I started smoking at age 19, and stopped at 38, fifteen years ago.
West Big Box a day was my average consumption.
It pissed me, being a smoker.
Every morning the very first thing before anything elser: the cigarette.
Every night the very last thing: the fucking cigarette.
While brushing my teeth always the almost barfing.
And you reek, not to say stink.
As a smoker you don't care.
But others do.
It lowers your possibilities to get laid.
I hated it.
But the addiction of nicotine is one of the strongest there is.
Smoking filter-cigaretts has nothing to do with pleasure.
Those crap things are made from waste side-products of tabacco plus lots of dirty chemicals.
It's pure addicition, paying (lots) of money for ruining your life.
Estimated I lit up a medium class Mercedes - at least.
(Tipp: Get yourself a piggy bank, write the date of quitting on it.
Every day you put the same amount of money into it as you payed for cigarettes - for smoking you summoned the money daily, anyway, even when you were broke.
And on the anniversary you spend the money.
You'll be surprised that it sufficies for the vacation you dream of, or a very nice piece of hardware.
And you will be so happy having it, and not wasted it up in smoke.)
Smoking is a complete non-sense bullshit.
And nothing else.
Smoking has absolutely no benefits or pros whatsoever.
Maybe in the 1950's to look cool, or for women to be seen more masculine.
But today this is so obsolete.
Okay, in war.
Because smoking mutes the hunger, and cigarettes are way better to handle by logistics than food.
But are you a soldier in a trench with an expecting life-span of nearly zero?
No.
Any presumptious benefit about smoking are just tricky gonzo acts nicotine plays with your mind.
It was kind both interesting and frustrating observing my own nicotine corrupted brain coming up with most objective, logical clues why to keep on smoking,
or make an "exception, just in this single case, only."
One of the points many smokers believe is smoking rises their ability to concentrate (above the average common human, of course.)
This is pure crystal bullshit.
After I quit I learned the first two draws only increase you capabilities to concentrate just about the quota it was lowered by the desire for the next cigarette, only.
And in any case it significantly stays below the level of the capabilities your brains had if you were not smoking.
But you have to become a none smoker to feel it.
Smokers strongly disagree, naturally, with plausible facts and convincing arguments, of course.
("You can turn your back on a person. But never turn your back on a drug!")
So I tried nearly all ways of quitting there are.
Here are my advices.
I like to send ahead this was my way, and of course it's not applicable by general to everyone.
Your own personal way depends on:
- how much you smoke
- what addictive personality you are
- how disciplined you can control yourself (self-awareness)
- your social environment (smokers)
- your stress tolerance
- your current personal stress level
e.g. when your partnership is in trouble, don't start to quit. You probably end up as a single smoker.
You need time for your self, outlets for stress. Because you will face lots of it.
Nicotine will fight to kepp you and get you back.
Get rid off as most as other stress first.
A vacation is a good chance.
Either way requires one important point:
You must become totally, absolutely and strictly clear about your will to quit.
Because you need to go through with it, so you need is a strong will.
It's a long, tedious, sometimes even hard journey.
It's doable, but no picnic.
And you must be absolutely crystal about that, and your target, befor you start quitting.
There is no try.
If you try you fail.
Maybe in week, maybe in five years, you'll fail.
You may put off your begin to quit for a week or two, until your mind is absolutely made up about your will,
you want and will quit, and you must and will get through with it.
You must, because you want to.
Then, when you're mentally prepared, ready to face the trip, do it, and get through with it.
Don't put that off for too long!
Those mental preparation is part of quitting, is needed for success.
But nicotine will try to convince you: "you're not ready yet, put it off another week, a month, next year (the classic new year's eve - yeah, yeah, blabla)"
There are lots of books/sites/papers by drugs counselling,
which help you on that, such as proclaim your will.
Use those!
To me gums and patches are baloney.
I tried both.
You need to get rid of nicotine, not another way to receive it.
Patches gave me a high nicotine shot when fresh applied, then quickly left me in the rain with my strong desire for a cigarette.
Gums are even more dangerous, cause you'll consume them as you consumed cigarrettes: casual, unconscious while sitting at the computer.
After I stopped gums I smoked even more, because those raised my nicotine level.
Also you have to control you habits.
Most of your energy you're going to invest is to make subconscious behavior conscious.
You'll be surprised how many occasions there are you have a routine makes you automatically light a cigarette.
Coffee machine runs - cigarette, computer reboots - cigarette, :qw - cigarette,... the list is very, very long.
Most of your energy will be used to get aware of those, and not to fight the urge to give in, but not to think about and forget about it.
It's a bit like not to think of the pink hippo.
