Any Recommendations for a Struggling Ciggy Smoker?

[F4RM3R]

Congrats on the 8 months - you’re where I hope to be!
I’ll try it tomorrow and report back. I get what you mean with the morning cig. Sometimes I just don’t have one and am fine until around 13:00 so there’s hope with a pipe I can push it back further.
I think a big issue for me is having to smoke outside. I live in the north of England where the standard is wet and grey, so just nipping out for a cig is much more appealing quite often. Hoping I can make use of this warmer weather to cut back to the pipe though!

Well yes make use of the nice weather to get in the pipe habit! And as some other members have said , grab a high octane blend which you can try for quick 10 min smokes and see if that works. Also if inhaling a couple times with a pipe bowl can help you get your fix better, then maybe try that sometimes. It's better than inhaling the 20+ times as you would with a cigarette.

 

[Gecko]

This is my thinking. I haven’t tried it before though. Had some success with e-cigs. Whilst not ideal they might be my go to - quite easy for me to change the N content there.

Swedish style snus is the business for quitting cigarettes in my opinion, they remove the need for cigarettes by giving you plenty of nicotine and can be doubled up when you need even more of lady N. No risk of damage to the lungs and you can use them while working or even when sleeping if you are hard core
The only thing is that a few years later you'll have a 20 to 40 pouches a day habit to quit...

 

[TinCup]

I made the same move 354 days 16 hours ago, it’s a 9 step process

1. Take up golf
2. Use a nic patch daily for two weeks to quit the cigs
3. Get a Nespresso coffee machine (any one will do) and 100 capsules
4. No pipe in those two weeks, have as much coffee as you like... buy more coffee capsules
5. Quit the patch and reward yourself with a bowl of tobacco with a couple more coffees
6. Smoke pipe daily & in public where possible (you’ll find that a small crowd will gather to watch you acquire new skills like pointing, musing and surmising with the stem like it came straight from Ollivanders)
7. Frown when you smell the smoke from a cigarette smoker and check your ‘quit smoking’ app to see how many days since that was you
8. Get a nice cigar (or three) for when you’re playing golf
9. Spend your spare time buying pipes, pipe tobacco, pipe accessories, cleaning pipes, sourcing pipe tobacco and going off your nut because someone has moved one of your pipes!

I think what I’m saying is it’ll be a different process for everyone and when it’s the right time for you to kick the cigs it will be easier than every attempt you’ve made so far, good luck

 

[Jaylotw]

I quit the cigs in March. Old joe Krantz and 5Brothers helped.

 

[Crawley1066]

Quit for a while. If you quit any tobacco intake mode for 6 months and then start another, you will not crave the first choice at all. You will be hooked on the second.

It's likely that even a day or two without tobacco before piping would reset your cravings to the pipe quite a bit.
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Old Joe Krantz is very strong in flavour and nicotine, that would be my suggestion.

FWIW I quit cigarettes immediately in 2014 when I found Swedish Snus. Never had another craving again on that stuff. These days you can get pouches that contain nicotine without tobacco in all sorts of flavours, so I use those whenever I know I can't smoke for an extended period of time.

I was in Stockholm in February. Found sanctuary from the -10C cold in a tobacconists in the old town and after reading the comments here I'm kicking myself for not picking some up.

Closest I've ever tried is the nicotine gum on a 19 hour Japan flight (note to self, don't only spend £400 on a return ticket halfway across the globe!). Made me feel quite ill so Snus might be a good alternative to try perhaps. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Crawley1066]

As you live in England I would suggest Gawith Hoggarths Dark Flake.Its very strong in nicotine and perfect for a ten minute nic hit and easily available in 10g samples

Dark flake's been recommended to me before. I have the 1794 but haven't get given it a try. I'll take a look - thank you!

 

[Crawley1066]

I successfully made the transition from cigs cold turkey (more like hot pipe). Couldn't be happier with that decision. Key lessons learned:
1 - smoking a pipe will never deliver the same strength nic hit as cigs, it's just totally different, so it doesn't help all that much with withdrawal at the beginning. I tried everything, and 7gr Dryft pouches worked best for me when withdrawal would get bad. Nicotine dependence recedes with time, and now I use them only when I can't smoke my pipe all day.
2. Blends with high nic are nice, but it's more important to find something you can enjoy smoking.
3. Inhaling a couple puffs at the beginning of a bowl helped me slow down enough to enjoy the rest of the bowl. I don't do that anymore, but it was a big help.

