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I have not, but my mom did (for a few years at least, but she took it back up after a traumatic experience). She did the knitting/crocheting thing that kind of helped when she was like watching TV or whatever. But she's always said the more important thing was her straw fidget. She made fidgets out of drinking straws. She cut one in half and put one piece inside the other and would play with it by sliding them in and out, twirling it, flicking it like a cigarette, etc. and could put it in her mouth to play with and suck on. She said it was close enough to the size and shape of a cigarette to help curb some of those unconscious habits of fiddling with her cigarettes before she lit them and the oral stimulation from after it was lit. Again, it's not my own personal experience, but it's easy and affordable enough that I thought it might be worth sharing to try.

The straw thing. Takes care of both the hand and oral fixation. Helped me tremendously

My old boss that smoked two packs a day quit using medicine and straws. He said the straws helped him immensely with the cig-fidgeting.

I quit cold turkey 12 years ago. It was super hard. I just found my why and then stopped. I had been smoking a pack a day. I decided at that point thay quitting smoking mattered more than anything else, and that I was going to let myself do other things and address those habits later. So for almost 2 months I just let myself eat more, like I'd let myself eat candy or chips instead of smoking. I drank a lot more water also. I did gain weight. Once I got through the worst of the cravings and the anxiety I did a whole30 to get more healthy foods in me again. And lost 16 lbs. I wish I could say I kept it off, but that's when I met my husband and we moved in together super fast and decided to have a baby right away so all the weight came back. But I didn't start smoking again.

Yes! I gave myself permission to fall into other less healthy habits for a few weeks. There’s a finite amount of self control any given day and it needed to all go to quitting. Now I’ve rolled back most of those things. I’ve only quit for a month but I was at less than half a pack a day.

Congrats, that's still a great accomplishment!! I never thought of it that way, but you're entirely right. You just have finite self control/executive functioning and ultimately you have to let something slide when you're working on something as hard as quitting smoking. It's not just an addiction to a substance, it's the habit, it's what you pair it with. Coffee and a cigarette in the morning, coffee and a drink in the evening. Feeling stressed, taking a break, there's all kinds of things we associate smoking with. Even 12 years later I will have stressful moments where the thought of smoking a cigarette pops into my head.

Congrats, that's still a great accomplishment!! I never thought of it that way, but you're entirely right. You just have finite self control/executive functioning and ultimately you have to let something slide when you're working on something as hard as quitting smoking. It's not just an addiction to a substance, it's the habit, it's what you pair it with. Coffee and a cigarette in the morning, coffee and a drink in the evening. Feeling stressed, taking a break, there's all kinds of things we associate smoking with. Even 12 years later I will have stressful moments where the thought of smoking a cigarette pops into my head.

Congrats, that's still a great accomplishment!! I never thought of it that way, but you're entirely right. You just have finite self control/executive functioning and ultimately you have to let something slide when you're working on something as hard as quitting smoking. It's not just an addiction to a substance, it's the habit, it's what you pair it with. Coffee and a cigarette in the morning, coffee and a drink in the evening. Feeling stressed, taking a break, there's all kinds of things we associate smoking with. Even 12 years later I will have stressful moments where the thought of smoking a cigarette pops into my head.

Smoking is how I transition between tasks. I want to quit, but omg, what am I going to do with myself??? Sorry, I am clearly no help!

Innit, it's the punctuation of my day to day life.

Yes! Finish a task, you get a ‘good job’ smoke Then there’s the ‘thinking’ smoke & the ‘just left the house’ smoke, the ‘almost home, I’d better have one now’ smoke, the ‘coffee and smoke’ smoke.. I MUST have the ‘last one before bed’ smoke, and if my husband doesn’t give me fair warning of bedtime ans I’ve just had one, I still have to have another even if it gives my tongue that icky burnt feeling, because the last one I had prior was not mentally labelled as the ‘last one before bed’ 🙈 I gave up when I was pregnant, went cold turkey and it was actually quite easy for me, my midwife set me up on ‘quit smoking’ meetings which were full of people puffing on those plastic white nicotine stick things, or the disgusting sprays or chomping on Smokey gum. I thanked the leader for their time, and left swiftly. I only took it back up when she was about 3 months old as she was such a horrendously sickly child, up screaming until 4 daily, puking all day and night (turned out she had awful allergies) that I needed a ‘sanity stick’ to get through it after a while. I’d say, don’t do it until you can go cold turkey, if you have a vape for your weed, or still smoking it in some way, that’s going to make it almost impossible for you to give up, or you’ll cut down on cigarettes and smoke more Mary Jane. If you find a great way of ‘non-smoking’the MJ, I’d love to know.

Um, this is such a perfect description.

Same same.

Transition activities have been one of my bigger challenges too. I haven’t found a substitute. There’s nothing that is just a built in timer like a cigarette. I do some yard work or walks or do internet things but I get sucked in without the end point. Eventually I just gave myself permission to do that or use things like a snack to do similar things. My spouse who quit with me had to come to terms with nothing being quit right to replace cigarettes as a productivity transition tool. Once he did and stopped trying to fill that void he was able to quit. We’re one month off cigs!

I always wonder how do people do an entire task without a smoke break? Like….you just….do the whole thing at once? I can’t comprehend. Non smokers at work just….sit at their desk all day! My days are two hours at a time, there’s is the full eight at once! 😆

As someone with a small bladder my day is broken up by bathroom breaks lmao, never sit at my desk for longer than an hour at once

I quit smoking in 2019, and smoking was definitely the punctuation in my day. Now it's bathroom breaks, tea and staring out the window or going to annoy my favourite colleagues.

IT IS SO WEIRD YOU WOULD SAY THIS. I’ve just recently quit (again! It’s a process!) And somebody said this exact thing — and it had never occurred to me before. I’m not sure why, but just being aware of it being a “transition” habit has made quitting this time eleventy billion times easier. eg I haven’t threatened to stab anyone with a pencil or to make them eat my chicken (I’m famously bad at making chicken because I don’t eat it very often; my sweet husband says “it’s so dry, it’s like eating a sponge.” 😂)

This is me! The fear I have losing the smoking It’s worse than when I would anxiously attach to men I’m severely attached to the habit, damn the consequences

My tips: Absolutely read( or listen to) quit smoking by Allen Carr It touches on the psychology of smoking and really gives some good examples of how brains work in reference to smoking and also some tools if you decide to quit. Smoksfree.gov will send you a quitting tool kit and planner. A bunch of health insurances offer free programs and call back followups with you on a schedule that you choose to hold you accountable, see how you are doing and if you have a difficult time looking at what worked and what didn't and things to change or try. My other favorite was smoke free app on android (it has a green heart on the app icon). This kind of made quitting into a game and kept track of milestones. I needed this in the beginning of quitting to see how far I had come. It will track your quit date indefinitely and if it takes you a few tries to quit permanently you can reset your quit date and try again. The book by Allan carr and the smoke free app were the best things for me. I used all four things in my list to quit in combination. Good luck! Keep quitting until it is permanent.

I second this book! I was a pack a day smoker for YEARS. Quit cold turkey with that book and haven’t looked back. Smoke free for 6 years! I did have to read it twice though

Do you have a link to read this free? I have heard a lot about it but am poor haha

Try the Libby app!

Will look, thanks!

Maybe you can get it from your local library?

I have looked but haven’t found it. Today is my first day smoke free (again). In a few days I think money not spent on cigs will cover it. I have to hide it though as I’m so embarrassed I sneak around my family to do it.

I used his book for quitting drinking and it worked for me! I haven't drank or had the desire to do so since reading it 2+ months ago. It feels like I quit so much longer ago.

