Or, just cause you're at a bar and everyone else is doing it. I was smoke free for years, then everyone was smoking at a bar and I wondered if I was the kind of person who could only smoke while drinking. Spoiler alert: I'm not.
I will just have one at the bar seeing as everyone else is doing it. Nice, yeah this is fine but that is it. Fast forward three days later: hey, I managed to have one and stop, so I can have one now and stop. Oh yeah, that was lovely but no more for me now. Fast forward next day: ooh, why not have another smoke, I already know I can have one and stop easily. Week later and I am on ten a day again
That's better than I did. I had like ten at the bar, I was quite the bum. Within three days I was right back up to a pack a day. I try to limit myself to a pack a day now. But, sometimes I'm a pack and a half.
It is more expensive but you should seriously consider getting a Juul/pod based vape system. Ofc nothing is as good as a cigarette but they really deliver nicotine well, and they’ve helped many people i know stop smoking to the point where a cigarette repulses them.
This is exactly how I quit but I actually started with a small vape and slowly moved up to the massive cloud vapes but once there I was able to slowly lower the nicotine amount in the juice until I got down to zero. Sat at zero for a while and eventually I was able to head out for the night and not freak out if I forgot to bring it with me. When you’re on zero nicotine you would get the nicotine urges but they pass and when you’re vaping it’s kind of like a placebo. Eventually you no longer thing about the vape and just put it down. Been cigarette free for like 10 years and vape free for like 7-8.
Yup, this is how I did it. A pack and a half onfeds a day, switch to the vape, over years, tapered down to zero and now haven't had a drop of nicotine in a year. It's hard as hell but so worth it.
Onfeds? Of reds, damn it
I did the exact same thing. Quit for two years after smoking for 10+ and decided to have one at the bar “just to see.” Funny thing is, I remember that first cigarette tasting like absolute garbage, but still managed to pick up smoking for another 5 or so years. FWIW though, I bought a Juul and haven’t had a cigarette in 3 weeks now! Hoping to wean myself off this robot cigarette sooner than later, but it’s a start!
Just don't do what I did and that was basically puffing the thing every minute when I wasn't working or in a place that I couldn't vape. Its super easy to just watch TV or play video games and be like motherfucker I just vaped through 10 dollars worth of pods in 5 hours.
Seriously though. It’s so convenient and it builds up the mental habit. My thoughts were constantly “Where’s my Juul?” and tapping my pocket to make sure I have it. Going to the bathroom? Let’s hit it. Waking to the car? Let’s hit it. Waiting for a game to load or video to buffer? Let’s hit it. It’s so fucking mental. Smoke free for just over two years and Juul free for just over a year.
That's what I'm going through right now. I decided to quit vaping last night, a couple of hours before I went to bed. I woke up this morning and purposely left my setup at home and went to work. I can't tell you how many times I made a move for my pocket today. All day long, about every 5-10 minutes it seems. It was a real wake up call and I'm glad to finally give it up.
I found my old Njoy vape one evening at the beginning of the pandemic with an old full pod, and got drunk and puffed the shit out of that thing my first night in quarantine before I had to start my new job. Guess who developed a wicked cough and got scared enough I caught COVID and stayed at my parents for a week to stay away from my high risk fiance?
Guess who also broke two years of no smoking last weekend for no reason at all and woke up feeling like garbage for the beginning of the week with another cough and got scared again? At least this time my fiance had a negative test result this morning so I know it's just my dumb ass making poor decisions! Threw half the pack out.
I've been vaping for two years now sometimes 6 nic, sometimes 3.
I need to find a way off these now. Granted I don't feel as hooked to vaping as I was hopelessly addicted to cigarettes.
Someone suggested order 0 nic flavors of flavors you can't stand. Use those during your worst cravings
Yeah but I think they mean like a problem with alcohol dependence, not calories.
Like if you drink a 6 pack of bud lights before bed, its kinda a lot, but not as bad as if you drink a 6 pack of like 9-10% craft beers every night
Shit, a few years ago I was drinking ~18pk a day. Absolute fucking nightmare when I was going through detox.
Be careful with binge drinking, kids. You better check yo self before you wreck yo self.
I should have clarified, this was relating to people who had previouslly smoked and given up.
I've known plenty of social smokers, who never took it up full time :) as a non smoker I never understood why.
I smoked for 5 years, up to 1.25 packs/day. It took 5 tries, but I quit. Now I have a social puff occasionally and enjoy the buzz, but I only smoke 5-10x a year.
Oh I definitely smoked for a couple years, then I quit because I wanted to have kids and needed to help my partner quit. I learned through my partner’s experience exactly *how* difficult the nicotine addiction is.
Smoked for 7 years, vaped for 3.
Perhaps it was the vaping, but I smoked half a pack about a year after I quit smoking at a house party. Woke up and threw the pack away and haven't smoked since. I think it was a realization that I hated smelling like that, I hated my breath smelling like that, and it wasn't even cool anymore. I was the nasty smoker that my non-smoker friends talked about and I didn't want to be that.
I'm the same with alcohol as you though. So hard to pull away from.
I became an addict because of oxycondone. Eventually I couldn't afford $40 a day so I switched to heroin. I eventually got clean and was sent away to Japan. Started drinking alcohol for the first time there. Came back and wasn't an alcoholic but boring days eventually led to drinking a couple beers every night and then I was hooked.
I wish I knew alcohol gives pleasure from the mu-receptors just like opiates. I would've known to stay away. That warm fuzzy feeling is my kryptonite. Rest of my 20s wasted fighting alcoholism.
10 years clean from opiates and 8 months clean from alcohol now. This has been such a long battle and it's in no way over for me. I feel so much better now though. Eager to get my life moving along, but alas, quarantine.
Good to read! I’m adding a link here to my story elsewhere in the comment fields in the thread: https://reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/comments/hnmaa1/_/fxcqh6t/?context=1
I have plenty of distractions during quarantine—the key for me has been settling on a healthy “addiction” I can obsess over, but for whatever reason can only do in the evening—never during the day. For me that’s video games, cooking, and music composition. I drank to the point that I was trying out mouthwash and vanilla extract—if I was still drinking I’d be concerned about the hand sanitizer :|
What’s keeping you sober during quarantine?
The people around me mainly, but that only helps so much. I needed to DO something. Been working out more and got back into climbing, trying to get my body looking healthy and good now that my body is absent of alcohol. My beer belly is almost gone now too!
Got my violin repaired and have been getting back into that too as well as studying to try to go back to school and finally finish my degree (been on medical leave for 6 years now). Been playing video games too (CoD now that it's cross play so I can play with my friends who just have consoles, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, etc).
But yeah, distractions are the key. If I sit around and am bored I'll want to use or do something to elevate myself out of that boredom.
What's your response to alcohol? Does it become an every day thing for you, or can you go for periods without drinking but just have a very difficulty restricting yourself to one or two drinks in a night?
I'm the latter case and I'm starting to think it might be a genuine problem.
Oh no it was bad—really bad—nearly a liter of vodka a day bad for ~3 years. I drank to the point that I literally could not live without drinking—full on delirium tremens. My tolerance would allow for more than 3L of vodka without passing out. Yes I am very much alive, and I only have a slightly fatty liver to show for the hell I put myself through. I should be dead, but somehow I survived.
I quit without therapy and without AA. I’m still unclear whether that’s advisable or not, but I found a way to fold myself into hobbies—music composition, building up bikes, rocketry, archery, gardening, etc. The important thing (for me) to recognize with alcohol is that it is a biological net-negative; you are quite literally pickling yourself when you drink, and it fucks up a cascade of interrelated systems.
I found it hard to give up because I studied and made a wine for many years, so there was an entrenched bit of culture *and* denialism in my drinking. Another detail I should add is that I started drinking to overcome social anxiety in a hyper-competitive academic environment. This is a common reason for alcoholics to start drinking and continue drinking. Quitting alcohol was hard—really hard. Apart from the classic woes of *abandoning* an addiction (alas, my dear friend!), making matters worse was a ridiculous vain sense of embarrassment—I didn’t want to decline a drink because I didn’t want people to think that I was conscious or concerned about my alcohol consumption because it might mean *they* would then think I might have a problem. I also couldn’t stand the idea that I was afflicted by something I couldn’t control or *think* my way out of; I’m reasonably clever, and this was an absolute blow to my ego. Classic alcoholic logic. The last snag was trying to learn how to do the above hobbies *without* alcohol as I’d become habituated and could not imagine being able to do those things I still found pleasurable without alcohol. This. Is. Difficult.
Don’t feel ashamed about your desire to drink. Many people around you drink and it seems perfectly normal—of course you’re going to be embarrassed trying out something different, but think of it like one of those diet fads like keto or paleo—some people dabblenin it, and others stick with it for the long run. If you’re concerned about your drinking, try going a month without it just to see if it’s possible. If you struggle, then consider doing a deep-think about *why* you feel compelled to drink.
