Trying to quit smoking again, need advice

[Mack]

So I've been smoking a pack a day for 14 years now and really want to quit. Tried Zyban and other meds and only managed to stay smoke free for a month. Is quitting cold turkey and clenching my teeth the only way to get rid of this godawful and expensive habit? How did you stop smoking, Era?

 

[Spenny]

I had a moment of deep introspection while lighting up and threw my pack in the trash. That was it. That said I only smoked because I was going through some rough shit and then started hanging out with coworkers who were smokers. Once I stopped hanging out with them I stopped within a month. Will still bum cigarettes if I'm out drinking/partying though. I'll still maybe have ten cigs a year because of that.

 

[echoshifting]

I'm almost two months into my quit. I used zyban and patches. It's my most successful quit yet. I tried both alone previously with little success, but stacking them together seems to have done the trick.

Everyone needs something a little different I guess. Someone will recommend the Allen Carr book, I am sure, but it didn't do anything for me. Keep experimenting and keep trying. The more times you try to quit, the likelier you are to succeed.

 

[jromz03]

Before, I smoke because I'm OK with dying from it one day. I smoke 1 1/2 pack a day then.
Then one day I said I don't want to die. So I quit cold turkey. First 6 months is the hardest, then it gets easier.

 

[Deleted member 4494]

I'm about 10 months quit now, and did it cold turkey. Reality is that it sucks to quit man. I smoked for about 12 years, and was a pack a day. I highly recommend picking up exercise, specifically brisk walking / jogging, so when you quit you can start to develop a reward in the form of being able to breathe while you do strenuous activity.

If you can get yourself through the first 3 months, you'll probably be in a really good place to quit. Make sure you include other people in your plan: tell people you know, family, that you are quit, and have them check you on it. Don't be afraid to lean really hard on people the first week. I was a mess for 3 days.

 

[The Doomed One]

Quit cold turkey. And find yourself another hobby that's easy to engage in for short periods of time when you get a craving, to me it's the boredom that gets you more than addiction.
It helped me that I live on the beach, so every time I felt the need to smoke, I'd jump in the sea and swim for a while.

 

[suedester]

I started vaping, not touched a cigarette since.

 

[.exe]

Listened to Allen Carr on audio book and quit cold turkey as soon as I finished it. Smoke free for four months now after well over a decade of smoking, a pack a day by the end. I also used an app (Smoke Free on iOS) to keep track of milestones, savings, etc. Nice added incentives. But it was the book that really helped me. You can listen to it for free with an Audible trial. I really recommend it.

Honestly, it wasn't as difficult as I thought. The pangs were not as bad as I expected. I just had a glass of water or some menthol chewing gum when I kinda wanted to smoke. You're only going to feel better from then on, if you let yourself. One cigarette inevitably leads to another so cutting back is much harder for many. And nicotine replacements keep the addiction alive. I've tried both and it didn't work. Just stopping then and there, supported by a healthier mental model of smoking (e.g. by reading the book), worked much better than I expected it would.

 

[hombremalo]

Allen Carr book, it works

 

[Deleted member 44129]

I read the allen carr book, but also did what i guess is a visualisation exercise. Every few hours I would feel a wave of uncomfortable adrenaline that would last about 10 minutes as my body screamed for nicotein. It felt awful, but the thing to realise (as described in the Carr books) is that every time this happens, you are actually FIGHTING the addiction. So what I would do is imagine that the adrenaline was me powering up like A Dragonball Z dude or a pokemon evolving (I know little about either of these franchises, and it might be showing). So every time I felt this wave of withdrawal, I'd just imagine the bolts of lightning and plasma and stuff coursing through my body as I powered up to my next form.

I smoked 20 a day for 10 years, and now I'm 15 years Super Saiyan.

 

[plngsplsh]

Avoid situations that make it easy to give in. Start running. Everytime the crave for a cigarette gets unbearable, go for a run.

Alternatively: Overdo it so you get sick of it. That's more or less what worked for me.

 

[Grizzel Greedigut]

Get a vape, nicotine gum and use the patch the first week.

 

[FloatingDivider]

I switched to vaping like 2 years ago, started with a shitty pico at 6mg that wasn't doing it for me, upgraded to a cloudchucking subohm tank and restarted at 3mg, lowered nic by 0.5 every 2 to 3 months, and I'm down to 0 mg now, still vape while gaming or when stressed but it's honestly for the flavor and the almost breathing exercise like nature of performing sick vape tricks.

