Let's quit smoking! - (screaming internally)

Today is my 8th day of not vaping. So far I've quit by researching the best ways to tell myself no and taking nicotine lozenges (no more than 3 a day) when the cravings get really bad. No longer buying vapes. First 2 days felt like I "needed" it. Now, it just feels like a strong "want."
 
  • Feels
  • Like
Reactions: OrionBalls, Goon and Haram Exercise
unsafe said:
I smoke because it's a part of my country's work culture but I'm planning to quit. Is it better to go cold turkey or reduce gradually? Is vaping a sufficient substitute?
Click to expand...
Vaping is similar enough to a cigarette that has helped many quit and it does curb the nicotine withdraw. It's also considerably less nicotine without the thousands of dangerous chemicals a cigarette has. I know several people who quit smoking with vaping and then weaned themselves off the vape.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Polystyrene Glioblastoma
Over 3 months since I've quit. I still crave at times, but not as often or as strong anymore. Weird things have happened since. My hands and feet aren't always cold and my cheeks are red from better circulation. All these years I thought I was cursed with the Scandinavian fine hair, but now I have a lot of new hair growth. Never expected that one. Breathing is much easier with the new energy to go with it. Also saving a lorry of money. It's worth it mates
 
  • Feels
  • Winner
  • Like
Reactions: Utilitarian Clit Dick, Blop, Gravityqueen4life and 1 other person
while my smoking days are over, i have a new addiction, snus (pure nicotine pouches). not as bad as smoking but i was hooping to kick the nicotine habit forever. sadly, gotten addcited to nicotine again and need it to sleep. still, one snus a day cant be all that bad.
 
Last edited:
  • Optimistic
  • Like
Reactions: Goon and Haram Exercise
I smoked for about 7 years, switched to dipping, then vaping and have moved on to pure nicotine pouches in recent years.

I had no intention on quitting but I will be in a situation this coming year where I will have to be free of all chemicals including nicotine and caffeine, so it would be foolish to completely quit and decide to start again. That's for people that just got out of jail.

(A small nicotine apologist caveat:
While I believe it's important to be free of addiction in all of it's forms to truly live a healthy life, there are actually more physical benefits than detriments when it comes to using nicotine in it's pure form.
1.) It is not a carcinogen
2.) It can work as a neuroprotective against Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Tourette's
3.) It promotes weight loss
4.) It can work as a nootropic)

If you're having trouble stopping smoking, I heavily suggest you look into clean, non-tobacco alternatives in the mean time and seek counseling from a quit smoking support system (it might sound gay but it's been shown to improve success rates by roughly an order of magnitude)

If long term cessation is your goal, you should also try stepping down your nicotine consumption over a few weeks/months rather than try to go cold turkey. While some people succeed by doing so, you're much more likely to relapse.

If you're going to switch to vaping, know you are creating an even more addictive habit, with the accessories and candy flavors and "cloud chasing" etc.
This can be an extremely cheap habit if you have the agency to make your own liquid.
But my number one tip for you is to BUY AMERICAN. You know you can't trust chinks to create a baby crib that won't result in hundreds of deaths, so why would you inhale/ingest anything made by them?
Make sure your liquid and coils have been tested to be free of weird/toxic flavorants and heavy metals, since this is the only known risk to vaping. (Popcorn lung is actually real and ironically was linked to an artificial butter flavorant)

Apologies if this was TL;DR. The topic has been on my mind and I hope my experience can be helpful in preventing death.

Here's a couple links to support my claims about the benefits of nicotine since I'm sure someone would ask. Not trying to detract from anyone's struggle to quit but I think it's important to get out there since my generation grew up with a constant barrage of those gay disinformation "truth.org" ads

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Beneficial effects of nicotine - PubMed

Nicotine in tobacco brings illness and death to millions of people. Yet nicotine in its pure form has the potential to be a valuable pharmaceutical agent. Nicotine fairly specifically binds to the cholinergic nicotinic gating site on cationic ion channels in receptors throughout the body. This...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

www.discovermagazine.com

Nicotine, the Wonder Drug?

This notorious stimulant may enhance learning and help treat Parkinson's, schizophrenia and other neurological diseases.
www.discovermagazine.com www.discovermagazine.com
 
  • Informative
Reactions: FuzzMushr00m, Hellspawn and Gravityqueen4life
I've recently started vaping, I was smoking around 20 fags a day but most likely between 25 or 30 and in 3 weeks I cut it down to 3 (when I'm drunk or partying). Gotta say I'm pretty satisfied with my progress so far but I wouldn't want to become a full time vaper because it's pretty gay.

