Reposted: <i>The Easy Way to Stop Smoking</i>

Reposted: The Easy Way to Stop Smoking

Some people are asking me how I quit. I posted this before, but it won't hurt to post it again.

I picked up a book back in October called The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, by Alan Carr.

I had quit smoking a couple of years ago, going on to the e-cig, but I remained addicted to nicotine, and in fact could not imagine really ever going off nicotine.

Someone recommended this Easy Way book to me and I read it because I didn't have anything else going on.

It's actually pretty darn good, as this reconsideration of the book acknowledges.

I don't read many -- any -- Self-Help books so maybe this book had a bunch of tricks to play on me for which I had no defenses. Maybe I'm an easy score, given that I'm unfamiliar with self-help books' techniques generally.

And maybe I found it easy to quit smoking this time because I was especially motivated.

Basically I was feeling like crap every single day of my life and decided that I would not go on like that any longer -- it was time for some changes.

But even so, I think the book is pretty good. It's very repetitive, but in that repetition, it drills into you an important message:

You don't need to smoke. You didn't "need" to smoke before you started smoking. And you don't even really like smoking, do you? Think about it: Do you really like feeling hot smoke moving through your sinuses and lungs? Do you really like that feeling nicotine dependency gives you, of constantly being in mild drug withdrawal, with those withdraw symptoms only really absent from your life for the duration of the cigarette you're currently smoking? (The withdrawal symptoms, the craving, begins anew about 10 minutes after you finish your cigarette, and become urgent 45 minutes to an hour afterwards.)

The book addresses the psychological roots of nicotine addiction. The actual biological hook of nicotine addiction isn't really all that powerful, compared to truly addicting drugs like heroin, coke, or alcohol.

No, it's really the psychological story that you the addict are telling yourself about the cigarette, and why you need it so much, and why smoking that next cigarette will make you Feel Good and why you Deserve That Cigarette, after all.

Reading the book, I eventually became not just convinced of the need to break the nicotine dependency, but actually enthusiastic about doing so. Just like Carr said I would.

It's now been about a month since I kicked smoking. I did not follow Carr's advice completely -- I didn't go cold turkey as he insists, but instead used the patch, nicorette gum, and an e-cig as nicotine replacement therapy to get me off actual cigarettes.

And I'm still not completely off nicotine, but I'm almost all the way off of it. I'm not on the patch anymore, I don't use the e-cig anymore, and I chew one or two pieces of Step 2 nicorette when I really have the urge per day.

But a month on and I'm not smoking and only having one or two mild doses of nicotine per day, if that. So, I'm not quite free of nicotine yet, but I'm not really addicted anymore, either.

I'd really recommend the book. I don't know what it is about it.

I guess that most of what it says is obvious, if you bothered to think about it,, but as an addict, you are deliberately avoiding thinking about the basis of your addiction, so it's helpful to have someone else state the obvious to your face.

The book, by the way, stays away from the scary stuff about smoking, almost entirely. There are no pictures of diseased lungs or gums or that sort of thing. The author's notion is that making someone nervous immediately makes them reach for a cigarette so discussing the dire health effects of smoking is actually counterproductive.

Instead he sticks to a softer approach -- won't you be happier when you don't have to to worry about only having three cigarettes left?

Obvious stuff, but I found it helpful. If you're still smoking, or you know a smoker, I'd spend the $7 to $10 for the book.

Update: I'm mostly nicotine free now. I usually go weeks without any Nicorette at all. Occasionally, when I'm tired, I'll have a piece, but never more than one in a day.

You owe it to yourselves to quit. And not just "try;" let's face it, "try" is how people announce "I intend to fail at this, and not even put in much effort towards it, but I want the moral consolation of having supposedly 'tried.'"

It's really not that hard. But it is necessary that you decide that you're going to stop. Not that you'll try, but that you will.

Definitely read the book. Like any other addict, you probably get a little stressed when you think about going off the drug that has its hooks in you. But just like a junkie doesn't actually need heroin, you don't actually need tobacco, though the Junkie Centers of your brain are probably making a pretty strong case right now that you really do need Your Friend Mr. Cigarette.

But you don't. Of course you don't. Every aspect of your health, including your alertness and mental acuity, was stronger before you started smoking, and they can get back close to their Factory Default settings if you quit.

Smoking has literally made your life worse in every way, but, like most addictive drugs, it has got a little foothold in an important part of your brain getting you to convince yourselves that it's somehow "pleasurable" being sicker and weaker than you would be without the drug.

Here are some good things about not smoking:

You know how you get all stressed when you realize you're almost out of cigarettes at midnight and so you have to drive in the ice to pick up cigarettes so you'll have them for tomorrow? Yeah, non smokers don't know about that nonsense.

You know how you come into dinners and meetings late because you have to have One Last Cigarette before going inside? Yeah non smokers can just go in whenever.

You know how you get stressed even at a dinner out at friends, because you want to move away to be with your real friend, the cigarette? Yeah non smokers don't have to do that shit.

Do you have trouble waking up in the morning, at least not before you've had [x] cigarettes? Yes this pure withdrawal from the drug; non smokers do not have to through this unhealthy ordeal every morning, since they are not addicted to any drug.
I only need a half a cup of coffee or a glass of diet coke to wake up in the morning now.

I swear to God, every facet of your life will be better within in five days of quitting smoking. The three difficult days of actual quitting, then two more days. That's it. Then you start noticing things, like, "Holy shit, do my clothes smell like shit. Have I been putting that into my lungs every day?"

All the crap that you "need" cigarettes or that they're somehow "good" or a "reward" is just bullshit. It's just Junkie Logic. All a lie. Not an ounce of truth in it.

Anyway, I don't want to give the book away, but it does kind of get you pissed off at cigarettes, and makes you want to quit them, out of spite, if nothing else.

Posted by: Ace at 09:04 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 I guess from the sidebar that 'parkour' is a French word meaning 'death by idiocy?'

Posted by: Zap Rowsdower at February 24, 2015 09:07 PM (MMC8r)

2 So Ace...

...how did you quit smoking?

Posted by: SGT York at February 24, 2015 09:08 PM (IQP/f)

3 I've just been using the ecig for the past 3 or 4 years, and feel lots better than I did when I was smoking. The thing is, going from cigarettes to the ecig, there's still a withdrawal -- there's a lot more going on in a cigarette than just the nicotine. I think that's why the patch, gum, lozenges, and even the ecig have such low success rates.

Posted by: The Atom Bomb of Loving Kindness at February 24, 2015 09:09 PM (jqHOY)

4 The smoker I drink, the player I get.

Posted by: JohnnyBoy at February 24, 2015 09:10 PM (KG0mU)

5 >>>3 I've just been using the ecig for the past 3 or 4 years, and feel lots better than I did when I was smoking. The thing is, going from cigarettes to the ecig, there's still a withdrawal -- there's a lot more going on in a cigarette than just the nicotine. I think that's why the patch, gum, lozenges, and even the ecig have such low success rates.

i suppose you can stay on the ecig, but you might want to just drop all nicotine dependency altogether.

iwas on the ecig for a year, but then i relapsed into smoking.

better to just kill the addiction, i think.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:11 PM (E+pqw)

6 Quitting smoking is easy. I have done it hundreds of times.

Posted by: Samuel Clemons at February 24, 2015 09:12 PM (V70Uh)

7 I just don't know what I'd do without the comforting feel of a hot tube in my mouth.

Posted by: Barack Obama at February 24, 2015 09:13 PM (E+pqw)

8 How about just man up and quit. When I quit smoking 4 packs a day, it was economics. We lived in tobacco country and I quit when they went to 75 cents a pack! The real trick for me was to also give up the 4 pots of coffee. 40 years later, both coffee and cigarettes are still gone.

Posted by: oldgeezer at February 24, 2015 09:14 PM (+uiwA)

9 I smoke after sex. I always check.

Posted by: Sandra Flook at February 24, 2015 09:14 PM (Dwehj)

10 Congrats on your progress Ace - hope your experience is helpful to others in the horde.

Posted by: Petrus at February 24, 2015 09:14 PM (aymv2)

11 so Ace is an 'easy score'. Is that what he said?

Ewokettes will be happy to know.

