Every time this thread pops up, I kind of feel compelled to give a status report.
100+ days (Approx 108-109) since I smoked my last cigarette.
100+ days (Approx 108-109) since I smoked my last cigarette.
Any Advice on Quitting Cigarettes?
- Thread starter wernerat
- Start date
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Keep it up, my man.
I realized last night that it has been just over one year since my last cigarette (10.16.23).
My grandfather was 6 when his father allowed him to smoke the “long green” they raised on the farm. When he was eighteen he attended college at Weaubleau Christian College and graduated with a bookkeeping and mechanical engineering degree in 1901.
He went to the Pacific Northwest where they made him the superintendent of a big logging works, and in three years he’d made enough in gold money to buy 2,000 acres of river bottom land near his parent’s place and never sweated in the sun again, until he died at age 92 in 1972 from sepsis from an ingrown toenail.
His second wife, my grandmother, 17 years younger, lit his last Camel, then he went to sleep when he’d finished it.
He was a heavy cigarette smoker, plus pipes, cigars, hand rolls, nasal snuff, dip snuff, plug, leaf, twist,,,he constantly used tobacco for 86 years.
He always claimed he didn’t inhale.
Tobacco can kill you. It’s a bad habit. You ought not do it.
There’s just the lucky few like my grandfather to give us other addicts hope.
He went to the Pacific Northwest where they made him the superintendent of a big logging works, and in three years he’d made enough in gold money to buy 2,000 acres of river bottom land near his parent’s place and never sweated in the sun again, until he died at age 92 in 1972 from sepsis from an ingrown toenail.
His second wife, my grandmother, 17 years younger, lit his last Camel, then he went to sleep when he’d finished it.
He was a heavy cigarette smoker, plus pipes, cigars, hand rolls, nasal snuff, dip snuff, plug, leaf, twist,,,he constantly used tobacco for 86 years.
He always claimed he didn’t inhale.
Tobacco can kill you. It’s a bad habit. You ought not do it.
There’s just the lucky few like my grandfather to give us other addicts hope.
126 days for me! But I've filled the gap with contstant dipping. And when I'm not dipping, I'm smoking my pipe! Anything to get away from the cigarettes.
I did not fill with anything. Just 1 extra cigar or pipe. It was hard, but becoming easier.126 days for me! But I've filled the gap with contstant dipping. And when I'm not dipping, I'm smoking my pipe! Anything to get away from the cigarettes.
Years ago I hauled tobacco for RJR and PM. Mostly to NC and Richmond. One load in particular had boxes on it with a biohazard suit warning to use. I remember asking the gentleman at the dock about and he said he would never buy a pre rolled cigarette for that reason, it isn't tobacco anymore. It's something else. Funny years of cigs, and on and off cigar and pipe smoking, I have never craved a pipe or a cigar as I have a cigarette. A battle that never ends it seems.
I recommend Zyn. Find a flavor you like in 6mgs. Helped me quit 2 years ago. It also helps with taking a break from the pipe, anything nicotine really. They are satisfying and since the only thing in them is nicotine and flavoring, it is not carenogenic. I do not recommend vaping. You can also try snuff, although it takes some getting used to. It's one of the healthiest forms of tobacco next to the pipe and cigars.
Only way to quit cig is to truly wanting to quit. If there is any reason you don't want to quit, it won't work. I love tobacco too much to give it up. Really can't think of any reason to quit. My neurologist has been dogging me about it. Something about nicotine constricting the blood vessels in my brain, and increasing chance of stroke. There are already malformed blood vessels in one side of my brain. And apparently, I had one big stroke that I didn't know about. Result was occasional speech problem. But most of the time I speak fine. I don't see how that's caused by smoking. Study shows blood vessels in brain and how nicotine affects them are inconclusive. The want me to "try". I know I don't want to. Oh well. We all have to go one way or the other. I rather go happy.
G
Gimlet
Guest
I agree with that. I quit the cigs after coming to both hate and fear them. I wanted them gone. Which is very different from just knowing you ought to quit. I read Allen Carr's Easy Way top Stop Smoking Book, smoked right to the end of the book, as he advised, then washed up the ashtray, threw the rest of my rolling baccy in the bin and never smoked another cigarette again and never missed them of thought about it.
I chose to take up a pipe 17 years later, but only for the soothing and contemplative pleasure of smoking a pipe, not because I in any way missed nicotine. It was more a lifestyle decision.
I don't think I could have used the pipe to get me off cigarettes. I'd just have smoked the pipe as though it was a cigarette.
Once, during one of my abortive attempts to quit cigarettes I decided I'd just smoke the odd cigar when I was having a drink. That rapidly turned into a eight pints after work habit just to get at the cigars. So that didn't work.
I needed to break the cigarette addiction before I could come to really appreciate what a pipe is all about. Yes, pipe smoking is addictive, but having experienced both, it is at a very proposition to cigarettes. Pipe tobacco is a different beast and pipe smoking a different experience.
My Dad had a routine chest X-ray at 40 and they found something on his lung. He smoked 3 /12 cigarettes a day since he was 18 (now 40). Before he found out the diagnosis he quit. It turned it out to be scar tissue from pneumonia as a child. This was his reality check. He always kept a pack of cigarettes in his coat pocket just in case. He never resorted. He never smoked anything again, in fact he was concerned I smoked a pipe. He lived to 97. Did not smocking avowed him to live this long? I think so.
Here is how my father quit.
