Why nicotine is so addictive and how to quit smoking? Does anyone have a success story of quitting cigarettes?

Hi fellow mates,

I have been surfing all over the places (internet) to find out the best way of "Quit Smoking". It's not my new year resolution to kick out the habit, it is something which I have been thinking since an Year.

Whenever I'm pissed off, I pick a cigarette without even realizing it's harmful. Just after a smoke, I feel like why the hell did I it so. As soon as I throw the stub, I can't really take the stink either from my mouth or fingers.

I even read a lot about the consequences, especially "CANCER" scared me a lot and end up getting a nightmares but still no luck.

I strongly believe that Smokers are heavily handcuffed by the Notorius Tobacco industries as they have evolved so much and filling up a lof of new addictives to tightly hold the smokers throughout their lifespan.

Is there any best rehabilitation center around Sydney who can help? Of course I'll be dedicated and don't sneak around the corner to lit an another one.

Definitely no jokes here please….

No Cheers,
Sowny.

Comments

  • +2

    My husband was a smoker from age 14. Before he quit at age 45, he was smoking 2 CARTONS of Horizon 50s a week - that is 8 packets - and had been at that level for a number of years.

    He made the decision to quit smoking, and used Nicobate lozenges to help him. That was about six years ago.

    He still uses Nicorette Spray from time to time so I guess he has not completely quit the nicotine habit but he has quit the smoking habit. He is healthier in terms of his breathing, heart and lung function etc than he was. Obviously cancer is still a risk. On the upside, we are saving buckets of money and no longer does our house or clothing or possessions stink of smoke. I'm a non smoker, so that is a great positive benefit for me!

    It was a struggle in the early days as his mood altered quite significantly, but there were some life factors that exacerbated this. We made some fairly significant changes in our lifestyle then too - for example, sitting round with friends for a drink always involved cigarettes, and these things were so closely bound together that we needed to avoid this completely in order to be successful.

    I think everybody's journey to quit smoking is different but ultimately it is all about what is happening in your head. If you can break that, you can get over it.

  • +2

    most of the time, the biggest threat to quit are FRIENDS!
    time to get new group of friends, who dont smoke.
    move to live and work with people who dont smoke.

    only difficult for the first 2-3 weeks after that it is easy not to smoke but of course dont hang around smokers again after that!
    my only concern about smoking is they are very expensive here.

    • @dragonindespair: I see. The problem is, I always do that when I'm alone.

      • +1

        understand that.

        same suggestion:
        time to get new group of friends, who dont smoke.
        because if all your friends are non smoking they will complain if you smoke - as the smell will stay even if you the night before, alone.

        move to live and work with people who dont smoke. obviously. if 4 people in the house not smoking it is hard for you to keep smoking. make sure your house is non smoking one, even in the balcony!

        get new hobby or sport? usually sporty people dont smoke.

  • -1

    Does anyone have a success story of quitting cigarettes?

    no one has a success story

    • +1

      of course many …. but maybe less than 50% success rate is that what you meant?

  • +1
    1. Stop using quotation marks unnecessarily.
    2. Man up and stop. I smoked for 10 years. I decided I was going to quit smoking, so I just stopped. I haven't had a single cigarette since that day almost a decade ago. There are no tricks or short cuts, it's just willpower.
  • Have you called the quit helpline https://www.cancersa.org.au/quitline

  • +3

    Perhaps try an e-cigarette? You might get called a douche but at least you'll be a healthier douche :D

    There's still a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not they are truly a 'healty' alternative to smoking, so I had a quick word to my doctor before using one and they more or less gave a green light - insofar as they believed that any negative health impacts from e-cigarettes would pale in comparison to those incurred by smoking tobacco.

    You can't legally purchase e-cigarette liquid which contains Nicotine within Australia, but you are allowed to buy enough for a couple of months online and have it sent over.

    • You can get your doctor to prescribe scripts for you. Feel free to shoot me a message if that's the path you decide to take.

    • There's still a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not they are truly a 'healty' alternative to smoking

      Your doctor was right. By far the easiest way to quit smoking is e-cigs. The UK and most EU countries understand the public health imperative, and haven't been corrupted by big tobacco… yet. The US and AU are a different story.
      BBC Horizon S55E10 covered it comprehensively last year, however they can't possibly comment on long-term use.
      If you can't stream it, try here.

      An illuminating film on the subject is A Billion Lives.

