any piece of advice is welcome

P.S. Thanks to all the people that have taken their time to help me (and not just me, but others as well). It is much appreciated, and, from what I‘ve read, the „cold turkey“ method seems the most appealing to me. I‘ll quit smoking today, on the 7th of November 2024.

  • CarterH739@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I was a heavy smoker for thirty years. I quit…16 days ago. So I might not be the best to advise you on this as I’m still just getting started myself. I have quit a few times in the past though, and I can tell you what is making this time easier. First, realize that nicotine is not the problem. That’s out of your system in a few days, from what I understand. It’s the habit that screws it up for you. And I am definitely feeling that. I no longer have that treat to look forward to when I get home. I don’t have anything to do when I’m frustrated trying to figure something out at work. I can’t go outside and have one to relax and think about things. Some of my best work was accomplished while taking a smoke break. Anyway, the way I dealt with that was to start breaking the habits first. Start small. Here’s what I did. First, no smoking in the house. Took some time to get used to that. Next, no smoking in the car. That took a while, because I drive a lot, but eventually I got used to it. Then, no smoking at work. Didn’t even bring them with me. The reason for all this was to get myself used to the idea of not smoking during these times, so that when I stopped it wouldn’t bother me as much. While I’m at work, I’m used to not smoking at work so it doesn’t bother me. Same thing with the driving. So, once I got all that down, I set things up so that I would finish my last pack right before I went to bed on Sunday night. That way I wake up and go right to work. A good head start. So, that’s where I am now. And it definitely helped. Nothing will ever kill cravings completely, but for me this made things easier. It still sucks though. A lot. So willpower is still going to be a big factor. I wish you luck. It won’t be easy. However, if it helps, I can tell you that even after only two weeks it has made a huge difference in my mood, and drastically reduced my stress levels. Aside from being a constant stimulant, I’m also not in a hurry all the time, just trying to get to that next smoke break. I don’t worry about how many I have. Things like that. So, just do it. And stick with it. It’s worth it.

    • mistahbenny@lemmy.mlOP
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      2 months ago

      It‘s a great story you‘ve shared and an even greater piece of advice you‘ve given. Thank you. And good luck on your non-smoking journey. =)

  • don@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    I switched to vaping, then gradually lowered the nicotine levels in my juice over time until I was vaping 0 nic for two months. Then I realized I no longer needed it, and stopped vaping altogether, quitting nicotine for good. This was back when you could get high quality juice sent to you in the mail, though, which is no longer possible, IIRC.

    Obligatory TBD Liquids and Blue Dot Vapors, absolute GOAT.

  • Angel Mountain@feddit.nl
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    2 months ago

    What worked for me was to stop seeing friends that smoked and to go for a run every time I felt like getting a cigarette, instead of getting the cigarette.

  • mub@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    Speaking from my own experience here is my method.

    1. Start by accepting that you will suffer, but think of the suffering like having a bad cold or the flu. You’ll hate it but it will pass.

    If you are quite a light smoker (handful per day) I would just quit and ride it out. If things get really bad allow yourself 1 but no more. You’ll be surprised how quickly the worst cravings go away after a week.

    If you’re a heavy smoker take more of a run up to it, as follows.

    Put off the first smoke of the day for as long as you can. E.g. if you usually smoke as soon as you get up then hold off until after breakfast. Next Day try for just before lunch, and so on over a week or so. Try to also put a gap between eating and smoking. Once you are down to a few a day then do the cold turkey thing.

    The trick is actually not buying more cigarettes. If you have them till probably smoke them. But if not, that barrier helps.

    I smoked from about 19yo until I was in my early thirties (about 1 pack per day). I also spent the nights smoking a lot of spliffs as well (that’s weed with rolling tobacco). Now I only smoke Weed when I go down to see my friends which is like twice a year. I bring back enough tobacco to make 3 or 4 small roll ups which gets me through the come down over the following week. Then it is done.

    Quitting the first time is fuck hard but the cravings pass. Now I find it quite easy because I’m used to doing it.

    Good luck. You can do it.

  • brad_troika@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Cold turkey is what works for most people but if you tried it and failed many times don’t be afraid to use nicotine replacement in some form, medication ( I used Champix and I’ve quit successfully 3 years ago) or even therapy. You’ll find online a lot of people who say that you only need willpower which is true if you have it but just depressing if you don’t making your situation after numerous quit attempts worse and worse.