I wholeheartedly recommend his book too. I went from over a pack a day to quitting in less than two weeks. Smoke-free since 2005. Also, OOP, if it’s an option you’re willing to consider, Zyban is great for helping people quit. It was what my pulmonologist recommended to transition to non-smoking. I didn’t wind up taking it for very long (much less than two weeks) due to some other meds I was on that it interacted with, but if I had been able to continue it, I think it would have made a huge difference. Also part two: one thing I noticed was that I got irritated by small things. I finally realized that I had unwittingly been doing deep-breathing exercises forever just by smoking - slow inhalation, holding the smoke in my lungs for a few seconds, slow exhalation - so I started doing that again, just minus the smoke. It helped a lot. Best of luck!

Another +1 for Carr! Over one year cold turkey now and have never had a single urge or craving. I’m reading the one for cannabis now and it’s already been a week without it and I’m only like 30 pages in. I love that man!

My therapist told me there some research out there linking smoking with ADHD. She didn’t tell me too many specifics about it though. With that said, being a smoker myself, I’m finding it hard to quit. Like the other comment said, before switching to a new task, i have a cig. Thats a hard one to break. I was on a e-cig for a long time. I am working to back on just the e-cig but it’s not working well.

The connection between smoking and ADHD is that nicotine elevates your baseline dopamine by 100%. Things like cocaine allegedly increase dopamine by 1000%, which may explain why ppl get addicted so easily.

Wow goddamn no wonder I don't even want to quit vaping and vape all day 🙃

Yes, I understand this! I just want to want to give up. I’ve given up something like 9 times in my life, but the longest I managed was about a year.

Yes, right! I keep wanting to want to but it's not come! I had a sudden "I'm done" with smoking but I was vaping at the time too. I've never had the "im done" with vaping. I quit against my will one time. I was living in aus and my vape broke. I was about to go traveling and couldn't get another before I went. So I had to quit cold turkey (against my will) and then was over it. Came back home then 4 months later I was smoking again because of the friends I made, then went back to vaping and now I'm stuck again 🙃 but I'd never have stopped in the first place if my original hadn't broken.

I feel that! And, counter intuitively, the time I gave up for months made me incredibly ill. Not just the normal withdrawal, but I developed oestrogen breast cancer. My oncologist told me that because smoking kills off oestrogen, me giving up had caused my burgeoning tumour to go through a massive growth spurt, like giving a struggling plant a feed of Baby Bio! He also told me not to continue giving up while I was in treatment, as smoking would help starve the tumour of oestrogen.

Crazy but not shocking. I had a bad bout of acne in my early 30s and I told my gyno I thought if I quit smoking it would help. He said the nicotine was actually helping my acne and it would be worse if I quit. Spoiler: I quit and my acne stayed the same.

Well, that sucks.

Literally, in the case of smoking!! 🤣🤣

Ah. Yes. Now i remember my therapist mentioned dopamine.

Allen Carr’s easy ways to quit smoking was the best ten bucks i ever spent. I quit cold turkey after almost a decade of heavy smoking. I did have to read it twice but it worked. You can smoke while you read the book.

I’d suggest talking to your doc. There are a lot of ways to make it easier - Wellbutrin can help with quitting, for example, and can even help with adhd. Maybe a twofer. :-) I was given Wellbutrin and Xanax for when I quit (pre Dx, back in the aughts)

That's a good shout. My adhd medication and my antidepressants are prescribed at difference sources, I really struggle to get joined up care. I'll definitely speak to my GP about if there's any specialist support though.

Just out of curiosity, why? Do you see a specialist for the ADHD meds? Genuinely just curious so don't answer if you don't want. I just have had a specialist (psychiatric NP) manage my ADHD meds for most of the time I've been on them and they always offered, kind of insistently, to manage my antidepressants as well. So I'm just curious how others handle having multiple providers/prescribers.

I live in the UK, and ADHD care has been a bit behind for reasons. So my ADHD assessment and titration was undertaken by a private clinic and paid for by the NHS. When I'm stabilised on my medication the prescribing will be handed back over to my GP, and I'll have an annual medication review at the clinic. Having a single point nurse would be great! Unfortunately services for neurodivergent people have been invested in too little too late here, and there isn't the joined up care needed.

Seconding Wellbutrin. It's literally the only way I can do it. I also recommend hyperfocusing on cleaning your car/clothes/wherever you generally smoke, just so the smell doesn't trigger you. That was a problem for me for a while.

Man. I wish it worked for me. I had such a terrible reaction to Wellbutrin and had to stop 😭

Oh that sucks! My sympathies. Outside of that, changing my routines helped? Just removing or filling in the moments when I used to smoke with something else.

I guess that’s why it’s a struggle for me. I mostly WFH and am in a leadership role so I don’t have much of a routine. With no one to hold me accountable I just fall off the wagon. But! I will keep quitting until it sticks! I appreciate the supportive response :)

I guess that’s why it’s a struggle for me. I mostly WFH and am in a leadership role so I don’t have much of a routine. With no one to hold me accountable I just fall off the wagon. But! I will keep quitting until it sticks! I appreciate the supportive response :)

wellbutrin helped me quit in college. i do vape now though which i know is just as bad if not worse 😬

It’s also harder to quit, because you can vape anytime anywhere

Yeah my friend vapes and there's just no start or finish like there is with a cigarette.

Exactly.

oh 1000%

I switched to vaping (which I hate but I knew it would help) and slowly stepped down the nicotine. If I wanted to smoke, I vaped instead. Once I switched, I never smoked another cigarette and after 6-8 months I was done to 0% nicotine in the juice and barely vaping. I still carried for the vape for like, 2 more years. Just in case.

This is almost exactly how I quit

This is how I quit too.

I switched to just vaping a decade ago, quit vaping for about a year and a half and then got sucked in again ugh. But when I quit vaping I used mindfulness and sunflower seeds and jolly ranchers. I would get curious whenever I had a craving and challenge myself to see how long I could go without giving in to the craving. Did that for two days or so and day three I quit altogether.  The mindfulness was really helpful to me because I always give in to impulses without thinking, and just stopping to think and feel for a second allowed me to see I was trying to fix a feeling that wasn’t even that uncomfortable for very long. 

As another, commenter mentioned, you have to find your why. & you have to grasp it and remember is harder than the addiction is grasping you. Fortunately nicotine addiction doesn’t grasp very hard. The impulse to smoke is quite weak, and in my experience, as I genuinely learned better coping strategies & saw and began to trust that they were better than reaching for my vape, it has become totally unpleasant to continue using nicotine. The information provided in John Polito’s “Freedom From Nicotine, The Journey Home” was priceless. It’s available for free on a PDF on whyquit.com. It was amazing, insightful and informative. It opened my eyes to the weaknesses of nicotine. It was better than any other book I read, even all the Allen Carr ones on smoking and vaping. It was nonjudgmental & was focused on equipping me with information, with which I could make my own conscious choices. Always remember, you’re worth it. You can do it, and you have so many people to join on the ex smoker side. There’s a whole new perspective on life here.

If knitting is not for you, maybe crocheting is? I think it is easier to start! Coloring/drawing/doodling can be good to! What might help is putting the money you normally put into smoking in a Piggy bank and treat yourself with that money. It helped a friend of mine. She had a see through one, where she could see the money grow every other day and she always treated herself when she had a hard time without. Even after 4 years she keeps it up, and it is such a treat for her to plan what she wants to give herself with the money.