  • Replace a cigarette with a mouse and venture into YouTube;

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y9aiQ5ynj4

  • +2

    "Whenever I'm pissed off, I pick a cigarette without even realizing it's harmful. Just after a smoke, I feel like why the hell did I …"

    So stop carrying cigarettes.

  • Hi I used Nicabate Patch on 2009. Used about a month of 4 $30-$35 of patches and I didn't smoke since. The patches gave the nicotine you need thus you don't have cravings for it. I told a friend who then use only a week of patches to quit as well.

  • Had a mate successfully quit through Hypnosis (seriously), others used Champix (initially makes you feel quite sick) or Nicorette chewing gum and inhalers.

    The key to quitting is to keep trying. Get a stress ball to relieve your anger instead of a packet of cigarettes.

    • hypnotherapy is quite good, i quit for about 6 weeks … well worth it!

      • Interesting! If it worked, how come you relapsed?

        • combination of running out of grapefruit juice, too much alcohol and a messy break up :)

  • Chuck them away and stop buying. I don't know how anyone can smoke cigarettes containing FSC. That is a poison and makes them much more deadly than they already are. How can anyone enjoy the taste of chemicals and the long list of side effects of carpet glue. If you need some nicotine replacement then try snus, it still contains the tobacco alkaloids so is more effective than nicorette/nicotine gum. I don't even find nicotine addictive, I use it on occasion and enjoy it, but never formed an addiction to it. But everyone is different.

    • What if we get addicted to Snus?

  • +4

    Give Allen Carr's book a try.
    https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Carrs-Easy-Stop-Smoking/dp/0615…

    Upon reading it, it seemed to flip a switch in my head. And quitting really was easy!

    it's been 10 years clean for me, after 15 years of smoking.

    • +1

      @furryberry: That's awesome! This is something which I'm looking for. I will grab a copy right away and see what's in there. The book's cover highlighted with a sentence which is "Do not stop smoking until you've read THIS book" so am sure it's going to be great. Cheers mate.

      • +1

        Well it's been 10+ years, my memory might have been clouded a bit.
        It certainly wasn't easy for the first few days.

        At every juncture I was self sabotaging.
        i.e. 'Wow, i've not been smoking for 2 days now…. I gotta celebrate!' and I'd reach for a cigarette.

        But the book helped. Can't remember why it helped. But it did at the time :)

      • I second Allen Carr's book The Easyway to Stop Smoking, all friends who read it gave up smoking. A couple of friends needed to re-read it twice but that's it. I suggest you to read it in one go or in a couple of days. Quitting has nothing to do with willpower. I admire those who use it, but it's completely unnecessary. The book explains why… Basically instead of talking about the bad things about smoking, it explains why people smoke :) I didn't read the book but I attended one of their seminars and, in 5 hours, I went from 60 cigarettes to 0. No need for any nicotine, no weight gain, no nothing. After 13 years I still don't miss any cigarette! If you don't want to buy the book, go to your local library and borrow it :)

      • +1

        The book is pretty good. I smoked 20/day for 20 years, at the end could do 60-80 on a big Saturday night, chain smoking. I was committed for life, eventually I became disgusted with myself and I still couldnt stop. I went to one of these one day workshops http://allencarr.com.au/clinics/. That did it for me

        • @kenh2003, I got this book today. I'll keep you posted. Thanks so much.

        • +1

          @Sowny: [furryberry] [detonazione] [kenh2003] - Hi, I owe you a party! Yup, I did it. It's been my 60th day without smoking a single cigarette!!! The book is really really amazing and I'm gonna gift it to all my friends to help them quit! Cheers :)

        • @Sowny: Excellent start!

        • @Sowny:

          Thanks Sowny for the feedback. Going to try myself :) Including his Easy Way to Quit drinking book.

  • +2

    When I was a child both my parents quit cold turkey when they realised it was affecting my health. If you have kids or are plan to one day, hopefully that's more incentive to quit.

  • +1

    I can only talk from personal experience as everyone is different, but no patch, e-cig, gum etc is going to stop you until you want to.

    I know so many people who have failed because they quit knowing they SHOULD quit and not because they WANT to quit.

    Once you are firm in that mindset, take each day at a time and think how much you've been through trying to quit. Recite how long it has been since your last and feel proud of it.

