Confession - I never quit nicotine.

Yeh I feel you man. So much worse when you exercise / run everyday & smoke.

I DID QUIT SMOKING WHEN I WAS 22. Though I only started when I was 16. And the reason I quit was because I started having these weird "nicotine panic attacks" every time I smoked a cigarette. For instance I'd smoke a cig, then I'd start shaking, get light headed, get super anxious like I was having a panic attack and this began happening so often that I just flushed my cigs and quit.

Then I picked back up around 27. For no good reason was out on a double date. Drinking beer. My friend pulled me to have a cig. I was drunk, asked him for a puff and just like that got back on.

Then around 32 (now 34) I started REALLY RESEARCHING the ingredients of tobacco and came to realization that there's a chemical added to cigarettes that 2.3Xs more addictive than nicotine itself. My brains drawing a blank right now I can't remember the name.

But when I read the research I was like "WHAT THE FUCK? THIS IS REAL." And that bothered the shit out of me cause everyone thinks it's the nicotine that's addictive when the additives have been scientifically proven to be far more addictive.

So AS A TEST I decided to switch from name brand (marlboro menthols) to non-additive (american spirit menthol).

And what blew my mind was when I started GOING THROUGH WITHDRAWALS JUST BY SWITCHING TO NON-ADDITIVE CIGS.

Fast forward 2 yrs now and the most I smoke is 3-5 cigs / day.

I also keep logic e-cigs nearby which helps me cut down when I just want a few puffs.

And overall since I'm running and exercising more than ever I find it pretty easy to maintain at that amount.

This won't stop me from getting lung cancer or heart disease but it did help me A LOT. It completely removed that compulsive-crack like impulse to need a cigarette every hour. And I don't know why. Maybe it really was all those additives. Maybe it's psychosomatic. But it took about a year after the transition for me to naturally start "forgetting" to smoke.

That's the point you wanna get to where you start forgetting to smoke cigarettes. Don't OCD about quitting.... try to find a new frame of thought where the THOUGHT OF SMOKING AND NOT SMOKING CIGS doesn't cycle through your head like say, sex does. And once that chaotic cycle is broken (I still believe non-additives helped a lot)... it becomes much easier to CUT DOWN. If you can switch to non-additives then focus on merely just controlling your thoughts & brain, you'll find yourself just not thinking about cigarettes as much and that's really the ideal mindset you want imo.
 
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Yeh I feel you man. So much worse when you exercise / run everyday & smoke.

I DID QUIT SMOKING WHEN I WAS 22. Though I only started when I was 16. And the reason I quit was because I started having these weird "nicotine panic attacks" every time I smoked a cigarette. For instance I'd smoke a cig, then I'd start shaking, get light headed, get super anxious like I was having a panic attack and this began happening so often that I just flushed my cigs and quit.

Then I picked back up around 27. For no good reason was out on a double date. Drinking beer. My friend pulled me to have a cig. I was drunk, asked him for a puff and just like that got back on.

Then around 32 (now 34) I started REALLY RESEARCHING the ingredients of tobacco and came to realization that there's a chemical added to cigarettes that 2.3Xs more addictive than nicotine itself. My brains drawing a blank right now I can't remember the name.

But when I read the research I was like "WHAT THE FUCK? THIS IS REAL." And that bothered the shit out of me cause everyone thinks it's the nicotine that's addictive when the additives have been scientifically proven to be far more addictive.

So AS A TEST I decided to switch from name brand (marlboro menthols) to non-additive (american spirit menthol).

And what blew my mind was when I started GOING THROUGH WITHDRAWALS JUST BY SWITCHING TO NON-ADDITIVE CIGS.

Fast forward 2 yrs now and the most I smoke is 3-5 cigs / day.

I also keep logic e-cigs nearby which helps me cut down when I just want a few puffs.

And overall since I'm running and exercising more than ever I find it pretty easy to maintain at that amount.

This won't stop me from getting lung cancer or heart disease but it did help me A LOT. It completely removed that compulsive-crack like impulse to need a cigarette every hour. And I don't know why. Maybe it really was all those additives. Maybe it's psychosomatic. But it took about a year after the transition for me to naturally start "forgetting" to smoke.

