How difficult is it to quit smoking?

[Negotaurus]

I’m afraid I might start smoking. I’m already “420 friendly”, cigarettes were things I told myself I’d never try. But after months of difficulty and pain, I’ve just stopped caring. Please do share your experience with smoking. 

[carhill]

Blue haze as a child. Mom quit when I was 10. Smoked one day, not the next. Dad smoked until he died. No idea how she did it. I've never touched them, now 60+

[major_merrick]

I used to smoke.  Quit cold turkey years ago, mostly due to the price.  Being a Russian girl, I liked to roll my own and smoke 'em unfiltered.  Personally, I wouldn't start smoking.  If you don't have an iron self-willed personality, stopping can be tough. 

[Negotaurus]

10 hours ago, major_merrick said:

I used to smoke.  Quit cold turkey years ago, mostly due to the price.  Being a Russian girl, I liked to roll my own and smoke 'em unfiltered.  Personally, I wouldn't start smoking.  If you don't have an iron self-willed personality, stopping can be tough. 

Turns out we’re neighbours  

thanks for your input!

[alphamale]

i smoked for 30+ years.  quit 5 years ago (cold turkey).  probably one of the best things i've ever done.  it's a horrible addiction

[Artdeco]

On 3/17/2020 at 11:12 AM, alphamale said:

i smoked for 30+ years.  quit 5 years ago (cold turkey).  probably one of the best things i've ever done.  it's a horrible addiction

How hard was it? Mentally? Physically? I smoke when I’m nervous/stressed, and currently it’s more than hard for me to stay away from that stuff. Dang it! Any tips? 

[mark clemson]

It depends on the person, but for some people it can be extremely difficult. Nicotine is well-recognized as one of the most addictive legal chemicals in common use (and it's more addictive than some of the illegal ones). I'd advise you to NOT start smoking.

[alphamale]

3 minutes ago, mark clemson said:

It depends on the person, but for some people it can be extremely difficult. Nicotine is well-recognized as one of the most addictive legal chemicals in common use (and it's more addictive than some of the illegal ones). I'd advise you to NOT start smoking.

Keith Richards of the Rollling Stones once said that quitting smoking was harder than quitting heroin

[alphamale]

29 minutes ago, Artdeco said:

How hard was it? Mentally? Physically? I smoke when I’m nervous/stressed, and currently it’s more than hard for me to stay away from that stuff. Dang it! Any tips? 

It is very hard both mentally and physically.  You don't smoke when you are nervous/stressed, you smoke when the level of nicotine in your blood gets low which is what makes you nervous and stressed.  Before you start call a local hospital or clinic that has a smoking cessation program and they will help you

[preraph]

Apparently it's too hard for most people.  I didn't want to quit for a long time, but once I did it was because it had become a thankless chore.  Something just wasting my time and money and it didn't even feel good at all anymore, not at all, if it ever did.  So I quit cold turkey, sucked on hard candies for 3 weeks, stepping outdoors to take a breath of fresh air when I felt the need, which really did help, and never wanted one again.  

[Artdeco]

4 hours ago, alphamale said:

Keith Richards of the Rollling Stones once said that quitting smoking was harder than quitting heroin

And he never quit, did he?

[Fletch Lives]

I quit smoking by going to vaping. The withdraws the first 3 days were the worst.

After a few weeks my sense of smell improved, I stopped wheezing sometimes at night, lung capacity improved, phlegm reduced.

[alphamale]

10 hours ago, Artdeco said:

And he never quit, did he?

i think he still smokes but i could be wrong

[alphamale]

2 hours ago, Fletch Lives said:

I quit smoking by going to vaping. The withdraws the first 3 days were the worst.

After a few weeks my sense of smell improved, I stopped wheezing sometimes at night, lung capacity improved, phlegm reduced.

did your sense of taste get better too?  smell and taste are linked

[amaysngrace]

I quit by going to vaping too.

I have nicotine patches on my shopping list but I didn’t get them today because the pharmacy wasn’t opened yet.

Don’t start unless you’re okay with being a slave and having them as your master. 

