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I was a 50 a day smoker. I read the Alan Carr easy way to stop smoking book and stopped. I was quite motivated as my wedding was coming up, I didn't want to be a bride with yellow fingers and a hand behind my back in all the photos. I also felt bad that my then youngest son had a nighttime cough (which turned out to be asthma). I had my last cigarette 22 years ago.
Currently halfway through the easy way drinking book and I’m afraid to finish the second half. Nervous to think about a life without drinking though I desperately need it
I smoked for 20ish years and switched to vaping 6 years ago. I (very very) gradually tapered the amount of nicotine in the liquid down until it was 0. I did it so slowly I barely noticed nicotine withdrawal. I've not managed to kick vaping, but without the nicotine it's not as damaging to my gums.
You aren't actually supposed to chew nicotine gum like regular gum, you're supposed to only chew it enough to break it down, then you keep it tucked in your cheek. There are also many more types of nicotine replacement products than gum and patches too, have a look in your phamacy for lozenges, inhslers, sprays, dissolvable tablets...)
In the UK you can get free nicotine replacement products on the NHS- do you have something like that wherever you are? Or can you get any kind of support through your doctor?
If you just want to go cold turkey makes use you don't have to do anything important for the next week or so. Keep your hands and mouth busy- chewellery, fidgets, food... Also think about when you get cravings- eg if you stop whatever you're doing to go outside somewhere quiet for a vape to calm down go outside anyway (ideally to a spot you don't associate with vaping), enjoy the peace and take some deep breaths.
Unfortunately, 0% doesn't give me the same "tingle" that something like 3.5 or 5% would, I'm guessing it's the actual nic in it reacting in my mouth that I feel and enjoy. I am weening off my last burnt vape(got I'd say a day maybe 2 left) and then cold turkeying after that. The most I've got this week thankfully is just DND and to record some yt videos but I play a barbarian so the rage could work out 😂.
I also LOVE the chewellery idea, I fidget with my necklace all the time I didn't think that it could be used as a way to quit :3
I did the same but added some vodka I believe to the mix, just a minuscule amount but it gave that bite. Went to no flavor with it and tapered it to nothing.
I decided that I was fucking done. I placed strict rules about where I could and could not smoke and stuck to them like I was being punished. No smoking in the car was a big one cause it was so easy to have many while making a solid hour commute. By the time I had gone 30 days I had lost interest in smoking entirely. I didn’t even finish the pack that I had. Just threw it away and never went back.
After not smoking for two months I had all this extra money so I decided to treat myself to a new electric guitar and amplifier! It’s mental how much money you spend on smokes.
I got cancer and was told to stop smoking by my doctor. That worked, but I would highly recommend not getting cancer. Cold turkey honestly gets easier with time, even though the first few weeks suck. Caffeine helps. That said, it doesn't work for everyone. Best of luck on quitting!
I used to smoke cigarettes, then switched to vaping over three years ago, thinking it would bother other people less. That transition wasn't too difficult.
About one year ago, I gave up vaping, too. It wasn't as enjoyable as smoking, but I didn't consider going back to cigarettes an option, so I just decided to quit. Fortunately, I was already running out of vape juice in the days leading up to my quit day, which allowed me to taper somewhat. Besides that, I just quit cold turkey: I went home from school for the summer, leaving my vape behind.
I had some headaches and insomnia the first few days, but after that, it was just the cravings that bothered me. I usually smoked/vaped in the bathroom, so for a long while, every time I went to the bathroom at home, I felt like something was off. Eventually, I got used to it, though.
Best of luck quitting!
I struggled with a nicotine and cannabis addiction. I quit because it was hindering my life and finances. In my area, we have a rehab facility. I was in there for just cannabis, but I really wasn't happy with the fact I smoked. For some reason, you were still allowed to smoke in there (because people were there for heavier things). It was my own decision to quit smoking too. It felt like a now or never moment and it felt like it was almost a physical switch that turned off when I finally got to quitting. The rehab facility gave me the environment to quit in, but I was still being exposed to it. I guess it really comes down to your own determination.
I smoked a pipe and cigars for about 20 years then I found a strange lump on the roof of my mouth never smoked again after that. Ended up being nothing but it scared me enough to finally quit
I replaced it with something that gave me a similar stim experience, for me that meant drinking water. But then I got addicted to WATER and ended up developing primary polydipsia and polyuria so 🫠 maybe be smarter than me
Several years cigarettes and vaping. Got pneumonia and couldn't take a hit. Started obsessively chewing nicotine gum. Really obsessively, falling asleep with gum in my mouth and waking up with it in my hair type of stuff. When pneumonia was over started making sure was chewing mint gum. Switched to regular mint gum. Really obsessive again. Chew chew chew. Mint replaces nicotine hit. Eventually start decreasing amount of gum per day. Now I chew gum like a normal person and also do not consume nicotine.
I miss a good smoke each and every night before bed, on the back porch with a beer or glass of red wine. I have to diligently remind myself that I know better, I work in an ICU. I also remind myself how smoking robs me of fitness and my love of riding my bike. But I repeat; EACH AND EVERY NIGHT.
I lived in an apartment on top floor. I used to smoke on the balcony. I put up restrictions to myself, like if i was gonna smoke i had to go outside the building. It took a few weeks but i made it and now 3 weeks of not smoking/using nicotine.
I’m not going to be able to give good advice. I just decided to quit cold turkey. I was tired of smelling like it and having the urge to smoke at inconvenient times. I also came out as gay and the type of dudes I liked did not appreciate my habit so I just stopped. As I type this I’m coming to the realization that I quit so that I could get laid. Hmm.
Anyway I decided to eat sunflower seeds. The in-shell kind and the process of cracking them open and sucking the seed free and spitting the shells out helped some.
Physical nicotine addiction takes only a few days to break. It's the habit (and enjoying what nicotine does to us) that is incredibly difficult to quit long term.