For me personally, C&D burleys and various Latakia blends helped bridge the gap between cigs and the stuff I smoke now.

Thanks for the recommendations! I have noticed its a much more mellow feeling, and I appreciate that could also have quite a bit to do with the meditative effect of a pipe more generally. Blends I've enjoyed so far have been more on the aro side, but they just don't feel to be scratching the itch sometimes, even when I really take my time (been practicing and can usually get a good 40 minutes+ out of my Peterson 999). Inhaling a couple I haven't yet tried, so will definitely give that a go and will look at tobaccos in that vein.

I feel as if the sample order sheet is mounting up Thanks!

 

[Crawley1066]

I made the transition last July and aside from a party I went to in November, I have been cig-free.

What has helped me the most has been high-octane blends. My favorites are Gawith Hogarth & Co Dark Flake Unscented. I also like Sam Gawith 1792 and Lakeland Dark, and the brown ropes from both Gawiths. If you don't have easy access to those, I also recommend MacBaren HH Bold Kentucky and Pease's JackKnife Plug. The latter two aren't quite as strong, but can still do the job. MacBaren's HH Rustica is another bell-ringer for if and when it becomes a regular release. I find these blends provide more than enough nicotine, but the absorption process is different and slower. Set aside the time you need to smoke a large bowl or even two in the morning. It will help you get going without being in withdrawal. Plus it's just a great way to start the day.

I also kept a can of General snus around for non-smoking situations. If you find smokless to not be your jam, you could use nicotine lozenges or gum. You may also want to have a few smaller cigars or cigarillos around for when you want to smoke but a pipe would ve a hassle. Basically, I wanted to avoid putting myself in situations where cigarettes would be the most convenient option.

Good luck! It's made a big difference in my life. I even started exercising. When I first started with 25 years worth of cigarette-induced lung baggage, running had me gasping for air and nearly passing out before I could get to the 1/4 mile mark. Now I'm up to 3 miles.

Thanks for the recommendations and congratulations on kicking the cigs into touch! I used to play a lot of Rugby, and still play woodwind instruments so having a barrage on my lungs is something that's really been playing on my mind.

1792 flake I have, but I haven't yet summed the courage to smoke it as a newbie. I feel like I need to grab myself by the shoestrings and get on with it... Dark Flake I will definitely look at, as I will with the others you mention, and the Snus, too. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Crawley1066]

o.k. everyone focuses on the nicotine for cigs to pipes. But from the successes I've seen it seems more important to find blends that taste right. That have some similarities in profile to what you smoked before. It's less chemistry and more emotional association. That taste tells you mind relieve and satisfaction is coming. So I say what kind of cigs did you smoke and we'll try and find something that will taste like tobacco to your palate.

Good suggestion! If it helps:

Never smoked ready rolled packs (except when buying from the groundsman at school, but that's between you and I ?). Tastes thin, chemically and artificial (so maybe on the right track to pipes with that preference.)

Menthol roll-ups have always been the preference, but more for the smoothness it gives the smoke, rather than the mint taste (not a fan of harsh, throat hitting, really strongly flavoured stuff). All time favourite was Dutch Fine Cut from Gawith and Hoggarth, but they discontinued it sadly. Never been able to put my finger on what it was about that smell, but it was almost a spicey mustiness which I really enjoyed. Bayou Night's been recommended and the reviews seemed to look along those lines (maybe..?).

Taste wise, my drink of choice is neat rum or Sherry, in the day it's Earl Grey tea (so bergamot is a big win) and I'll take savoury over sweet, but I'm a sucker for citrus. Not sure if that's any good for guidance! ?

 

[Crawley1066]

Hey man. Good luck. I was in your boat a dozen or so years ago. The pipe tobacco helped me cut back, but I couldn't kick the cigarettes completely. I tried patches, chantix, gum,pipes and cigars, snus and snuff. Sometimes in combination. LOL... I'm sure I was getting the nicotine I needed, in fact, more than I needed. Still couldn't kick them.

At the risk of not helping you with your addiction or even making it worse, what helped me quit the analog smokes was a proper sub-ohm e-cigarette. And only because they most closely mimic the act of smoking a cigarette. I haven't smoked cigarettes for close to 8 years now with the exception of one or two and that was a few years ago...and they were gross.

