I have been smoking since the age of 11 and stopped for 5 years in my mid twenties. I thought it was all over and I was good to go but the craving returned. First only very subtle like when I am out drinking with my work mates but I always managed to suppress it.
The I started to think about it more often and eventually wanted just one drag to see if I had made the right choice.
After that I basically ended up buying a pack every day after work smoking one and throwing the pack and lighter away. It was chronic .. eventually I gave in and now I am fully back on and I really hate it.

What has helped you guys give up for good ?
I just don't want to be one of those old leather faced brittle losers when I am older to be honest.

I used hypnotism actually. You have to believe it will work though and really want to quit. I went to one of those guys you see in the paper. 26 years now. Good luck brother!

Baby steps. Dont try to quit just once. Smoke half a cigarette, cut down to a couple a week. It takes time. Smoke wasnt quit in a day.

I did baby steps and quit over a whole year.

Honestly what really helped was practicing Judo and BJJ.

I had ashtma as a kid so my lungs are sensitive.

Everytime training session I'd gas out quick and take a beating. I'd think of how stupid it was to have smoked the previous days. And everytime I got the urge to light one up I'd take a few puffs and think to myself: 'Every drag gets me closer to having my ass kicked during the next session'. It made it easy to keep my mind strong.

By the way, this topic has been discussed in multiple threads before, do a quick Google search before posting. thread-42668.html

E-Cigarettes an option?

I used to smoke like 8-10 a day on avg. Now I smoke one in a few days. Here's what I did.

1)Downloaded a habit tracker app. Honestly recorded the number of cigarettes I smoke every single day without fail.

2)Stopped buying packs. Only bought a few cigarettes at once. (the most important step according to me.)
Our main problem is that we smoke even after we get that nicotine hit if we see cigarettes lying around. So, make sure that you have less than 3 near you all the time.

Yes, it's that simple. Over the period of 6 months, my habit gradually slowed down to almost zero. Please don't be that guy and go cold turkey starting from tomorrow. We both know that it doesn't work

Regarding e cigs or gums/patches, they didn't help me. The problem with ecigs is that not smoking them will still leave you with a sensation to put something in your mouth. I think oral pleasure you get from sucking shouldn't be neglected.

I also know some guys who completely quit smoking and now only smoke e-cigs. They vape too much. One of them sneaked in his vape and started using it under the table while working. Don't be this guy. Psychological addiction is dangerous.

I don't agree with the others about cutting down, you sound like me, a true hard core smoker and for guys like us, its all or nothing, you either smoke a pack a day or you don't smoke at all, there is no in between. I also started smoking at 11-12, plus both my parents smoked growing up and my mom smoked while pregnant so I guess I've been smoking my entire life. I've quit several times over the past ten years and have used all methods (patch, gum, hypnosis, Zyban, Chantix, lasers, cold turkey, etc).

Everyone is different so you may have to try a few different methods before you're able to quit, for me, these were the two best:

Allen Carr's Easy Way: This is a $8 book that works, quitting smoking is mostly psychological and after reading it, you will be in the right frame of mind to quit. I've quit twice reading this book and I highly recommend reading it as it will help you quit and better inform you about nicotine addiction and the "smoking trap". https://www.allencarr.com/

Laser Therapy: Based on the principles of acupuncture, you get blasted by a laser in several points on your body but mostly the head including the ears, forehead, etc. I don't really know much more about how it works but trust me, this one works the best for me, I've quit three times using this method. http://www.imaginelaserworks.com/service...t-smoking/

Now, I know it sounds stupid that I'm recommending methods to quit when neither of the above kept me off the darts but that's my own fault, I'll usually quit for 6-12 months then get drunk and decide to get back on them. Of course we tell ourselves that its "only one" but we all know how it works, you have one then a couple of more the next day and before you know it, you're back to a pack a day. For me, quitting isn't terribly hard, its staying off them, which for me, is directly related to my drinking, I always get back on them when I'm drunk. I'm on day ten no booze and I will try to keep that going, I had quit smoking for five months but got back on them about six weeks ago while out boozing. I've been watching my dad suffer through lung cancer (he smoked for 30 years but quit back in the late 90s and still got it) and that is enough motivation to make me quit again, smoking is fucking brutal.

