Did you stop smoking cigarettes?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Did you stop smoking cigarettes? (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:22:11 AM EDT

I smoked about a pack a day for 35 years.
Quit three months ago.
Are the nicotine cravings ever going to let up?
I'm gaining weight, I want to kick anything that comes into view.

I don't really have the urge to smoke just to perform the ritual. Watching other people smoke doesn't bother me. The nicotine cravings are like being underwater and needing to breath in.

I want to breath in, but I'm 20 feet under the surface!

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:24:50 AM EDT

[#1]

I smoked a pack a day for 9 years. I quit 4 years ago and still want one on occasion.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:26:01 AM EDT

[#2]

The cravings don't stop, but get more manageable over time.
Diet and exercise to curb weight gain.
Chew gum...

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:27:23 AM EDT

[#3]

I smoked two packs of non filters a day and quit 4 yrs ago every once in a while i want one but not very often.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:27:58 AM EDT

[#4]

You could do like I did: take a friend for radiation treatments every three days for several weeks and think how Philip Morris will put you in the same spot if you don't do something about it.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:28:36 AM EDT

[#5]

On off since I was 17, now 58, If they said tomorrow it was OK to smoke I would be first in line for a carton... haven't smoked except for an occasional 1 at the bar every 6 months or so...

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:30:03 AM EDT

[#6]

I noticed my cravings were the same ones I got when I was hungry, which got me to eat. I gained like 20lbs in a year and am now working on getting that back off.

Every now and then I feel like I need one, but it's gone for the most part. It'll be 1 year at the end of this month.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:34:14 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
The cravings don't stop, but get more manageable over time.
Diet and exercise to curb weight gain.
Chew gum...

This.

It's been 2 1/2 years for me and I still crave one now and then. It's gotten much better over time.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:34:58 AM EDT

[#8]

I thought your brain reconfigured receptors so you didn't have so many Dopamine receptors screaming for nicotine.

A craving now and then I can live with.
Waiting six or eight months for the cravings to subside I can live through.
What's going on now is not good at all.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:36:33 AM EDT

[#9]

I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:39:52 AM EDT

[#10]

My dad quit 2-3 years ago after 40 years and he still sucks on the Commit lozenges.

Good luck with your smoking. I smoked but had to quit when I realized it really was an addiction. Now I am down to a few cigars a month.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:40:45 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

I don't have $200 a month to throw away anymore.
Neither does my wife. She MUST quit smoking, regardless of our finances.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:42:26 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

My father. He's 6 feet under thanks to his 3 a day habit. Lung cancer and emphysema.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:42:30 AM EDT

[#13]

Good luck to you AR-10 quitting is not fun or ez. I was being a smartass in my first post.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:42:32 AM EDT

[#14]

2 packs a day for 20 years....

Quit on March 23, 2009...

COLD FUCKING TURKEY!!!

DO IT.... You won't regret it. Not gonna sugar coat it, the cravings last about a year...

Good luck.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:42:51 AM EDT

[#15]

I smoked a pack a day for 31 or 32 years (I forget) and quit almost 6 years ago.

The craving for nicotine will go away.

If you want to not gain weight, you must make the effort not to. I quit smoking for a couple of years back in the 80's and put on 20 pounds. This time, I was aware of the possibility of putting on weight, so I made sure I didn't. It's simple...watch what you eat and make sure you aren't snacking on crap to make up for smoking. I think I put on about 4 pounds since I quit this time, but it's no big deal...I'm still healthier than I was when I was smoking.

Good job on making it this far. You can do it!

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:43:10 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

Cannot be serious..

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:43:55 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

Dumbest post of the day.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:44:00 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

My father. He's 6 feet under thanks to his 3 a day habit. Lung cancer and emphysema.

Sorry for your loss

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:44:05 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
I thought your brain reconfigured receptors so you didn't have so many Dopamine receptors screaming for nicotine.

A craving now and then I can live with.
Waiting six or eight months for the cravings to subside I can live through.
What's going on now is not good at all.

It takes time for the receptors to be reconfigured, unless you go the medical route.

Are you taking Chantix? I did and was only on it for about 2 weeks. I couldn't go any longer than that. Dreams were too weird.