I vape low nicotine ejuice now, having started at 24 mg and stepping down over the years to 18, 12 then 6 and now I"m vaping 3 mg ejuice. BUT... I still love the tobacco part. The smell, taste, room note. etc. I enjoy a couple of bowls of tabacco a day now, sometimes as many as 5, but that's only because I'm not working due to covid shutdown. Pipe tobacco and the occasional cigar really help me enjoy the ritual of smoking without the need for cigarettes..

The blends that work best for me when I first tried quitting the cigarettes were Haunted Bookshop, Old Joe Krantz and others you'll here people recommend. But it was when I branched out that things really clicked for me. The latakia blends were a revelation to me then and still are frankly. I've come to appreciate some aromatics over the years too. Your taste in tobacco will change over the years to be sure, but it will be an interesting journey.

Eventually, you'll dial in your nicotine and tobacco needs without any consideration for cigarettes.
They really are not that interesting a way to get where you need going.

Thanks for the message and support - sorry to hear about the work situation in lockdown, I've been in a similar boat in recent months. Thank you for recommendation too on e-cigs. I do have a sub-ohm kit, but I think it's more Direct to lung rather than more like a cig. Turning the air filter down and treating it like one helps, but I've been told you can't run high Nic juices through it.

Thanks for the blend recommendations. Old Joe Krantz has been mentioned a fair bit and I'll be sure to look at that and the others. ? Totally agree - it's a means to and end and that's about it.

 

[Crawley1066]

Codger burley and cobs. That’s how I did it. Burley blends can deliver big clouds of smoke and about as much nicotine as any pipe tobacco will have. My burley blend of choice is Carter Hall. For the most part, any old school / codger burley blend will burn easily and give you the type of consistent no-fuss smoke that will help to replace cigarettes.

I eventually got to the point where cigs don’t appeal to me 99% of the time. More or less quit cigs several years ago, though I do still have one on rare occasion, usually after quite a few beverages, especially if I’m drinking with a cigarette smoker.

Thanks for the reply and congrats on kicking the cigs! I'll take a look at Carter Hall this afternoon. Even now they're not anything particularly special to me. I've smoked a pipe before, had a cig a few hours later and been sorely disappointed (bar the nic rush of course). Cheers!

 

[Crawley1066]

I made the same move 354 days 16 hours ago, it’s a 9 step process

1. Take up golf
2. Use a nic patch daily for two weeks to quit the cigs
3. Get a Nespresso coffee machine (any one will do) and 100 capsules
4. No pipe in those two weeks, have as much coffee as you like... buy more coffee capsules
5. Quit the patch and reward yourself with a bowl of tobacco with a couple more coffees
6. Smoke pipe daily & in public where possible (you’ll find that a small crowd will gather to watch you acquire new skills like pointing, musing and surmising with the stem like it came straight from Ollivanders)
7. Frown when you smell the smoke from a cigarette smoker and check your ‘quit smoking’ app to see how many days since that was you
8. Get a nice cigar (or three) for when you’re playing golf
9. Spend your spare time buying pipes, pipe tobacco, pipe accessories, cleaning pipes, sourcing pipe tobacco and going off your nut because someone has moved one of your pipes!

I think what I’m saying is it’ll be a different process for everyone and when it’s the right time for you to kick the cigs it will be easier than every attempt you’ve made so far, good luck

I think if anyone saw me trying to handle my way round swinging a gold club it'd probably put them onto smoking... ?

Thank you for the message and suggestions, the collecting bit sounds particularly good to me. I'm a leatherworker and hobbyist wood butcher (always learning) too, so making pipes, pouches, stands, rests and all sorts of nice tactile things is on the 'list to do'. I feel like spending a good few hours engrossed in making a pipe might just be my distraction from the Nic of a cigarette, even if the end product is somewhat amateur!

 

[Crawley1066]

I quit the cigs in March. Old joe Krantz and 5Brothers helped.

Congrats on kicking them into touch. Old Joe's been mentioned a fair bit - I'll have a look at that and the 5Borthers this afternoon. Cheers!

 

[Crawley1066]

Quit for a while. If you quit any tobacco intake mode for 6 months and then start another, you will not crave the first choice at all. You will be hooked on the second.

