Misc I find caffeine harder to quit than nicotine, just me?

[Gray808]

so I'm not sure where to put this but I find that caffeine has a worse withdrawal that lasts way longer than that of nicotine. I feel that the habit of hand to mouth and inhaling sharp pinches of smoke or vapor is much more mentally addicting than anything caffeine does mentally. That being the case I still give into caffeine "cravings" (more just persistent thoughts that this withdrawal is not really worth the improvements or possibly lack thereof to my life) around 3 days to a week in. Nicotine while having worse and true addictive cravings (by that I mean persistent thoughts of the substance in a glorified light and an immense pull to use it unrelated to the pointlessness of quitting) it also has the motivation of "if you keep doing this you could die in a hospital bed starving for air" and only causes the cravings and a mild headache for about 1 week for me. I guess I should also mention that I have adhd so caffeine may genuinely help me function however I would also argue that nicotine helps me regulate my emotions through the required relaxed breathing and the nature of the act of smoking and probably some aspect of the pharmacology. caffeine has a weirdly bad withdrawal for me, it's probably worth mentioning that I primarily use caffeine gum at a dose of around 100 mg and place the chewed gum in my upper lip meaning that some sublingual, oral and buccal caffeine is absorbed leading to a faster onset and perhaps greater bioavailability I haven't been able to find much on that. I take only one dose a day right when I wake up and have done so for years. the withdrawal is mostly just headache, congestion, mild nausea, fatigue and worsened adhd symptoms but I never really feel motivated enough to deal these symptoms for the like 2/3 weeks they last so I think i'll just use caffeine in some form or another for the rest of my life which doesn't particularly bother me. anyway just wondering if this reflects anyone else's experience.

also I "relapse" on nicotine sometimes but I generally just have a bad day and smoke or vape that day then don't really have a problem with not doing it the subsequent days so if that doesn't count as quitting it to you disregard everything I've said

 

[Pissed_and_messed]

I have very hard time to get addicted or dependent on smoking or nicotine. I barely ever smoke even weed, smoke feels just wrong.
That being said, I have sometimes had deeper addictions/dependencies than caffeine/coffee/tea, but it has always been in top 3 since about 18 years old.
I am in some sense driven person and feeling of lethargy and sleepiness is hard to overcome those few weeks you are talking about.

 

[jasperkent]

Personally I find both caffeine and nicotine impossible to quit. I've kicked alcohol, benzos, cocaine, meth, and opioids successfully.
Cigarettes and coffee?
Forget it!

 

[Pissed_and_messed]

Yeah I have also kicked some of the hardest drugs there is, and caffeine is still comparable to those-fortunately not in the frequency of iterations in the downward spiral tho'.
It causes too much sympathetic nervous system activation tho and therefore is not that great fit for me. Induces anxiety and obsessive-compulsivity.

 

[Cheshire_Kat]

Personally I find both caffeine and nicotine impossible to quit. I've kicked alcohol, benzos, cocaine, meth, and opioids successfully.
Cigarettes and coffee?
Forget it!

Yeah, I kicked quite a few hard drugs but but those two seem the hardest
I managed to successfully replace cigarettes with cannabis, but I'm not entirely sure it was actually a good thing.

 

[4meSM]

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances in the world, especially if you started using it at a young age (rewires the cholinergic system).
Caffeine, not so much. I mean, it is habit-forming because it’s literally everywhere, and it does have withdrawal symptoms in heavy users. It’s also hard to find a reason to quit since it has so few side effects when used in moderation. But if you actually wanted to stop, it’s not that hard in my experience; in fact, it’s probably the easiest drug for me to quit.

 

[Gray808]

I started when I was 12 and smoked vaped/daily with little stints of trying to quit here and there until I was like 16/18 yrs old or so. I switched to those nicotine powder pouches (zyn, on, cryo type products) to try to quit the habit separately from the drug itself and then eventually I was just sick of the pouches because I would wash my mouth out after I used them and they just felt like more of a hastle than they were worth and maybe I'm always in a somewhat suboptimal state now because of a permanently altered choleric system I don't know much about that but I can keep my use of it now down to those days when you just need a cigarette. No idea why that worked for me, I know a lot of people do things like this and always end up smoking or vaping again. I've also done a lot of drugs with less favorable addiction dependence profiles but mostly these were drugs I respected in a fearful manor enough to never use too frequently (street xannax, opioids, prescription stimulants and alcohol) though I did lack a certain respect for alcohol and did not treat it with due caution resulting in a good couple months of daily binge drinking which just caused so much havoc in my life so fast that there was ample motivation to quit though I also did start using kratom multiple times a week subsequently to that I don't know I think a combination of luck and caution have kept me from any really horrific withdrawal. I also taper anything I ever quit so that could have something to do with it and I do vaporize weed pretty much everyday.

 

[Gray808]

not that means anyone else is likely to have the same luck many of my friends have / did not

 

[jasperkent]

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances in the world, especially if you started using it at a young age (rewires the cholinergic system)....

