Let's quit smoking, GBS!

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > General Bullshit > Let's quit smoking, GBS!

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

I might as well chime in here, as I'm about to stop smoking. I probably smoke around 8-10g of baccy a day (a 50g bag tends to get me through a working week). Hopefully the NHS will pay for some nice drugs, like Champix, to get me off the stuff. I've been smoking for around 9 years and I'm fed up with it; I'm determined to be smoke free come the end of summer.

So, I've got a question or two for those who've quit. The main things I'm worried about are my "smoke breaks" at work. I tend to slide off every 2-3 hours for a smoke and the "fresh air" and I think I'm going to miss them. Any ideas on how I can replace these little escapes from the office? Also, for how long after stopping am I going to be freaking out in rage/emotion over tiny things? I guess that's what's going to happen, right?

I've got an excellent reason for quitting (an incredible girl has provided it), so the motivation is there. I've also got an exercise regime in place, which might provide an outlet for any angst caused by craving. Anything else I need, or am I good to go, do you guys think?

# ¿ Jun 20, 2010 00:51

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 18:35

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

^^^^^^

That's a drat shame mate. Are you going to give it another crack, or is that you smoking full time again?

Nedsmaster posted:

I can't fully help because I haven't quit completely, but I have tapered down a lot and now unless I get drunk as a party, I have no more than a cigarette a day, sometimes two. I don't even buy packs, I'll take one if someone offers.

That said, I understand what you mean about smoke breaks at work. It's a huge psychological addiction that will be a bitch to break, along with the smokes that you have in the morning and before bed. It's not the right thread for it but I find a electronic cigarette is great for this, because than you can still go outside to exhale "smoke" without any tar or health risks. And you can get low nicotine and gradually taper down so you CAN be smoke free without having to stop the pleasures of nicotine addiction. Ultimately it will be a lot easier to give up.

Exercise is a really great idea for smoking cessation, because it gets your blood flowing and you have a natural "high" after doing it, which I find often kills the desire to smoke. Also because if you've been working out or running for a good 30 minutes or more, your lungs feel so full and strong that you almost don't want to immediately gently caress them up again and go back to harder breathing.

I still recommend nicotine therapy, the e-cigarette is largely the most effective method by a landslide. (If you're interested, see the GBS thread on it.) But that said, you will probably feel pretty lovely for a while because even when you get used to less nicotine the oral fixation/psychological addiction is still there.

But I think you, like a lot of people, will go through the temporary 3 days of ultimate stress thinking you NEED a cigarette to go back to being "normal" and not stressed. Interestingly enough, nicotine causes more stress than it relieves, and the feeling of a cigarette "calming you down" is really just your body satisfying a craving. This makes your withdrawal symptoms from nicotine go away, and your "stress" decreases. In reality, nicotine is a stimulant like caffeine and would do the exact opposite of stress relief if it wasn't mega addictive. Just try to get past a week or so smoking a lot less, try to pace your cigarettes like meals at first, 3 a day or so. When you want one really badly after a meal or in the evening, hold off on it and try to tell yourself how good it will be if you just wait a few more hours before bed. This will teach you self-control and it's a great thing to practice before you give it up entirely. It's also good because when you hold off on smoking and limit your intake, cigarettes become a lot more valuable and special of an experience, like they were when you started smoking.

In the end, once you really cut down and get used to having nicotine when YOU say you can and not when your body tells you to, smokes start tasting a lot different, more like they used to when you could still taste them, and they become so much less of a required object and more of a once in a while occurrence.

It's not easy, but trust me. I've started out a little over a month ago cutting down from 12+ cigarettes a day. I started putting a Sharpie line on my hand for every smoke I had, and at first I recommend trying to limit 5 a day or so. A little over a month later, I don't even smoke every day anymore and it's never more than a couple, as I said. You'll have moments where you splurge and get drunk or party and you smoke more from social situations, but don't kick yourself. Just think of all the ones you didn't smoke. It gets a LOT easier and you just have to tell your brain and your body that YOU'RE calling the shots, not the nicotine, and you'll smoke when you tell yourself it's okay.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice and comments, they're much appreciated. I've got a letter in my pocket that's leading to sweet sweet free drugs. Two weeks today is my quitting date (the Champix needs time to work, apparently). I'm cutting down in preparation of that. I'm determined not to screw this up!

