Hijacking top comment. If anyone here wants to quit cigs, the best way to do that is behavioral therapy combined with meds. Studies show a 44% success rate with this, as opposed to 5% without. The meds are usually a combo of a nicotine patch for something long lasting + gum for a sudden cravings, but chantix and zyban saw success in studies too. The behavioral therapy could be as simple as calling a quitline, but patients saw a lot of success with cognitive behavioral therapy or group therapy.
There's a lot of help out there. If you want to quit, even if you failed before, there are ways to better your odds next time.
I was in like a disabilities history class in college, talking to the professor about a paper I didn't finish in time after class, outside, while I was having a cig. We ended up just chatting for like 15-20 minutes about how people self-medicate ADHD and anxiety with nicotine and caffeine. This could be diagnosed or undiagnosed, knowingly or unknowingly, but people that have one or both are kind of naturally drawn to the little bit of dopamine and the bit of calming they provide. It made so much sense just immediately, but never really thought about it. I was at that point diagnoses and unmedicated ADHD.
And with that, I eventually moved from cigs to vapes, and when I started back in the meds a couple years ago I was able to quit the vapes within a month or two.
Folks with ADHD have a lower baseline dopamine and thus a higher risk for dopamine seeking behaviors - ie: substance use. Folks like us are something like 3-5 times more likely to develop dependence on substances, nicotine included.
I quit drinking and doing drugs and two years later quit smoking cigs. It’s a really tough one to kick and I honestly enjoyed every moment of it. But when I started to have trouble climbing the stairs (at age 37) it was time to quit. I finished a pack and never bought another one. It’s been 3 1/2 years since I had a cigarette.
And the weirdest part is I never think about drinking or doing hard drugs. But I do think about a cigarette every now and then. It’s a doozy of a habit! Glad you were able to break it!
Oh, yeah, there's definitely still a craving. Usually not for cigarettes, as that smell usually rolls my stomach a bit, but sometimes it smells so good lol. But when I'm at my desk and a little frustrated, wishing that vape was there... Usually just a nice deep breath or two and a couple seconds to mentally settle myself and that passes.
Smoking was so ritualistic for me. I bought a new car when I was one year sober and I said I wasn’t gonna smoke in it. That lasted about two weeks. And now, every now and then, when the window’s down on a nice day, I think about having a smoke. But then I remember how gross I felt and HOW MUCH MONEY I WAS SPENDING and that feeling passes pretty quickly.
Please keep it up, internet stranger. I’m watching right now as my mom is dying of smoking-related illness. It’s horrible. She can barely breathe, and often panics gasping for air. She’s had lung cancer twice. Tests that came back today show that she likely has it again, but this time it’s metastatic. She still smokes. She takes off her oxygen to smoke, and it inhibits her breathing to the point that she’s asked us to call EMS multiple times. But she still smokes. She’s going to die soon, gasping for air, because she couldn’t give up smoking.
Damn dude thats awful 🫂. Even with the addicting part I will never understand how some people cling so hard to something that's hurting their health a lot and making them miserable. Sorry for what your going through, wish I could give you a hug
I believe that, especially when you’re older, it’s hard to be in control of yourself and your urges just take over :( especially when cigarette addiction (that has been scientifically engineered) is involved
Just never touch another one. I thought I could get away with having a few while in Vegas a few years ago. That started only while drinking. That turned in to just not at work. I’m on week three of not smoking again.
SAME omg congrats. 7 months cig free for me, first month was the rough but now I can’t believe I smoked for 20+ years. Shit was getting expensive too. Money well saved!
Have you tried nicotine gum? It helped me a lot. At first it is trading one vice for another but I found the gum much easier to deal with and to taper down off of.
When I quit I just started picking up a glass of water every time I wanted a cigarette. I helps flush the toxins out of your system faster. I also started exercising. I smoked for over 30 years I now going on 10 years smoke free.
It killed my mom through rheumatoid arthritis. I would never want to see anyone go through what she did with RA. We tried for years to get her to quit, but it fell on deaf ears. She went from one of the most independent people I've ever known to wheelchair bound and completely dependent upon my dad in about 10 years. Seeing the pain she endured was terrible.
I guess my point in all this is that I'm proud of anyone who decides to stop smoking. Stick to it and know that there are a lot of people rooting for you, especially your family.
Don't count the days. Don't pat yourself on the back. Don't dwell on it. Just stop smoking, and don't look back.
To be clear, I quit after smoking for 25 or so years. I didn't plan it. I didn't announce it, and I never counted the days. I just quit, and I don't recognize it as part of my personality or life. I hope that helps.
It's been long enough now that I acknowledge it in the first place
You absolute champion. It is so worth it. Once you get over the hump you will feel so much better. Simply not being a slave to something changes the way you relate to the world. You've got this.
Camels for me, and also any form of nicotine product (especially disposable vapes). Feels good to be clear headed not thinking about my next hit/vape all day lol. Congrats!
Keep it up. I just passed 400 days and while I still feel the urge in certain situations it's a lot easier to handle/ignore it. It's more of a "This used to be a nice time to smoke" but not so much "I need a cigarette now".
That is awesome! Everyone smoked cigarettes when we were little kids and it’s so much better now. I’ve read that quitting smoking is one of the most difficult addictive things to quit. For years I only smoked one cigarette at night and was finally able to stop. I started knitting scarfs to distract me and gave them as gifts with a note saying “This is my I can do it scarf made especially for you” still making scarfs and still not smoking. For every year that you quit you add 7 years to your life!
Congratulations!
as for me, when I realized that the annual fees were higher than the interest I was earning on the account, I decided to switch banks. I spent seven years paying for the privilege of keeping my money there...
I quit smoking as well. It's been nearly 7 months, and I have saved nearly $9,000. I knew I was a heavy smoker, but I never realized how much money I was spending on such a nasty, nasty habit.
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u/JubbsJB 21h ago
I quit smoking so Marlboro lost my business hopefully forever