 

[Deleted member 41178]

So I've been smoking a pack a day for 14 years now and really want to quit. Tried Zyban and other meds and only managed to stay smoke free for a month. Is quitting cold turkey and clenching my teeth the only way to get rid of that godawful and expensive habit? How did you stop smoking, Era?

Click to shrink...

The only time it worked for me is when I actually wanted to give up, I'd been smoking for about 17 and tried to give up multiple times from weeks to months at a time. I'd tried so many different methods champix, Patches, Gum, group sessions etc. but I always started again.

What made me finally give up was the money, my brand finally broke the £10 a pack price and I was smoking between a pack and a pack a half a day depending on work. I realised how much cash I was basically setting fire to and decided enough was enough.

I stopped smoking and started putting £10 in a savings account every day and that was my motivation, I just went cold turkey and it worked. Three years later and I haven't had a single drag since that day.

Don't get me wrong I still miss it every now and again but the compulsion isn't every day anymore it's usually when I'm out drinking or sat in a beer garden on a sunny day.

 

[SupremeWu]

I smoked for about 5 years, late teens early twenties, I only quit when I got pneumonia from working out in the cold, which sounds stupid but it's my story.

You know what might help, try washing and cleaning everything you own, then the stink of that first cigarette will be like a punch in the face.

 

[Arebours]

I started vaping, not touched a cigarette since.

Click to shrink...

same here. went from 1 pack/ day to exclusively vaping without any hassle. Now one year later I use about 10 ml of e-liquid per month. I could probably drop the nicotine entirely but at these low quantities I don't think it has much of a negative impact

 

[Sampson]

Have you tried 5 dried grams of magic mushrooms?

 

[SymbiantXenos]

Vape. Now on 0.3% Nicotine e liquids.

 

[Deleted member 12790]

I was a pack a day smoker for 10 years and quit cold turkey, been non-smoking for 6 years now. I started running when I quit smoking, so I could see tangible benefits of continuing to not smoke. As time went on, I'd huff and puff less when running and found myself hacking up phlem less every morning. that kept me motivated, actually being able to see benefits. I used to love to go outside on cold balconies and smoke in the middle of the night, and found myself often wanting to do that, so I'd just go on the balcony for a bit and hang out like I was smoking a cigarette, but not. I learned to do the things I liked without cigarettes, as corny as that sounds. I also stopped drinking around that time, because I'd "only smoke when I drank."

Ultimately, yeah, it was cold turkey. It was really hard.

 

[Durger]

I think the key to quit smoking is being able to regain your taste and smell back.

I was a pack a day smoker for a few years as well. One day about a year ago I just decided to buy a vape. I started reducing my cigarettes every week until I just stopped buying cigarettes. I did my vape research and tried a handful of products and I've settled with my "Smok Nord". It's been great! I haven't bought a pack of cigarettes for about 10 months and I'm at a point now with my vape where I don't feel like a slave to it every hour. The panic and stress went away for nicotine, knowing I have a vape keeps me at ease, if I really need something. So it gave me a safety net for support.

Once I stopped my regular smoking habits and would bum a stoge, I could really taste it...and it was just gross to me. You can smell it and the taste was just so off putting. You can smell other smokers from a mile away and I couldn't believe I smelled like that.

I run a record shop and a chain smoking customer came in to dig. He would go outside every 15 minutes and would put out half smoked cigarettes back into his pack and he just wreaked! It almost made me gag.

 

[Arjen]

I'm on day 43 now. Last week I caved and bought a pack again, I smoked about 8 cigs from that and then I threw away the pack. Earlier I would have given up and just started smoking again. But this time I feel more committed to continue, but goddamn it's fucking hard.

 

[dc3k]

I started vaping, not touched a cigarette since.

Click to shrink...

Same, more or less.

But now I'm just addicted to vaping. Easier on my lungs, but who knows what else it's doing to me.

 

[mnemonicj]

I bought an e-cigarette and forced my self to only smoke this whenever I craved a cigarette.
It is not a substitute, but it helped calm my cravings.
I only used the e-cig when I had cravings though, and started working out.

About 3 months later, I stopped using it as well and I am now 2 years cigarette free.
Also, stop hanging out with smokers until you really feel comfortable around cigarette smoke. I smoked for 15+ years.

 

[Deleted member 13328]

I quit cold turkey, but I use "snus" and smoked like a pack a week. So much easier for me, but I still miss the morning smoke.

 

[Mack]

Tried vaping and it didn't much to me apart of using it every 15 mins and dealing with spilled juice. Don't wanna quit smoking just to be addicted to vaping.