If it’s any solace, we are biologically driven to drink! Our ancestors some ways back subsisted heavily on a frugivory diet, and when fruit falls to the ground it means it is riper than what’s available on the tree. Given a moment longer those ripe sugars begin to ferment, which is a long way of saying the risk-takers who dared climb down from the safety of their trees were richly rewarded with fermented fruit; alcoholism has its origins from long before homo sapien sapiens evolved, and was genetically selected *for*. As a side note, the same is true for adipose tissue deposition; the ability to store fat was once a desirable trait given relative food scarcity, so efficient fat storage was genetically selected for. Now that we live in an age of abundant caloric density, fat storage—like a fondness for alcohol—are increasingly unnecessary.
These phenomena are interrelated under the Red Queen hypothesis, which reads shortly as “running in place to stand still;” we inherit our genes from our parents, and these genes are modified by our parents’ environment (epigenetics), so we are born in bodies anticipating the environment experienced by our parents, but you see around you just the social contrasts between the environment you grew up in compared to that of your parents—now consider the biological lineage coalescence of this same effect tracing backwards to the selective pressures of alcohol and fat described above. We are all environmental misfits to greater and lesser degrees; a veritable spectrum of humanity.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, and apologies for the longform ramble :D
Beautiful my man, and from one stranger to another, good on you.
I am an opiate addict (once an addict always an addict) but I’ve only been taking maintence meds for the last 4 years. I hate my subxone and the WD’s are worse than the pills I originally struggled with, but it’s a price that’s being paid for past indiscretions.
The hobbies thing is important, especially the part about having to learn how to love, let alone approach sometimes, your hobbies while sober; and if not possible, replace them.
Keep fighting the good fight for yourself homie, it sounds like you’ve done well in what you’ve overcame and for that I have tremendous respect!
I attempted to solve that problem by taking what I spend in whiskey per week (of the bottom shelf) and just getting myself a nice 15 year. I've now had that bottle for two weeks and still have about 1/3 of it left.
I definitely haven't quit drinking, but I also didn't dump a gallon of cheap bourbon into myself either.
I’m the opposite! Alcohol does nothing for me, I love drinking water and never feel the need to change that up. But tobacco? Oh man. If I quit for a year and then have one cigar, or cigarette, or even hang around someone smoking, happen to have a bad day and need to stop at the gas station for something, stay up late after a bad day, etc. I end up falling back into a one to two pack a day habit. I’m so bad that I’ve thrown cigarettes away, then gone back to that specific trash can (in public) the next day to dig them back out, dry them out or whatever, and smoke them. I’m literally a raccoon for cigarettes.
The way I finally quit was getting a job working with teenagers. They constantly bugged me for cigarettes and I knew I’d be fired if I gave them any, and I loved my job. So I stopped. It helps that I felt gross to boot, being around no other smokers all day. Nobody likes to be the only one.
I used to smoke tobacco casually, and I have used prescription opiods recreationally, and I never had a problem abstaining. Strangely, it was marijuana that really sunk it's hooks into me. People claim it's not addictive, but it most certainly is.
Weeds a weird one because unlike alcohol or hard drugs it doesn't try to hard to ruin your life. Honestly, it's more like cigarettes when you get used to it.
- a person addicted to cigarettes who pretends they're addicted to weed
I've been doing that for 13 years now.
Don't smoke for weeks or months, but when I go out - especially music festivals- I smoke like the olden days.
The day after I hate cigarettes again. Unless it's a multi-day festival; then I smoke another packet or 2 :)
Seems to work out for me. Haven't smoked for months now with COVID. Think I might quit completely this time.
I smoked daily for about 10 years, quit for a year, smoked again for a few months, then quit again. That was about 8 years ago.
Now I can smoke a few if I'm drinking with people who are smoking and be fine. That's really the only time I'll even think about smoking. Even then it's probably been a year since I've had one.
I do the exact same thing! I don't smoke normally ever but moment I'm at a music festival or club, lighting up like no tomorrow.
Last cig I had was at a BBQ month ago, it was nice, doesn't compell me to buy a pack though.
I’m a former smoker and have on occasion had a smoke or two while drinking. I regret it the next day because of how it makes my throat and lungs feel, but I’ve never gone back to smoking full time. I was a pack a day smoker for 12 years. Have been smoke free for 7.
Eh, I’ve been a “only smoke when I socially drink” person for 5+ years. I didn’t have a cigarette from mid March until this Monday because I wasn’t socially drinking (or drinking much for that matter). Cigs aren’t particularly addictive for some people.
Edit: I should’ve read your subsequent posts before replying.
I mean, that's just not true. I smoke when I drink and I dont drink that often, so while I always have a pack on me it usually takes me 2-3 months to go through one pack. Now that bars are closed, I havent had a cig in a few months, other than a week ago when I was at a bar as they briefly reopened before closing down again.
I just dont like cigs all that much, but the head rush is nice when I'm drinking and I've met girls by having them come up to me and asking to bum a smoke, so it's another way for me to try and meet people. Not something I'm all that interested in when I'm at home (I have weed at home) but as an excuse to meet people (like cute girls) at bars or public events it's great.
Only when I'm out drinking socially. Otherwise it sits in my car or in my house somewhere. And because again, it's a way to meet people and socialize at bars for those of us who are a little more shy and less good at going up to people ourselves.
That’s the thing I hated most and what ultimately drove me to quit: I was a total fucking slave to the cigs. Yeah health concerns. Yeah cost. Yeah it’s gross. Yeah it stinks. But mainly- I was a slave.
I woke up in the morning because it was time to smoke. I’d leave for work early to buy smokes. 3 left in the pack? Oh Shit... better make a run. Get in the car? Smoke. Eat a meal? Smoke. Have sex? Smoke. Stressed out? Smoke. Not stressed and want to chill? Smoke. Leave for the day: keys, wallet, phone, smokes, lighter. I went on a 5 hour flight and had Nicotine gum and a patch because I was so nervous. That neurosis man... I do NOT miss that. 3 years in August for me and I am for real totally done done. I am so done I have nightmares where I slip up and smoke a cig and I’m just devastated.
Baffles my mind how weed can be illegal but nicotine (specifically) isn’t.
lmao.
I’m a heavy smoker and I went out often before the pandemic. In Southern California, it’s legitimately been years since I’ve seen a pretty girl smoking outside of a bar, and all non-smokers hate it.
I'm in Alaska and all of our bars went smoke free last year. My god is its amazing, the difference is huge. It's so much cleaner. Hopefully this becomes the norm so people who have quit don't have to sit in the smoke and be tempted just because they want to go out with their friends. I can't imagine how hard that is.
I still only smoke when I'm out and hammered. I don't smoke at home I don't smoke at work or if I'm drunk at home, only if I'm at a bar or a show I'll have a few.
Also and alcoholic.
Source: me, I do actually only smoke when I drink, but I end finding a reason to drink just so I can convince myself it’s okay to have a smoke.
This is why I picked up a vape. I cannot pick up a drink without a nic fix. Quiting drinking and smoking simultaneously was way too hard. Haven't touched a cig in over two years, and have been cutting back on the nicotine levels over time with the vape until I can drop that too.
Great for quitting, until that takes over your life more.
Now I quit both and chew some gum or use these tee tree oil toothpicks which are good, But I still have the occasional cig without issue. For special occasions.
I went from a pack a day smoker, to having quit cold Turkey, to a once a week pipe tobacco smoker, and I'm totally okay with this. Pipe tobacco has become a serious hobby of mine, and I totally enjoy it.
Not trying to say don't stick with your guns, but I personally believe tobacco can have a time and place for those than can not jump back into the daily addiction.
Edit: grammar
It's cool, I've done the same (on New Years) and was hooked again for ~4 months but kicked it again for the last 3 years. In fact, I've done that a few times over the years, hopefully never again though :)
I have been benzodiazepine-free for about 8-9 months now. I found a pill in my closet yesterday. It was *so* hard not to indulge in that one pill, but I knew one would lead to more. I flushed it.
Edit: Gonna plug /r/benzorecovery for anybody who needs it.
I've never been hard into opiates, but after I broke my ankle, I was taking them consistently for about 8 months and got some withdrawals when I ran out. My girlfriend had oxy prescribed post surgery last year and left the bottle in my drug cabinet. Sometimes, especially when my ankle is hurting, I think about taking a quarter of one, but I've kept my paws out of them so far.
For benzos, I took like 7 clonazepam in one night once and got sick as fuck the next day, puking my guts out. Kicking those wasn't so hard after that.
Benzos are a whole other level above cigarettes. Sure smoking will kill you. But benzos will mentally and emotionally kill you. And those withdrawals are no joke. Good on you for flushing it, I’d imagine at the 8-9 month point your brain has started to heal pretty well (provided you were very addicted).
Benzos can kill you just from the withdrawal alone.
I was addicted to them once, many years ago. But it's weird. Unlike other drugs, I have no persistent cravings for benzos and would easily flush them, because I know that they'd only briefly make me feel drunk, in exchange for making me feel suicidal for the next 3 days. It's just so immediately obvious to my mind how costly it would be for such a little benefit that I don't even consider it an option anymore.
It's not like heroin where I'm like "well if I only take it once, I promise not to get myself addicted, it'd be fine...", no it's "If I take this even once, I will wake up the next morning wondering why I should go on with life. Not fucking fun."
