Misc Nicotine Addiction

So I've been an avid smoker for about 6 years now, anywhere from 10-30 ciggs/day. And I decided 4 weeks ago it couldn't and wouldn't continue, after so many cold turkey attempts its not even funny. I tried the patch, gum, e-cig, nothing would get me more than 2 days. So as a bday present to my mom I promised (100th time probably) And I decided my course of action would lozenges. Eitherway now I am 4 weeks cigarette free, but am still taking 3-6 mg nicotene / day, down from about 15 when I started. I feel like this is significant progress, however I'm worried about those final step downs. I've heard horrors from others, and I've tried a similar method with opies and suboxene.

Is there any BLers who have quit cigarettes? How did you do it?
For those using Nicotine replacement, what is the key to stepping down/taking the final step off the nicotine stair way.

1 month is a good time w/o cigarettes and let me tell you I still have hacking and shortness of breath, I'm afriad that is going to be with me forever.
it seems easier to keep smoking.. Damn you government and big tobacco.

Anyway

although I neither had nor have any intention of quitting any time soon, I found DXM's NMDA antagonist properties to be AMAZING at totally crushing all urge to smoke (they're actually experimenting with new anti-smoking NMDA antagonist pills, or so a friend at a pharm marketing company tells me). Tramadol works rather well, but when I was taking (and the day after) DXM I literally have NO desire to smoke (coming from someone who had recently been smoking a pack a day).

Anyways, good luck to you! You know what Mark Twain says, "Quitting smoking is the easiest thing in the world - I've done it thousands of times!"

I've also been smoking for 6 years and I've just thought of quitting recently , don't think I'm very close to actually trying though . But I find that weed helps with cravings so much , when I'm stoned I don't really need one so I choose not to , or I pull a cone instead then I don't want one at all for a while . I usually smoke atleast 10 cigarettes a day , but when I'm choofin away it's like 1 or 2

There's alot more to cigs than nicotine. Do some research I'm not typing it.

weekend addiction said:

There's alot more to cigs than nicotine. Do some research I'm not typing it.

Click to expand...

Hell yeah, thousands of chemicals many of which are proven carcino/muta/teratogens.

defn said:

So I've been an avid smoker for about 6 years now, anywhere from 10-30 ciggs/day. And I decided 4 weeks ago it couldn't and wouldn't continue, after so many cold turkey attempts its not even funny. I tried the patch, gum, e-cig, nothing would get me more than 2 days. So as a bday present to my mom I promised (100th time probably) And I decided my course of action would lozenges. Eitherway now I am 4 weeks cigarette free, but am still taking 3-6 mg nicotene / day, down from about 15 when I started. I feel like this is significant progress, however I'm worried about those final step downs. I've heard horrors from others, and I've tried a similar method with opies and suboxene.

Is there any BLers who have quit cigarettes? How did you do it?
For those using Nicotine replacement, what is the key to stepping down/taking the final step off the nicotine stair way.

1 month is a good time w/o cigarettes and let me tell you I still have hacking and shortness of breath, I'm afriad that is going to be with me forever.
it seems easier to keep smoking.. Damn you government and big tobacco.

Anyway

Click to expand...

I'm using e-cig's. Initally I got on them to replace and eventually quit SMOKING CIGARETTES, not nicotine. Nicotine isn't really harmful. Kind of like caffiene. There is acutally some reasearch out there that shows it enhances memory, concentration, etc. I needed to get off of the sucking in smoke from burning tobacco, the SMOKE going into my lungs.

And since switching to e-cig's I started buying my own chemicals to re-fill the disposable e-cig cartridges I was buying at walmart. Now I'm taking in WAY MORE nicotine than I was as I buy pure (99.9%) liquid nicotine and mix it with a couple other things to re-fill the supposedly disposable cartridges. I LOVE nicotine now and my functioning at work has improved a lot, at least in part I attribute it to the nicotine. And now since the route of ingestion isn't mixed with burning tobacco leaves mixed with other chemicals (whatever the heck winds up in cigarettes) I'm not the least bit worried and actually consider it a positive addiction.

What is your problem with the nicotine itself? Have you researched the pro's and con's of taking nicotine into the body (assuming you avoid toxic ammt's... but it's important to avoid toxic ammt's of H20 and toxic ammt's of every other substance on the planet as well. This is supposed to be common sense but a lot of times we get mis information that a chemical itself is harmful to the human body when it's the dose that is (or can be) toxic, not the substance itself.

I'm loving my e-cig's and saving mad cash making my own refill mixture.