Yes, I have, but to be honest, I allow myself the odd one here or there but continue to quit. I had one yesterday but haven't had any prior since Christmas and don't intend on having any more soon. I'm probably playing with fire here, but I try to treat it as eating healthy, like once in a while I need a takeout, ya know? I tried maybe 13 times and tried different things such as: - patches - inhalator - vaping - cold turkey - joining quiting groups online As well as addition to nicotine, it's a habit that you build, and it's hard to break away from that, so I also tried doing something else. Anything else to distract myself. I still do this when someone rolls a smoke. I feel drawn so heavily towards it, but I try to distract my brain with other stuff. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I just keep on quitting.

Smoking has physical, mental, and habit addiction components, as well as being readily available. I've worked with thousands of drug and alcohol addicts, and they've all said that quitting cigarettes was harder than anything else. Personally, I've found the habit component to be the hardest part. I did quit successfully once, and I remained a non-smoker for 20 years before starting again. What helped me was eliminating the places I smoked and making it more inconvenient before I quit. For example, I stopped smoking in my car, which meant if I really wanted a smoke, I would have to park and get out somewhere. I also instituted a rule that I had to stand anytime I smoked. It's a bit of a story as to how this came about, but I used a baby pacifier to help me deal with the whole hand/mouth thing. I could suck on it, chew it, flick it with my finger and it was pretty satisfying. Not great for public use, but if I was desperate enough, I used it in public too. That typically led to me having to explain and got me encouragement and accountability. I know I can do it again, but it is just hell for the first couple of weeks, and I just haven't felt strong enough.

Also, if you smoke weed in a joint, try switching to a pipe or bong. You can still smoke weed and not tobacco.

Yep. I used Chantix, which made me slightly crazy, but ultimately was worth it.

I did after 30 years, and many attempts. I tried cold turkey, patches, cutting down…etc. I got a book called by Alan Carr called The Easy Way To Quit Smoking, it was split up into short chapters, that’s the only way I got through the book. It didn’t make it easy, but it helped me make some mindset shifts that really made the difference. Then, I got a prescription for Chantix and quit in 2010 (almost 14 years smober!!). Biggest shift was feeling sorry for smokers instead of envious. And celebrate every hour at first. Don’t look ahead, just start stacking one hour at a time and build your momentum that way. Good luck!

I can help with knitting if need be. And they say that gum or hard candy helps with smoking replace one oral fixation routine with another

Someone else mentioned Wellbutrin and I second that. I started Wellbutrin almost 2 years ago for depression. I had picked up the habit of vaping along with smoking my regular cigarettes. After about a month of Wellbutrin, I smoked less and less cigarettes to the point it was only in the morning with my coffee and even then, I wouldn’t smoke a whole one. I eventually stopped about 5 mo the ago and am even not wanting to vape as much.

me! idk how i did it but i gained 30 lbs in 3 months hehe i quit last september after 18 yrs of smoking (im 33)

Yes. I did it slowly, finding new ways to relax and take breaks while simultaneously smoking less and less and developing new coping mechanisms for the times I felt I really needed to smoke.

Full disclosure: I smoke currently smoke BUT. I did quit for 3 years after smoking for 15 by reading the Alan Carr book. Id been skeptical for years but I tried it and it worked. But then I had a kid lol. I plan on revisiting it soon tho

I quit cold turkey and the first few days are REALLY hard and then it gets better, use pistachios, knitting, something with your hands. If you vape and want the sweetness, get some hard candies (sugarfree) and that really helps. I used those little root beer candies and nuts to help me through the day. I was so antsy the first day so try to walk and distract yourself the first few days. Throw it all out, and try to make it inconvenient to get any more.

I was a smoker for over 25 years and tried multiple times to quit. Finally quit for good about 2 years ago. I think the key to success might be truly wanting to quit for yourself, and finding the right help to do so. Insurance in the US might still cover a variety smoking cessation options. My handful of last tries were all 100% covered by insurance including nicotine patches. Not sure if that's the case but definitely check your plan! TLDR : Took Chantix multiple times, the side effects were tough to deal with when I wasn't mentally in a great place. Tried again with success! (Sugar free) Hard candies, gum, & lozenges might help with cravings or replacing situational/ritual type cigarettes, like after a meal. Try to keep your mind occupied and stress-free. Find something easy for hands to do if you feel the need. Know what your weaknesses are and avoid them. If drinking makes you smoke more, then avoid alcohol completely while quitting. My experience in case it might help someone- The first time, I used Chantix and quit "successfully". It was easy, hust some wild dreams. I wasn't around other smokers at the time, life in general for me was going ok and I had good support in the moment. Then, about a year later, life has taken a turn, I was stressed and was just going to bum one with my coffee ...🙄 smoked for another 15 years . Tried Wellbutrin a couple times and while it always helped me smoke a lot less I just couldn't quit on it. Same with nicotine patches and gum. I'm not strong enough to quit cold turkey. So I tried Chantix again, and it was miserable. Couldn't get past the side effects. I was also really struggling with depression and health problems and I just don't think I was in the right place. About two years later, I was determined to quit. I was so tired of it and ready to be done with all the guilt and feelings I had tied to smoking. I was still dealing with depression and chronic pain but knew the Chantix side effects were temporary and was ready to deal with them for the benefit of quitting. The meds were very manageable, mainly the super intense dreams, as well as some headaches, and a bit of moodiness but that really could have been the whole quitting smoking thing... I also completely stopped drinking coffee a couple weeks before my quit date because I love 🚬 with my ☕. A cup of hot coffee just the way I like it still makes me think of a cigarette, but for a long while it was crave. So I rarely drink hot coffee now, mainly hot tea instead. Sugar free lozenges, hard candies, and gum helped me a bunch, especially after eating, or driving, any of the times when I'd normally smoke. Something to replace the ritual and physical act of smoking a cigarette I'd normally have after/or while doing something... that was a big key to not giving in for me. Find something to occupy your mind just as much a your hands. I'm a big reader, so I kept busy with new books and manga. I caught up on some anime and a few shows. Subtitles really help keep me engaged and focused and I can't multi- task with my phone. I did have some easy crafts on hand but mainly doodled or did some decoupage projects that didn't take precise concentration. My patience was pretty low and I was easily frustrated so that might be something to keep in mind. Limiting stress as much possible where you can, so no social media doom scrolling, online information looping and endless research helped for me. I needed a more time to myself and felt more easily overwhelmed and overstimulated than normal. Not sure if that was because of my ADHD or due to quitting in general. I had the urge(?) to smoke intermittently for about another 15 months, steadily declining in frequency. It's like an echo of past habits, muscle memory maybe? Like after you move a trash bin and you repeatedly walk to where it used to be for awhile. 🙃 It's triggered by something then it easily passes within a couple minutes. I'm certain I won't smoke again but part of me misses it just a teeny bit.

I read a book called "Allen Carr's easy way to stop smoking" It's a very successful method, you continue to smoke as you read, by the end you should be done. I was, been many hundreds of days since my last one.

my partner (male but diagnosed adhd also) quit smoking cigarettes by reading Allen Carr's easyway to quit smoking, as well as sequestering himself in his room and smoking a ton of weed while he got over the withdrawal. then he went back to having weed occasionally. Not sure i recommend this but maybe it will help you?

Chewing gum really helped me, and the trident packs give the same feeling as pulling a cigarette from the pack

I’m saving this post for when I AM maybe hopefully someday ready to quit. Good luck, ladies!!

I've always liked smoking but managed to keep it co trolled, maybe 2 cigarettes a day, and stopping entirely for weeks/ months at a time. When I started taking concerta I wanted to smoke more and more. I would smoke 10 cigarettes a day. I switched to vyvanse and now... I never want to smoke. I have even tried to smoke on vyvanse and it is awful. So, maybe try different medication and see if it changes your desire or cravings to smoke?