I am social smoker now, meaning I smoke maybe few cigs a week, when I am with someone out or on coffee. Few years ago I was smoker and smoked maybe half a pack per day, two days.
I stopped by gradually lowering amount of cigs per day. For example if in monday I smoked 10 cigs, in tuesday I would smoke 9 or 8.
Day by day it just stopped. Now as I said, maybe I buy sometimes a pack and it lasts me for month instead of few days.

I'm a social smoker. I'm able to pick it up and put it down. Everytime I see an anti smoking ad, I want to smoke.

I love nicotine. It's effects are on the same plain as caffeine for me. But cigarettes leave me feeling like crap over the long term and very obviously hit me hardest during cardio intensive activities.

I've been tempted to invest in a vaping system. OP have you considered checking this out?

Quote: (02-06-2017 10:53 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

I'm a social smoker. I'm able to pick it up and put it down. Everytime I see an anti smoking ad, I want to smoke.

I love nicotine. It's effects are on the same plain as caffeine for me. But cigarettes leave me feeling like crap over the long term and very obviously hit me hardest during cardio intensive activities.

I've been tempted to invest in a vaping system. OP have you considered checking this out?

Yes, we should be happy that a serious alternative (vaporizers) are now in existence. Generations before us didnt have that option, it was smoking or nothing. Now the options are smoking, vaping, nothing, or some combination of vaping and smoking.

I will for sure buy a vaporizer soon, I smoked for 5/6 years, then quite 13 months, then started again..... Now I have the feeling that I should quit again, but now considering vaping as a serious alternative.

Quote: (02-06-2017 10:53 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

and very obviously hit me hardest during cardio intensive activities.

Have you tried skipping rope after a cigarette? I have

Any chance one day tobacco will be illegal?

I am in the midst of cutting down on coffee and smokes.

I went from five cups of coffee a day to one, and it was a killer. Headaches from hell, tense shoulder riding up my neck and parallel to my ears. Got it done though.

Next to caffeine withdrawals, for me anyway, nicotine is a breeze.

When I go for a long time without smoking, I feel a slight ache between my shoulder blades, and that is it.

Emotionally though, it is a whole other story.

The whole reason I decided to cut back on cigarettes and caffeine was because my doc said I had high blood pressure, and she wanted to put me on medication. I thought, fuck that, I will change my lifestyle.

And I did, and dropped my blood pressure by about 25 points, top and bottom number, and my doctor couldn't believe it. It wasn't for health or worries about heart disease, it was because my doctor is a bossy woman telling me I needed blood pressure medication and I thought, fuck you bitch, I will figure it out myself.

She still doesn't believe I could lower blood pressure by changing things, and asks all sorts of questions whenever I come in like, Did you have unusual stressors last time you came in?

But not smoking at all, I just couldn't manage. My blood pressure is low, and I am smoking between one and three a day, and it is because emotionally, I still need them.

And you know what, it isn't really about the nicotine, it is about the freedom, the freedom to do what I want, when I want, because I have a lot of responsibilities, and most of my time is spent doing what I think I should do, not what I want to do.

My whole relationship to cigarettes has changed though, and I know it is just a matter of time before I am done for good.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with things, and has to work out their own relationship to the things that they can't live without, so I am not contradicting Scotian when he says what works for him, and I have even read that Carr book and think it is good.

I am just saying that at the end of the day, you have to actively figure out what works for you, and it might be what works for others and it might not.

What I know is that now my relationship to cigarettes has changed forever, and my new focus is smoking as little as possible, and how I go about it is that before I have a cigarette, I ask myself if I really need it, and if I don't, I don't smoke it, and while I am smoking it, I ask myself if I have to smoke the whole thing, and a lot of times I don't, it is more about the freedom to do what I want when I want, not about the nicotine.

And that is how I am doing it.

For me, nicotine cravings are trivial. I have to figure out my emotional relationship to my habit to overcome it.

So that is how I am doing it.

Get a tin of skoal and try dipping tobacco. I started dipping to get a nicotine fix when I wanted to cut out the cigs, but dip is so bloody disgusting after awhile I just quit altogether. After excessive dipping I think my body just rejected the very idea of tobacco.

After I quit dipping, I was tobacco free for a good 5 years, but then lapsed and started smoking socially again for about a year when I found game but never got addicted like I once was.

I told myself if I quit while I'm young; let my lungs heal and live to make it to my 50's, I can smoke a pack a day with no remorse until I go to the grave.

Quote: (02-06-2017 12:39 PM)Meat Head Wrote:  

Any chance one day tobacco will be illegal?

