Former Cigarette Smokers I NEED YOUR HELP!
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Having smoked cigs for over thirty years and finally kicked the habit, this is what worked for me:
Stay away from places where you smoked cigarettes. If this means not watching a movie while you smoked, then so be it, at least for the first week. The power of association will weaken your will.
Try Chantax anti-smoking drugs; it is a genuine solution if your metabolism is not vulnerable to the side effects. I've never experienced those side effects, so it may not work for you.
Stay away from pipes. I've tried pipe smoking as a substitute for cigarettes, and it simply doesn't work.
Keep something for your hands to play with. I found cinnamon sticks to be very effective because they are shaped like a cig, and freshen your mouth with a cinnamon flavor.
Most valuable tip that I came up with myself is keep a bag of Jolly Rancher hard candies handy. A single candy will outlast your momentary craving. I believe the combination of Chantex and Jollys are what ultimately let me quite. I didn't pick up pipe smoking until a few months later, not as a substitute for cigarettes, but because I wanted to smoke a pipe.
Hope this helps. If you've made it for four days, then you're through the worst of it. Good luck.
Stay away from places where you smoked cigarettes. If this means not watching a movie while you smoked, then so be it, at least for the first week. The power of association will weaken your will.
Try Chantax anti-smoking drugs; it is a genuine solution if your metabolism is not vulnerable to the side effects. I've never experienced those side effects, so it may not work for you.
Stay away from pipes. I've tried pipe smoking as a substitute for cigarettes, and it simply doesn't work.
Keep something for your hands to play with. I found cinnamon sticks to be very effective because they are shaped like a cig, and freshen your mouth with a cinnamon flavor.
Most valuable tip that I came up with myself is keep a bag of Jolly Rancher hard candies handy. A single candy will outlast your momentary craving. I believe the combination of Chantex and Jollys are what ultimately let me quite. I didn't pick up pipe smoking until a few months later, not as a substitute for cigarettes, but because I wanted to smoke a pipe.
Hope this helps. If you've made it for four days, then you're through the worst of it. Good luck.
pipenscotch -
I smoked cigarettes for 25 years, but have not had one since 2009. When I was smoking cigarettes if I didn't have one every 90 minutes or so there was a f***ing problem. For me, smoking a cigarette is NOT like smoking a pipe. I would often smoke a pipe and then immediately smoke a cigarette because the hit wasn't there.
I quit all tobacco cold turkey. The first day I slept a long time and the physical symptoms were gone, after that it was all mental.
I came to the realization that nicotine was going to have a place in my life. After about two months I started smoking a pipe every other day. The need for the immediate hit was gone and I was able to more fully relax and enjoy the experience. I now smoke two bowls a day but if I have to miss or delay one, it is not a big deal because I don't crave that quick cigarette hit.
During the cold turkey period I would sometimes take a whiff of the empty pipe bowl instead of smoking, I know that sounds stupid but the smell really sort of helped me.
I wish you the best of luck.
I smoked cigarettes for 25 years, but have not had one since 2009. When I was smoking cigarettes if I didn't have one every 90 minutes or so there was a f***ing problem. For me, smoking a cigarette is NOT like smoking a pipe. I would often smoke a pipe and then immediately smoke a cigarette because the hit wasn't there.
I quit all tobacco cold turkey. The first day I slept a long time and the physical symptoms were gone, after that it was all mental.
I came to the realization that nicotine was going to have a place in my life. After about two months I started smoking a pipe every other day. The need for the immediate hit was gone and I was able to more fully relax and enjoy the experience. I now smoke two bowls a day but if I have to miss or delay one, it is not a big deal because I don't crave that quick cigarette hit.
During the cold turkey period I would sometimes take a whiff of the empty pipe bowl instead of smoking, I know that sounds stupid but the smell really sort of helped me.
I wish you the best of luck.
@Lawrence and Smokey, Damn, where are you guys at when you're paying that kind of money for cigs?! I'm in SE Tennessee and I only pay about $4.50-5.00 a pack!