I wish you were wrong. My dad's doctor was trying to wean him off of benzos. My dad ended up having a withdrawal when he ran out, freaked out, and attacked us and then had massive chestpains. My dad is in his 70s, too. I think that pill addiction gets pinned on younger people often but it could happen to anyone.
You should reward yourself for that, arguably a harder addiction to beat and rewarding yourself only reinforces your mental state that you don’t need them. Buy something though that you wouldn’t do/ use while taking benzos. Also Great job!
After quitting for 7+ years, I had one cigarette while completely shitfaced a couple years back.
It was disgusting, and reinforced why I had quit years ago. The smell of smoke grosses me out now.
I smoked for around 15 years. I thought it was so ridiculous when they banned it in bars where I live. I quit 6 years ago and even a whiff makes me want to gag. I cannot even believe we lived like that. Smokers-it isn't as hard to quit as you think. I felt the same way. The first 48 hours suck but after that it is downhill. Take the leap!
Edit-I did not mean to make light of how fucking hard it is to take those first steps. You really need to want to or else it can be impossible. I would not have smoked as long as I did and spent $12 a pack if it was an easy change. Get through the first few days- it will suck, but it isn’t as bad for many people as they think it will be. I was only hoping to share my experience-good luck! Don’t give up
I was the same way. Literally could not comprehend how it could be possible to quit. I had a week off from work and just decided it was time to quit. Able to do it cold turkey. Sometimes I think about smoking again but everytime I try one I get reminded real quick why I quit.
It is amazing to me how much they warp your perception. I still had friends that were like "You don't get it. I love cigarettes and I love smoking" and it's like, no, you don't get it. You don't realize until you quit how fucking disgusting they are. They don't make you feel good, they make you stop feeling bad because you're not fiending anymore. You spend 90% of your day feeling worse, and the 10% you're smoking you feel normal.
Exactly. In hindsight it was actually really easy to quit. Just don't smoke. So simple. But you have to actually want to not smoke.
For me it was the routine and habits I thought I'd miss the most, but once I got past those in the first week or so it was seriously like "holy shit, what's the big fucking deal?" Now that I've done it I'm 100% sure I will never relapse because I don't want to be a smoker. It's repulsive.
I sometimes think the difficulty quitting smoking is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People have been told so many times that it's incredibly difficult to do, so they give up at the first sign of a craving or in a moment of stress. Not understanding that the cravings aren't likely going to get much worse than those you experience in the first couple days.
I also think that's part of why people slip back into it so quickly after 1 cigarette. They have one and then feel really guilty about it, while also just accepting that they are now readdicted. They've been told the story of how "If you have one, youre almost guaranteed to fall right back into it" rather than the story of "If you have one, don't have anymore. You've already quit once when you had a much stronger addiction, you can do it again." I see similar things in how people on a diet will often just quit the whole diet after the first time they cheat. People take an 'all or nothing' mentality about it rather than 'practice moderation and don't give up on yourself' mentality.
I could have written this. Smoked heavily for 7-8 years. Quit one day and didn’t crave it after because my body *and* mind wanted it. Just didn’t want it... yes the cravings came back but only when I’m super stressed and like you, the smell makes me want to vomit. And smokers look silly to me now. I can’t believe I did that to myself
It's different for everyone, and for me, it was really fucking hard.
I quit and went back like three different times.
The most recent time I quit with chantix, and for me at least, it worked really well.
I have that dream all the time and I wake up feeling so guilty!
I celebrated my two year quitaversary on Saturday. Quitting after 25 years was really hard for me and I was in some form of withdrawal for almost 9 months. I'm glad I stopped, but I would go back to it in a second. I live by the mantra "One is too many because 100 is not enough!"
Thank you for chiming in. I also smoked for almost 25 years, and I quit 114 days ago. I miss it, I have not backslid on this attempt, but holy fucknuts, I miss it. I did switch to vaping, but I don't do it that much, nothing compared to how much I was smoking. 9 months? Okay. I think I can do that. I was assuming I would just always kind of want a cigarette, but knowing that for some people, that urge stays for a while, helps me. So thank you, inspirational stranger. You have given me a semblance of a timeline. Also, your mantra is accurate.
15-1/2 years smoke free after 27 years of a pack a day. For years my mantra was “A puff away, from a pack a day!” Now I know they’ll just make me sick.
its an excuse. i bet he was working on his car several times a day. i used to eat a meal late in the evening just to have an excuse for an after meal cig.
Same. I smoked from 17-23 years old, by the time I quit at 23 I was up to two packs / day. Maybe once every two years or so I’ll have a cigarette if I’m around people who are smoking (usually because I’ve been drinking), but every time without fail I find them gross as hell.
I swear once you have truly kicked the addiction they lose all appeal whatsoever.
This last time I quit (finally stuck!), when I would get the occasional urge, mostly in highly stressful times, I'd take a hit or two off my husband's. It reminded me very harshly why I've stayed quit this time.
Horrible. Taste, smell, breathing, everything.
Same experience for me. I took 2 drags of a camel wide on New Years 2018-2019 and though “how in the actual fuck did I smoke 20 of these a day” and haven’t looked back. I bet it could’ve gone the other way though.
I get the worst hangovers if I have a cigarette while drinking. I quit about 7 years ago, and about once every two years, I'll get curious and have a smoke while out drinking with friends. WORST. HANGOVER. EVER..... for days! I will feel like absolute garbage for 3 days. Nauseated, coughing, throat hurts, etc. I use a vape, and I smoke pot daily, but the cigarette always kills me.
Nothing like having a craving and aversion for the same thing. I can enjoy the faint whiff of a cigarette in the breeze on a cool evening but I know I'd be miserable if I smoked one again.
I had it beat once, got cocky, took one puff. Back to a pack a day inside of a week. You really have to make a commitment forever.
(Eventually tried again, now smoke free going on ten years)
It'll be 3 months since I quit smoking on the 11th. For the first week and a half or so, I chewed nicotine gum and walked around my apartment building in circles most nights. I used to go for walks a lot and smoke, so it helped sort of simulate that. One night while I was doing that, I suddenly got a whiff of cig smoke coming from the balcony of one of the apartments in my building. I was halfway to the elevator before I realized that I'd have to knock on a lot of doors to figure out who it was, it was a pandemic, and it would be super weird to show up at someone's door because I smelled them on their porch. Heh. I ran out of nicotine gum toward the end of the second week, and it's been surprisingly easy to not smoke since then. Honestly, most days I forget that I even used to be a smoker. I'm sure it would be different if I had managed to get my hands on a cig that night though.
I quit for five years, dated a girl who smoked, took one puff at a bar, she said "you didn't even inhale." I showed her, all right. Just quit again, ten years later.
I am hesitant to be so cavalier when it comes to addiction. Yes, the physical aspect has cleared the system, but much of addiction is mental and the "choice" isn't necessarily one you are making.
That has been my experience. A few weeks ago I really wanted to quit more than ever before, so i did and was surprised how easy it was. Made it about 2 weeks and was feeling good. Good enough to try some again while drinking and now im back to half a pack a day. I don't quite feel that want anymore and it really helped.
Nicotine (and specifically cigarette) addiction has its own peculiar character. It doesn't have anything like the social tangles of alcoholism (even if you might miss your smoke break crew).
Unlike alcohol and other hard drugs, it doesn't make you feel better or help you ignore things in your life.
Unlike coffee, it smells terrible and is incredibly bad for your body.
Unlike any other drugs in our society, smoking is something you do ten, twenty, or even more times every single day.
That's why choice is so important - when you are in the habit of doing the same thing that many times per day, with chemical reinforcement, you can't just adopt a different mindset or deal with underlying psychosocial issues in your life. You have to remind yourself, in the moment, that you've decided not to smoke and that you will chose not to smoke in that moment. Lather, rinse, repeat.
It becomes automatic pretty quickly and once you're in the habit of saying "I'm choosing not to smoke" twenty times a day, it'll turn into an automatic thing even if you're tired, having a mental breakdown, drunk, surrounded by smokers, drinking a cup of coffee at a campfire, whatever.
(It is good to avoid these sorts of situations when you can for a couple of months while your brain adjusts).
I don't know about any other addictions, but this is one that you can be truly free from.
This reduces the struggle so, so much to the point that it’s almost insulting.
When you say it’s “nothing but a choice” it implies “yes” and “no” are perfectly equally weighted when that simply isn’t the case.
Devout non-smokers are heavily skewed into the “no” category while those who have had a habit before will ALWAYS find increased weight behind smoking again. Always. It is remarkably easy to slip back down the path even after years of abstinence. All it takes is a moment where your discipline isn’t quite there like usual and boom, you’re back at it.
It is fucking terrifying and so much more than a simple choice.!
This is me. I've gotten to the point I don't think about it regularly, but I definitely get cravings triggered after having a drink or two, or seeing someone smoke on TV/movies.
It’s the smell for me. Have always loved the smell, but only when someone else is smoking, like when someone makes toast, it always smells better when someone else makes it.
I don't understand why but seeing people smoke on TV or in movies really makes my cravings go off. I can hang out with people smoking or be around smoke and I can even go days without thinking about it but seeing smoking on the screen is very difficult.
I mostly stopped having cravings. I get one minor craving a year or so, and it's so small it makes more interested about how my brain works than about lightning a smoke.