I'll gladly help if I can as I consider myself successful ex-smoker. I was very similar smoker as you in the intensity: smoking for nearly 7 years, ~15-25 cigs a day. There were occasional days when I almost didn't smoke but then there were also days when I smoked 40+ a day so on average it was still about 20.

Now it's been full year since I smoked last cig though.

No. 1 rule in which I believe, is that cigarette/nicotine addiction is mainly psychological, NOT physical. There is definitely physical withdrawal symptoms. But trust me those are not the main problem. SO many people managed to stop smoking for a week or two or three and then relapsed many times. That wasn't the physical addiction, since that doesn't last long at all (few days actually). The main problem is always in our heads. Whenever we see somebody smoking at club, pub, bus station or just anywhere, it's a subconscious impulse to smoke. No way. You have to realize when that happens and ignore it. You need to be almost arrogant - in your head, don't speak it out loud: say in your head "I'm better than them. They're all losers. I'm not slave of cigs."

You need to make a clear decision in your head: I'll never smoke again in my life. If there is even the smallest doubt about that, for example "I could make an exception when I graduate" or "I could make an exception when I reach [whatever important goal]", you probably won't make it. The idea of never smoking again must be completely acceptable to you.

No. 2, this can be very hard too but definitely important. Try to avoid alcohol and any other drugs that cause you to like cigarettes more than sober, for at least one month, preferably two. If you're generally moderate to heavy drug user, this will be really hard because from my experience almost all hard drugs made me want to smoke more. But alcohol is the worst of all. You really want to avoid that for some time.

No. 3, all the things like e-cigarettes, nicotine plasters etc. can't help you with the psychic addiction. They mostly combat the physical addiction only. So if you eat lots of nicotine in any other form than smoking, it may make quitting easy for few weeks but it won't help you in the long run. If you still imagine yourself holding a real cig and like that idea, you can as well return to real cigs right now.


Because the nicotine itself is just part of the problem. People become addicted to the route of administration itself. There are lots of people who are addicted to snorting or IVing and smoking, and not so much the drug itself. Smoking delivers the drug into blood extremely quickly, in fact it's more addictive route than snorting. Society tends to consider snorting to be worse than smoking but in fact smoking is generally closer to IVing than snorting, it takes few minutes at most to reach full effect.


Sounds a bit depressing I know, but I think that's how it works. If you only try to defeat it physically but still like the general idea of smoking, there is high chance you'll relapse, even after many months.

The one thing you can do is decide ..."F...K I am stronger than this little piece of rolled paper." Easier said than done, but is what you want just to quit. It's a mind thing like heroin, the setting up and fixing is part of it, smoking is all that every time. Quit or don't. It's a thing that will stay with you forever. if you are thinking about stopping look to why. Perhaps your life is better off. I smoked for 20 years and quit cold turkey after a million times) but wow life is better. Ask yourself why you want to quit and if the answer is I'm not sure, smoke. There will be a time when YOU decide this is it. Smoking is great when you do it and appalling when you quit. Good Luck!

Every year since my daughter was born (2004) prior to her bday i promise myself that her pressie will be a mum who dosent smoke...She is now 8 and i still smoke..But NEVER in the car or in our home...Never ever..But i wish i could do it...my mum tried a certain medication and it sent her suicidal..
I think its just like any habit...One day you have just had enough and you quit!...The first time i detoxed from opiates i was clean 10 years...Then an old friend (co-incedently i hadnt seen her in 10 years) came back into my life and bang...i was full blown addicted again like i was 10 years prior...Cigs are similar...I once gave up for 4 months...It was easy, because id had it with them, but then i went to a pub, had a burbon and someone offered me one and i dont even know why i took it, but i did...I have been smoking since i was 12 years old and now i am 38 and every night my chest "whistles me too sleep"....ummmmm nice....

You must start using E-Cigs. They have saved me from smoking...and its a program that you use yourself to wean off.

There are different flavored and strength juice that you refill the cartomizer (end of the e=cig) with.

Very cool, Ive been smoking one for the last month and its great. And you get your fix at first, and then slowly wean yourself off (if you want to)...There are NO health concerned with Nicotine, it's been used for years and is a great stimulant..and IMO better than coffee and better for you.

Ima vape for the rest of my life, same with weed. Although the occasional regular smoke or joint is cool with me, you only live once.

Look up, Canadian Electronic Vapor in google, youll get a bunch of searches with great info.

Good luck, cuz cigs STANKKKK

Well, E-cigs certainly work well for some, but in my case and others I know, they are certainly no miracle cure.