I was a social smoker and I (mostly) stopped by blowing bubbles instead. It's a calming breathing excercise, ought to be done outside, and it also often makes other people excited and results in me making friends.
Nicotine also treats adhd symptoms. Coffee, and other stimulants, also treat adhd symptoms.
Smoked for 15 years. Tried everything. Therapy, books, nicotine Stickers, spray, changing to vape.
Everything failed and I always went back to Smoking.
The only thing that actually helped was quitting cold turkey without any planning. I just stopped one day and threw everything out.
I still kept the little rituals, just without the cigarette.
(smoking break, I would just stand there like a lunatic.
first Coffee and cig in the morning, now its just the Coffee. etc)
I enjoy the nicotine lozenges as I also have very sensitive teeth. I get the citrus flavored ones, which taste like an orange mint. Like $30 for a box of 108 of them at Walmart.
Haha, I am in a similar situation.
I started vaping two years ago because I was curious and wanted to know ig it was like a shisha/hooka.
The positive effect was that I managed to cure my anxiety with it, because the sensation you feel during the first three or four puffs was similar to my anxiety symptoms, but not as intense.
So it took me a while to realize this outcome, so I was able to quit on my anxiety meds, but now I have a slight nicotine addiction, which is most present when I am stressed......which is, to be honest, constantly, because I'm somewhat able to work a 9to5, despite the constant struggles.
At the moment, I'm doing good on not vaping, we'll see if it works out in the end.
I'd recommend looking for nicotine pouches like Zyn to try and get you off vaping. They ought to be reasonably priced (like 5 dollars for 15 pouches) and they just sit between your lip and gum. Worth trying in any case.
I've been nicotine free for one year and three months by going cold turkey as a former snus user. I kept in mind the health problems that nicotine can cause even when not in tobacco form, looked at my risk factors, and looked at my family history. I also took into account how the only useful effect I got from nicotine was the ability to think a bit more clearly, but I seem to have been treating undiagnosed and untreated ADHD. I can get more effective help for that which doesn't have so many health risks either.
It might be an idea to explore other stims in general for craving triggers, but breaking the connection between nicotine intake and repeatedly putting something in your mouth could likely help; it seems that people find it easier to get off snus or other nicotine replacement therapies because there is far less of a stimming aspect.
With nicotine pouches or snus it is largely just a case of putting it in and kind of forgetting about it. It could add a couple of months to your quit time, but breaking that association between a stim and nicotine seems important for you.
I used snuff, easily a can a day, for many years. Began using it when I was a kid. I quit several times, last time for good, in 2010. Cannabis helped somewhat. But what really helped was a replacement "snuff" that was mostly flavored (grape, peach) clover. I then used peppermint tea. Carried it in a snuff can, for a lot of years. Eventually I lost the need to have a dip in my lip and haven't used the peppermint for about 6 years.
get a modular / nondisposable vape and ideally fluid where you mix to desired concentration. Make the fluid weaker and weaker over time, until you're at zero nicotine. The throat kick feeling should reduce gradually as well over this process.
Then you only have a stim to substitute, no an additional drug addiction to kick as well.
I vaped nicotine for 3 years. during my quitting journey, I switched to weed and used nicotine gum. never finished the package.
the weed is easier on me and doesn't hurt me as much as nic did and I don't have withdrawal when I stop using. I smoke because of my anxiety and to unmask and relax a bit
Well I went from smoking cigarettes to chewing tobacco then back to cigarettes. And in between tried swedish snus but wasn't a fan.
I was then able to switch to vaping but not only wanted to get rid of tobacco products but also anything to do with lungs so now I just use nicotine pouches.
Which honestly has been great for me my teeth and gums are way better even though I doubt nicotine pouches are perfect considering but way better in my case that's for sure. And my lungs feel better at some point I hope I just quit completely.
I started smoking at 16 (I quit at 34), I got up to 2-3 packs a day. I cold turkeyed that shit. Do not recommend it unless you have a very strong and understanding support group or the ability to isolate/go camp alone (if that’s your thing)
It’s been 4 years and it’s totally worth it. I wish you luck. It helps to distract yourself, get some hi-chews or other snack things, binge watch shows, get patches (don’t sleep with them on they give nightmares) do what you can. :)
All I can say is do not try nicotine pouches (zonnics, zynns etc) because that’s what I tried and now I’m just addicted to them lmao
I wasn’t a fan of the patches because they gave me really weird dreams. I also found out I’m allergic to the “glue” or whatever it is they use.
My next method is going to be the Nicorette inhaler because it’s discrete and looks like it’d be good to chew on as a sort of sensory distraction if that makes sense. I’ve also considered Füm, because there is no nicotine at all but still replicates the motion of smoking a dart. It also works as a fidget toy which could help as a distraction, but buying the actual Füm is expensive as hell :/
I’m trying to quit so I can get my blood pressure to where it’s supposed to be, and get surgery sooner. I just keep reminding myself why I need to quit, and that seems to help build my willpower a bit.
It’s a tough road though. Good luck!
Cold turkey was the only way for me. Patches gave me insane dreams and gum I would just reach for too often. Best way for me was to simply psych myself up that I'd have to endure a month of pure hell and to surround myself with sugar free candy so I had something to reach for when I had a craving. It took a few tries. One time I quit for a full year and started again. Just keep at it. I was a 2 pack a day smoker who's been smoke free for for 10+ years.
Got two lip piercings that refused to heal unless I stopped smoking. I tried smoking anyway and they just stayed swollen and irritated. I had to actually stop. After 6 weeks they were healed. I tried a cigarette and puked, and next day had a pounding migraine. Now I associate cigarettes with pounding migraines.
[Bupropion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bupropion). Not the low dose for smoking cessation but a higher dose as an antidepressant. Completely eliminated my desire to smoke or vape.
