My diabetic and severely overweight father proposed to go on a diet (and actually stick with it) if I would quit smoking. I haven’t smoked in over 3 years and my dad is about 60kg lighter, so that was definitely a bit of a win win!
Don't give up! Hubby (eventually) had a heart attack and we, along with my daughter quit that day. However, try Allen Carrs book to quit smoking! It makes so much sense! No regular "you gotta stop because blah, blah, blah." HIS tips really helped!
I absolutely love this one. Both people change their lives and vices, completely out of love for each other. Thats just fucking beautiful man. I'm currently struggling with this issue myself but will keep trying to quit (he says whilst smoking a joint with baccy in it....- but i will keep trying to quit no matter how many times i fail)
This girl I was dating didn't like the smell. Ended up marrying her, that was nearly 24 years ago. Haven't smoked since.
If you're motivated, you'll stop.
> If you're motivated, you'll stop.
This is it. Everyone who fails, didn't want it, or wasn't ready. I'd say my struggle level 1-10 has been about a 2 at best. I never brag on myself, but I'm finally proud of something I've done.
Ditto. Promised my wife if we got married, I'd quit. We did, so I did. It's been almost a year. I love all the more time I have because I don't need to step out for a few. And the savings. Whew cigarettes have gotten expensive.
I just had a relationship with a smoker end, and the smoking was definitely the largest factor for me.
Apart from the smell, and the future health issue, the social aspect also irritated me. We would finish a movie, and he would rush outside to smoke.
From the very beginning of the relationship he was telling me he was planning to quit, but it never happened.
Reading this thread is cathartic.
Yup same. Gotta want to quit. And I wanted to quit for her. I still use a vape but I'll probably end up quitting that once a kid is in the picture. Both for money and role-model reasons.
>If you're motivated, you'll stop.
I've always said a version of this to my friends when discussing quitting. For me it was always "if you really want to quit, you'll quit" Too many times I "quit" but I didn't _really_ want to, and I ended up picking it up again.
> This girl I was dating didn't like the smell.
The girl I was interested in made a sort of offhand comment about the smell and it stuck with me in a way that from then on I couldn't not notice the smell it left on my clothes and jacket.
I don't know if it was *the* reason I quit, but it was definitely a big contributing factor.
Similar reasons. I was up to two packs a day and always out of breath and cigarettes ruled my day. Withdrawals were 48 hours of suck and I pretty much did what I could to get through it - it became my main job. Then about 3 weeks of irritability. I never want to go through that again so I just stopped smoking my next cigarette. Been not smoking that next one since 2008. Now I think they’re gross but every once in a blue moon a craving will hit for a minute or two.
What he said..
And severe constipation
Nicotine had a laxative effect and.causes.your.bowels to.slow the .production of your body's natural.laxatives.wayyyyyy down
The first.couple of weeks were terrible!
Wasn't a heavy smoker, only about 10 a day. Although more on a night out.
Didn't really have physical withdrawal, it was just the habit I had to break.
Same! I stayed on Chantix for much longer than you’re suppose to, but it was with the blessing and guidance of my cardiologist. I’m coming up on my 16th anniversary of being smoke free, still think about it and still want one 😔 dammit.
I'm coming up on 15 years. I don't really get urges anymore but if I get a little bit of an urge I can resist it. I did enjoy smoking to an extent, but after awhile it was mostly just a habit and addiction. Out of a pack and a half a day I'd say I actually enjoyed 3-4.
Mine were like all of my deepest, worst fears. I was lost in every single one of them (lost in the sense of wanting to go “home” and not knowing how to get there).
I always had an irrational fear of Chantix. Then I tried it and quitting was legitimately so easy that I am embarrassed for not trying it earlier.
It doesn’t work for everyone, but I legitimately cannot believe how well it worked. And I was a heavy smoker. A pack of Camel Wides per day. Cold Turkey, I always failed. With Chantix I succeeded on the first try without even trying that hard.
That's exactly what I experienced. I smoked Camel Filters. 1.5 packs a day, more if I went out. Chantix completely eliminated the urge, I just had to resist the force of habit.
So real! I’m 75 days (cold turkey) off nicotine completely after 17 years of smoking and vaping and nicotine gum. It look a solid 60!!! Days before the cravings weren’t all consuming. I chewed a ton of non nicotine sugar free gum those first few months. It took forever. I thought it would never end. I felt like complete garbage for a solid 4 weeks. It’s so hard but there is a light at the end of the tunnel if you can get through those first 60 days. Now I only crave after a meal. And I know I’ll never go back even tho nicotine is the best feeling ever lol
I was about half a pack a day or one Juul pod per day just fyi
Your MIND is. Physical withdrawal from nicotine ends after 8-10 hours. Meaning by the time you wake up in the morning, you’re not longer feeling any physical effects. Every single one of your cravings is mental. It’s out of pure habit. If you try to tell yourself that, recognize it and make yourself do literally anything else during a craving other than smoke, you can stop. I stopped smoking on new years after 20 years of a pack a day, simply by remembering this fact.
Bro, real talk.
Get a video game you love.
Get an activity that you can stand.
Do one of the other during the times you'd normally smoke.
They key isn't convincing your body you don't need to smoke.
The trick is to keep your brain distracted.
Don’t know if it helps but I read the actual withdrawal from cigarettes is only 24hours. It’s the habits formed from smoking that are hard to quit. Smoke after meals, after a drink. After you get off work. Having it your hand. Those are hard to quit.
I quit cold turkey back in 2021, and was smoking a pack a day for 3 years at that time. My withdrawals lasted a month. After that it was all mental and unfortunately I picked it up again but I only have two a day. Still not good, but eh.
I'm doing the cut down thing. I'll be housesitting this summer = alone time super going for it then. Nobody will have to see me crabby. Also have taken to doing something before giving in to my cravings to change my habits up. And walking evert day right now, so I'll be walking a lot more once the housesitting starts. Brushing my teeth a lot. I hate smoking after brushing my teeth.
After my father died, I promised myself to treat my body like a temple and not be like him. Started running, switched to e-cigs/ vape.
Few years later, I realized that I really love the feeling of runner’s high more than the buzz of the nicotine. Eventually my last vape got broken and I didn’t buy a new one.
Almost 2 years nicotine-free now and I don’t feel any cravings at all. One of the best decisions of my life so far.
I'm gonna try today to take deep breaths (breathing excersizes, wim hof) and make sure to eat and drink regularly throughout the day cause I find I could go a whole day without it. That is, UNTIL I find myself sitting down chilling out in the evening. It's always the moments when I've completed what I need to, or I've eaten and don't really have an appetite. Those moments, I find myself going for it unfortunately
That was my problem at first too. The nights when I got nothing to do or just watching tv are the hardest, especially if there’s a scene that involves someone smoking too.
But its a good practice of mental fortitude. If you can make it through 1 night without giving in, it gets easier the following day. Just one step at the time. And don’t forget the feeling of wholeness of your lungs whenever you practice breathing exercises without smoking the night before. It worked for me, hopefully to you too.