    There are plenty of websites with concrete plans and tips on how to do it, all of them with good advice but you have find out what works for you and what doesn’t. There are also some apps that can help you track your quit process, the health benefits of quitting and reward you.

    Since you told nothing about your previous attempts if you had any or how long youve been smoking and why you want to quit I can only give some general advice:

    Every day you don’t smoke is a win. You need to find out why smoking hurts you, why stopping smoking would help you. Choose a plan, stuck to it and if you fail learn from it.

  • I_Miss_Daniel@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Pretty old video now but it explains why you smoke and helps to stop.

    Probably safer to use qbittorrent’s built in search to find it.

  • socsa@piefed.social
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    2 months ago

    Just stop doing it. You won’t quit until you really want to stop, and then it’s actually kind of easy. You hear this from a lot of people who quit, that all the circumstances and programs and nicotine substitutes are kind of secondary to the mental aspect of it.

  • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    I stopped a pack and a half a day habit of ~10 years cold turkey. It was either food or smokes.

    As others have said, there is no effective short cut. Ultimately, it is all will power. At least it is easier now. When I quit, EVERYONE smoked.

    • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      there is no effective short cut

      As someone who quit by switching to vape pens, I strongly disagree. There are multiple studies that show a success rate of greater than 60% when using vaping as a smoking cessation device. The next closest method is 3%. 3 fucking percent! Guess who owns those methods? It’s the tobacco companies.

  • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
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    2 months ago

    I used chantix back in the day, but it also required me basically not leaving the house for a month to really get there. When and where I quit for the first time (I would later start dating a smoker and relapse, then quit again), smoking was still allowed indoors and I had a huge association with drinking and smoking. Same for certain other places and situations. I basically had to do everything I could to avoid those. It got easier with time.

  • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net
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    2 months ago

    Alan Carr’s stop smoking book is highly regarded, and encourages you to smoke as you read along, until by the end you won’t want to.

    Combine that with a NAC supplement (which doesn’t do anything for withdrawals, but studies show it makes trying smoking again far more unpleasant for your brain which helps you stay off them.

    • Maestro@fedia.io
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      2 months ago

      Yes, I recommend the book as well. Don’t ask me why though. I tried quitting smoking many times using many different methods but always failed. On a whim I got the Alan Carr book and read it. I read it in bursts over a month or two. There was nothing interesting in there. Nothing I didn’t already know. I finished it and quit smoking. The next day I relapsed and smoked again. I reread the last few chapters and quit again, this time using nicotine patches. I quit the patches within a day because they made me feel sick. I never smoked again. It’s been 7-ish years and I haven’t had any inclination to smoke again. It went from one of the hardest things to one of the easiest things to do. I don’t care if people smoke around me, it doesn’t bother me anymore. I still don’t know why the book works, but it did for me.

  • superkret@feddit.org
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    2 months ago

    I quit smoking successfully a few years ago, after at least a dozen unsuccessful attempts.
    Here’s what was different the time I succeeded:

    I changed my mindset. Basically, I told myself that I won’t ever smoke a single cigarette again in my life, no matter how shitty that makes me feel.
    The trigger for that mindset was a common cold that left me breathless for 4 weeks.
    And the key to success was the realization that:

    1.) I’m not addicted to cigarettes, I’m addicted to nicotine
    2.) Nicotine by itself isn’t all that harmful
    3.) Whenever I have a craving, I can just chew a nicotine chewing gum
    4.) Nicotine by itself isn’t even that addictive

    So I bought a whole lot of nicotine gum, and whenever I felt the slightest craving I popped one in.
    After about 2 weeks the cravings subsided (cause nicotine isn’t actually what makes you addicted).

  • tarmarbar@startrek.website
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    2 months ago

    I quit overnight by accident. Got high on shrooms, tried to smoke, was disgusting, friend told me it’s normal when high on shrooms and people use them to stop smoking. Sounded fun, stopped smoking.

  • RedC@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    The patches are good options in my opinion but ultimately I just needed to drop nicotine all together and have the willpower to say no.

    Edit: the best piece of advice I can give is you have to be deadly serious about not smoking, anything less than full commitment is a failed attempt.