotions were in check and I was ready to deal with not having a smoke. It sucked and is the hardest thing I've ever done but it's done. Best of luck.
I started intentionally failing while journaling the experience. Stop for a few days while ranking and describing the torture in detail, have a meltdown and smoke for a week or two. After a few cycles I could go a little longer each time, maybe because I knew what was coming. The next-to-last cycle I made it almost 6 months. The last smoke will be two years this July and I don't think I've had any bad craving for months. I was a pack-a-day for 32 years.
I used to be heavy smoker, sometimes even up to 2 packs a day ( terrible shit, I was coughing blood, never do it )
And then one day, i had a flu, pretty bad one. Could not smoke for like a week. When I recovered, I looked at cigarettes and said "nah" ...
Never smoked since , it has been 15 years.
Switched to vaping, tapered down the nicotine and then went cold turkey from there. There will always be a last mile you have to get through on your own. Plan for it and it'll be manageable
I only smoked around 3/4 to 1/2 a pack. But I ended up going cold turkey.
My main motivations were poverty and a desire to get laid again. I was in a band and needed to come up with an extra $30 a month for my part in the practice space. Cigarettes was my only luxury expense I could cut. Then add to that smoking being a deal breaker with the dating population and I had all the reasons I needed.
It was a long initial month featuring lots of water drinking and long angry walks and not knowing what to do with my hands, but it got much easier after two weeks and even easier as time progressed. It’s been over two decades now.
I look at cigarette prices these days and ponder how anybody can afford it. It might be cheaper to just be a heroin addict
I used Chantix, well am still using it. But yeah, it can have really nasty side effects so isn't for everyone.
The thing that keeps me from smoking is that I'm sure if I have one, I'll throw up. When I smoked, even lighting up that first cig after a long flight would make me nauseous so the risk is real -- and I would do just about anything to avoid throwing up.
Cold turkey, twice. "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times." - Mark Twain
Wellbutrin and the patch and telling myself you’ve smoked a good part of your life. It’s over. You used up your quota. Best thing you can do for your health.
I used nicotine lozenges - now I can’t give those up!
For like a month before I quite I focused a lot on all the things I hated about smoking, the constant need, how expensive it is, limiting dating options. Anything I could think of I disliked about it and on how great it would be to be free of it. Set a date, stopped smoking. The last time just clicked for me in ways other times hadn't. Once you get a time smoke free you want to keep it going. My wife just quite and has been a month and half smoke free. You can do it, it will suck and be very hard but its all just in your head as a mental game. You have to power through the first few weeks and it slowly gets easier over time. Good luck!
The patch and keeping away from friends who smokers.
This is going back 15 years, but I used patches and decided I was going to become a runner. I signed up for some races and realized how out of shape I was. I couldn’t run for 3 minutes straight, how the hell could people run 10k or longer? It was insane to me. So that rage and impossible challenge fueled me.
Since then I’ve run 4 marathons, 25 halves etc etc. traded one thing for another. Since
I tried everything as well. The patch. The Gum. Vaping. Cold Turkey. I probably made serious attempts to quit about a dozen times.
Eventually vaping did help me quit. You're right that vaping is not as good. I just used it to help when I was having a real craving. After a few months I realized I'd been carrying around a Vape pen that I didn't need anymore. And I've been nicotine free for 12 years.
But I still dream about it.
I quit after listening to Allen Carrs easy way to quit smoking audiobook. I've had friends that used hypnotherapy. The withdrawal you experience is just an uneasy, mild discomfort. You'll be unpleasant to be around for a few days but be gentle with yourself, you can do it. But it goes away after a few days. You have to be ready to quit and just stick with it.
Quit 32 years ago, at the time the question was smokes or food. Chose food, wasn’t easy at the time.
I smoked a pack a day for 25 years, and quit cold turkey when I was 39. I tried to quit several time before this, but it never lasted. I can't explain how I was able to quit so easily, but I suffered no withdrawal symptoms at all. Just mental discipline. I don't even remember any cravings, and I didn't replace it with food or anything. I actually lost weight afterward.
I smoked for over 30 years and just quit cold fuckin turkey. Been smoke free for almost 2 months now.