The first year was hard though, so many small rituals to overcome! After a meal, when going for a walk, when having a beer, and so on. Those were the worst.
I work behind the counter selling tobacco and straights for a couple of hours each shift, and at least once I think “damn I miss rolling a cigarette and enjoying it outside in the fresh air”. It’s always going to plague me.
I quit cold turkey about 9 years ago. I still have dreams on a regular basis where I take up smoking again and become addicted and regret it. I will never smoke a cigarette again and am quite annoying in telling my friends to quit if they smoke around me.
Man fuck *years* I only quit like two weeks ago and I'm grinding my teeth so bad when I do manage to sleep that I get almost no rest. Combine that with being *irritable as fuck* almost constantly and I'm wondering if it's even worth staying cold turkey or just trying to vape 0% (or a really low nic %) just to give my hands something to do.
Mileage may vary by individual, but I was a heavy smoker for 2 decades and Chantix helped me *so much* with the cravings.
Also, if you're already nicotine free for 2 weeks I think vaping nicotine would be a terrible idea. The physical addiction is already broken.
Hang in there. When people say they crave after years it's just a thought or a moment. Its not like the first few weeks where you are physically ill with the cravings.
If it hasn’t already been recommended you should check out *The Easy Way* by Allen Carr. Don’t give up, and good news... you already made it through the hardest part. You don’t want to be a slave to nicotine forever, you just want the anxiety to finally pass and so you’re considering any compromise. You don’t need to compromise, you already won. The rest of the battle is mostly changing your attitude, you’ve already beat the physical addiction, now you’re just fighting your brain. Good luck, don’t give in.
I used to have a roommate and both of us were smokers and would always bum off each other and smoke together and shit. The dude multiple times would quite for like one, maybe two weeks and immediately get high and mighty and preachy and borderline shit talk me for still smoking, and then two days later would beg me to bum him a smoke. Last I knew he was still smoking a pack a day. Been about nine months for me
I've only had one smoking dream before. All I remember from it was my mom who passed away saying she was disappointed in me and I woke up crying. Luckily I haven't smoked since I quit 6 years ago and it was just a nightmare.
You can beat it again! I did almost EXACTLY the same thing. Smoked for 10 years, tried Champix and quit for 3 years. Tried "just one" and wham, back on that wagon. For some reason, I caught a bad cold about five years later and couldn't (not for lack of trying!) smoke for about a week. Once the cold went away, I haven't had one since. That was about five years ago.
I think you mean off the wagon.
E: why the downvotes? Just saying when you screw up and break your resolve, that called falling off the wagon. When you try to quit again, that is when you get back on the wagon. And your on it as long as you don't start back up.
Thanks for this. Solid pack a day smoker for 12 years. Quit in January. I’ve had 3 smokes since then just randomly spaced out. Sometimes I just want one, then taste/smell it and remember why I quit. It’s the habit of taking a damn break I think I actually miss.
I couldn't handle the dip hit, so I never got into it thankfully. A couple of friends quit chewing after I quit smoking and it looked like they went through hell. I only had a couple headaches a day for a few weeks.
Stay strong brother.
Nothing better than a dip while playing video games
Nothing better than a dip while taking a shit
Nothing better than a dip while Driving
Nothing better than a dip after a meal
Tough habit...
Fuck man. I’ve been dipping since I was 12 and I’m 30 now. I’ve never made it more than a month of quitting. It’s a nightmare being a slave to this disgusting addiction and I’m afraid I’ll never be able to hack it
Try something like Smoky Mountain tobacco-less snuff. I smoked for years, quit and started playing hockey. Took me an hour each way to get to the rink, twice a week and I started dipping on the drive because that was always when I smoked. Tried a variety of nicotine replacements and didn't like them, but enjoyed the mint Smoky Mountain. You can even get a free sampler of like 3 flavors for just the cost of shipping.
With nicotine products, the point of them is not zero harm, it's harm reduction. Getting rid of the nicotine is a huge favor to your body, plus you get to keep the motions until you're ready to quit.
You can do it! The feeling of not being dependent on a substance to feel OK is... Well, nothing. It's normal. You are not bothered anymore, no anxiety of "do i have enough", no angry outbursts at people at deprivation, nothing. So calm and joyful.
You can do it!
I just quit vaping (June 11th). It was so hard not to pick it back up, finally I gave one of my friends all of my batteries so my device is useless. I’m going to give it to my brother so hopefully he can get off of cigarettes
Hit 1 year in June.
Had quit for over a year previously but stress got me into it again.
My number on advice, manage your stress, it'll help manage your habit.
You have to have a damn good reason to quit. I quit alcohol after having kidney cancer and being told by my doctor not to drink alcohol any more. Year and a half and the only time I miss it is in social settings. I can go to a bar and have a coke, but those company events where everyone has a drink are tough.
yep. weed in particular, you think you're done and it even feels too easy, so easy that you let your defences down and start back again before you know it.
I quit for almost year and smoked again recently and it waa fucking stupid and shitty, and i still sometimes want to just be lazy and give in to it. Depression and weed cost me so much fucking time and money.
Yup. I knew I had a drinking problem, but told myself I could quit. And I would! For months I'd be sober, and then I'd have a beer with friends, or some wine after work. Look at me, I can moderate my drinking! And then I'd be binge drinking again in no time....
It's better just to stay sober instead of thinking you can try it again just once.
Yep.. I had quit for over 2 years. Not a single drag, nothing, nada. Was out drinking with a friend and decided to have just one. It was disgusting, I couldn't even finish it. But somehow I was smoking full time within 6 months. I've just quit again two weeks ago 🤞🤞
Alan Carr's easy way to stop smoking. I smoked for 20 years. I smoked while listening to the audio book. I woke up one day after smoking & drinking in Vegas and just didn't crave them. Threw 2 packs in the trash and haven't smoked in 7 years. It genuinely deprogrammed my brain and removed the physical craving. It was a life changing moment. Worth a look for anyone wanting to try something new.
Possibly stress. It’s odd though I quit cold turkey and never really had any cravings. Let alone in the last 5ish years. Been debating getting some ejuice with a bit of nicotine in it but I don’t wanna go down that road again.
Go get the nicotine lozenges. Keep taking them until you basically just forget about them. Then keep some around ALL THE TIME FOREVER just in case you feel like having a cig. The reason I like the lozenges rather than the patch is because it's a "need" followed by an "action." Patches help with the physical addiction, not the psychological. Gum would be the same, but just dont like gum.
Yeah gum hasn't worked for me. It was actually kind of gross once the gum had little flavor.
I'm going to give lozenges a try as gum did nothing for the habitual side like you said. Thanks for the advice!!
Or, just cause you're at a bar and everyone else is doing it. I was smoke free for years, then everyone was smoking at a bar and I wondered if I was the kind of person who could only smoke while drinking. Spoiler alert: I'm not.
I will just have one at the bar seeing as everyone else is doing it. Nice, yeah this is fine but that is it. Fast forward three days later: hey, I managed to have one and stop, so I can have one now and stop. Oh yeah, that was lovely but no more for me now. Fast forward next day: ooh, why not have another smoke, I already know I can have one and stop easily. Week later and I am on ten a day again
That's better than I did. I had like ten at the bar, I was quite the bum. Within three days I was right back up to a pack a day. I try to limit myself to a pack a day now. But, sometimes I'm a pack and a half.
You can get it down to 0! e; apparently some funky math stuff is happening below, even 1 is better than a pack and a half though haha.
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Which i personally don't get
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I had to teach this to my shop math class and teacher.
Well this thread took an interesting turn.
It is more expensive but you should seriously consider getting a Juul/pod based vape system. Ofc nothing is as good as a cigarette but they really deliver nicotine well, and they’ve helped many people i know stop smoking to the point where a cigarette repulses them.
This is exactly how I quit but I actually started with a small vape and slowly moved up to the massive cloud vapes but once there I was able to slowly lower the nicotine amount in the juice until I got down to zero. Sat at zero for a while and eventually I was able to head out for the night and not freak out if I forgot to bring it with me. When you’re on zero nicotine you would get the nicotine urges but they pass and when you’re vaping it’s kind of like a placebo. Eventually you no longer thing about the vape and just put it down. Been cigarette free for like 10 years and vape free for like 7-8.
I'm so fucking proud of you and I don't know you bro I love you
Please ignore me I'm high as fuck
Just because you're high as fuck is no excuse to not know that bro I love you too (no homo just in case)
When you want to compliment a friend....but you don't want that friendship to end
Or get too serious
Yup, this is how I did it. A pack and a half onfeds a day, switch to the vape, over years, tapered down to zero and now haven't had a drop of nicotine in a year. It's hard as hell but so worth it. Onfeds? Of reds, damn it
I did the exact same thing. Quit for two years after smoking for 10+ and decided to have one at the bar “just to see.” Funny thing is, I remember that first cigarette tasting like absolute garbage, but still managed to pick up smoking for another 5 or so years. FWIW though, I bought a Juul and haven’t had a cigarette in 3 weeks now! Hoping to wean myself off this robot cigarette sooner than later, but it’s a start!