    I also had an app called "get rich or die smoking". It adds up the cost of your pack of choice, how many you smoked a day, and shows how much you've saved when you quit. When it takes very little time for it to get into 4 figures, you'll realise how much you wasted on them.

    Good luck!!

  • In reference to the OP, don't buy them and don't place yourself in a situation where you are available to them and find something that gives you the relieve you need. There is no quick fix, you need to want to quit.

    It always amazes me about how much material and advertising there is on quitting smoking, but very little on the life choices you are making before you start. No doubt this is a result of the tobacco companies as they would lose revenue.

    I would like to see a campaign that outlines the choice being made to start within the first place.

    $5-10k a year, lose of taste, overall fitness capacity, long term health, extreme difficulties to quit, oral hygiene, anti-social impacts due to limited areas to now smoke, impacts to dating potential, the addiction/dependence on them & the list goes on.

    I have never smoked and can't understand why anyone would knowingly choose to be subjected to a life of all this for any small high.

  • +1

    I used to smoke about 15- 25 a day, more if I went out drinking. one day I got bored of it and stopped.

    it's habit forming in terms of not just the nicotine but the pleasure in the act of smoking. e.g. really relaxing when having a smoko and being able to "turn off" and focus on the cigarette rather than thinking about things you have to do. also the act of having a cigerette - opening packet,r emoving cigerette, lighting it, etc - the ritual/habit.

    so it's not just nicotine "addiction" you are facing when you stop smoking but the loss of a regular habit/routine. the nicotine makes the routine a bit more "pleasurable".

  • +1

    nicotine is like a drug. Its addictive because it tells your brain its fantastic. your body craves it and its always on your mind.

    its hard to quit because your brain tells u must have that hit. if you dont your body shuts down until you get it again.

    not everyone can quit. weak minded people cannot quit raw turkey. most would find it easier with small patches and slowly use less and less until your minnd recovers.

    its all in the mind really. you can quit if you are tough enough to.

    i know a friend but he achieved it by going to a buddist temple in tibet - but first, you must bump into a big muscular black coloured man on teh way when thieves attempt to steal your expensive watch.

  • +3

    Bit extreme I know. Contracted pneumonia; too sick to smoke for 2 weeks. Decided not to start up again. Never smoked since - 40 years ago. Willpower mate. Good luck.

    • WILLPOWER - What exactly is that!?!?

  • +2

    Well, for starters I wouldn't focus on 'quitting'. It takes a lot of energy to not do something, and really our brains aren't really constructed to do that anyway. What you can do that is easier is to replace the smoking with something else. Chewing gum is a common one, but it can be almost anything. You'll have more success if the new activity shares a lot of the same movements as the old one you're trying to replace

  • +1

    Here's a piece I read recently about keeping resolutions, not specific to quitting but has good ideas. Try to load the odds in your favour so you don't have to rely solely on willpower: get a new group of friends if you have to, avoid situations with temptation, have some replacement activity to hand.

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/07/how-to-…

    Good luck.

  • +1

    I smoked for over 25 years and quit 2 days before christmas and im not going back my wife still smokes she says shes going to the doctors to get tablets champex i think, i keep telling her if you really want to quit just stop dont buy them its not hard if you really want to do it you will, it gets me how people say they cant is just a pi** poor effort to me i know everyones different but if you really put your mind to it you can, its just little things aswell dont let people smoke around you for a week or so, i know people that have spent thousands on it sprays chewys mp3s and hypnotherapy and they still smoke.

    • Well done.

    • Even I was thinking the same. What if I join some therapy for sometime, then again start lit up an another one.

  • I smoked a packet a day for many years. Tried going cold turkey a couple of times but fell back into the habit. The third time I decided to also get some rolling papers and a bag of dried Basil. Every time I absolutely had to have a smoke I would roll a Basil cig.

    That way I still got the feeling of having a smoke without the nicotine. Over a few weeks the urge got less and less. Never finished using the papers or Basil. Haven't smoked for many years now.

    • Isn't it harmful to health? Basil leaves? The one we eat with Thai rice noodles?

      • I think all smoke is harmful to health. But I was already smoking and couldn't give up. I don't know if Basil is any worse or better but I do know that I very quickly went from 25 tobacco cigs per day to less than 10 Basil cigs. By week 2 I was smoking less than 5 per day. My thinking is that it was the lesser of two evils and helped me give up for good within 4 weeks.