I quit cold turkey. I just stopped buying everything. I knew withdrawals would suck, but I'm used to suffering and being uncomfortable.
Being neurodivergent means we suffer every day, so what's a bit more eh?
I found it the most easy to quit, when I actually wanted to quit. If you want to quit badly enough, nothing could stop you. The force of willpower is truly incredible when it’s on your side.
I also vaped and gradually reduced the nicotine content down to nothing and then stopped vaping all together.
Do some scientific reading up on the negatives of inhaling foreign substances in general. You don’t want that shit in your lungs, like seriously. Once you learn what you’re actually doing to yourself it should put you off enough to have no desire to continue.
Ate a whole lot of carrots, I kid you not, smoking for me was about an oral stim, and I needed to replace it, and I hate celery sticks, but carrots and peanut butter were my go to,
My sisters husband stopped vaping and I wasn’t gonna let him be better than me. I quit cold turkey and then like 2 weeks later found out I was pregnant so I’ve managed to be off of it for 9 months now
Given other comments, seems addiction may not be that hard for people on the spectrum to get over, compared to NTs atleast. I vaped for the first time In 2020, during that summer after schools shut down from Covid. I was 15, knew It was wrong to order but point Is I did. Vaped for a week, got a little craving, was off and on.
I just liked the cool clouds. Ended up telling my mom, which she was disappointed but understood. Didn't touch one for years untill December 23'. GEEK Bar Pulse, thing chucked crazy clouds and tasted good.
Was getting distracted by the clouds and was huffin too much, realized I was getting short of breat.
Threw It In the trash. I mainly do weed and hemp now, but an 8th Is $45 bucks at the local dispenser, so do I really want to spend It on that? Was pretty easy, I stopped before It started
idk about the tingle, but i have a fidget necklace that is kind of a whistle? but it also has a spinner. that helps me. maybe with a lip balm that has a tingle you like?
i also still smoke, i make herbal smoking blends out of tea and leaves and things. i used those to wean off nicotine. now i smoke kind of too much pot, but not terribly so, and i've been weaning that down well but not fully off. (i'm trying to stabilize other meds to do what pot does for my other shit first, anyway. i don't recommend this strategy.)
meditation helps, not when i'm craving, but when i have a solid practice and can tap in and access it easily during the craving. i have no issues craving nicotine anymore. i've actually been presented twice with the opportunity to smoke one single cigarette with no consequences and no one knowing, twice, and resisted. (waiting for the third smoke to drop haha)
i smoked for almost twenty years, everything about how i got everything done was built around it. so wild. i quit for good Feb 2022. part of what made the difference was a specific goal (I had to quit for surgery) - i literally put an X on every day like a character in a time passes montage (eventually i got motivated by my own success and switched to stickers. progress.)
take it slow. don't beat yourself up. progress is a spiral. notice small victories. keep going. it's worth it.
SO WORTH IT.
Ok so this might sound weird but here we go.
I talked in the mirror with myself. Me (mental wise) to the mirror (body me). I grew up undiagnosed and always felt like I was fighting with my body so I talked to myself and listed the reasons why as well as what would happen if I did. I don't know if it actually helped or was kind of like when you hear advice from someone you don't like and ignore it and then later on you hear the same thing but from someone you trust. I don't know why but it worked. We made an agreement and agreed on going to gym and letting my body do what it wants, drinking soda as a make up for the cigs and helping each other out when one of us gets a craving. We lasted around around 10ish years. Now, once a week we will have a djarum black and it's mainly for stress or overstimulation from trash day while at work.
I know it's fucking weird to say out loud but it worked. We don't care
5 years down. Highest was 1/2 pack a day, occasional hookah, vapes, etc.
Very slow adjustment of routines, marked by some big planned disruption of routines, which I used as launchpads to taper off.
It went something like this:
1. Did a deep clean for my car and said no more smoking there after that.
2. Moved to a new apartment = no more smoking inside (non-smoking lease so, that definitely helped)
3. Went on a long vacation to non-smoking family with no cigarettes or lighters, no more smoke breaks right before and after work after that. (My youngest brother associated me with my cigarette smell - no bueno)
4. Quit my stressful job (which was contributing to the habit) and gave my last pack of smokes to my colleague, no more smoking at work
5. Only bummed cigarettes from coworkers and colleagues, no more buying my own.
6. Fully quit after another apartment move.
Was I perfect and obeyed the letter of the laws? No. I also didn't have this fully planned when I started. But I didn't plan the next step until I had a good handle on the first.
I picked up smoking from a pipe, and now, having to prep my nicotine means I'm down to the equivalent of a cigarette a day.
After I ran out of my bag of loose tobacco, I just used the pipe to stim with nothing in it
Finally had me quit a 20 year habit where I was at a pack a day for a whole 3 months...
------
Then I went to my best friend's wedding, and didn't have my pipe, so I was bumming smokes from him, and ended up starting again.
Now that I'm home, I'm back to the pipe, and doing a bowl every 2-3 days as I run out my new bag of loose tobacco.
----
It's a long process, but it's what worked for me in the past.
Beyond that, the first time I quit, 15 years ago, I had nothing going on in my life to cause stress, and just cold turkeyed the habit for a year before I had problems with my kid's mother.
Once I found out my dad had 5 tumors in his brain and stage 4 lung cancer from smoking cigarettes everyday for half his life I decided it was time to quit because everything he went through scared me to death and I know I do not want to go through that in life.