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 09:14 PM (JgQLj)

12 See Barack, that's the thing. You can't go around with a wiener in your mouth.

Posted by: JohnnyBoy at February 24, 2015 09:15 PM (KG0mU)

13 I don't think you can return a jacket for 'spite'?

Posted by: Saleswoman at February 24, 2015 09:15 PM (bHra+)

14 I understand the difficulty, I have tried many times. Ace, what do you do when you work with an ass hole boss? I wanted to quit my job today, he started yelling at me about something out of my control and I yelled back. This has been going on for years. (no good jobs around here and I need to stay for the elderly dad.) The only thing that saved me was going out for a smoke.

Posted by: Infidel at February 24, 2015 09:16 PM (1000j)

15 I quit smoking very easily and effectively about 12 years ago. I did the following:

1. Got crazy-ass drunk - seriously, madly, insanely, ludicrously drunk on heroic amounts of alcohol.
2. Smoked 2+ packs of cigarettes in the process.
3. Woke up the next day with a totally bitchrod hangover that made me long for the sweet blessed release of death.

4. I couldn't even think about cigarettes for days afterward, let alone smoke one.

Bam! quit.

Posted by: some asshole at February 24, 2015 09:16 PM (eYTh3)

16 Still a smoker... have gone for months at a time without... done patches, pills, gum, inhalers-- taper off, cold turkey, light up only every-other-craving, put off the first smoke of the day.... ALL OF IT...

At the end of the day, what keeps busting me is this: Frustration, and I give up.

Nicotine welcomes me again like I was never gone, no "where the hell have you been" no excuses required-- I return to my abuser, yet again...

And hang my head in shame.

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at February 24, 2015 09:16 PM (rhjQp)

17 >>>nderstand the difficulty, I have tried many times. Ace, what do you do when you work with an ass hole boss? I wanted to quit my job today, he started yelling at me about something out of my control and I yelled back. This has been going on for years. (no good jobs around here and I need to stay for the elderly dad.) The only thing that saved me was going out for a smoke.

read the book! he has a part on stress, and he's right. i don't want to repeat it because however he did it, he succeeded in writing a book that almost works on the level of hypnosis.

as far as "going out for a smoke:"

You can go out for fresh air, too.

Posted by: Barack Obama at February 24, 2015 09:17 PM (E+pqw)

18 I am so happy to hear you quit with the help of this book. I did too, 5 years ago this coming Good Friday.

It took my lungs a year to feel sorta human again.

Posted by: just another bitter clinger at February 24, 2015 09:18 PM (+f598)

19 Ace,
Mike Hammer was accidentally banned last year & he found a way around it. Now he's double banned. He changed browser to disguise IP address. Others are doing it too.
Misanthropic Humanitarian is another.
Can you get Pixy?
Congratulations on quitting smoking!

Posted by: Carol at February 24, 2015 09:18 PM (sj3Ax)

20 >>>At the end of the day, what keeps busting me is this: Frustration, and I give up.

Nicotine welcomes me again like I was never gone, no "where the hell have you been" no excuses required-- I return to my abuser, yet again...

read the book! You seem to partly understand the problem, but you also seem convinced that cigarettes are somehow "good" and that by "giving up" on cigarettes you're making a sacrifice.

Posted by: Barack Obama at February 24, 2015 09:19 PM (E+pqw)

21 As for my own addiction, well, I've had a severe cold for over a week, and thanks to that, I haven't had any alcohol for over a week, too. I hope the trend continues.

Posted by: Null at February 24, 2015 09:19 PM (xjpRj)

22 I smoke after sex.

That's how I quit, too.

Posted by: t-bird at February 24, 2015 09:19 PM (FcR7P)

23 Weaned myself off many, many years ago when I couldn't stop coughing and would still light a cigarette. Went to pipe, so basically stopped inhaling. then stopped lighting the pipe. I did combine it with running though. Helped a lot.

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 09:19 PM (JgQLj)

24 I'm glad you quit. I quit at age 39 and today at age 52 I feel better then I did the day I quit. Just think of how much life and virility you are robbing yourself of by smoking. I've taken to doing a 20-30 rep set of "pussy" weights in curls, shoulder press, triceps extension, bench press and flies with dumbbells to regain some of my stamina and to get the blood flowing. I highly recommend that to ex-smokers. 10-20 pound dumbbells work just fine. This is more endurance training and toning then muscle building.

Posted by: OxyCon at February 24, 2015 09:19 PM (xBryS)

25 Ironic sock as Barakka hasn't been able to kick the habit.

Posted by: steevy at February 24, 2015 09:19 PM (KETbL)

26 I don't really smoke except for when I'm shitfaced drunk. So like, only two or so packs a day.

Posted by: mugiwara at February 24, 2015 09:19 PM (3a584)

27 This sounds like an interesting movie...

This is a movie review, right?

Posted by: The Unreviewed Hat at February 24, 2015 09:20 PM (0Ew3K)

28 Take off BHO sock. I'm POd at Republicans for caving & JEF for Internet. Please take it off.

Posted by: Carol at February 24, 2015 09:20 PM (sj3Ax)

29 >>You can go out for fresh air, too.

Only if both your spirits agree.

Posted by: Garrett at February 24, 2015 09:20 PM (bHra+)

30 >>>Weaned myself off many, many years ago when I couldn't stop coughing and would still light a cigarette. Went to pipe, so basically stopped inhaling. then stopped lighting the pipe. I did combine it with running though. Helped a lot.

what i found was that making several good lifestyle changes at once (including exercise) made it easier, and that all good habits reinforce each other (as do all bad habits).

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:20 PM (E+pqw)

31 ace,
My REAL friend, Mr. Cigarette, says that you're a false friend and an asshole just out to malign his good name.

Nah, just kidding.

But this winter has made me consider quitting for the first time in 10 years. The cold is just so... cold. Bone chilling, really.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:21 PM (AkOaV)

32 26 I don't really smoke except for when I'm shitfaced drunk. So like, only two or so packs a day.

Posted by: mugiwara at February 24, 2015 09:19 PM (3a584)

this is good. Harf!

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 09:21 PM (JgQLj)

33 I don't really smoke except for when I'm shitfaced drunk. So like, only two or so packs a day.

LMAO!

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at February 24, 2015 09:21 PM (rhjQp)

34 >>>I've taken to doing a 20-30 rep set of "pussy" weights

Yeah I do that too.

Posted by: Johnny Choad, Slayer of Ass at February 24, 2015 09:22 PM (E+pqw)

35 I'm glad you quit, ace. It took three strokes before my dad finally kicked the habit. He had to quit all of the things he associated with cigarettes. No more morning caffeine and no more alcohol. He dropped all three at once. It was a heroic effort, and he is much better off for it.

Posted by: no good deed at February 24, 2015 09:22 PM (ZKGnj)

36 >>>But this winter has made me consider quitting for the first time in 10 years. The cold is just so... cold. Bone chilling, really.

it's so fantastic not having to go outside unless I actually want to go outside, or i want to get fresh air.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:22 PM (E+pqw)

37 I'm having the toughest time getting myself off the gdamned gum. I've gone from 4 to 2 mg gum which is an improvement - but it takes me about 5 days to get through a box of 110 pieces. I don't feel like I'm saving any money at all from having quit.

At least I'm not getting the tar and all the other shit they put in cigs, and my apartment and clothes and hair don't stink like smoke, but I am, ironically, probably getting more nicotine into my system now then I did when I smoked because I can chew gum at work, whereas I didn't smoke at work.

I've tried chewing regular gum and it doesn't work. Honestly, I was never a gum chewer at all and I get bored within 5 seconds or so when I try to chew Trident or something.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 24, 2015 09:23 PM (+XMAD)

38 I quit the day Bill Clinton was elected, after smoking for 18 years. I noticed right away that I smelled better (along with my home and car and clothes). A BIG plus for me was the money I saved. Once I got over the initial physical withdrawl, I found it was the habit of smoking (while reading, watching TV, driving, out to eat) that was hard to get out of. It can be done.

Posted by: Chelie at February 24, 2015 09:23 PM (Wjptn)

39 You want is to read the book!?

Posted by: John Conyers at February 24, 2015 09:23 PM (bHra+)

40 nice work ace

Posted by: Feh at February 24, 2015 09:23 PM (g/zj9)

41 I quit smoking using an ecig. I've been tapering off the nicotine level over time which is one of the benefits of vaping instead of smoking. I'm not completely clear yet, but I feel a damn sight better now than when I was smoking cigarettes.