Yeah, it sucks hardcore ass but i just powered through. Just kept telling myself to suck it the fuck up buttercup. Best thing I've ever done.
Took me countless attempts but finally quit cold turkey about 12 years ago. I still enjoy a stogie or two per week but the days and years of chain smoking coffin nails are a distant memory, thank goodness.
The book by Allen Carr. 100% swear by it.
I reduced the number of cigarettes I smoked in a day. Then I went to ultra lights. Prescribed Wellbutrin and cold turkey when I started the medication. Sunflower seeds for the hand-to-mouth compulsion. Good luck!
Easy. I switched to vaping 😎
Decided I wanted to. Then changed my routines to avoid triggers: drove a different way to work, ate dinner in the kitchen instead of the living room, and so on. Used a crutch (mint nicotine gum) for a week, or so. Then just fought through what remained. It wasn’t easy, but it’s worth the battle. Just celebrated 10 years. Good luck to you, fellow Xer.
I switched to a vape and slowly tapered down the strength of the juice until I no longer felt like carrying it around.
Cold turkey. I bought a bunch of dum dum suckers and had one whenever I normally would've had a cigarette. I haven't had a cigarette since 2003.
I got pregnant... That might not be an option for you, you know depending.
I wisely never started
Chantix after a 6-week stint in rehab
Started smoking some in middle school, continued through high school and right up to a pack a day after graduation. Quit multiple times, the final time when I was like 28 or 29. Started waking up with some of the worst congestion I’ve ever had, coughing all the time, etc. I was easily at a pack a day. I just stopped buying them. I know it’s not that easy for most people, but I was just over the way they were making me feel.
I smoked from 14-30 and quit cold turkey a month after my 30th birthday
Switched from reds to lights, then ultralights. Then just when I drank, now never
Nicorett gum. I'd take a few chews when I needed, then stick it under my lip till next time. That and weed. I smoked lots of weed
A pack of cigs out cost a 6 pack when I was in college. I chose beer
Kidney stones. I had to have 2 surgeries to get rid of them.
I hope you find something that works for you, OP.
I smoked heavily for years and finally quit after my right lung collapsed while I was sleeping. I spent 3 days in the hospital and during that time I used the patch to quit. Best of luck!
magic mushrooms...
I quit 9 years ago after smoking for almost 30 years. My main motivator was laziness; I woke up on a Sunday and didn’t want to drive out to buy cigarettes. A friend had given me nicotine lozenges, so I popped one and kept it moving. I’ve never smoked since that day and absolutely love the feeling of taking a deep breath. Now when I walk outside with a cup of coffee, I love that I can smell my garden and not a cigarette.
Patches. I just used them. Kept on it. Followed the instructions. Took the physical edge off of the wanting nicotine. Used Gum and Candy to keep my mouth busy -- mints & chocolate help.
Quit once in my 30s for about 10 years, started smoking again, and then quit finally about 7 years ago.
My father died of COPD and my mom is currently fighting for her life from end-stage COPD. Lifelong smokers both of them. That cold realization is in the back of my head every time I see a cigarette, and now, even the smell of them makes me sick. I'll never go back.
The gum. I loved it and it worked like a charm. Once I broke the smoking habit, it was a matter of weaning myself off the gum.
It was raining.
Seriously. I'm kinda lazy and didn't want to go out in the rain to buy another pack, so I didn't. I just stopped cold turkey after 13 years of smoking a pack a day because I'm lazy.
Sitting in my vehicle, I lit up a cigarette from a fresh pack, one day in July 2002. It just tasted so gross. I don’t think I took more than a few drags. I put it out, threw the mostly full pack onto the dashboard and that was that. The pack sat on my dashboard for about 3 weeks before I threw it away.
Cold turkey. It was hella rough, but, after day 5 it was smooth sailing. Now, I need to work on quitting cheeseburgers.
Switched to vaporizing a decade ago... I've had nicotine in my system since I've had a system. Ma never quit when she had me & my parents chain smoked (and died early for their efforts) in the car, at home, wherever. I started smoking in earnest before 7th grade, was smoking in the house at 15 & our high school had a designated smoking area for 15+ with permission slips. We'd get cartons at the military base for $6 in the 90's. I. Loved. Smoking.
