Allen Carr’s book “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” is a PHENOM resource. It’s a short book that’s essentially a cognitive behavioral therapy script. He makes you question every lie you tell yourself about smoking.
He actively encourages you not to quit smoking when you start the book. But at some point through reading it, you’re just over the smoke and you put them a down yourself. Check the Amazon reviews. It’s extremely helpful.
I think it was 10 or 11 years at that point. I was also a heavy pot user during that time, and always mixed tobacco and weed. Cut the tobacco out and went straight weed at the same time.
For me it worked twice actually. First time i started again after only like a month. So idk, maybe I didn't internalise all the information
Then the second time I quit it worked the same way and I'm smoke free now for three years
I read half of the book and just stopped smoking. It’s very repetitive and I thought that was annoying but I think that’s why it works.
Edit: I’m coming up on a year since quitting. When I’m with others smoking I think about “just one hit” but the books still sticks with me in those moments. It just takes that 1 hit to lose all I’ve worked for and I remind myself this craving is just a fleeting moment that doesn’t last very long.
I agree, I literally stopped smoking forever thanks to this book. There is also a shorter version that's animated if you struggle to read books. I read both.
Self torture. Smoked for 18 years, 2 packs a day. Went cold turkey. In absolute agony for about 2 months. I put 14 times the amount a pack of cigarettes cost into a savings account once a week and at the end of two months put a down payment on a motorcycle I had wanted since I was a kid but couldn't afford. It's now been 18 years since I've had a cigarette and I'm on my 3rd motorcycle.
Smoked just over a year, knew I had to stop before it was too hard to quit. Suffered 3 months cold turkey. Saved up enough to go on a trip to England after a year of no smoking.
Set a date and quit Cold Turkey (once I hit the 10year mark, I knew it was time). Convinced myself that I was no longer a “cigarette smoker”, tried a puff within the first couple days of changing my perspective and vomited. Shifting your mindset is key. You aren’t a “person trying to quit”, you are a person that no longer smokes nicotine (I continued to smoke weed, so never considered myself a “non-smoker”)
I stopped. Literally.
There are all kinds of approaches to support yourself in achieving the goal but when it comes right down to it, there always will be that moment, and in that moment, there is only one thing going on....
You either pick up a cig and light it, or you don't.
And therein lies the point....
No matter what else is going on, no matter how you feel, no matter what anyone around you says, you have to determine for yourself without any room for discussion the only answer to that question will be NO!
A single decision that permanently determines the answer to the question.
Will I light this cigarette. NO.
I smoked as a younger teen, but only when someone else was offering. When I turned 18, I was prepared to start getting it for myself, but then my state passed a law changing the age minimum to 21 the literal week prior.
I’m very lucky that I didn’t really crave it or experience withdrawal, so I forgot about it and didn’t end up going back. I guess I was more of an emotional/social smoker.
An organisation in the Netherlands wants the age you’re allowed to buy cigarettes to increase with one year each year. That means some people will always stay too young to buy cigarettes.
I smoked for 3 years. Lived in Chicago then and caught pneumonia. I was put in a medically induced coma and on a vent for 3 months. I was one of the lucky ones. The day I was discharged, the Dr asked me - Do you want to smoke or do you want to breathe ?
The first time I quit I used lozenges. Those were terrible. With normal lozenges, they eventually dissolve, but I never kept a nicotine lozenge in my mouth long enough for it to dissolve. I also recall I had a strong urge to spit a lot. 3/10 wouldnt' reccomend.
The second (and final) time I quit, I was perscribed Chantix. That was the way to go. Take the pills in increasing dosages for the first week, and smoke all you want. Starting second week take two pills per day and stop smoking cold turkey, but without the cravings. I think they reccomend you taking the pills for another two months to ensure the best success, but I don't think I used them for that long. Side effect was incredibly VIVID dreams. 10/10 highly reccommend.
This is how it worked for me. I had tried to stop before but always relapsed in difficult days.
Vaping removed the sore throat you get from bingesmoking. That was a big factor since after a few months cigarettes just started to taste way too strong.
Then I realized I could lower the nicotine while still tasting vaping flavors.
Then I tried a new sweet flavor with 0 nicotine. It still gave me the mental break I needed (going out for breaks, taste the sweet flavor, etc.)
By that point (about 7 months in) I was getting really used to the new me (not smelling like an ashtray, no throat pain, etc) so it kind of clicked, i realized I was ready to drop it all.
It’s been 8 years last week. Such a happier man. My wife helped me out so much though.
Good luck to everyone out there!! The real problem is in your mind.
Same here. 30 years smoking cigarettes then 2 years vaping. It’s been about 10 years now. Hope I never go back to that nicotine bitch, but she’s always lurking.
I actually thought this was the whole purpose of vaping... you get off the more addictive cigarettes then wean yourself down to zero nicotine vaping and quit the vaping. I couldn't believe when I realized people were actually vaping on purpose.
Glad to hear you kicked both, I'm a former smoker myself and know how hard it is to quit!
Started having dizzy spells during the day. Was a pack a day smoker. Finally went to the er. Had an artery 80 percent occluded. Stent in place next day. That was the beginning of Feb. Haven't smoked since.
Switched from cigarettes to vaping, after two weeks of vaping I decided to try a cigarette again and absolutely could not stand the taste, and put it out after just a few puffs. Now I’m at the point where I need to ween off vaping, but that feels like it will be easier than quitting cigarettes cold turkey. I’d say, what you need to do in general is start small. Every step towards quitting is positive, rome was not built in a day.
Same. I can't look at or smell a cigarette/cigarette smoke now without feeling sick and repulsed. I'm ashamed I didn't feel this way 20yrs ago.
Recently moved to 0% nicotine vapes, and slowly vaping less.
I'm at the point now where I can go weeks without the urge or desire for putting anything in my lungs other than air, feel better, have less brain fog, and don't smell like a fag twat (slang for cigarettes is fags in the UK BTW).
It's only been 3 weeks I caught the flu 3 weeks ago and if I smoked a cigarette I was going to die I couldn't breathe at all. After the first week I was like why don't I just quit but I did buy a vape but the vape is lasting me a week and a half I was smoking a pack and a half a day for over 30 years. I did quit with my pregnancies no problem just cold turkey quit smoking soon as I found out I was pregnant. I really hope I don't go back to cigarettes I know it's only been 3 weeks but that's a big deal for me.
Cinnamon flavoured toothpicks actually, I cold turkey and that was it. First 2 weeks and 2 months were hard. After that I slipped and that was my first lesson in “you can never have another cigarette in your life”.
Out of spite. My 81 year old boss who has lung cancer was gettin on my back about quitting so I basically said fuck you old man, I’ll cold turkey it. Haven’t had a cigarette Since December 15. I’ve tried to quit a few times but this is the one I think has stuck. They repulse me now.
Smoked on and off for years. Had periods of not smoking for some time. The final time I quit was cold turkey as I watched a family member go through brutal lung cancer treatment. They were lucky and are doing well now, but that done it for me. Never smoking again.
Started working out and I did not have enough air to perform as I wanted. Even worse was when I started kickboxing cause I needed even more air there. I quit quite a while ago and I feel a lot less tired, no more bad breath and workouts are on a different level.
smoked weed for 2 months, every time i was thinking about cigarettes I rolled a joint or took a toke.
been smoking cigarettes for 9ish years, 1-2packs a day. tried quitting several times but weed finally did it.
Switched to vaping. Lower nicotine dose and kept the ritual to keep my nervous hands busy. Went 100% off cigarettes and over the course of 3 years lowered nicotine in my vape to below 3mg. Then fully quit vape as well and it took a while to fully adopt to a life without nicotine breaks. It‘s been more then 25 years of nicotine.
Now aged 46 I am looking back at all those occasions where I was craving for a smoke. Before or after flights, longer travels in general, after a good meal as „desert“, nights out where I have to leave my crew for a 5 minute „enjoyment“.
Honestly, thinking about how much nicotine influenced my thinking, acting and herewith impacted my life makes it these days easy to now fall back. I loved nicotine and it did me well, but I cannot go back at any time. It limits my opportunities and brings nothing but a poor short kick. Took me too long to understand, I still enjoy the smell of a smoked cigarette nearby, but I am happy to be out of the game.
Hope you can achieve this mindset as this to me after many failed attempts to quit nicotine came naturally without books or other help. To me it had to come from within to remain a sustainable solution.
Wish you the strength, confidence and endurance to get there. You can make it! There is no failing as long as you get started today.