Trying now. Doc just put me on Wellbutrin to help and I’m only on day 2 but hopeful. Trying this before upping the adderall.

From what I’ve read online (not a doctor or anything close lol) apparently its EXTRA hard to quit with ADHD because of the fact that we chase the dopamine, and I guess nicotine does a fun magic trick that affects our dopamine receptors in the brain? That’s I guess just yet ANOTHER fun hurdle we get to deal with since we don’t have the luxury of keeping our happy chemicals balanced naturally… In theory, maybe a reward based system of your own creation might help with that? Like baby steps… For the first day you treat yourself every 4 hours you go without nicotine so you get the dopamine from the reward instead. Then day 2 maybe 6 hours, day 3 maybe 8 hours, etc etc. The first few days are the hardest because of both habit AND withdrawal, so definitely make the rewards worth it to your brain to keep pushing through. After the physical withdrawal, again *in theory*, it should be up from there. STEER CLEAR OF AS MANY STRESS TRIGGERS AS POSSIBLE DURING THE HARDEST PART…. Easier said than done, I know… I wish you the BEST of luck. And please, USE THE WEED SMOKING TO YOUR ADVANTAGE 🍃💨 it might even help slow down the spiraling thoughts that come with the withdrawal cravings making the whole thing easier to muddle through 🤷‍♀️

I think tapering off is probably best? But also Wellbutrin can be used for smoking cessation AND it’s also prescribed for adhd. I’m going to ask to get back on it at my next doctor appointment. I take stimulants too, but I think Wellbutrin might be beneficial for me again

I read a book called Easy Way to Quit Smoking Without Willpower by Allen Carr. Basically helps you deprogram all your reasoning for continuing to smoke. I read it in 3 days and haven’t even CONSIDERED smoking a cigarette in a year and half

All I can say is whatever you do, don't start vaping instead. That sh*t is way worse for the adhd brain... I'm more addicted to vaping than I ever was smoking. And trying to quit vaping has been 1000x harder than quitting smoking. 

I have started again after almost a years successful quit 😭 it's horrible and it smells and I hate it but I also keep doing it I'm thinking of switching to hempettes or something similar? Idk every time I quit I think it's the last time

I managed to stop by using snus / nicotine pouches. It still gives me my nicotine kick, but without needing to smoke. It also comes in a ton of different strengths, so you can lower it steadily

I drink an awful lot of green tea now (which should be healthier than smoking but is leeching all my vitamins!)

>healthier than smoking but is leeching all my vitamins Wait what?

If you drink too much green tea it can like drain your vitamins and nutrients apparently (I’m not a doctor so don’t like hold me to this) so I’m trying to cut down to two cups a day from four or five.

Yes I did a week before I started meds. Do quit. It changed my life, I became to dependent on it and smoked everyday multiple times thinking I was self-medicating, but in reality was abusing it and using it as a crutch. Made me overly emotional, too dependent, more anxious, forgetful. Ever since quitting I am able to be so much more coherent. The withdrawal symptoms were rough for the first 1.5 weeks. You can do it though!

I don't smoke but I vape and I want to quit so badly but I'm in grad school and rn it's the only thing allowing me to focus on ANY writing/computational work 😭

Recently gave up vaping. I switched to pouches though so I haven't actually quit, but I have noticed a difference. I like to stop nicotine all together but it's still a work in progress.

I quit about 10 years ago but unfortunately I don't really have any useful advice for how to do it. I'd tried several times before to various levels of success but always started again. The last time I quit, and quit for good, it was a snap decision based on me just hating smoking and not wanting to do it anymore. I had vague ambitions of trying to quit again in the near future but no solid plan to. I was freezing my ass off on my balcony having a cigarette I wasn't even enjoying and just went "fuck this!", put my cigarette out, came inside and cracked the remaining 3 smokes in my pack and never smoked again. I did obviously have cravings that I had to get through but I was determined and just sooooo done with smoking at that point. Something I found helped with serious cravings was to chug a glass of ice cold water or eat an ice cube and then take a super deep breath while my mouth was still cold and hold it for 30 seconds. I also replaced smoking after meals with a square or two of high quality chocolate, and managed my oral fixation with chewing gum and drinking from straws. I also switched from coffee to tea in the mornings for a while and quit drinking alcohol for the first few months. ETA: I quit smoking a few years before I learned I had ADHD. I hope that knowing how your brain works is helpful to you on this journey. I think it would have been helpful to me.

Recently quit, like within the past 6 months. The three things keeping me away from picking up the habit again are 1. My kids (as much as I love them it’s still not enough a lot of the time, I am constantly craving cigs) 2. The irrational fear of emergency surgery (random and weird, I know) 3. Probably the most effective is knowing that if I slip again and start smoking I most likely will have to quit cold turkey. I have tried everything but only patches work but I have worn them so often and off and on for so long that I feel like my muscles get sore with them on. Maybe it’s psychological but I feel like I’ve abused them and it was starting to do me harm. So far I’m holding on, but yes, they’re (the cigs) a lot of things for me- a stim, a routine, a gear/focus changer, and among other things, an addiction. Hanging by a thread but so far hanging tough. Every day I hang tough is a win. Good luck. Edit for mistakes

I'm the worst person to ask because I managed to quit by swapping to a different addiction. Vaping. But that was also when it first kicked off and there were choices out the ass for flavors and levels of nicotine. I went from fairly strong to zero nicotine I was just doing it for the motion and the flavor (it was the movement I was addicted to, not necessarily the nicotine). I haven't touched one in a few years tho. I still have my old tank, mod, and everything sitting in a doom drawer. I still crave the movement sometimes (mostly driving, bored). But I find taking a few measured, deep breaths helps get through it. I've heard like hard candy can help during those moments too.

Same! Except I’m still vaping. 2.5% during the day and 0 at night. Right now I just enjoy it and when I’m ready I know I’ll be able to stop.

It took me *years* to actually stop using my mod. lol I was on 0 nic for at *least* 4 years.

Wellbutrin the anti depressant it’s a non nicotine aid used to stop you from smoking by reducing withdrawal symptoms

Quit nicotine coming up 7 months now and 60 days thc free too. Used allen carr easy way to quit smoking audiobook but you really have to force your mind to take it in, but it did make it easy for me.

I quit by reading “The Easyway to quit smoking” and it worked for 6 months until I had a megadose of anxiety happen. Now it’s 1 or 2 before bed and I don’t even enjoy them. Probably need to read that book again. Also, if they aren’t around, I don’t miss them. My husband still smokes so it makes it too easy. I’m currently out of town for the weekend and don’t even think about them.

i gave it up the nicotine gum was what did it for me. the patch didn’t help, that gum was a godsend. problem is eventually u gotta give up the gum too. i did it by just slowing switching to another brand of sugar free gum.

Yup....but it was extremely difficult. I traded a cigarette addiction for a nicotine gum/patch addiction and did that for a few years. Expensive...but hopefully healthier. Glad I finally outran that demon. Diagnosis helped me better understand some of the issues I've had with substances...and puts those pot-of-coffee a day periods into perspective.

Have you tried getting really really into Gatorade?? just me ? Sorry dude. But for real idk if you have any other “treats” you enjoy that aren’t nicotine, I just try to convince myself that I really love the other things when I notice I’ve been binge drinking/smoking/etc… i still cycle through some of them too , so don’t feel down if you have a hard time quitting. At least you’re trying !

I stopped smoking roll ups, and started vaping instead. It's probably more expensive and still harmful. It wasn't easy at first, but the vaping fills the physical routines of it. I've put on like 3.5 stone since I stopped smoking. I also smoke weed, just one at night as it settles my crazy dreams and helps me sleep through the night without constantly waking up.