My cravings were almost instantly gone once I started Chantix. aside from the occasional one. By occasional, I mean once a week or so.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:44:17 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
My dad quit 2-3 years ago after 40 years and he still sucks on the Commit lozenges.

Good luck with your smoking. I smoked but had to quit when I realized it really was an addiction. Now I am down to a few cigars a month.

I have two friends that sucked on the Commit lozenges for a year or longer before going back to smoking.

I only know ONE person who has completely quit for three years now. Everyone else I know who ever quit snuck a few a day, even when they were on oxygen.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:45:16 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
I thought your brain reconfigured receptors so you didn't have so many Dopamine receptors screaming for nicotine.

A craving now and then I can live with.
Waiting six or eight months for the cravings to subside I can live through.
What's going on now is not good at all.

You might be a very good candidate for Chantix. I'd seriously consider it.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:46:01 AM EDT

[#22]

I quit a few years ago. Was smoking one and just thought "damn these are way to expensive" Finished that one and never smoked another one again. Gained a bunch of weight and every once in a great while I'll think that I wouldn't mind having one but other than that it was easy.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:46:26 AM EDT

[#23]

they slowly do let up.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:46:40 AM EDT

[#24]

I am 50yo - I quit smoking in my early 30's .... smartest thing I ever did.

I think the cravings / urgers lasted a few months. At about the 1 year point I was certain I was a non smoker for life.

You gotta be strong, if you are weak .... the cigs win and you lose your life. Plenty at stake. it's a must win bet and you hold the winning hand, you just have to play the game right.

best of luck

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:47:53 AM EDT

[#25]

No. I just stopped inhaling. I figured this way, my health would improve, yet I would still be able to support the local economy, as well as continue to annoy non-smokers. Everyone wins!

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:49:02 AM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

My father. He's 6 feet under thanks to his 3 a day habit. Lung cancer and emphysema.

Sorry for your loss

'Tis okay. He grew up in a time where they didn't know what tobacco could do to you. Once he realized that it had damaged his body, he quit, but it wasn't easy for him.

I can remember seeing him chewing piece after piece of Freedent gum. He never went anywhere without it.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:49:54 AM EDT

[#27]

I quit 20 years ago. The cravings will go away . . . eventually.

One word of caution though: NEVER smoke another cigarette. You'll be a smoker again in no time. If you want to succeed, you can't have the first one.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:51:49 AM EDT

[#28]

Chantix worked like a dream for me. Pack a day for over 10 years. No cravings, no irritability, no nothing. Easy as it gets. Just....stopped smoking.

Of course the Arfcom tough guy crew will be along to tell you cold turkey is the only way to go.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:52:19 AM EDT

[#29]

Yeah, I quit. Then I went back to Iraq.

It's probably not the recommended technique, but I dealt with the cravings by dipping snuff. After about six weeks I got bored with that and quit tobacco all together.

There were still times I would smoke a cigarette when I was a "non smoker." A few smokes per month, usually when at bars. The trick is not to let yourself slip into the "ah hell I smoked a cigarette, I couldn't do it" and then go buy a carton.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:54:35 AM EDT

[#30]

Smoked for about 15 years. Quit cold turkey when we found out my wife was pregnant with our first kid.

It's tough the first couple weeks, and the cravings never do go away 100%, but it does get easier as time goes on.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:55:33 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
The cravings don't stop, but get more manageable over time.

I quit a few years ago, I have absolutely no cravings any more.

I had a smoke on a bet a few months ago, I hated it.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:56:52 AM EDT

[#32]

My wife quit using Chantix.
I used "the patch" for a month. Two weeks of medium strength, two weeks of the smallest dose. It sucked as bad as cold turkey, I think. Probably not.

If it's going to take a few months I can do it. It SUCKS! I have to go find something to chew on, or put away, or stab.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:57:33 AM EDT

[#33]

The cravings go away for the most part. The next thing will be you realize that you don't enjoy it.

I smoked for about 3 years. I would relapse occasionally, but noticed that once you have gone a year without a cigarette, if you bum one, halfway through, you don't want it anymore.

Last cigarette I smoked I had been on the range all day and I bummed one from a pal. 3 drags in, I was just repulsed by it.