# ¿ Jun 24, 2010 09:31

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

Hello again thread =) I started taking Champix on Monday, so sometime next week I'll be stopping smoking forever. I'm very chuffed with this drug, it's either genuine or a placebo effect but I don't care either way because, for the first time in loving ages, I ate a meal yesterday and didn't think about smoking afterward. It was so strange as I didn't make any conscious decisions, I simply forgot about it. When I do get cravings they seem more ignore-able too.

The side effects are weird though so thanks for the advanced warning by various people in this thread. I've has memorable dreams the last couple of nights, one in particular about deadly jumping spiders. Hooray.

I'm really looking forward to next week when I'll be doing an elaborate baccy destroying/disposing ceremony. I'm tempted to tie the bag to the back of my car with a long bit of string, the drive along so it gets ripped up and sheds its contents all over the place. But that would be really weird, so maybe not...

# ¿ Jun 30, 2010 20:28

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

Kevin Hideo posted:

I am in a different boat than a lot of the people in this thread, but not really I guess.

Ive been smoking for probably about 3 years now, and have always kept it pretty much in check, when in comparison to pack a day smokers. I would smoke between 2-5 cigarettes a day, and it would go in waves. but it was almost always the same number every day, and it would start low, with 1 or 2, then increase to 3 or 4, then 5 and sometimes even 6. However, I would notice that it was getting more and more and would feel the need to "quit". It never lasts for more than a week or 2 but then I would slowly and surely start smoking again, 1-2, 2-3 a day, etc.

So I am again at that point where I've decided to take a stand, and it has been probably about a month since I have regularly smoked. I have basically allowed myself to only smoke when I go over to my friends house on the weekend, and I have found that by knowing I have an outlet, that ill be able to smoke again when I go there, helps control the cravings throughout the day. It has been about 11 days since I last had one, and while the cravings I get are not as strong as the ones most people deal with, they are still there. It seems like it should be easier for me to quit than other people since I have kept it for the most part down to a minimum, but its annoying that I enjoy smoking so much. I know that people say its the nicotine telling me that I enjoy it, and that people who say they enjoy it are just trying to justify the habit, and to an extent it is probably true, but that doesn't change the fact that I still enjoy it.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but I decided it might help to put into words my addiction in an attempt to reinforce why I want to quit in the first place. But now that I have done so, I just want a smoke more now. Talking and thinking about smoking just makes you want to do it more, but I am still definitely resolved in quitting.

I always wished that cigarette packs would come in 5's or 10's, cause then I could cheat for a day and not have another 3 days of smoking just sitting around waiting for me.

Also, the dreams where you smoke and you wake up pissed for cheating are pretty cool, cause you get to have a smoke and not technically have cheated at the same time. Thats probably the wrong way to look at it, but its cool to know that I'm not the only one having these dreams.

The way I see it is that you should stop completely. Even if you go through phases, the addiction will slowly progress, right? Clearly I'm biased though =)

# ¿ Jul 1, 2010 11:33

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

Hooray for not smoking. I've been about 14 days since having a smoke now, using Champix to help out. I'm still getting cravings although not as many as I did when I first quit. Maybe two or three a day now. The main thing that's bothering me is mood swings; I'm not suffering too badly from cravings but I'm finding myself getting upset over stuff that normally wouldn't bother me at all. By upset, I mean, bursting into tears, which isn't like me at all. Nicotine withdrawal sucks. Is/Did anybody else have that?

# ¿ Jul 19, 2010 22:13

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

It's been nearly a month since I've had a smoke now. Woohoo. I have to chime in with the others complaining about champix/chatntix. For four weeks I took it, the last of which was utter hellish mind fuckery. I stopped taking it a few days ago, thank god. The cravings have come back, but they're actually a really pleasant change. Yay for not smoking!

# ¿ Aug 1, 2010 14:50

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

AB posted:

I'm down to one every three days or so, cold turkey otherwise. Quitting drinking really helped; I think I'm ready to stop completely.

If you're doing one every three days, then you must be pretty much ready to quit. Good for you. Do it!

# ¿ Aug 3, 2010 03:03

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

plecostomus posted:

Two weeks in: fags smoked = 0, booze boozed = 0

Hell yeah

Keep it up mate!