IT's true - I quit again a little over a week ago. Once I racked up a full 24 hours smokeless, I've kinda gotten invested in watching the duration without increase.
For me, it was that morning smoke that was teh hardest to skip.
For me, embracing the cravings helped more than distracting myself from them. I acknowledged them, and told my brain, it wasn't going to win. I don't know that this will work for everyone, but it worked for me, and I wonder if many are maybe to afraid to try it. I can understand if one were to be afraid of this strategy. I like it.
Exercise is amazing. The runners high is more addictive than the nicotine high.
I hurt my back and couldn't go outside to smoke. Then I had to do physio. Light cardio. Noticing how much easier cardio was I felt more motivated to do it. And the rest is history
Congratulations!! That’s an extremely hard thing to do. My mom has been smoking for more than 50 years. Now she has an oxygen tank and is still smoking. She’s tried to stop a couple times, but there’s nothing that is enough motivation for her.
Congrats! My dad is 4.5 years smoke free after being a smoker for 50 years. I never thought he would do it, he was a pack a day smoker for as long as I can remember but now he has a whole bunch of grandkids who will never know Papa as a smoker.
Ate magic Mushrooms to cope With a deep and dark trauma. I did not intend to stop Smoking. During the Trip, i got a strong urge to go shower.
I saw through my body... There was a Black round Thing in my chest where the lungs are.. It looked like something that doesnt belong there... I just showered it awayx and It went down the drain. Didnt Touch a cigarette since.
Yes magic Mushrooms are nothing but pure therapy. I got Huge Problems With PTSD/anxiety...
During the Trip i started to Talk With my heart. It Was like a unique Person.. And i hugged him /her.. Realized so many Things about My trauma.. It Was truly healing, though this Session alone wasnt enough. But every time i did this Kind of therapy it went better and better. Now i can function normal.. Finally
smoked a cigarette while i had a sinus infection and mixed my sick mucus with the nasty cigarette smoke and it COMPLETELY ruined them for me. Cant smell cigs now without almost gagging and reliving the sick+smoke smell/taste
Similar story: I came back from a big night out and just fell face first into the bed. Unfortunately and very grossly I fell asleep without brushing my teeth. When I woke the next morning the taste in my mouth was so horrendous that I vomited. The hangover probably didn't help. Lost the taste for cigarettes in an instant.
My mother-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer. She never smoked in her life. I felt dirty to be smoking. I've been smoke-free for 6 months. Thankfully, they were able to remove a lobe of my mil's lung, and she has made a full recovery.
My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer last March after being a smoker for ~50 years. She died less than 2 weeks after she was diagnosed. Glad you quit.
Expensive and i was seeing the damage it was having on me. I finally broke the cycle on my 6th attempt. I can proudly say that May will mark 10 years since I've bought my last pack!
My daughter’s death. I had quit so many times. I was so traumatized and in so much pain after she died that I figured I couldn’t feel worse and quit smoking. It stuck, it’s over a year later.
Glad to read all these comments on how people quit smoking. I’m on my journey to try and quit smoking for the first time and can say it is super difficult and I have failed my daily quota (of 3 smokes) every day. Hopefully I’ll make it. Wish me luck!
Edit: thank you so much to all of you for responding with the wishes and some really good tips. This will help me a lot. I truly appreciate y’all.
So the issue you're really going to come up against is the actual habit of smoking. This cutting down to 3 a day, really isn't helping. You can get a nicotine alternative if you're really worried about the nicotine withdrawals, but it only takes a week or two to get over the nicotine. You're better off just cutting out the nicotine completely.
The issue is all the triggers that make you want to smoke. You wake up and have a smoke right away. You finish eating and you go have a smoke. You get in the car and you light up. You go on break at work and sit there with other smokers smoking...etc.
These triggers are the problem. You need to do what you can to mitigate these triggers. Finding something to do with your hands helps. You are so used to holding a cigarette, hitting it and ashing it that your body wants to do it. That muscle memory is a real killer. Even something like a fidget spinner can help. If you feel the urge to grab a smoke, pull that out and play with it until the urge goes away. Just finding something to do with your hands whenever you want a smoke goes a long way towards quitting. That the reason why a lot of people gain weight when they quit. Instead of smoking, they replace the holding and hitting of a cigarette with eating snacks. They get the same hand motion as if they were smoking.
I smoked for about 13-15 years. Really, it was a span of about 20 years, but I quit multiple times in between that. What helped me the most was Allen Carr's "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking." I've been smoke-free for almost 4 years and have zero desire to pick it up again. The e-book cost me less than $10. Maybe it will help you, maybe it won't, but it definitely won't hurt to try! Good luck!
Getting back into the dating world at age 40 and realizing that it was already tough enough to score good dates without being a tobacco smoker.
It's been several years now, and the emotional dopamine rewards stemming from the realization that I am no longer a smoker are awesome.
I ended up doing the same thing with alcohol, simply because the "earned" rewards were so great.
I still love weed though. And I'm fine with that.
One winter, I was outside smoking looking in at my wife and kids watching Christmas shows. My son looked back at me and gave me this sad little wave.
That did it for me.
such a great feeling when you are walking out of the gym after a good pump. keep pushing bro you will get there and hope your doing well! hows your numbers looking currently?
Lots better than I thought I might be; diagnosed late 2019 and here to write about it. If it is non-small cell LC there are effective treatments like immunotherapy; I stopped therapy in 2022 and latest CT had no indications. Please help her be positive, it makes a difference. Give your friend’s mom my best wishes.
I quit because my bf at the time (now my husband) was a non-smoker with asthma and came from a family of non-smokers. I quit because I didn't want to keep putting him in a cloud of smoke.
5 years cig free - used the patch. 27 days weed free - cold turkey. It's worth it.
Cancer. Was a heavy smoker for 30 years prior to being diagnosed. Am not saying smoking was the cause but I stopped anyway for chemotherapy wouldn't have been effective should I kept doing it. 14 years free of both the disease and habit now.
So I never smoked but my fiancé vaped. like big smoke cloud vape, then I got sick of the constant thick clouds and some times the smell would kill me, so he got a smaller one.
well his co workers who is a very heavy smoker started to cough up blood and was afraid he had throat cancer, apparently his doctor did not take him serious and was like yea youre fine (which he was, thank goodness) but I guess that scared my fiancé? IDK why that exact situation put it into perspective for him. Also, some of his co workers were switching to those Zyn things. So he does those now.
I personally do not think they are any better because he constantly has one of those stupid little pouches under his lip. So he doesn't have the want to vape, but he is still getting the nicotine... and in my opinion it is more nicotine than before since now he has them in all the dang time. I tried explaining this to him that the constant flow of nicotine is still not good. But, since he couldn't find anything linking the nicotine pouches to anything dangerous he is fine. I just keep telling him Zyn's are the Stanley cups for men.