Dad died from his third heart attack & ma had some sort of brain event, likely a stroke. They found masses in her right lung post-mortem, likely cancer. That was my cue to try something different.
A buddy gave me his old vape rig in 2013 when I quit drinking & I've been tapering and maintaining since then. My GP says I don't show any signs of long term lung damage & my O2 levels, lung capacity, blood pressure, and other vitals are great for my demographic... My sense of smell and taste recovered almost immediately.
near death experience that landed me in ICU
not a process i'd recommend but very effective
After 27 years of smoking up to 40 a day, I just stopped cold turkey. The first week is the hardest. After 4 or 5 days the physical addiction was gone and I had no more sweats or shakes. Then it was “just” the psychological habit I needed to fight, and that fight was a very long one, and went on for a few years.
It all boils down to how much you want to give up. If you’re just trying to give up because you think you probably should, rather than because you really want to, then you will likely fail. I know because I tried to give up half a dozen times before and those times I was trying because I knew smoking was bad for me rather than because I wanted to give up.
It’s also easier if your health is suffering and/or you’ve stopped enjoying smoking - I was having breathing problems walking up small hills and I was tired having to go outside to smoke in all weathers, which helped a lot with my motivation.
It’s been 19 years or so since I quit and I don’t miss it at all. I can’t bear to be around smokers either as the smell makes me gag.
Used a Juul for a year, then was able to quit. That was 3 years ago.
I quit all nicotine cold turkey by adopting a one day at a time mindset. As long as I focus on being quit today, that’s good enough. Coming up on 10 years nic-free in July.
I bought a brand new car and didn't want to stink it up, I also stopped drinking coffee first thing and switched to a black tea. I bought a huge back of dum-dum lollipops and I just constantly had one available.
I booked a week at a really expensive fitness resort where you couldn't smoke. Figured that was my only shot. When I got back home to my usual environment, I used the nico gum for months until I could handle switching to regular gun and then nothing. It was really hard, but so worth it.
Went from smoking to vaping for about 5 years, then to lozenges, then to the little nicotine pouches. Finally quit on those.
Asthma helped me really well, would not recommend.
I have to keep reminding myself that this isn't painful. When I'm having a particularly gnarly craving, I just keep repeating to myself that I'm not in pain. It's all in my head. Taking ridiculously deep breaths and holding them in. And find something - anything - to do beside think about it. I've been distracting myself one craving at a time.
Price got too high over 3 years ago. Switched to vaping. Gradually decreased nicotine content until it was nicotine vape. Gave that up over a month ago. Now hooked in mint candies.
The problem with the nicotine patch for me was that I still had cravings and there was no relief.
Nicorete quick mist spray and inhaler really work when you get the cravings. Not as good as a proper drag, but a decent hit to stop the urge.
Smoked 30 years, stopped 2 years.
I got a bronchitis attack on Christmas Eve in 1997. It hurt like hell like someone putting a dagger in my back and twisting it.
I stopped smoking and anytime I felt a craving I channelled the pain I felt then from memory. Never smoked again.
Whenever I had a particularly nasty hangover, I’d take deep sniffs of a cigarette when I was about to puke or just after. After doing that a couple of times, I was done smoking permanently (this was 18 years ago).
Cold turkey after 25 yr pack+ a day habit. I tried everything. Welbutrin, patches, gum, I even considered hypnotherapy.
What worked was the perfect storm of sobriety, the flu, unemployment, and being car free. Bicycling, living the "principles, with prayer & meditation" and toothpicks helped a great deal. I lacked many of my old triggers, namely smoke breaks at shitty kitchen jobs, alcohol & drugs, and driving.
Ultimately, it was my refusal to "renew my subscription" to something that controlled my will. And wallet.
I was sick for weeks. First from the flu, then from the detox. Bedridden. So that helped. Most of my housemates smoked. Oddly, that helped, too.
One thing rarely mentioned is your dental health when you're quit smoking (quit is a continuous verb in this sense). Your mouth will return to life, and you will notice. After the first 2 weeks, get a cleaning. Brush your teeth when you get a craving.