Posted by: Insomniac at February 24, 2015 09:23 PM (mx5oN)

42 I quit last October after my benighted city of Philly decided to slap on a buck extra tax on smokes. For the chilluns, naturally. My natural aversion to paying idiotic taxes finally overcame my natural resentment of nanny-state tactics. Now I feel a thousand times better, and I get to laugh at the articles by befuddled lib reporters wondering why the tax revenue isn't meeting expectations.

Posted by: Biff Boffo at February 24, 2015 09:24 PM (EARfr)

43 Quitting smoking would be easy.

You just have to stand strong, like we always do.

Posted by: GOP monkeys, fucking a football at February 24, 2015 09:24 PM (OVx7B)

44 It took me three tries to quit for good. For me there were four days of nicotine withdrawal symptoms each time. After that it was just learning to shake the habit of wanting a cigarette after eating and other habitual times. So once you get past 4 to 7 days it gets alot easier.

Posted by: OxyCon at February 24, 2015 09:24 PM (xBryS)

45 The smoker I drink, the player I get.

Fcuker, my one chance at a good line and you beat me to it.

Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 09:25 PM (ahBY0)

46 The real trick for me was to also give up the 4 pots of coffee. 40 years later, both coffee and cigarettes are still gone.
Posted by: oldgeezer at February 24, 2015 09:14 PM (+uiwA)

Oh damn. No coffee? That'd be like askin Bill Clinton to give up slappin 16 year olds around before their oral exams.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 24, 2015 09:25 PM (MbqmP)

47 I quit for Lent, with the intention of making it permanent.

Last Sunday, I enjoyed a couple of cigarettes. Technically, the Sundays during Lent are NOT Lent. So I wake up Monday morning thinking "You idiot! Are you quitting permanently or not?"

I feel good now.

Quitting is easy. Just never have that "first smoke of the day."

Posted by: Grampa Jimbo at February 24, 2015 09:25 PM (V70Uh)

48 Damn! Barack Obama is socking Ace on Ace's own blog. Talk about gall...

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 24, 2015 09:25 PM (tSNLH)

49 what i found was that making several good lifestyle changes at once (including exercise) made it easier, and that all good habits reinforce each other (as do all bad habits).

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:20 PM (E+pqw)

Exactly Ace *slugs and tequila, sucks a lime* but ya' gotta have something.

Seriously though, I almost became (and still kinda' am) a compulsive exerciser. Heavy bag gets the frustration out and when I had an 'urge'....pushups. If you see a transformation it gives you a jolt.

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 09:26 PM (JgQLj)

50 I quit when I adopted my son. Period. Turns out I really didn't need them. Still want them from time to time, but certainly not enough to go get them.

Everything stunk. The car, the garage (where I smoked), my clothes, my hair, my breath. Everything. Nothing gets that out.

Sold the car, left the garage door open in the sun, washed hell out of my clothes and got rid of those that didn't get clean, cut my hair. Now, I don't stink. At least, like that.

Smoking killed my aunt (my favorite aunt, and my namesake). Smoking will kill you. I'd rather breathe my last instead of gasp it.

Posted by: tcn in AK at February 24, 2015 09:26 PM (+YMhA)

51 donna that's pretty good but I guess the thing is you're still nursing your nicotine dependency. you've ditched cigarettes, which is about 60% of the battle, but you've kept your nicotine addiction, which is 40%.

i guess you can 1, try the patch, the theory being a passive nicotine delivery system might stop your behavior-based craving for an active delivery (gum chewing), 2, read the book, 3, start halving all nicotine every three days or so until you are down to biologically trivial amounts, then just quit.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:26 PM (E+pqw)

52 you also seem convinced that cigarettes are somehow "good" and that by "giving up" on cigarettes you're making a sacrifice.

Yes. This.

I enjoy the "hit" of relaxation. Going without it, IS a sacrifice to me.

I like the e-cigs for when I can't fire up a Real Smoke. They're *close* but not *quite* a cig.

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at February 24, 2015 09:26 PM (rhjQp)

53 I never smoked but I did have a wicked beer habit. I kicked it surprisingly quickly. The first 2-3 weekends without it were TOUGH. But it was mostly a psychological addiction. Once I got out of the habit of reaching for a case of beer a weekend, it got easier.

I also asked myself, do I REALLY like what drinking beer is doing to me? It makes me gain weight no matter how much I work out, I'm hung over, I pass out half the time, it kills my sex drive (for me anyway). I figured out I'd be happier with out it, and I am. It's been about 10 years since I drank a beer.

Posted by: jmp at February 24, 2015 09:26 PM (JidFj)

54 Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:22 PM (E+pqw)

This is, to me, the oddest thing about smoking. I'll be drinking with buddies at a good bar with a solid bartender who makes interesting drinks, and 15 seconds after he puts something novel and exciting in front of us, the smokers will get up, go outside, and suck on some burning leaves for a few minutes.

Smoke over booze?

Weird.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 24, 2015 09:27 PM (Zu3d9)

55 Here's how I quit:

In December 2008 I had to use up my HSA money or lose it. I had a lot of money on the card and it was a company benefit/free money so I went to my local CVS and bought a whole bunch of stuff, most of which I still haven't used up yet.

I got to the counter and saw that they had Nicorette. I wasn't even thinking about quitting. I was thinking, what if some morning it's really crappy outside or, possibly, what if I don't have any money to buy cigarettes. Just pop in Nicorette lozenge and get my nic fix until the cash flow problem resolves. I bought 3 boxes, put them into the closet and forgot about them until April 30, 2009. Woke up, hungover, raining, no cigs. AHA!

I haven't smoked a single cigarette since. Not even a puff. I will admit that 1 (one) time when I was loaded, I asked my gf to give me a cig but she wouldn't do it. Those 3 boxes were all I needed.

Posted by: CozMark at February 24, 2015 09:27 PM (JeBIy)

56 But yeah, I really don't miss that panic attack when it's midnight and you discover that that extra pack you thought you had, well, you don't and you just smoked your last one. It might be -30 with the wind chill out there but you get buddled up and go out to the gas station, because you have to have that morning smoke with the coffee.

I also don't miss the smoker's cough. I had developed a bad one and it vanished within a week.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 24, 2015 09:27 PM (+XMAD)

57 Dum-Dums helped me quit last time.

I need something to do when I am not smoking.

Posted by: Garrett at February 24, 2015 09:27 PM (bHra+)

58 The Carr book Ace talks about is free to read online. That's how I quit two years ago. Now I just use non-nicotine e-cigs.

http://web-profile.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/allen-carrs-easy-way-to-stop-smoking.pdf

Posted by: Semi-engaged scroller at February 24, 2015 09:27 PM (BKaug)

59 it's so fantastic not having to go outside unless I actually want to go outside, or i want to get fresh air.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:22 PM (E+pqw)

Yeah, i think that'd be the most rewarding part to me. Not having to freeze my ass off every hour during the winter.

But the hardest part is just how much of my routine smoking is. I have my smoker friends at work (now that I think about it, I've met probably 75% of my friends by smoking), I have my morning coffee and cigarette, I have my routine while driving...

When I break my routines, I can go half a day without smoking before I reach for the e cig (like when I'm on vacation). But as soon as I get back to the daily grind, I'm back to smoking.

Anyways, it's probably getting to be around that time for me to give a real effort to quitting. I may read your self help book, I'm sure it can't hurt.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:27 PM (AkOaV)

60 Posted by: Semi-engaged scroller at February 24, 2015 09:27 PM (BKaug)

Yeah putting 0 nic in my e cig may not be a bad idea either... Trick my brain in to thinking I'm still smoking, even if I'm not getting any nicotine...

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:28 PM (AkOaV)

61 ace, does food taste better?

Posted by: Feh at February 24, 2015 09:28 PM (g/zj9)

62 I don't know anything about nicotine addiction. But it sounds like the cure resembles 'Healing Back Pain' and 'The Mind-Body Connection' by Dr Sarno. Where he takes you through a process that can help you recognize mental/emotional factors that contribute to the cycle of pain

Posted by: ghost of hallelujah at February 24, 2015 09:28 PM (7RXcs)

63 A guy at work is trying to quit. He said he hasn't had any nicotine for a while.What he has done is he bought an E-cig but doesn't put any of the nicotine into it so its just water vapor and its to satisfy that psychological habit.