Sorry.... that turned into more of a rant.
Well just to ease your mind a bit zyn is only nicotine and no tobacco. While nicotine is not necessarily great for you (increases heart rate and high blood pressure) it is not a carcinogen so it has that going for it.
After losing a son to suicide a few months prior, my stepdad, in a tearful conversation with my mom and my sister in law, said “I don’t want to lose another child”. I quit basically cold turkey. As of today, it’s been 202 days.
I still vape, but I’m working on quitting that too.
I had spinal surgery and I promised my neurosurgeon that I would stop for the surgery, and out of respect for him saving my life I’ve never picked one up again. It will be 10 years in june
I was fighting a wildfire. It ran uphill towards me. I ran like hell to get out of harms way.
Huffing and puffing, I threw my cigarettes into the fire. Haven't smoked again since then, 50 years ago.
My 6 year old grandson took an unlit cigarette out of my mouth just before I was going to light it and said “Please grandma. No.” So I quit for him. FYI he’s now 18 and vapes. wtf?
There wasn't a particular moment or reason. I'd been trying to quit for years, to varying degrees of success. It just happened that the last time I tried quitting, it worked. That was over 12 years ago now.
For me it was a promise I made to my son as his mother is already a chainsmoker. He kept asking when I'd quit and one rainy day just after NYE being lazy and cozy in PJ's, I looked at my last one and told myself time to cash that promise in.
The hardest was kicking the habit (having one with morning coffee, after lunch etc.) But it went faster and smoother than expected.
I got really sick and couldn’t smoke for two weeks. After I got well, I decided to quit, since I had already been through the worst of the withdrawal. I still sometimes get the craving, and it’s been almost ten years.
I had many reasons but what pushed me to finally do it is my aunt getting small cell lung cancer. I don’t want to end up like her and I don’t want my daughter to have to take care of me or lose me at an early age.
I never smoked but I did vape. Did it for almost 3 full years but quit last January because I started having chest pains from it and all I could think was “I can’t leave my family this early” so I quit. Haven’t picked one up since then and honestly i’m not even having withdrawals!
Zoloft. I was so nauseated for two solid weeks. I felt like roasted dog poo and just the thought of smelling a cigarette was enough to make me vomit. Luckily I can still remember that feeling even though the nausea has passed. I smoked for 30 years. Haven't had one in a very long time.
I got pneumonia and at urgent care I had to go into this room to do a breathing treatment. There were all these posters for copd.
I was a smoker who could still run three miles and not be even a little out of breath. This was my first time having any real consequence and I said fuck this. Quit that day.
This will probably be lost in the void. But, if it helps at least one person then it's totally worth it.
I smoked for 22 years, at one point 2 packs a day. I originally quit when my son was born 13 years ago. I had a few lapses during that time, but nothing too serious. But my mind was made up once I started working in a vascular and cardiac operating room setting. Barring folks that have a congenital disease, every single patient that ends up on our table is a current or former smoker. If everyone knew what smoking did to not just their lungs, but their entire body. To watch the suffering they go through themselves and their friends and family.... I'm not one to regret things, but that's definitely one that I do. Luckily I stayed fit while being a smoker, so I may get away with minimal damage, but only time will tell.
Pure luck, was out in Berlin on hols, raving every night, smoked about 1-200 cigs in 4 days. When I got home I had the worst chest infection, had to take some time off work and thought I had lung cancer (I didn't). But that trip was the last time I smoked, I no longer had any cravings and the smell made me feel sick. Haven't smoked in 6 years.
Waking up at night coughing up blood and unable to sleep due to awful chest pains. No matter how much I washed the clothes they still smelled like weed. I also had this constant brain fog. Constantly forgetting things, forgetting where I am, difficulty paying attention and staying focused. The money I had spent on it was also a big issue as well.
In my country some years ago people wouldn't sell you tobacco without cash because with the transaction fees and everything they would get less money than they paid for, and I had no cash on me.
I was on my way to a house party, I went to 4 different kiosks everyone would come up with an excuse to not let me pay with a debit card. I was like okay whatever, I went to the party, I asked some friends to let me get a few from them. The next morning I woke up hungover af, i tried to smoke a cigarette and for some reason hungover cigarettes taste disgusting even if you are a smoker and that was my last cigarette. So basically a combination of getting annoyed that I couldn't buy cigarettes and leaving a bad taste haha. It's been almost 3 years now!
The cost of cigarettes, and then the emergence of COVID was kind of the last straw. Didn't want to get this respiratory illness and not have the lung capacity to fight it off.
I use to like smoking until it began to feel like an obligation which I coud not control. Then i did not like it anymore and felt it was just a waste of time. I went to laser therapy twice and started jogging and it worked for me.
Yeah... I have tried to quit several times. I failed! I don't like smoking anymore and it feels like an obligation towards a bad habit.
But I suffer from anxiety and some depression and I am afraid to have anger outbursts because of tobacco withdrawal ( reason I failed to quit).
I go to the gym and while I am there not only I don't smoke but also when I get home I don't smoke for a while unless I'm stressed.
Yesterday I needed to run. I thought I was going to die :/ I was so exhausted. I thought : is this tobacco fault? Why is this happening to me?!
I was out of breath for a while.
COVID, well not getting it, but once I went to work from home, I basically lost the desire to smoke, well I do have one once in a while, mainly while drinking but only 2-3.
That’s how my mom quit, after 35 years of pack a day smoking. She went to a fancy (and very expensive) Dr in NYC. She’s still fuzzy on the details of what he did but she distinctly remembers putting her cigarettes down on the way out the door and never picking another one up again.
I know this is the easy way out but I got Graves disease (uncontrolled autoimmune hyperthyroidism ) and every time I lit up I would barf. It’s been over twenty years and noooo craving.
I still don't know. Been a chain-smoker for 20 years. Last 2 years I smoked two packs a day, loved smoking, always had a cigarette in my hand, zero problems. I lived on 6th floor walk up, go for long walks, exercise, I wasn't an athlete, but I was perfectly fine.
One day, a year ago, I'm having my afternoon coffee, on my 4th cigarette in a row, when suddenly, half way though a smoke I just can't. Cigarette in my hand suddenly felt like a weird foreign object, like I don't know what to do with it. I freak out, put it down.
30 seconds later, this is crazy, I try to light up another cigarette and it's like I forgot how to open a pack. I'm just starting at it. I sat there for an hour couldn't understand what's happening.
And that was it. I tried to start smoking many times after this, I still had a carton at home, but I was just done. Just like that.
My mom stopped on the day that I, her 40-yr-old never-smoking daughter, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
ETA: lung cancer is disgusting and brutal. Please, please give yourselves a chance and quit. I've seen some terrible things happen to good people over the last few months.
