I am trying to quit smoking. Now my son is 3 years old. I have unbelievable smoking habits like every half an hour or an hour i need to smoke . I bought nicotex today to quit. It is really hard. I don’t really know if i can quit it.

26yo, smoked for 10 years. Today is my 104th day without cigarettes. I also got past the weird 3 month checkpoint where lots of people seem to relapse.

It does get better. While indeed around the 3 month mark cravings seemed to ramp up a little, you can barely call them cravings anymore. Most of the time i don’t think about it at all. Some moments still trigger old thought patterns, but it usually doesn’t get harder than a brief “mmh a cig would be kinda nice now” feeling that passes in less then a minute.

What helped most for me was not trying to push away the feeling but rather turning it around and embracing it. Every time i had a craving i actively shifted from looking at a cig as something i “want and can’t have” into something i’m “breaking free from”.
When i went to smoke my last cig i felt like when i was a child and on my way to the airport for vacation. It was exhilarating.

Also, instead of using “i have a stressful time coming up” as an excuse not to stop, i stopped right before a very stressful time. I was so busy working i didn’t even think about smoking most of the time.

What also helped a lot was starting to smell other smokers again. I completely forgot what smokers smell like to non-smokers, because you really stop smelling it. As a smoker i even kinda started to enjoy the smell. But geez, it does smell really bad. Just thinking about how i smelled like that for 10 years straight… Ew… You completely forget how powerful smell is and just how magnetic it can be if someone smells really good. Now i buy nice perfumes from time to time and just enjoy smelling nice.

Next checkpoint i’m excited about is flu season. It’s been f’ing me up quite a bit last couple of years and i’m pretty sure smoking was a big contributor. Generally i feel a bit healthier, better able to breathe etc. It’s very slow and gradual, but there definitely is something happening.

If you’re reading this and thinking about quitting, i’ll tell you it’s absolutely worth it. Just for never having to stress about not having cigarettes anymore. Sometimes some buried connection in my brain starts firing “OMG WHERE’S MY LIGHTER” and then i just think “wait a minute, i don’t have to give a sh’t anymore” and it’s actually quite a nice feeling.

I’ve been wanting to quit smoking for a while now but honestly I have no idea where to start 😭 I tell myself all the time I can just stop and I’m not addicted and then I literally buy a new pack.

I’m curious what actually made you quit and what helped you stick to it. Especially any underrated tips or little tricks that aren’t mentioned everywhere.

Did you quit cold turkey or gradually? And how did you deal with the cravings? I feel like the habit itself is gonna be one of the hardest things to get rid of. I smoke when I feel stressed and anxious and in my head it helps me.

Would love to hear what worked for you, especially if you used to smoke a lot and thought you would never be able to quit

STOP SMOKING

I’ve only been smoking consistently for a little less than a year, but am trying to quit before I get ahead because I’m already noticing some effects.

I smoked the drunk cigarette now and again in college, but that was it. I didn’t really start until I worked in a kitchen post college - which really only started socially to get the excuse for a break. I also smoked with a couple flings after we did adult activities, but never craved it.

I bought a pack in January, so that I wouldn’t have to bum when I went to the bars. And then one thing led to another. I have autism as well as undiagnosed ADHD so I just like to take a few minutes away from my job to have a break and decompress when I get overstimulated. I hate explaining and outing myself, but with the cigs I didn’t need an excuse.

I’ve tried to quit a few times and ended up caving but this time I’m serious about it. I’m trying to save money, be healthier, and be the disciplined person I want to be, and I know quitting will help me do all those things. I know the first two weeks will be the most difficult and would appreciate any advice on how to successfully quit (and to a lesser extent how to resist the urge when going out to bars or how to advocate for myself wanting a quick break at work without needing nicotine to justify it).

Casual smoker for 38 years, would fluctuate to daily then back down again. Generally a pack a week. I thought it wasn’t too bad, but the years add up and take a toll. If the quitter’s flu I am experiencing is any indication, it has had quite a hold on me. I’ve quit many times, but this is the first time I feel like I really mean it. Kicking them to the curb feels really good 💪

I had a really stressful morning and it lead to anger, frustration, etc. I felt myself, or well, my addiction crave a cigarette. I got so angry.

