Quitting Smoking!

I'm quitting smoking.

Today makes 8 days or so.

I smoked a tobacco pipe primarily.

Quitting with the help of nicotine lozenges and gum, tea tree oil infused toothpicks, and YOU!

This thread is for all smokers and junkies trying to quit their habit of choice.

Here's to a healthy, positive, and beneficial life!

What habits are you trying to change?  Why?

Are you a former smoker?

How did you quit?

Why?

hi Rob, you are off to a  great start!

I quit in 1984 after smoking for 12 years, the last few rolling Bugler and Tops.  
I chewed nicotine gum and sat on my hands a lot...and worked hard on our farm.
I had some close friends who watched out for me in occasional social settings where if I had a few drinks I wanted a cigarette.  
I quit drinking the next year...so all that left was a coffee addiction that I don't intend to give up

and the 'why' was mostly to do with my health but also the expense.

It's so great that you've quit...just take one day at a time and try to break out of any routines that call for a smoke...find new patterns in your life.

Hi Rob! Congrats on the 8 days!!
You may find some good ideas here
https://permies.com/t/102416/personal-care/purity/Quitting-Smoking
and here
https://permies.com/t/22063/kitchen/quit-smoking

But no matter where you are looking, good for you.
I quit some years ago (i no longer remember how long, probably about 7 years) because my kid was getting older and how could I expect her to not smoke if I was smoking? Also, did I really want to give the government absurd amounts of taxes? Not really. So I decided to stop and while I am not one of those reformed people (like my spouse) who hates the smell of cigarettes, I am glad that I am in decent shape for my age in cardiovascular terms and that I can smell and taste much better than I did before.

It took me many years and many tries to quit. Some were more successful than others, but in the end quit I did. If you screw up, dust yourself off and try again. Don`t wait til tomorrow to start again, you can start and make progress any time. Every cigarette you don't smoke is a new chance.
Good for you, you can do this!

Hi Rob. Good choice.

I had so much fun quitting, I did it four times!

I started in high school, and quit the first time in the middle of the 12th grade. Every time I took it up after came from a penchant to smoke socially, or when I drank, so I became more social and drank more when I wanted to smoke more; eventually I got tired of the drinking and partying and ended up quitting smoking again. This didn't work at university, where most of my friends were smokers, so I would join them for their smoke breaks, at first just for a stretch and a bit of a walk and fresh air, and then I'd be smoking again.

But it was cold turkey for me each time, and a realisation of what my triggers were, avoidance of said, and willpower. Now, I have no desire whatsoever to smoke. The smell is no longer as violently offputting as it became immediately after quitting, but I have no desire to have it around, and absolutely none to smoke tobacco again.

So here is me, gleefully tobacco free since (2003 would be the best rhyme, but it would also be a lie) about 2008. I am really glad I quit. Each time. I think it's finally taken.

(fingers crossed).

-CK

Glad to hear you are quitting smoking. It is one thing you will not regret. I quit last February and I actually started a thread here on permies titled Quitting Smoking as well. I smoked for 13 years and used nicotine gum and lozenges. One thing I can advise is to tell a lot of people that you're quitting both in person and here on the forum because for me, it created a sense of accountability in that I like to stick to my word. Saying that I was quitting meant that I had to do what I said I was going to do. Either way, quitting is possible and you are going to succeed.

Judith Browning wrote:hi Rob, you are off to a  great start!

I quit in 1984 after smoking for 12 years, the last few rolling Bugler and Tops.  
I chewed nicotine gum and sat on my hands a lot...and worked hard on our farm.
I had some close friends who watched out for me in occasional social settings where if I had a few drinks I wanted a cigarette.  
I quit drinking the next year...so all that left was a coffee addiction that I don't intend to give up

and the 'why' was mostly to do with my health but also the expense.

It's so great that you've quit...just take one day at a time and try to break out of any routines that call for a smoke...find new patterns in your life.

Hey Judith - I spent a year or two down in NC rolling Drum tobacco.  

About 10 years ago I quit and stayed that way for 7 years until about 3-4 years ago.

We share the same "why" - likely as do many others.

One day at a time for sure and new patterns indeed!

Glad to hear you've quit as well!

Tereza Okava wrote:Hi Rob! Congrats on the 8 days!!
You may find some good ideas here
https://permies.com/t/102416/personal-care/purity/Quitting-Smoking
and here
https://permies.com/t/22063/kitchen/quit-smoking

But no matter where you are looking, good for you.
I quit some years ago (i no longer remember how long, probably about 7 years) because my kid was getting older and how could I expect her to not smoke if I was smoking? Also, did I really want to give the government absurd amounts of taxes? Not really. So I decided to stop and while I am not one of those reformed people (like my spouse) who hates the smell of cigarettes, I am glad that I am in decent shape for my age in cardiovascular terms and that I can smell and taste much better than I did before.

It took me many years and many tries to quit. Some were more successful than others, but in the end quit I did. If you screw up, dust yourself off and try again. Don`t wait til tomorrow to start again, you can start and make progress any time. Every cigarette you don't smoke is a new chance.
Good for you, you can do this!

Thanks for the message and for the vote of support!