Posted by: buzzion at February 24, 2015 09:28 PM (z/Ubi)

64 Stopped smoking, chewing, and coffee cold turkey, two years in March. I got tired of the morning routine and thought I'd try something different. Waking up refreshed is an added bonus.

Posted by: Fritz at February 24, 2015 09:28 PM (dVmLD)

65 >>> The real trick for me was to also give up the 4 pots of coffee. 40 years later, both coffee and cigarettes are still gone.
Posted by: oldgeezer at February 24, 2015 09:14 PM (+uiwA)

Oh damn. No coffee? That'd be like askin Bill Clinton to give up slappin 16 year olds around before their oral exams.

...

i haven't quit coffee but i've cut my consumption by about 75%. most of this was organic, in that cigarettes really fucking make your head foggy and you wind up needing all that nicotine and the similar drug caffeine to make your head work right.

Minus the cigarettes, and suddenly you don't need caffeine all fucking day either.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:29 PM (E+pqw)

66 35 I'm glad you quit, ace. It took three strokes before my dad finally kicked the habit. He had to quit all of the things he associated with cigarettes. No more morning caffeine and no more alcohol. He dropped all three at once. It was a heroic effort, and he is much better off for it.

Posted by: no good deed at February 24, 2015 09:22 PM (ZKGnj)

the biggest hurdle for me was associating a cigarette with 'relaxing'. After dinner especially. You have to find a substitute to help. No not a prostitute you guys...although.

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 09:29 PM (JgQLj)

67 "Do you really like feeling hot smoke moving through your sinuses and lungs? Do you really like that feeling nicotine dependency gives you, of constantly being in mild drug withdrawal, with those withdraw symptoms only really absent from your life for the duration of the cigarette you're currently smoking?"
*****
Damn, I miss smoking. Sometimes I'll just hang around a casino, breathing deeply of second-hand smoke. (I'm serious. The only things I don't miss are waking up with a chest full of phlegm and a wallet empty of money.)

Posted by: notropis at February 24, 2015 09:30 PM (D9i08)

68 You can go out for fresh air, too.

Posted by: Barack Obama at February 24, 2015

Don't have time for the back nine at work.

Posted by: Infidel at February 24, 2015 09:30 PM (1000j)

69 Smoke over booze?

Weird.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 24, 2015 09:27 PM (Zu3d9)

For me, drinking is the hardest part.

Something about alcohol is a HUGE CUE to go smoke a cigarette.

I drink a lot less in the winter then I do in the summer because even one beer makes me smoke more cigarettes then I otherwise would.

Crazy, I know.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:30 PM (AkOaV)

70 >>>But the hardest part is just how much of my routine smoking is.

yes all smokers spend an awful lot of their time planning their next smoking break, counting down to their next smoking break, and then having their next smoking break.

essentially quitting smoking gives you 2 hours per day to spend as you like.

one thing is that people don't know what to do with this time, so they'll think about *smoking*, which is a time-killing (and body-killing) pastime.

but just plan on finding something to do with all those extra hours every week.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:31 PM (E+pqw)

71 Coffee? Why would anyone want to give up coffee?

Posted by: Garrett at February 24, 2015 09:31 PM (bHra+)

72 Here's a silly trick that actually works. Take a regular plastic drinking straw, cut it the length of your favorite smoke, and then roll up some plain gauze and squeeze it into the far end of the straw. Suck on the other end when you want a hit. It takes the place of the feel of smoking, even though you obviously aren't smoking. The gauze makes it pull a little, which is what a cig will do. Of course, you are "smoking" air, but your hands feel familiar and it can be a comfort.

Better than eating candy or binging on fodd, which is what most people come to in the process.

Posted by: tcn in AK at February 24, 2015 09:31 PM (+YMhA)

73 I used the Carr method 15 years ago. I decided I wasn't going to be a smoker any more.
Making up my mind was the hardest part.
I snuck quitting smoking in with a bunch of other changes while my life was in upheaval - new appartment, new office, different schedules... I just decided to not add smoking to my new routines.
I used to love smoking but I never looked back.

Posted by: Delicious Lead Paint at February 24, 2015 09:32 PM (djOIO)

74 Congratulations, Ace.

Posted by: Michael the Hobbit at February 24, 2015 09:32 PM (0RdKg)

75 Last time I quit I couldn't believe what I could smell and taste. And those nasty ashtrays laying around. Don't start again, it's harder.

Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 09:33 PM (ahBY0)

76 When I was 18, I gave up coffee (& all caffeine) for two weeks. Horrible. But I've been addicted since I was about 12.

Worked at a smoke shop off & on for 10 years, smoke cigars, pipes, cigarettes & never got addicted (I'll go months without smoking, no problem), but coffee is impossible. No way.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 24, 2015 09:33 PM (MbqmP)

77 The drink bone IS connected to the smoke bone.

Posted by: Grampa Jimbo at February 24, 2015 09:34 PM (V70Uh)

78 Why would anyone want to give up coffee?

Posted by: Garrett at February 24, 2015 09:31 PM (bHra+)

It's nonsense. Caffeine is not addictive.

The blinding headaches I get if I don't have a strong cup of good coffee in the morning are a coincidence.

[but just one. I have no desire to drink coffee all day]

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 24, 2015 09:34 PM (Zu3d9)

79 but just plan on finding something to do with all those extra hours every week.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:31 PM (E+pqw)

Well, lets not get ahead of ourselves here.

I'm not saying I'm going to quit... Just thinking about it.

I appreciate the encouragement though, and I'm glad you reposted this article. I'll actually remember to bookmark that book this time.

Part of the reason I bought my e cig was reading your review of one a year or two back. I was using it fairly regularly until about two months ago when I relapsed to analogue cigarettes. Now my ecig is kind of like a desk ornament.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:34 PM (AkOaV)

80 >>>ace, does food taste better?

i don't know, to be honest. i assume it does. some things happen so slowly that you can never really say "wow my sense of taste is back now."

I will say that when i first stopped my sense of *smell* started working better. I would smell and enjoy smells outdoors -- fireplaces, mostly.

actually all of my senses started working better. Nicotine focuses the senses on the nicotine itself. I tended not to notice the world when I was a nicotine addict. minus the nicotine, I just heard more things and was generally more alert and in-the-moment.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:34 PM (E+pqw)

81 I will say that when i first stopped my sense of
*smell* started working better. I would smell and enjoy smells outdoors
-- fireplaces, mostly.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:34 PM (E+pqw)

I have a friend in NYC who quit. He says it was a great thing, except for being able to smell the subways.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 24, 2015 09:35 PM (Zu3d9)

82 Another thing that worked for me was not to tell anyone that you quit in case you fail. I went a month before anyone noticed I wasn't smoking, and that was when you could smoke in bars.

Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 09:36 PM (ahBY0)

83 Oh, coffee, weed, alcohol... everything else was really easy for me to quit for months at a time (or forever in the case of weed).

But cigarettes... I don't know what it is.

Eh, whatever. Depressing topic.

Let's talk about ISIS beheading people. That'll lighten the mood.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:36 PM (AkOaV)

84 I always wanted a smoke when I was drinking or on a long bike ride. Or both. Nothing beats an unfiltered Pall Mall and a High Life at the 25 mile mark of a 50 mile ride in 100+ degree heat.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 24, 2015 09:36 PM (MbqmP)

85 I still like to smoke (cigars), but I'll probably quit someday. If I do quit and by some miracle I make it to say 85, I'm starting back up again. Because, why not?

Posted by: lowandslow at February 24, 2015 09:37 PM (+ebSh)

86 >>>The drink bone IS connected to the smoke bone.

only if you're still convinced, deep down, that smoking is pleasurable.

if you stop thinking that, then drinking is no longer a gateway to smoking.

I'm going out more now since I quit, and I drink when i'm out. just a glass of wine, but still, that's a drink.

I never want a cigarette.

Seriously, the book is very good at overcoming this idea in us that "Smoking is good, and therefore giving up smoking will be difficult, and a life without smoking will be a less interesting, less pleasurable life."

All three of those statements are not only false, but are 100%, 180 degrees false. All aspects of your life, including the pleasure seeking aspects, are worse when you smoke.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:37 PM (E+pqw)

87 Honestly, beer is a better replacement than Gatorade or any of those other over-sugared drinks. Beer packs some serious good stuff for athletes, but they fear it. I don't know why. Seems like alcohol is no worse than sugar, in a one-beer dosage.