I’m at that point where I know that cigarette will do nothing. I’m mad at my brain for still seeking it. It’s just so annoying. I can’t wait for this to pass.

However I know that that will need work. I need new methods than the old nasty one I had. I need, like many others, to rewire my brain. I’m not an angry gal, so I’m not surprised that I still seek it in anger. I haven’t found new ways to cope yet.

I didn’t cave, thankfully. Ironically it was because I was so angry. I thought: «Can I stop craving cigarettes??? It won’t do shit! If anything, it’ll just make things worse. It’s smelly-» and I kid you not the moment I yelled that out (on the phone with my sister) I got a thick taste of secondhand smoke from a stranger. God that was disgusting.

I gagged and thought: «couldn’t come at a better time».

I find it so strange that just a month and a half ago (ish), cigarettes were my go to. I prefer actual fresh air now and a nice long walk.

I've been smoking since i was 18. Now I'm 28 so exactly 10 years. Managed to stop once for 3 months only to start again for God knows what reason. At first i thought one couldn't hurt and it didn't. I relaxed with it and started smojing only socially until i bought the package again and continued. This time is different though. It seems i have hereditary problem with high blood pressure from both sides of my family and i started to feel it about 2 months ago. Forst only when smoking weed but than i started feeling it when not high as well. Beforehand cigarettes calmed me down. Now they make me panicky cuz i feel it's effects physically on me and they aren't pleasant. Smoked weed as well for long time and stopped with that as well 2 weeks ago cuz all of a sudden they made me have genuine panic attacks and feeling like im experiencing a heart attack. Even called emergency on me once only for them to tell me that i was in fact tripping balls. I tried stopping cigarettes while still smoking weed before the problem was i smoked it WITH tobacco mixed in and that made me fail every time when i smoked a joint. Now there's no such problem so i should succeed this time around. Even stopped drinking coffee because coffee and cigarette was like a breakfast for me. Hopefully this time i succeed.

I don't drink daily, usually 1-2 times a week but when I do drink I drink. I used to be the most fun guy to be around, I know how to have fun and also how to handle my alcohol so me and people drinking with me always have a good time.

I quit smoking 20 days ago, the first time drinking was literally hell for me. I used to smoke half a pack in my prime smoking but while drinking it could easily reach 2 packs for that day. So needless to say drinking is the strongest trigger. The first time after I couldn't think of anything other that having a smoke, and since my friend was a smoker also and was going through a hard thing she smoked like crazy and I was literally losing my mind for some reason, the cravings never got this bad before. I even didn't fully pay attention to my friends hardship, even though I am the guy to give advice and listen to someone's problems I just couldn't pay attention and felt terrible but thats the truth.

Even on my second time drinking I just felt sleepy, down, disoriented not paying attention to the people around me just feeling horrible. I had the craving to smoke but it wasn't something that I couldnt handle but I wanted to smoke more to feel like normal instead of being like this but didn't give in. I feel like I have lost my funny charismatic persona.

I don't plan on giving up drinking as it is just so much fun and doesn't effect me badly as other people and some of my friendships are not based but one of the core mechanics is we drink.

Does this ever go away or is this how it is moving forward? Because if it is like this I will seriously stop drinking.

Hi, I (31M) have been smoking since the age of 17. In the beginning not a lot, started small...4 cigarettes a day back in highschool.

I studied in college, still smoked, and worked jobs. When I studied or worked, I had periods where I would stop cold turkey and not smoke for 6 months or a year. Happened several times.

Now that I'm older I have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. I have a hard time holding down a conventional job hence I get disbaility income. My uncle is schizophrenic too and smokes about a pack a day. He is close to 70 of age.

Around the time when I just could not work and lost my job I started to smoke 2 packs of cigarettes a day. Albeit I have improved over time and limited myself to 1 pack a day.

Smoking for me is the passing of time. It's an activity incorporated in my daily life. I enjoy smoking. It gives me a break from my chaotic mind.

