I am certain that some of you have been former cigarette smokers or still are. I have smoked cigarettes all my life since about the age of 13. I stopped once for about a year on my mid 20's. But something happened, I don't remember what (old-timers) that I began again and haven't stopped though I keep telling myself I want to and I must. Back in December I was in the hospital for six days and was doing fine until the last day someone brought me a pack of smokes. I went to a rehab facility and lasted 2 more days. In there it was like the institution in the movie "One Flew Over the Cookoos Nest." I had a hard time being there. It wasn't conducive for rehab or recovery (I had knee replacement surgery.) The last night there I grabbed my walker and scooted out to the patio with the yet to be opened pack of cigarettes and fired one up. I'm at it again. Frankly, at times I like tobacco. Then again it leaves a foul taste in my mouth and I go around with holes in my shirts and smelling like an ash tray. In a couple months I get the other knee replaced and I'm going to try again. I won't be able to drive after coming home from the hospital, (no Bates Motel this time) and every one knows not to bring me cigarettes, so that's my target and my plan. I would be interested to find out how others have kicked the habit and the struggles with which anybody would like to chime in concerning quitting or trying to do so.
I smoked non-filters for over 40 years and tried everything in a desperate attempt to quit...patches, gum, pills, hypnosis and cold turkey. Nothing worked, quit for maybe a month at the most and then some trigger like you are talking about would happen or I would convince myself, I need it to deal with stress. Three years ago I tried an electronic cigarette, it was expensive and the battery didn't last long, But, I knew there was something there! Now I make my own nicotine liquid and recoil my tanks and haven't touched a smoke in three years! It may not be for everyone, but there are thousands who have quit this way. Is it safe? research is still in it's infancy, but it's a hell of a lot safer than cigarettes! I wish you luck from someone who knows what you are going through...
I smoked for 20+ years. About 4 years ago I decided I didn't want to smoke any more. I bought nicotine lozenges (not gum, I wouldn't recommend gum) and used those for like 2-3 months (whatever the limit is). When I got to the last 2 weeks I was concerned because I was using lozenges more than I should've been at that point, but one day I realized it was 4:30p and I hadn't had a lozenge all day. I figured I was done with nicotine at that point. I wouldn't suggest nicotine gum to anyone. Gum isn't going to release the entire nicotine content and you're going to end up fiending for it. You use a lozenge until it's all gone so you do get the entire nicotine content. I never fiended for nicotine at all with lozenges.
This December will be my 13th anniversary. It wasn't easy, but with the help of a doctor and support groups, it was mission accomplished. Good luck buddy!
Im so proud of you Dzia. Today, I am 646 days clean from nicotine. One day at a time. I can help you with your nicotine addiction, if you are willing to do whatever it takes to remain nicotine free. I am one of 5 administrators on a completely free of charge cold turkey nicotine/tobacco cessation site. We are a group of like minded quitters and hold each other accountable. It isnt pretty. There is zero tolerance for tobacco use. We are not gonna make excuses for you or each other. There are no 'reasons' for a nicotine addict to use nicotine in any form, only excuses... We expect 100% abstinence no matter what. We make a daily promise to not use nicotine for one day. Just one day. You can do anything for one day! We give our word and no matter what that day holds for us, we dont use nicotine in any form. The next day, we repeat and hold each other accountable to make our promise to remain nicotine free. That is one day at a time. Vaporizers, nicotine gum, nicotine lozenges, nicotine patches, etc etc etc, are all just transferring one form of nicotine for another. You cant 'quit' while using any form of nicotine. The only way to quit is to just quit. You only "quit" once. People stop then start back, but that isnt quitting. That is a failed attempt to quit and is only temporarily stopping. If you use any form of nicotine, you have to start back over at Day 1, which also means going back through withdrawals etc. Hope and pray that your Day 1 is the absolute worst day of your life. That way you will be less likely to forget Day 1. The day you forget Day 1, you lose. Go back to Day 1 and do it all over again. Or, just simply choose to remain nicotine free. If you are interested in looking at our site, please PM me. I will give you the site, my cell number and anything else to help you succeed. There is absolutely no charge whatsoever. None. It is not for profit.You will have an army of quitters by your side that will be available to you night and day to talk you off the ledge, to encourage you, to hold you accountable, to share in your victories, and to share the wisdom that has worked to keep them nicotine free. Btw, I was 5 years old the first time I had tobacco. My grandmother gave me a chew of Red Horse tobacco. I'll happily post my entire story here if the mods dont have any issue with me doing so. You can also PM me if you want me to PM it to you or email it to you. We do not ask for donations or accept donations. We are there simply to help fellow nicotine addicts live free of their nicotine addiction. There are absolutely no products sold, either. In fact, Ive reached in my own pocket, the other admins have also done the same, to pay expenses so members wont have to. I cannot and will not profit off of another's nicotine addiction. Nicotine "addiction" is what drives you back to nicotine. "Addiction" is what it is all about. It isnt a 'habit' it is an "addiction." What is "addiction?" Are you an addict? What is the difference between a pain-pill addict and a nicotine addict? What is the difference between a crackhead and a nicotine addict? What is the difference between an alcoholic and a nicotine addict? Think about those questions. There is no cure for nicotine addiction. Your mind will always be addicted, even long after the physical withdrawals are gone. There is no cure but there IS a resolution. Your move, Chief. Any of you who want help are equally welcome, and I am just as much talking to you as to the OP of this thread.