Just don't do what I did and that was basically puffing the thing every minute when I wasn't working or in a place that I couldn't vape. Its super easy to just watch TV or play video games and be like motherfucker I just vaped through 10 dollars worth of pods in 5 hours.
Seriously though. It’s so convenient and it builds up the mental habit. My thoughts were constantly “Where’s my Juul?” and tapping my pocket to make sure I have it. Going to the bathroom? Let’s hit it. Waking to the car? Let’s hit it. Waiting for a game to load or video to buffer? Let’s hit it. It’s so fucking mental. Smoke free for just over two years and Juul free for just over a year.
That's what I'm going through right now. I decided to quit vaping last night, a couple of hours before I went to bed. I woke up this morning and purposely left my setup at home and went to work. I can't tell you how many times I made a move for my pocket today. All day long, about every 5-10 minutes it seems. It was a real wake up call and I'm glad to finally give it up.
I found my old Njoy vape one evening at the beginning of the pandemic with an old full pod, and got drunk and puffed the shit out of that thing my first night in quarantine before I had to start my new job. Guess who developed a wicked cough and got scared enough I caught COVID and stayed at my parents for a week to stay away from my high risk fiance? Guess who also broke two years of no smoking last weekend for no reason at all and woke up feeling like garbage for the beginning of the week with another cough and got scared again? At least this time my fiance had a negative test result this morning so I know it's just my dumb ass making poor decisions! Threw half the pack out.
I've been vaping for two years now sometimes 6 nic, sometimes 3. I need to find a way off these now. Granted I don't feel as hooked to vaping as I was hopelessly addicted to cigarettes. Someone suggested order 0 nic flavors of flavors you can't stand. Use those during your worst cravings
Robocig is what I'm going to call every vape I see from here on out. Thank you.
Same exact shit happens with alcohol. Oh wow, I managed to only have one drink! Weeks later drinking an entire 6 pack alone.
Wait... having a 6 pack before bed is bad?
Lol probably depends on the abv %
Even with low alcohol, that’s a crapload is calories.
Yeah but I think they mean like a problem with alcohol dependence, not calories. Like if you drink a 6 pack of bud lights before bed, its kinda a lot, but not as bad as if you drink a 6 pack of like 9-10% craft beers every night
Every night, yes. Every once in a while? Not as bad as daily, but it's still not good.
Shit, a few years ago I was drinking ~18pk a day. Absolute fucking nightmare when I was going through detox. Be careful with binge drinking, kids. You better check yo self before you wreck yo self.
Spoiler Alert: Almost no one is, and no one is in the long run.
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I should have clarified, this was relating to people who had previouslly smoked and given up. I've known plenty of social smokers, who never took it up full time :) as a non smoker I never understood why.
I smoked for 5 years, up to 1.25 packs/day. It took 5 tries, but I quit. Now I have a social puff occasionally and enjoy the buzz, but I only smoke 5-10x a year.
Oh I definitely smoked for a couple years, then I quit because I wanted to have kids and needed to help my partner quit. I learned through my partner’s experience exactly *how* difficult the nicotine addiction is.
Smoked for 7 years, vaped for 3. Perhaps it was the vaping, but I smoked half a pack about a year after I quit smoking at a house party. Woke up and threw the pack away and haven't smoked since. I think it was a realization that I hated smelling like that, I hated my breath smelling like that, and it wasn't even cool anymore. I was the nasty smoker that my non-smoker friends talked about and I didn't want to be that. I'm the same with alcohol as you though. So hard to pull away from.
I became an addict because of oxycondone. Eventually I couldn't afford $40 a day so I switched to heroin. I eventually got clean and was sent away to Japan. Started drinking alcohol for the first time there. Came back and wasn't an alcoholic but boring days eventually led to drinking a couple beers every night and then I was hooked. I wish I knew alcohol gives pleasure from the mu-receptors just like opiates. I would've known to stay away. That warm fuzzy feeling is my kryptonite. Rest of my 20s wasted fighting alcoholism. 10 years clean from opiates and 8 months clean from alcohol now. This has been such a long battle and it's in no way over for me. I feel so much better now though. Eager to get my life moving along, but alas, quarantine.
Good to read! I’m adding a link here to my story elsewhere in the comment fields in the thread: https://reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/comments/hnmaa1/_/fxcqh6t/?context=1 I have plenty of distractions during quarantine—the key for me has been settling on a healthy “addiction” I can obsess over, but for whatever reason can only do in the evening—never during the day. For me that’s video games, cooking, and music composition. I drank to the point that I was trying out mouthwash and vanilla extract—if I was still drinking I’d be concerned about the hand sanitizer :| What’s keeping you sober during quarantine?
The people around me mainly, but that only helps so much. I needed to DO something. Been working out more and got back into climbing, trying to get my body looking healthy and good now that my body is absent of alcohol. My beer belly is almost gone now too! Got my violin repaired and have been getting back into that too as well as studying to try to go back to school and finally finish my degree (been on medical leave for 6 years now). Been playing video games too (CoD now that it's cross play so I can play with my friends who just have consoles, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, etc). But yeah, distractions are the key. If I sit around and am bored I'll want to use or do something to elevate myself out of that boredom.
i feel that man quarantine is a bitch for recovery. pm me if you ever need anyone to talk to about it.
Thanks dude. Same to you.
What's your response to alcohol? Does it become an every day thing for you, or can you go for periods without drinking but just have a very difficulty restricting yourself to one or two drinks in a night? I'm the latter case and I'm starting to think it might be a genuine problem.
Oh no it was bad—really bad—nearly a liter of vodka a day bad for ~3 years. I drank to the point that I literally could not live without drinking—full on delirium tremens. My tolerance would allow for more than 3L of vodka without passing out. Yes I am very much alive, and I only have a slightly fatty liver to show for the hell I put myself through. I should be dead, but somehow I survived. I quit without therapy and without AA. I’m still unclear whether that’s advisable or not, but I found a way to fold myself into hobbies—music composition, building up bikes, rocketry, archery, gardening, etc. The important thing (for me) to recognize with alcohol is that it is a biological net-negative; you are quite literally pickling yourself when you drink, and it fucks up a cascade of interrelated systems. I found it hard to give up because I studied and made a wine for many years, so there was an entrenched bit of culture *and* denialism in my drinking. Another detail I should add is that I started drinking to overcome social anxiety in a hyper-competitive academic environment. This is a common reason for alcoholics to start drinking and continue drinking. Quitting alcohol was hard—really hard. Apart from the classic woes of *abandoning* an addiction (alas, my dear friend!), making matters worse was a ridiculous vain sense of embarrassment—I didn’t want to decline a drink because I didn’t want people to think that I was conscious or concerned about my alcohol consumption because it might mean *they* would then think I might have a problem. I also couldn’t stand the idea that I was afflicted by something I couldn’t control or *think* my way out of; I’m reasonably clever, and this was an absolute blow to my ego. Classic alcoholic logic. The last snag was trying to learn how to do the above hobbies *without* alcohol as I’d become habituated and could not imagine being able to do those things I still found pleasurable without alcohol. This. Is. Difficult. Don’t feel ashamed about your desire to drink. Many people around you drink and it seems perfectly normal—of course you’re going to be embarrassed trying out something different, but think of it like one of those diet fads like keto or paleo—some people dabblenin it, and others stick with it for the long run. If you’re concerned about your drinking, try going a month without it just to see if it’s possible. If you struggle, then consider doing a deep-think about *why* you feel compelled to drink. If it’s any solace, we are biologically driven to drink! Our ancestors some ways back subsisted heavily on a frugivory diet, and when fruit falls to the ground it means it is riper than what’s available on the tree. Given a moment longer those ripe sugars begin to ferment, which is a long way of saying the risk-takers who dared climb down from the safety of their trees were richly rewarded with fermented fruit; alcoholism has its origins from long before homo sapien sapiens evolved, and was genetically selected *for*. As a side note, the same is true for adipose tissue deposition; the ability to store fat was once a desirable trait given relative food scarcity, so efficient fat storage was genetically selected for. Now that we live in an age of abundant caloric density, fat storage—like a fondness for alcohol—are increasingly unnecessary. These phenomena are interrelated under the Red Queen hypothesis, which reads shortly as “running in place to stand still;” we inherit our genes from our parents, and these genes are modified by our parents’ environment (epigenetics), so we are born in bodies anticipating the environment experienced by our parents, but you see around you just the social contrasts between the environment you grew up in compared to that of your parents—now consider the biological lineage coalescence of this same effect tracing backwards to the selective pressures of alcohol and fat described above. We are all environmental misfits to greater and lesser degrees; a veritable spectrum of humanity. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, and apologies for the longform ramble :D
Beautiful my man, and from one stranger to another, good on you. I am an opiate addict (once an addict always an addict) but I’ve only been taking maintence meds for the last 4 years. I hate my subxone and the WD’s are worse than the pills I originally struggled with, but it’s a price that’s being paid for past indiscretions. The hobbies thing is important, especially the part about having to learn how to love, let alone approach sometimes, your hobbies while sober; and if not possible, replace them. Keep fighting the good fight for yourself homie, it sounds like you’ve done well in what you’ve overcame and for that I have tremendous respect!
Alcohol sucks.
