I have to quit smoking....

[abovetheearth]

I miss smoking. I miss it every single day.

After a steak. During a bourbon. During the warm seasons while sitting on porches watching the smoke drift away.

It'll always be a struggle for me. I get addicted to anything way to easily.

[partysmasher]

I've not been hammered drunk since i've stopped, i think that'll be the test. I really enjoy smoking, if it wasn't for the circumstances involving the health of a friend of mine i don't think i would be to ademant about quitting. I figure the health benefits far outweigh the enjoyment i get out of doing it.

[ronniegwilliams]

Picture all the money you're gonna have to waste on cigarette related health issues. now picture all the records and places you can go with that money instead. 

 

Congratulations, you just came up with the same argument every non-smoker has ever had in regards to smoking, ever.  So there is nothing that you waste your money on that couldn't be redirected toward your record collection?  Or perhaps there is nothing that you spend your money on that isn't good for you?  Alcohol, fast food, energy drinks?  If your response to all of those questions is "no", then good for you. 

[codeine]

I kicked the habit over 4 years ago. I could probably write pages upon pages about the whole process.

[nothingnatural]

I started smoking at the age of 14 and I'm 28 now. Knowing that I've been a smoker for half my life has been bothering me quite a bit lately. I hope to quit at some point and I know the only way to go about it is to go cold turkey. I'm also interested in checking out that book that Crime mentioned.

 

Best of luck to the folks currently trying to quit. 

[codeine]

I didn't quit cold turkey and I've been quit 4 years and 3 months (not that I actually count the months anymore, just years now)

Cold turkey is going to make you feel like shit by shocking your body and turn you into an irritable bitch. (for the first while, anyway) Cold turkey is basically like trying to kick heroin cold turkey, if you attempt it you should steer clear of anyone who smokes, does anything that 'triggers' your want of a cigarette, or tends to irritate you.

Triggers can include many things, I"ll give some examples, soda pop, if you drink pop a lot of people like to have a smoke with/before/after a can of cola. They are both unhealthy lifestyle choices so you are definitely going to want to drink lots and lots of water, I prefer cold. Another similar trigger would be beer/drinking, probably should be avoided, or you should at the very least have your defenses up and know you're more likely to slip. Smoking a cig after getting high, lots of people like to do this (if this is you I would suggest having joints of good quality bud rolled up, instead of smoking a cig after your bong hit, smoke a joint, you're gonna be blasted a lot, but anything to quit that filthy habit, right? If you can afford it I would put serious thought into getting a Volcano vaporizer, as its healthier and its not smoke, so might be less of a trigger. Don't even bother with lesser vapes, like the whip-style ones, etc. they are garbage, they barely do anything and will only make you want to have an actual toke/smoke more.) Another trigger is waitiing for the bus, it could be the city bus, or if you are travelling, this is a hard one, you're going to have to deal with boredom without the crutch. I would suggest limiting where you can smoke. Do not smoke indoors, never smoke around children/animals/non-smokers, maybe clean your car out and don't smoke in there. Go for a cig walk or something... I think you get the gist about 'triggers'...

What I did, was I slowly inverted the time I spent smoking vs. not smoking. So for example a smoker will wake up and have their morning cig, and then throughout the day before and after certain activities until night time when you chill, have your last one and call it a night.

Before any of this I would start throwing my cigs away early, never finishing a full cig, just tired of them, had enough, started to loathe it and loathing smoking is key to quitting for good.

First I would wake up and forego the morning cigarette, do other things, make sure I had done what I wanted and then rewarded with a mid day cig. At this point I would take note of the time (hours) between cigs and how many I smoked a day, keeping track or progress is VERY important, that way, when you start to slide, you are on your own ass about it right away... once you feel that pang of failure/regret you have to take it in stride and promise yourself you will do better next time and not just say 'fuck it'.

Okay so eventually I would be down to 1-2 cigs a day, this is KEY... once you get to this stage the next stage is very important, I call it this the 'flip' this is where you reverse your days. Getting to this point is tough and can take weeks/months but once you are here, keep at it, you are well on your way, maybe people find it very tough to even get to this stage so if you cut down to 1-2 a day give yourself a pat on the back, but its not over so keep at it.