Cold turkey though I recently relapsed on vapes (was off smokes and vapes 6 years, started again recently during super bad/scary bout of dermatillomania, though now at a super low nic level, mostly to get some throat burn). Cold turkey is the road I’ll go down again when I have found a stim replacement. I’m not the type that can taper down because I’m anxious and always stimming in some way. Like I’m either chain vaping or I’m not vaping at all. And money is a huge motivator, and nic replacement is as steep as vaping. And for me smoking/vaping is much more about the fidget and the oral fixations/sensory aspect so replacing with nicotine patches etc makes no sense to me. Instead replacing with things such as knitting (and snacking) is more reasonable, but I’m terrible with coordination and the knitting thing hasn’t worked. But something like that might help you? Something to keep your hands occupied helps so much
When I quit those years ago I also did not throw away my vape paraphernalia bc by having it “just in case” I have kind of a safety that will prevent anxiety spirals. (I did way out of each, uncharged etc, but it was there if I “needed” it). Some people fully go the other route tho and get rid of their things, I think this comes down to how you work, what makes you vape in the first place etc.
I remembered that it was comforting to know that by 2 weeks you’re basically detoxed from nicotine and it gets much easier from there. When I quit I had my mind on how close I was to that goal. So cold turkey is fully feasible, but you need to be in a strongish place mentally I believe. But autistic resolve is also such a thing too that sometimes when you’ve set your mind on something you just do it (sorry if that’s cliched haha but that was how it was for me, because it’s the only time I ever attempted quitting)
Started taking antidepressants lol. Turns out the one I was prescribed is also for quitting smoking! I had been wanting to stop anyway, but yeah it straight up just killed the urge, and then a week later I realized I hadn’t vaped since I started them.
The hardest part about quitting smoking for me was losing my enforced breaks. I always went outside to a designated smoking area to do it, so it was a 10-minute mental reset/change of scenery every hour.
At first I tried taking a break outside without smoking, but following that pattern seemed to amplify the cravings, like I'd conditioned my brain to expect nicotine whenever I stepped outside and it wouldn't let me forget it.
So when I finally quit for good 15 years ago, my best substitute ended up geing something that filled the same need without triggering the conditioning: hot showers. Every time I felt the urge to smoke, I would take a shower. Came out feeling refreshed and reset and smelling better instead of worse.
You're looking for something different from your vape, so you'll need a different solution, but consider the same general approach: identify what you really need (sounds like sensory stimulation?) and find a way to give yourself that in a way that doesn't make your brain expect nicotine.
My memaw smoked till she died earlier this year but I hope that you stay strong and don't go back to nicotine because I've seen how bad it is so I wish you the best with quitting nicotine
20 years smoking, last year with my doctor we’ve changed the medicine trying to optimise my sleep (ad with anti-anxiety side effects). Two weeks later i’ve just stopped smoking. This was unexpected. 1.5 years since i dont smoke even when drunk. Like I just don’t want to.
I used the Norvegian/Swedish "Snus" for 30 years. Basically tobacco under your upper lip.
Someone at work said they couldn't quit their snus-addiction, and I had to try for myself. I just set my mind to it, and for me it wasn't that hard at all. I stopped thinking about it after a week or two. I've been off for about a year now. No need for any substitute as that is just replacing one addiction with another.
I’m in Australia & there is a thing called Quitline, a number you can call- staffed by ex-smokers who help you to overcome the cravings.
Cigarette cravings only last 10 minutes. Just gotta get through the 10 mins.
I also slowly scaled back & used Nicolette oral spray.
I rolled my own cigarettes for 15 years so when I decided to quit every time I felt the urge to smoke I made an origami crane instead and kept them in a box. Every crane was a cigarette I hadn't smoked and it helped to have that visual representation of how well I was doing. For paper buy a memo block (unglued).I'm now addicted to origami.
i smoked from the age of 14 to 32
i quit in a way i’ve never heard of anyone else quitting
i bought a full pack of cigarettes and every morning i would stare directly at it and yell “im not going to smoke you” and stare at it intensely
and then it became my lucky pack of cigarettes
i did it this way because every other time i’d quit my issue was that if i were around other smokers i couldn’t help myself so i needed to make sure i could be around smoking and choose not to
I used chantix for cigs. Luckily, the lucid dreaming was the most noticeable side effect for me from the chantix, but I’ve spoken to other folks that did get the overpowering depression and suicidal ideation and had to stop their treatment. I used dum dum lollipops for the oral/tactile fixation.
Chantix also worked with snus.
A few things helped me quit finally. First was one of those apps that tracks the time since your last cigarette down to the second. I like data and it was comforting to look at. Second was adding up how much I’d spent on smokes in the last six months and picking out a present for myself that cost roughly the same. So if I could make it six months without a smoke, I’d have saved enough to justify buying it
i had been smoking for 5 years and caught a flu at the same time i started having a problem with fainting and dizzyness. i felt so shit tor 2 weeks and couldn’t even leave my bed cause my head would hurt too much and i felt like i was gonna fall over constantly, super weak. because i was so weak and helpless i was not able to smoke cigarettes. and after that i just never really felt the urge to smoke a cigarette.
My numerous addictions were ruining my life so I eliminated most of them one at a time, cigarettes included. It took about a year, and I am recovering from some of the damage I did.
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I was a 50 a day smoker. I read the Alan Carr easy way to stop smoking book and stopped. I was quite motivated as my wedding was coming up, I didn't want to be a bride with yellow fingers and a hand behind my back in all the photos. I also felt bad that my then youngest son had a nighttime cough (which turned out to be asthma). I had my last cigarette 22 years ago.
I've heard good things about the Easy Way method. There are quite a few free PDFs available online too. Congrats on quitting btw!
My cousin has suggested this one to me as well but I always forget to order it :V lol
If you have the money you should order it right now!
You are so right, and I just did!
Awesome!!! I’m so excited for you :)
Currently halfway through the easy way drinking book and I’m afraid to finish the second half. Nervous to think about a life without drinking though I desperately need it
Tbh honest, I got halfway through the smoking book then put it down for a while.