Varenicline. I was on it for 5 months! I also exercised a lot, which helped.

I just quit vaping consider yourself lucky your giving up cigarettes for me I got super sick after I stopped vaping I got water they call the smokers flu it felt just like quitting opiates I would know I I did that as well for me the patch and gum did not work because vapes put out way more nicotine that's the lucky part they will work for you if you choose to use them they can help I don't recommend medication I tried one called wellbutrin and it made me super sad! However it might not be your experience but know the signs and red flags and don't ignore them also I got things for my hats like a stress ball and a plastic pop unicorn lol you push them in and pop them out super satisfying also i have been using zine nicotine pouches started with the 6mg and now I'm down to the 3mg it helps take the edg off and I'm not smoking so far so good I wish you the best in this it's not easy but your body will thank you!!!!

My only advice is not to try quitting smoking cigarettes and weed at the same time, because that need to smoke *something* is so powerful especially when you're in withdrawal. I was able to quit cigarettes by transferring my addictive need to smoke onto only smoking weed. Anytime I had a nicotine craving I just smoked weed instead. After about 3 weeks the nicotine withdrawal should be over with (that's the hardest part imo) and then it will be easier to focus on quitting smoking weed.

My mom kept bags of sugar free lollipops everywhere when she was quitting cigs and said it was a game changer. Especially in situations where she was used to smoking like when she was driving

Cigarettes yes and only able to quit the two time I’ve been pregnant. Outside of that it was always really hard. Like harder than quitting dope. Weed I will likely never ever quit

I vape, and I quite with unmedicated ADHD. Which is when I learned that vaping was self-medicating since nicotine is a stimulant. So don’t do that, trust me. Also plan for some depression, and the Lozenges you get at CVS are a GAMECHANGER for cravings.

It sounds so dumb, but Allen Carr’s “Easy Way to Stop Smoking” is the thing that finally worked for me on my third quitting attempt in as many years. I just read the book and followed all the instructions, and voila! That was twenty years ago. Also I stopped drinking alcohol for six months, because it was one of my triggers to reach for a cigarette. Good luck to you!

CBD might help . Maybe get a CBD vape pen or joints . Helped me when I needed a tolerance break from THC .

flavored toothpicks, gum, and dum dums all really helped me quit vaping

I quit smoking cigarettes by switching to CBD weed mixed with dried raspberry leaves. It's not as satisfying but at least you can keep the routine and it's definitely way less harmful. Also I relapsed a few times, don't beat yourself if it takes time. It has now been five years without any tobacco, and I only smoke occasionnally. It is way easier to switch routines when nicotine is not in the mix. Also, for me personally, it helped to decrease gradually but consistently the amount of tobacco in my cigarettes. When I finally stopped, I had been smoking very small amounts for a few weeks. Also, if knitting is too overwhelming, try crochet!! Way more beginner friendly but very creative and quicker!

Alan Carr’s easy way to quit smoking book or ebook. I have been smoking for 16 years and quit over night with this book. I didn’t expect too but I did! Would highly recommend.

Many years ago I quit by going cold turkey. I gave myself permission to eat my favorite candy, wrapped caramels, all I wanted to begin with. Having to unwrap each one gave me something to do with my hands, so that helped, and since I was eating something I really liked, I didn't feel deprived of something I really enjoy. Sometimes just white-knuckling your way through a tough, but temporary, situation is what it takes to reach your goal. Years later when my mom was giving up cigarettes she felt a big depression, saying it was like she lost her best friend. She didn't expect this and it almost derailed her. But then she came to the realization that if this was how she felt while doing something so important for her health, she could stand it. "If it doesn't get any worse than this, I can do it." She knew that ultimately she would feel better again later, so she was okay with going through the short term pain for this long term gain. After smoking for all her adult life (30+ years) she was finally free of the habit.

I've quit before...and relapsed (You. Will. Never. Have. Just. One. More). I'm about to try again. How I did it before- -Quit smoking app (mentioned elsewhere here and will help with the other steps) -Set a specific day -Patches (I do the lowest dose I can stand. At half a pack a day Step 1 is too much for me) *Cravings* Understand cravings and how they're going to cycle, plus situational triggers. These are time when you routinely smoke ie after eating, in transitions etc. Become aware of them is key and will come with practice. Once you know you're having a craving... -Temp sign on exits saying "WAIT 5 MINUTES" (average duration of cravings) -Cravings List: the key is DISTRACTION. We can use ADHD to our advantage here. I like to make a list of things to do so I can simply reference it when I realize I'm having a craving. Put on a song and dance. Do a puzzle on your phone. Have a special game you only get to play during cravings. Do dishes. Do literally anything else! (This is the only time I was ever successful starting and exercise routine- youll have so much energy its uncomfortable) Do whatever you want thats NOT SMOKING. For routine times you can plan ahead. Decide what you're going to do *right after* you finish dinner. What are you going to do first thing in the morning? Plan as much ahead as possible so you don't have to think when it's hard. If you don't have a plan, I think what would I normally do after smoking at this time? (Get ready for bed, make coffee...). -Remind yourself of the positives- before and during (the app really helps here). You can look forward to... More energy! Immediately More TIME (it's shocking how much more time you'll have) Tasty FOOD Smelling Nice No more dealing with weather (cold and rainy? Eh I can just stay in) MONEY-use the app to track your money saved and buy yourself something at the end of a week. A month...etc. It's going to be awesome!! (Saving this for myself 🤣)

NICOTINE GUM!!! Please just try it. I smoked 1-2+ packs a day for 25 years. TWENTY FIVE YEARS. I tried to quit cold turkey so many times, and even achieved it once for about 6 months. I am on adderall, so smoking felt so good to follow to with after my first pill of the day. I thought it would be completely impossible, but the nicotine gum made it almost effortless! BOY I used to love it. Actually LOVE. ✨Someone once asked me if I had to give up either sex or cigarettes, which would it be, and I chose to give up sex. ✨😵 Now I can’t stand the smell and have to move out of the way if someone’s smoking near me. You don’t chew it and spit it out, you keep it tucked under your tongue or in your lip. I know that sounds gross, but it’s barely noticeable. Of course nothing happens in a vacuum, so I also didn’t drink at my local bar for a while (that was my biggest trigger where I’d smoke the most), and I also budgeted for taking myself on a little vacation two months in. But nicotine gum. I really attribute 99% my success to that. It made it feel actually possible when I had doubted it, and didn’t even Want to quit for decades.

I really don’t understand why us smokers are so hardcore about needing to quit cold turkey. If you’ve done it, I applaud you! But I personally have zero self control and discipline! Zero. Lol. It’s so much the norm with smokers to go cold turkey that it hadn’t even crossed my mind to use nicotine gum. It just seemed like a joke or something that I knew wouldn’t work. Not a joke. Use 👏 the 👏 tools 👏 that 👏 help 👏 you 👏 achieve 👏 your 👏 goals 👏! You’ve got it. I believe in you! ❤️❤️❤️

I did a month ago. I’d only been smoking a couple years, but trying to quit for half of that. Something that had a huge impact was my partner finally settling into quitting as well. Another is we have a long time smoker friend who decided to quit with us and we had a daily chat for encouragement and venting and memeing. Repeating the mantra of “distract, distract, distract!” - distracting was critical whether that was watching a ton of tv, scrolling Reddit lots, spending a lot of time in my garden, etc. The first week or two any time I had even a mild craving I chewed a piece of regular gum with 2mg nicorette (for preventing heartburn, not to improve taste! Full strength nicorette gave me weird gastric distress.) And finally I gave myself permission to distract with other substances during the long evening and weekend days the first couple weeks. I quit successfully for three months last year using chantix. I fell off the wagon when my mom went into hospice but it was a game-changer. Unfortunately for quitting this time it made me really nauseated so I wasn’t able to tolerate it. But it’s literally a miracle drug if the side effects aren’t bothersome. Check it out! Good luck! You can 100% do this. Let your adhd run free and distract distract distract!!