So at this point you are going all day until night time and only having 1 cig basically so you don't toss and turn all night like a junkie who needs his fix, but now you need to take the plunge, you have to go 1 full day without smoking. 0 cigarettes, don't worry the next day you can have 1 (but I would throw it away early, it is only going to make you feel like shit.) So now, out of 1 week you've smoked 6/7 days, each of the days you smoked only 1 cig, now you have to slowly invert the amount of smoking vs non smoking days, progress might be slow, but keep at it, try and go 2 days without, then 3, then 4, once you hit about 4 days in a row 2 important things will happen #1 ) out of 1 week you're smoking days are now in the minority, this is very important, once you get under 50% of you days with cigarettes, you have 'flipped' you are now on your way to being a non smoker and by now you should be thinking of yourself as a non-smoker, tell yourself how much you want to be a non-smoker. #2 ) This is an observation I have made many times and have confirmed with others... once you go about 4 days without a cigarette, they will feel different to you... if you get to a point where you hold a cig in your fingers and it doesn't feel the same size as it used to you are pretty much there now, so DO NOT GO BACK from this point.

It's actually really trippy but it's an indication the physical addiction has less of a grip on you, the cigarette should feel odd in your fingers, like its too big, or too small, it feels very strange, if you feel this: DO NOT LIGHT UP! you will be in severe danger of relapsing if you do. Also at this point smoking is really going to make you feel like shit because you are also on the cusp of starting to cough that shit up...

(Regarding coughing shit up, take warm showers and let the shower head hit your back, this helps to break the shit in your lungs up making it easier to get over that garbage in your lungs, also if you have access to a sauna and/or steam use those, they are amazing)

Okay so at this point what you need to do is set personal records and break them... go 1 full week without smoking... it would be a bad idea to buy a pack, hopefully you have a friend you knows what you are trying to do and would be willing to help you buy giving you 1 cig and refusing you more, so tell your friends about your progress, make sure it is a good friend, not someone who will be jealous of your progress and want to see you fail. so after one week, try to keep your record going but if you fail, only have 1, realize your failure and then quit again... if you bought a pack throw them away or give them away to friends who smoke. now you have to go 2 weeks, repeat this process, don't have 1 unless you cave in, and if you do, get back on the horse ASAP... if you are feeling good just keep going, do this till you've done full runs of 2, 3 weeks without smoking until you've done 1 month, 5 weeks, 6, weeks, 7 weeks, 2 months, 3 months.

Once your at this point you are a fucking beast of willpower but there is always the risk of relapsing, even after a few months, for some people even after years... don't let anyone talk you into having just 1, their motivations might only be subconscious, but they want to see you fail and be back at square 1 so they are at the level you are at. Very few people have the willpower to get to this level and those people want to see you fail, let them fuck their own health, but not yours, you're doing great.

So when your in the days/weeks/months, you will be counting days/weeks/months til eventually, hopefully you hit 6 months without, you're a BEAST, once you hit a year, you might still be counting in months, when you get to 1.5, 2 years, you'll be counting every 3-6 months, take note of your progress and keep it up! Eventually you stop counting all the time, I usually take note once a year and remind myself how long its been. I would say that once I got to 3 years I was only counting yearly.

Also, I quit on Jan 1st, 2009 so it's easy for me to remember and track my progress. Take note of the date where you finally kicked it for good. I didn't smoke for prob 2 months before that day and on new years had one last cig, it was mostly symbolic by that time I had already done the flip and quit and faltered many times until the point where I was in control. Doing your final quit on a certain day can help, a holiday, or anniversary, its something to think about if you ever have a weak spot and want to go back, just remind yourself you'll be back at square 1 and you don't want to do that to yourself after how far you've come.

Water is very important, sleep is important, if you smoke weed I would say smoke/vaporize more weed, if you drink I would say avoid drinking, I would say avoid crowds/social situations that will tempt you, where you will be smelling 2nd hand, buy yourself records to reward yourself (say you smoked a pack a day thats $10/day if you go a full 2 days without, buy yourself a $20 record. Make sure to stay fed, on days where you are kicking it off fresh have a nice meal to start the day off, and health in general is important, this is the first step toward living a healthier lifestyle so you should probably avoid pop/junk food/fast food and maybe eventually get into working out or running, take up some kind of activity at the very least.