    • +1

      Well done.

  • Man it's hard , i tried a few times and always picked it up again so i decided to work out when i actually did light up a durrie . Morning coffee , after a meal , having a few beers . I made a few changes to my everyday routines ( it all helps ) stopped the booze and stuck to my guns . 15 months now and haven't looked back. When you feel like a smoke think or do something and put your mind elsewhere.
    ( You can do it )

    • Good work.

    • You make more sense mate. I gotta try this as well!

  • Know your triggers n replace the habit with something else. If it only happens when you're angry like you mentioned, more likely you smoke because unconsciously you need to breath to calm yourself down. You can replace it with similar method, maybe e-ciggarete or something.

  • +1

    Smoked 2+ packs a day for 6 years. Knew it was bad for me. One day someone told me that the worst part of quitting would be over in 30 days, so I struggled for 30 days and sure enough I was then able to continue not smoking for the next 6-8 months when at a gathering I tried it again but found it really foul so never again, that was 36 years ago.
    After the "quitting" the hardest things were to change the "hand" and "mouth" habits, like "ashing" a biro for at least a year or having the non-writing end of the biro in your mouth, and also avoiding the triggers to light-up, like the first cup of coffee or first beer, sitting in your favourite spot to light-up, etc. It is a habit thing, so create new habits to replace the old.

    • Boccos, well explanined. I think you are right. It's habitual. I gotta learn from you.

    • Good result.

  • I strongly believe that Smokers are heavily handcuffed by the Notorius Tobacco industries as they have evolved so much and filling up a lof of new addictives to tightly hold the smokers throughout their lifespan.

    While you think like that you will find it much harder to quit. In essence, you are absolving yourself from responsibility and putting it on the tobacco manufacturers. It may be true enough that they are trying to keep you hooked but you can't afford to think like that.

    All the best for your efforts at quitting.

    • BobD, It's a human nature to blame someone for the same mistake that we do.

  • I smoked for nearly 20 years. I tried a few things, patches (3months) made my skin itch/sore/red, lozenges a couple of times both for about 3 months. This is good because you are doing something in your mouth to replace the motion. Gum, I tried this first but cant remember what happened but it didnt work.

    Cold turkey was next to impossible, dad did it, uncles etc did it, but there is no way I could do it. Tried a few times and got to maybe 1 day at the most. Friends smoking near you is probably the worst part of this.

    I knew I needed to quit, it was messing up my sinus and lungs. Somehow I came across ecigs and long story short I havent touched a cig in 5 years. There is a learning curve, the longer you put it off the steeper it gets- they have come a long way from when I started.

    Sure it isnt 100% safe, nothing is but there are now a fair few independent doco's which say they are at least 95% better then smoking. A recent one I watched was on SBS filmed in the UK so probably BBC. The journalist basically had a test done on lung function before, took up smoking for a month, had another test then switched to ecigs, tested then stopped and tested. If I find a link to it I will post it.

    • http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07c6ll4/clips

      This is it but I cant find the full doco online as BBC are assholes. Only short clips from it

      • Thanks, WT. How does it feel when you inhale eCigs? Doesn't it stink? What's the best thing about it? I also notice that, nicotine liquid isn't officially sold in NSW.

        • It can be hot if you like that, I prefer cool/neutral thought and comes down to preference.

          Smells only of what flavor you have, I cant really smell my own since I just puffed on it, I can smell other peoples which has been super rare. The mrs doesnt like certain flavors like vanilla/custard. No one has complained about the smell. A mate had an issue with it while up in qld but I put it down to him being frustrated with his car not launching and lack of sleep. His brain was fried basically and couldnt get around how there was vapor but no smoke…

          Best thing? Not having to go to the shop in the middle of the night since you ran out. And the price, when I quit when it was $18 per 25. Having a sense of smell. Being able to have a sneaky puff on it in public places and just hold my breath- nothing comes out. Not having to have a smoke with a coffee or after a meal, or one of the first things in the morning. No stinky fingers, or yuck breath. I could go on.