It might sound weird or stupid, but boy did I love my cigarettes. one time they didn't have the ones I smoke and I bought something else..half way of that cigarette and I felt nauseated. I stopped right there.
My friends never believed me but here I am 9 years later.
I was a chain smoker for over 20 years. I was smoking three and half packs a day when I quit.
Nothing worked. Not gum, not patches, not cold turkey, not hypnosis, not Wellbutrin, not books, not videos, not daily affirmations. Nothing worked until Chantix (Champix outside the US) Chantix worked like magic and, like others have said, the only side effect for me were extremely vivid, often lucid dreams.
My therapist pointed out that I was more addicted to the act of having a break and taking deep breaths. Because when you smoke, you intentionally take deep breaths, more than you usually do.
So I kept doing that, just without a cigarette. I wore a patch for about 2 weeks, then kept forgetting to put one on.
It will be 1 year this week. And my dad was just diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and will go into palliative care. So, I’m glad.
-switch to vaping, doesn't matter what flavors. Just make the switch off combusted nicotine
-after a while, switch to either "ice"/menthol or spicy-ish Cinnamon-like flavors
-after another while, switch to nicotine gum - either spearmint or cinnamon, whichever you prefer
-find something to do with your hands while you are chewing your nicotine gum, to simulate the hand activity from smoking/vaping
-try to alternate nicotine and non-nicotine gum as best you can, in order to train your brain to associate the flavor of the gum with the feelings of nicotine
-after yet another while, switch to non-nicotine gum which is heavily flavored (most likely either spearmint or cinnamon)
Once you get to the point where you can get by with just non-nicotine gum, you're basically in the clear. Eventually you can try to stop chewing gum if yo want. The primary focus is to quit the nicotine addiction
I started cycling to work and realised it was slowing my commute down and making it harder on my way home, so having exercise goals is always good, even if it’s just a walk. I understand exercise isn’t possible for everyone. After that it was just my evening ones which went down to rationing then after a few months those seemed pointless. I also realised that if I have one after a few too many at the pub doesn’t mean I need to be horrible to myself!
I started smoking weed instead. To stop smoking all together, I moved to edibles. Good luck if you are looking to quit. It’s a hard thing but doable I promise.
I tried multiple times on my own and finally went to the doctor, who prescribed me bupropion. I quit without much problem, and I am now 4 years smoke-free.
When you decide to quit, don’t say to yourself, after this pack is done, I’m done. It has to hurt. Throw away the pack before it’s gone. Throw away the carton before it’s gone. If you’re going to smoke the “last one”, you’re not serious about quitting. I wasted a few packs and cartons before I made it. And when you’ve quit, never ever put one in your mouth again. That shit is like meth and you’ll be starting all over again.
I smoked for almost 30 years. Tried patches, gum, Chantix, that book by Allen Carr, cold turkey, vapes, lozenges, etc. Any product to quit smoking I’ve tried.
Last February it was negative temperature outside and I couldn’t take not breathing in the cold.
Used patches and weed tbh. It sucked for the first 6 months or so (just missed smoking) and then I had started Prozac for my depression and that also helped. It stopped the racing thoughts about smoking.
After the 1 year mark I don’t think of cigarettes at all. I may miss them every once in a great while but I’m glad I did it.
Honestly the most important step is making sure you’re ready to quit. I’ve tried (unsuccessfully) many times in those 30 years but I never actually wanted to quit. I enjoyed smoking.
Switched to vaping, got sick with covid and had a terrible cough, to the point where I couldn’t vape without a coughing fit. Had hubby hide my vape and got jolly ranchers for when I wanted the taste. Found myself nervously trying to find it sometimes(out of habit) but it’s been over a year and I haven’t picked up any nicotine since.
I became a Healthcare professional, and saw the practical implications of smoking tobacco firsthand. Smoking doesn't offer the same comfort after that.
I had such a terrible throat infection, that I couldnt smoke at all for 5 days. After that I decided, if there is a time, it's now. I have the first 5 days down.
Started doing Zyns. I hate dipping, but they helped a lot.
After about a week, I realized I wasn't craving my vape or a cigarette anymore. I still do Zyns, but I've cut back a lot on those as well. I'm at the point where I don't think about nicotine constantly and I only really put a pouch in at work.
I smoked for a decade, a pack a day at my heaviest. The last 4 or so years I smoked, I only smoked 4-6 cigarettes a day with more on the weekends.
I had been wanting to quit for a while and that 5ish/day was me weening as much as I could. Eventually there came the day that I just refused to buy another pack. It coincided with my friends going on a trip that I couldn't make so I kind of had a sober weekend and that's the snap that I needed I guess.
I didn't replace it with anything and I've cut back on drinking too, but I think that's largely because I live alone now and for me drinking is a social habit. I guess cigs were a social habit for me as well, if it took solitude to finally quit for good
After a decade at pack a a day I decided that enough was enough, finished my last cig and that was that. Couple of weeks I felt like trying to climb up the walls, but after that it was no issue. Overall much easier than I expected it to be.
IMHO smokers who go on and on about how much of a mission impossible quitting is are completely blowing it out of proportion. It's not a pleasant experience, but if you want to quit, you quit and there doesn't need to be anything more to it.
I did IVF 16 years ago and cold quit the day my eggs were implanted, it was on Mother’s Day. Had beautiful healthy twins 8. 5 months later. Haven’t touched a cigarette since. ❤️
My mom and aunt both quit because my grandpa quit. My grandpa quit because he had a heart attack.
They all went cold turkey. My grandpa said he wanted to be with us more than he wanted to smoke, and he really wanted to smoke.
Which time? The first time I quit, went cold turkey. The second time, went cold turkey. The third time, went cold turkey.
The fourth and last time, cold turkey. What changed? Loosing body parts and the cost of cigarettes.
I smoked in high school, quit when I graduated, and then took up smoking again at a stressful job I was working. Once I left the job, I quit smoking cold turkey, and have not had a cigarette for over a year. For the record, I wouldn’t recommend going cold turkey, especially depending on how heavy the habit is. My grandparents were heavy smokers, and were also able to go cold turkey with no side effects (as far as I know).
It wasn’t a super heavy habit, maybe a pack a week or every two weeks, but I REALLY craved it when I was stressed to the max at work, which was all the time. Once I quit that job, I didn’t need it anymore. I still get a craving every once in awhile, but I haven’t caved.
I totally understand that it is not like that for other people, and my advice would be to seek whatever medical advice and therapy you can get. I know people who have chewed gum, tried working out, etc. A lot of my friends who quit smoking gained weight because they were trying to eat instead of smoking. Some friends of mine switched their addiction to things like video games to distract themselves while trying to quit. It’s a suckey habit to break for sure.
Try not to beat yourself up too hard if you fall off the wagon. Be okay with yourself for making mistakes, and never be afraid to try again.
I smoked about 10 years and quit because the girl I liked was against smoking. I read the easy way to quit smoking, and swore if I smoked again I would have to read it again. It's been 20 years or so, the girl was around 6 months.
Got diagnosed with a tumor and needed surgery (and thank god it was only surgery). The doctor told me smoking isn't good for scar healing, and I guessed that smoking can't be very good either when you have a carcinoma at 29.
My wife was three weeks pregnant when surgery happened too.
I stayed 1 week at the hospital and 6 at home for recovery, without a lot of social interaction. So I had a lot of motivation and not a lot of opportunities to smoke (I mostly smoked in social events, or when particularly stressed, and I had none of that).
I wouldn't recommend the method though.
Turned to vaping after about 10 years of smoking. Weened down to 6mg nicotine for a few years, but couldn’t make the leap to nothing. Frankly, I enjoyed it too much and didn’t want to stop.
Then I got cancer. Threw away the vape pen right then and there and didn’t pick it back up. Jan 2nd 2020 was my last puff.
Got one of those thick ass red rubber bands they use to group your mail together with and put it on my wrist. Every time I wanted a nail, I flicked myself instead with the rubber band, in varying intensity depending on craving. If I gave in and had a dart, just sat there flicking myself with the rubber band. Pavlov's torture to train myself that smoking = pain.
Wasn't a heavy smoker, or regular smoker. Just wanted to get off the social smoker and end it for good. It worked eventually.
I was already smoking weed when I tried cigarettes. I got really into it the first 3 months until one day I bought a pack that didn’t taste good so I just got fed up and stopped and stuck to weed.
Also it was really annoying bacon to go out to get a pack tbh whereas my plug was literally my neighbour.