Alright I know its long, but this one is for the people who really do want to quit and just need a few good tips from someone who has done it, I hope this helps, I quit 4 years, 3 months and 11 days ago, once 2014 hits it'll be a full 5 years, which is awesome I'm looking forward to it and I will never go back. (And for the record, I loathe when people smoke around me or around children/animals/nonsmokers, I think it is one of the most disrespectful things you can do, if you know that I quit why would you blow smoke in my face? I went through so much to get that shit out of my body and people just wave it around, just shows how weak-minded those individuals are. Oh yeah, it even grosses me out when people's clothes/hands stink like smoke and they don't wash.)

One last point! I almost forgot but I actually did this and it helped immensely... you know how you have a smoke and then you're chillin' and you have the cig breath and you can smell it on the tips of your fingers, yeah watch out for that... what I did was after every cigarette I would brush my teeth thoroughly and wash my hands thoroughly to get rid of the smell. Especially if you are only having 1 a day, have your smoke and then wash your hands and brush your teeth after.

[rochambo]

Smoked for 21 years. Wanted to quit. Took Chantix for a month. So far so good...

[Ghost_Parlour*]

I've smoked off and on for four years, but this year it's been good. Everytime I pick one up (every other couple of weeks) the difference is noticeable, and I can't help but notice my mouth aching. I'm a hypochondriac and a singer, so I'm going to just try and cut it out. Codeine, that shit was LONG, but great.

[codeine]

I've smoked off and on for four years, but this year it's been good. Everytime I pick one up (every other couple of weeks) the difference is noticeable, and I can't help but notice my mouth aching. I'm a hypochondriac and a singer, so I'm going to just try and cut it out. Codeine, that shit was LONG, but great.

Yeah I have a buddy who is a singer he says if he smokes anything at all it cuts his vocal range in half for the next day, so he just can't do it.

Thanks man, I just hope it's helpful, I know from experience that its tough so that's pretty much all the advice I can provide in 1 looong ass post. I'd say well worth the time it takes to read for anyone serious about quitting.

[controlthebleeding]

I didn't quit cold turkey and I've been quit 4 years and 3 months (not that I actually count the months anymore, just years now)

Cold turkey is going to make you feel like shit by shocking your body and turn you into an irritable bitch. (for the first while, anyway) Cold turkey is basically like trying to kick heroin cold turkey, if you attempt it you should steer clear of anyone who smokes, does anything that 'triggers' your want of a cigarette, or tends to irritate you.

Triggers can include many things, I"ll give some examples, soda pop, if you drink pop a lot of people like to have a smoke with/before/after a can of cola. They are both unhealthy lifestyle choices so you are definitely going to want to drink lots and lots of water, I prefer cold. Another similar trigger would be beer/drinking, probably should be avoided, or you should at the very least have your defenses up and know you're more likely to slip. Smoking a cig after getting high, lots of people like to do this (if this is you I would suggest having joints of good quality bud rolled up, instead of smoking a cig after your bong hit, smoke a joint, you're gonna be blasted a lot, but anything to quit that filthy habit, right? If you can afford it I would put serious thought into getting a Volcano vaporizer, as its healthier and its not smoke, so might be less of a trigger. Don't even bother with lesser vapes, like the whip-style ones, etc. they are garbage, they barely do anything and will only make you want to have an actual toke/smoke more.) Another trigger is waitiing for the bus, it could be the city bus, or if you are travelling, this is a hard one, you're going to have to deal with boredom without the crutch. I would suggest limiting where you can smoke. Do not smoke indoors, never smoke around children/animals/non-smokers, maybe clean your car out and don't smoke in there. Go for a cig walk or something... I think you get the gist about 'triggers'...

What I did, was I slowly inverted the time I spent smoking vs. not smoking. So for example a smoker will wake up and have their morning cig, and then throughout the day before and after certain activities until night time when you chill, have your last one and call it a night.

Before any of this I would start throwing my cigs away early, never finishing a full cig, just tired of them, had enough, started to loathe it and loathing smoking is key to quitting for good.