As for exercising, I plan to start running and working out at home from Monday. Still have 2 cigarettes left, but I'm really motivated not to get another pack.

Thanks for all your tips, advice and motivational speeches. Really appreciate it.

 

[plain]

My dad smoked a pack a day for nearly 40 years. Ultimately, it took him a life threatening scare at the emergency room and Chantix to get him to quit.

 

[Yu Narukami]

You have to keep your mind busy when you stop smoking. I didn't know but you suddenly have more free time when you don't smoke anymore.

 

[SupremeWu]

One thing that will help from a practical standpoint, beyond physical addiction you have an oral fixation (which all smokers do, it's not an insult). So get a bunch of stuff like jerky, apples, carrots, candy, popsicles etc., this will help, Anytime you want a cig, grab a snack.

This is also why you may expect to gain a bit of weight but that's way better than keeping smoking, and easier dealt with.

 

[tommy7154]

Im a pack or more a day for about 25 years now. I quit once for 3 months cold turkey when i joined the military. Of course the first chance i got i picked it right back up. One of the stupidest things ive ever done in my life.

I dont have any real advice but best of luck. Ill be trying myself again shortly. That or ill die i guess. Do you have kids? Do it for them. Or a loved one.

 

[HiLife]

Maybe getting a vape and using low nicotine or zero nicotine at all. Maybe just the habit of inhaling / exhaling could help if you are jonesing to put smoke to your mouth.

 

[flook]

I smoked for just short of 40 years and quit 2 years ago. It wasn't and isn't easy - I still get cravings pretty much daily but I know now that I'm done with it.
I had quitting partners - my father and my sister quit on the same day. We were all long term smokers and helped each other through it. It really helps when you have someone to talk to that gets it exactly. All 3 of us are still quitters.
For about 6 months before I knew I was going to quit I reminded myself each time I smoked how fucking stupid it is. Expensive, unhealthy and anti-social. Yeah its cool as fuck but its still fucking stupid.
I went cold turkey. Weening never worked for me in the past and I knew it wouldn't work again. My father used a nicotine inhaler and my sister used gum for a while so I know they can help too but for me it was all or nothing.
The money I used to spend on smoking I put in a drawer and it is ridiculous how much cash is in there now. I haven't counted it but its thousands. I need to bank that. I booked a holiday recently on a whim - never been able to do that before.
I never really got the food tasting better again thing so I'm not sure if thats a myth. I definitely put on weight but my father and sister didn't and I know by exercising more I could shift it if I really wanted.
I do miss the social aspect of it but I can live without it.

 

[Deleted member 203]

I "only" smoked for about 5-6 years, but I was a pack a day. I quit cold turkey. To me it really wasn't that hard. Just don't buy cigarettes, and if you can help it, don't be around people who smoke. It sucks for a month or 2-3, especially in those moments where you normally always smoke (morning coffee, after dinner, etc), but idk, as long as you can resist the temptation to buy, you're good. There's so much time usually in between thinking "I'm gonna buy cigarettes" and actually doing it where you can talk yourself out of it.

Also, get some lollipops or something. Toothpicks. Anything you can put in your mouth and suck on. Dicks. Just going through the motions, even without inhaling nicotine, really helped me.

 

[Mack]

Also get some lollipops or something. Toothpicks. Anything you can put in your mouth and suck on. Dicks. Just going through the motions, even without inhaling nicotine, really helped me.

Click to shrink...

So what did you use, lollipops, toothpicks or dicks? ;)

 

[Deleted member 203]

So what did you use, lollipops, toothpicks or dicks? ;)

Click to shrink...

All 3 at once really works best, I find

 

[Deleted member 1445]

Start disliking smoking. If you stop with the "oh but it's so nice" fantasy that the nicotine addiction gives you, you can see how fucking nasty it smells and how horrible it really is. Incorporate that feeling and that attitude.

 

[Tangyn]

Cold turkey was the only thing that worked for me personally. I smoked since 13 years old til early 30's.

Redirected with regular chewing gum / fiddling with pens / bracelet etc etc was all about occupying my hands and mouth for me it seems rather than the nicotine.

I also did it in the winter as beer gardens in the UK were and still are a massive problem for me! I still relapse once or twice a year when very drunk but it's never more than a cig or two while hammered.

 

[Dyno]

Vape for one. Keep reducing nicotine concentration until you're down to 0 nic oils. Also try changing how you smoke and see if you can make yourself hate it. Like for instance, when you smoke do you have the butt in front of your teeth? Try placing it just between your teeth so you're holding the butt with them instead of your lips and smoke the bitch faster. Personally it makes me gag near the end that way which helped the body associate it as something it doesn't enjoy.