Because nicotine wants you to think about it all the time.
Humans need six weeks to learn/unlearn habits.
And you're additionally dealing with a highly addictive drug.
So I tried candy.
Exchange one addiction to another might look as a neat idea in the first place.
Especially when you convince yourself you could lose the other addiction easier.
Wrong!
It may help, if you have something to hold in your fingers, and suck on it.
But make it a pen, a drinking stray, or a toothpick, but no sugar.
You'd replace one evil with another, or worse, get a second one.
I ended up as eating too much candy and smoking.
Any replacement only covers smoking.
Smoking only gets one level deeper into subsonscious, but stays on your mind, just waiting to come back.
Never forget:
Once a smoker, always a smoker.
Like a dry alcoholic to stay smoker for the rest of your life.
Btw:
You will gain weight.
Fuck it!
First smoking is way more unhealthy as overweight.
And second it's way easier to control your weight as smoking.
(But beware of binge eating.)
There are not that many things as unhealthy as combining feeding, and boozing with smoking.
First thing you should try is cold turkey.
Absolutely!
It's the hard way of pure will and discipline, but the only without trade-offs
The most dangerous part is to underestimate the ease and speed to backslide, when you think you've done it.
You will never done it!
(That's not quite true, but you need the attitude. Because become a real, solid ex-smoker will last several maybe ten years.)
Avoid the company of smokers until you've successfully reached the level of not having any urge for a cigarette.
This is the hardest part.
That means bars, parties, and also your life-partner, if she or he also smokes.
I am sorry, but I don't know one single person successfully quit smoking while the partner continued, nor both successfully quit.
(I hope there are examples proving the opposite, but I don't know any.)
I don't see it could work.
Sooner or later one will be caught while smoking covertly,
thus bringing up additional problems.
You will face a couple of hard days, until the strongest turkey will fade.
The first two are the strongest because of the physical addiction.
Latest after a week this is gone.
But then the long dangerous road starts.
After six, seven weeks you'll managed the second level.
But you'll need at least a year or two not touching any cigarette to get to the safer side.
You'll never be complete save, until maybe three to five years.
("please, just light one and let me only smell" - game over)
I once managed it that way, and was clean for a year and a half.
Then on a party I couldn't resist a joint.
Of course it was rolled with tabacco.
I thought I could stand it.
I was wrong.
Back to a big box a day for me within one single night.
Don't underestimate the force of nicotine even when you think you're over it.
Once a smoker, always a smoker.
I finally managed it with Pfizer's Champix.
Directly after the first pill I was completely disgusted by any kind of tobacco, and quit smoking the same evening.
Almost directly and reliable forever non-smoker.
Did I once preferred a certain cigarrette brand?
Bullshit. All cigarrettes smell and taste exactly the same: disgusting.
It was like I was back as in my childhood disgusted by my father's smoking.
Only three weeks later in a bar I bought a package of cigarettes to test me.
I lit one, took not half a draw, stubbed out the cigarette disgusted, and left the whole fresh package on the table. Don't give a shit about cigarrettes anymore.
That was my last cigarette, over fifteen years ago.
No problem having smokers around me - except they smell bad.
The days when I turned my flat upside down in the middle of the night, searching for money, or "recycle" cigarette butts for just one single draw, are behind me.
But this ain't the first way one shall try.
There are downsides:
It's expensive - well cigarettes cost way more.
Champix is a strong psychopharmacologic drug - need medical attention to get it for a good reason.
One of its sideeffects is some may tend to become depressive, even suicidale.
And it's absolutely nothing you may have as some form of backup: quit smoking, restart, and then get back to Champix again.
Bad idea.
I don't want to discourage you.
I want you to be prepared to face some hard time.
You need to be strong, have iron discipline to succeed, and be fully aware of it, before you start.
Otherwise there is a chance you quit quitting.
You may end up saying:
"I've tried so many times, and always faild.
It's impossible for me. I keep on smoking."
Then Nicotine has won.
And I think we don't need to dicuss the points of health and possible deseases.
Don't try.
Do it!
So prepare yourself.
Then do it.
It's doable.
Many others also succeeded.
And keep on smoking is definitely no alternative.
It's worth it:
You'll have a year feeling your smell and taste are coming back to their full potential - start enjoy tasty things!
You'll feel you brain perfomance rising - if you don't drink, or do other drugs, of course.
(I experienced my programming became better.)
It felt like the smoke left my head, my brains cleared up.
All your body capabilities regenerate.
More air to breath, more movement possible, less influenza, and, and, and....
...you will be a human being again having two hands for use.
It's worth it.
But I cannot say "do it!"
You must.
And then do it.
Go through with it!
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