Posted by: tcn in AK at February 24, 2015 09:38 PM (+YMhA)

88 A little-known fact:

A lot of people only drink coffee at work. So on weekends they get a headache around 11 o'clock from the caffeine withdrawal.

Bayer aspirin has caffeine in it just for them.

Posted by: Cliff Claven at February 24, 2015 09:38 PM (V70Uh)

89 >>>I will say that when i first stopped my sense of *smell* started working better. I would smell and enjoy smells outdoors -- hobo spore, mostly.

Posted by: Garrett at February 24, 2015 09:38 PM (bHra+)

90 Five years ago I went to Starbucks for my daily after lunch Iced Venti Americano with extra shot of espresso (year round even when I had to go out in winter to walk to Starbucks) and I couldn't drink it. I'd been getting one every day for 12 years, maybe longer. I just lost my appetite for coffee.
I make one pot, sometimes two per week & have a little in the morning.
It wasn't a decision, it just happened.

Posted by: Carol at February 24, 2015 09:38 PM (sj3Ax)

91 >>>>Another thing that worked for me was not to tell anyone that you quit in case you fail. I went a month before anyone noticed I wasn't smoking, and that was when you could smoke in bars.

okay you did it on Expert Skill Level.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:38 PM (E+pqw)

92 Congrats Ace. Terrific.

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 09:39 PM (JgQLj)

93 Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:34 PM (E+pqw)

But, again, good for you man. Congrats on quitting, I'm sure it feels great. And it is a great accomplishment -- I know a couple of older guys I worked with at a previous job who are both going through serious health issues (bypass surgery for one, COPD for the other) in their late 50s (!!!!) and their doctors say its primarily linked to smoking.

So don't look back!

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:39 PM (AkOaV)

94 Quit in 1992 at 38 years old. Two packs a day for almost 20 years. I woke up one morning listening to the radio telling me that nicotine was harder to kick than heroine. Well, we shall see, I said. Went nearly all day without one. The next day I had a few but I then made the rule there was no smoking in the house. It started to rain so I started to bake oatmeal cookies (which I hate). Thousands of them. Cooked pinto beans. One hundred pounds. Kept my hands busy. Everyone I knew had cookies and beans. At the end of a few rainy weeks I was off of the cigs. Had one or two in next few weeks. I smoke in my dreams. And have had one or two on occasion. Can't remember the last one. Maybe 11 years. I like the way I smell. I like the way I feel. I love kissing the old guy anytime I want. Glad I quit.

Posted by: Soozer47 at February 24, 2015 09:40 PM (egbr+)

95 Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:37 PM (E+pqw)

I wonder if there are a certain number of people for whom nicotine is not physically addictive, but still psychologically addicitve?

I know that a small percentage of people are not susceptible to cocaine addiction, and find taking it to be irritating.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 24, 2015 09:40 PM (Zu3d9)

96 >>>just a glass of wine, but still, that's a drink.

wine?

Pfft.

New Yorkers.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:41 PM (AkOaV)

97 >>>I used to love smoking but I never looked back.

yeah i did too. or I thought i did.

any addictive substance will convince you your life is better on the drug, despite enormous evidence to the contrary.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:41 PM (E+pqw)

98 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 24, 2015 09:40 PM (Zu3d9)

Yes, absolutely.

I read somewhere at 25% of people do not get addicted to nicotine.

Anecdotally, I'd say it's true. I have friends and family members who can smoke up a storm socially then not touch a cigarette for a month.

It's infuriating.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:42 PM (AkOaV)

99 >>> It started to rain so I started to bake oatmeal cookies (which I hate). Thousands of them. Cooked pinto beans. One hundred pounds. Kept my hands busy. Everyone I knew had cookies and beans

hey congrats but... what a weird way to deal with anxiety. "I'm going to make beans all day."

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:42 PM (E+pqw)

100 Posted by: Soozer47 at February 24, 2015 09:40 PM (egbr+)

Cookies and Beans. too much.

I think Dr. Phil recommends that also.

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 09:43 PM (JgQLj)

101 okay you did it on Expert Skill Level.

No, what I meant was that, for me, if I set a date to quit or told people this week I'm going to quit, it never happened. When I kept it to myself it worked better, for whatever fcuked up reason in my mind.

Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 09:43 PM (ahBY0)

102 Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 09:43 PM (ahBY0)

Probably just less pressure on you to actually follow through with it.

And pressure / stress (at least for me) = smoking.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:44 PM (AkOaV)

103 It's girl thing, Ace. We want to make sure everyone is fed. Keeps you busy.

Posted by: Infidel at February 24, 2015 09:44 PM (1000j)

104 I shit you not, I am waiting for the butter to come up to temp so I can bake oatmeal cookies.

Posted by: Garrett at February 24, 2015 09:45 PM (bHra+)

105 >>>No, what I meant was that, for me, if I set a date to quit or told people this week I'm going to quit, it never happened. When I kept it to myself it worked better, for whatever fcuked up reason in my mind.

i wasn't being sarcastic; it's harder to quit at bars, with people smoking, i figure.

although, honestly, this time around, i've had people blowing smoke in my face and i never wanted a cigarette.

I think it just helps to hypnotize yourslef (with the book) and just agree & perseverate that cigarettes are bad and that you don't want them any longer.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:45 PM (E+pqw)

106 is it just me or are the time stamps on the comments off by 10 minutes and have been for a long time?

Or am I just 10 minutes in the future?

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:46 PM (AkOaV)

107 "Coffee? Why would anyone want to give up coffee?"

I gave up caffeine for a year one time. Just switched all coffee and tea and Coke to decaf and didn't notice much at all although I was advised I would probably get headaches as the body adjusted.

I did ultimately go back to some caffeine in the mornings but I am a lot more sensitive to it than I was before. By noon, I do all decaf the rest of the day

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at February 24, 2015 09:47 PM (6Oeuf)

108 yep I never found nicotine addictive, just sickening

wife tried smoking once, LOVED it, and knew then she could never do it again

all our smoking relatives died miserable deaths

Posted by: Feh at February 24, 2015 09:47 PM (g/zj9)

109 # 94 That's interesting. I also have dreams where I'm still smoking. Are those kinds of dreams reminders not to or are they subconscious wishes for cigs?

Posted by: Semi-engaged scroller at February 24, 2015 09:48 PM (BKaug)

110 The gauze makes it pull a little, which is what a
cig will do. Of course, you are "smoking" air, but your hands feel
familiar and it can be a comfort.

Better than eating candy or binging on fodd, which is what most people come to in the process.

Posted by: tcn in AK at February 24, 2015 09:31 PM (+YMhA)

This is brilliant! When you want to diet there are other foods to eat; when you want to quit drinking there are other beverages. When you want to quit smoking there isn't a good substitute that mirrors smoking. This straw and gauze would probably do it perfectly.
Three years or so ago Ace wrote a longish post about trying e-cigs, and CDR M posted details about models and suppliers he liked in the comments. I bought what they recommended and within about two months gave up regular cigarettes altogether. I still use the e-cig, and still buy from Totally Wicked, but have long since gone to 0 nic juice. Without the e-cig I would have found it difficult if not impossible and without Ace's post wouldn't have had such a crash course in the intricacies of vaping and getting a decent throat hit that made it possible to quit smoking. So thanks, Ace, and CDR M, for giving me a way to quit.

Posted by: Retread at February 24, 2015 09:49 PM (px8hG)

111 No, what I meant was that, for me, if I set a date to quit or told people this week I'm going to quit, it never happened. When I kept it to myself it worked better, for whatever fcuked up reason in my mind.

Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 09:43 PM (ahBY0)

I'm the same. I learned long ago there are some people that want you to fail. Maybe my own issues, but I just keep things to myself. that includes things I might just try to see if I like them as a hobby. Like drawing and the ukulele!

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 09:49 PM (JgQLj)

112 >>>I gave up caffeine for a year one time. Just switched all coffee and tea and Coke to decaf and didn't notice much at all although I was advised I would probably get headaches as the body adjusted.

i do something similar. I have one cup of coffee in the morning, usually, then if i need caffeine later, i have either diet coke or green tea. Both have about 25-50 mg of caffeine.I think coffee has 125mg-150mg.

once you stop drinking as much coffee, you just don't need it as much.

i mean, you still need it. but it becomes more of an occasional thing than a regular i-need-caffeine-every hour thing.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:50 PM (E+pqw)

113 "essentially quitting smoking gives you 2 hours per day to spend as you like. "

Great! I can watch more TV!

