Lay a pack on coffee table, then quit them, that's how I did it,
Any Advice on Quitting Cigarettes?
- Thread starter wernerat
- Start date
I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but I found nasal snuff to really deliver a good nicotine fix. That immediate effect like a cigarette rather than a slow steady nic delivery like from a pipe. When I got to the point where I needed a cigarette, I'd throw a pinch in and that really did the trick.
I never smoked cigarettes or chewed. I love cigars and now smoke about one bowl on my pipe per day. I just wanted to say that I really feel for y'all who are dealing with this. A friend of mine said his doctor once told him that cigarettes could be more addictive than heroine in some cases. I found that hard to believe, but guess it is true.
Hang in there and best of luck to all of you in your efforts.
Hang in there and best of luck to all of you in your efforts.
I substituted cigarettes for vape. I wouldn’t really call that quiting, but it’s at least cheaper. One day I hope to drop the vape all together and just smoke a pipe.
With its availability and it's social acceptance, it makes it harder. While I'm in no position to compare cigarette addiction to opoids (and I surely won't), caving in and getting a cigarette is as hard as bumming one from someone with a cigarette you see walking down the street or as hard as walking into any gas station or kwiki mart and handing over legal tender. That availability makes it harder to quit. I can spend weeks at home and not miss it. But then I go out somewhere and there's guys hanging around front smoking and those cravings hits like a brick wrapped in barbed wire.
In Britain they recommend vaping to quit smoking. Studies showed it is way less harming. Naturally no nicotin or at least nothing going into your lung is the best. But vaping is still much better then the coffin nails.
To be fair I enjoyed my time as a smoker. It sounds stupid but it was part of my life. Life now changes as newly father and I rather live longer then shorter.
Again still got a way to go. I consider a pipe a day as one glass of wine. You do it for pleasure and not for the addiction.
I started smoking cigarettes at 15 and smoked them until I was 35. Doctor told me I had asthma and walking pneumonia and would never see my kids graduate high school if I didn't stop.
I went home, smoked my last cigarette and never smoked one again. Started smoking the pipe (again) at 36 and have been with a pipe for the last 38 years. I do not and never have inhaled my pipe.
Cigarette smoking is about two things. First it is habitual behavior. Your hands like cigarettes and get used to them. To help quitting, find something else to do with your hands. I started a p/t time job as a technical writer. It was easy, as I was an engineer. The keyboard kept my hands busy and the old floppy disks did not get along with tobacco smoke very well. Second is the drug aspect. You (and I) are addicted to nicotine. It has changed your brain and will hurt you if you take it away. There are a lot of ways, many of them noted above, to maintain your nicotine level. Patches and gum seem to be the most prevalent. The post above about cigs delivering a spike of nicotine, while the pipe is more slow and steady is right on. Do not expect to pick up a pipe and get that nic hit in 30 seconds. I would suggest that you get a box of patches and wear them as you transition off of cigs and onto pipes. Do not make the mistake of smoking the highest nicotine rated pipe tobacco; you will just get sick to your stomach. Finally, remind yourself every day why you are quitting. Eventually, your brain will belive you and stop pestering your for a cigarette. Best of Luck!
(NOTE: Despite my alias, I am not a medical doctor. Any advice I give should not be considered as medical advice from a doctor. I do have a PhD in project management, so I am a doctor, but not a medical doctor.)
I went home, smoked my last cigarette and never smoked one again. Started smoking the pipe (again) at 36 and have been with a pipe for the last 38 years. I do not and never have inhaled my pipe.
Cigarette smoking is about two things. First it is habitual behavior. Your hands like cigarettes and get used to them. To help quitting, find something else to do with your hands. I started a p/t time job as a technical writer. It was easy, as I was an engineer. The keyboard kept my hands busy and the old floppy disks did not get along with tobacco smoke very well. Second is the drug aspect. You (and I) are addicted to nicotine. It has changed your brain and will hurt you if you take it away. There are a lot of ways, many of them noted above, to maintain your nicotine level. Patches and gum seem to be the most prevalent. The post above about cigs delivering a spike of nicotine, while the pipe is more slow and steady is right on. Do not expect to pick up a pipe and get that nic hit in 30 seconds. I would suggest that you get a box of patches and wear them as you transition off of cigs and onto pipes. Do not make the mistake of smoking the highest nicotine rated pipe tobacco; you will just get sick to your stomach. Finally, remind yourself every day why you are quitting. Eventually, your brain will belive you and stop pestering your for a cigarette. Best of Luck!
(NOTE: Despite my alias, I am not a medical doctor. Any advice I give should not be considered as medical advice from a doctor. I do have a PhD in project management, so I am a doctor, but not a medical doctor.)
Update to my response post from a year ago on May 6.
I had been wanting to quit the cigs.
This past Feb I got really sick with an upper respatory cold. My lungs were filled with congestion and I tore a inter-coastal muscle, they are the muscles between your ribs. It feels just like a broken rib.
So there I was with lungs filled with conjestion, but I cannot cough due to the intense pain. It was the perfect time to quit. I haven't had a cig since Feb 1st, and have no interest in going back. It was a 40 year battle, and I won... finally
I had been wanting to quit the cigs.
This past Feb I got really sick with an upper respatory cold. My lungs were filled with congestion and I tore a inter-coastal muscle, they are the muscles between your ribs. It feels just like a broken rib.
So there I was with lungs filled with conjestion, but I cannot cough due to the intense pain. It was the perfect time to quit. I haven't had a cig since Feb 1st, and have no interest in going back. It was a 40 year battle, and I won... finally
When I quit, I first broke the oral fixation and the nicotine fix by chewing nicotine gum and smoking herbal cigarettes. Training my mind and body to realize the nicotine fix didn't come from smoking (herbal cigarettes tasted terrible) was very helpful.
Once I was confident enough, I dropped the herbal cigs and bought a bunch of licorice root and slowly weaned off the nicotine gum over the course of a few months. I would cut them down to 3" and whittle the bark off and hold them like a cigarette in my mouth, eventually chewing them.
The licorice root stuck with me for almost a year, and I weaned off of that, too....always had to be careful not to poison myself (you can do that with licorice root).....though starting pipe smoking helped greatly....
Good luck!
Once I was confident enough, I dropped the herbal cigs and bought a bunch of licorice root and slowly weaned off the nicotine gum over the course of a few months. I would cut them down to 3" and whittle the bark off and hold them like a cigarette in my mouth, eventually chewing them.
The licorice root stuck with me for almost a year, and I weaned off of that, too....always had to be careful not to poison myself (you can do that with licorice root).....though starting pipe smoking helped greatly....
Good luck!
"Almost 50 years ago I walked away from a two pack a day habit. Cold turkey. Don't complicate with different ways of quitting, it only makes it more difficult. Easily said but just do it.
As far as professions go, the people whom I see smoking the most here are either long distance truck drivers or Taxi cab drivers