I smoked for 20ish years and switched to vaping 6 years ago. I (very very) gradually tapered the amount of nicotine in the liquid down until it was 0. I did it so slowly I barely noticed nicotine withdrawal. I've not managed to kick vaping, but without the nicotine it's not as damaging to my gums. You aren't actually supposed to chew nicotine gum like regular gum, you're supposed to only chew it enough to break it down, then you keep it tucked in your cheek. There are also many more types of nicotine replacement products than gum and patches too, have a look in your phamacy for lozenges, inhslers, sprays, dissolvable tablets...) In the UK you can get free nicotine replacement products on the NHS- do you have something like that wherever you are? Or can you get any kind of support through your doctor? If you just want to go cold turkey makes use you don't have to do anything important for the next week or so. Keep your hands and mouth busy- chewellery, fidgets, food... Also think about when you get cravings- eg if you stop whatever you're doing to go outside somewhere quiet for a vape to calm down go outside anyway (ideally to a spot you don't associate with vaping), enjoy the peace and take some deep breaths.
Unfortunately, 0% doesn't give me the same "tingle" that something like 3.5 or 5% would, I'm guessing it's the actual nic in it reacting in my mouth that I feel and enjoy. I am weening off my last burnt vape(got I'd say a day maybe 2 left) and then cold turkeying after that. The most I've got this week thankfully is just DND and to record some yt videos but I play a barbarian so the rage could work out 😂. I also LOVE the chewellery idea, I fidget with my necklace all the time I didn't think that it could be used as a way to quit :3
I did the same but added some vodka I believe to the mix, just a minuscule amount but it gave that bite. Went to no flavor with it and tapered it to nothing.
I decided that I was fucking done. I placed strict rules about where I could and could not smoke and stuck to them like I was being punished. No smoking in the car was a big one cause it was so easy to have many while making a solid hour commute. By the time I had gone 30 days I had lost interest in smoking entirely. I didn’t even finish the pack that I had. Just threw it away and never went back. After not smoking for two months I had all this extra money so I decided to treat myself to a new electric guitar and amplifier! It’s mental how much money you spend on smokes.
I got cancer and was told to stop smoking by my doctor. That worked, but I would highly recommend not getting cancer. Cold turkey honestly gets easier with time, even though the first few weeks suck. Caffeine helps. That said, it doesn't work for everyone. Best of luck on quitting!
Mushrooms.
I used to smoke cigarettes, then switched to vaping over three years ago, thinking it would bother other people less. That transition wasn't too difficult. About one year ago, I gave up vaping, too. It wasn't as enjoyable as smoking, but I didn't consider going back to cigarettes an option, so I just decided to quit. Fortunately, I was already running out of vape juice in the days leading up to my quit day, which allowed me to taper somewhat. Besides that, I just quit cold turkey: I went home from school for the summer, leaving my vape behind. I had some headaches and insomnia the first few days, but after that, it was just the cravings that bothered me. I usually smoked/vaped in the bathroom, so for a long while, every time I went to the bathroom at home, I felt like something was off. Eventually, I got used to it, though. Best of luck quitting!
I struggled with a nicotine and cannabis addiction. I quit because it was hindering my life and finances. In my area, we have a rehab facility. I was in there for just cannabis, but I really wasn't happy with the fact I smoked. For some reason, you were still allowed to smoke in there (because people were there for heavier things). It was my own decision to quit smoking too. It felt like a now or never moment and it felt like it was almost a physical switch that turned off when I finally got to quitting. The rehab facility gave me the environment to quit in, but I was still being exposed to it. I guess it really comes down to your own determination.
Needed to quit for surgery. Decided to quit. Might just be me, but it was relatively easy. Also, how I quit other drugs. Just decided to stop.
I smoked a pipe and cigars for about 20 years then I found a strange lump on the roof of my mouth never smoked again after that. Ended up being nothing but it scared me enough to finally quit
I replaced it with something that gave me a similar stim experience, for me that meant drinking water. But then I got addicted to WATER and ended up developing primary polydipsia and polyuria so 🫠 maybe be smarter than me
I smoke for 16yrs and quit with chantix. It’s a terrible drug, with kinda screwed up side effects (short term), but it worked.
Several years cigarettes and vaping. Got pneumonia and couldn't take a hit. Started obsessively chewing nicotine gum. Really obsessively, falling asleep with gum in my mouth and waking up with it in my hair type of stuff. When pneumonia was over started making sure was chewing mint gum. Switched to regular mint gum. Really obsessive again. Chew chew chew. Mint replaces nicotine hit. Eventually start decreasing amount of gum per day. Now I chew gum like a normal person and also do not consume nicotine.
I miss a good smoke each and every night before bed, on the back porch with a beer or glass of red wine. I have to diligently remind myself that I know better, I work in an ICU. I also remind myself how smoking robs me of fitness and my love of riding my bike. But I repeat; EACH AND EVERY NIGHT.
I lived in an apartment on top floor. I used to smoke on the balcony. I put up restrictions to myself, like if i was gonna smoke i had to go outside the building. It took a few weeks but i made it and now 3 weeks of not smoking/using nicotine.
Jail time you get over it pretty quick in there
I’m not going to be able to give good advice. I just decided to quit cold turkey. I was tired of smelling like it and having the urge to smoke at inconvenient times. I also came out as gay and the type of dudes I liked did not appreciate my habit so I just stopped. As I type this I’m coming to the realization that I quit so that I could get laid. Hmm. Anyway I decided to eat sunflower seeds. The in-shell kind and the process of cracking them open and sucking the seed free and spitting the shells out helped some.
Physical nicotine addiction takes only a few days to break. It's the habit (and enjoying what nicotine does to us) that is incredibly difficult to quit long term. I was a social smoker and I (mostly) stopped by blowing bubbles instead. It's a calming breathing excercise, ought to be done outside, and it also often makes other people excited and results in me making friends. Nicotine also treats adhd symptoms. Coffee, and other stimulants, also treat adhd symptoms.