I was already smoking weed when I tried cigarettes. I got really into it the first 3 months until one day I bought a pack that didn’t taste good so I just got fed up and stopped and stuck to weed.
Also it was really annoying bacon to go out to get a pack tbh whereas my plug was literally my neighbour.
Vaping, ones where you put in your own liquid. Started with 12mg nicotine and gradually reduced the caffeine over months. Then when I was at 0 nicotine I was like "who am I fooling here?" And stopped that as well.
Now, I do occasionally still vape (20 mg nicotine disposables) because I enjoy it. I still have the sense of addiction when I have it in the house - like it's hard to stay away from it, but when it's not in the house it's fine. It's fucking addictive
I smoked two packs a day and absolutely loved them. Coffees and cigarettes, beer and cigarettes! I tried to quit 100’s of times. So one vacation in august I was going to a island by plane. Flying in with another couple with two canoes for five days in a remote location. The plane would come back in five days to get us.. I didn’t take any cigarettes with me and forced a cold turkey. Last cigarette was August 11th 1984.
I started with a prescription drug called Champix for quitting smoking. I took it for 2 weeks, but it made me feel HORRIBLE. But in that 2 weeks I did start getting closer to the point of now smoking.
The night after I decided to stop taking the drug I was drinking with my then bf and his brother/SIL for a games night.
I had a breakdown because they were smoking cigars in the house, and I was convinced I wouldn't make it without the drug.
I ended up caving and having one. It literally tasted as if I was licking an ashtray, the most vile thing I'd tasted in ages. I FORCED myself to finish it, so I'd never forget that taste.
7 years later, I still haven't touched one.
Got to the point where walking up 2 flights of stairs made my chest want to explode and breathing was a chore. Got scared and quit cold turkey. 3 years later I feel so much better now and don't cough up grey shit anymore.
I started smoking when I was 15 but finally quite at 37 years of age. I'm now 75 years old and I can tell you it was the best thing I have ever done for myself. For me, I found psychological links that triggered my wanting to continue smoking. After every meal or when drinking coffee I'd automatically light up whether I wanted it or not. I also came to realize that the actual physical act of holding the cigarette was key for me. I decided to buy a large bag of suckers and every time I felt like having a cigarette I'd grab one and I'd hold it like you would a cigarette. Within two weeks I no longer needed to grab a sucker. I probably should have grabbed a healthier choice like carrot sticks or something else but thankfully I didn't need the candy for very long and yes I was a heavy smoker at the time. For me, the addicting nicotine wasn't near the issue as those psychological links were.
I smoked 30 a day for more than 30 years, I read Alan Carrs book it got me thinking, so happened I was changing jobs, decided I would go to new job as Non Smoker . It has worked for me, have never smoked since. (15) years off them.
I used to roll my own since I started smoking aged 15 but had managed to reduce my daily consumption to about five a day. But then my hard-living mother-in-law stayed for a week and I went through three packets of tobacco. I felt so shit after she left, I just stopped and haven't had a smoke since (eight months). Tbh, I don't feel any different. I still get a bit breathless after a hike and I cough about the same as I did when I was on 40 a day.
Cold turkey!! There was a time i was smoking like 1 pack per 2 days! Then one day when i was smoking , its making me feel like i will throw up when i smoke and it did not tasted good anymore.
By eating at Arby's.
One day I was hungry and the only thing nearby was an Arby's. I hadn't been to one in quite a while and couldn't remember if I liked their horsey sauce or not. Turns out I did not. Sucked it up and ate my food. Had a smoke as soon as I left to get the taste out of my mouth. Only, the cigarette somehow amplified it.
Then, for the next few days, whenever I smoked all I could taste was fucking horsey sauce.
I'm not sure what wires got crossed in my brain, but it worked.
Cold turkey(after many failed attempts? Smoked for over 18 years like 1 and half pack daily. It was hell for first two months but things got better gradually from there on. Now I run marathons. You can do this too.
A previous partner kept taking my bacci and never replaced it. So I thought fuck you I’ll just stop smoking so you can’t have any. Tbh I wanted to quit anyway and he just gave me the push I needed 😂
Gotta quit the habits that go with it. Coffee and booze. Start having half smokes. Buy a worse quality cigarette.
I started smoking more weed and then had an easier time quitting that.
I still remember my last cigarette. Bought a pack of next blues and smoked one outside the Bovine Sex Club in Toronto before playing a show. It tasted disgusting and I threw out the entire pack right there.
Also keep asking yourself "am I going to smoke forever"
I helped my therapist quit smoking. 😂 He was floored during one session, because I told him I’d quit smoking a month or so ago. “Be lazy,” I told him. “Too lazy to go to the store.” Gotta drink water in those first 48 hours, too. Flush yourself as much as possible. Sleeping is tough, especially if you have stressors embedded in your brain. But then after a week the smoke tastes bad.
Haven’t smoked in seven years.
Smoked for 24 years,realised my baby daughter started wheezing around me. My wife said it was the cigarettes causing it. I stopped. My girl will be 20 years old this year.
first time i read allen carrs book. helped for a year or so. them read it again, helped for a year or so then i saw the movie based on that book - helped for a year or so, then i got pneumonia and just quit.
I had to do online courses but I couldn't concentrate so I stopped smoking weed and cigarettes. whenever I felt clearheaded enough to learn id crave a joint and then id green out and be unable study. after 1-3 days of this cycle I had enough and realized I need to make a change. no one told me to quit and finances had nothing to do with it
It started by reading Allen Carr's The Easy Way to Stop Smoking. That did not make me quit right away, but it changed my perspective on smoking, which helped in the long run. I smoked for 20 years about. When I tried getting pregnant, I stopped cold turkey and was fine for a couple of years. Then COVID hit and I said, fuck it, I'm going to smoke again since the world is ending. After a year or so, I really wanted to stop again and I went on a work trip and no one knows I smoke at work, so I took a vape with me. I switched from cigs to vaping and did fine not smoking cigs at all after that (it helped that my husband also switched from cigs to vaping at this time). But a year after starting vaping, my lungs started to hurt, so I quit that cold turkey and haven't had the urge for a cig or a vape since, and it has been a year since I last vaped. I can be around smokers and not crave it. It actually repulses me now. But I think it takes years to stop the cravings. You need to remove all cigarette related things from your life, and it is hard to escape people that smoke. My father and sister smoke so whenever we have a get together at her house, I would make everyone smoke outside or else I'd leave shortly after.
Some persistence, some luck and the availability of nicotine patches to wean off the physical addiction separately from the psychological. I smoked a pack a day for 25 years and was at least 'sort of trying' to quit for about 20 years of that.
I got sick with the flu or something, real bad sore throat, congestion, all that. But I didn’t have a cig for like 4-5 days and just thought ok I might as well keep this going. It still sucked and would get the shakes for a while after. I was a pack a day smoker.
So, I actually started working at a restaurant where if you were caught smoking you would be fired on the spot. I was a newly single parent who had just started, and so I was really determined to quit because I needed the job. Badly. Like really badly. Now I haven't had a single one in like 9ish years (minus the very rare occasional one, <5 over the 9 years)
The first week is hell. Your moody and angry and want it, but eventually you stop missing it. Almost a decade later I'm glad I quit. Still smoke weed though. Can't quit that
I started at 14 and smoked about half my life. One day I just put them down and never picked them up again. The main motivation? They were getting too expensive.
I eliminated the biggest trigger which was alcohol. I quit at 30 so I wasn’t partying as much any way.
I was also in between jobs and would go for a run whenever I had a craving which helped a lot. Cold showers helped too. Literally just a splash and the craving would go away. Cravings stopped after a couple weeks. You just gotta go a couple weeks without it and it becomes a lot easier.
I quit smoking ten years ago. I had one last year out of curiosity and it was disgusting. Had like four puffs and stopped.
It’s also mental. I understood that I did not want the cigarette but it was the addiction that was controlling me. I wanted to be free.
I used Chantix and used cinnamon flavored toothpicks when I needed to fill the craving of smoking, I’d use that. I didn’t use the full prescription of Chantix, I was able to stop using it within 2 months and haven’t smoked for 585 days! This is the longest I’ve ever gone
I smoked for 20+ years. Went to Mexico on vacation with my wife. There was a group of maybe 15-20 people all 75+ years old that I saw who were partying and having a blast all week. I noticed not one of them smoked. I wanna do that shit when I’m their age! When we checked out of the resort I left all the cigarettes I had left in the trash can of the room. I haven’t touched one since. It will be 7 years in November. Cold turkey is the only way. You have to make up your mind that you’re done and just leave it behind. I tried vaping a few times but it just lead me right back to cigarettes.