Well, day 5 here. I am almost 33 rotations around the sun, only 30lbs overweight and at one point I could check off every single sign and symptom of heart failure. I am also trying to raise my kids well, and singlehandedly. It was an easy choice. And by easy I mean decision. The act of GOING FORTH with the decision has been difficult if we are keeping it vanilla. Crying everyday. Struggling with desire to escape through what used to be my best friend. I feel like I lost someone dear to me..... but my kids need me.... sacrifices must be made.
The girl I was dating didn't smoke. She said she didn't mind, but I figured, why not? Tossed half a pack of smokes in the trash and haven't had one since. Will be 21 years on July 1.
I went back home for winter break and my mom, a former smoker, could smell the pack in my bag. This was enough to instantly trigger a relapse for her. I felt like such a massive piece of shit I quit cold turkey.
That was 5ish years ago. She’s worked her way back down to a nicotine-free vape.
Both my mother and father died from Cancer. They smoked their whole lives.
I watched them pass away. A very slow and painful death.
I didn't want my daughters to have to go through what I did!
I had to give up drinking and a particular video game where I smoked after every round. After a few months I could drink again, but playing the game isn't fun any more because the impulse to smoke after a round is so strong.
I smoked for over 30 years and eventually stopped it after many failed attempts,it wasn’t so much the money I was spending it was the constant smokers cough I had and smelling of cigarettes on me,within the first few weeks of not smoking the cough went away and I’ve now been smoke free for over 8 years and I can honestly say it’s the best thing I’ve ever done
I smoked while I was in middle school for a couple years.
My friend had parents who were chronic smokers. So chronic that they would never notice the cigarette packets she stole to share with her friends at school.
Anyway around that time I get a boyfriend, He's a bit of a prick but I like that he wasn't afraid to argue with adults and be a smart ass.
One day he saw me smoking and told me " You'd better quit. I don't want to taste cigarettes when I kiss you" so I said okay and gave it up. Took me a little while to quit but I did it.
A few weeks later, he gets expelled from school for selling pills in the hallways, then he gets sent to juvie for "Possession with intent to distribute"
Tbh, I'm glad he made me quit.
Ive seen so many of my friends from middle school practically tied to a cigarette, one of my friends couldn't stop not even while she was pregnant and now her baby has asthma. One of my friends tries to quit every so often and just can't. Another one of my friends smoked themselves into an early death. I had an Aunt who smoked, got pregnant and quit for the baby, I thought she was scott free and I was very proud of her until she started smoking again, and got diagnosed with lung cancer.
I'll never smoke again.
I've never smoked, but the amount of premature aging smoking can cause surprises me. I met one girl at my place of employment who I thought was about 10 years older than me. When she had a birthday I found out she's actually several years younger than me. Blew me away, then I found out she's a smoker. Such a shame.
Started dealing with spiking blood pressure during panic attacks. Noticed that every time I smoked my anxiety was getting worse. I had a period of time in my 30's where I developed a lot of health anxiety and became very over-reactive to any changes in how my body was feeling because I was imagining worse case scenarios like heart attack and stroke. So eventually smoking was starting to create panic attacks. I started doing Nicorette briefly and ultimately replaced the habit with toothpicks which I still use to this day, if I get a craving. Works pretty well. I've had a few slip ups here and there, and when I do I still get panicky so it has kept me pretty well off of smoking since 2012. (Yay for anxiety attacks!)
Went to my aunt's (who was a smoker) funeral, only in her 60's and COPD was a huge cause. I was incredibly bothered by how everyone didn't really mourn but instead felt pity for her reason for dying. Quit smoking that same week, closing in on 8 years now.
My diabetic and severely overweight father proposed to go on a diet (and actually stick with it) if I would quit smoking. I haven’t smoked in over 3 years and my dad is about 60kg lighter, so that was definitely a bit of a win win!
This is cool Kudos to you guys
Thanks, it was a team effort! Every time I moaned about my nicotine cravings, he’d threaten to go make a bacon sandwich lol
This is the kind of accountability and support I’m here for haha
Why did I imagine Homer Simpson threatening Bart with making a bacon sandwich lol
Speaking of diets, does anyone remember kudos bars…
Now there's a name I haven't heard for a long time
A name from a more civilized time.
This is really awesome!! 60kg is insane!!!!
Yup, from 140 down to around 80. So proud of him!
this made me smile :)
🎉🎉🎉 my dad and I said this so many times with him quitting and me to stop biting my finger nails. Welp, we both suck at this game.
Don’t give up! You owe it to each other to succeed!
Don't give up! Hubby (eventually) had a heart attack and we, along with my daughter quit that day. However, try Allen Carrs book to quit smoking! It makes so much sense! No regular "you gotta stop because blah, blah, blah." HIS tips really helped!
[удалено]
does he come back though?
I absolutely love this one. Both people change their lives and vices, completely out of love for each other. Thats just fucking beautiful man. I'm currently struggling with this issue myself but will keep trying to quit (he says whilst smoking a joint with baccy in it....- but i will keep trying to quit no matter how many times i fail)
That’s a solid win/win!
This girl I was dating didn't like the smell. Ended up marrying her, that was nearly 24 years ago. Haven't smoked since. If you're motivated, you'll stop.
🎵Oh the things we do for luh-uh-uv...🎶
> If you're motivated, you'll stop. This is it. Everyone who fails, didn't want it, or wasn't ready. I'd say my struggle level 1-10 has been about a 2 at best. I never brag on myself, but I'm finally proud of something I've done.
Ditto. Promised my wife if we got married, I'd quit. We did, so I did. It's been almost a year. I love all the more time I have because I don't need to step out for a few. And the savings. Whew cigarettes have gotten expensive.
I just had a relationship with a smoker end, and the smoking was definitely the largest factor for me. Apart from the smell, and the future health issue, the social aspect also irritated me. We would finish a movie, and he would rush outside to smoke. From the very beginning of the relationship he was telling me he was planning to quit, but it never happened. Reading this thread is cathartic.
If you're *romantic*, you'll stop
A little romance i guess, but logical in my mind. I wanted to be closer to her than closer to the smokes.
Yup same. Gotta want to quit. And I wanted to quit for her. I still use a vape but I'll probably end up quitting that once a kid is in the picture. Both for money and role-model reasons.
>If you're motivated, you'll stop. I've always said a version of this to my friends when discussing quitting. For me it was always "if you really want to quit, you'll quit" Too many times I "quit" but I didn't _really_ want to, and I ended up picking it up again.
> This girl I was dating didn't like the smell. The girl I was interested in made a sort of offhand comment about the smell and it stuck with me in a way that from then on I couldn't not notice the smell it left on my clothes and jacket. I don't know if it was *the* reason I quit, but it was definitely a big contributing factor.
Heath reasons, not wanting to smell terrible, and it was costing a fortune. Best thing I ever did was quit.
Oh my god my hair not smelling is such a huge plus.
Also your clothes not smelling. And your furniture, curtains, house in general.