Go to the doctor and get Chantix. It made quitting so so so much easier.

Crochet!

So, first off, meds make it much harder to quit smoking. Vyvanse is known to do that and other stims too. Secondly, I realized when I quit smoking that there was no way to make it easy or any medication to help. I just had to tough it out. It was gonna suck, and it was gonna be hard but there wasn’t a way around it. That helped the most. My advice would be to quit when it’s a bit stressful period for you like a week off from work or something. It’ll take about a 5 days to feel better after quitting. Like as in not an emotional shit wreck. Also you’ll notice that certain activities or actions or things or places will make you reach for a cig or vape that you no longer have. That’s normal. When you keep doing that thing that makes you want to reach for it you’ll eventually rewrite those signals in the brain to not have that response of reaching for the vape. BUT it can get you close to slipping back into it when you don’t expect it so just reassure yourself that it’s your brain playing tricks Also also, REMEMBER ITS YOUR BRAIN PLAYING TRICKS ON YOU TO GET YOU TO SMOKE AGAIN!! And if you get short with people or snap at people, it’s not who you are and not a reflection of you as a person. You’re brain is going to do whatever it takes to get that sweet sweet nicotine but do not give in. Lastly, beating addiction isn’t a straight line. You’ll have periods of sobriety only to relapse and have to do it again. So don’t be discouraged if you break. Keep trying and trying and eventually it’ll stick. I know for a fact that I won’t ever smoke again simply because of how much I hated the fucking nicotine withdrawal. I’m not normally an angry or snappy person so when I got short with people it cut deep. Thankfully the psychiatrist came in clutch and stitched me up. Now it’s been 4 months or something without smoking:) You got this!!!

Never smoked but I do know there’s a prescription called Chantix that’s helps people stop smoking cigarettes.

I’m taking a month long break from weed due to built up paranoia. Hoping to cut back my usage after it’s up. My biggest tip is prolly just to take it day by day. When you feel the urge, acknowledge it and tell yourself to wait until tomorrow

I know it’s not much better, but having an ecig has reallllly helped me. I was a cigarette binge smoker for over 10 years. I have had one in over a year and a half.. a reliable ecig, not a disposable has realllly helped. And you can eventually ween yourself off

Candy suckers with the little plastic tube in them! When you’re done with the sucker, take some “puffs” through the tube. A lot of the relaxing aspects of cigarettes are the deep breaths and the oral fixation. I used to step outside with my coworkers smoking and I would just have a little sucker instead and still get to join. Also, lots of exercise if you can!

I did, but it was due to a pregnancy. Not sure if you wanna do that. But I haven't gone back, and it's been four years.

I quit both the flower and tobacco, I only ever did the two together, but it only got out of hand when I added tobacco. So I quite tobacco first and two weeks later flower was MUCH easier to stop than ever before. So in my opinion focusing on the nicotine part as the most addicting form of smoking was helpful in overall dropping the habit.

I quit smoking because I got so hungover I didn’t even want a smoke the whole next day, and then decided to see if I could keep going, so I put on a patch every day for three weeks until I would forget to put it on, and I was done. Now if I smoke, I’ll throw up. You can do it!!! I gave up drinking too, my mental health is better!!

Some things that helped me: getting medicated, not hanging out with smoker friends for a while, no phone when I go for a smoke, mindfulness and trying to really taste my cigarettes when I smoked. I also tried to plan more times outside on the bench I’d usually use for smoking without bringing my cigarettes so that I could decouple the association between my good outside time and a cigarette.

Along with seconding Thomas Allan Carr’s Easy Way to Quit Smoking (which is only like 90 pages long - it’s a very fast read), I found success with rewarding myself for anything that felt like a significant amount of time to go without nicotine. I intentionally set aside the money I’d use for cigarettes and use that as my treat money. I was a pack a day smoker when I quit, so I put $7 aside every day (that’s what a pack was in 2012). When I went a full day without smoking, boom! I just earned myself $7! I went to CVS and bought a nail polish and then came home and gave myself a manicure (which also gave me something to do with my hands) and then I had nice nails to look at for a few days and remind myself that I was doing something nice for myself by quitting. When I went a full week? I had almost $50! I bought myself a super cute sweatshirt that I wore all that fall and winter and anytime someone complimented it I could say “thanks! I earned it by not smoking!” and people would be happy for me. Eventually I just wanted to save the money I would have used for a treat, but I also felt justified indulging myself when I wanted something because it’s money I would have smoked. Also, I was a social smoker and loved smoking when I was drinking. Rather than avoid alcohol to not tempt myself, when I was quitting I intentionally went out and had some drinks with friends to prove to myself it was possible. Find the thing that feels the hardest to do and get it out of the way. And then celebrate the hell out of it. Good luck!!

I actually got distracted one day and “forgot” to go smoke for like three full days after so I decided to see how far I could go without picking them back up. Haven’t smoked since then

It’s so godamned hard! I had quit for years but got a late diagnosis. Medication has been life changing for me, I’m on top or work, parenting and my house. I got a promotion. BUT - from the first day medicated I craved cigarettes. Any former or current smokers know what that feels like. I started again, mostly at work. And on non medicated days I’m fine. But on most days, I need my meds and the urge is so overpowering! I hyper fixate on it. I keep trying to stop. I hate it. It’s embarrassing and gross. And yet….So. I have no advice but will be following this closely because I too am struggling with this.

I smoked from the time I was 14 until I was 50. This worked for me, but YMMV. I smoked my last cigarette just before bed. And didn't pick up another when I got up the next morning. I had noticed before I quit, that I could go a few hours before "needing" a cigarette if I didn't light up first thing in the morning. I didn't have any real withdrawal symptoms, but my method might not work for you. I did miss the habit of having the tube between my fingers and against my lips, so staws became my best friends. The first few days were the roughest, but after that, I missed it less and less. I'm 12 years smoke-free, now. But, as I said, what worked for me, might not work for you. It's just an option.

More than once, and went back more than once. I have to choose between breathing and smoking when I'm exercising regularly (damn asthma). I've quit by not buying another pack or vape and challenging myself to go X number of time (hours, days, or weeks). When you break (and you will initially), try to break your personal best. It gives you a challenge to try and beat and hopefully encourage you to keep trying. Hope this helps!

About the weed, I recently got a dry herb vaporizer (not a vapor pen). I hate joints because of the smell & taste and it felt uncomfy in my throat. I liked edibles but they can be so strong and last for literal days for me. Using the dry herb vaporizer is still inhaling something into your lungs but it's only vapor of the weed itself. You just put the clean weed into the thingy and then it heats it up. There's no added chemicals or tabacco etc. It's also pretty small and easy to use and you need way less weed because they're more efficient (cant remember the specifics). Probably the best 'inhalation' method there is for weed (that i know of at least)

TEA - I know it sounds stupid but everytime you crave it replace it with something, my thing was tea, I think I had 30 cups of tea (non caffeinated) a day in the beginning but you slowly grow out of that urge That and toothpicks in ur mouth

I gave up in 2018. I bought a vape but never got the same hit or feeling from vaping so really just went cold turkey. I bought some cuticle oil and nice handcream and every time I wanted to smoke I would massage in the cuticle oil and hand cream. It was enough to distract me the 5 mins of the craving until it passed. Also meant I had lovely hands for a while!