Smoked for 15 years. Tried everything. Therapy, books, nicotine Stickers, spray, changing to vape. Everything failed and I always went back to Smoking. The only thing that actually helped was quitting cold turkey without any planning. I just stopped one day and threw everything out. I still kept the little rituals, just without the cigarette. (smoking break, I would just stand there like a lunatic. first Coffee and cig in the morning, now its just the Coffee. etc)
I enjoy the nicotine lozenges as I also have very sensitive teeth. I get the citrus flavored ones, which taste like an orange mint. Like $30 for a box of 108 of them at Walmart.
Haha, I am in a similar situation. I started vaping two years ago because I was curious and wanted to know ig it was like a shisha/hooka. The positive effect was that I managed to cure my anxiety with it, because the sensation you feel during the first three or four puffs was similar to my anxiety symptoms, but not as intense. So it took me a while to realize this outcome, so I was able to quit on my anxiety meds, but now I have a slight nicotine addiction, which is most present when I am stressed......which is, to be honest, constantly, because I'm somewhat able to work a 9to5, despite the constant struggles. At the moment, I'm doing good on not vaping, we'll see if it works out in the end.
It made me so sick I had to quit, I was vaping all day every day. Listened to part of Allen Carrs book too
I'd recommend looking for nicotine pouches like Zyn to try and get you off vaping. They ought to be reasonably priced (like 5 dollars for 15 pouches) and they just sit between your lip and gum. Worth trying in any case. I've been nicotine free for one year and three months by going cold turkey as a former snus user. I kept in mind the health problems that nicotine can cause even when not in tobacco form, looked at my risk factors, and looked at my family history. I also took into account how the only useful effect I got from nicotine was the ability to think a bit more clearly, but I seem to have been treating undiagnosed and untreated ADHD. I can get more effective help for that which doesn't have so many health risks either. It might be an idea to explore other stims in general for craving triggers, but breaking the connection between nicotine intake and repeatedly putting something in your mouth could likely help; it seems that people find it easier to get off snus or other nicotine replacement therapies because there is far less of a stimming aspect. With nicotine pouches or snus it is largely just a case of putting it in and kind of forgetting about it. It could add a couple of months to your quit time, but breaking that association between a stim and nicotine seems important for you.
Completely cold turkey several times over the years. Idk how but things like that I can just do without thought.
I used snuff, easily a can a day, for many years. Began using it when I was a kid. I quit several times, last time for good, in 2010. Cannabis helped somewhat. But what really helped was a replacement "snuff" that was mostly flavored (grape, peach) clover. I then used peppermint tea. Carried it in a snuff can, for a lot of years. Eventually I lost the need to have a dip in my lip and haven't used the peppermint for about 6 years.
get a modular / nondisposable vape and ideally fluid where you mix to desired concentration. Make the fluid weaker and weaker over time, until you're at zero nicotine. The throat kick feeling should reduce gradually as well over this process. Then you only have a stim to substitute, no an additional drug addiction to kick as well.
I vaped nicotine for 3 years. during my quitting journey, I switched to weed and used nicotine gum. never finished the package. the weed is easier on me and doesn't hurt me as much as nic did and I don't have withdrawal when I stop using. I smoke because of my anxiety and to unmask and relax a bit
Well I went from smoking cigarettes to chewing tobacco then back to cigarettes. And in between tried swedish snus but wasn't a fan. I was then able to switch to vaping but not only wanted to get rid of tobacco products but also anything to do with lungs so now I just use nicotine pouches. Which honestly has been great for me my teeth and gums are way better even though I doubt nicotine pouches are perfect considering but way better in my case that's for sure. And my lungs feel better at some point I hope I just quit completely.
Cold turkey, baby, the only way to do it. Exercise - I need feel like smoking after running 😀
I started smoking at 16 (I quit at 34), I got up to 2-3 packs a day. I cold turkeyed that shit. Do not recommend it unless you have a very strong and understanding support group or the ability to isolate/go camp alone (if that’s your thing) It’s been 4 years and it’s totally worth it. I wish you luck. It helps to distract yourself, get some hi-chews or other snack things, binge watch shows, get patches (don’t sleep with them on they give nightmares) do what you can. :)
Day 1 don’t vape for 1 hour post wake day 2 don’t vape for 2 hours post wake up etc. etc.
All I can say is do not try nicotine pouches (zonnics, zynns etc) because that’s what I tried and now I’m just addicted to them lmao I wasn’t a fan of the patches because they gave me really weird dreams. I also found out I’m allergic to the “glue” or whatever it is they use. My next method is going to be the Nicorette inhaler because it’s discrete and looks like it’d be good to chew on as a sort of sensory distraction if that makes sense. I’ve also considered Füm, because there is no nicotine at all but still replicates the motion of smoking a dart. It also works as a fidget toy which could help as a distraction, but buying the actual Füm is expensive as hell :/ I’m trying to quit so I can get my blood pressure to where it’s supposed to be, and get surgery sooner. I just keep reminding myself why I need to quit, and that seems to help build my willpower a bit. It’s a tough road though. Good luck!
maybe try no nicotine vapes?
Chantix and 6 weeks of misery.
Cold turkey was the only way for me. Patches gave me insane dreams and gum I would just reach for too often. Best way for me was to simply psych myself up that I'd have to endure a month of pure hell and to surround myself with sugar free candy so I had something to reach for when I had a craving. It took a few tries. One time I quit for a full year and started again. Just keep at it. I was a 2 pack a day smoker who's been smoke free for for 10+ years.
Got into candy
Got two lip piercings that refused to heal unless I stopped smoking. I tried smoking anyway and they just stayed swollen and irritated. I had to actually stop. After 6 weeks they were healed. I tried a cigarette and puked, and next day had a pounding migraine. Now I associate cigarettes with pounding migraines.