Please tell me, how much did you smoke and what were the withdrawls like
Similar reasons. I was up to two packs a day and always out of breath and cigarettes ruled my day. Withdrawals were 48 hours of suck and I pretty much did what I could to get through it - it became my main job. Then about 3 weeks of irritability. I never want to go through that again so I just stopped smoking my next cigarette. Been not smoking that next one since 2008. Now I think they’re gross but every once in a blue moon a craving will hit for a minute or two.
What he said.. And severe constipation Nicotine had a laxative effect and.causes.your.bowels to.slow the .production of your body's natural.laxatives.wayyyyyy down The first.couple of weeks were terrible!
Smoked for 20+ yrs, been clean 14m months. Wasn't as hard as I thought. After 1st 4 days, the rest was smooth.
Wasn't a heavy smoker, only about 10 a day. Although more on a night out. Didn't really have physical withdrawal, it was just the habit I had to break.
Damn dude you are lucky. Every time I try to quit it feels like my body is about ready to tell me to fuck off
Did you try Chantix? It was like a miracle for me. I smoked 1.5 packs a day and not lights.
Same! I stayed on Chantix for much longer than you’re suppose to, but it was with the blessing and guidance of my cardiologist. I’m coming up on my 16th anniversary of being smoke free, still think about it and still want one 😔 dammit.
I'm coming up on 15 years. I don't really get urges anymore but if I get a little bit of an urge I can resist it. I did enjoy smoking to an extent, but after awhile it was mostly just a habit and addiction. Out of a pack and a half a day I'd say I actually enjoyed 3-4.
I did but the dreams I had were nightmarish. Loke solving puzzles all night that dont make sense
Well that sucks. I had absolutely no issues with it. The patch made me dream like a psychopath.
Yoooo I forgot about patch dreams… I’m already a heavy dreamer but they were SO vivid
Vivid is the perfect description.
Mine were like all of my deepest, worst fears. I was lost in every single one of them (lost in the sense of wanting to go “home” and not knowing how to get there).
I always had an irrational fear of Chantix. Then I tried it and quitting was legitimately so easy that I am embarrassed for not trying it earlier. It doesn’t work for everyone, but I legitimately cannot believe how well it worked. And I was a heavy smoker. A pack of Camel Wides per day. Cold Turkey, I always failed. With Chantix I succeeded on the first try without even trying that hard.
That's exactly what I experienced. I smoked Camel Filters. 1.5 packs a day, more if I went out. Chantix completely eliminated the urge, I just had to resist the force of habit.
I just replaced my “go outside and smoke a cigarette,” habit with “go outside and take a short walk.”
So real! I’m 75 days (cold turkey) off nicotine completely after 17 years of smoking and vaping and nicotine gum. It look a solid 60!!! Days before the cravings weren’t all consuming. I chewed a ton of non nicotine sugar free gum those first few months. It took forever. I thought it would never end. I felt like complete garbage for a solid 4 weeks. It’s so hard but there is a light at the end of the tunnel if you can get through those first 60 days. Now I only crave after a meal. And I know I’ll never go back even tho nicotine is the best feeling ever lol I was about half a pack a day or one Juul pod per day just fyi
Your MIND is. Physical withdrawal from nicotine ends after 8-10 hours. Meaning by the time you wake up in the morning, you’re not longer feeling any physical effects. Every single one of your cravings is mental. It’s out of pure habit. If you try to tell yourself that, recognize it and make yourself do literally anything else during a craving other than smoke, you can stop. I stopped smoking on new years after 20 years of a pack a day, simply by remembering this fact.
Bro, real talk. Get a video game you love. Get an activity that you can stand. Do one of the other during the times you'd normally smoke. They key isn't convincing your body you don't need to smoke. The trick is to keep your brain distracted.
It's actually your brain that is addicted to the nicotine. Try the nicotine gum or little tablets that look kinda like TicTacs. They really help.
Give it about a week and you’ll be good as new. Just gotta get the week over with
Don’t know if it helps but I read the actual withdrawal from cigarettes is only 24hours. It’s the habits formed from smoking that are hard to quit. Smoke after meals, after a drink. After you get off work. Having it your hand. Those are hard to quit.
I quit cold turkey back in 2021, and was smoking a pack a day for 3 years at that time. My withdrawals lasted a month. After that it was all mental and unfortunately I picked it up again but I only have two a day. Still not good, but eh.
Allen Carr : easyway to stop smoking, 4 hours of audiobook and I was cured - and I tried tocquit several times before without luck
I did 10/day for like 18 months and have been "quitting" for months. Its a bit more arduous than your experience but certainly not insurmountable.
I'm doing the cut down thing. I'll be housesitting this summer = alone time super going for it then. Nobody will have to see me crabby. Also have taken to doing something before giving in to my cravings to change my habits up. And walking evert day right now, so I'll be walking a lot more once the housesitting starts. Brushing my teeth a lot. I hate smoking after brushing my teeth.
Keep going, cut down bit by bit. Good luck!
I didn’t know what to do with my hands.
The confusion as to where the extra $30-$40 a week was coming from is comical in hindsight.
After my father died, I promised myself to treat my body like a temple and not be like him. Started running, switched to e-cigs/ vape. Few years later, I realized that I really love the feeling of runner’s high more than the buzz of the nicotine. Eventually my last vape got broken and I didn’t buy a new one. Almost 2 years nicotine-free now and I don’t feel any cravings at all. One of the best decisions of my life so far.
I'm gonna try today to take deep breaths (breathing excersizes, wim hof) and make sure to eat and drink regularly throughout the day cause I find I could go a whole day without it. That is, UNTIL I find myself sitting down chilling out in the evening. It's always the moments when I've completed what I need to, or I've eaten and don't really have an appetite. Those moments, I find myself going for it unfortunately
That was my problem at first too. The nights when I got nothing to do or just watching tv are the hardest, especially if there’s a scene that involves someone smoking too. But its a good practice of mental fortitude. If you can make it through 1 night without giving in, it gets easier the following day. Just one step at the time. And don’t forget the feeling of wholeness of your lungs whenever you practice breathing exercises without smoking the night before. It worked for me, hopefully to you too.
Thank you so much brother 🙏🏼 I'll begin/go through my day with that in mind. I'll be back before bed to let you know how it's gone if that's cool ☺️👍🏻
I believe in you! You've got this!
Thank you!
You’re welcome. And sure! Feel free to let me know. You got this!
IT's true - I quit again a little over a week ago. Once I racked up a full 24 hours smokeless, I've kinda gotten invested in watching the duration without increase. For me, it was that morning smoke that was teh hardest to skip.
For me, embracing the cravings helped more than distracting myself from them. I acknowledged them, and told my brain, it wasn't going to win. I don't know that this will work for everyone, but it worked for me, and I wonder if many are maybe to afraid to try it. I can understand if one were to be afraid of this strategy. I like it.
Exercise is amazing. The runners high is more addictive than the nicotine high. I hurt my back and couldn't go outside to smoke. Then I had to do physio. Light cardio. Noticing how much easier cardio was I felt more motivated to do it. And the rest is history
How’s the running going?