It's been almost 15 years since I picked up a cancer stick. I didn't stay "sober," but at least I don't smoke tobacco. I credit the program of recovery for being tobacco free, but nothing else! Lol.
Chantix, and when that ran out, sheer will. Had to try and fail many times, but it finally stuck in 2017.
Cold turkey. I met my would-be husband, and he had asthma. He was not a fan of the smoking. So I stopped cold. About 5 years later I picked it up again for a week or two, decided it smelled gross, and stopped again forever. I'm told you can't quit for other people, but I'm here to tell you: you can. You absolutely can quit a substance for other people. I'm so very glad I stopped. My health benefitted a lot from cessation. But if it hadn't been for him I would be a lunger by now.
Patches
I smoked a pack a day for 16 years. Quit cold turkey 13 years ago and haven’t had a single puff.
Cold turkey on December 27th, 2012, after 11 years.
I finally quit successfully and it was indeed by going cold turkey and just sucking it up for a few days. The key is to never take another bit of nicotine into your body ever again because it starts the whole cycle of addiction again. There are no bummed cigs, or just let me have a hit.
Quitting smoking was the single most difficult thing I've ever done. I was an emotional wreck. Take a week off and stay busy around the house. Learn to breathe using the 4-7-8 routine when you have a craving. Breathe in through your nose to the count of four. Hold for seven. Breathe out through your mouth to the count of eight. Repeat as needed. It will help you ride through the cravings.
The only way out is through. Best of luck.
Hypnotherapy. Worked amazing, just stopped.
Took multiple attempts but after 26 years, I really just wanted to. Cigarettes were starting to get mad expensive and I wanted to save that money. I downloaded a free smoking cessation app that I had to check into daily. And I paired that with the Nicorette lozenges.
After 2 weeks, I was off the lozenges and using the app only. I used the app for a year and it helped. Just over 5 years without a cigarette. Same for the husband. If you live with a fellow smoker, quitting can be double hard if they don't want to.
I used a vape. Ionly took a drag when the urge was unbearable. So instead of lighting up and smoking a whole cigarette it was just a drag or two. I stepped down the nicotine levels until I was on no nicotine and it was more just the physical habits of it and then when I ran out of cartridges I just didn't buy any more. I started eating sunflower seeds to have something to do with my hands. It took about 5 weeks from start to finish to quit but once I switched to the vape I never had another cigarette. I did put on a bunch of weight over the following months but I managed to lose it.
I was a heavy smoker 30 years. Took a few times but I finally did it using Nicoderm CQ patches. If you make it don’t ever pick up any again, doesn’t take but a few to get hooked back in.
My method is 2 weeks of hell - but I’ve recommended this to others and it’s worked.
I quit everything cold turkey the same day. Caffeine. Booze. Cigarettes. Started working out 2x a day to the point where I was exhausted at night. Did this for 2 weeks.
At the end of 2 weeks I had a new addiction (working out) and I rewarded myself by drinking and having coffee. Never went back to smoking.
Chantix. Don’t be scared by the naysayers. 07/26/24 will be five years since my last cig.
Mono. The worst part of quitting was done by the time I didn’t feel like death.
I quit in 2012 with old school vaping. Vaped for a few years till I reduced the dosage to zero nic. I take a pull on a vape once in a wihle, but I'm pretty much done at this point.
Chantix, haven’t smoked a cigarette in almost 18 years.
I also told myself that the cravings we’re going to go away whether I smoked or not.
Took care of my dad while he was dying of pancreatic cancer, about a month later I had quit cigarettes and was chewing nicotine gum instead. That helped me wean off.
I still chew the gum sometimes but my doctor doesn’t care - he said my heart is great and nicotine by itself isn’t cancer-causing - it’s the nasty smoking that’ll get you
I just got bored of it. I tried menthols, roll up, cigarillos, cigars, pipes, and vaping. Eventually I'd tried all the things and just decided I didn't want to do it anymore.
Vaping. Smoked a pack and a half a day for well over 20 years. Switched to vaping with a high level nicotine juice. Over the course of about a year i gradually decreased the nic level. After a few months at the lowest level I was travelling internationally and didnt want to deal with bringing all of my batteries with me so I just quit entirely. That was about 6 years ago now and I havent looked back.