That's the point you wanna get to where you start forgetting to smoke cigarettes. Don't OCD about quitting.... try to find a new frame of thought where the THOUGHT OF SMOKING AND NOT SMOKING CIGS doesn't cycle through your head like say, sex does. And once that chaotic cycle is broken (I still believe non-additives helped a lot)... it becomes much easier to CUT DOWN. If you can switch to non-additives then focus on merely just controlling your thoughts & brain, you'll find yourself just not thinking about cigarettes as much and that's really the ideal mindset you want imo.
i agree, many people say it's the nicotine that kills, the tar in cigarettes is what kills. Most cigarettes have 1,000's of chemicals added, taste, to make them burn quicker etc. But here in the UK the ironic thing is our health service needs smokers, it's the tax
 
Thanks for the replies, guys :) it was cool to relate to some folks here and see how they did it. I'm gonna try experimenting with different ways to quit, based on some suggestions here. Cheers!
 
Has anyone here successfully quit smoking? How long did it take before you could feel normal again?

Just like you I started smoking kinda late. When I was 18 I would smoke a bit at parties, but after I moved out from my parents home the habit eventually evolved into me smoking every day. At the hight of my addiction I burned about 10 cigs per day. In the end I did manage to quit and have now been smoke free for around 2-ish years (I don't keep count). A for when you start to feel "normal"? I would say never. Every morning when I'm having my morning coffee I'm still thinking about how much better the coffee would taste if I was smoking a cig with it. Sometimes when I see people smoking in the street I will deliberately walk behind the just to feel the smoke in my lungs.
 
Just like you I started smoking kinda late. When I was 18 I would smoke a bit at parties, but after I moved out from my parents home the habit eventually evolved into me smoking every day. At the hight of my addiction I burned about 10 cigs per day. In the end I did manage to quit and have now been smoke free for around 2-ish years (I don't keep count). A for when you start to feel "normal"? I would say never. Every morning when I'm having my morning coffee I'm still thinking about how much better the coffee would taste if I was smoking a cig with it. Sometimes when I see people smoking in the street I will deliberately walk behind the just to feel the smoke in my lungs.
Shit, see this is EXACTLY what I'm hoping to avoid, because that'll end up in relapse. I just gotta find a way to dig deep and become free.
 
Has anyone here successfully quit smoking? How long did it take before you could feel normal again? What really gets me is that I'm already genetically pre-disposed to anger issues (look at my dad lol), combine that with celibacy and a little bit of sleep deprivation when I'm doing projects and I can turn into a total, total asshole.

I completed two months of quitting smoking. I've been smoking for 16 years and became a chain smoker in the last 3 years. In the 16 years, the only real time I wanted to quick was last year. I tried a few times, not having big expectations. At times I would consciously not load up on a new pack late in the evening, so when the smokes are over, the nearest store is like a 10 min. drive.

I think the biggest thing that made me quit was when I realized how long I was smoking for and honestly I could feel the bad effects such as lungs, cough and so on. Worst was when a bout of cold or some flu would hit.

Anyways cutting a long story short, after realizing how long I was smoking for + the fact that tax on tobacco is increased every year (at my rate it was no less than $100/month) just made me quit on December 31 2016. It was difficult for the first few days but I got used to it.

My personal target is to go the next 16 years without smoking.

You can quit smoking when your reason to quit is lot stronger than your reason to smoke!

P.S: All the stuff they say about smoking increasing your concentration/productivity? Its all BS. I can personally vouch that my productivity/concentration has increased a lot more after quitting.
P.P.S: Your bowel movements go for a toss, brace for some upset/backed up tummy
P.P.P.S: You will have very bad mood swings and you will get irritable very quickly. In such moments, just drop what you are doing and go for a walk

Good luck!
 
took me locking myself in my apartment for a week. Then I had to avoid all my smoker friends and hangouts for a while. I still smoke occasionally with friends but not like before.
 
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