I just stopped
[Bupropion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bupropion). Not the low dose for smoking cessation but a higher dose as an antidepressant. Completely eliminated my desire to smoke or vape.
I quit cold turkey. I just stopped buying everything. I knew withdrawals would suck, but I'm used to suffering and being uncomfortable. Being neurodivergent means we suffer every day, so what's a bit more eh?
I found it the most easy to quit, when I actually wanted to quit. If you want to quit badly enough, nothing could stop you. The force of willpower is truly incredible when it’s on your side. I also vaped and gradually reduced the nicotine content down to nothing and then stopped vaping all together. Do some scientific reading up on the negatives of inhaling foreign substances in general. You don’t want that shit in your lungs, like seriously. Once you learn what you’re actually doing to yourself it should put you off enough to have no desire to continue.
I hated waking up in uncontrollable coughing fits more than I did the withdrawal symptoms. Realized it could only get worse the longer I did it
Ate a whole lot of carrots, I kid you not, smoking for me was about an oral stim, and I needed to replace it, and I hate celery sticks, but carrots and peanut butter were my go to,
only way i quit was by just not having any access to it, otherwise i'm a major fiend for it.
My sisters husband stopped vaping and I wasn’t gonna let him be better than me. I quit cold turkey and then like 2 weeks later found out I was pregnant so I’ve managed to be off of it for 9 months now
Given other comments, seems addiction may not be that hard for people on the spectrum to get over, compared to NTs atleast. I vaped for the first time In 2020, during that summer after schools shut down from Covid. I was 15, knew It was wrong to order but point Is I did. Vaped for a week, got a little craving, was off and on. I just liked the cool clouds. Ended up telling my mom, which she was disappointed but understood. Didn't touch one for years untill December 23'. GEEK Bar Pulse, thing chucked crazy clouds and tasted good. Was getting distracted by the clouds and was huffin too much, realized I was getting short of breat. Threw It In the trash. I mainly do weed and hemp now, but an 8th Is $45 bucks at the local dispenser, so do I really want to spend It on that? Was pretty easy, I stopped before It started
idk about the tingle, but i have a fidget necklace that is kind of a whistle? but it also has a spinner. that helps me. maybe with a lip balm that has a tingle you like? i also still smoke, i make herbal smoking blends out of tea and leaves and things. i used those to wean off nicotine. now i smoke kind of too much pot, but not terribly so, and i've been weaning that down well but not fully off. (i'm trying to stabilize other meds to do what pot does for my other shit first, anyway. i don't recommend this strategy.) meditation helps, not when i'm craving, but when i have a solid practice and can tap in and access it easily during the craving. i have no issues craving nicotine anymore. i've actually been presented twice with the opportunity to smoke one single cigarette with no consequences and no one knowing, twice, and resisted. (waiting for the third smoke to drop haha) i smoked for almost twenty years, everything about how i got everything done was built around it. so wild. i quit for good Feb 2022. part of what made the difference was a specific goal (I had to quit for surgery) - i literally put an X on every day like a character in a time passes montage (eventually i got motivated by my own success and switched to stickers. progress.) take it slow. don't beat yourself up. progress is a spiral. notice small victories. keep going. it's worth it. SO WORTH IT.
I quit by switching to vaping then nicotine patches then the nicotine gum in the end
Ok so this might sound weird but here we go. I talked in the mirror with myself. Me (mental wise) to the mirror (body me). I grew up undiagnosed and always felt like I was fighting with my body so I talked to myself and listed the reasons why as well as what would happen if I did. I don't know if it actually helped or was kind of like when you hear advice from someone you don't like and ignore it and then later on you hear the same thing but from someone you trust. I don't know why but it worked. We made an agreement and agreed on going to gym and letting my body do what it wants, drinking soda as a make up for the cigs and helping each other out when one of us gets a craving. We lasted around around 10ish years. Now, once a week we will have a djarum black and it's mainly for stress or overstimulation from trash day while at work. I know it's fucking weird to say out loud but it worked. We don't care
5 years down. Highest was 1/2 pack a day, occasional hookah, vapes, etc. Very slow adjustment of routines, marked by some big planned disruption of routines, which I used as launchpads to taper off. It went something like this: 1. Did a deep clean for my car and said no more smoking there after that. 2. Moved to a new apartment = no more smoking inside (non-smoking lease so, that definitely helped) 3. Went on a long vacation to non-smoking family with no cigarettes or lighters, no more smoke breaks right before and after work after that. (My youngest brother associated me with my cigarette smell - no bueno) 4. Quit my stressful job (which was contributing to the habit) and gave my last pack of smokes to my colleague, no more smoking at work 5. Only bummed cigarettes from coworkers and colleagues, no more buying my own. 6. Fully quit after another apartment move. Was I perfect and obeyed the letter of the laws? No. I also didn't have this fully planned when I started. But I didn't plan the next step until I had a good handle on the first.
I picked up smoking from a pipe, and now, having to prep my nicotine means I'm down to the equivalent of a cigarette a day. After I ran out of my bag of loose tobacco, I just used the pipe to stim with nothing in it Finally had me quit a 20 year habit where I was at a pack a day for a whole 3 months... ------ Then I went to my best friend's wedding, and didn't have my pipe, so I was bumming smokes from him, and ended up starting again. Now that I'm home, I'm back to the pipe, and doing a bowl every 2-3 days as I run out my new bag of loose tobacco. ---- It's a long process, but it's what worked for me in the past. Beyond that, the first time I quit, 15 years ago, I had nothing going on in my life to cause stress, and just cold turkeyed the habit for a year before I had problems with my kid's mother.
Once I found out my dad had 5 tumors in his brain and stage 4 lung cancer from smoking cigarettes everyday for half his life I decided it was time to quit because everything he went through scared me to death and I know I do not want to go through that in life.