I'm with you on the taxes...but I suspect I may join camp with your hubs.

After quitting the first time (for 7 years) I couldn't stand the smell either.

I remember unpacking a box after quitting with some old clothes - and I could still smell the smoke.  

Definitely looking forward to improved taste again now that I've improved my diet somewhat as well.  

Cheers!

Aaron Tusmith wrote:Glad to hear you are quitting smoking. It is one thing you will not regret. I quit last February and I actually started a thread here on permies titled Quitting Smoking as well. I smoked for 13 years and used nicotine gum and lozenges. One thing I can advise is to tell a lot of people that you're quitting both in person and here on the forum because for me, it created a sense of accountability in that I like to stick to my word. Saying that I was quitting meant that I had to do what I said I was going to do. Either way, quitting is possible and you are going to succeed.

I didn't regret it last time I quit either!  lol

I'm a little nervous about telling people in my life...though a coworker and a friend busted me last week.

They noticed I didn't have my pipe on me and that they didn't recognize me without it.

I just kind of shrugged and thought to myself ("You'll have to get used to it!")

Cheers to quitting, Aaron!

Congratulations Rob!

I quit smoking in May last year. This time it worked, because I was way better prepared. Let me explain, maybe it helps someone else as well.

I realized for me smoking was about 3 things:
1 the mechanism of nicotine addiction,
2 the habit and
3 the need to pauze for a minute to either feel satisfied or happy, or to just think for a minute.

Those 3 things made up my smoking habits. Understanding them made it easy to quit.

1 Nicotine is very addictive, so that's a bit of a willpower thing. The good news is that it only takes 1 to 3 weeks to get rid of that physical addiction. Hang in there for a little while and that's fixed! Always remind yourself that it's not smoking that you want, but the feeling it gives and that even more often you just did light one up out of habit only.

2 habits can be replaced... But only if you're aware of them. Many times I felt like I "needed" a cigarette, but after the first weeks when the physical addiction wears off, I knew that I just wanted my habits to continue. The reasons are number 3, you need a pauze sometimes, a moment to step back and reflect. That's not a bad habit, but filling that habit with cigarettes is!

3 instead of cigarettes, people replace the smoking habit with for example chewing gum, or sweets (hmm chocolate!!!). But then you create a new addiction... So by being aware that you sometimes need a break you can just start to take them consciously, whenever you feel like smoking! Just realizing: "ah, my mind tells me that I need a moment", helped me a lot to bend that feeling of needing a cigarette away to consciously take a short break instead.

Then finally during the first months I made a new routine to help me cope by allowing rewards to stay part of my daily routine, but only once a day. I would reward myself with a cup of chocolate icecream at the end of every day. Just to not lose that occasional moment of satisfaction every day. At some point I didn't need that any longer and it faded into the background and I started to forget buying the icecream.

After the first weeks I have never wanted a cigarette anymore. I broke the mental connection between smoking and taking a short moment away from what I was doing.

Good luck!

Right on - I think in a sense I realized this as well.

Exactly when I was in line to pick up more tobacco.

I realized I could just as easily feed the addiction element via lozenges.

The rest was habits and simple pattern recognition.

I've identified a reward for the end of the 12 week nicotine lozenge period.  

I'm 8/9 days in and feeling confident about this again.

Maybe this will be the last time I quit!

Rene Nijstad wrote:Congratulations Rob!

I quit smoking in May last year. This time it worked, because I was way better prepared. Let me explain, maybe it helps someone else as well.

I realized for me smoking was about 3 things:
1 the mechanism of nicotine addiction,
2 the habit and
3 the need to pauze for a minute to either feel satisfied or happy, or to just think for a minute.

Those 3 things made up my smoking habits. Understanding them made it easy to quit.

1 Nicotine is very addictive, so that's a bit of a willpower thing. The good news is that it only takes 1 to 3 weeks to get rid of that physical addiction. Hang in there for a little while and that's fixed! Always remind yourself that it's not smoking that you want, but the feeling it gives and that even more often you just did light one up out of habit only.

2 habits can be replaced... But only if you're aware of them. Many times I felt like I "needed" a cigarette, but after the first weeks when the physical addiction wears off, I knew that I just wanted my habits to continue. The reasons are number 3, you need a pauze sometimes, a moment to step back and reflect. That's not a bad habit, but filling that habit with cigarettes is!

3 instead of cigarettes, people replace the smoking habit with for example chewing gum, or sweets (hmm chocolate!!!). But then you create a new addiction... So by being aware that you sometimes need a break you can just start to take them consciously, whenever you feel like smoking! Just realizing: "ah, my mind tells me that I need a moment", helped me a lot to bend that feeling of needing a cigarette away to consciously take a short break instead.

Then finally during the first months I made a new routine to help me cope by allowing rewards to stay part of my daily routine, but only once a day. I would reward myself with a cup of chocolate icecream at the end of every day. Just to not lose that occasional moment of satisfaction every day. At some point I didn't need that any longer and it faded into the background and I started to forget buying the icecream.

After the first weeks I have never wanted a cigarette anymore. I broke the mental connection between smoking and taking a short moment away from what I was doing.

Good luck!