You have to not only burn the bridge, but also the boat. Nicotine addiction is a battle "for" your mind, not just a battle within your mind. You have to learn about addiction. Btw, vaporizers are not safer than smoking. It isnt regulated by the FDA and companies are exploiting that. Dont believe that hype, bro. Nicotine addicts believe it because they are justifying the use of "nicotine" to get their next fix and because they are an "addict." That means your mind will use addict based reasoning and excuses to make sure it gets its next fix. Please dont fall that. I am also an addict. I am a recovering addict clean from nicotine, but still an addict nonetheless. The reason you (or anyone else) failed is because you put nicotine back to your face and ingested nicotine. Period. Plain and simple. The "why" it happened is nothing more than an excuse. As long as using nicotine is an option on the table for you, failure is also an option. The moment you make your mind up not to use nicotine no matter what, you make your first step forward to living nicotine free. You know why I dont cave? Because using nicotine is not even an option. If I 'think' I want to use, I find something else to do because using nicotine is not an option. I cant tell you all you need to know in a single message, especially one typed with my thumbs on a cell phone. I know how you feel. I was there, too. I also know the lie that nicotine addiction has you trapped within. I know the freedom outside of that lie. I know that you can be free. I know that you deserve to be free. What I dont know is if you "want" to be free.
The reason you didnt crave nicotine is because you were still putting nictoine in your system (nicotine lozenges). How long has it been since you have used nicotine in any form whatsoever? (Wasnt clear from what you said. Im not accusing you of using, btw.) Nicotine free is nicotine free no matter how someone goes about it. Most people dont go from nicotine alternatives to complete abstinence. They relapse or never quit.
Awesome! While I didnt use medication, I definitely use support/accountability to quit. 13 years is amazing. Awesome job! I couldnt do it without accountability. The longest I ever went without nicotine was maybe 4 months out of 21 plus years. I am just a couple months shy of being 2 years nicotine free.
I'm going to have to disagree with you there. Like I mentioned in my post, I used lozenges to quit. I don't count how many days I have away from nicotine, it's over 3 years I can tell you that. Maybe 4 now that I think about it. And I do have to think about it, because I don't think about nicotine on a daily basis. I don't struggle to stay away from nicotine. I'm not tempted by nicotine. I'm not fearful of it. I appreciate the support you are offering, and I wish you well on your journey. I would suggest you not speak in terms so black and white when it comes to any form of addiction and I would remind you that all things are YMMV. You do not have the only answer, but if it works for you go for it. If you want to think you are powerless against nicotine, have at it. Personally, I believe I have power over nicotine and was able to walk away from it for good. There are many paths, but not all of them are good for everyone. And, one correction on my own life's experience that you wanted to clarify for me... Obviously the lozenges were putting nicotine into my system. That's why I was buying them. You do realize that there was a day when I didn't use a lozenge and was entirely nicotine free, right? Which is why I posted, "but one day I realized it was 4:30p and I hadn't had a lozenge all day. I figured I was done with nicotine at that point." So you are 100% wrong in saying I wasn't craving nicotine because I was putting it into my system. Since that day, the first day of being nicotine free, I've never craved it. I used to be a pack a day smoker, BTW.
I dont fear it, either. Nor am I tempted. It isnt an option for me. No, I dont have power over nicotine, which is what makes me an addict. But, I do have power over my choice to use or not. I choose not to use nicotine. Every day I make a choice not to give in to my addiction. I dont dwell on it, I just simply make a promise not to use no matter what the day holds. I rarely think about using nicotine/dipping/smoking and cant tell you the last time I craved using. It's been quite a while. Thank you for your well wishes. I appreciate it and wish you the same on your journey. I DO relaize there was a day you kicked the nicotine candy to curb, which is why I asked how long you had been free and even made extra effort to say I wasnt accusing you of using. (Did you not see that?) Regardless, my next statement was, "Nicotine free is nicotine free no matter how someone goes about it." I wonder if I should have been more black and white? Do you think maybe I even complimented you by immediately following up with most dont quit like that cause they relapse or never quit? (Lol - it's ok. Laugh. You just simply missed what I typed). That isnt saying I have the only answer. Or said another way "YMMV." Savvy? When you put down your last nicotine dose, did you at any time over the following few weeks have a headache, nausea, anxiety from not using, have gas, irritability, sleeplessness?? One more question, have you since quitting dreamed that you used nicotine? Oh, I was a 2 can a day dipper, had nicotine gum or lozenges within quick reach in the event I might be somehwere I couldnt dip, and would also smoke to get a fix in spite of having asthma.