Do I want to quit? I'm tempting after reading these posts. Especially the ones losing a family member too early in life.

I don't know what to make of it. Any advice or suggestions might be helpful.

I’m on day 8 of not smoking! I have a strange cycle, where as soon as my anxiety meds are filled I feel safe enough to smoke again. I have severe health anxiety, and I started smoking again after a 25 year absence after a traumatic event. It’s a paradoxical type of anxiety to be afraid that you will start smoking again as soon as the health anxiety is mitigated by the anxiety medication.

Since I started again, the most I ever smoked was about 5 to 8 cigarettes a day. I think the longest I had quit since I started up again in 24 was around a month maybe six weeks. I’d like to go longer but I’m still dealing with some major stressors. Looking to start swimming to get some of this anxious energy out, but feel very scared. I might buy a pack.

Smoked 1 pack a day since 12 years old, now 23. There was a period of around 2 years when I smoked 2 packs/day.

Recently my dad had an aneurysm linked to smoking and that made me try to quit again, myself having a boy who is 1 year and 2 months old.

Last attempt was 72 days, and I stupidly smoked 1 cig in a work break, being stressed about smth. Next day I came back with a pack.

Now I am on my 2nd day, not so much anxiety due to being on alprazolam, but I got the craves. I quit cold turkey then, and now.

Im staying strong currently but have been put in a bad spot. Im currently in HS and literally every single person im friends with smokes or have started this year. Its so bad, i will walk into a bathroom. Massive group circled around passing a vape. Im sitting next to some buddies in the back of the class… Hitting the vape. That was literally my school life the past 2 years but im genuinely trying to clean up my act and do better overall in life and this is the shit I have to deal with. I was going so strong over the summer and thought that it would make school easier but hell nah. And ik you’ll probably say just avoid em but firstly it doesn’t help when im a floater friend or the fact that even people you wouldn’t think did it infact do smoke. Im not even worried about buying one because I deleted all the contacts I could cop some shit from incase I ended up failing early on. Idek what im trying to get at here, i guess tips on how to avoid it or like what can i do when i get an urge? Chewing gum doesn’t help me at all and I feel like thats the biggest thing.

Greetings and congratulations to everyone quitting.

I mostly need advice. I am 25 and had been smoking for almost 8 years.

I had a deviated septum so I had to get surgery and because I had a bad year, smoking had gone out of hand as a coping mechanism. I decided to quit and I am 46 days clean. Since quitting coincided with post-op, I didn't really have cravings for the first days because of anesthesia and/or pain.

I also don't get many cravings in social settings, mostly passing thoughts.

The only hard cravings I get are in university, where I spend most hours of any given day. I started going back to uni only last week.

Is it expected to get hard cravings so many days after quitting?

I also get anxious that I might relapse at some point, so any tips on navigating this anxiety would be helpful 🫣

Hello everyone! Curious to know if anyone has had a similar experience and can help. I’m 59 days nicotine free after 6 years of use (cigarettes, vape, pouches), with physical symptoms completely gone and no crazy cravings anymore. However, I have gained just a bit of weight, and it has instantly activated my dormant ED, that I thought I was forever free from because it’s been years. Nicotine has obviously been suppressing my appetite and now that that’s gone, I’m constantly hungry and thinking about food. No matter how vain or stupid this sounds, I was initially hesitant to quit in big part because of the risk of weight gain and this exact situation, because you never really “recover” from an ED and I had an inkling this could happen.
My logical brain is trying to convince me that I have been doing some weight training, running, and walking more, which raises appetite, but instead of being proud of myself for that, and for quitting nic above all else - I just feel disgusting and want to go back just to curb the hunger. I understand that this might sound ridiculous compared to others’ struggles, but it is what it is. If anyone has some recommendations, I would be thankful :)
I have substituted the oral fixation with (a lot of) gum, which might also be making me constantly bloated and messing with my perception, but I don’t know what else can help.