 

[Deleted member 11822]

Cold turkey for me as well. Leading up to the day I quit I was breaking up my normal smoking patterns and making sure I pushed the time between cigarettes as far as I could. I the quit on a 3 day weekend and kept myself busy / did things with my family.
Two things that helped me the most were exercise and imagining my wife and daughter watching me die in a hospital.

 

[Adventureracing]

There's no one right answer but lots of good suggestions here. I would add that when you're trying to quit take the money you would normally spend on your 1 pack a day and put it away somewhere. When you see it building up and you can visualise just how much you're spending on smokes I think that will help give you an incentive.

 

[PJV3]

Just do it cold turkey, i tried all the different techniques but it was just dragging out the pain and taking me to the point of defeat without actually giving up properly yet.

 

[CassCade]

I quit cold turkey a year ago. It was my first day at the gym and decided to do some cardio, after running just over a 200m, I had to stop, I thought I was having a heart attack, I was slobbering and heaving like a madman that one of the personal trainers at work thought about calling an ambulance and sat there panting for like 20 minutes. This pushed me to quit. Hardest part was the first few weeks but after that, I stopped getting cravings. I do still miss it sometimes but I won't be smoking anytime soon.

 

[Morphis]

Did you try meds containing cytisine? It basically blocks the pleasant effects of nicotine in the brain. Without that, it's not that attractive to smoke, at all. To me, it felt like a cheat code.

 

[KiLLaDeZo]

Go cold turkey bro. It's the best way. It's the way I quit numerous times.

 

[gully state]

So I've been smoking a pack a day for 14 years now and really want to quit. Tried Zyban and other meds and only managed to stay smoke free for a month. Is quitting cold turkey and clenching my teeth the only way to get rid of this godawful and expensive habit? How did you stop smoking, Era?

Click to shrink...

If you're having trouble quitting, might want to consult your primary doc and get a more formalized program. So one thing about smoking cessation that helps me put it into perspective is that it's been published that 10% of people that quit smoking make it to their first year before relapsing or quitting for good. which is to say that it's not as simple as mind over matter here. Basically if you have trouble with quitting it's ok to ask your doc for help as they'll give you better resources for it.

 

[Walter White Walker]

I quit when I was 26. I went on a fishing trip off Vancouver Island and just didn't bring any cigarettes. I had no choice but to not smoke for two days which got me through the hardest part.

 

[fixurheartordie]

Allen Carr book, it works

Click to shrink...

"Easy Way" did it for me too. It took three real tries (including three listens of the audiobook) and taking a summer off drinking but it finally stuck even when I allowed myself to have a drink again in the fall. I still get a mild pang of nostalgia for it every now and then when I catch a whiff at the right moment but haven't had an honest-to-god craving in over a year and it's fucking fantastic.

 

[hombremalo]

"Easy Way" did it for me too. It took three real tries (including three listens of the audiobook) and taking a summer off drinking but it finally stuck even when I allowed myself to have a drink again in the fall. I still get a mild pang of nostalgia for it every now and then when I catch a whiff at the right moment but haven't had an honest-to-god craving in over a year and it's fucking fantastic.

Click to shrink...

It's been 6-7 years for me and never miss it, best decision, Carr really have save many lives.

 

[Amibguous Cad]

I found quitting on vacation to work surprisingly well. Get some nicotine gum, go somewhere for two weeks or so, preferably somewhere remote where you're not going to be passing convenience stores every 30 minutes (Disney is great, too, since most of it is smoke-free). You've got plenty to distract you from wanting a cigarette, your transportation options are usually constrained in some way or other so just hopping down to the closest gas station isn't an option, and most importantly, all of your "Oh, I usually have a smoke around this time" triggers get scrambled.

 

[fixurheartordie]

It's been 6-7 years for me and never miss it, best decision, Carr really have save many lives.

Click to shrink...

I'm still amazed that that book helped me more than any smoking substitute I tried ever did. Literally saved my life. Honestly I can look back and say that quitting smoking is one of the major factors in confronting a lot of self-defeating actions on my part, it's up there with therapy for me.

 

[Arrakis]

I'm One year 2 months and 1 one week since I last had a cigarette , cold turkey was the only thing that worked for me , I tried quitting multiple times over 8 months but I kept smoking , I was super moody for the first few weeks , every day after got better and better , now I can be around smokers and not care about having one , although I miss it , I'm savings tons of money , my health is better , good luck OP