[simpycurious]

I have never smoked anything so my response is from afar but someone that worked for me tried within the last year and it was nearly impossible for him.  He still smokes so the patches and gum he tried weren't working for him  That's what he says Amaysngrace..."they won't let him go."

[Realitysux]

You have to want to quit. The problem with smokers is that most of them like smoking. If you want to then you can quit but it will take a lot of will power. I would never call myself a non smoker even if I didn't smoke because one drag off a cigarette and I would be right back to smoking. I quit for two years and I was stressed out one day, took a drag off someone's cigarettes and I've never even tried to quit since. 

[alphamale]

20 minutes ago, Realitysux said:

You have to want to quit. The problem with smokers is that most of them like smoking. If you want to then you can quit but it will take a lot of will power. I would never call myself a non smoker even if I didn't smoke because one drag off a cigarette and I would be right back to smoking. I quit for two years and I was stressed out one day, took a drag off someone's cigarettes and I've never even tried to quit since. 

nicotine is one of the most addicting substances known to man (and woman)

Edited March 29, 2020 by alphamale

[preraph]

I don't think nicotine is very addictive.  It's nothing more than two days of mild headaches as a physical addiction.  It's all about the using smoking as a pasttime, anxiety reliever, nervous habit.  The actual physical thing isn't much of a hurdle at all.  I would say it's about the same as caffeine.  I got the same kickback almost exactly physically.  Difference being caffeine is same as doing speed every day and you have the same crashing from it and it keeps you wanting it to wake up again.  But if you quit caffeine for a month or two, all that morning fog just goes away and you don't have to overcome it.  Cigarettes, you just have to stop wanting to suck on something, mainly!!  Stop wanting something to busy your hands.  

[littleblackheart]

I started smoking at 17, 15 cigarettes / day. I stopped the second I fell pregnant with my son. I didn't smoke at all until my daughter turned 2, which is about the time I left exH. I went back to it (10 a day, always outside the house). I stopped again (cold turkey) 3 years ago.

 

In the last 2 years, I had about 10 cigarettes in total. 5/year on average is acceptable, I guess. 

 

I admire those who can stop completely. I often have dreams of myself with a cigarette in hand, and every time I feel stressed, or after a really good meal, I'm tempted. The only thing stopping me is the faff it is to get rid of the smell.

 

[Shanex]

The easiest way to quit smoking is to never try, or start.

I smoked for over 15 years, about a pack a day, Lucky Strike then later switched to Camel.

I once coughed blood about ten years ago and it creeped me out, but I'm still alive so I assume that was my body telling me to quit.

Now a reasonable vaper. I'm not vaping all day long, and have lowered the nicotine percentage ...

[SummerDreams]

I quit smoking 8 years ago. I just smoked a cigarette and said "this is my last cigarette". I never missed the addiction of the cigarette, I only missed the things I liked to do and they were in my mind combined with smoking, like I'll drink coffee in the morning, I'll have a cigarette, I'll go out, I'll have a cigarette and so on. The weird thing was that I stopped wanting to do stuff I liked because I wouldn't be able to smoke. This was a bad thing for me, I missed many things I used to do, but I guess my health is more important. Now I can't even smell a cigarette.

[Piddy]

When I was a kid I took a pack of my mothers Salem cigarettes into the bathroom.  Lit one up without opening the window.  After a few inhales I started to get a little green around the gills. 🥴  That was it for me. 

Tried cigars and pipes, but nothing stuck thank gawd.  Awful disgusting habit.  Stinks everything up.  Plus I've had several people close to me die of lung cancer.  Best way to stop is to never start.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Piddy

[basil67]

Ditto here @Piddy.   Decided to learn to smoke, smoked three cigarettes in a row and thought I was going to die

[basil67]

On 3/21/2020 at 10:08 AM, alphamale said:

Keith Richards of the Rollling Stones once said that quitting smoking was harder than quitting heroin

Yeah, a couple of ex junkie friends could give up heroin but not moderate alcohol use.  I always believed that one could try heroin and get hooked on it, but that was just a scare factor because it’s not that addictive.   Many of us have had morphine (which is much purer than heroin)  briefly prescribed by a doctor when in severe pain bait not gotten hooked. That said, I did really enjoy morphine the one time I needed it.....

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by basil67