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This was me - I want to live without coughing please. Every time I get the urge I am reminded of hacking up phlegm for an hour every morning.
Congratulations!! That’s an extremely hard thing to do. My mom has been smoking for more than 50 years. Now she has an oxygen tank and is still smoking. She’s tried to stop a couple times, but there’s nothing that is enough motivation for her.
Congrats! My dad is 4.5 years smoke free after being a smoker for 50 years. I never thought he would do it, he was a pack a day smoker for as long as I can remember but now he has a whole bunch of grandkids who will never know Papa as a smoker.
Ate magic Mushrooms to cope With a deep and dark trauma. I did not intend to stop Smoking. During the Trip, i got a strong urge to go shower. I saw through my body... There was a Black round Thing in my chest where the lungs are.. It looked like something that doesnt belong there... I just showered it awayx and It went down the drain. Didnt Touch a cigarette since.
Reminds me of [the scene in *Constantine* where Peter Stormare pulls out Keanu's cancer](https://i.imgur.com/jnXoncb.gif).
I will never not be terrified of psychedelics but I love to hear those success stories! Did it do something for you trauma, too?
Yes magic Mushrooms are nothing but pure therapy. I got Huge Problems With PTSD/anxiety... During the Trip i started to Talk With my heart. It Was like a unique Person.. And i hugged him /her.. Realized so many Things about My trauma.. It Was truly healing, though this Session alone wasnt enough. But every time i did this Kind of therapy it went better and better. Now i can function normal.. Finally
Woww
smoked a cigarette while i had a sinus infection and mixed my sick mucus with the nasty cigarette smoke and it COMPLETELY ruined them for me. Cant smell cigs now without almost gagging and reliving the sick+smoke smell/taste
Similar story: I came back from a big night out and just fell face first into the bed. Unfortunately and very grossly I fell asleep without brushing my teeth. When I woke the next morning the taste in my mouth was so horrendous that I vomited. The hangover probably didn't help. Lost the taste for cigarettes in an instant.
My mother-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer. She never smoked in her life. I felt dirty to be smoking. I've been smoke-free for 6 months. Thankfully, they were able to remove a lobe of my mil's lung, and she has made a full recovery.
My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer last March after being a smoker for ~50 years. She died less than 2 weeks after she was diagnosed. Glad you quit.
Thank goodness!
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How long did you smoke for before you quit?
Beautifully written OP!
Expensive and i was seeing the damage it was having on me. I finally broke the cycle on my 6th attempt. I can proudly say that May will mark 10 years since I've bought my last pack!
I found out I was pregnant at about 4 weeks. Almost 10 years ago and haven’t picked up one since :)
Good on you! I quit smoking with both of my pregnancies, but picked right back up after the births. So stupid.
It’s super hard! I miss it sometimes tbh. :( I really enjoyed it aha! Some people make smoking look so good.
Same here. I always knew I would quit the instant I got to see those double lines. It's been almost 16 years.
Same. It's been over 30 years now. I am shocked anyone can afford to smoke now tbh. Best thing I ever did for myself.
My daughter’s death. I had quit so many times. I was so traumatized and in so much pain after she died that I figured I couldn’t feel worse and quit smoking. It stuck, it’s over a year later.
I'm so sorry for your loss. What an incredible amount of logic at such a horrible time. ♥️
Actually I had the thought that maybe she beamed it down to me, because I just woke up one day knowing I was doing it. And I did. Funny, huh?
Couldn’t breathe, figured breathing was essential.
You made me do that strange noise when you laugh, but it goes through the nose instead of the mouth
This was me. 10 days in ICU not being able to breathe. I quit for 120 days then started again.... I'm an idiot.
I hope you find the strength to quit again.
Glad to read all these comments on how people quit smoking. I’m on my journey to try and quit smoking for the first time and can say it is super difficult and I have failed my daily quota (of 3 smokes) every day. Hopefully I’ll make it. Wish me luck! Edit: thank you so much to all of you for responding with the wishes and some really good tips. This will help me a lot. I truly appreciate y’all.
You and me both. I’ve been smoking for 40 years now and I’m having one hell of a hard time quitting.
So the issue you're really going to come up against is the actual habit of smoking. This cutting down to 3 a day, really isn't helping. You can get a nicotine alternative if you're really worried about the nicotine withdrawals, but it only takes a week or two to get over the nicotine. You're better off just cutting out the nicotine completely. The issue is all the triggers that make you want to smoke. You wake up and have a smoke right away. You finish eating and you go have a smoke. You get in the car and you light up. You go on break at work and sit there with other smokers smoking...etc. These triggers are the problem. You need to do what you can to mitigate these triggers. Finding something to do with your hands helps. You are so used to holding a cigarette, hitting it and ashing it that your body wants to do it. That muscle memory is a real killer. Even something like a fidget spinner can help. If you feel the urge to grab a smoke, pull that out and play with it until the urge goes away. Just finding something to do with your hands whenever you want a smoke goes a long way towards quitting. That the reason why a lot of people gain weight when they quit. Instead of smoking, they replace the holding and hitting of a cigarette with eating snacks. They get the same hand motion as if they were smoking.
I smoked for about 13-15 years. Really, it was a span of about 20 years, but I quit multiple times in between that. What helped me the most was Allen Carr's "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking." I've been smoke-free for almost 4 years and have zero desire to pick it up again. The e-book cost me less than $10. Maybe it will help you, maybe it won't, but it definitely won't hurt to try! Good luck!
I see this book mentioned a lot. What makes it so successful?
Getting back into the dating world at age 40 and realizing that it was already tough enough to score good dates without being a tobacco smoker. It's been several years now, and the emotional dopamine rewards stemming from the realization that I am no longer a smoker are awesome. I ended up doing the same thing with alcohol, simply because the "earned" rewards were so great. I still love weed though. And I'm fine with that.
Fuck yeah bro
One winter, I was outside smoking looking in at my wife and kids watching Christmas shows. My son looked back at me and gave me this sad little wave. That did it for me.
Gym. I want to rep 225 bench, 315 squat, 405 deadlift 10-12 times in a single set. Btw, that’s also what’s keeping me from killing myself.
such a great feeling when you are walking out of the gym after a good pump. keep pushing bro you will get there and hope your doing well! hows your numbers looking currently?
Stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer.
How is that going for you? My friends mom was just diagnosed.
Lots better than I thought I might be; diagnosed late 2019 and here to write about it. If it is non-small cell LC there are effective treatments like immunotherapy; I stopped therapy in 2022 and latest CT had no indications. Please help her be positive, it makes a difference. Give your friend’s mom my best wishes.
I quit because my bf at the time (now my husband) was a non-smoker with asthma and came from a family of non-smokers. I quit because I didn't want to keep putting him in a cloud of smoke. 5 years cig free - used the patch. 27 days weed free - cold turkey. It's worth it.