Chiming back in this thread, I quit around 5 months ago (July was it?) after posting here. So far I've not had a single smoke and that's the way it's going to stay. I smoked around thirty to forty rollies a day and had been smoking just over a decade before that. The first four weeks I used Champix which, while effective, made me feel like hell psychologically so I dropped that. The cravings were worst for the first few days but calmed down a lot over the following weeks. I still have the occasional craving but it's more of a "It would be nice to..." rather than "my body is going to crush itself into a ball if I don't" feeling. I get one every couple of days and they last around three minutes each. Totally manageable. My parents smoke so I avoided them for a couple of months when I first quit which helped a great deal. As general advice I'd suggest avoiding people/places you associate with smoking; keeping yourself out the way makes it way, way easier for the first stint.

Here's a timeline for my cravings:

1-4 days: Admittedly tough. Chewed a lot of gum and clenched my fists repeatedly.
4-10 days: On my mind frequently, but the cravings became manageable. 10k peanuts consumed.
10 days - 3 weeks: Cravings ever three hours or so. At 5 mins each they're simple enough to ignore, but smoking never really left my mind.
3 weeks - 2 months: Increasingly infrequent cravings. Sometimes on my mind. I considered myself a "non-smoker" by this point.
2 months - 6 months+: I think about smoking sometimes now, maybe once every couple of days. I don't get cravings anywhere like near as bad as what they were. I'm confident I'll not start again, because being a non-smoker is soooo much less hassle. No cravings. No late night shopping trips to buy smokes. No smelling bad. No sore chest in the morning. Nothing at all =) Much much better!

You can do it guys. All the cravings and withdrawal is just temporary. For each craving, just wait 5-10 mins and it's gone. Chew some gum, have a some backbone and self respect. You can kick this fucker down the line.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2011 02:49

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

Doom Rooster posted:

Tomorrow makes 6 weeks without a cigarette.

I smoked a pack a day for 11 years. I have tried quitting cold turkey, patch, and gum before, never with success beyond the 24 hours mark. I gave Chantix a try this go 'round, and holy. loving. poo poo. It was just so easy. I didn't really have any cravings for the nicotine at all. I still had the occasional "Man, that meal was great, along with that bottle of wine. A smoke would really just top this off right now" type moments, but nothing too bad at all.

The only side effect that I experienced was increased frequency of dreams. None of them were nightmares, or even particularly powerful, but I usually only remember my dreams once or twice a month. On Chantix, it was pretty much every night. No other negatives at all.

Highly, highly recommended. It cost me $120, which is not only a incredible investment in my health and saved money on smokes for years to come, but it was actually less than what I would have spent on smokes just for the duration of the treatment.

Congratulations, mate, you've pretty much nailed it, I recon. Stay strong.

When I quit I used Chantix (Champix here in the UK) as an aid. I kept up with it for a couple of weeks but it gave me insane mood swings. Having said that, it's hard to differentiate between drug induced mood swings and those from withdrawal. Either way, I kept up with the quitting and dropped the Chantix. It's been about a year now - I'd have to go back and check the timestamps on my posts in this thread to be precise.

During my heavy craving times I found a couple of things in particular to be helpful. First of all, it was to be self aware and note a craving for what it was, then realising it would be gone in 5 mins. It's much easier to rough it out that way, because you know there's an end. Also, I found that doing exercise, specifically weight lifting was an excellent way to "fight back" against the cravings. You get a rush from the exercise, the psychological benefit of doing something healthy and rather more simply, a way of taking out my tension on something.

To the guy that had a smoke within one day: I'd say the first step is to throw away all your smoking paraphernalia. Put you cigs in the bin, your matches & lighters, finally, wash up your ashtrays and throw them away or turn them into something else (peanut bowl or something). You can do this. You're not the first and you won't be the last. The tough part isn't actually that long.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2011 16:28

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

Luminous Cow posted:

This is my seventh month smoke free, after smoking for five years. Do the cravings ever loving stop? It's all I can think of at some points, just lighting up a damned cigarette. I try and think of something else, and I can't. I just want a cigarette. What can I do to get my mind off of it? It's so tempting. I tell myself, "Just one pack of Camels. Just one, then I'll quit again." I know it's bullshit, but it's an awfully appealing idea right now.