Back in the late 60s maybe 70s he smoked almost 3 packs a day. He would have a cig on one hand trying to light a cig in the other. Everyone smoked. I remember my aunt had a bic lighter in a pouch with two small metal prongs that twisted together and place for her cigs. We had a melamine ash tray, the kind with slots down the middle for cigs and single large slot for a cigar. They would both be smoking. They filled up that ash tray so much it caught fire. I always knew it was time to wake up when I smelled the first cig of the day. My father would come downstairs and toss the match box and Marlboro red hard pack on the breakfast table and ask my mother what's for breakfast. I'll never for get that sound. Anyway ... memories.
Back when cigs went from I think a quarter to 50 cents to a buck here in CT maybe late 80s ish if I recall he stopped smoking. He stopped one cig less or so every other day ish. He would count out cigs and reduce by one each time. Some days he didn't reduce but most times he did. Finally got down to one a day. Then none. Took about 6 or 8 months. Hard part was when it was down to like 8 or so. Took a bit longer.
Anyway...I enjoyed remembering those days. Thanks for making me think of them. My father is no longer here.
Back in the late 60s maybe 70s he smoked almost 3 packs a day. He would have a cig on one hand trying to light a cig in the other. Everyone smoked. I remember my aunt had a bic lighter in a pouch with two small metal prongs that twisted together and place for her cigs. We had a melamine ash tray, the kind with slots down the middle for cigs and single large slot for a cigar. They would both be smoking. They filled up that ash tray so much it caught fire. I always knew it was time to wake up when I smelled the first cig of the day. My father would come downstairs and toss the match box and Marlboro red hard pack on the breakfast table and ask my mother what's for breakfast. I'll never for get that sound. Anyway ... memories.
Back when cigs went from I think a quarter to 50 cents to a buck here in CT maybe late 80s ish if I recall he stopped smoking. He stopped one cig less or so every other day ish. He would count out cigs and reduce by one each time. Some days he didn't reduce but most times he did. Finally got down to one a day. Then none. Took about 6 or 8 months. Hard part was when it was down to like 8 or so. Took a bit longer.
Anyway...I enjoyed remembering those days. Thanks for making me think of them. My father is no longer here.
I quit cigarettes back on the 1 January 2000. The main thing is it has to be something YOU want to do; any other reason and you‘ll fail or come up with an excuse to start again. You need 3 months and then the cravings will stop. I say cravings but it’s not just the nicotine, it’s the whole ritual of smoking. I went from 1-2 packs a day or an ounce of hand rolling tobacco to zero, but I planned the day I would quit and had nicotine gum to hand. I’ve had the occasional pipe or cigar since I quit but have never wanted another cigarette.
Personally, I wouldn’t just switch from cigarettes to pipe. You risk doing yourself more harm because you’ll be lighting up pipes throughout the day and then the inhaling starts. I’ve seen it happen to friends of mine in the past. One switched to cigars and ended up smoking a pack a day of those but he inhaled like with cigarettes. If you seriously want to quit you need to kick all nicotine habits. Only when you’ve been clear for several months or years would I suggest a pipe. Then you can enjoy it for what it is, of tasting the tobacco and savouring the smoke in your mouth rather than as a nicotine delivery system straight to your lungs. It’s DANGEROUS in that even now I sneak the occasional inhale. I try not to do it more than once per pipe because I know it could easily develop into a habit, but I’m very conscious of it. I also limit my pipe smoking to outdoors an once a day, but I give myself 30-40 minutes smoking time.
At the end of the day though, only you can decide your approach. Do you want to be a non-smoker who enjoys a pipe or just exchange one nicotine delivery system for another? If you choose the latter you need to make a huge conscious effort to avoid inhaling. If you smoke a pipe properly it’s a thing of joy and meditation not just a way of getting a nicotine fix every 10 minutes. You will get your nicotine, just in a different way and I look forward now to the buzz it gives me rather than constantly chasing it. Good luck
Personally, I wouldn’t just switch from cigarettes to pipe. You risk doing yourself more harm because you’ll be lighting up pipes throughout the day and then the inhaling starts. I’ve seen it happen to friends of mine in the past. One switched to cigars and ended up smoking a pack a day of those but he inhaled like with cigarettes. If you seriously want to quit you need to kick all nicotine habits. Only when you’ve been clear for several months or years would I suggest a pipe. Then you can enjoy it for what it is, of tasting the tobacco and savouring the smoke in your mouth rather than as a nicotine delivery system straight to your lungs. It’s DANGEROUS in that even now I sneak the occasional inhale. I try not to do it more than once per pipe because I know it could easily develop into a habit, but I’m very conscious of it. I also limit my pipe smoking to outdoors an once a day, but I give myself 30-40 minutes smoking time.
At the end of the day though, only you can decide your approach. Do you want to be a non-smoker who enjoys a pipe or just exchange one nicotine delivery system for another? If you choose the latter you need to make a huge conscious effort to avoid inhaling. If you smoke a pipe properly it’s a thing of joy and meditation not just a way of getting a nicotine fix every 10 minutes. You will get your nicotine, just in a different way and I look forward now to the buzz it gives me rather than constantly chasing it. Good luck
Mints, Zyn, On, Snuff for a few days then switch over but keep the mints and substitute’s handy for awhile.
I've tried various forms of smoking over the years, including cigarettes and pipe tobacco, much like you're discussing. While I can appreciate the ritual and flavor complexity of pipe smoking, I've found myself
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Do what You need to do and don't get angry if You have an odd tab. I tried cigarettes and just couldn't get in with em. Probs summit to do with me lobster hands!! Just preferred the taste and feeling of smoking me pipe. Suppose am lucky.
Just do what Ye need to do. Very best wishes
Just do what Ye need to do. Very best wishes
