Asklemmy

running is what did it for me

I'm neither an expert nor do I smoke. But from what I heard, quitting smoking has two major points- one being the nicotine addiction your body has built up. The second one being your 'emotional addiction', I.e being used to smoking as a tool to decompress, socialize, take a break, fight boredom etc. which is embedded in your routines - this one might be harder to fight. Maybe try to identify those things and find alternatives, start installing different ways to cope and simultaneously take care of your bodily addiction via gums, patches, whatever is the right way for you.

I went cold turkey with the help of Wellbutrin. Best of luck!

Well, first you need to really want it. Then get some medication to help you with that. I got something based on cytisine, because I specifically didn't want a medication with nicotine, but what do I know, it was just my gut feeling.

After 25 days of using it I stopped smoking successfully. I first tried without any medication and let me tell you, the difference is huge, with the medication I had no physical withdrawal symptoms. The hardest part was breaking the habit, my brain was used to getting a cigarette on so many different occasions. But without the physical withdrawal symptoms, it was manageable (and ties to my very first sentence here - you need to really want to stop).

So yeah, get some medication and prepare to struggle for the first few weeks, because you're used to smoking and your brain needs its routine. It won't stop afterwards, it just gets easier with time. Currently on year 3 of no smoking and occasionally I still get the urge to smoke a cigarette. And from what other ex-smokers told me, that doesn't go away even after 15 years, the brain is just weird like that. At first I got the irrational urge like few times a month, now I'm on ~6 times a year.

Best of luck!

From my experience, I would say it really depends on what kind of smoker you are.

I smoked on and off for over twenty years. I made strong associations with cigarettes in my college years. It was a way to get away, to be different, to meet new people, to relax, etc. Sometimes I smoked two packs a day, but more often a pack a week. I smoked the most while driving or after work or at the bar. My friends at the bar smoked, my girlfriends smoked, my coworkers smoked.

I read long ago that, for some people, nicotine fits like a puzzle piece into a receptor in their bodies. I believe I lack this receptor that causes biological addition and my smoking was due more to Pavlovian conditioning. I never had a morning craving. I never got "the shakes". I quit over a dozen times, sometimes for more than a year.

When I was finally ready, and I have to emphasize that you need to be ready, I actually went out of my way to not have a cigarette while doing the things I strongly associated with smoking. I knew I was ready and it was going to stick because I quit over the course of "Beer Week" (Beer Week is when all the bars in the city have beer specials and events and serve one-off or collaboration beers from around the world). It was the worst time to quit but also the best time to quit. It was a challenge. When my friends at the bar all went out for a smoke, I joined them - without a smoke. When I was done eating dinner, I'd go outside and just sit and think without the cigarette. I even went for a drive with a cigarette in my hand and pretended to smoke it without lighting it up.

Being ready to quit isn't about knowing it's bad for you. To be really honest with you, I quit because I was flirting with a super cute girl who happened to be a doctor (I still remember her name - Rose. Because Rose + Doctor Who). Everything was going great then I interrupted her so I could go outside for a cigarette. The disappointment felt by the both of us when I returned was the gut punch I needed. I still have that pack of cigarettes that I only had three smokes out of.

I've not had a single urge to smoke for nine and a half years now.

Or you could try hypnotherapy. Worked for my mom after smoking for over 45 years.

I had tried multiple times previously, but when I stopped using snus (tobacco in pouches you put under your lip) for good these are things that helped me succeed:

1. I actually wanted to quit (this is the most important one. If you just feel like you should quit and don't actually want to. It's gonna be really rough).

2. I set a deadline for myself. For me, that deadline was during a family vacation so I planned for myself to get through the last box of snus before the vacation was over. I had a single box of snus that was already opened and a week long vacation (a single box used to last me maybe 2 days normally). This made me ration it out so I had a natural decrease in amounts used before I quit.

3. I distracted myself from things that would normally make me want to grab a snus. Some were harder to avoid like when having morning coffee or when I had just eaten a large meal, but those could be substituted with chewing gum, breath mints, etc. I had also just recently started dating again at the time, so my daily routine was almost always different from the norm, which made ignoring the cravings a lot simpler.

And honestly, from there it was just staying true to my goal and making sure to be proud of every milestone. Even now, 5 years later, I made sure to be proud of being 5 years clean.

And you will think about it every now and then. Especially in situations where you normally go for a smoke, your brain will occasionally go back to "ahh, shit, a smoke would be nice now". I still have those moments when I have stressful situations, have been out drinking, or just randomly from time to time.

If you really want to quit, you can do it! I believe in you!

I think it depends what your goal is. If you want a less painful quit wheen yourself off it. If you want to be off them ASAP then cold turkey.

Getting healthy is a personal journey. What works for some will not work for others. I hope you find your way.

As for how I quit tobacco cold turkey:

Every day, I would delay the first cigarette as long as I could. There was no limits to my smoking. There was no rules. Just me doing my best. No putting myself down for sparking one up, no goals to disappoint myself by missing.

Slowly over the course of months I got later and later in the day on average. Till one day I forgot to have one. Did I have a smoke the next day? You bet I did.

But eventually I made it a couple days. Then once I got past a couple days I tried to push for a week. Once you get past two weeks the cravings really dropped. It eventually become a "when I drink" thing. And then I abstained from alcohol to help that along.

I still drink, but I don't smoke (tobacco). It's been years since I actively smoked, although two years ago I did slip up when i was drunk tubing down a river and bummed like 5 cig from a friend who had a couple packs. It was a really good day. Next day, I didn't want to keep smoking. I felt really strong to be able to smoke some cigs and just drop it. Haven't smoked (tobacco) since then.

Read or listen to Allen Carr - how to stop smoking. There's an audiobook on torrents.