Am I really quitting cigarettes?

[Lord]

Too long, didn't read? Skip to the paragraph in bold.

I've been a daily tobacco smoker for roughly a year.
The first few months I experimented, smoking filterless cigarettes, trying it in the bowl, trying to get a buzz from it. I probably didn't use more than a cig a day. The next few months I'd have four or five spread throughout the day. The next few months I started smoking first thing in the morning. At this point I found that as the day went on, I smoked more and more frequently and lost self-control. The next few months, I smoked about 20 cigs a day but was able to go down to as low as 5-10 cigs most of the time.

Now I abuse a ton of drugs and I decided a good first step was to quit tobacco. Not too hard, honestly. Subtle withdrawal symptoms that don't even compare to marijuana W/D. But I wonder if I'm really quitting, because I sometimes have two or three cigs throughout the day, or I stay away for the whole day and have one or two at night. So I guess I haven't really quit yet. Right?

 

[Sweet P]

I guess you've gotta decide if you're happy smoking one or two ciggies a day, or if you wanna quit completely. I've tried to quit heaps of times (mostly just to save some money, as tobacco taxes are increasing in my country) but I only ever lasted several days before I gave up. I tried nicotine patches and gum, but they didn't do shit. The withdrawals were pretty intense for me - I couldn't keep still, couldn't sleep, was irritable as hell, and had awful headaches. But I have been smoking for a decade, and I'm used to smoking a pack of 25 a day.

 

[Alex000]

Well, you have cut down, but haven't quit cold turkey obviously. How do you feel in between the times you smoke? It doesn't seem like you are very dependent on nicotine as you state the withdrawals are quite manageable, but likely are dependent. It doesn't seem like it would be too hard for you to cold turkey at this point if you already don't feel bad withdrawal symptoms, and if you really want to quit, you ought to. If you want to invest in one of those electronic cigarettes, that is an option which delivers nicotine to the system just as cigarettes do but with vapor instead of carcinogenic smoke. They even have a tobacco flavor option.

 

[K'd-OUT-in-AZ]

Quit while your ahead. You mentioned the withdrawals weren't that bad. That means you've probably been smoking daily for like a couple years right? Something like that? Just assuming because once you've been smoking daily for a decade withdrawals become undeniably hideous. Its near impossible to do. About 5 or 6 years ago I quit for a year but don't remember how I did it because that feels impossible to do now. The longer you've been smoking the worse the withdrawals. Quitting weed is nothing compared to trying to quit a cigarette addiction. At least when you've been smoking for longer than a few years. If I smoke weed I "need" to smoke a cig with it or else I can't get high. Its really the nicotine I crave. In fact with any drug I need cigarettes or I simply can't get a good high. Opiates, amphetamines, benzos, etc. So I suggest you quit now, if withdrawals are so mild then GET OUT! Quick!

 

[BrokedownPalace]

I have been smoking roughly a pack a day for seven years or so. This past year I had numerous stays in the hospital over 1-3 weeks, and had basically zero withdrawal symptoms from cigarettes. I enjoy my smokes as much as the next person, but personally I never had much physical trouble stopping. If I was you I would quit while I was ahead.

 

[verso]

I just recently quit smoking. It was food poisoning that helped me to quit, believe it or not. I came down with a terrible bout of food poisoning, and when it was all over I couldn't stomach the thought of smoking. I tried smoking, and it made me so nauseous that I ended up not smoking the rest of it.

I started smoking one or two a day and from there it became four or five, and on and on, and now I am really, really excited to be done with it. Its a nasty, expensive habit.

 

[K'd-OUT-in-AZ]

8 out of 10 (80 or so percent) people relapse. Hope your one of the two.

 

[R_DXM]

I started smoking several months after I started smoking weed, when I noticed the immediate buzz from a joint was from the nicotine... and also because the nightclub I worked at (off the books) didn't have breaks for anything except smoking. Stupid reason, I know.

Over the six years or so that I've been smoking, I've quit several times, for periods ranging from several days to 1.5 years. IME it gets harder the longer you smoke, so it's better to quit while you're ahead. I don't enjoy smoking that much unless I've just started again, so I'm quitting again.

 

[verso]

8 out of 10 (80 or so percent) people relapse. Hope your one of the two.

Thanks, man. I have definitely "quit" before only to pick up another pack a week later, so relapsing is a very real possibility for me. But this time feels different to me. It has been maybe two weeks now, and smoking a cigarette is a thought that makes my stomach turn.

 

[Lord]

I wish I could reply to your comments in detail.

All I can say is, I made a mistake in what I associated cigs with, and that's part of the pull. When I am without them, I usually cope well, but sometimes I'll think about how I could do normal things while on them, hobbies and activities associated with them.

 

[jhjhsdi]

ive recently cut right down after about 8 years addiction. a month or so ago was chuffing along as normal, then a few normal coughs and nearly urged! loked at my roll up in disgust and was like 'uugh i actually dont even want this!' and threw it away over 3/4s full,which i never do.

now they just make me feel sick, so i basically never smoke them. had about 7 thjis year...and only smoke when i have no weed to bun! plus if i do have one i hardly inhale it and/or get bouit a qwuarter of the way down and feel sick and leng it. im so glad i hate them, i didnt even have to try. dirty things!

 

[Lord]

ive recently cut right down after about 8 years addiction. a month or so ago was chuffing along as normal, then a few normal coughs and nearly urged! loked at my roll up in disgust and was like 'uugh i actually dont even want this!' and threw it away over 3/4s full,which i never do.

now they just make me feel sick, so i basically never smoke them. had about 7 thjis year...and only smoke when i have no weed to bun! plus if i do have one i hardly inhale it and/or get bouit a qwuarter of the way down and feel sick and leng it. im so glad i hate them, i didnt even have to try. dirty things!

I'm a bit fried (or I was) so I think I'll have to give another short and simple reply. I went through a long period where I couldn't smoke weed without smoking a cigarette shortly after. It dulled the high but made me feel kind of relaxed... not always, though. I don't and have almost never combined them in a bowl. But I got to a point where I almost always felt pretty panicky on weed and smoked within a few minutes of smoking the weed. ugh. I've noticed it makes it worse if you don't wait for the high to subside on its own for a bit.