The one cigarette I can't quit is the early morning one, I brew a fresh cup of coffee and a cigarette is basically mandatory for me; I know it's shit because it slows me down in the morning but the day I can avoid that cigarette is the day I quit for good.

Update from Mar 14, 2022: 3rd week with no nicotine at all except for a nic gum once in a while, I am constantly seething for no particular reason but I'm definitely less lazy, maybe my brain knows I need to do more things to get some satisfaction and it's not as easy as smoking. I'd like to say not smoking helped me increase my stamina but I hadn't done any "real" cardio since 2019 so yeah I'm getting better at that but only because I'm actually doing something to get better at it.

New update: It's been a while, I quit cigs, vaping and nicotine gums a while ago. The seething hasn't stopped, I'm less social than ever but my sleep improved, same for cardio and overall stamina. I'd say abstaining from smoking has made me less lazy so far.

The only hot take I have to bring to the table is the following: smoking is very time consuming. Everyone talks about muh money (shame on you niggas time>>>>>>>money) and if you're a retarded smoker like me and need to smoke a cig before you do something and maybe even after to congratulate yourself then you're wasting so much time you have no idea. So if you're considering quitting smoking please think about this apparently very minor detail. You can take into account also the time you need to plan your smoking break, the time you need to actually get your fags and everything cig-related.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: The Jesus Lizard, Goon, Blop and 1 other person
RedRocket69 said:
While I believe it's important to be free of addiction in all of it's forms to truly live a healthy life, there are actually more physical benefits than detriments when it comes to using nicotine in it's pure form.
1.) It is not a carcinogen
2.) It can work as a neuroprotective against Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Tourette's
3.) It promotes weight loss
4.) It can work as a nootropic)
Click to expand...
I've had several patients use nicotine gum to quit smoking and just stay on that forever.

There are some downsides. Nicotine still has cardiovascular risks and increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Also possibly still ages your skin more quickly.

It's a shit-ton better than smoking though, so I'm fine with it overall. Also it is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor which is what gives it its nootropic properties. Helps you focus much better. If you're fine with the CVD and T2D tradeoff then it's okay.

Smoking cigarettes, on the other hand, doesn't have a linear risk curve. Even smoking a few a day gets you most of the way to pack-a-day level of health outcomes. Your lungs simply can't clear out the tar quickly.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Aunt Carol, Blop and Matt Damon
I made nic lotion today and going to see what happens. See if i'm still posting tomorrow. I used 4 tsp lotion and 1ml of pg-based 100mgml nic. The 4 tsp I estimated would be about 10 applications worth so I should be getting 10mg each time but who knows how quick.

I've been pretty much mostly on lozenges and gum and other homemade diy nrt things for a couple years and can't taper myself off of them and still find myself going to buy little cigars at the gas station, sometimes every day for weeks at a time. Ive not had any luck with the patches before but we'll see if my new always-on idea can put a stop to the cigars.


edit: 24 hours in and I've used half of it, 50mg, spread it on 5 different times and it's had absolutely zero effect on slowing me down wanting gum/lozenges/cigars. Just like patches, nothing.
 
Last edited:
Here's an interesting thought.

I smoke 8 - 10 cigarettes a day, with a decent amount of low strength vaping on top. I'm probably doing 3 hours of LISS cardio per week, on top of 5-6 heavy weight sessions in the gym.

Diet is very good, I'm well hydrated, and I feel little encumbrance from smoking as a whole. Obviously, smoking is the king of bad shit to do yourself. But if I feel pretty damn good every day... what is exactly is happening to me?

I know otjer smokers at work/in my social circle, and they generally look and feel like shit. But I don't. Am I just lucky so far, or do I have some insane genetic tolerance to the cigs?

I've given up once before (cold turkey) and went around 4 years without touching nicotine in any form. I can't say I felt noticeably 'better' during that time than I do no, as a relapsed smoker. Maybe less congestion in the first ~15 minutes after waking up, but that's about it.

It's very curious is all. Wondering if anyone has a similar experience.
 
I am failing miserably and am miserable about it. A few years ago, I quit with no problem at all, but relapsed during confinement. What is really making it difficult is that my man smokes. He also bitches about wanting to quit, but won’t get serious about it. I bought him a nice ecig, juice, and Allen Car’s stop-smoking book in French, all to no avail. Plus I ain’t his mama. So I am failing miserably stopping in my own because if they are in the house, I’m bad at resisting. See also: poor dietary choices.
 
  • Feels
Reactions: Bass and Mikoyan MiG-29
For the weed puffers out there, if you want to quit nicotine, buy a herb vape and just blaze yourself into a stupor for two weeks. You won't notice a damn thing aside from your bank balance
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back