I used Marajuana and exercise. When the cravings were physical I smoked a joint and when I caught myself wanting to tinker, aka the nervous obsessions, I would do a few pushups. I have been nicotine free since 2002 and stopped smoking weed once the cravings subsided.
Always see your self as a smoker, for me it’s been 12 years. I’m still a smoker. Understand that smoking is a powerful antidepressant that’s why people can’t quit. I started running to deal with the depression and haven’t looked back since. Took me 2 years to quit though.
Saving up all my stress and having a huge joint after work.
I did this when I was 24 and it was still illegal. Should be much easier for others now.
I did the patch. Had varying success from like 2 weeks to 8 weeks. Attempt number 9 it finally clicked.
I failed because I convinced myself it was “ok” to smoke a cigarette or two here and there. It’s ok during my commute, or only when I drink.
The hump I had to get over was “never again”. Not one, not a drag of someone else’s, never again. The decision had to be binary for it to work.
Cold turkey. Set them down and walked away.
Older GenX. Honestly, for me, it was when I truly *wanted* to quit, and stopped seeing cigarettes as cool/fun/relaxing/necessary. I smoked about a pack and a half a day from 17 until 35. During those years, I tried many times to quit, but if I'm being 100% honest, I kind of didn't want to. I still *liked* it. I liked the way it felt, the way it looked, and how it fit into my life. I liked our little cigarette break group at work. I liked bumming a smoke, or offering one. I liked having a pack of cigarettes with me. I liked buying a new lighter.
I *liked* being a smoker.
Then one day, I fully realized the harm I was doing to myself with no real upside, and I finally stopped liking it. I quit cold turkey. And for the first time ever, it wasn't hard.
Here's the problem - I have no idea how to get there. For me, it was like a logic switch just turned on in my brain and said "you know, there's no upside to this at all. The things you like about it are totally fake". And that was that.
Cold turkey and a vacation.
Hear me out! ;)
The vacation was because it was easier to go cold turkey in an environment where I had no history of smoking, and I was a pack of Camel Filters a day. So, not being around people, or places where I was used to lighting up, really helped.
If vacation or travel for i.e. 3 weeks out of your normal environment is not an option, then cold turkey, regardless. The first week is *brutal* and then it eases up.
I also ate a fuckton of liquorice because it helped having something in my hand reminiscent of a cigarette and the suck reflex. I know others tried, and made it work with lollipops
Before I went cold turkey, I'd tried plaster and gum, to no effect.
My last cigarette was ab 20 yrs ago, so the cold turkey was the only thing that stuck. It's too easy to forget that you need an environment for it, too.
I stopped when a pack when it went from $5 to $7. I set goals. One pack a week then after a couple weeks I went to one pack every two weeks.
I had to remove certain triggers like having one after a meal or when having a beer/drink. Didnt allow myself to smoke at home (never smoked in my car) But the kicker that helped was I told friends and coworkers that Im quitting and not to ask to go smoke with them for the month I was doing one a day. Thankfully we had rain for almost 2 weeks straight so I kinda just stopped going for a smoke.
Once you reduce the smoking youll get smell & taste back. When I did that 2 weeks no smoking, went to hang out with some friends at a pub and the smell of cigarettes just grossed me out. I wanted the physical part of holding a cigarette but absolutely did not want the smell or taste of it.
I switched to nicotine gum for awhile (few years) as a replacement. It was still an unhealthy vice, but better than smoking. A few months ago I finally had the strength to ramp down and then quit completely. Now I just chew a piece of regular gum and it somehow tricks my brain and satisfies my cravings.
All the smoking cessation methods are valid. However, none of them are going to work if you don’t really want to quit. You need to get into a headspace that you are going to quit. Even if you fail you have to keep the drive to continue. I tried several methods, the patch is what ended up working for me. Do some research into the psychology of cigarette addiction. Try to understand what’s going to trigger you and have an alternate plan of what to do when that happens. I smoked a little over a pack a day for 15 years. The physical addiction was not the hard part for me. It was just the habit of “when I do this, I have a cigarette”. Just had to be aware of those and be prepared to fight the feeling.