Absolutely.
I was puffing on cigarettes at age 7, inhaling at age 12, and by the time I turned 14 I was a pack-a-day smoker of Marlboro reds. I also went thru phases of chewing tobacco and dip. These days I still smoke about a pack a day, but at work I also vape and chew nicotine gum when not on break. When I get up to pee at night I usually smoke a cig then as well. I'm a true tobacco fiend.

Caffeine, not so much. I mean, it is habit-forming because it’s literally everywhere, and it does have withdrawal symptoms in heavy users. It’s also hard to find a reason to quit since it has so few side effects when used in moderation. But if you actually wanted to stop, it’s not that hard in my experience; in fact, it’s probably the easiest drug for me to quit.

Also true.
I drank a lot of sodas and iced tea as a kid and got into coffee heavily in college. At 64, I generally drink 2 to 3 pots of coffee a day. I can cut back or quit when I have to, but I really have no desire to do so. I'm a coffee fiend too, but it doesn't worry me like the tobacco habit does.

 

[Señor Moreno]

Nicotine, smoking tobacoo actually, is probably the hardest to quit imo. It's not only very addictive, it's terrible habit forming, you do it all the fucking time, you smoke 10, 20 or 30 cigs, that's hundreds of puffs a day for decades. Finally you end up being more that a addicted and habituated dude, you become a maniac as you have reinforecd that behaviour in a way that it just got your brain for good.

You know those girls/women that spent their whole life playing with their hair? There is nothing addictive in touching your hair, but after decades of doing it non stop 24/7 from 12 to 45yo, they have created such a mania that you'd have to tie their hands for them to stop doing it. In fact that behaviour it's labelled as a disease with its medical name. All of that in absence of any use of addiction forming substances.

Caffeine is also very addictive, but not that habit forming. I have high BP fuckery and had to quit it, salt, etc...
First tried cold quitting and the headache and letargy made me tried other way. I bought decaifeinated and started mixing it, reducing the cafeinated amount and upping the decaf very slowly. Just a caffeine taper. But even when I know that nicotine is much worse for BP/ heart, ley alone lungs, I symply cant stop smoking.

 

[brokedownpalace10]

I've drunk coffee since I was 12. Every single day, except a few times quitting.
As someone said above, what always gets me is that it's everywhere. Sometimes in products where you least suspect it.
A familiar pattern is quitting coffee for a few weeks and then getting in the habit of a caffeinated soft drink in the morning for a while. Then 2-3 throughout the day. Then...

I've quit nicotine a number of times a la Mark Twain. Smoked maybe half my life. Much more able to keep off it for extended periods, though.
What helps me now is that I ended up the last half of my life smoking cigars and/or a pipe when I smoked.
So, cigarettes don't tempt me. They do taste like shit, really. You see less cigars and pipes than 'grettes around, so less temptation.

 

[papercuts]

I've no idea when I started drinking coffee, it was a weekend ritual from before my parent's split that we'd all pile into their bed with a coffee each in the mornings.
I gave up sugar in it at age seven, I know that.
I get what you mean about how hard it is to kick, even from the point of keeping your bowels moving it's essential, depending on what else you might take (still taking kratom?). Using opium daily, the desire to shit takes over me and I reach for the coffee jar, combined with that mild morning withdrawal it works a treat.
I used to smoke 30 a day when young, but quit to have kids and it was as hard as fuck for me, way harder than giving up caffeine, I've done that a few times. If I hadn't had the incentive of being pregnant I think I'd have still smoked and not been able to quit.
Never took up smoking cigs full time again except on holiday which I'd make sure to quit when I got home. Maybe it seems easier to control than caffeine because what is the point of giving up caffeine?
Since my husband quit smoking they aren't in the house any more so I don't smoke now, just vape my weed every day instead, I've read there is no cancer risk below 200'C so I stopped reading there and keep it at 200'C
If you have ADHD and caffeine helps, then why do you think it's better for you to quit?

 

[Mjäll]

I feel the same way. For me i think the reason is that caffeine has a function while nicotine is just a useless void of a drug with basic habit-forming properties and nothing else.

 

[G_Chem]

I feel the same way. For me i think the reason is that caffeine has a function while nicotine is just a useless void of a drug with basic habit-forming properties and nothing else.

And this is why caffeine is infinitely harder to quit for me…

-GC

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

I guess it depends how much you consume of each. If you have like 2 cups of coffee a day and have smoked 2 packs a day for 30 years obviously the nicotine is gonna be a lot harder. If you drink large, strong coffees and energy drinks all day and smoke casually, the caffeine will probably be harder.
I can't give up either.

I take a lot of Thorazine (like up to 900mg a day) and Seroquel so without caffeine I feel like I can barely move, my body feels so heavy and lethargic and I just wanna sit on the sofa binging om carbs (which is terrible as I'm also T1D) and slep for 18 hours. I also have a lot of caffeine I didn't really consider caffeine in coke zero, but I drink enough for it to add up to like 400mg a day, plus I drink a few double espressos that are like 200 each and huge latte's that are like 400 each.