Yeah, gradually it goes away. Once the acute, "oh god need a smoke" phase leaves, it'll eventually leave your mind altogether over time. I think you're probably still getting lots of cravings because you haven't got used to being a non smoker yet.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2011 13:49

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

Good luck to you people quitting. Like the poster above, I quit about 18 months ago, after smoking for about a decade. I was on something stupid like 30 roll ups (hand made cigarettes to you Americans) a day at the end. I used Champix (or whatever equivalent you Americans have) for a couple of weeks, then went cold turkey after. The day I quit, I had one last ceremonial smoke, stubbed it out half way down and threw out all my baccy and papers. One thing that really helped was hiding all the ash trays, getting air freshners out and airing out my lovely-at-home-office where I did most of the smoking - basically erasing all trace of smoking. For me, I had to get in the mindset of "I'm a non-smoker", so instead of considering things like "Oh, I've quit, so I won't have a smoke before I go into work, as usual", I tried to think things like "Why would I smoke? Being a non-smoker I don't smoke.". That may sound stupid, but setting up mental barriers like that and making a decent effort to turn quitting from a unitary isolated thing into a change of lifestyle, one without smoke, helped a great deal. I've not smoked a single cigarette since that half smoked one I quit with. Half smoking it felt like a sort of defiant thing too - I'm really rather pleased with myself for that.

The strong cravings lasted a couple of weeks. After that it started to tail off, until maybe 2/3 months in where they were rare and easily manageable. Now I occasionally get the odd craving, usually when I'm stressed or whatever, but it's not serious and just remembering what it's like being a slave to tobacco, stinking like an unwashed arse, making some foul corporate ultra-capitalist tobacco CEO-type motherfuckers richer every day, it's easily enough to stop me even considering starting again. If you need to channel some cold turkey aggression, do it towards them, maybe.

Good luck goons. You can do it!

# ¿ Jan 13, 2012 03:26

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 18:35

Kippling: Jun 24, 2005; And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

JackRabbitStorm posted:

I'm sorry I didn't read the thread, but its long. I read the first page.

I have been smoking a pack a day for close to 10 years. I am 24 years old. Today is my quit day. Started with the 2mg Nicorette gum, but I must be doing something wrong because it isn't doing poo poo. No tingles or anything like the directions say I should feel. Been chewing a poo poo ton of Eclipse gum for the mintiness (menthol smoker) and the oral fixation part.

I want to quit, I've done good so far today, but these cravings suck rear end, and while I want to quit, I don't have the belief that I can do it. This will be my 5th attempt to quit.

2mg gum isn't necessarily going to make you feel like you've just had a smoke or whatever. I'm under the impression that using the gum regularly will just provide a sort of background alleviation to the cravings. Stick with it mate, you can beat this fucker.

iTrust posted:

I'm interested in what people have to say about this as well; I'm normally mild mannered as hell but during previous attempts (or when I've had no money with which to purchase any) I end up doing a complete 180. Has anyone got any ways of dealing with this particular brand of bullshit your mind makes you do?

The horrible thing about smoking is that (aside from the cancer etc) it messes with your brain chemistry. When I quit I was also rather emotionally volatile, responding to things in a way that I normally wouldn't. For me it was less being mean/irritable (although that was certainly there to an extent), instead, I'd end up literally crying about minor things like a big baby. That was really out of character for me. The way I dealt with it was by adopting the same attitude towards angry/baby moments as I did to cravings: 1) Be self-aware enough to realise when they're occurring 2) Actually take time to note in my mind "this is a craving" or "my emotional state is currently altered" - just pause for a moment 3) Remember that this is a transient effect, that it'll go away soon (I actually started timing my cravings - individual episodes seemed to last between 2 and 4 minutes) 4) Resolve to wait until the craving/mood passes before doing anything rash (like smoke, or yell, or whatever) 5) Relax when whatever effect you experienced drifts off - you've won. In some ways I thought quitting smoking was a series of short lived battles. Cravings are unpleasant, yes, but they also are transient and irregular. Because of that, you can recognise when they are occurring and that allows you to deal with them individually. The best thing is, each time you beat a craving or bad mood, then you can congratulate yourself, because that's one less to go until they're gone forever. Quitting smoking isn't easy, but everybody is capable of it. It's sooooo nice not being addicted, really.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2012 04:24

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > General Bullshit > Let's quit smoking, GBS!