(Actually, outside of baseball and football games and occasionally tuning into Fox, I mainly use the TV to watch rented movies.)

Thanks for the tips, Ace and congrats to you. I tried quitting at least 10 times before I actually did. I was such a hardcore, 2 pack a day smoker and made it into such a big f'ing deal in my own mind, that I was defeated almost before I even tried.

This last time, it would have helped if I had actually followed the directions with the gum. Instead, I was popping the gum constantly because damnit, I'M NOT SMOKING so I can have as much gum as I want. Well, that was stupid.

It never even occurred to me to try the patch because I wanted that oral fix. (Shuddup, Morons.) But of course that's the problem.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 24, 2015 09:51 PM (+XMAD)

114 I was a heavy 2-3 pack a day smoker. But then, I was also a thumb sucker up until about the second grade. Oral compulsion must play a part in some cases.

Posted by: Semi-engaged scroller at February 24, 2015 09:52 PM (BKaug)

115 Late post on the subject. I quit smoking about a year and a half ago, and my method was pretty simple. I was moving halfway across the country, and I resolved that I wouldn't take my bad habit with me, so in the last couple of weeks before I moved, I weaned myself down to four cigarettes a day. A few days before I drove out, I smoked my last cigarette.

I made a 16 hour car ride to Texas just fine, and haven't smoked once since I got here. Smoking is a habit, like any other, and the best time to change it is when you're changing other, bigger habits. It gets lost in the shuffle pretty easily.

Posted by: Cato at February 24, 2015 09:52 PM (3HxZe)

116 i wasn't being sarcastic; it's harder to quit at bars, with people smoking, i figure.

although, honestly, this time around, i've had people blowing smoke in my face and i never wanted a cigarette.

I remember actually getting worried that I wouldn't be able to sit in the bar and not smoke. When I did quit it all seemed so ridiculous and just like you say, I could go anywhere and I wouldn't need one. I roll my own now and for $20 and a Top-O-Matic rolling machine I get 2+ cartons. Shit is evil.

Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 09:54 PM (ahBY0)

117 >>>I made a 16 hour car ride to Texas just fine, and haven't smoked once since I got here. Smoking is a habit, like any other, and the best time to change it is when you're changing other, bigger habits. It gets lost in the shuffle pretty easily.

i'm making this point too-- if you're going to make one change, you might as well make several, so that you feel "weird" and off about several things at once.

congrats

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:54 PM (E+pqw)

118 Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 09:54 PM (ahBY0)

Ah, yes, I also roll my own cigarettes from time to time.

Much cheaper.

Can't get the right blend though. They still taste bootleg to me.

But I guess we don't smoke for the taste.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:55 PM (AkOaV)

119 " is not physically addictive, but still psychologically addicitve?"

I'm a nervous energy person and smoking is the PERFECT time waste activity to stay busy with for me. Take a break, gives your hands and mouth something to do while you think in silence. No doubt I'm addicted to the nic' but I wonder often times if not just as accustomed to the physical act.

Here, the e-cig has been pretty good to me. It allows to still do the act while not actually "smoking." I can go a couple days w/o the cigs buy I eventually break and get a pack and then repeat the process.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at February 24, 2015 09:56 PM (6Oeuf)

120 >>>I remember actually getting worried that I wouldn't be able to sit in the bar and not smoke. When I did quit it all seemed so ridiculous and just like you say, I could go anywhere and I wouldn't need one.

yeah i have friends who smoke and are like "This won't make you relapse will it?" and it feels good to be like, "Not at chance."

every once in a while i get a mouthful of second hand smoke and it's nasty.

again, i think people just have to accept the reality that cigarette smoke IS nasty.

Posted by: ace at February 24, 2015 09:56 PM (E+pqw)

121 Cliff Claven
Caffeine is pain reliever enhancer. My pain doctor told me that.

Posted by: Carol at February 24, 2015 09:57 PM (sj3Ax)

122 Verdict in American Sniper Trial!'
Ace!!

Posted by: Carol at February 24, 2015 09:58 PM (sj3Ax)

123 Posted by: Carol at February 24, 2015 09:57 PM (sj3Ax)

Sounds like Science (tm) to me!

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:58 PM (AkOaV)

124 Anecdotally, I'd say it's true. I have friends and family members who can smoke up a storm socially then not touch a cigarette for a month.

It's infuriating.
Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 09:42 PM (AkOaV)

A friend's mother has 1 cigarette every morning with one cup of coffee. That's it. She's been doing that for 60 years now.

I can't imagine one pack lasting 20 days.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 24, 2015 09:59 PM (+XMAD)

125 gave up caffeine for a year one time. Just switched all coffee and tea and Coke to decaf and didn't notice much at all although I was advised I would probably get headaches as the body adjusted.

Colas can be made decaf, but coffee still has a tiny bit, & even green teas have a bit. & as a long-time addict of caffeine, decaf will get me by for a day or two.

I don't get headaches when I quit, I just crave anything with caffeine, including Mtn Dew (which is nasty nasty shit) & Red Bull (which is far worse) & chocolate & decaf & fistfuls of Folgers grounds.

I have no idea how humans lived prior to the 1500s. I wouldn't want to try it.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 24, 2015 09:59 PM (MbqmP)

126 I've been a smoker for most of my adult life. I'd quit for a year or so at a time (quit once for 6 years!), then think I could have a couple smokes while out with the boys. Every time I did that, I'd be hitting a 7-11 the next day for a pack of my own.

I've been off smokes again now for over 3 years and have simply admitted that I can't bum a smoke. I don't miss smoking at all, and with all the travel I do, it's really nice not to have to sweat where and when I'll get my next smoke while transiting through airports.

I quit by wearing half a stage 2 nicotine patch for a couple days...that's all it took to wean off the nicotine.

Posted by: ericinva at February 24, 2015 09:59 PM (XsvzV)

127 I smoked a pack and a half to two packs a day for 30+ years. I tried patches and Meds hoping to quit. Because those didn't work for me, I switched to an e-cig not planing on using it to quit, but figuring it wouldn't be as bad for me in the long run.

I quit entirely after 3 weeks on the e-cig. At that point It was easy. I haven't smoked now for 3 years. Everyone is different. That's what worked for me.

Posted by: jrg at February 24, 2015 10:00 PM (7M30H)

128 yeah i have friends who smoke and are like "This won't make you relapse will it?" and it feels good to be like, "Not at chance."

Good post ace, thanks.

Posted by: dartist at February 24, 2015 10:00 PM (ahBY0)

129 Posted by: Ricardo Kill at February 24, 2015 09:56 PM (6Oeuf)

The physical act is huge RK. I carried an unlit pipe and then an unlit cigarillo for a long time at work.

Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 10:01 PM (JgQLj)

130 Ricardo!
ONT is up!

Posted by: Carol at February 24, 2015 10:03 PM (sj3Ax)

131 The physical act is huge RK. I carried an unlit pipe and then an unlit cigarillo for a long time at work.
Posted by: Badda Bing at February 24, 2015 10:01 PM (JgQLj)

There were a few of the old Italian guys who would worry an unlit cigar all day without lighting it. Probably got half a pack's worth of nicotine doing that, but they weren't smoking, so I guess their wives weren't buggin 'em about it.

Posted by: Anderson Cooper's Rascal Scooter Brigade at February 24, 2015 10:04 PM (MbqmP)

132 Thanks, ace. And congrats to you too. Quitting isn't easy, and staying quit is even harder.

Posted by: Cato at February 24, 2015 10:04 PM (3HxZe)

133 "Caffeine is pain reliever enhancer."

Anyone else remember reading a recent story about Nicotine being found to associate with lower instances of dementia/Alzheimer's?

Month or two ago. However, clinical medical studies being what they are.....

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at February 24, 2015 10:05 PM (6Oeuf)

134 "Take a break, gives your hands and mouth something to do while you think in silence. "

That was something that I found difficult to adjust to. It wasn't until I quit that I realized how much I had used cigarettes to punctuate my day. 1 cig with coffee. 1 cig in the car. One at 10 a.m. I'm done cleaning the bathrooms, now I'll sit and have a smoke before I start on the kitchen. Suddenly, there was no reason for all those smoke breaks and I missed those breaks. But now, weather permitting, I'll take a 15 minute walk rather than stand outside and smoke. It's a pretty neighborhood. It makes me feel good to stretch my legs and get fresh air.