That is very good question! I discussed it with my friends, didn't came to any conclusion. From the beginning tobacco lobbies had power over medical establishment and smoking was extensive in movies, tv series, and real life in places you wouldn't dream today to smoke. Mad men? Smoking gynecologist in 1st episode hahah?

Today, they are reducing smoking in public. In Croatia it is banned in lot of coffee bars and owners counter that with building wall inside of bar and making one area to be smoking area, even though they are really not separated.

Future? Maybe it will be possible for some drugs to be legalized and tobacco and alcohol to be illegal, who knows...

I smoked ten a day for ten years and quit. I'm sorry to tell you there is no shortcut, and the guys saying so in this thread are wrong.

You need to accept it will hurt, pick a time when nothing too big is coming up, and just stop.

The mindset: when a craving kicks in, it is not an option to smoke. Once the mental battle starts, you cannot win. So don't let it start.

Intellect is weak compared to the will. You can only combat desire with other desires. So realise that smoking makes you look like shit. You will fuck less and get old sooner.

I used a vape then lowered the nicatine slowly. I'm on 3mg liquid smoking it every day. I hope it's less bad than smoking cigerettes. At least it doesn't turn your teeth yellow hrug:

Quote: (02-06-2017 07:03 PM)Eugenics Wrote:  

I used a vape then lowered the nicatine slowly. I'm on 3mg liquid smoking it every day. I hope it's less bad than smoking cigerettes. At least it doesn't turn your teeth yellow hrug:

And you don't stink, that's one of the things that I'm self conscious about as a smoker, smelling like an ashtray.

Ah yeah. The smell. I know a lot of people go the vape route and fail but it's worth giving a try. I use plain liquid because i hear a lot of the flavoring could potentially be carcinogenic. The jury is still out on the whole thing but I personally believe plain high quality pg/vg liquid with nicotine is substantially more healthy than tabacco.

1 gallon of vape liquid (plain) is about 30 usd
Good vape is abour 125 usd

If you smoke near a pack of day you'll save that in the first month. It's worth it. Give it a try

Quote: (02-06-2017 07:03 PM)Eugenics Wrote:  

I used a vape then lowered the nicatine slowly. I'm on 3mg liquid smoking it every day. I hope it's less bad than smoking cigerettes. At least it doesn't turn your teeth yellow hrug:

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, vaping is probably the best way to consume nicotine.

Assuming an unflavored oil, you're essentially breathing in water and nicotine. That's it!

I've been told the water vapor will help clean your lungs but I think that's pretty dubious. Either way, you're doing yourself a favor.

There was a time when I had to brush my teeth after each cigarette to get rid of the taste and smell in my mouth. After five or six I had to take a shower to make sure I smell normal. I was actually really conscious talking to people if I had smoked. The stench around your face fingers and clothes are super antisocial for me.

What bugs me as well is that I am on complete autopilot when I am craving and it doesn't matter how I try and think about it .. like all of a sudden I have my jacket and shoes on and find myself on the way to the next corner shop. Feels like a right junkie and it's pretty demoralising.

^My darker side rationalised that the smell doesnt last that long and there are plenty of smokers with white teeth.

I started with the nicotine gums. Chewed them for a long time, about 9 months I think. Changed them to regular gums. Now I've stopped the regular gums too, but craw them daily. But I don't want to chew, it makes me look stupid.

I was a pack a day at one point. Smoked for about 5 years. That's when I tried vaping(and this was years ago when the technology was garbage) but it was just enough to get me to quite smoking. With the garbage technology back then it did take some willpower.

Years later the technology has improved many times over. Unless it's a very rare cig when out with friends, I don't smoke. I do sometimes buy a pack after traveling overseas but that's more due to how constipated I get after traveling for 20 hours and switching 8+ timezones. And cigs do the job.

I do encourage anyone looking to quit to at least give vaping a try. Current technology gives you the nicotine buzz, the throat hit, is far healthier, you don't ever smell like cigs and you can do it many places. I no longer have to step outside for a smoke break. Can vape while on the computer, watching a movie, in the car, etc, even in the lavatory on the airplane over the Atlantic. Skin immediately looks healthier, lungs function better, no more of the hacking/coughing, better teeth, hair.

Actually, I only know of one person who tried to quit with vaping and didn't succeed. Every other person I know who went the way of vaping stopped using cigs. But that one guy who failed at it lives in a country where everyone seems to smoke.

Part of me thinks OP is trolling, serious about quitting but doesn't mention the most obvious option?