First I would wake up and forego the morning cigarette, do other things, make sure I had done what I wanted and then rewarded with a mid day cig. At this point I would take note of the time (hours) between cigs and how many I smoked a day, keeping track or progress is VERY important, that way, when you start to slide, you are on your own ass about it right away... once you feel that pang of failure/regret you have to take it in stride and promise yourself you will do better next time and not just say 'fuck it'.

Okay so eventually I would be down to 1-2 cigs a day, this is KEY... once you get to this stage the next stage is very important, I call it this the 'flip' this is where you reverse your days. Getting to this point is tough and can take weeks/months but once you are here, keep at it, you are well on your way, maybe people find it very tough to even get to this stage so if you cut down to 1-2 a day give yourself a pat on the back, but its not over so keep at it.

So at this point you are going all day until night time and only having 1 cig basically so you don't toss and turn all night like a junkie who needs his fix, but now you need to take the plunge, you have to go 1 full day without smoking. 0 cigarettes, don't worry the next day you can have 1 (but I would throw it away early, it is only going to make you feel like shit.) So now, out of 1 week you've smoked 6/7 days, each of the days you smoked only 1 cig, now you have to slowly invert the amount of smoking vs non smoking days, progress might be slow, but keep at it, try and go 2 days without, then 3, then 4, once you hit about 4 days in a row 2 important things will happen #1 ) out of 1 week you're smoking days are now in the minority, this is very important, once you get under 50% of you days with cigarettes, you have 'flipped' you are now on your way to being a non smoker and by now you should be thinking of yourself as a non-smoker, tell yourself how much you want to be a non-smoker. #2 ) This is an observation I have made many times and have confirmed with others... once you go about 4 days without a cigarette, they will feel different to you... if you get to a point where you hold a cig in your fingers and it doesn't feel the same size as it used to you are pretty much there now, so DO NOT GO BACK from this point.

It's actually really trippy but it's an indication the physical addiction has less of a grip on you, the cigarette should feel odd in your fingers, like its too big, or too small, it feels very strange, if you feel this: DO NOT LIGHT UP! you will be in severe danger of relapsing if you do. Also at this point smoking is really going to make you feel like shit because you are also on the cusp of starting to cough that shit up...

(Regarding coughing shit up, take warm showers and let the shower head hit your back, this helps to break the shit in your lungs up making it easier to get over that garbage in your lungs, also if you have access to a sauna and/or steam use those, they are amazing)

Okay so at this point what you need to do is set personal records and break them... go 1 full week without smoking... it would be a bad idea to buy a pack, hopefully you have a friend you knows what you are trying to do and would be willing to help you buy giving you 1 cig and refusing you more, so tell your friends about your progress, make sure it is a good friend, not someone who will be jealous of your progress and want to see you fail. so after one week, try to keep your record going but if you fail, only have 1, realize your failure and then quit again... if you bought a pack throw them away or give them away to friends who smoke. now you have to go 2 weeks, repeat this process, don't have 1 unless you cave in, and if you do, get back on the horse ASAP... if you are feeling good just keep going, do this till you've done full runs of 2, 3 weeks without smoking until you've done 1 month, 5 weeks, 6, weeks, 7 weeks, 2 months, 3 months.

Once your at this point you are a fucking beast of willpower but there is always the risk of relapsing, even after a few months, for some people even after years... don't let anyone talk you into having just 1, their motivations might only be subconscious, but they want to see you fail and be back at square 1 so they are at the level you are at. Very few people have the willpower to get to this level and those people want to see you fail, let them fuck their own health, but not yours, you're doing great.

So when your in the days/weeks/months, you will be counting days/weeks/months til eventually, hopefully you hit 6 months without, you're a BEAST, once you hit a year, you might still be counting in months, when you get to 1.5, 2 years, you'll be counting every 3-6 months, take note of your progress and keep it up! Eventually you stop counting all the time, I usually take note once a year and remind myself how long its been. I would say that once I got to 3 years I was only counting yearly.

Also, I quit on Jan 1st, 2009 so it's easy for me to remember and track my progress. Take note of the date where you finally kicked it for good. I didn't smoke for prob 2 months before that day and on new years had one last cig, it was mostly symbolic by that time I had already done the flip and quit and faltered many times until the point where I was in control. Doing your final quit on a certain day can help, a holiday, or anniversary, its something to think about if you ever have a weak spot and want to go back, just remind yourself you'll be back at square 1 and you don't want to do that to yourself after how far you've come.