Like ace and others have said, you just have to make yourself some new habits.

Posted by: Donna &&&&&& V. (brandishing ampersands) at February 24, 2015 10:06 PM (+XMAD)

135 I smoke a few cigars a year and every couple of years or so go on a bender and smoke 8 or 10 cigarettes. My mouth tastes so horrible the next morning that I have no desire to do it again for a long, long time

Posted by: Michael the Hobbit at February 24, 2015 10:08 PM (0RdKg)

136 Eh, looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 10:09 PM (AkOaV)

137 Whatever works for you..

But for me and my wife, we quit cold turkey over 30 years ago and it was one bad month(really just a couple weeks were bad), but we came to the realization we needed to quit. Daughter was coughing all the time.. when we realized it might be the second-hand smoke, that was it.

She never wanted a ciggie again. Me? I would have a cigarette every now and then. I didn't want to quit, but I knew I should. I enjoyed smoking, but made a mental decision it was more detrimental than the pleasure derived from it.

After 30 years I have seen too many of my friends die of lung cancer. If you smoke, you are very likely to die a very ugly early death. That argument is lost on younger people who are "invincible". My daughter and her hubby are two of those.

I will send them copies of that book, Ace. Thanks!

Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at February 24, 2015 10:11 PM (/9Mak)

138 If you smoke, you are very likely to die a very ugly early death.
Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at February 24, 2015 10:11 PM (/9Mak)

Thanks for the uplifting advise.

Yeesh.

Posted by: mynewhandle at February 24, 2015 10:12 PM (AkOaV)

139 >>>Take a break, gives your hands and mouth something to do while you think in silence. "

I tried that but then Reggie Love left the white house.

Posted by: Barack Obama at February 24, 2015 10:20 PM (E+pqw)

140 I've made this journey, and took the steps you're now taking.

If you'd like my anecdotal experience--which worked, I've been nicotine free for years now, no desire to go back, smell of cigarettes finally make me slightly sick as opposed to envious--I'm happy to share.

Was a very multi-level process, for me.

--Andrew, @LawSelfDefense

Posted by: Law of Self Defense at February 24, 2015 10:22 PM (Ytl24)

141 Timely!

I type this as a nicotine lozenge slowly dissolves under my tongue. I kicked cigarettes 10+ years ago, but took up smoking a cigar while fishing on the weekends. Then it was a cigar after cutting the lawn. Then a cigar each night. Bla bla bla, you know the rest.

Your repetition of "You don't need to smoke. You didn't need to smoke before you started smoking" hits home, and is true, of course. I thank you for the reminder.

Posted by: MikeInMKE at February 24, 2015 10:26 PM (9OTud)

142 Glad to hear it ace.

About two months ago I woke up, did my morning routine, looked at my can of Cope and said to myself, "This is fucking retarded." And threw it in the trash.

Haven't had any since, even when I drink, which has always been the hardest part for me.

Dunno, it was just like a switch in my head...I've tried to quit before, but I truly don't even think about it at this point.

Posted by: Ballistic at February 24, 2015 10:42 PM (415sS)

143 Thanks for this thread, Ace!

Also, sincere congratulations to all of you who've managed to quit-- you're my heroes.

Guess it's time to do it again. *sigh*

--------------
I also have dreams where I'm still smoking. Are those kinds of dreams
reminders not to or are they subconscious wishes for cigs?

Heh. My employer does random drug testing. Cannot tell you how many dreams I've had where I took a loooooong toke then woke up in a panic-- "Omg! I could lose my job for this! Omg!"

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at February 24, 2015 10:44 PM (rhjQp)

144 Meant to add:

So, yeah, it's a warning, Semi-engaged scroller-- It's like getting a Second Chance without actually having screwed up.

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at February 24, 2015 10:51 PM (rhjQp)

145 I'm very glad you've quit, Ace. I'm 47 years old, I was a heavy smoker for roughly 10 years, all told, and I've been off of them for about four years now. I agree with a lot of what you've said (mostly about the rationalizations of a smoker).

But I think some of us will have different experiences and challenges with this deal. Age and overall health have a lot of influence, one way or another, on each of us, as do our normal daily environments (how convenient is it to smoke during the day? how many friends/coworkers/family members also smoke? how many of them are NOT quitting along with you, or attempting and failing?).

For me the only reason I was able to quit, hopefully for the last time, was being worried about my health. In my favor was the fact that nobody in my family smokes, and my workplace makes it difficult.

I know some younger folks that have convinced themselves that they will quit someday, "before it becomes a health problem" ... I've even heard someone say that they know they can do this because they've been told by doctors that the minute they quit they start getting better! Hey, I'll smoke until I'm, oh, 40 or so, then I'll quit. I think that particular information sends mixed messages to some people.

Finally, I don't agree - at all - that quitting is not hard. I think it really depends on the person. It's one of the most difficult things I've ever done, and nobody will ever tell me otherwise, at least until I come across something even more difficult, God forbid.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't regret quitting, obviously, and I don't want to go back to it, obviously ... it's a filthy, expensive, dangerous habit. But I'd be lying if I said I don't want a cigarette from time to time ... even right now. I've found it best just not to think about it, or be around it.

All that said, I'm glad for you and I'm glad for anyone who is able to quit.

Posted by: Bill in TN at February 24, 2015 10:56 PM (3LsBS)

146 Just look into the mirror as you smoke.

It's a prop for striking a pose, and you look utterly ridiculous doing it.

Posted by: RKae at February 24, 2015 10:57 PM (05yXI)

147 I'd really like to share your article/essay with a group of COPD patients at http://emphysema.net/default.asp On their email list. Can you tell me how to do that? I didn't see any title or whatever to use to do it.
On Mother's day this year it will be 30 years since I quit smoking and I had smoked for a bit more than 30 years. So glad I managed to quit. Pretty certain I wouldn't be here if I hadn't.

Posted by: Sharon Hanna at February 24, 2015 11:00 PM (Bc91Y)

148 Never mind previous post. Now there's a title since I clicked on seeing the comments. Whoopee!

Posted by: Sharon Hanna at February 24, 2015 11:01 PM (Bc91Y)

149 Congrats, Ace.

When I finally quit, it was because I was angry. I was the only one I knew still a slave to those effing little sticks.

So, get angry, and stay angry.

Posted by: PJ at February 24, 2015 11:24 PM (cHuNI)

150 Congratulations, Ace.

I quit on 19 Aug 13, with an e-cig. I went a few months at 12mg of nicotine, then began backing it down. I went to 0mg nicotine on 16 Jan 14. Been smoke and nicotine free ever since.

Posted by: SARDiver at February 24, 2015 11:27 PM (Q5bdJ)

151 For those who are interested, Allen Carr wrote another book called "The Easy Way to Stop Drinking," which worked for my wife and me just like the book for stopping smoking. Cognitive therapy of a similar sort -- i.e., when you take a good, hard, objective look at the behavior (smoking, drinking) it does absolutely nothing good for you while doing lots of bad.

These books may not work for everyone, but they will work for many, many people. I suspect that the more introverted or introspective you are -- the more comfortable you are with (or used to) an internal dialog -- the better they will work . . . .

Posted by: Telynau at February 24, 2015 11:42 PM (Ke1cC)

152 Good post. I'm going to get the book for my sister.

Posted by: Nicholas Kronos at February 24, 2015 11:46 PM (zV1hP)

153 Read that same book myself when I was 37 years & 2 packs a day into my habit. Went cold turkey as recommended - April 7th will mark 5 years since my last cigarette.

Posted by: Patrick at February 25, 2015 12:08 AM (ajp73)

154 Quitting Marlboro after 20years was pretty easy. I just quit drinking Budweiser for a month.

Posted by: ccoffer at February 25, 2015 12:13 AM (Oq/+Y)

155 I'll read it again with a new attitude. Thanks Ace.

Posted by: JohnDonut@AflutterQuietly at February 25, 2015 12:19 AM (g1MTt)

156 9 days in a coma got me over the hump. They lost me on the cath table putting a stent in. I reacted negatively to the Haldol and they put me in 4 point restraints to keep me from pulling out my IVs. I dreamt some tremulous dreams... 12 more days after I woke up before the released me. Not a recommended method, but after 40 years of smoking (and 20 plus years clean and sober) I had effectively given up.
Never missed it after...