Day 2 trying to stop. Cravings r insane and I rly hate myself and how I look but ik in abt a week I will be physically and mentally better. I love doing hobbies tho. I do biking, sketching, gym,(I’ve tried running but it’s slow progress lol) wood carving, baking, cross stitch, paint by numbers, etc. What do u do as a pass time?

I smoke 7-10 cigarettes a day. Trying to quit again and have before to varying degrees of success. I find the 2mg nicotine gums to be the best for me. I usually chew only about 3 a day (so about 6mg of nicotine a day in total), and i chew and park one for hours at a time. Not that I always have one in my mouth, I have long gaps throughout the day with no gum as well.

Thing is, I really like the stimulant effect of nicotine and am planning to continue chewing the gum indefinitely. But I have seen people in this subreddit talking about serious health complications arising from the gum. Should I be worried about them with the small amount I use? I have not exceeded this amount in any of my quitting attempts.

Edit : the complaints I saw of people facing health issues were chewing a much larger number of gums a day and for years

Hey everyone,

I actually mentioned in another post that I quit in May, but doing the math properly, my official quit date was actually March 14th, which means I'm officially at 220 days (over 7 months) smoke-free!

Now that I've gotten this far, I really want to start tracking my exact days, health stats, and milestones more closely.

Does anyone have a good app recommendation for this? (I’ve heard about Smoke Free, QuitNow!, and I Am Sober, but I’d love to know what worked best for you!)

Also, how do you guys keep track of your days? Do you do anything special or treat yourself when you hit a major milestone (like 100 days, 6 months, or 1 year)?

Would love to hear your experiences and ideas! Keep going, everyone!

I know smoking is really hard to quit and I've read other threads, but I'm really starting to lose hope. My dad is turning 64 soon and he's been smoking about 15+ a day for the past 45+ years. He works night shifts, so when he's off work he's only really smoking at home from 6am-8am and 4pm-7pm. But when he's off work it gets bad. We live in a small flat and he opens the windows and balcony door when smoking and sits right next to it, but he still smokes indoors since our flat is quite small so there isn't much space to sit outside. I've bought an air purifier, but the carbon got saturated after 2 weeks. My asthma was quite well managed but I'm starting to have a lot more bad flare-ups as of recently. My dad's a really great guy though, don't get me wrong.

He tried quitting around 5 years ago, but not in the best way. He just shoved a nicotine patch on and tried cutting down to '0 cigs a day', then he'd smoke in secret. That phase lasted about a week. Since then, every time I try to talk to him or just hint at it, he says he knows he should stop but "there's no point, it's too late." But it's never too late and I think we both know that. Our neighbour just recently quit at 73. I've always known that quitting smoking is 100% up to the smoker, but is there really no other way? I've offered to buy him e-cigs or vapes instead, but he just says he doesn't have the will to quit, and I really don't think I can do anything. It's so disheartening to see. Our whole family has tried giving him encouragement and he keeps bringing up his bad experience with quitting and withdrawals. I've never smoked and haven't gone through withdrawals, so I can't comment, but from what I've seen they're not easy at all, so I won't downplay that one bit. It's just sad to see really, as he's getting older 🫤

Could I have some advice please? Is there anything I can do, or do I just have to wait until he's ready? Thank you.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice on quitting as a social smoker. I’ve been smoking on and off most of my adult life, but only when I go out for a drink/socialise. Which is on average twice a week, in the summer maybe a little more as the weather is nice. I have never smoked at home, and don’t crave tobacco, it doesn’t even cross my mind on a day-to-day basis. Yet, the moment I got a beer in my hand and sit on a sunny cafe terrace, boom, a cigarette magically appears in my hand. Another issue, is that I don’t hear very well in busy places, such as parties, so going outside for a smoke gives me the respite from straining to hear what my friends are saying in a loud bar/club/general stimulation. I would really like to stop smoking as I really feel these smoking sessions on my chest the next day, and I know I’d be healthier and my athletic performance would improve significantly if I quit. But since I don’t smoke outside of social events and don’t feel nic cravings, I think the approach is more to do with my habits than full blown addiction, and I’m really not sure where to start ¯_(ツ)_/¯