AltF4 on 14/7/2011 at 23:58
As an on again off again smoker for a long time, I found the best way to finally quit is to use distraction, and also to replace one obsession with another - preferably a healthier one (not advocating taking up heroin to get off nicotine). The human mind cant be reasoned with when it comes to cigarettes/addictions, but it can be tricked.
I took up boxing and push ups. Boxing is one of those obsessive activities that you can completely absorb yourself in - takes your mind off the urge, and gets you fit so if/when you do have a chuff, it tastes like cardboard and you can literally feel the impact on your health.
Cant box all the time, but its suprising how many places you can do push ups - theres a spare meeting room at work - if i feel like a smoke, I can go do a few sets of push ups. Again, it breaks the immediate urge to smoke, and by the time I'm finished, I really dont want one. This works at home as well obviously. People think you're weird when you get busted at work, but rather that than lung cancer.
Socially, this is the hardest. Cant really drop and do twenty at a pub or a restaurant. In desperation a mate told me that he would skull a few glasses of water - it functions to distract you, and the combination of a full belly AND a full bladder works remarkably well in killing the urge for a lung dart.
PS - I had to give up coffee at the same time - that was my big trigger. That was actually physically harder in the short term...
Nicker on 15/7/2011 at 00:36
Don't listen to the naysayers here, YcatX. Nicotine withdrawal, or even the suggestion of nicotine denial at some time in the near future, has a profound negative effect on rational thinking. The ability of an addict to rationalise is inversely proportional to the amount of nicotine in their system.
I smoked my last cigarette in 1986. I had quit once previously but got lured back by my delusional conviction that I was now "in control" and could indulge or not, at will.
Taking back your lungs is not easy but it is done all the time and is really worth the effort.
EDIT: I see that AltF4 already brought up some of these things as I was writing this, but...
Some tricks:
Don't just not smoke. When the urge hits, do something else. You can't break a habit, you have to replace it with a new one. Instead of anxiously sitting around resisting the urge to spark one up, find a distraction for about ten minutes. Take a breather (i.e.meditative breath exercises), go outside for some air, read something entertaining, brush your teeth, find someone to have a chat with (but not about your cravings).
Get a big, glass jar and put the money you would have spent on smokes in there. Not an IOU, not a written record, the actual cash (this is important for human evolutionary reasons). Decide on some enduring treat (a gadget, a toy, some jewelery, a game, theatre tickets, some clothes that won't reek of stale smoke). Write its name and its cost on a note and stick it to the outside of the jar. When the total is reached, reward yourself.
If you fall off the wagon do not let that be an excuse to beat yourself up and to return to your previous consumption levels. Only AlAnnon screeches that one drink and it's back to the gutter for you!! You made it X-dayswithout a smoke! That's an accomplishment to be proud of. Next time, make it 2X-days.
Nicotine replacement or other medications can help and are a better option than giving up on becoming a breather.
BrokenArts on 15/7/2011 at 00:59
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Did your aunt visit with the Book of Platitudes
again?
Naaa, have my own copy, and that's what Leatherman's father told us when he finally quit smoking, for good, after his heart attack.
SubJeff on 15/7/2011 at 01:09
Awww, now you've made me feel bad.
BrokenArts on 15/7/2011 at 01:57
Awwww.
demagogue on 15/7/2011 at 02:48
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
dema - you say your go-to is coffee. Do you do this even when you want to chill out for a bit? What about late at night?
It's funny you ask it that way because I used to have a rule, no coffee before 9pm. Coffee was always my late night chill drink. I didn't start drinking it in the morning as a wakeup ritual until just this last year or two, and even then I still separate coffee as a breakfast thing and as a chill out thing. Also should have said, in my circle we always went to cafes after school & at night ... so it was part of that.
I do like to have a cigar sometimes, I think I mentioned in another thread, just because I feel like a fucking boss with it, and I just like that feeling. Sometimes cloves too. All sort of fits in with the cafe vibe.
Quote Posted by "tBM"
I used to. Have not had one for a month or more. Wish me luck. I still get the urge.
Haha, I guess that's your whole joke but "used to" and "a month or more" sort of miss each other like a nerd high five. Best of luck in any event. :)
CCCToad on 15/7/2011 at 04:59
No, and trying not to get into too much for fear of addiction.
That said, the European store sells Cubans. I'm going to have to pick one up the next time I'm at KAF.
Azaran on 15/7/2011 at 05:37
Ex smoker here. I quit 4 years ago cold turkey. It was pure hell, I lost the taste for life for about a month after quitting...:(...how I needed my 12 daily cigarettes....
But now I'm very glad I quit. I know if I took even a puff now, I'd fall right back in
Vasquez on 15/7/2011 at 07:09
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Actually, to a proper smoker, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had from a cigarette. If you add a glass of beer/wine into the mix it's a potent combination.
Well, depends whether by "proper smoker" you mean an addict or an occasional pleasure-smoker. An addict stands in a rain of sleet in a t-shirt if need be, to get those life-saving puffs of smoke. Obviously he gets a kick out of them, too, but I'd hardly call that tobacco connoisseurism.
I started smoking when I was 15 and quit when I was 21 or so. It was totally easy, even though I smoked about one pack a day. I realised I smoked out of habit - pick up the phone, light a cig, get cup of coffee, light a cig etc. Then I decided the next time I'll smoke only when I really
really badly want it. Turned out I didn't want it that much at all, so I guess for some reason I had'nt developed a physical addiction :) (But let's not talk about chocolate or coffee..)
I was a pleasure-smoker for 15+ years after that - I would smoke socially, usually when alcohol was involved. And yes, with a cold beer it was a great combination of pleasure. When bar-smoking was banned, I often didn't bother going outside, and nowadays I smoke extremely rarely. In fact I can't remember the last time.
Briareos H on 15/7/2011 at 07:25
My roommate is a heavy smoker, now on nicotine patches since last Friday. He still rolls his joint every evening and I don't think you can sincerely separate this and tobacco-only, so I'm pretty sure it won't work in the end.
As for me, whenever there's cigarettes around me, I'm always up for a smoke. During rough times I've done up to one pack a day. I've got the same psychological addiction as everyone else, craving the stuff whenever there's some event naturally asking for a cigarette.
However I'm lucky enough not to get a real physical addiction. I usually stop whenever I decide to (like going for a run and seeing how much of a mess one week of smoking made me) and when there aren't any around I don't smoke at all. The rest of the time, I'm a pleasure-smoker just like Vasquez. Sometimes it's hard to say no to the craving "you know what would totally go with a coffee rignt now, just after this meal?", because that's so damn pleasurable. Hell, even now I'd definitely light one if I could but I'm not going to buy any, that's for sure.