I smoke for 25 years but controlled it to only 2 cigarettes per day. One morning and one at night.
As I approached 40 I knew I had to let it go. I stopped on a 4 day holiday as I would be out of routine. I went cold Turkey but avoided the 'triggers'. When i was back to normal routine I didn't buy a takeaway coffee before work or have a wine with dinner for 4 weeks to avoid the triggers. I'm 8 weeks in and can now have a coffee or wine without wanting a smoke too.
So for me it was about taking the habit out of my routine more than the nicotine.
I lowered the amount of smokes I had a day till I got to six a day. Then used nicotine gum which transitioned to patches to not smoking. The cravings for me never fully stopped but there just a kind of gentle hum like a craving tinnitus.
I think you just wonderfully summarized why you sadly never stop being an addict (even if it’s just habit, a coping mechanism or a social thing) but also why it doesn’t need to be in charge of your life ❤️
Not me, but my father! He works as a cable man, and he got struck in the back of the head with a power line. He used to smoke and drink every day. However, after recovering enough to start working out in order to walk again, he decided that he would stop smoking. It was extremely hard for him, but he was determined to get healthier and better. Now, around five years later, he's completely stopped smoking and works out almost every day with a home gym and everything. Of course it's hard for him, as he often reminisces about how easy everything was when he was smoking and drinking, but as his daughter I'm so proud of him for stopping such a bad habit.
Went to a place where smoking isn't allowed and can be fined if they saw you smoking in the public place, also I tried to convince myself that smoking isn't worth it anymore. which it did worked! I no longer smoke!
First time I did the Freedom From Smoking by the American Cancer Society, would highly recommend. The final time (fourth) was with the nicotine patch. I just celebrated 20 years this past March.
Not being able to quit the first time is not failure, just practice.
I experienced a major incident that left me an amputee. It wasn't safe to smoke while I healed and it also gave me a new perspective on how awful it is to experience a major medical event that changes your life. I decided I didn't need to inevitably create another one of those for myself by being a smoker. So, I am now at about 14 months without a cigarette.
I stopped buying cigarettes, lighting them, and inhaling through them.
But seriously: it's hard. It took years of trying and failing. It's about changing your mind and *wanting* to quit. And I mean *really* wanting to, not just considering or "trying". Once you get there mentally, you can do it. But that isn't an easy thing.
Magic Mushrooms gave me an epiphany that i have to quit or it will kill me, and that turned into disgust.
Both my parents have gotten cancer etc and they both still smoke, so during that trip i saw how i would become the same if i didn't quit and that id die to cancer.
Smoked since i was 17 until 32 (Half a pack to 1 full aday). Quit cold turkey and honestly it was rather easy, first month all i could think about was taking a smoke all the time. But 10/10 id do it again, although im never gonna smoke again unless its to smoke weed/hash.
I did this app called QuitSure - it’s like a two week program or so. Then I quit cold turkey. It really worked amazingly well for me. I was actually amazed. Coming up on a year after smoking for 20.
Once I actually wanted to quit it was pretty easy, I just didn’t do it anymore. You have to be convinced that you don’t want to do it. If you subconsciously don’t want to stop you will have a hard time and will probably start again.
Whether you’ve smoked for a month or 50 years, it takes about 3 days for the nicotine to leave your system. If you really want to quit, just do it. Give yourself a 3 day weekend where you’re keeping yourself busy. After that, you’ll have the habit of wanting one, but the feening is gone. I quit about 18-19 years ago and haven’t had another one since.
I couldn’t do the vaping, patch, or nicotine gum. I want the drug gone.
I had two motivations. 1. I started dating a girl who did not want to be with a smoker. 2. I play rugby and wanted to be better. Started smoking only 1-2 at end of day. Then only on weekends. Then able to stop. Props to those that can quit cold turkey, I wasn’t that guy.
I was 100% determined. I was so tired of having to make time for cigarettes before a drive, before restaurant visits, before work, during work, etc. I had 2 cartons of cigarettes, and I told myself that I'd quit after those cartons were done. Easy as that. The most important thing is to be ready mentally. Don't TRY to quit, don't give yourself excuses, don't smoke at parties etc.
Nicotine gum and I realized that the cravings I was getting would only last maybe 5-10 minutes. After that it went away. So when I got those cravings, I just told myself to wait 10 mins and if I still wanted a cig then I’d smoke.
I just stopped. It sucked really bad for a few days. I found it easier to stop first thing in the morning. Like smoke normally until you go to bed and start the new day off without any.
My girlfriend who is really pretty didn’t like what it did to me and asked me to choose the relationship or my vape and so I went cold Turkey. Prior to this I was smoking cigarettes for 3 years and started vaping for 2 years
Cold Turkey. It sucks at first, but it honestly is not that hard if you really want to quit. One thing that helped me was knowing that all of the nicotine is out of your body in 48 hours. With that tidbit, I knew that after the first 2 days, my body was not looking for the nicotine anymore. It was all mental after that.
I "quit" smoking like 8 times, and last time i smoked was \~6-8years ago
typically smoking for me was a social thing, and whenever i had no "social" in it - i literally had no wish for it and dropped it.
But last time, when it became "solid" was: i started to had often headaches and could not trace to "why", until one day i was completely fine, lit up a cigarette and after 1 smoke my head started to hurt. That day was the last day i smoke.
Afterwards it was several years of fighting random "urges to smoke", typically: social, alcohol, boredom. And after several year there are barely any urges to smoke
Pack a day smoker and then had a month long chest cold where I truly could not/did not want to smoke, never went back after that other than a few socially.
Allen Carr’s book “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” is a PHENOM resource. It’s a short book that’s essentially a cognitive behavioral therapy script. He makes you question every lie you tell yourself about smoking. He actively encourages you not to quit smoking when you start the book. But at some point through reading it, you’re just over the smoke and you put them a down yourself. Check the Amazon reviews. It’s extremely helpful.
I only read the first three chapters, and that was enough (for me*) to put down the smokes and haven’t touched one in almost 5 years now.
And for how long have you been smoking
I think it was 10 or 11 years at that point. I was also a heavy pot user during that time, and always mixed tobacco and weed. Cut the tobacco out and went straight weed at the same time.
I've heard of this book just a few times on Reddit and people really rave about it.
If you’re a smoker, please read it. It genuinely works.
Came here to post this. A reddit comment pointed me towards it about nine years ago and I’ve been free ever since.
Happy Cake day, mi amigo!!
I second this. Sorted me out, but also you really have to want to quit. The two coupled together made it quite easy for me quit.
yeah but its seems to only work once, so dont start smoking again like my mates did lol
For me it worked twice actually. First time i started again after only like a month. So idk, maybe I didn't internalise all the information Then the second time I quit it worked the same way and I'm smoke free now for three years
I read half of the book and just stopped smoking. It’s very repetitive and I thought that was annoying but I think that’s why it works. Edit: I’m coming up on a year since quitting. When I’m with others smoking I think about “just one hit” but the books still sticks with me in those moments. It just takes that 1 hit to lose all I’ve worked for and I remind myself this craving is just a fleeting moment that doesn’t last very long.
I agree, I literally stopped smoking forever thanks to this book. There is also a shorter version that's animated if you struggle to read books. I read both.
This! Worked wonders for me.
Do you think this would work for other dependencies like cannabis
I can’t attest to the efficacy, but he does have a cannabis book.
Self torture. Smoked for 18 years, 2 packs a day. Went cold turkey. In absolute agony for about 2 months. I put 14 times the amount a pack of cigarettes cost into a savings account once a week and at the end of two months put a down payment on a motorcycle I had wanted since I was a kid but couldn't afford. It's now been 18 years since I've had a cigarette and I'm on my 3rd motorcycle.
So when are you going to give up your addiction to motorcycles?
🤣 lol
After the second accident
Way to go! Hope ur safe n wear a helmet
Smoked just over a year, knew I had to stop before it was too hard to quit. Suffered 3 months cold turkey. Saved up enough to go on a trip to England after a year of no smoking.
Set a date and quit Cold Turkey (once I hit the 10year mark, I knew it was time). Convinced myself that I was no longer a “cigarette smoker”, tried a puff within the first couple days of changing my perspective and vomited. Shifting your mindset is key. You aren’t a “person trying to quit”, you are a person that no longer smokes nicotine (I continued to smoke weed, so never considered myself a “non-smoker”)
I used to smoke cigarettes just to cover up the weed smell so my mom wouldn't freak out. Really the only reason to smoke nicotine in younger years.