I can't wait till the pharm companies finally come out with a straight NMDA antagonist (that has been development for some time and I believe is in early trials, but I could be wrong if they've even started those) pill for smoking cessation. I have a family member who works for a marketing agency for some biotech and pharm companies where I live and she's allowed access to this medication. She loves it (although she still smokes), because if she's in a big meeting or at a conference and cannot afford to smell like smoke (etc.), she has told me she just essentially takes some of this medication and the craves more or less disappear. I would have though BS, but given my experience with NMDA antagonists I do not believes she's lying or exagerating in the least.

defn said:

So I've been an avid smoker for about 6 years now, anywhere from 10-30 ciggs/day. And I decided 4 weeks ago it couldn't and wouldn't continue, after so many cold turkey attempts its not even funny. I tried the patch, gum, e-cig, nothing would get me more than 2 days. So as a bday present to my mom I promised (100th time probably) And I decided my course of action would lozenges. Eitherway now I am 4 weeks cigarette free, but am still taking 3-6 mg nicotene / day, down from about 15 when I started. I feel like this is significant progress, however I'm worried about those final step downs. I've heard horrors from others, and I've tried a similar method with opies and suboxene.

Is there any BLers who have quit cigarettes? How did you do it?
For those using Nicotine replacement, what is the key to stepping down/taking the final step off the nicotine stair way.

1 month is a good time w/o cigarettes and let me tell you I still have hacking and shortness of breath, I'm afriad that is going to be with me forever.
it seems easier to keep smoking.. Damn you government and big tobacco.

Anyway

Click to expand...

I quit smoking a little over 8 years ago. I started when I was about 12 or 13 and quit when I was 37. When I was drinking i would smoke more then 2 packs a day.
I quit smoking by using the patch, but you really really have to want it too. There are things you can do to help. Like throw away all of your lighters and ashtray's things like that.
Try to cut back some first. I was at about 10 cigs a day when I quit. I was a average 1 pack a day before I starting cutting back.
I can still remember it was 3rd day after I quit that I felt different, I woke up feeling ok. The 2 days right after quiting were hard. The Patch took the edge out for me, just enough to help get through the first couple of weeks. Then after the 2nd week I stopped using the patch too.

I have never taken another puff off of a cig since I quit. Still to this day I do think about it once in while. Sometimes a smoke smells really good, but other times it turns my stomach like when I smell smoke on someone that really stinks, but sometimes walking down the street and I smell smoke it smells really good makes me think about it but not crave it.
You will crave for awhile to...
I think if opioids didn't make you so sick when quitting they would be a easier kick then nicotine. The mental part from smoking is so much harder then opioids in my case. The mental part from smoking is so hard, eveything had a cigarrete attached to it. Wake up have a smoke, something to eat have smoke, drink some coffee have smoke, hop in car have a smoke so on and so on.
You can quit, it's hard but if you really put your mind and heart into it once you get past that first couple of day's it get's easier and easier. There is a good web site I think it's called the Blair project or something like that and quit smoking .com if it's still there. They have some helpful things and ways of quitting I hope you do it. You will start to feel better fast.......

Awesome! Thanks for that BP good post

By quitting cigarettes right now, you cut your risk of stroke in half.

Basically what I said, except he was much more experienced smoker than me(smoking for 25 years whoah, that must have been Hard).

Overcoming physical addiction to nicotine is the easier part, quitting smoking altogether is another story.

^agreed! goes for every drug I've ever had issues with, including sugar (although I don't really have an issue with/am currently in denial).

That's true. It's the staying clean. It's so hard for me. I "quit" cigarettes a long time ago but I relapse all the time with a cigarette or two.

It's hard when all of your friends smoke/chainsmoke or when you associate doing drugs with smoking. Like I used to love lighting up some cancer after doing shots of opiates, so I came to associate the nod with cigs. Hard to break away.

Smoking cigs is still a rare thing for me, but the quitting smoking altogether part is something I have not yet mastered.

yup, I knew you were lying to us about not smoking tricomb

That's not fair dude, I really hate it. I don't smoke but I have one now and then when I'm really fucked up.

I really want one right now cuz im going hard, and if I had turkish royals instead of camel crushes I would indulge. I don't even remember buying this pack last night, I never would have bought it if xanax wasn't in the equation.

Sorry, I know you're struggling. Try not to beat yourself up and I won't provoke ya, deal?

Now can we kiss and make up? No, but seriously as you said in the OD social earlier today, much