As for nicotine I just get incredibly irritable and have really strong cravings. In fact, I'd say nicotine withdrawal CRAVINGS may be the strongest cravings I've had and that includes opioids and amphetamines and benzos. I'm talkin' JUST the cravings aspect of withdrawal. I'd say only maybe alcohol equals the intensity of cravings where I think I'm gonna like die or implode if I don't get some IMMEDIATELY like RIGHT NOW NOW NOW NOW.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

And this is why caffeine is infinitely harder to quit for me…

-GC

But you get the same tolerance with caffeine you do to nicotine. They've shown in studies that people who consume a lot of caffeine REGULARLY actually have the same energy levels as those who drink none. It just FEELS otherwise, because WITHOUT the caffeine you energy slumps much lower than normal.

I've been a heavy smoker for like 5 or 6 years and still get a buzz from nicotine if I wait between cigs. Like the first one of the day always give me a buzz and then if I wait more than 2 hours between them (which tbh I rarely do) I get a buzz.

 

[G_Chem]

But you get the same tolerance with caffeine you do to nicotine. They've shown in studies that people who consume a lot of caffeine REGULARLY actually have the same energy levels as those who drink none. It just FEELS otherwise, because WITHOUT the caffeine you energy slumps much lower than normal.

I've been a heavy smoker for like 5 or 6 years and still get a buzz from nicotine if I wait between cigs. Like the first one of the day always give me a buzz and then if I wait more than 2 hours between them (which tbh I rarely do) I get a buzz.

You assumed I use caffeine for energy… I agree completely and in fact caffeine makes me groggy which is why I never drink it before work. To me caffeine is best used for socializing and dancing, but moreso cuz it makes me feel euphoric with some energy if used infrequently.

Soon as I have a day off I crave it, and if I have some weeks off I’ll start using daily.

-GC

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

You assumed I use caffeine for energy… I agree completely and in fact caffeine makes me groggy which is why I never drink it before work. To me caffeine is best used for socializing and dancing, but moreso cuz it makes me feel euphoric with some energy if used infrequently.

Soon as I have a day off I crave it, and if I have some weeks off I’ll start using daily.

-GC

Does caffeine always make you groggy tired because (while I technically am a qualified nurse) while I'm not a medical professional, that can be a sign of having ADD/ADHD.

Your right, I shouldn't have assumed you use it for energy. I find caffeine euphoric, but only in combination with Gabapentin....they both potentiate each other so I get the caffeine high without the jitters or anxiety and the Gabapentin high without being over-sedated.

 

[Gray808]

I've no idea when I started drinking coffee, it was a weekend ritual from before my parent's split that we'd all pile into their bed with a coffee each in the mornings.
I gave up sugar in it at age seven, I know that.
I get what you mean about how hard it is to kick, even from the point of keeping your bowels moving it's essential, depending on what else you might take (still taking kratom?). Using opium daily, the desire to shit takes over me and I reach for the coffee jar, combined with that mild morning withdrawal it works a treat.
I used to smoke 30 a day when young, but quit to have kids and it was as hard as fuck for me, way harder than giving up caffeine, I've done that a few times. If I hadn't had the incentive of being pregnant I think I'd have still smoked and not been able to quit.
Never took up smoking cigs full time again except on holiday which I'd make sure to quit when I got home. Maybe it seems easier to control than caffeine because what is the point of giving up caffeine?
Since my husband quit smoking they aren't in the house any more so I don't smoke now, just vape my weed every day instead, I've read there is no cancer risk below 200'C so I stopped reading there and keep it at 200'C
If you have ADHD and caffeine helps, then why do you think it's better for you to quit?

ya I honestly just tried to quit caffeine as an experiment and to see where I was at because I was going through at least 500mg + a day when I went to high school which was painfully boring and just kind of soul draining then I'd go work at this restaurant as a dishwasher until like 12/ 1 in the morning then drive the 30 minutes home and then wake up at 6 or 7 and start it over and if I tried to cut back on caffeine then I would just kinda start falling behind and after that phase of my life I kinda just kept taking a lot of caffeine throughout the day in whatever form caffeine gum, pills, energy drinks, coffee. so eventually I just decided to stick to 100 mg in the morning cuz that just helps me get all my shit and get out the door. when I tried to quit that just to see how bad it would be and it sucked a lot more than I would have expected and anytime I've just gone a day without it it's been pretty bad. But basically it doesn't bother me I'm just gunna keep having caffeine in the morning for the rest of my life because it does help me with my adhd and has very little to no side effects.

It also definitely makes shitting a lot better though I've actually never had problems with that while on kratom. I don't do a huge amount of it when I do it but I also feel like it could have something to do with plant fiber. I read that apparently weed lessens your risk of constipating idk if that's entirely scientific I wouldn't take my word on that but I also, of course, have done caffeine the whole time which is definitely a factor

It also makes total scene to me that a lot of you said it's way harder to quit nicotine than caffeine that's probably how it goes for most.

 

[gordonliddy]

The only drug that gave me a really hard time to quit? Diet Soda.

For whatever reason the caffeine/aspertame combo had me really hooked.

It sounds funny but my sister noticed that if I didn't have a soda every 20 mins. I started to fall apart.