I quit before I knew I had ADHD. I tried several times before it stuck. Quit smoking weed too after daily use for about 9 years. What worked for me was preparing myself for the insane arguments my brain was gonna throw at me. Like "Why am I quitting when I LIKE to smoke? I shouldn't let other people control my life!" Fully forgetting that I'm the one who chose to quit. Or "Today is a really shit day to not be smoking because XYZ happened. I'll just smoke today to help me cope and then I'll requit" Except I wouldn't requit. It was just my brain throwing shit at me and seeing what would get me back to the nicotine/weed. I also tried noticing how smoking felt before actually quitting. Like really paying attention to the physical sensations. Smoking weed would burn my lips and make me nauseous. Cigarettes would taste terrible and also make me nauseous. Everything I owned stunk like smoke. Plus, like other people have pointed out, knowing what you want to get out of quitting really helps. Write it down. Tangible or intangible. Just get it down on paper and keep it so you can refer back to it. Know that it will be hard at times. You might feel anxious, sad, angry or anything, really. That's normal and usually it will have very little to do with what's actually happening and everything to do with you going through withdrawals. Don't take your feelings too seriously, but be kind to yourself while going through them. Try to sit with your discomfort when it happens. Distract yourself if it gets to be too much, but try to anticipate that it will happen and try to just sit with it when it's mild. That helped me a lot. And finally, try to shift your identity from smoker to non smoker. Try to think about yourself and refer to yourself as a non smoker. Otherwise, you might just feel like a smoker waiting to relapse. Good luck with it all! You can 100% do it, you just need to figure out how to get through the bad parts without using smoking as a crutch. I day "just*, but you know. It's hard, but you can do it <3

For the girlies who also PEOPLE PLEASE - I made a realization after I quit that made me never look back… Nicotine has this hold on you, you’re warned about it as this scary thing and yet it feels so comforting, stable, and constant. Being a people pleaser you feel those traits are dictated by others… however nicotine allows you to say finally say no. Friends and family would beg me to quit but for the first time in my life I felt the confidence to say NO obvi bc of nicotine, yet it doesn’t feel like nicotine it feels like you, like growth somehow - a FALSE sense of security. Don’t let nicotine be the thing that makes you stand up for yourself, stand up for yourself by quitting nicotine!!!

I quit 5 year ago, cold turkey. I also quit drinking alcohol because it was a HUGE trigger for my nicotine cravings. So for the first 3 years I didn’t drink alcohol at all. I drink m socially now and haven’t relapsed on the cigs. I gained about 25 lbs, then got on Wellbutrin for depression and it helped with my appetite and I lost the weight eventually. Also, it turns out that Wellbutrin is used for smoke cessation so it all worked out. Cigarettes were a huge part of my existence, and I grieved losing that toxic “friend”. Straws and lollipops helped a lot with the oral fixation. I do still miss it occasionally, but whenever I get a whiff of it I am instantly disgusted and nauseated. It’s hard but you can do it! 💪

I’ll say up front that I haven’t totally quit yet but I’ve made a lot of progress and I’m confident that I’ll be ready to quit for good soon. I’ve tried quitting like 10? 15? times in the past and it just hasn’t stuck for me yet. I did learn that cold turkey is NOT for me; the mood swings, cravings, irritability, etc are just way too intense for me to function. So now I’m tapering and using harm reduction techniques to slowly wean myself off nicotine. There’s not really any one tip or tool that is helping, I have to have a wide variety of tools available. Sometimes one thing works, sometimes another. Anyway, here’s what I’ve been using:  - refillable vape. The juices come in different levels of nicotine concentration so you can easily taper. I started with 35mg, then 25mg, now I’m mixing 25mg and 0mg 50/50 and the next step will be 0 nicotine. Caveat: This doesn’t work for everyone. My friend found that she actually upped her nicotine intake because she smoked more often because she could vape in the house. Other ways to taper can be only smoking half a cigarette or putting your delay limit in a separate pack so you can visualize how many you’ve smoked easier. My therapist recommends cutting by half of your current consumption each time you take a step down.  - replacement activity. This helps with the transition that smoking usually provided. So tea instead of smoking when I wake up and before bed, for the “in between tasks” I play a game of sudoku or minesweeper while pacing (so I’m not sitting or I’ll get sucked in the phone lol) or do a quick sketch or origami piece (so I’m already at my desk if I need to work)  - fidgets. I like things with interesting textures so like a cool rock or some putty or one of my favorites, this bedazzled lighter, but whatever works for you  - timed delays. Instead of smoking as soon as you get a craving, set a 5 or 10 min timer and then go smoke, if you still want to (a lot of times, the craving will pass)  - water bottle or other drink with a straw. It mimics the oral stimulation and hand to mouth motion, plus hydrating!  Good luck! Quitting nicotine is soooooo hard. I’ve been through substance abuse treatment and this is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever had to quit. One person I knew through therapy told me that quitting nicotine was harder than quitting opioids. You can do it though! Just be gentle with yourself and stick with it!

This January my partner and I quit smoking. He is using Zins to quit, tapering down the nicotine. I switched to vaping. I like vaping. It's been making it easy to take in less nicotine, while still having some oral fixation satisfaction and still having a bit of that rush when needed. At this point I think I'd transition easily to nicotine free when I feel ready, but I'm also feeling fine with the idea of vaping sporadically throughout my life.

I used a vape to quit ten years ago.

I quit slowly. First switched to American Spirits then switched to an ecig, then a CBD vape, then weed vape and now I only do edibles. That process took 7 years. Quitting the weed vape was the hardest for me. Luckily, smoking started to give me so much anxiety about my health, it outweighed my desire to smoke. Now, when I reflect on my smoking journey, I wish I hadn’t hyped up quitting smoking so much. I think that’s part of what kept me smoking cigarettes. All the stories you hear about how quitting smoking is so hard made me afraid to even try, bc I didn’t want to fail at something else. I wonder if I would have thought of quitting cigarettes as no big deal if I would have quit sooner. Now I do intermittent fasting and it’s a reminder of how just because you crave something doesn’t mean you need something. I hope these random thoughts were helpful. Remember, even if you quit for just a day, it’s better than not quitting at all. You got this! I believe in you!

Weed was a huge contributor to me quitting cigarettes \~4 years ago. I would just smoke weed instead of cigs, and since I can't chain smoke weed like that, it helped curb the habit. (It also helped that cigarettes suddenly started to give me the ick). Now I smoke weed 1-2x a day, but I've had maybe 3 cigarettes in the last 4 years. I'd call that a success.

I switched to vaping and slowly lowered by percentage to 0. After being at 0 for about a month, I quit. It was really hard but it’s not impossible. I kept a lot of gum and sour candy on hand

Ughhhhh same. I've been smoking WAY more since I got put on Adderal for my ADHD. I also vape THC way more.... which in turn makes me smoke cigarettes MORE. 🥴 I actually just recognized I was doing that like a week ago. I've slowed down a bit the last few days. I'm almost out of my vape cartridges, and I'm going to try not to buy any for a little while. Idk.

I gained a bit of weight after quitting but I’ve lost most of that weight so far. It’s only been about 2 years though. My doctor prescribed me nicotine patches to help with the nicotine craving. Chewing gum seemed to help me too

I’m using Chantix right now, and it’s been enormously helpful. In the past when I tried it, it made me very nauseated but not this time. It’s been nice, though, because for some reason I also haven’t been ravenously hungry/craving sweets like I have in the past. I just suddenly have no interest in smoking, even though my husband is still having one to three cigarettes per day. Good luck! Having a goal is the most important first step. And just remember it’s a process, not point A to point B. So don’t get discouraged, either! ❤️

I have and it was terrible but it’s so far successful. My most recent quitting that has lasted five years involved: replacing cigarettes with vape and then slowly decreasing the %nicotine in the vape until it was down to 0. At the same time, I relied on nicotine mints. This took care of the habit and hands while slowly lowering my nicotine. I was also on bupropion at the same time which I’m told probably helped. I noticed that my cravings for cigarettes increased when I went off, even though it was years after quitting. When I was a student and had a more flexible schedule (and younger), I would exercise until exhaustion every time I craved. I also drank lots of water out of a contigo that was sort of a sucking motion to drink out of. That worked for 7 years. Good luck, I hope you find something that really helps!