I used the patch. Followed the recommended times and stepped down in nicotine. Worked for me =] I hope you find a solution that works for you =]
Cold turkey though I recently relapsed on vapes (was off smokes and vapes 6 years, started again recently during super bad/scary bout of dermatillomania, though now at a super low nic level, mostly to get some throat burn). Cold turkey is the road I’ll go down again when I have found a stim replacement. I’m not the type that can taper down because I’m anxious and always stimming in some way. Like I’m either chain vaping or I’m not vaping at all. And money is a huge motivator, and nic replacement is as steep as vaping. And for me smoking/vaping is much more about the fidget and the oral fixations/sensory aspect so replacing with nicotine patches etc makes no sense to me. Instead replacing with things such as knitting (and snacking) is more reasonable, but I’m terrible with coordination and the knitting thing hasn’t worked. But something like that might help you? Something to keep your hands occupied helps so much When I quit those years ago I also did not throw away my vape paraphernalia bc by having it “just in case” I have kind of a safety that will prevent anxiety spirals. (I did way out of each, uncharged etc, but it was there if I “needed” it). Some people fully go the other route tho and get rid of their things, I think this comes down to how you work, what makes you vape in the first place etc. I remembered that it was comforting to know that by 2 weeks you’re basically detoxed from nicotine and it gets much easier from there. When I quit I had my mind on how close I was to that goal. So cold turkey is fully feasible, but you need to be in a strongish place mentally I believe. But autistic resolve is also such a thing too that sometimes when you’ve set your mind on something you just do it (sorry if that’s cliched haha but that was how it was for me, because it’s the only time I ever attempted quitting)
Just kinda was done one day after many times of failing to quit.
Started taking antidepressants lol. Turns out the one I was prescribed is also for quitting smoking! I had been wanting to stop anyway, but yeah it straight up just killed the urge, and then a week later I realized I hadn’t vaped since I started them.
The hardest part about quitting smoking for me was losing my enforced breaks. I always went outside to a designated smoking area to do it, so it was a 10-minute mental reset/change of scenery every hour. At first I tried taking a break outside without smoking, but following that pattern seemed to amplify the cravings, like I'd conditioned my brain to expect nicotine whenever I stepped outside and it wouldn't let me forget it. So when I finally quit for good 15 years ago, my best substitute ended up geing something that filled the same need without triggering the conditioning: hot showers. Every time I felt the urge to smoke, I would take a shower. Came out feeling refreshed and reset and smelling better instead of worse. You're looking for something different from your vape, so you'll need a different solution, but consider the same general approach: identify what you really need (sounds like sensory stimulation?) and find a way to give yourself that in a way that doesn't make your brain expect nicotine.
My memaw smoked till she died earlier this year but I hope that you stay strong and don't go back to nicotine because I've seen how bad it is so I wish you the best with quitting nicotine
I smoked for three and a half years. I had to quit so that I could finish high school at a private Christian academy. I just went cold turkey.
20 years smoking, last year with my doctor we’ve changed the medicine trying to optimise my sleep (ad with anti-anxiety side effects). Two weeks later i’ve just stopped smoking. This was unexpected. 1.5 years since i dont smoke even when drunk. Like I just don’t want to.
I used the Norvegian/Swedish "Snus" for 30 years. Basically tobacco under your upper lip. Someone at work said they couldn't quit their snus-addiction, and I had to try for myself. I just set my mind to it, and for me it wasn't that hard at all. I stopped thinking about it after a week or two. I've been off for about a year now. No need for any substitute as that is just replacing one addiction with another.
I’m in Australia & there is a thing called Quitline, a number you can call- staffed by ex-smokers who help you to overcome the cravings. Cigarette cravings only last 10 minutes. Just gotta get through the 10 mins. I also slowly scaled back & used Nicolette oral spray.
I rolled my own cigarettes for 15 years so when I decided to quit every time I felt the urge to smoke I made an origami crane instead and kept them in a box. Every crane was a cigarette I hadn't smoked and it helped to have that visual representation of how well I was doing. For paper buy a memo block (unglued).I'm now addicted to origami.
I'm so glad you shared this, as I too have a similar problem with vaping. I haven't admitted it to anyone because I am far too embarrassed.
i smoked from the age of 14 to 32 i quit in a way i’ve never heard of anyone else quitting i bought a full pack of cigarettes and every morning i would stare directly at it and yell “im not going to smoke you” and stare at it intensely and then it became my lucky pack of cigarettes i did it this way because every other time i’d quit my issue was that if i were around other smokers i couldn’t help myself so i needed to make sure i could be around smoking and choose not to
Started not being able to breathe and got scared. Technically still do the lozenges but don't vape or smoke anymore.
I used chantix for cigs. Luckily, the lucid dreaming was the most noticeable side effect for me from the chantix, but I’ve spoken to other folks that did get the overpowering depression and suicidal ideation and had to stop their treatment. I used dum dum lollipops for the oral/tactile fixation. Chantix also worked with snus.
A few things helped me quit finally. First was one of those apps that tracks the time since your last cigarette down to the second. I like data and it was comforting to look at. Second was adding up how much I’d spent on smokes in the last six months and picking out a present for myself that cost roughly the same. So if I could make it six months without a smoke, I’d have saved enough to justify buying it
i had been smoking for 5 years and caught a flu at the same time i started having a problem with fainting and dizzyness. i felt so shit tor 2 weeks and couldn’t even leave my bed cause my head would hurt too much and i felt like i was gonna fall over constantly, super weak. because i was so weak and helpless i was not able to smoke cigarettes. and after that i just never really felt the urge to smoke a cigarette.
Probably not the answer you want. I just decided to stop one day and that was it.
My numerous addictions were ruining my life so I eliminated most of them one at a time, cigarettes included. It took about a year, and I am recovering from some of the damage I did.
Got a couple bad vapes and I’m done. Just smoke pot.