Knocking tobacco on the head after 30 years

[Tubetec]

Lots of good points there to consider ,thanks
Trying to give up drink on top , that could be a step too far , we dont socialise terribly effectively without a few drops of 'courage' here in Ireland, 
Fully in agreement about the rock and roll lifestyle , graveyard of champions ,like a road paved with bones ,
Luckily most of the excesses I didnt bother with ,
New music venue opening up locally , I wouldnt mind a gig on sound a few nights a week ,  back in temptations way of course , but I do think to over come in the longer term we have to be able to stare the demon down.

I think one other possible benefit of nicotiene was it made you less appealing to things like fleas and mosquitoes , and of course its a fairly effective  pesticide also . 

 

[scott2000]

One interesting thing I remember reading in one book was how your body tries to readjust the adrenaline levels in your body after stopping..... It was talking about how it can make you actually look for fights/arguments so to speak during this time.... I can't remember the name of the book but it was pretty neat.

 

[Banzai]

Vape really works. Helped me quit overnight with no withdrawal or cravings (sober or drunk). Smokers cough was gone in 4-days. Sense of smell and taste came back in around a week. Been 3 years since.

Makes sense to make the switch as soon as you can because it's much healthier already. Then when you're off cigarettes for good, you can worry about getting off the vape. A lot easier to quit than cigarettes.

Important to get the right juice though. This ones my favourite: https://www.t-juice.com/redastaire.html

 

[Squeaky]

Coincidentally, I'm currently on day four of giving up cold turkey. I only smoked in the evening after dinner (four or five roll your own) and so most of the day is fine but post dinner is a bit of a nightmare for me. I use gum, which takes the edge off a wee bit. I don't have a smoker's cough (I exercise a lot) but I don't sleep as well as I like. Even after stopping for only a few days I have slept through the night better. Along with all the other secrets to a long healthy life, for me stress-free sleep (no waking up stressing in the night) must be up there as an important component.

If I am busy (fully occupied) then this helps me quite. I've been making wine and cider (that time of the year here) working on some electronics stuff, tidying (not my natural state)... whatever. Take the dog for a long walk, go fishing, taste the cider (still green), collect walnuts, pass the rugby ball with the boy, smoke some venison ribs, make some chocolate caramel slice, plunge the wine, work on console  monitor section design, check the cider again...

 

[scott2000]

Then when you're off cigarettes for good, you can worry about getting off the vape. A lot easier to quit than cigarettes.

I've wondered about this........

The weird chemical buzz and nastiness of the cigarettes is what made it easy for me to quit them when I tried the end of the day routine  ...... and it would seem to me to help that it is kinda nasty in general to want to stop regardless of technique.....

but the vaping lacks this nasty............it does seem to me that many successfully quit vaping though .....

Wonder why that is......maybe the tapering of nicotine????

 

[Banzai]

With cigarettes you're not just addicted to nicotine. There's another 4 or so 1000 chemicals you need to wean your body off from.

When quitting vaping, you really just have to get off nicotine. That is, if you really want to. Not sure it's much different to caffeine or any more harmful.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Caveat I am not a smoker but like I said I know a little about it.

There is an association with sucking on a fag...(relax cigarette), and the relief from smoking. With vaping you can taper down the nicotine dose while still satisfying the oral stimulation..

JR

 

[Tubetec]

I have found upping my 'physical work output level ' integral to ditching the crave  factor , I kinda busted my self up nicely cranking my weed eater that choked out because of bad bearings for half a day , ached like f£?k for a day or two , this morning felt good , tore down a bunch of wind fall timber to kindling ,' anger is an energy' thats what i keep saying to myself , :-X

 

[scott2000]

anger is an energy' thats what i keep saying to myself , :-X

Well they do say it's what you do with the anger that matters....

I say wise choice.....

It's probably just temporarily hitching a ride on the energy you now have more of anyway..... 

 

[user 37518]

Just into day 4 of quiting , keeping busy seems like the best way to divert the mind , I had a lash of pints last night and sure enough it wasnt long before I caved in and took a cigarette from a friend . I dont see any point in vaping nicotine or any of the other nicotine based 'keep you hooked' products .

Im already seeing some small benefits from the short lay off , less lethargic and less coughing first thing in the morning .

Id be interested to hear any methodologies people have used sucessfully to give up .

I quit smoking 9 years ago, I used to smoke 3 packs of Marlboro Red per day, I tried everything, gum, hypnosis, books,(vaping wasnt very popular 9 years ago), etc... sadly the only thing that works (at least for me ) was quiting cold turkey, it hurts and I still (after 9 years) sometimes dream that I smoke again, but it was the best decision ever. Be careful with your calorie intake thou, I used to be 132 pounds before quiting and now im  231 pounds! yes you read right I gained 100 pounds, now my goal is to quit eating so much  ;D ohhh well, you win some and you lose some...

 

[alexc]

Nicotine gum got me off tobacco cigs  ..  10+yrs ago - not had one since.

I think the gum lasted for 6mths daily, dropping right off after a further 6 mths from that. 

It was a bit gnarly for the first month or two, but after that didn't think about it   

I kind of preferred the gum hit to the cigs, and then sort of forgot about it altogether and didn't bother anymore.

It's also true I changed my environment about that time too  ... to a less toxic, more out of town-er kind.

 

[Squeaky]

I went back to this thread to check how long I've been off tobacco. Its been about 4 months now. I still feel like having a cigarette at least once a day. I think this feeling will always be there to some degree, but it is manageable. My next task (should I choose to accept it) is to give up all the extra chocolate biscuits, cheese and crackers and cider I've been consuming. I've definitely put on a few pounds in spite of the exercise I've been doing.