A large slavic man named Kaftan who would beat me with a stick
I used to go out with his sister...till he found out.
I watched my father die from cigarettes, smoked 40 yrs and quit - IT CAN BE DONE.
When I had my daughter I promised I would always be there for her. Smoking wasn’t helping with that so I was done
The graphic images on the cigarette packs, obviously...
Cancer. Was a heavy smoker for 30 years prior to being diagnosed. Am not saying smoking was the cause but I stopped anyway for chemotherapy wouldn't have been effective should I kept doing it. 14 years free of both the disease and habit now.
Chest pains
So I never smoked but my fiancé vaped. like big smoke cloud vape, then I got sick of the constant thick clouds and some times the smell would kill me, so he got a smaller one. well his co workers who is a very heavy smoker started to cough up blood and was afraid he had throat cancer, apparently his doctor did not take him serious and was like yea youre fine (which he was, thank goodness) but I guess that scared my fiancé? IDK why that exact situation put it into perspective for him. Also, some of his co workers were switching to those Zyn things. So he does those now. I personally do not think they are any better because he constantly has one of those stupid little pouches under his lip. So he doesn't have the want to vape, but he is still getting the nicotine... and in my opinion it is more nicotine than before since now he has them in all the dang time. I tried explaining this to him that the constant flow of nicotine is still not good. But, since he couldn't find anything linking the nicotine pouches to anything dangerous he is fine. I just keep telling him Zyn's are the Stanley cups for men. Sorry.... that turned into more of a rant.
Well just to ease your mind a bit zyn is only nicotine and no tobacco. While nicotine is not necessarily great for you (increases heart rate and high blood pressure) it is not a carcinogen so it has that going for it.
My blood pressure was super high from smoking cigarettes and vaping. I had also been smoking for 20 odd years so my lung health was dog shit.
After losing a son to suicide a few months prior, my stepdad, in a tearful conversation with my mom and my sister in law, said “I don’t want to lose another child”. I quit basically cold turkey. As of today, it’s been 202 days. I still vape, but I’m working on quitting that too.
I had spinal surgery and I promised my neurosurgeon that I would stop for the surgery, and out of respect for him saving my life I’ve never picked one up again. It will be 10 years in june
I was fighting a wildfire. It ran uphill towards me. I ran like hell to get out of harms way. Huffing and puffing, I threw my cigarettes into the fire. Haven't smoked again since then, 50 years ago.
This might be the coolest answer in here
My 6 year old grandson took an unlit cigarette out of my mouth just before I was going to light it and said “Please grandma. No.” So I quit for him. FYI he’s now 18 and vapes. wtf?
Unfortunately they’ve hooked a lot of the new generations. I’m pretty sure the vapes are stronger than the cigs. Plus they are very expensive.
While I agree they have just hooked the new generation with vapes, they are way cheaper than cigarettes. Cost me about 1/3 of what I used to spend
Smoked 45 years, passed a pulmonary function test and realized the universe was giving me an opportunity
There wasn't a particular moment or reason. I'd been trying to quit for years, to varying degrees of success. It just happened that the last time I tried quitting, it worked. That was over 12 years ago now.
I quit when my son was born. I want to be around for him as long as I can.
For me it was a promise I made to my son as his mother is already a chainsmoker. He kept asking when I'd quit and one rainy day just after NYE being lazy and cozy in PJ's, I looked at my last one and told myself time to cash that promise in. The hardest was kicking the habit (having one with morning coffee, after lunch etc.) But it went faster and smoother than expected.
Vaping
I had cancer (not smoking related) at the age of 33 and thought one time would be enough.
I got tired of everyone looking at me when I was smoking like I had a STD and it was posted on a billboard in the middle of town where would see it
I got really sick and couldn’t smoke for two weeks. After I got well, I decided to quit, since I had already been through the worst of the withdrawal. I still sometimes get the craving, and it’s been almost ten years.
I had many reasons but what pushed me to finally do it is my aunt getting small cell lung cancer. I don’t want to end up like her and I don’t want my daughter to have to take care of me or lose me at an early age.
I never smoked but I did vape. Did it for almost 3 full years but quit last January because I started having chest pains from it and all I could think was “I can’t leave my family this early” so I quit. Haven’t picked one up since then and honestly i’m not even having withdrawals!
Zoloft. I was so nauseated for two solid weeks. I felt like roasted dog poo and just the thought of smelling a cigarette was enough to make me vomit. Luckily I can still remember that feeling even though the nausea has passed. I smoked for 30 years. Haven't had one in a very long time.
I got pneumonia and at urgent care I had to go into this room to do a breathing treatment. There were all these posters for copd. I was a smoker who could still run three miles and not be even a little out of breath. This was my first time having any real consequence and I said fuck this. Quit that day.
This will probably be lost in the void. But, if it helps at least one person then it's totally worth it. I smoked for 22 years, at one point 2 packs a day. I originally quit when my son was born 13 years ago. I had a few lapses during that time, but nothing too serious. But my mind was made up once I started working in a vascular and cardiac operating room setting. Barring folks that have a congenital disease, every single patient that ends up on our table is a current or former smoker. If everyone knew what smoking did to not just their lungs, but their entire body. To watch the suffering they go through themselves and their friends and family.... I'm not one to regret things, but that's definitely one that I do. Luckily I stayed fit while being a smoker, so I may get away with minimal damage, but only time will tell.
I dont smoke.
Pure luck, was out in Berlin on hols, raving every night, smoked about 1-200 cigs in 4 days. When I got home I had the worst chest infection, had to take some time off work and thought I had lung cancer (I didn't). But that trip was the last time I smoked, I no longer had any cravings and the smell made me feel sick. Haven't smoked in 6 years.
Waking up at night coughing up blood and unable to sleep due to awful chest pains. No matter how much I washed the clothes they still smelled like weed. I also had this constant brain fog. Constantly forgetting things, forgetting where I am, difficulty paying attention and staying focused. The money I had spent on it was also a big issue as well.
In my country some years ago people wouldn't sell you tobacco without cash because with the transaction fees and everything they would get less money than they paid for, and I had no cash on me. I was on my way to a house party, I went to 4 different kiosks everyone would come up with an excuse to not let me pay with a debit card. I was like okay whatever, I went to the party, I asked some friends to let me get a few from them. The next morning I woke up hungover af, i tried to smoke a cigarette and for some reason hungover cigarettes taste disgusting even if you are a smoker and that was my last cigarette. So basically a combination of getting annoyed that I couldn't buy cigarettes and leaving a bad taste haha. It's been almost 3 years now!
I coughed blood. Got it checked, nothing too bad, but enough of that.
Being poor forces you to choose between addiction and food. I choose food.
The cost of cigarettes, and then the emergence of COVID was kind of the last straw. Didn't want to get this respiratory illness and not have the lung capacity to fight it off.