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:57:47 AM EDT

[#34]

smoked for20 years , quit in 5 days with the lozeneges , get the 2 mg ones for when your having a nic fit . They taste semi nasty but do the trick in a pinch , its been just about a year now and I have smoked 3 cigs in that time during real high stress but i found them to be nasty and didn't want another. Keep the lozeneges in ur pocket for a few months , it really does help. i just noticed one day i had stopped thinking about smoking , my mind was busy with other things like boobies and nice ass

Posted: 3/16/2011 6:58:24 AM EDT

[#35]

I was smoking a minimum of 2 packs a day...if I was out drinking at a party or something it could and sometimes did hit 3 packs for that day.

I quit 15+ years ago. I still sometimes think a cigarette would be good about now. It isn't strong, just under the surface. It is also easy to tell it to STFU.

My father died of emphysema and related issues, he knew it was bad for him and kept smoking. He was 61 when he died.

You can do it, just stick with it.

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:03:36 AM EDT

[#36]

I smoked for 22 years, 3 packs a day at the end. Quit in 78. If I remember right, the craving went away after about 5 years. Don't miss at all now.

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:05:52 AM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:
I smoked about a pack a day for 35 years.
Quit three months ago.
Are the nicotine cravings ever going to let up?
I'm gaining weight, I want to kick anything that comes into view.

I don't really have the urge to smoke just to perform the ritual. Watching other people smoke doesn't bother me. The nicotine cravings are like being underwater and needing to breath in.

I want to breath in, but I'm 20 feet under the surface!

My experience:

I found that even long after quitting, I experienced sensations similiar to the cravings for nicotine when my body 'needed' something else important to its function. So if I was tired, stressed, not eating a healthy diet, not exercising regularly, dehydrated, etc... I'd feel the same as I would craving nicotine.

At 3 months you're long past the actual physical dependence on nicotine. But all the factors listed above can cause a drop in seratonin levels. When you were a smoker, you 'fixed' this drop with nicotine. Now you're not, so there's no easy quick fix.

My advice is to try to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible, listen to what your body needs, & keep on trucking. It shouldn't be too much longer before your body learns it's not going to get that fix... so it will stop trying to get it via 'cravings'

I haven't felt that feeling in a very long time now, even when I am lacking something (+3 years quit)

By the way... 3 months... CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're done!!!!!!!!
Don't ever go back.

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:16:46 AM EDT

[#38]

Started smoking in the early 80s, I was up to 2 packs a day by 2004 when I switched to Skoal.

Went from dip to nicotine gum in 2008.

Started taking Bupropion (Wellbutrin) 2 weeks ago, haven't had any nicotine for 8 days now.

Chewing lots of Trident. The cravings are getting easier by the hour.

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:22:59 AM EDT

[#39]

I smoked appx 2 packs a day for 15 years. Tried to quit many times. Finally got the break I needed when I got a case of pneumonia. That month that it took me to get over being so sick let me quit. You have accomplished the hardest and most important part, the first 3 months . Just keep on doing that and eventually the cravings will leave you. Just keep in mind that you can never have another.

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:25:23 AM EDT

[#40]

I quit last April, I don't think the urge ever goes away but it does get easier ignore it.

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:28:22 AM EDT

[#41]

Yes. It will get easier.

I quit 5 years ago last year December. I usually forget I ever smoked.

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:54:11 AM EDT

[#42]

I smoked about a pack and a half per day from 04/02/69 until 02/28/86. Most of the time the smell of a cigarette is awful but once in a while it really smells good. Thankfully, that passes quickly and the next time I smell one it stinks as usual.

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:58:59 AM EDT

[#43]

I'm in the "process" too.
I quit @7 or 8 weeks ago.
after smoking and dipping snuff for over 25 years I had enough!
I tried quitting a few years ago cold turkey and couldn't do it, tried the patch too. both times I went back to smoking,
so several months ago I stopped dipping at work (which is the only palce I dipped snuff) I figured one step at a time.

This time I did it on my own terms. I just said screw it and started the patch again but instead of quitting smoking and putting on a patch the next day I did it a little different.
I would wear the patch around the house and when I left for work I took it off and when the nicotine craving would kick in I would have a smoke at work but no chew..I went from 2+ packs a day to just a couple of smokes a day!

After work I would put on the patch and head home for the first night or 3 I wore the patch all night, then I figured it was causing some sleep issues and took it off at night and after a couple of days I just quit taking the patch off and havn't looked back..