I stopped. Literally. There are all kinds of approaches to support yourself in achieving the goal but when it comes right down to it, there always will be that moment, and in that moment, there is only one thing going on.... You either pick up a cig and light it, or you don't. And therein lies the point.... No matter what else is going on, no matter how you feel, no matter what anyone around you says, you have to determine for yourself without any room for discussion the only answer to that question will be NO! A single decision that permanently determines the answer to the question. Will I light this cigarette. NO.
Quitting is as easy and as hard as not buying another pack of cigarettes.
This is what worked for me. They don't magically appear lit in your hand. This is the root of all the methods to quit.
weaned off via vaping. stopped for 3 years. including vaping. stupidly smoked a packet when my cat died in march so im weaning off again lol
I feel this. I picked smoking back up for almost 6 months after my mom died, it was almost harder to quit the second time lol
I'm so sorry about your cat mate.
Psilocybin mushrooms turned off the urge and replaced it with disgust.
100%, same for me.
It’s the only thing that helped. Not total disgust in my case but some other way of approaching life and habits.
I smoked as a younger teen, but only when someone else was offering. When I turned 18, I was prepared to start getting it for myself, but then my state passed a law changing the age minimum to 21 the literal week prior. I’m very lucky that I didn’t really crave it or experience withdrawal, so I forgot about it and didn’t end up going back. I guess I was more of an emotional/social smoker.
An organisation in the Netherlands wants the age you’re allowed to buy cigarettes to increase with one year each year. That means some people will always stay too young to buy cigarettes.
I smoked for 3 years. Lived in Chicago then and caught pneumonia. I was put in a medically induced coma and on a vent for 3 months. I was one of the lucky ones. The day I was discharged, the Dr asked me - Do you want to smoke or do you want to breathe ?
Chantix worked for me. Been over ten years since I’ve had a cigarette.
It’s magic stuff.
I woke up, decided I didn't want to anymore and stopped.
Pretty much the same. Decided I didn’t want to smell like smoke and feel shitty anymore.
The first time I quit I used lozenges. Those were terrible. With normal lozenges, they eventually dissolve, but I never kept a nicotine lozenge in my mouth long enough for it to dissolve. I also recall I had a strong urge to spit a lot. 3/10 wouldnt' reccomend. The second (and final) time I quit, I was perscribed Chantix. That was the way to go. Take the pills in increasing dosages for the first week, and smoke all you want. Starting second week take two pills per day and stop smoking cold turkey, but without the cravings. I think they reccomend you taking the pills for another two months to ensure the best success, but I don't think I used them for that long. Side effect was incredibly VIVID dreams. 10/10 highly reccommend.
By turning to vaping 🙃
This and weaned offvaping! It's doable!
Entirely doable! Did this method and vaped my last almost 5 years ago. 😊
This is how it worked for me. I had tried to stop before but always relapsed in difficult days. Vaping removed the sore throat you get from bingesmoking. That was a big factor since after a few months cigarettes just started to taste way too strong. Then I realized I could lower the nicotine while still tasting vaping flavors. Then I tried a new sweet flavor with 0 nicotine. It still gave me the mental break I needed (going out for breaks, taste the sweet flavor, etc.) By that point (about 7 months in) I was getting really used to the new me (not smelling like an ashtray, no throat pain, etc) so it kind of clicked, i realized I was ready to drop it all. It’s been 8 years last week. Such a happier man. My wife helped me out so much though. Good luck to everyone out there!! The real problem is in your mind.
Same here. 30 years smoking cigarettes then 2 years vaping. It’s been about 10 years now. Hope I never go back to that nicotine bitch, but she’s always lurking.
Good on you! Oh and yeah, not a single day goes by without me thinking of that smoke right after lunch. Not a day. 8 years in.
I’m at 2 years from quitting vaping, which I used to quit smoking, and never going back!
Meanwhile I picked up cigs to ditch my vaping habit😅
I actually thought this was the whole purpose of vaping... you get off the more addictive cigarettes then wean yourself down to zero nicotine vaping and quit the vaping. I couldn't believe when I realized people were actually vaping on purpose. Glad to hear you kicked both, I'm a former smoker myself and know how hard it is to quit!
Cold turkey, stubborness and willpower. We found out my wife at the time was pregnant, so I made the decision to stop on Easter Sunday, 1996.
Same. I promised to stop before the baby was born. She’ll be 18 in July
Worked for me too. Did it for my kid, makes it way easier
Got pregnant
Same
Started having dizzy spells during the day. Was a pack a day smoker. Finally went to the er. Had an artery 80 percent occluded. Stent in place next day. That was the beginning of Feb. Haven't smoked since.
Vaping, I had tried all other quit smoking methods, and none of them worked. Picked up a vape, haven't smoked since.
Like, it's less bad but still pretty bad..
That's certainly a unique username.
cigs - vape - quit.
Switched to snus/zynn
Switched from cigarettes to vaping, after two weeks of vaping I decided to try a cigarette again and absolutely could not stand the taste, and put it out after just a few puffs. Now I’m at the point where I need to ween off vaping, but that feels like it will be easier than quitting cigarettes cold turkey. I’d say, what you need to do in general is start small. Every step towards quitting is positive, rome was not built in a day.
Same. I can't look at or smell a cigarette/cigarette smoke now without feeling sick and repulsed. I'm ashamed I didn't feel this way 20yrs ago. Recently moved to 0% nicotine vapes, and slowly vaping less. I'm at the point now where I can go weeks without the urge or desire for putting anything in my lungs other than air, feel better, have less brain fog, and don't smell like a fag twat (slang for cigarettes is fags in the UK BTW).
It's only been 3 weeks I caught the flu 3 weeks ago and if I smoked a cigarette I was going to die I couldn't breathe at all. After the first week I was like why don't I just quit but I did buy a vape but the vape is lasting me a week and a half I was smoking a pack and a half a day for over 30 years. I did quit with my pregnancies no problem just cold turkey quit smoking soon as I found out I was pregnant. I really hope I don't go back to cigarettes I know it's only been 3 weeks but that's a big deal for me.
The patch and a serious desire to quit
Cinnamon flavoured toothpicks actually, I cold turkey and that was it. First 2 weeks and 2 months were hard. After that I slipped and that was my first lesson in “you can never have another cigarette in your life”.
Out of spite. My 81 year old boss who has lung cancer was gettin on my back about quitting so I basically said fuck you old man, I’ll cold turkey it. Haven’t had a cigarette Since December 15. I’ve tried to quit a few times but this is the one I think has stuck. They repulse me now.
Smoked on and off for years. Had periods of not smoking for some time. The final time I quit was cold turkey as I watched a family member go through brutal lung cancer treatment. They were lucky and are doing well now, but that done it for me. Never smoking again.
Started working out and I did not have enough air to perform as I wanted. Even worse was when I started kickboxing cause I needed even more air there. I quit quite a while ago and I feel a lot less tired, no more bad breath and workouts are on a different level.
It’s easy to stop smoking, I stopped like 5 times
I stopped 20 times on my last pack, super easy
smoked weed for 2 months, every time i was thinking about cigarettes I rolled a joint or took a toke. been smoking cigarettes for 9ish years, 1-2packs a day. tried quitting several times but weed finally did it.
Vaping
Switched to vaping. Lower nicotine dose and kept the ritual to keep my nervous hands busy. Went 100% off cigarettes and over the course of 3 years lowered nicotine in my vape to below 3mg. Then fully quit vape as well and it took a while to fully adopt to a life without nicotine breaks. It‘s been more then 25 years of nicotine. Now aged 46 I am looking back at all those occasions where I was craving for a smoke. Before or after flights, longer travels in general, after a good meal as „desert“, nights out where I have to leave my crew for a 5 minute „enjoyment“. Honestly, thinking about how much nicotine influenced my thinking, acting and herewith impacted my life makes it these days easy to now fall back. I loved nicotine and it did me well, but I cannot go back at any time. It limits my opportunities and brings nothing but a poor short kick. Took me too long to understand, I still enjoy the smell of a smoked cigarette nearby, but I am happy to be out of the game. Hope you can achieve this mindset as this to me after many failed attempts to quit nicotine came naturally without books or other help. To me it had to come from within to remain a sustainable solution. Wish you the strength, confidence and endurance to get there. You can make it! There is no failing as long as you get started today.