          Its probably easier to list cons of ecigs
          Making sure you have enough juice/battery for the day
          Carrying one around with you
          People asking what it is (mostly friends)
          finding flavors you like
          fogging up your car when the windows are up
          breaking or running out of something and having to wait 3 weeks for it, or pay $2 for priority
          Juice can leak/splatter and can enter your ecig damaging it depending on the tank so having spares and buying replacements is a must for me. You can avoid it with some tanks
          tech is growing so fast it will be expensive if you want to stay at the cutting edge. I just buy something that works and have a poke around once a year or so

          You wont be buying much here, my unit/mods and tanks come from fasttech/gearbest in china. Some of my juice comes from china which has nic in it. I get some concentrate and PG/VG from a seller in QLD and some concentrates and straight nic (advanced user only) from the US

          https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ is probably best for info. Out of the millions of people you hardly hear of people who take smoking back up and its usually people who try to gradually change while still smoking (doesnt work)
          aussie-ecigs.com has some local info on laws, I dont really use the site

    • Congratulations.

    • I linked it earlier this morning.

      SBS aired this Horizon episode around August 2016, but for some reason (ads?) it was an edited-down version.

  • +2

    Was not an addict, however was smoking regularly. Changed a stressful job and easily quit smoking looong time ago.
    Do some change in your life - new job, environment, hobbies, sports, find some other harmless 'addiction' and see how it goes.

  • The basic problem is that the nicotine molecule is so small it can get through the blood-brain barrier. Once it does, you are not in control, the nicotine craves more nicotine and causes the brain to modify your behaviour to get more. So you've got a real battle to overpower it.
    Some years ago there was talk of an innoculation that would cause the body to recognise nicotine (and some other potentially addictive substances) and to get the "immune" system to attach stuff to the molecule so that it was too big to fit through the blood-brain barrier. Does anybody know if this is yet available? I remember there being some ethical discussion around parents' rights to have their children innoculated against potential addictions. It was only a preventative measure and not useful after the addiction was established.

  • +2

    I smoked from age 13 to when I was 58. I had a bout of whooping cough about 3 years ago, and didn't have a smoke for 2 weeks. I decided to have another go at not smoking, as I'd had plenty of practice at quitting over the years.
    The best bit of advice I followed was the " three minute" rule. If you feel like a smoke, wait for three minutes and start doing something else. The craving gradually get less and less, and after a while you start to smell and taste food properly, sense the weather ect.

    I haven't given up, and have a full packet of tobacco, some papers and a lighter in the drawer beside me. I have no need to rush out and get some smokes, because I have one there if I want it. I just haven't felt like one very often, and when I do, I wait three minutes…

    My keyboard, my desk, my bedroom, my clothes, my animals, my walls, my windscreen and my monitor are all the better for it.

    • You're getting close to success.

    • @terrys, I never heard of this technique but seems like it will definitely work out for me. I'm really seeing a positive note on your comment. Cheers.

      • I haven't had a smoke for over three years now - but the physical withdrawals are done in the first few days, then it's just a matter of the habit - what to do with your hands.

        It really helps if you are not with others who are smoking tho.

        • +1

          @terrys, It's evident. The 3 minute technique working out well along with the book, "The EASYWAY to stop smoking" recommended by @kenh2003.

  • +2

    I have 2 success stories. My dad was 50 when I was born. At his age of 60, when I was 10, he said that he wants to quit smoking although he had been doing it for the previous 40 or so years. He used to cherrish his packs of tobacco and special papers that he used to make cigarette using a special device. He pretty much quit cold turkey. I remember that the mental addiction was so severe that for a while he had to make cigarettes and then threw them away. I can't remember details but probably it lasted until his stock of tobaccos finished. Knowing his personality, I think what helped him was that he formed a clear picture of the damage that smoking can do in his mind.

    My storey is similar …about 20 years ago in college I came across these guys who introduced me to smoking. After 2 years of smoking that went so fast, I started to look at it as a very harmful thing to do. Not as a smoke that calms me..not as a somke that relieves stress…or not as something that helps me pass the time. I truely believed that it is harmful. The quit was then automatic. My body just stopped needing nicotine. I literally tried to smoke a couple of times after several weeks but on both occasions I fell asleep after smoking and when I woke up it was like I have walked several hundred kilometers. I was so hammered by the effects of cigarette. These were over 17 years ago and I have never touched one again. Nowadays, my reactions to cigar are so bad that I have trouble walking in a street if someone within 10m or so is smoking.

    My point is that you should mentally reject it and your body follows.

  • I am wondering did OP quit successfully?

    • +2

      @wen87n - Yup, I did quit! YaY!! Thanks to all…

      • Hey op which method did you use ? Want to help a friend .

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