 

[user 37518]

I went back to this thread to check how long I've been off tobacco. Its been about 4 months now. I still feel like having a cigarette at least once a day. I think this feeling will always be there to some degree, but it is manageable. My next task (should I choose to accept it) is to give up all the extra chocolate biscuits, cheese and crackers and cider I've been consuming. I've definitely put on a few pounds in spite of the exercise I've been doing.

Do keep an eye on your weight, I've gained almost 100 pounds since I quit smoking.

 

[Squeaky]

Thanks for the warning user 37518. It is all too easy to fall into new bad habits.

 

[Tubetec]

I stopped counting how long Im off it,
I have tried a few  other peoples cigs ,mainly after a few pints in the pub , tasted like crap ,
I havent found any weight gain , but I have upped my physical work output to keep things in balance .
On the few ocassions I have tried a cig , I get a slightly dizzy ,listless feeling for a little while after ,its not a nice feeling at all .

 

[JohnRoberts]

Lots of good points there to consider ,thanks
Trying to give up drink on top , that could be a step too far , we dont socialise terribly effectively without a few drops of 'courage' here in Ireland, 

I plan to give up drink about the same time I give up breathing, but I have given up drinking to excess.. (I also get a full blood test once a year that reveals no health problems from my ethyl consumption. )

Some general advice about resolutions is don't try to do too much, too fast. Make small incremental improvements. After they become ingrained as a habit, move onto the next modest improvement. You have the rest of your life to attain perfection.

Fully in agreement about the rock and roll lifestyle , graveyard of champions ,like a road paved with bones ,

with a few notable exceptions who like energizer bunnies just keep on rocking.

Luckily most of the excesses I didnt bother with ,

I had a high school friend drop dead from his first and last experiment with Heroin in the 60s. His death way too young served as a powerful cautionary tale, for his surviving friends.

New music venue opening up locally , I wouldnt mind a gig on sound a few nights a week ,  back in temptations way of course , but I do think to over come in the longer term we have to be able to stare the demon down.

I think one other possible benefit of nicotiene was it made you less appealing to things like fleas and mosquitoes , and of course its a fairly effective  pesticide also .

and women, unless they are smokers too (like kissing an ashtray)?

Nicotine is a powerful mood leveler so often relied upon for stress relief. If needed you can get a dose of nicotine from gum, or vaping, without the tars and lung damage***.  It might be hard to ignore a smoke filled bar room.

I lost a brother and sister, both heavy smokers when younger, to cancer. Some people can tolerate smoking, many can't.

JR

**** there are news reports of health problems caused by vaping but this could be a tiny fraction of the population allergic to some additive, or from adding funny stuff into the vape liquid (kids do stupid stuff). Plus news media loves to scare us. 

 

[L´Andratté]

I stopped counting how long Im off it,
I have tried a few  other peoples cigs ,mainly after a few pints in the pub , tasted like crap ,
I havent found any weight gain , but I have upped my physical work output to keep things in balance .
On the few ocassions I have tried a cig , I get a slightly dizzy ,listless feeling for a little while after ,its not a nice feeling at all .

Exactly how it feels/tastes to me after sixteen years, it´s a trashcan dive.

Some general advice about resolutions is don't try to do too much, too fast. Make small incremental improvements. After they become ingrained as a habit, move onto the next modest improvement.

I think this is very true, although it worked for me to kick ALL bad habits, just to have SOME to fall back
to that are not smoking ;D

Btw. Ginger Baker, notorious abuser of all possible substances but especially tobacco, just turned 80 

 

[rackmonkey]

I stopped counting how long Im off it,
I have tried a few  other peoples cigs ,mainly after a few pints in the pub , tasted like crap ,
I havent found any weight gain , but I have upped my physical work output to keep things in balance .
On the few ocassions I have tried a cig , I get a slightly dizzy ,listless feeling for a little while after ,its not a nice feeling at all .

I’ll second yours and  L´Andratté‘s comments and say that you are likely in the clear.  Yes, addiction is forever but I can say that once I reached the point where even a smoke while drinking didn’t taste good, it was b’bye for good. After 12 years of living with those things (5 on Lucky Strikes, for chrissakes!) I haven’t had the urge once since I turned that corner.

Congrats, keep it up, and hope your experience is like mine has been.

 

[korneev]

A story from my life.
I smoked for a long time, drank heavy drinks and so on... Then met a girl, she was all so athletic... At one of the parties, she said, "Oh, you smoke... Oh, you're drinking vodka, too..." Well, I said - from tomorrow I do not smoke and do not drink vodka. She later became my wife.
Since that day I do not smoke and do not drink more than 20 years.  I don't feel any need to smoke at all. Sometimes I can afford some red wine. The smell of cigarettes don't like it when someone smokes nearby. As a bonus I got lots of energy and clear mind.
Sincerely wish You quit Smoking too.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I’ll second yours and  L´Andratté‘s comments and say that you are likely in the clear.  Yes, addiction is forever but I can say that once I reached the point where even a smoke while drinking didn’t taste good, it was b’bye for good. After 12 years of living with those things (5 on Lucky Strikes, for chrissakes!) I haven’t had the urge once since I turned that corner.

My dad smoked Lucky Strikes....  not lucky for him, he died of throat cancer in the mid 1950s.

JR

Congrats, keep it up, and hope your experience is like mine has been.