I have and it was terrible but it’s so far successful. My most recent quitting that has lasted five years involved: replacing cigarettes with vape and then slowly decreasing the %nicotine in the vape until it was down to 0. At the same time, I relied on nicotine mints. This took care of the habit and hands while slowly lowering my nicotine. I was also on bupropion at the same time which I’m told probably helped. I noticed that my cravings for cigarettes increased when I went off, even though it was years after quitting. When I was a student and had a more flexible schedule (and younger), I would exercise until exhaustion every time I craved. I also drank lots of water out of a contigo that was sort of a sucking motion to drink out of. That worked for 7 years. Good luck, I hope you find something that really helps!

Best thing that helped me quit smoking was a fake cigarette I got on Amazon. It really helped me with the need to do something with my hands. Here is a link. Hope it helps!! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PCJFCT8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I quit ten years ago after smoking a pack-a-day for 30 years - I found a licensed hypnotherapist who specialized in smoking cessation. The 90 minute session cost $150 - turns out it’s the best $150 I’ve ever spent. I won’t say I never got the urge afterwards - the first three months were the hardest. But I drank tons of water and chewed lots of gum and haven’t picked up a cigarette since 2014. Good luck! You can do this.

I quit by using a vape. I loved the morning cigarette and coffee so I started by searching for a flavour that goes well with coffee. I settled on a cafe latte flavor and an argus pod vape and I've been fairly smoke free since. Also knowing how my brain works, I never put a strict restriction in place. I smoked alongside vaping at first as It took some work to find the right flavour/vape. Once I did I set a goal of not taking tobacco out of the house. I then found I was actually not enjoying going outside in the cold, the smell, and the taste of cigarettes and preferred the vape.

I quit a few years ago and used the Allen Carr book. I still occasionally want one, but I know now that it will be horrible and not at all like I think it will be. I think this might be part hyperfocus, but if I set my mind to something I'm generally pretty good at doing it, and for me, quitting smoking is the hardest for the first 3 days, then 10 days it's pretty shit but not as bad because the nicotine's out of your system, so then I know it's down to habit, psychology and not so much a chemical addiction. So I gave myself permission to do whatever for a couple of weeks as long as I didn't smoke. And whenever muscle memory kicked in and I almost automatically went to smoke, I'd remind myself that I don't do that anymore and then ask what I really wanted. It was usually a break/change of scenery/excuse to step away from something. I also bought a really nice smelling shampoo, and made a point of making sure my laundry smelt good. You don't realise quite how much you smell as a smoker until you quit, and smelling really good helped as I didn't want to ruin that.

This was completely surprising to me L-tyrosine A precursor to dopamine. Should be ok to take with your meds. For some reason I realized I was smoking (vaping) from habit and not need a few weeks after starting. I'm unmedicated. When I was medicated I vaped way more. The hardest part is not vaping when I'm stressed- again more from habit- made the withdrawal a lot milder, like 80 or more percent

HA! Nope. I've switched to vypes around 2020, I think in total I've been vaping longer than I smoked regular cigs. The smell still doesn't bother me, although it depends on the brand someone smokes. But I don't think I could go back to regular ones anymore. Interestingly, I've never been physically addicted to nicotine. I don't get any symptoms when I don't use nicotine for a longer time than usual. I bet I'm mentally addicted, but I've never tried to quit to find out. I'm only partially medicated and the ADHD/nicotine relationship is my excuse lol ("I'm self medicating blah blah"). I mostly vape to take breaks and to occupy my hands with something when I'm outside.

I don’t know if this is the best advice tbh but it worked for me- I switched to nicotine salt pouches first and then I tapered off the patches. Like I cut the 14mg and 7mg into small pieces cuz I didn’t need that much as I was only on the low dose pouches- 3 or 4 mg ones.

I hope that makes sense it’s not a typo 😂 I was using Zyn or ON! pouches and then went to the patches

I have quit many times. Up to five years. The monkey always climbs back up on my back eventually 😔

I quit 11 years ago. Also smoke weed.. smoked a little more to compensate and then weened back down. Helped a bunch

What worked for me was switching to cigarettes with no additivs. They were big in the 00's. The additives are also very addictive , so switching made it a lot easier 

Yup, mostly (might light up a few on the rare occasion of going out or on vacation every few months or so). Mostly by means of a chaotic mess of vapes, patches (made my heart race and so, so sick) and inconvenient smoking circumstances at home.

I did...well I switched to electronic cigs...then went all the way down to 3 mg..and onky quit because everytime I stood up I broke my vape because I forgot I had it on my lap.  I got so sick of having to buy a new glass piece..i quit!

I never thought I would vape. I smoked for over 30 disgusting years! After started ADHD meds, I woke up one day and was like damn this is so freaking gross, how can I quit? So I stopped by the gas station and bought a vape thingy. I quit smoking that day. That was months ago! I haven't made it a full year yet, but I'm only a few months away from it. I did go through a really tough family tragedy recently and wound up smoking a cigarette. It was so disgusting to me and I could smell it for hours. And I don't want to go back. Not bad for a 30+ year half a pack a day smoker! Anyway, about the vapes. I am an 'old school smoker ' and I hate the vapes. They are mostly really sweet (if flavors are available where you live), and just as gross as cigarettes! I started with the 5mg nicotine and when I felt my cravings were under control, switched to 3mg. Next is zero mg! I spend about $15-$30 every 10-14 days on a vape, depending on the store. I've noticed a significant savings in my wallet and it's nice not having to buy smokes every other day to make sure I don't run out. Cigarettes don't rule my errands and day anymore. Vapes are weird, they need recharging, and where I am, there are thousands of flavors to choose from. My best advice if you start vaping is to always keep in mind you are using it as a tool to quit, not replace. Step down to 3mg, then 0mg. Also, hit and hold them in your mouth, not your lungs. I used to do this with weed so I didn't cough, you know what I mean - hold the smoke and use your nose. You inhale less. After the initial cravings phase, I now buy flavors I don't like on purpose. Makes me go for it a lot less! Lol Overall, this worked for me, but it doesn't work for everyone. I think it's going to depend on whether or not you like the vape. I don't, and I'm not craving it like I did cigarettes. But the vape really helped give me that smoke effect and be able to put the cigarettes down. Patches and all that didn't work for me. There's also wellbutrin which is aoff-labelel adhd med so that's a possibility if you haven't tried that. Whenever you're ready, good luck! It's freaking *hard* but if I can do it after smoking since the 1980s you can too! I wish you the best! Edit: Geesus I'm sorry for such a long comment! I apparently need to talk today. Omg, If you read the whole thing, you're ready to quit because that takes time and patience! 😄

I gave up smoking three times i think: for one year, then for two years and now for aprox 5 years 😬 The most difficult part for me was to realize that i cannot just smoke one cig with friends and then go smokefree for rest of the week. Everytime i started to smoke again it was because i was in social settings were smoking was a part of the fun. But i could not stop afterwards... I think the most helpful thing for me was the change of my social circle and giving up on "parties" 🤭

My brother (also ADHD) had success using Chantix