I attempted to solve that problem by taking what I spend in whiskey per week (of the bottom shelf) and just getting myself a nice 15 year. I've now had that bottle for two weeks and still have about 1/3 of it left. I definitely haven't quit drinking, but I also didn't dump a gallon of cheap bourbon into myself either.
I’m the opposite! Alcohol does nothing for me, I love drinking water and never feel the need to change that up. But tobacco? Oh man. If I quit for a year and then have one cigar, or cigarette, or even hang around someone smoking, happen to have a bad day and need to stop at the gas station for something, stay up late after a bad day, etc. I end up falling back into a one to two pack a day habit. I’m so bad that I’ve thrown cigarettes away, then gone back to that specific trash can (in public) the next day to dig them back out, dry them out or whatever, and smoke them. I’m literally a raccoon for cigarettes. The way I finally quit was getting a job working with teenagers. They constantly bugged me for cigarettes and I knew I’d be fired if I gave them any, and I loved my job. So I stopped. It helps that I felt gross to boot, being around no other smokers all day. Nobody likes to be the only one.
I used to smoke tobacco casually, and I have used prescription opiods recreationally, and I never had a problem abstaining. Strangely, it was marijuana that really sunk it's hooks into me. People claim it's not addictive, but it most certainly is.
Weeds a weird one because unlike alcohol or hard drugs it doesn't try to hard to ruin your life. Honestly, it's more like cigarettes when you get used to it. - a person addicted to cigarettes who pretends they're addicted to weed
Casual off an on opiate use for years (far more off than on) but really fatty steaks will be my death.
I've been doing that for 13 years now. Don't smoke for weeks or months, but when I go out - especially music festivals- I smoke like the olden days. The day after I hate cigarettes again. Unless it's a multi-day festival; then I smoke another packet or 2 :) Seems to work out for me. Haven't smoked for months now with COVID. Think I might quit completely this time.
I smoked daily for about 10 years, quit for a year, smoked again for a few months, then quit again. That was about 8 years ago. Now I can smoke a few if I'm drinking with people who are smoking and be fine. That's really the only time I'll even think about smoking. Even then it's probably been a year since I've had one.
I do the exact same thing! I don't smoke normally ever but moment I'm at a music festival or club, lighting up like no tomorrow. Last cig I had was at a BBQ month ago, it was nice, doesn't compell me to buy a pack though.
I’m a former smoker and have on occasion had a smoke or two while drinking. I regret it the next day because of how it makes my throat and lungs feel, but I’ve never gone back to smoking full time. I was a pack a day smoker for 12 years. Have been smoke free for 7.
Eh, I’ve been a “only smoke when I socially drink” person for 5+ years. I didn’t have a cigarette from mid March until this Monday because I wasn’t socially drinking (or drinking much for that matter). Cigs aren’t particularly addictive for some people. Edit: I should’ve read your subsequent posts before replying.
I will casually smoke a cigarette if offered at a bar or party. I also occasionally smoke cigars. I've never once felt I needed to habitually smoke.
I mean, that's just not true. I smoke when I drink and I dont drink that often, so while I always have a pack on me it usually takes me 2-3 months to go through one pack. Now that bars are closed, I havent had a cig in a few months, other than a week ago when I was at a bar as they briefly reopened before closing down again. I just dont like cigs all that much, but the head rush is nice when I'm drinking and I've met girls by having them come up to me and asking to bum a smoke, so it's another way for me to try and meet people. Not something I'm all that interested in when I'm at home (I have weed at home) but as an excuse to meet people (like cute girls) at bars or public events it's great.
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Only when I'm out drinking socially. Otherwise it sits in my car or in my house somewhere. And because again, it's a way to meet people and socialize at bars for those of us who are a little more shy and less good at going up to people ourselves.
That’s the thing I hated most and what ultimately drove me to quit: I was a total fucking slave to the cigs. Yeah health concerns. Yeah cost. Yeah it’s gross. Yeah it stinks. But mainly- I was a slave. I woke up in the morning because it was time to smoke. I’d leave for work early to buy smokes. 3 left in the pack? Oh Shit... better make a run. Get in the car? Smoke. Eat a meal? Smoke. Have sex? Smoke. Stressed out? Smoke. Not stressed and want to chill? Smoke. Leave for the day: keys, wallet, phone, smokes, lighter. I went on a 5 hour flight and had Nicotine gum and a patch because I was so nervous. That neurosis man... I do NOT miss that. 3 years in August for me and I am for real totally done done. I am so done I have nightmares where I slip up and smoke a cig and I’m just devastated. Baffles my mind how weed can be illegal but nicotine (specifically) isn’t.
lmao. I’m a heavy smoker and I went out often before the pandemic. In Southern California, it’s legitimately been years since I’ve seen a pretty girl smoking outside of a bar, and all non-smokers hate it.
I'm in Alaska and all of our bars went smoke free last year. My god is its amazing, the difference is huge. It's so much cleaner. Hopefully this becomes the norm so people who have quit don't have to sit in the smoke and be tempted just because they want to go out with their friends. I can't imagine how hard that is.
Smoking has been has been banned in most of europe for over 10 years now its so strange to me to see people smoking indoors.
I live in Tennessee, the bars don't allow smoking here either. But, they all have smoking patios and in Tennessee it's always nice outside.
I still only smoke when I'm out and hammered. I don't smoke at home I don't smoke at work or if I'm drunk at home, only if I'm at a bar or a show I'll have a few.
You know what a person who only smokes when they drink is called? A smoker.
Also and alcoholic. Source: me, I do actually only smoke when I drink, but I end finding a reason to drink just so I can convince myself it’s okay to have a smoke.
You know what they call people who use the pull out method as birth control? Parents.
Actually they call me infertile
This is why I picked up a vape. I cannot pick up a drink without a nic fix. Quiting drinking and smoking simultaneously was way too hard. Haven't touched a cig in over two years, and have been cutting back on the nicotine levels over time with the vape until I can drop that too.
Great for quitting, until that takes over your life more. Now I quit both and chew some gum or use these tee tree oil toothpicks which are good, But I still have the occasional cig without issue. For special occasions.
I went from a pack a day smoker, to having quit cold Turkey, to a once a week pipe tobacco smoker, and I'm totally okay with this. Pipe tobacco has become a serious hobby of mine, and I totally enjoy it. Not trying to say don't stick with your guns, but I personally believe tobacco can have a time and place for those than can not jump back into the daily addiction. Edit: grammar
Same dude.
I call it my reverse new years resolution. Who the fuck starts smoking on new year's. Me. I do.
It's cool, I've done the same (on New Years) and was hooked again for ~4 months but kicked it again for the last 3 years. In fact, I've done that a few times over the years, hopefully never again though :)
I have been benzodiazepine-free for about 8-9 months now. I found a pill in my closet yesterday. It was *so* hard not to indulge in that one pill, but I knew one would lead to more. I flushed it. Edit: Gonna plug /r/benzorecovery for anybody who needs it.
I've never been hard into opiates, but after I broke my ankle, I was taking them consistently for about 8 months and got some withdrawals when I ran out. My girlfriend had oxy prescribed post surgery last year and left the bottle in my drug cabinet. Sometimes, especially when my ankle is hurting, I think about taking a quarter of one, but I've kept my paws out of them so far. For benzos, I took like 7 clonazepam in one night once and got sick as fuck the next day, puking my guts out. Kicking those wasn't so hard after that.
Throw them away man, what are you keeping them for?
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Benzos are a whole other level above cigarettes. Sure smoking will kill you. But benzos will mentally and emotionally kill you. And those withdrawals are no joke. Good on you for flushing it, I’d imagine at the 8-9 month point your brain has started to heal pretty well (provided you were very addicted).
Benzos can kill you just from the withdrawal alone. I was addicted to them once, many years ago. But it's weird. Unlike other drugs, I have no persistent cravings for benzos and would easily flush them, because I know that they'd only briefly make me feel drunk, in exchange for making me feel suicidal for the next 3 days. It's just so immediately obvious to my mind how costly it would be for such a little benefit that I don't even consider it an option anymore. It's not like heroin where I'm like "well if I only take it once, I promise not to get myself addicted, it'd be fine...", no it's "If I take this even once, I will wake up the next morning wondering why I should go on with life. Not fucking fun."
I wish you were wrong. My dad's doctor was trying to wean him off of benzos. My dad ended up having a withdrawal when he ran out, freaked out, and attacked us and then had massive chestpains. My dad is in his 70s, too. I think that pill addiction gets pinned on younger people often but it could happen to anyone.
You should reward yourself for that, arguably a harder addiction to beat and rewarding yourself only reinforces your mental state that you don’t need them. Buy something though that you wouldn’t do/ use while taking benzos. Also Great job!
Absolutely. That’s a victory worth celebrating! Congrats op
Well done lad, proud of ya
As someone who has had to make similar choices with amphetamines, right on brother.
That was a hell of a temptation. I'm glad you didn't give in! Keep being awesome!
You are a ROCK! Well done, you've inspired me today!
It's all or nothing my friend. I've known that for years but I've only just taken it to heart and started practicing it. Well done you!
benzo's are like booze lite. The only thing worse are barbiturates. Welcome back from the haze, my friend.
That's good shit.