I'm down to the last couple of days on step 2 and still have a few cravings, funny thing is I only get them at work when I'm bored. I hardly ever get any here at home I dont even need any hard candy or gum till after noon or so.
I'm going to ride this out till the end and hopefully in a year be able to post up here on arfcom that I have been smoke free for 1 year only time and my will power will tell.
I do know this I can already tell a big change in my wallet from quitting!!
I heard Illiniois is going to try and raise the cigarette tax AGAIN by a buck so in some places that will put them up to about 7 bucks a pack...suckkers...

do I still get cravings? simple answer is yes.
but my sense of smell and taste is returning, I can breathe better, have a little more energy and have noticed "other" benefits returning....

and my temper is starting to mellow out quite a bit, I still have days that want to "kick a baby" but that too is passing...

keep it up you can do it, stay away from beef jerkey I know I gained 10 pounds from it alone....and its addicting in itself...

Posted: 3/16/2011 7:59:57 AM EDT

[#44]

Smoked for 40 years. Stopped about 3 years ago. Cravings do go away. I breath better, smell better and things taste better. Wife still smokes though. She has tried several times to stop. Just very hard for her.

Posted: 3/16/2011 8:01:26 AM EDT

[#45]

Quoted:

I'm gaining weight, I want to kick anything that comes into view.

stop shoving more calories into your mouth

I don't really have the urge to smoke just to perform the ritual. Watching other people smoke doesn't bother me. The nicotine cravings are like being underwater and needing to breath in.

get an electronic cigarette

Posted: 3/16/2011 8:02:58 AM EDT

[#46]

Quit a pack plus habit a week ago cold turkey.

Smoked for 30+ years.

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Posted: 3/16/2011 8:03:40 AM EDT

[#47]

Quoted:
The cravings don't stop, but get more manageable over time.
Diet and exercise to curb weight gain.
Chew gum...

This, and just keep in mind why you are quitting.

For me it was my wife (then fiance'). Now that I have kids, I'm so glad that I quit.

Good luck man!

Posted: 3/16/2011 8:04:15 AM EDT

[#48]

Quoted:
I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

We should have a troll smiley...

Posted: 3/16/2011 8:04:22 AM EDT

[#49]

Quoted:
I still smoke and I still love it. Show me some proof that shows smoking is bad for me.

Me too, I think all the anti-tobacco "it causes cancer" is just a bunch of hooey liberal agenda stuff. lol

I've "quit" twice now. First time I quit I was tobacco-free for almost 4 years but then I started dating my now wife who smoked at the time. She got me started again and then quit herself. Leaving me.

Only thing that works for me is dip. 1st time quitting I tried the patch but couldn't fall asleep even if I took it off. Then tried nicotine gum, it takes away cravings way better than the patch (immediate nicotine fix vs. slow and steady throughout the day) but I unconsciously chomp and chew the shit out of gum real hard anytime I have gum of any kind and that really does suck for the jaw. Dip took all the cravings away and I was able to quit dip cold turkey after 6 months the first time. Now I'm "quit" from cigarettes but have been dipping again for a year and a half.

If you absolutely have to have something to smoke and dip or nico-gum isn't going to do it and no one to bum from buy you a little cigarillo from the gas station. you can buy 1 of those instead of 20 cigarettes.

2 guys at work have quit using those e-cig things. one was my age (30s) the other guy is probably almost 60 and been smoking since he was a teenager and the e-cig seemed to get him right off the tobacco.

One thing that fucked me up all the time is I seem to have an endless supply of non-smoker friends and acquaintances who can buy a pack and smoke if they go out drinking or just every once in a while bum a smoke from someone at work and then not think about nicotine again for a month, or ever if they wanted. I always saw them and thought, well shit I could be like that, I'll just have one now. An hour later I'll be wanting another, 2 hours later I'm buying my own pack.

Posted: 3/16/2011 8:04:50 AM EDT

[#50]

I tried, but no matter what I did, I simply could not get hooked. I smoked, I chewed, I dipped, hell, I even snorted, but tobacco just would not grip me. To this day, I have no cravings at all. I envy you.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Did you stop smoking cigarettes? (Page 1 of 2)

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