As for smoking the nails, I've been doing that for 15 years now, although not nearly as much as I used to. I used to smoke two packs a day, and if I went drinking, camping, or shooting pool I'd smoke two packs in a matter of hours!
Nowadays I only smoke at work and on the ride to and from work. Even then I only smoke one on the way, two at lunch, and one on the way home. I work 12 hour shifts, three days one week and four the next.
The rest of the time I smoke my pipes.
As for smoking the nails, I've been doing that for 15 years now, although not nearly as much as I used to. I used to smoke two packs a day, and if I went drinking, camping, or shooting pool I'd smoke two packs in a matter of hours!
Nowadays I only smoke at work and on the ride to and from work. Even then I only smoke one on the way, two at lunch, and one on the way home. I work 12 hour shifts, three days one week and four the next.
The rest of the time I smoke my pipes.
Wow, and I was upset that cigs were $4-5 in our area of Alabama, Lawrence. Maybe you lived in another state at that time, or you had expensive tastes in cigarettes? . However, when I visit Illinois or out West, I am always amazed at their tobacco prices.
One useful thing about withdrawals in general that I read in Wallace's book Infinite Jest is that no single moment is unbearable. Like ststeves said, you don't have to envision it as quitting forever all at once. Quit for a day. If that's too long, quit for an afternoon. If that's too long, try an hour, or a minute. Keep quitting an hour at a time until each hour becomes bearable, then an afternoon, then a week, month, season. Then forever.
Contrary to some of the advice given here, I do think it's possible (maybe even preferable) to simply switch from cigs to a pipe. But the trick is being comfortable enough with the pipe and the "how to"s (slow smoking, correct packing, etc) to not end up scorching your mouth in endless pursuit of nicotine. To me, though, the most important thing is to have the right tobaccos selected. You want something that's not going to shred your mouth but will also give you a good jolt of nicotine. What I recommend are Old Joe Krantz, Epiphany, Nightcap, Billy Budd, Irish Flake, and any number of the GH "Lakeland" blends (Coniston and Bosun plug, Kendal Flake, Dark Flake, etc.) Also, both Carter Hall and Prince Albert are EXCELLENT for this, if for no other reason then that you can inhale them if needed.
I would focus on weaning off the cigs and gradually substituting them with the pipe completely. Make a schedule and STICK TO IT. Also, don't be afraid to ask your doctor for medications if needed.
Good luck!!!
I would focus on weaning off the cigs and gradually substituting them with the pipe completely. Make a schedule and STICK TO IT. Also, don't be afraid to ask your doctor for medications if needed.
Good luck!!!
There are no "secrets" to quitting, no magic formulae to smoking cessation.
It's about you, figuring out what will work for you[/]. From then on, it's purely a matter of your will, or the cigarette's, and whether or not you have the determination to achieve your goal.
Nicotine is a hell of a drug, and cigarettes deliver it with the ferocity of a Velociraptor. Aware of this, I made the decision to cut back on my chewing, and cigarette smoking- with the realization that me NEVER EVER doing either EVER again, is highly improbable. So, I took a "casual" approach, which has allowed me to smoke on average, ten cigarettes per week, and cease chewing almost completely, and THAT, has given me quite a good deal of self-respect and peace of mind.
Now, who were my companions on this journey to controlling my craving? Preloading my pipe before bed, so if I were to be too lazy to pack one in the AM, I wouldn't be tempted by the grits.
I would probably expand quite bit here, but lucky for you guys, this site isn't formatted for mobile, and I'm on my phone.
It's about you, figuring out what will work for you[/]. From then on, it's purely a matter of your will, or the cigarette's, and whether or not you have the determination to achieve your goal.
Nicotine is a hell of a drug, and cigarettes deliver it with the ferocity of a Velociraptor. Aware of this, I made the decision to cut back on my chewing, and cigarette smoking- with the realization that me NEVER EVER doing either EVER again, is highly improbable. So, I took a "casual" approach, which has allowed me to smoke on average, ten cigarettes per week, and cease chewing almost completely, and THAT, has given me quite a good deal of self-respect and peace of mind.