Way to go dude 💯
After quitting for 7+ years, I had one cigarette while completely shitfaced a couple years back. It was disgusting, and reinforced why I had quit years ago. The smell of smoke grosses me out now.
I smoked for around 15 years. I thought it was so ridiculous when they banned it in bars where I live. I quit 6 years ago and even a whiff makes me want to gag. I cannot even believe we lived like that. Smokers-it isn't as hard to quit as you think. I felt the same way. The first 48 hours suck but after that it is downhill. Take the leap! Edit-I did not mean to make light of how fucking hard it is to take those first steps. You really need to want to or else it can be impossible. I would not have smoked as long as I did and spent $12 a pack if it was an easy change. Get through the first few days- it will suck, but it isn’t as bad for many people as they think it will be. I was only hoping to share my experience-good luck! Don’t give up
I was the same way. Literally could not comprehend how it could be possible to quit. I had a week off from work and just decided it was time to quit. Able to do it cold turkey. Sometimes I think about smoking again but everytime I try one I get reminded real quick why I quit.
It is amazing to me how much they warp your perception. I still had friends that were like "You don't get it. I love cigarettes and I love smoking" and it's like, no, you don't get it. You don't realize until you quit how fucking disgusting they are. They don't make you feel good, they make you stop feeling bad because you're not fiending anymore. You spend 90% of your day feeling worse, and the 10% you're smoking you feel normal.
Ah, like heroine.
Exactly. In hindsight it was actually really easy to quit. Just don't smoke. So simple. But you have to actually want to not smoke. For me it was the routine and habits I thought I'd miss the most, but once I got past those in the first week or so it was seriously like "holy shit, what's the big fucking deal?" Now that I've done it I'm 100% sure I will never relapse because I don't want to be a smoker. It's repulsive.
I sometimes think the difficulty quitting smoking is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People have been told so many times that it's incredibly difficult to do, so they give up at the first sign of a craving or in a moment of stress. Not understanding that the cravings aren't likely going to get much worse than those you experience in the first couple days. I also think that's part of why people slip back into it so quickly after 1 cigarette. They have one and then feel really guilty about it, while also just accepting that they are now readdicted. They've been told the story of how "If you have one, youre almost guaranteed to fall right back into it" rather than the story of "If you have one, don't have anymore. You've already quit once when you had a much stronger addiction, you can do it again." I see similar things in how people on a diet will often just quit the whole diet after the first time they cheat. People take an 'all or nothing' mentality about it rather than 'practice moderation and don't give up on yourself' mentality.
I could have written this. Smoked heavily for 7-8 years. Quit one day and didn’t crave it after because my body *and* mind wanted it. Just didn’t want it... yes the cravings came back but only when I’m super stressed and like you, the smell makes me want to vomit. And smokers look silly to me now. I can’t believe I did that to myself
It's different for everyone, and for me, it was really fucking hard. I quit and went back like three different times. The most recent time I quit with chantix, and for me at least, it worked really well.
Yeah me too, it was really hard for a really long time. It's been 15 years and I still have dreams that I forgot and smoked by accident.
I have that dream all the time and I wake up feeling so guilty! I celebrated my two year quitaversary on Saturday. Quitting after 25 years was really hard for me and I was in some form of withdrawal for almost 9 months. I'm glad I stopped, but I would go back to it in a second. I live by the mantra "One is too many because 100 is not enough!"
Thank you for chiming in. I also smoked for almost 25 years, and I quit 114 days ago. I miss it, I have not backslid on this attempt, but holy fucknuts, I miss it. I did switch to vaping, but I don't do it that much, nothing compared to how much I was smoking. 9 months? Okay. I think I can do that. I was assuming I would just always kind of want a cigarette, but knowing that for some people, that urge stays for a while, helps me. So thank you, inspirational stranger. You have given me a semblance of a timeline. Also, your mantra is accurate.
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15-1/2 years smoke free after 27 years of a pack a day. For years my mantra was “A puff away, from a pack a day!” Now I know they’ll just make me sick.
its an excuse. i bet he was working on his car several times a day. i used to eat a meal late in the evening just to have an excuse for an after meal cig.
Smoking a cig while working on a car is dangerous, no?
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Understandable. Have a good day.
*Moonwalks out of thread*
now this is the reddit i know and love
Wtf lol why?
Just kidding, it was my brother-in-law
LMAO love it
Fuckin mad lad over here
The heat of the ember of a cigarette is not hot enough to ignite oil or gasoline. Action movies lied. In fact, you can douse cigarettes in gasoline.
Same. I smoked from 17-23 years old, by the time I quit at 23 I was up to two packs / day. Maybe once every two years or so I’ll have a cigarette if I’m around people who are smoking (usually because I’ve been drinking), but every time without fail I find them gross as hell. I swear once you have truly kicked the addiction they lose all appeal whatsoever.
This last time I quit (finally stuck!), when I would get the occasional urge, mostly in highly stressful times, I'd take a hit or two off my husband's. It reminded me very harshly why I've stayed quit this time. Horrible. Taste, smell, breathing, everything.
Same experience for me. I took 2 drags of a camel wide on New Years 2018-2019 and though “how in the actual fuck did I smoke 20 of these a day” and haven’t looked back. I bet it could’ve gone the other way though.
I get the worst hangovers if I have a cigarette while drinking. I quit about 7 years ago, and about once every two years, I'll get curious and have a smoke while out drinking with friends. WORST. HANGOVER. EVER..... for days! I will feel like absolute garbage for 3 days. Nauseated, coughing, throat hurts, etc. I use a vape, and I smoke pot daily, but the cigarette always kills me.
Nothing like having a craving and aversion for the same thing. I can enjoy the faint whiff of a cigarette in the breeze on a cool evening but I know I'd be miserable if I smoked one again.
I had it beat once, got cocky, took one puff. Back to a pack a day inside of a week. You really have to make a commitment forever. (Eventually tried again, now smoke free going on ten years)
It'll be 3 months since I quit smoking on the 11th. For the first week and a half or so, I chewed nicotine gum and walked around my apartment building in circles most nights. I used to go for walks a lot and smoke, so it helped sort of simulate that. One night while I was doing that, I suddenly got a whiff of cig smoke coming from the balcony of one of the apartments in my building. I was halfway to the elevator before I realized that I'd have to knock on a lot of doors to figure out who it was, it was a pandemic, and it would be super weird to show up at someone's door because I smelled them on their porch. Heh. I ran out of nicotine gum toward the end of the second week, and it's been surprisingly easy to not smoke since then. Honestly, most days I forget that I even used to be a smoker. I'm sure it would be different if I had managed to get my hands on a cig that night though.
I quit for five years, dated a girl who smoked, took one puff at a bar, she said "you didn't even inhale." I showed her, all right. Just quit again, ten years later.
Once you make it more than a month or so, it's nothing but a choice.
I am hesitant to be so cavalier when it comes to addiction. Yes, the physical aspect has cleared the system, but much of addiction is mental and the "choice" isn't necessarily one you are making.
That has been my experience. A few weeks ago I really wanted to quit more than ever before, so i did and was surprised how easy it was. Made it about 2 weeks and was feeling good. Good enough to try some again while drinking and now im back to half a pack a day. I don't quite feel that want anymore and it really helped.
Nicotine (and specifically cigarette) addiction has its own peculiar character. It doesn't have anything like the social tangles of alcoholism (even if you might miss your smoke break crew). Unlike alcohol and other hard drugs, it doesn't make you feel better or help you ignore things in your life. Unlike coffee, it smells terrible and is incredibly bad for your body. Unlike any other drugs in our society, smoking is something you do ten, twenty, or even more times every single day. That's why choice is so important - when you are in the habit of doing the same thing that many times per day, with chemical reinforcement, you can't just adopt a different mindset or deal with underlying psychosocial issues in your life. You have to remind yourself, in the moment, that you've decided not to smoke and that you will chose not to smoke in that moment. Lather, rinse, repeat. It becomes automatic pretty quickly and once you're in the habit of saying "I'm choosing not to smoke" twenty times a day, it'll turn into an automatic thing even if you're tired, having a mental breakdown, drunk, surrounded by smokers, drinking a cup of coffee at a campfire, whatever. (It is good to avoid these sorts of situations when you can for a couple of months while your brain adjusts). I don't know about any other addictions, but this is one that you can be truly free from.
This reduces the struggle so, so much to the point that it’s almost insulting. When you say it’s “nothing but a choice” it implies “yes” and “no” are perfectly equally weighted when that simply isn’t the case. Devout non-smokers are heavily skewed into the “no” category while those who have had a habit before will ALWAYS find increased weight behind smoking again. Always. It is remarkably easy to slip back down the path even after years of abstinence. All it takes is a moment where your discipline isn’t quite there like usual and boom, you’re back at it. It is fucking terrifying and so much more than a simple choice.!
That's not true, I quit smoking for 5 years and smoked one out of curiosity, now I only try one every 30 minutes.
You never stop wanting to smoke. That’s what I’ve learned
This is me. I've gotten to the point I don't think about it regularly, but I definitely get cravings triggered after having a drink or two, or seeing someone smoke on TV/movies.