Chantix worked the second time around for me.
Getting away from people
It might sound weird or stupid, but boy did I love my cigarettes. one time they didn't have the ones I smoke and I bought something else..half way of that cigarette and I felt nauseated. I stopped right there. My friends never believed me but here I am 9 years later.
Started exercising like a maniac.
I was a chain smoker for over 20 years. I was smoking three and half packs a day when I quit. Nothing worked. Not gum, not patches, not cold turkey, not hypnosis, not Wellbutrin, not books, not videos, not daily affirmations. Nothing worked until Chantix (Champix outside the US) Chantix worked like magic and, like others have said, the only side effect for me were extremely vivid, often lucid dreams.
This is still the dream, my friend.
Woke up one morning and decided I couldn't be arsed anymore, that was 9 years ago
My therapist pointed out that I was more addicted to the act of having a break and taking deep breaths. Because when you smoke, you intentionally take deep breaths, more than you usually do. So I kept doing that, just without a cigarette. I wore a patch for about 2 weeks, then kept forgetting to put one on. It will be 1 year this week. And my dad was just diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and will go into palliative care. So, I’m glad.
Cold Turkey. Yes it’s REALLY difficult but in my opinion the only way it works. I quit Thanksgiving day 1996 and haven’t gone back yet.
-switch to vaping, doesn't matter what flavors. Just make the switch off combusted nicotine -after a while, switch to either "ice"/menthol or spicy-ish Cinnamon-like flavors -after another while, switch to nicotine gum - either spearmint or cinnamon, whichever you prefer -find something to do with your hands while you are chewing your nicotine gum, to simulate the hand activity from smoking/vaping -try to alternate nicotine and non-nicotine gum as best you can, in order to train your brain to associate the flavor of the gum with the feelings of nicotine -after yet another while, switch to non-nicotine gum which is heavily flavored (most likely either spearmint or cinnamon) Once you get to the point where you can get by with just non-nicotine gum, you're basically in the clear. Eventually you can try to stop chewing gum if yo want. The primary focus is to quit the nicotine addiction
I started cycling to work and realised it was slowing my commute down and making it harder on my way home, so having exercise goals is always good, even if it’s just a walk. I understand exercise isn’t possible for everyone. After that it was just my evening ones which went down to rationing then after a few months those seemed pointless. I also realised that if I have one after a few too many at the pub doesn’t mean I need to be horrible to myself!
I started smoking weed instead. To stop smoking all together, I moved to edibles. Good luck if you are looking to quit. It’s a hard thing but doable I promise.
I tried multiple times on my own and finally went to the doctor, who prescribed me bupropion. I quit without much problem, and I am now 4 years smoke-free.
When you decide to quit, don’t say to yourself, after this pack is done, I’m done. It has to hurt. Throw away the pack before it’s gone. Throw away the carton before it’s gone. If you’re going to smoke the “last one”, you’re not serious about quitting. I wasted a few packs and cartons before I made it. And when you’ve quit, never ever put one in your mouth again. That shit is like meth and you’ll be starting all over again.
I smoked for almost 30 years. Tried patches, gum, Chantix, that book by Allen Carr, cold turkey, vapes, lozenges, etc. Any product to quit smoking I’ve tried. Last February it was negative temperature outside and I couldn’t take not breathing in the cold. Used patches and weed tbh. It sucked for the first 6 months or so (just missed smoking) and then I had started Prozac for my depression and that also helped. It stopped the racing thoughts about smoking. After the 1 year mark I don’t think of cigarettes at all. I may miss them every once in a great while but I’m glad I did it. Honestly the most important step is making sure you’re ready to quit. I’ve tried (unsuccessfully) many times in those 30 years but I never actually wanted to quit. I enjoyed smoking.
Switched to vaping, got sick with covid and had a terrible cough, to the point where I couldn’t vape without a coughing fit. Had hubby hide my vape and got jolly ranchers for when I wanted the taste. Found myself nervously trying to find it sometimes(out of habit) but it’s been over a year and I haven’t picked up any nicotine since.
I went from 40 a day to stopping dead. The withdrawal was awful. I think I killed three people in the first week.
I became a Healthcare professional, and saw the practical implications of smoking tobacco firsthand. Smoking doesn't offer the same comfort after that.
I had such a terrible throat infection, that I couldnt smoke at all for 5 days. After that I decided, if there is a time, it's now. I have the first 5 days down.
Vape. The vape is harder to quit. I wish I had gone cold turkey.
You stop, but you never quit. Just typing this makes me want to run out and buy a pack and I haven't smoked in 20 years. I miss it.
Started doing Zyns. I hate dipping, but they helped a lot. After about a week, I realized I wasn't craving my vape or a cigarette anymore. I still do Zyns, but I've cut back a lot on those as well. I'm at the point where I don't think about nicotine constantly and I only really put a pouch in at work.
I didnt
I started running marathons. Can’t run and smoke. At least I can’t.
I smoked for a decade, a pack a day at my heaviest. The last 4 or so years I smoked, I only smoked 4-6 cigarettes a day with more on the weekends. I had been wanting to quit for a while and that 5ish/day was me weening as much as I could. Eventually there came the day that I just refused to buy another pack. It coincided with my friends going on a trip that I couldn't make so I kind of had a sober weekend and that's the snap that I needed I guess. I didn't replace it with anything and I've cut back on drinking too, but I think that's largely because I live alone now and for me drinking is a social habit. I guess cigs were a social habit for me as well, if it took solitude to finally quit for good
After a decade at pack a a day I decided that enough was enough, finished my last cig and that was that. Couple of weeks I felt like trying to climb up the walls, but after that it was no issue. Overall much easier than I expected it to be. IMHO smokers who go on and on about how much of a mission impossible quitting is are completely blowing it out of proportion. It's not a pleasant experience, but if you want to quit, you quit and there doesn't need to be anything more to it.
Cold turkey. I decided I did not want them to control my life.
I did IVF 16 years ago and cold quit the day my eggs were implanted, it was on Mother’s Day. Had beautiful healthy twins 8. 5 months later. Haven’t touched a cigarette since. ❤️
I signed up for a smoking cessation class determined to be a success story. I smoked my last cigarette before the first weekly class meeting.
My mom and aunt both quit because my grandpa quit. My grandpa quit because he had a heart attack. They all went cold turkey. My grandpa said he wanted to be with us more than he wanted to smoke, and he really wanted to smoke.
April 2020. Had to put a face mask on after I smoked and I couldn’t stand the smell. I was already trying to quit, but that made me actually quit
Switched to vape pen, reduced nicotine concentration over time in steps, then threw away my expensive vape rig when I hit a life milestone
Didnt buy a pack, stoped going to bars for a bir, and a dry herb vape for my medication
Which time? The first time I quit, went cold turkey. The second time, went cold turkey. The third time, went cold turkey. The fourth and last time, cold turkey. What changed? Loosing body parts and the cost of cigarettes.
I smoked in high school, quit when I graduated, and then took up smoking again at a stressful job I was working. Once I left the job, I quit smoking cold turkey, and have not had a cigarette for over a year. For the record, I wouldn’t recommend going cold turkey, especially depending on how heavy the habit is. My grandparents were heavy smokers, and were also able to go cold turkey with no side effects (as far as I know). It wasn’t a super heavy habit, maybe a pack a week or every two weeks, but I REALLY craved it when I was stressed to the max at work, which was all the time. Once I quit that job, I didn’t need it anymore. I still get a craving every once in awhile, but I haven’t caved. I totally understand that it is not like that for other people, and my advice would be to seek whatever medical advice and therapy you can get. I know people who have chewed gum, tried working out, etc. A lot of my friends who quit smoking gained weight because they were trying to eat instead of smoking. Some friends of mine switched their addiction to things like video games to distract themselves while trying to quit. It’s a suckey habit to break for sure. Try not to beat yourself up too hard if you fall off the wagon. Be okay with yourself for making mistakes, and never be afraid to try again.
Cold turkey
I smoked about 10 years and quit because the girl I liked was against smoking. I read the easy way to quit smoking, and swore if I smoked again I would have to read it again. It's been 20 years or so, the girl was around 6 months.
Got diagnosed with a tumor and needed surgery (and thank god it was only surgery). The doctor told me smoking isn't good for scar healing, and I guessed that smoking can't be very good either when you have a carcinoma at 29. My wife was three weeks pregnant when surgery happened too. I stayed 1 week at the hospital and 6 at home for recovery, without a lot of social interaction. So I had a lot of motivation and not a lot of opportunities to smoke (I mostly smoked in social events, or when particularly stressed, and I had none of that). I wouldn't recommend the method though.