Water is very important, sleep is important, if you smoke weed I would say smoke/vaporize more weed, if you drink I would say avoid drinking, I would say avoid crowds/social situations that will tempt you, where you will be smelling 2nd hand, buy yourself records to reward yourself (say you smoked a pack a day thats $10/day if you go a full 2 days without, buy yourself a $20 record. Make sure to stay fed, on days where you are kicking it off fresh have a nice meal to start the day off, and health in general is important, this is the first step toward living a healthier lifestyle so you should probably avoid pop/junk food/fast food and maybe eventually get into working out or running, take up some kind of activity at the very least.

Alright I know its long, but this one is for the people who really do want to quit and just need a few good tips from someone who has done it, I hope this helps, I quit 4 years, 3 months and 11 days ago, once 2014 hits it'll be a full 5 years, which is awesome I'm looking forward to it and I will never go back. (And for the record, I loathe when people smoke around me or around children/animals/nonsmokers, I think it is one of the most disrespectful things you can do, if you know that I quit why would you blow smoke in my face? I went through so much to get that shit out of my body and people just wave it around, just shows how weak-minded those individuals are. Oh yeah, it even grosses me out when people's clothes/hands stink like smoke and they don't wash.)

One last point! I almost forgot but I actually did this and it helped immensely... you know how you have a smoke and then you're chillin' and you have the cig breath and you can smell it on the tips of your fingers, yeah watch out for that... what I did was after every cigarette I would brush my teeth thoroughly and wash my hands thoroughly to get rid of the smell. Especially if you are only having 1 a day, have your smoke and then wash your hands and brush your teeth after.

 

i just quit smoking cigarettes, starting vaping, then lowering my nic level down to nothing, and eventually stopped that too. all in the span of a few months.  i haven't hit my mod in like 3 days. probably should though. too lazy to boil some new rba's i have to start dripping. and i'm kinda waiting on this new eliquid to arrive. don't want to taint them with any other flavors, making coiled wicks is a pain sometimes. this was probably the best way to quit after 27 years. all the other times i was smoking after a few weeks. now it just doesn't matter. 

 

edit:, ok, started vaping strawberry cheesecake..mmmmm

[Ghost_Parlour*]

Yeah I have a buddy who is a singer he says if he smokes anything at all it cuts his vocal range in half for the next day, so he just can't do it.

Thanks man, I just hope it's helpful, I know from experience that its tough so that's pretty much all the advice I can provide in 1 looong ass post. I'd say well worth the time it takes to read for anyone serious about quitting.

Sorry if it looked like I was demeaning the length, I'm just lazy. Thanks very much, I had a feeling it affected my range but HALF? Damn.

And controlthebleeding, have they figured out some of the negative side effects to e-cigs?

[controlthebleeding]

Sorry if it looked like I was demeaning the length, I'm just lazy. Thanks very much, I had a feeling it affected my range but HALF? Damn.

And controlthebleeding, have they figured out some of the negative side effects to e-cigs?

there are, but they are the side effects you would get from eating certain foods with certain flavorings or additives. everything thats in eliquid is found in most foods minus nicotine, so you could probably avoid most side effects if you see eliquid like your daily food consumption. have allergies to cinnamon, don't vape cinnamon eliquids, etc etc. does propylene glycol effect you negatively, vape vegetable glycerin.

there's side effects to vaping too much with high concentrations of nicotine, but c'mon, most people know better. that's usually caused from chain vaping highly concentrated nicotine (24 to 48mg). but who does that and most people know the consequences.

there really hasn't been enough study into for long term effects since it's relatively new, but what it has done is increased my lung capacity. i breath easier now that i vape than when i smoked. i couldn't run like i do now when i smoked.

well a few people have stopped getting asthma attacks and one dude at the last meetup hasn't taken his asthma meds in almost a year since he started vaping.

[kriss]

well, I mean, fighting crime and smoking is never good.

 

 

 

I wonder when the batman jokes will get old? Probably never.

Next he'll be telling folks to drink ginger ale as a cover for alcohol.