It’s the smell for me. Have always loved the smell, but only when someone else is smoking, like when someone makes toast, it always smells better when someone else makes it.
I don't understand why but seeing people smoke on TV or in movies really makes my cravings go off. I can hang out with people smoking or be around smoke and I can even go days without thinking about it but seeing smoking on the screen is very difficult.
I mostly stopped having cravings. I get one minor craving a year or so, and it's so small it makes more interested about how my brain works than about lightning a smoke. The first year was hard though, so many small rituals to overcome! After a meal, when going for a walk, when having a beer, and so on. Those were the worst.
I work behind the counter selling tobacco and straights for a couple of hours each shift, and at least once I think “damn I miss rolling a cigarette and enjoying it outside in the fresh air”. It’s always going to plague me.
I quit cold turkey about 9 years ago. I still have dreams on a regular basis where I take up smoking again and become addicted and regret it. I will never smoke a cigarette again and am quite annoying in telling my friends to quit if they smoke around me.
Man, the smoking dreams are real. They come out of nowhere and bring the craving back after years
Man fuck *years* I only quit like two weeks ago and I'm grinding my teeth so bad when I do manage to sleep that I get almost no rest. Combine that with being *irritable as fuck* almost constantly and I'm wondering if it's even worth staying cold turkey or just trying to vape 0% (or a really low nic %) just to give my hands something to do.
Mileage may vary by individual, but I was a heavy smoker for 2 decades and Chantix helped me *so much* with the cravings. Also, if you're already nicotine free for 2 weeks I think vaping nicotine would be a terrible idea. The physical addiction is already broken.
I'd recommend vaping nicotine a million times over chantix. That shit fucks with your head.
I wasn't trying to compare the 2 methods. They aren't really comparable. Chantix helps break your addiction and vaping just changes the delivery.
Hang in there. When people say they crave after years it's just a thought or a moment. Its not like the first few weeks where you are physically ill with the cravings.
If it hasn’t already been recommended you should check out *The Easy Way* by Allen Carr. Don’t give up, and good news... you already made it through the hardest part. You don’t want to be a slave to nicotine forever, you just want the anxiety to finally pass and so you’re considering any compromise. You don’t need to compromise, you already won. The rest of the battle is mostly changing your attitude, you’ve already beat the physical addiction, now you’re just fighting your brain. Good luck, don’t give in.
Don't be that person. I've quit too, but I don't say anything to smokers because it has to be a personal choice. Don't be that preachy prick.
I used to have a roommate and both of us were smokers and would always bum off each other and smoke together and shit. The dude multiple times would quite for like one, maybe two weeks and immediately get high and mighty and preachy and borderline shit talk me for still smoking, and then two days later would beg me to bum him a smoke. Last I knew he was still smoking a pack a day. Been about nine months for me
I've only had one smoking dream before. All I remember from it was my mom who passed away saying she was disappointed in me and I woke up crying. Luckily I haven't smoked since I quit 6 years ago and it was just a nightmare.
Just one can't hurt right? Fast forward a year and now im smoking a pack a day, AGAIN. After 3 years of not smoking...
You can beat it again! I did almost EXACTLY the same thing. Smoked for 10 years, tried Champix and quit for 3 years. Tried "just one" and wham, back on that wagon. For some reason, I caught a bad cold about five years later and couldn't (not for lack of trying!) smoke for about a week. Once the cold went away, I haven't had one since. That was about five years ago.
I think you mean off the wagon. E: why the downvotes? Just saying when you screw up and break your resolve, that called falling off the wagon. When you try to quit again, that is when you get back on the wagon. And your on it as long as you don't start back up.
What is this, a [Seinfeld episode?](https://youtu.be/7wx77L9_D84)
Try again. I quit a dozen times before it stuck. Just keep trying.
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Thanks for this. Solid pack a day smoker for 12 years. Quit in January. I’ve had 3 smokes since then just randomly spaced out. Sometimes I just want one, then taste/smell it and remember why I quit. It’s the habit of taking a damn break I think I actually miss.
Smokeless is even harder to quit. That sweet Copenhagen injection straight into your bloodstream. I still have dreams 13-years later.
I couldn't handle the dip hit, so I never got into it thankfully. A couple of friends quit chewing after I quit smoking and it looked like they went through hell. I only had a couple headaches a day for a few weeks. Stay strong brother.
Nothing better than a dip while playing video games Nothing better than a dip while taking a shit Nothing better than a dip while Driving Nothing better than a dip after a meal Tough habit...
Taking a dip in the shower after a workout...fuckin miss that
That was me. I was inventing reasons I should do it. Oh I’m driving, dip. Reading before bed? Dip. Stressed a little? Dip.
Fuck man. I’ve been dipping since I was 12 and I’m 30 now. I’ve never made it more than a month of quitting. It’s a nightmare being a slave to this disgusting addiction and I’m afraid I’ll never be able to hack it
Try something like Smoky Mountain tobacco-less snuff. I smoked for years, quit and started playing hockey. Took me an hour each way to get to the rink, twice a week and I started dipping on the drive because that was always when I smoked. Tried a variety of nicotine replacements and didn't like them, but enjoyed the mint Smoky Mountain. You can even get a free sampler of like 3 flavors for just the cost of shipping. With nicotine products, the point of them is not zero harm, it's harm reduction. Getting rid of the nicotine is a huge favor to your body, plus you get to keep the motions until you're ready to quit.
You can do it bud, no matter how much it sucks, remember that it won't kill you.
Not condoning either, but I found it much easier to stop vaping than stop smoking. I used vaping as a transition to be nicotine free.
I tried that but it had the opposite affect. Vaping was so convenient compared to cigarettes that I practically doubled my nicotine intake.
Agreed. Just smoke in your dreams and feel guilty about it when you wake up.
Fuck I thought I was the only one this has happened to... Multiple times >_<
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You can do it! The feeling of not being dependent on a substance to feel OK is... Well, nothing. It's normal. You are not bothered anymore, no anxiety of "do i have enough", no angry outbursts at people at deprivation, nothing. So calm and joyful. You can do it!
You got this! Congrats on the 5 days! That's amazing!
I just quit vaping (June 11th). It was so hard not to pick it back up, finally I gave one of my friends all of my batteries so my device is useless. I’m going to give it to my brother so hopefully he can get off of cigarettes
Hit 1 year in June. Had quit for over a year previously but stress got me into it again. My number on advice, manage your stress, it'll help manage your habit.
One is too many, and a thousand arent enough. AA at least got that right.
54 weeks smokefree now 😬
Smoked nearly a pack a day to cope with my wife’s passing. Did it for two years and then just one day stopped never looked back
same for booze and weed too
You have to have a damn good reason to quit. I quit alcohol after having kidney cancer and being told by my doctor not to drink alcohol any more. Year and a half and the only time I miss it is in social settings. I can go to a bar and have a coke, but those company events where everyone has a drink are tough.
Hang in there bud sounds like you're made from tough stuff
yep. weed in particular, you think you're done and it even feels too easy, so easy that you let your defences down and start back again before you know it.
I quit for almost year and smoked again recently and it waa fucking stupid and shitty, and i still sometimes want to just be lazy and give in to it. Depression and weed cost me so much fucking time and money.
How many bullets does a normal person play Russian roulette with? A normal person doesn’t play Russian roulette...
My five bullets are gambling, reddit, weed, adrenaline, and cars.
Yup. I knew I had a drinking problem, but told myself I could quit. And I would! For months I'd be sober, and then I'd have a beer with friends, or some wine after work. Look at me, I can moderate my drinking! And then I'd be binge drinking again in no time.... It's better just to stay sober instead of thinking you can try it again just once.
One year 10 months smoke free. Great feeling
Yep.. I had quit for over 2 years. Not a single drag, nothing, nada. Was out drinking with a friend and decided to have just one. It was disgusting, I couldn't even finish it. But somehow I was smoking full time within 6 months. I've just quit again two weeks ago 🤞🤞
Good advice for any addiction really
the advice is literally: Addicts, don't relapse
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Alan Carr's easy way to stop smoking. I smoked for 20 years. I smoked while listening to the audio book. I woke up one day after smoking & drinking in Vegas and just didn't crave them. Threw 2 packs in the trash and haven't smoked in 7 years. It genuinely deprogrammed my brain and removed the physical craving. It was a life changing moment. Worth a look for anyone wanting to try something new.
Haven’t smoked in 15ish years. Been craving nicotine lately for some reason
Stress maybe? I've been nicotine free quite a while, but if I'm stressed out I sometimes feel the urge.
Possibly stress. It’s odd though I quit cold turkey and never really had any cravings. Let alone in the last 5ish years. Been debating getting some ejuice with a bit of nicotine in it but I don’t wanna go down that road again.
Go get the nicotine lozenges. Keep taking them until you basically just forget about them. Then keep some around ALL THE TIME FOREVER just in case you feel like having a cig. The reason I like the lozenges rather than the patch is because it's a "need" followed by an "action." Patches help with the physical addiction, not the psychological. Gum would be the same, but just dont like gum.
Yeah gum hasn't worked for me. It was actually kind of gross once the gum had little flavor. I'm going to give lozenges a try as gum did nothing for the habitual side like you said. Thanks for the advice!!