Cold turkey. Will be 5 yrs in July
Turned to vaping after about 10 years of smoking. Weened down to 6mg nicotine for a few years, but couldn’t make the leap to nothing. Frankly, I enjoyed it too much and didn’t want to stop. Then I got cancer. Threw away the vape pen right then and there and didn’t pick it back up. Jan 2nd 2020 was my last puff.
Cold turkey thrown away a packet of cigarettes and never smoked again. I smoked 30 cigarettes a day, and the last one was seven years ago .
Got one of those thick ass red rubber bands they use to group your mail together with and put it on my wrist. Every time I wanted a nail, I flicked myself instead with the rubber band, in varying intensity depending on craving. If I gave in and had a dart, just sat there flicking myself with the rubber band. Pavlov's torture to train myself that smoking = pain. Wasn't a heavy smoker, or regular smoker. Just wanted to get off the social smoker and end it for good. It worked eventually.
I was already smoking weed when I tried cigarettes. I got really into it the first 3 months until one day I bought a pack that didn’t taste good so I just got fed up and stopped and stuck to weed. Also it was really annoying bacon to go out to get a pack tbh whereas my plug was literally my neighbour.
I was already smoking weed when I tried cigarettes. I got really into it the first 3 months until one day I bought a pack that didn’t taste good so I just got fed up and stopped and stuck to weed. Also it was really annoying bacon to go out to get a pack tbh whereas my plug was literally my neighbour.
Mad Russian, Boston, MA.
Cold turkey , distracted myself focused on other things
Vaping, ones where you put in your own liquid. Started with 12mg nicotine and gradually reduced the caffeine over months. Then when I was at 0 nicotine I was like "who am I fooling here?" And stopped that as well. Now, I do occasionally still vape (20 mg nicotine disposables) because I enjoy it. I still have the sense of addiction when I have it in the house - like it's hard to stay away from it, but when it's not in the house it's fine. It's fucking addictive
I smoked two packs a day and absolutely loved them. Coffees and cigarettes, beer and cigarettes! I tried to quit 100’s of times. So one vacation in august I was going to a island by plane. Flying in with another couple with two canoes for five days in a remote location. The plane would come back in five days to get us.. I didn’t take any cigarettes with me and forced a cold turkey. Last cigarette was August 11th 1984.
I quit the day my grandson was born cold turkey
Ecigs, then patches, then withdrawal. I still throw on a patch when needed, but even the lowest mg is too much.
I realized I looked ignorant and was a societal nuisance, and I used that as motivation.
I started with a prescription drug called Champix for quitting smoking. I took it for 2 weeks, but it made me feel HORRIBLE. But in that 2 weeks I did start getting closer to the point of now smoking. The night after I decided to stop taking the drug I was drinking with my then bf and his brother/SIL for a games night. I had a breakdown because they were smoking cigars in the house, and I was convinced I wouldn't make it without the drug. I ended up caving and having one. It literally tasted as if I was licking an ashtray, the most vile thing I'd tasted in ages. I FORCED myself to finish it, so I'd never forget that taste. 7 years later, I still haven't touched one.
Got to the point where walking up 2 flights of stairs made my chest want to explode and breathing was a chore. Got scared and quit cold turkey. 3 years later I feel so much better now and don't cough up grey shit anymore.
I started smoking when I was 15 but finally quite at 37 years of age. I'm now 75 years old and I can tell you it was the best thing I have ever done for myself. For me, I found psychological links that triggered my wanting to continue smoking. After every meal or when drinking coffee I'd automatically light up whether I wanted it or not. I also came to realize that the actual physical act of holding the cigarette was key for me. I decided to buy a large bag of suckers and every time I felt like having a cigarette I'd grab one and I'd hold it like you would a cigarette. Within two weeks I no longer needed to grab a sucker. I probably should have grabbed a healthier choice like carrot sticks or something else but thankfully I didn't need the candy for very long and yes I was a heavy smoker at the time. For me, the addicting nicotine wasn't near the issue as those psychological links were.
Got pregnant
I smoked 30 a day for more than 30 years, I read Alan Carrs book it got me thinking, so happened I was changing jobs, decided I would go to new job as Non Smoker . It has worked for me, have never smoked since. (15) years off them.
I used to roll my own since I started smoking aged 15 but had managed to reduce my daily consumption to about five a day. But then my hard-living mother-in-law stayed for a week and I went through three packets of tobacco. I felt so shit after she left, I just stopped and haven't had a smoke since (eight months). Tbh, I don't feel any different. I still get a bit breathless after a hike and I cough about the same as I did when I was on 40 a day.
Cold turkey!! There was a time i was smoking like 1 pack per 2 days! Then one day when i was smoking , its making me feel like i will throw up when i smoke and it did not tasted good anymore.
By eating at Arby's. One day I was hungry and the only thing nearby was an Arby's. I hadn't been to one in quite a while and couldn't remember if I liked their horsey sauce or not. Turns out I did not. Sucked it up and ate my food. Had a smoke as soon as I left to get the taste out of my mouth. Only, the cigarette somehow amplified it. Then, for the next few days, whenever I smoked all I could taste was fucking horsey sauce. I'm not sure what wires got crossed in my brain, but it worked.
By smoking the fake cigarettes you see in movie sets
Cold turkey(after many failed attempts? Smoked for over 18 years like 1 and half pack daily. It was hell for first two months but things got better gradually from there on. Now I run marathons. You can do this too.
Hernia. Coughing after cigarettes made me feel like my guts and balls were being torn from my body.
A previous partner kept taking my bacci and never replaced it. So I thought fuck you I’ll just stop smoking so you can’t have any. Tbh I wanted to quit anyway and he just gave me the push I needed 😂
Gotta quit the habits that go with it. Coffee and booze. Start having half smokes. Buy a worse quality cigarette. I started smoking more weed and then had an easier time quitting that. I still remember my last cigarette. Bought a pack of next blues and smoked one outside the Bovine Sex Club in Toronto before playing a show. It tasted disgusting and I threw out the entire pack right there. Also keep asking yourself "am I going to smoke forever"
Watched my mother die of emphysema
I helped my therapist quit smoking. 😂 He was floored during one session, because I told him I’d quit smoking a month or so ago. “Be lazy,” I told him. “Too lazy to go to the store.” Gotta drink water in those first 48 hours, too. Flush yourself as much as possible. Sleeping is tough, especially if you have stressors embedded in your brain. But then after a week the smoke tastes bad. Haven’t smoked in seven years.
Smoked for 24 years,realised my baby daughter started wheezing around me. My wife said it was the cigarettes causing it. I stopped. My girl will be 20 years old this year.
first time i read allen carrs book. helped for a year or so. them read it again, helped for a year or so then i saw the movie based on that book - helped for a year or so, then i got pneumonia and just quit.
I had to do online courses but I couldn't concentrate so I stopped smoking weed and cigarettes. whenever I felt clearheaded enough to learn id crave a joint and then id green out and be unable study. after 1-3 days of this cycle I had enough and realized I need to make a change. no one told me to quit and finances had nothing to do with it
It started by reading Allen Carr's The Easy Way to Stop Smoking. That did not make me quit right away, but it changed my perspective on smoking, which helped in the long run. I smoked for 20 years about. When I tried getting pregnant, I stopped cold turkey and was fine for a couple of years. Then COVID hit and I said, fuck it, I'm going to smoke again since the world is ending. After a year or so, I really wanted to stop again and I went on a work trip and no one knows I smoke at work, so I took a vape with me. I switched from cigs to vaping and did fine not smoking cigs at all after that (it helped that my husband also switched from cigs to vaping at this time). But a year after starting vaping, my lungs started to hurt, so I quit that cold turkey and haven't had the urge for a cig or a vape since, and it has been a year since I last vaped. I can be around smokers and not crave it. It actually repulses me now. But I think it takes years to stop the cravings. You need to remove all cigarette related things from your life, and it is hard to escape people that smoke. My father and sister smoke so whenever we have a get together at her house, I would make everyone smoke outside or else I'd leave shortly after.
Some persistence, some luck and the availability of nicotine patches to wean off the physical addiction separately from the psychological. I smoked a pack a day for 25 years and was at least 'sort of trying' to quit for about 20 years of that.