It's likely that even a day or two without tobacco before piping would reset your cravings to the pipe quite a bit.

I do hate to say it, but I feel you may well have something. I plan to give the e-cig another go (still thinking on snuss) to wean downwards in the Nic, but I have definitely noticed how the craving dissipates after a few days not smoking. I haven't done it since uni though, so may well have to force myself into it should the e-cig not go as planned.

Thanks for your reply!

 

[Moonbog]

Swedish style snus is the business for quitting cigarettes in my opinion, they remove the need for cigarettes by giving you plenty of nicotine and can be doubled up when you need even more of lady N. No risk of damage to the lungs and you can use them while working or even when sleeping if you are hard core
The only thing is that a few years later you'll have a 20 to 40 pouches a day habit to quit...

Snus, specifically, is probably the safest way to quit smoking. I still keep a few tins of the good Swedish stuff in my freezer for plane rides and for those occasional hours I spend at the casino poker tables. You can totally get your fix w/out getting the stink eye from anybody when you pop a snus in, nobody knows or cares. Great for the movies or workouts at the gym or high school graduations...ya know, anywhere you're stuck and can't get away for a smoke. SNUS works like a charm.

But I still think a combination of delivery methods worked best in my case. Different methods for different situations.

 

[Crawley1066]

Snus, specifically, is probably the safest way to quit smoking. I still keep a few tins of the good Swedish stuff in my freezer for plane rides and for those occasional hours I spend at the casino poker tables. You can totally get your fix w/out getting the stink eye from anybody when you pop a snus in, nobody knows or cares. Great for the movies or workouts at the gym or high school graduations...ya know, anywhere you're stuck and can't get away for a smoke. SNUS works like a charm.

But I still think a combination of delivery methods worked best in my case. Different methods for different situations.

Ah. Just looked it up online. Turns out possession and use of Snus is legal in the UK, but the sale of it isn’t... ?

 

[danimalia]

Thanks for the recommendations and congratulations on kicking the cigs into touch! I used to play a lot of Rugby, and still play woodwind instruments so having a barrage on my lungs is something that's really been playing on my mind.

1792 flake I have, but I haven't yet summed the courage to smoke it as a newbie. I feel like I need to grab myself by the shoestrings and get on with it... Dark Flake I will definitely look at, as I will with the others you mention, and the Snus, too. Thanks for the suggestions!

Thanks for the recommendations and congratulations on kicking the cigs into touch! I used to play a lot of Rugby, and still play woodwind instruments so having a barrage on my lungs is something that's really been playing on my mind.

1792 flake I have, but I haven't yet summed the courage to smoke it as a newbie. I feel like I need to grab myself by the shoestrings and get on with it... Dark Flake I will definitely look at, as I will with the others you mention, and the Snus, too. Thanks for the suggestions!

Don't be afraid of the 1792. It's a great strong flake! The tonquin flavoring seems to vary in intensity from batch to batch, but serves to smooth the rougher edges of the fire cured tobaccos. I think a lot of the negativity towards the blend is from back when it was cool to hate Lakeland blends. These days more people are giving it a fair shake and as a result, it sells out instantly here in the US.

 

[Crawley1066]

Don't be afraid of the 1792. It's a great strong flake! The tonquin flavoring seems to vary in intensity from batch to batch, but serves to smooth the rougher edges of the fire cured tobaccos. I think a lot of the negativity towards the blend is from back when it was cool to hate Lakeland blends. These days more people are giving it a fair shake and as a result, it sells out instantly here in the US.

Thanks for the words of encouragement! That might be my lunchtime smoke tomorrow then. I’ll try it on a full stomach first maybe... see how we go from there! ?

 

[Crawley1066]

Got a selection on order but just faced up to my first bowl of 1792 flake...

... definitely ticks the Nicotine box?

 

[luigi]

I started with pipe smoking to quit roll-ups too. The longest period without a cig was one year. I believe the main problem is not the nicotine but the nastiest highly addictive additives hidden in a rolling tobacco or cigarettes. When the addiction kicks in nothing helps, you have to stand behind your decision to resist. The need for cigs strikes hard but when ignored completely it passes. It comes back but with time it becomes weaker.
In the meantime you can explore the wide world of pipe tobaccos for which we pretend we're not addicted to. ??
Good luck!