Posted by: dhead at February 25, 2015 12:26 AM (kH/If)

157 No one will see this, but I read the book years ago after my sister supposedly quit after reading it (she's back on the cigarettes today).

It says this isn't WILLPOWER!!!

But I read the book and yeah, it is.

It's all about repetition and using your willpower brain to willpower you off of cigarettes while denying that you're using willpower.

Keep repeating to yourself that yeah those cigarettes suck and why are you smoking and yeah get off of them and you're using willpower to quit.

Don't get me wrong. That's ok. I quit for 2 1/2 years by cold turkey and it wasn't that bad. The worst part was the habitual stuff involved. If you smoke, you know what I mean: having a smoke after eating, when you wake up, when you're driving, etc. Get past that and you're good to go. It takes a few days.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at February 25, 2015 01:08 AM (oFCZn)

158 I quit after thirty years, 2.5 packs a day. Cold turkey. It was brutal until I resolved on day two that only a fucking pussy gives in to nicotine. After that I was fine.

Posted by: Kaner at February 25, 2015 02:40 AM (evUpK)

159 I'm still a pussy. Just not a fucking pussy.

Posted by: Kaner at February 25, 2015 02:43 AM (evUpK)

160 Good for you!
I never smoked, having hated the stench of cigarette smoke as a small child. I like the aroma of unburnt pipe tobacco, however. Makes a nice potpourri.

Posted by: David at February 25, 2015 02:45 AM (TeSnk)

161 Thank you, Ace. What good common sense. Thank you.

Posted by: goon at February 25, 2015 04:07 AM (gNTQS)

162 Congrats on quitting! I had tried everything but mostly patches. I always came back to the cigs though. I got a job offer and moved from the deep south to Virginia. I told myself that when I crossed the Virginia state line there would be no more cigarettes -- I armed myself with a new set of patches and smoked the last one (would not waste a perfectly good cig) in NC. My wife took a picture of me at the state line and I have not had one since. I actually misplaced the patches and was too cheap to buy more - by the time I found them I was two months into the no smoking lifestyle. That was 18 months ago. Good luck and keep it up.

Posted by: brad at February 25, 2015 04:14 AM (asEpS)

163 Keep it up, Ace. This post reminds me of my journey almost exactly. You have to remember that you are a nicotene--not cigarette--addict and that the longer you tease your brain with nicotene the more likely you are to recede.

I smoked from 17 to 25, quitting in 1997. I had a brief relapse with snuff circa 2008 and quickly (within 6 months) snuffed that out.

I had tried everything from hypnosis (twice) to nicotine replacement (I'd even start snuff to quick smoking then smoke to quit chewing) to cold turkey to gradual draw down to motivational tapes and books. I hated myself for being an addict under the control of nicotine. This addiction made me do terrible things out of character for me, such as lying to those I loved.

It ultimately came down to me knowing I had to quit nicotine, forever, to be more sick of it than the grip it had on me.

Remember that nicotine addiction is a three-legged stool. There is the biochemical addiction which is probably the easiest to break initially. There is the habitual (with coffee, on the phone, while drinking alcohol, etc). There is the psychological reward, which is also a strong and less understood biochemical feedback mechanism as your brain release reward hormones for you feeding it something it craves (could be food or sex or gambling or alcohol too).

It took my best friend--a smoker himself--telling me I would NEVER quit to piss me off enough to put me over the mental hump. I was nicotine free for 11 years until I receded due to a divorce. It was brief as I said, and instructive. Nicotine will sneak its way back into your life quickly.

Cheers. Stay strong.

Posted by: @PeeteySDee at February 25, 2015 05:53 AM (ir3Yt)

164 Ace, just don't fall into a future snare of having "just one" with a drink.

I smoked for 5 years and quit cold turkey, felt great, and couldn't imagine ever going back. Then I went out drinking one night with some friends, bummed some smokes, continued bumming for the next 3 weeks, then finally bought my own pack and started smoking again. Smoked for another three years before quitting again cold turkey. That was five years ago.

Posted by: Lamont Cranston at February 25, 2015 06:09 AM (Rtyzj)

165 Ace, don't buy the Step 2 or Step 3 patches. Buy the cheaper Step 1 patches and cut them in half after say a week. Cut those halves in half a week later, and so on and so on. It's cheaper than buying the more expensive (per square inch) Step 1 and 3s and it puts YOU in control. I stepped myself down to a tiny patch and then nothing with no nicotine withdrawal. That was 10 years ago.

Congratulations and best of luck.

Posted by: zippo-no-mo at February 25, 2015 06:32 AM (5/FN2)

166 Ace,

Wish I could edit the above. I meant to say the Step 1s are the cheapest.

Posted by: zippo-no-mo at February 25, 2015 06:34 AM (5/FN2)

167 I''m so happy for you that you quit! As a life-long NON smoker surrounded by all smokers growing up, I always had the exact same thoughts as the author of the book lays out. No one HAS to smoke; they weren't unhappy or incomplete in any way before they started smoking that was cured by taking up the habit. And these stupid unnecessary sticks have caused the premature death of everyone in my family.

Posted by: RigelDog at February 25, 2015 07:42 AM (pfVPE)

168 Thank god someone else is saying it. I smoked for a while but I never convinced myself I needed it. When I got married, I threw them away for my wife and never thought twice about it. Then I picked it up again after my divorce and then I threw them away again when I got remarried.

It was always a choice and I was willing to take the consequences of the choice. But I never felt cravings, I never felt I had to have it and god as my witness, I can take it or leave it and it's all the same to me. I believe it's totally in your attitude as opposed to the drug. No way it's more addicting than heroin or the other bullshit they tell you.

Posted by: ConservativeYoda at February 25, 2015 08:44 AM (NBOA5)

169 Ace,

Quit smoking cold turkey in 2004. No problem. Never wanted another one. Started chewing Copenhagen in 2006, im a ballplayer. Dumbest thing I ever did. Was able to stop for months at a time but always started up again. Im 33 days without a dip and feel great. Quitting chew was immensely tougher, in my opinion, than smoking. Definitely a mental fuckjob more than physical.

Posted by: PlacerMutka at February 25, 2015 09:07 AM (+u1L3)

170 Congratulations on quitting.

I quit cold turkey almost three years ago after a heart attack. I was able to quit in large part because I realized that I needed to think of smoking like alcoholics think of drinking....I couldn't trust myself with having cigarettes around me or even having one cigarette. The way I was, as an addict (mentally, that is, the physical part went away quickly) , one cigarette was not going to make me feel better. Rather, when I smoked one I would be thinking about another, and so on and so on. It was really an all or nothing thing for me and I chose nothing. I realized a lot of benefits right off the bat--feeling better, food tasting better, sense of smell returning, looking younger (according to others) and, most importantly, not attenuating the time I spent with my family so I could be alone and smoke. I used to leave my kids at home when I "ran errands" (a euphemism for largely driving around and smoking) but now I take them with me and I cherish that time.

The hardest thing for me in quitting was that I always equated smoking with freedom, celebrating, joy, etc., and my default impulse when thinking about vacation, or a special occasion or accomplishment, was how it would be a little less joyous or special without my smokes. However, two things to keep in mind are (1) that feeling was purely prospective...once the event or whatever started I was ok and the events wasn't diminished and (2) that feeling ebbs in time. After about eighteen months to two years (addiction is a bitch) that feeling went away almost completely.

All the best Ace!

Posted by: john at February 25, 2015 09:41 AM (ZlZCk)

171 Many say they can't quit smoking.

Nonsense! I've done it a THOUSAND times!

but seriously, i, too, quit smoking about 20 years ago. we all have our motivations that Actually Work. i won't bore you with mine.

the hardest part of the addiction for me was the Physical Aspects of smoking: the flick of the ashes, the reaching for the cigarette in the ashtray, lather, rinse, repeat. very soothing physical mantras. type, type, type ... grab a puff, flick, put back in ashtray ... type, type, type. lather rinse repeat.

anyway, that was the Hard part for me.

Posted by: Waldo at February 25, 2015 10:13 AM (M1MpJ)

172 Ace, you're turning into a pussy. What next? Are you going to stop smoking crack?

Posted by: Lance Culpepper at February 25, 2015 10:28 AM (Ka4PK)

173 I would read more self-help books if only someone would help me find some good ones.

Posted by: glide55 at February 25, 2015 05:32 PM (Z2aee)

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