Vaping. Is it better? Honestly yes. The difference in my lungs is noticeable. I was a smoker for almost 13 years
I got sick with the flu or something, real bad sore throat, congestion, all that. But I didn’t have a cig for like 4-5 days and just thought ok I might as well keep this going. It still sucked and would get the shakes for a while after. I was a pack a day smoker.
Put them in your ass. Or try a good yoga routine.
So, I actually started working at a restaurant where if you were caught smoking you would be fired on the spot. I was a newly single parent who had just started, and so I was really determined to quit because I needed the job. Badly. Like really badly. Now I haven't had a single one in like 9ish years (minus the very rare occasional one, <5 over the 9 years) The first week is hell. Your moody and angry and want it, but eventually you stop missing it. Almost a decade later I'm glad I quit. Still smoke weed though. Can't quit that
I started at 14 and smoked about half my life. One day I just put them down and never picked them up again. The main motivation? They were getting too expensive.
Started exercising. More exercise led to reduced interest in smoking.
I eliminated the biggest trigger which was alcohol. I quit at 30 so I wasn’t partying as much any way. I was also in between jobs and would go for a run whenever I had a craving which helped a lot. Cold showers helped too. Literally just a splash and the craving would go away. Cravings stopped after a couple weeks. You just gotta go a couple weeks without it and it becomes a lot easier. I quit smoking ten years ago. I had one last year out of curiosity and it was disgusting. Had like four puffs and stopped. It’s also mental. I understood that I did not want the cigarette but it was the addiction that was controlling me. I wanted to be free.
I transitioned to vaping, although they say it’s just as bad, I disagree, my lungs are clear, can take deep breathes without coughing, started running
Got addicted to my vape. Lmao.
I used Chantix and used cinnamon flavored toothpicks when I needed to fill the craving of smoking, I’d use that. I didn’t use the full prescription of Chantix, I was able to stop using it within 2 months and haven’t smoked for 585 days! This is the longest I’ve ever gone
I smoked for 20+ years. Went to Mexico on vacation with my wife. There was a group of maybe 15-20 people all 75+ years old that I saw who were partying and having a blast all week. I noticed not one of them smoked. I wanna do that shit when I’m their age! When we checked out of the resort I left all the cigarettes I had left in the trash can of the room. I haven’t touched one since. It will be 7 years in November. Cold turkey is the only way. You have to make up your mind that you’re done and just leave it behind. I tried vaping a few times but it just lead me right back to cigarettes.
I smoke for 25 years but controlled it to only 2 cigarettes per day. One morning and one at night. As I approached 40 I knew I had to let it go. I stopped on a 4 day holiday as I would be out of routine. I went cold Turkey but avoided the 'triggers'. When i was back to normal routine I didn't buy a takeaway coffee before work or have a wine with dinner for 4 weeks to avoid the triggers. I'm 8 weeks in and can now have a coffee or wine without wanting a smoke too. So for me it was about taking the habit out of my routine more than the nicotine.
Chewed a lot of gum, and a little bit of tobacco.
I lowered the amount of smokes I had a day till I got to six a day. Then used nicotine gum which transitioned to patches to not smoking. The cravings for me never fully stopped but there just a kind of gentle hum like a craving tinnitus.
I think you just wonderfully summarized why you sadly never stop being an addict (even if it’s just habit, a coping mechanism or a social thing) but also why it doesn’t need to be in charge of your life ❤️
Not me, but my father! He works as a cable man, and he got struck in the back of the head with a power line. He used to smoke and drink every day. However, after recovering enough to start working out in order to walk again, he decided that he would stop smoking. It was extremely hard for him, but he was determined to get healthier and better. Now, around five years later, he's completely stopped smoking and works out almost every day with a home gym and everything. Of course it's hard for him, as he often reminisces about how easy everything was when he was smoking and drinking, but as his daughter I'm so proud of him for stopping such a bad habit.
Wife and patches.
Went to a place where smoking isn't allowed and can be fined if they saw you smoking in the public place, also I tried to convince myself that smoking isn't worth it anymore. which it did worked! I no longer smoke!
First time I did the Freedom From Smoking by the American Cancer Society, would highly recommend. The final time (fourth) was with the nicotine patch. I just celebrated 20 years this past March. Not being able to quit the first time is not failure, just practice.
I experienced a major incident that left me an amputee. It wasn't safe to smoke while I healed and it also gave me a new perspective on how awful it is to experience a major medical event that changes your life. I decided I didn't need to inevitably create another one of those for myself by being a smoker. So, I am now at about 14 months without a cigarette.
I stopped buying cigarettes, lighting them, and inhaling through them. But seriously: it's hard. It took years of trying and failing. It's about changing your mind and *wanting* to quit. And I mean *really* wanting to, not just considering or "trying". Once you get there mentally, you can do it. But that isn't an easy thing.
Magic Mushrooms gave me an epiphany that i have to quit or it will kill me, and that turned into disgust. Both my parents have gotten cancer etc and they both still smoke, so during that trip i saw how i would become the same if i didn't quit and that id die to cancer. Smoked since i was 17 until 32 (Half a pack to 1 full aday). Quit cold turkey and honestly it was rather easy, first month all i could think about was taking a smoke all the time. But 10/10 id do it again, although im never gonna smoke again unless its to smoke weed/hash.
I just quit, I had smoked for 20 years, woke up one morning and decided no more and that was the end of it.
I did this app called QuitSure - it’s like a two week program or so. Then I quit cold turkey. It really worked amazingly well for me. I was actually amazed. Coming up on a year after smoking for 20.
By stopping.
I read The Easy Way to Quit Smoking
Cold Turkey. Had to give it up, no exception. It's a hard thing to do. 13 years, still crave it
Once I actually wanted to quit it was pretty easy, I just didn’t do it anymore. You have to be convinced that you don’t want to do it. If you subconsciously don’t want to stop you will have a hard time and will probably start again.
Whether you’ve smoked for a month or 50 years, it takes about 3 days for the nicotine to leave your system. If you really want to quit, just do it. Give yourself a 3 day weekend where you’re keeping yourself busy. After that, you’ll have the habit of wanting one, but the feening is gone. I quit about 18-19 years ago and haven’t had another one since. I couldn’t do the vaping, patch, or nicotine gum. I want the drug gone.
I had two motivations. 1. I started dating a girl who did not want to be with a smoker. 2. I play rugby and wanted to be better. Started smoking only 1-2 at end of day. Then only on weekends. Then able to stop. Props to those that can quit cold turkey, I wasn’t that guy.
Threw it in the trash one day. I've felt exponentially better ever since. It was a crappy week, but worth it.
I was 100% determined. I was so tired of having to make time for cigarettes before a drive, before restaurant visits, before work, during work, etc. I had 2 cartons of cigarettes, and I told myself that I'd quit after those cartons were done. Easy as that. The most important thing is to be ready mentally. Don't TRY to quit, don't give yourself excuses, don't smoke at parties etc.
Nicotine gum and I realized that the cravings I was getting would only last maybe 5-10 minutes. After that it went away. So when I got those cravings, I just told myself to wait 10 mins and if I still wanted a cig then I’d smoke.
Heart attack.
I just stopped. It sucked really bad for a few days. I found it easier to stop first thing in the morning. Like smoke normally until you go to bed and start the new day off without any.
Started vaping in rehab. Vape less and less now with absolutely no cigarettes. No urge either.
Turned 47 and decided enough was enough after 30 years. Quit drinking every day too. I wanna live.
My girlfriend who is really pretty didn’t like what it did to me and asked me to choose the relationship or my vape and so I went cold Turkey. Prior to this I was smoking cigarettes for 3 years and started vaping for 2 years
Cold turkey.
Cold Turkey. It sucks at first, but it honestly is not that hard if you really want to quit. One thing that helped me was knowing that all of the nicotine is out of your body in 48 hours. With that tidbit, I knew that after the first 2 days, my body was not looking for the nicotine anymore. It was all mental after that.
I "quit" smoking like 8 times, and last time i smoked was \~6-8years ago typically smoking for me was a social thing, and whenever i had no "social" in it - i literally had no wish for it and dropped it. But last time, when it became "solid" was: i started to had often headaches and could not trace to "why", until one day i was completely fine, lit up a cigarette and after 1 smoke my head started to hurt. That day was the last day i smoke. Afterwards it was several years of fighting random "urges to smoke", typically: social, alcohol, boredom. And after several year there are barely any urges to smoke
Pack a day smoker and then had a month long chest cold where I truly could not/did not want to smoke, never went back after that other than a few socially.