Now, who were my companions on this journey to controlling my craving? Preloading my pipe before bed, so if I were to be too lazy to pack one in the AM, I wouldn't be tempted by the grits.
I would probably expand quite bit here, but lucky for you guys, this site isn't formatted for mobile, and I'm on my phone.
I'm still a cigarette smoker, so I cannot help you quit... but I CAN help you cut way back. Sometimes I need to go for extended periods without smoking and the best thing I have ever found to help with this are Fisherman's Friend cough drops. The menthol blast they deliver can suppress my strongest nicotine urge for a very long time. They have to be the originals, no others will work.
I quit cigarettes in 1998, and about 5 years later or so I became a recreational cigar smoker, and now about 2 years ago I started smoking a pipe. I don't smoke everyday, but I smoke regularly, and often times go two or three weeks without smoking without a second thought.
The best advice I can give you is to just stay from tobacco for a while, a few months maybe, and let your body get used to being without any nicotine at all. The first time I tried to quit, I immediately substituted cheap cigars. I just ended up inhaling them, and thus never broke the nicotine addiction.
From a mental standpoint, one thing that I think really helped me was thinking of quitting as somewhat akin to a friend dying. I know that sounds melodramatic, but cigarette smoking was AWESOME, and I had to tell myself over and over again that I wouldn't be doing it again, and it was almost like grieving a little bit.
When I started smoking cigars, it never touched that cigarette nicotine itch for me, and neither do pipes. I think I would have to smoke cigars/pipes heavily every day to ever pick up another nicotine addiction from them. After some time between quitting cigarettes and going to cigars/pipes, I was able to start enjoying tobacco flavor and aroma, something that really wasn't a part of cigarette smoking for me.
The best advice I can give you is to just stay from tobacco for a while, a few months maybe, and let your body get used to being without any nicotine at all. The first time I tried to quit, I immediately substituted cheap cigars. I just ended up inhaling them, and thus never broke the nicotine addiction.
From a mental standpoint, one thing that I think really helped me was thinking of quitting as somewhat akin to a friend dying. I know that sounds melodramatic, but cigarette smoking was AWESOME, and I had to tell myself over and over again that I wouldn't be doing it again, and it was almost like grieving a little bit.
When I started smoking cigars, it never touched that cigarette nicotine itch for me, and neither do pipes. I think I would have to smoke cigars/pipes heavily every day to ever pick up another nicotine addiction from them. After some time between quitting cigarettes and going to cigars/pipes, I was able to start enjoying tobacco flavor and aroma, something that really wasn't a part of cigarette smoking for me.
Good luck, pipenscotch - my mother-in-law tried to quit several times, but what finally did it for her was falling and breaking her hip. By the time she was healed up enough to get out of bed and go out to the designated smoking area at the hospital (this was in Wyoming, where such things still happen), she'd already been through the worst of going cold turkey, and that was that for her.
I figure anything less drastic is well done. :D
I figure anything less drastic is well done. :D
I kicked the nails a few years ago with the help of the occasional inhale of the pipe every now and again. maybe once every 20 puffs. 
I try not to do it, but it feels oh so good. lol I'll never inhale cigars though.
Those that do are barkin mad I tell ya!
A solid burley blend will get you through the days easily enough. Cigars are great too.
Even with all that help though you need to want to quit your pack a day habit.
Reward yourself with a night out every week or come to an agreement with your wife or girlfriend for "favors" for every week you're clean of the nails. :wink:
I try not to do it, but it feels oh so good. lol I'll never inhale cigars though.
Those that do are barkin mad I tell ya!
A solid burley blend will get you through the days easily enough. Cigars are great too.
Even with all that help though you need to want to quit your pack a day habit.
Reward yourself with a night out every week or come to an agreement with your wife or girlfriend for "favors" for every week you're clean of the nails. :wink:
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