Nothing wrong with nicotine. Nicotine ups your chances of having a heart attack or stroke in your lifetime by something like 1%. So does caffeine for that matter. It's all the other crap in tobbaco that kills. I quit smoking by switching to vaping. I wanted off the cigarettes but saw no need to quit nicotine. Am I addicted to nicotine? Yes. I have an addictive personality. If I wasn't addicted to nicotine, I'd find something else to be addicted to. All of the inhalers, gum, lozenges, and pills have a 5% success rate. Most smokers who quit using those are back smoking within a year. Vaping has an 85% success rate. I think that speaks for itself. Also, it's much easier to quit vaping than it is to quit smoking, so if you do make the switch, quitting will be easier. I recommend this forum http://e-cigarette-forum.com, it gets nearly 40,000 posts per day and has thousands of members who will walk you through all the choices out there. For those who say vaping is not safer than smoking, vaping uses four ingredients. Nicotine, Propylene glycol, Vegetable glycerine, and Flavoring. Cigarettes contain thousands of chemicals, many of which are known to cause cancer. Cigarettes will kill me, vaping might cause me harm at some later point in my life. See the difference?
Re: Nothing wrong with nicotine - it's a pesticide found naturally in tobacco plants. It is as addictive as heroin and cocaine with an even higher relapse rate. I agree the carcinogens and other poisons used to make tobacco into a useable product makes it worse, but nicotine isnt good for you. It is a stimulant. It increases heart rate, blood pressure, effects the digestive system, constricts the circulation system. That sounds bad, bro. Just my $0.02. Have you ever had tissue carved out of your face or other body part because of tobacco, which contains nicotine? I have. Thank God my results were benign. Thank God I still have a jaw/face to shave. I had large areas (plural) with lots of tissue removed for biopsy. Get this...I had already quit nicotine, too. That came about not long after I had already quit. I wouldnt wish that experience on anyone. Then there are those much less fortunate that actually have to face oral, throat, or digestive tract cancer from tobacco. How can vaping have an 85 % success rate at quitting when it is delivering nicotine? Quitting requires walking away from nicotine. To use vapes, lozenges, gum, dip, chewing cigars, etc, is the delivery method. It is transferring the nicotine delievery method from X to Y. Is that stat claiming 85% successfully go from smoking cigs to vaping only? Either way, I hope you find your freedom and break free of that nicotine addiction for you.
When I was in my late 20's I quit by gradually switching brands until I was smoking the brand that had the lowest tar and nicotine content. I then switched to menthol in the same brand because I figured since I didn't like menthol cigarettes it would be my next step. Unfortunately I got used to the menthol but I did eventually quit by smoking fewer and fewer cigarettes a day but I didn't quit tobacco completely because I'd still have an occasional cigar or I'd fiddle with a pipe. A bowl of pipe tobacco on a Saturday afternoon compared to a daily pack and a half a day of cigarettes was a definite change. With the pipe it felt like I was more in control versus the cigarettes that called to me several times a day. I could smoke the pipe or not smoke the pipe and didn't have the cravings. That went on for a few years until eventually I picked up cigarettes again. The next time I decided to quit I figured I'd do the same thing since it had worked before and it took less than a year. I was quite surprised to discover I wasn't as capable as I thought and this time it took almost three years. I kept cutting down and cutting down but I just couldn't stop. I was finally successful quitting in the middle of a pack and crushing the remaining cigarettes in my fist and throwing them away. What I had been doing was saying "after this pack" and then opening another pack (which wasn't working for me). I eventually realized that if I really wanted to quit I needed to do it midway through a pack and be willing to throw away perfectly good cigarettes. I would be smoking a cigarette and thinking how much my lungs were telling me I needed to quit and then I'd finish the cigarette. I needed to be able to quit in the middle of a cigarette and not finish it. Good luck. It's a tough habit to quit.
Wishing you all strenghth and support by your loved ones! And congratz to anyone who succeeds in quitting. My prayers go with ya'll! (I'm a lucky guy who doesn't smoke. Had a few sigarettes and cigars in my teens, liked them, but luckily stopped before I got caught)
I find it really easy to argue in this thread so I'm going to stay out of it. I will tell you that sunflower seeds helped a bunch when I stopped smoking cigarettes combined with drinking a bunch of water. Good luck and remember if you really want to stop you can.
In a very much younger day I worked in a greenhouse. I learned through questions and answers about the roses that nicotine in its liquid form is used to kill the bugs. To say dogmatically that vapes are not harmful is like saying driving while drowsy is okay. You may blast the radio, chew gum or whatever method to stay awake a few more miles but if you don't get off the road your gonna crash. You still are bringing something to your mouth to ingest a foreign substance. Whether you hold a cigarette in your hand or ware a chain held vape around your neck it's still a crutch. Besides cigarettes have been promoted by big tobacco. Where do you think the nicotine you vaporize comes from? Food for thought. Please don't think I'm being judged mental it's just MHO.
Just a habit to take up. I don't think the nicotine was a problem but I just had the hand motion and felt weird not doing it so the seeds replaced that.
I've never smoked so I don't know what it's like to have the urge, good luck with your up coming knee replacement, take it one hour at a time.
One bit of advice I can give you, drink plenty of water. Water flushes your system out, it will help rid the body of tar, nicotine etc faster. So drink lots and lots of water and stay motivated!