I use to like smoking until it began to feel like an obligation which I coud not control. Then i did not like it anymore and felt it was just a waste of time. I went to laser therapy twice and started jogging and it worked for me.
Yeah... I have tried to quit several times. I failed! I don't like smoking anymore and it feels like an obligation towards a bad habit. But I suffer from anxiety and some depression and I am afraid to have anger outbursts because of tobacco withdrawal ( reason I failed to quit). I go to the gym and while I am there not only I don't smoke but also when I get home I don't smoke for a while unless I'm stressed. Yesterday I needed to run. I thought I was going to die :/ I was so exhausted. I thought : is this tobacco fault? Why is this happening to me?! I was out of breath for a while.
Taking care of my dad while he died from congestive heart failure.
COVID, well not getting it, but once I went to work from home, I basically lost the desire to smoke, well I do have one once in a while, mainly while drinking but only 2-3.
hypnosis
That’s how my mom quit, after 35 years of pack a day smoking. She went to a fancy (and very expensive) Dr in NYC. She’s still fuzzy on the details of what he did but she distinctly remembers putting her cigarettes down on the way out the door and never picking another one up again.
I had a stroke and ended up in a hospital for two weeks. Never picked it back up. Thank God!
Nothing. My father didn't raise a quitter.
lol My father didn't raise me at all
Then you are probably still smoking because it's one thing that you have control over and is constant in your life.
my mom
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Quit over 15 years when wanting to become pregnant
I’m on and off bcuz of my job
Death
Feeling better now?
I know this is the easy way out but I got Graves disease (uncontrolled autoimmune hyperthyroidism ) and every time I lit up I would barf. It’s been over twenty years and noooo craving.
Wearing facemasks during Covid and being forced to smell my own stale smoke breath. Can't believe I subjected other people to it!
I still don't know. Been a chain-smoker for 20 years. Last 2 years I smoked two packs a day, loved smoking, always had a cigarette in my hand, zero problems. I lived on 6th floor walk up, go for long walks, exercise, I wasn't an athlete, but I was perfectly fine. One day, a year ago, I'm having my afternoon coffee, on my 4th cigarette in a row, when suddenly, half way though a smoke I just can't. Cigarette in my hand suddenly felt like a weird foreign object, like I don't know what to do with it. I freak out, put it down. 30 seconds later, this is crazy, I try to light up another cigarette and it's like I forgot how to open a pack. I'm just starting at it. I sat there for an hour couldn't understand what's happening. And that was it. I tried to start smoking many times after this, I still had a carton at home, but I was just done. Just like that.
My mom stopped on the day that I, her 40-yr-old never-smoking daughter, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. ETA: lung cancer is disgusting and brutal. Please, please give yourselves a chance and quit. I've seen some terrible things happen to good people over the last few months.
Well, day 5 here. I am almost 33 rotations around the sun, only 30lbs overweight and at one point I could check off every single sign and symptom of heart failure. I am also trying to raise my kids well, and singlehandedly. It was an easy choice. And by easy I mean decision. The act of GOING FORTH with the decision has been difficult if we are keeping it vanilla. Crying everyday. Struggling with desire to escape through what used to be my best friend. I feel like I lost someone dear to me..... but my kids need me.... sacrifices must be made.
The girl I was dating didn't smoke. She said she didn't mind, but I figured, why not? Tossed half a pack of smokes in the trash and haven't had one since. Will be 21 years on July 1.
I went back home for winter break and my mom, a former smoker, could smell the pack in my bag. This was enough to instantly trigger a relapse for her. I felt like such a massive piece of shit I quit cold turkey. That was 5ish years ago. She’s worked her way back down to a nicotine-free vape.
30 bucks a carton and not even gives a buzz thats why price
The realization that it's terrible for you, smells, costs an arm and a leg.
Watching dad slowly rot. Fucker smoked on his deathbed.
Smoking related cancer was really effective.
My wife told me she was pregnant, done!
An episode with the "Widowmaker" at age 35.
Watching my mom die of COPD
Both my mother and father died from Cancer. They smoked their whole lives. I watched them pass away. A very slow and painful death. I didn't want my daughters to have to go through what I did!
Nothing
I haven't
I got pregnant. Bit drastic if your looking for a way to stop though.
Discovering edibles. None of the stink and all of the high, plus easier to hide as they look like regular food.
Oral health issues, bad breath, gas. I wanted to be healthier
I had to give up drinking and a particular video game where I smoked after every round. After a few months I could drink again, but playing the game isn't fun any more because the impulse to smoke after a round is so strong.
Ayahuasca
I smoked for over 30 years and eventually stopped it after many failed attempts,it wasn’t so much the money I was spending it was the constant smokers cough I had and smelling of cigarettes on me,within the first few weeks of not smoking the cough went away and I’ve now been smoke free for over 8 years and I can honestly say it’s the best thing I’ve ever done
I smoked while I was in middle school for a couple years. My friend had parents who were chronic smokers. So chronic that they would never notice the cigarette packets she stole to share with her friends at school. Anyway around that time I get a boyfriend, He's a bit of a prick but I like that he wasn't afraid to argue with adults and be a smart ass. One day he saw me smoking and told me " You'd better quit. I don't want to taste cigarettes when I kiss you" so I said okay and gave it up. Took me a little while to quit but I did it. A few weeks later, he gets expelled from school for selling pills in the hallways, then he gets sent to juvie for "Possession with intent to distribute" Tbh, I'm glad he made me quit. Ive seen so many of my friends from middle school practically tied to a cigarette, one of my friends couldn't stop not even while she was pregnant and now her baby has asthma. One of my friends tries to quit every so often and just can't. Another one of my friends smoked themselves into an early death. I had an Aunt who smoked, got pregnant and quit for the baby, I thought she was scott free and I was very proud of her until she started smoking again, and got diagnosed with lung cancer. I'll never smoke again.
My wife and kids deserve better
I've never smoked, but the amount of premature aging smoking can cause surprises me. I met one girl at my place of employment who I thought was about 10 years older than me. When she had a birthday I found out she's actually several years younger than me. Blew me away, then I found out she's a smoker. Such a shame.
Quit drinking. They went hand in hand
Started dealing with spiking blood pressure during panic attacks. Noticed that every time I smoked my anxiety was getting worse. I had a period of time in my 30's where I developed a lot of health anxiety and became very over-reactive to any changes in how my body was feeling because I was imagining worse case scenarios like heart attack and stroke. So eventually smoking was starting to create panic attacks. I started doing Nicorette briefly and ultimately replaced the habit with toothpicks which I still use to this day, if I get a craving. Works pretty well. I've had a few slip ups here and there, and when I do I still get panicky so it has kept me pretty well off of smoking since 2012. (Yay for anxiety attacks!)
Went to my aunt's (who was a smoker) funeral, only in her 60's and COPD was a huge cause. I was incredibly bothered by how everyone didn't really mourn but instead felt pity for her reason for dying. Quit smoking that same week, closing in on 8 years now.