Typing this as I’m watching the espn 30 for 30 about Jimmy V and they just had a speech of his about never stop fighting.

Today has been a challenge. Day 6 is where I tripped up last time. Going to bed and getting ready to fight tomorrow and fight for my future.

Hi there everyone! My mother (52F) just quit smoking 3 weeks ago. She has smoked nearly a pack a day since she was 15. (I’m SO proud of her!!) however she can’t drink coffee without craving a cigarette and is looking for caffeine alternatives. We’ve tried matcha, but she’s use to 3-4 coffees per day (sometimes she’d be drinking one at 8pm with her smoke) and 3 matcha per day still isn’t giving her the energy she’s use to.

What are your go to caffeine alternatives? Or natural ways to help aid energy?

OR how long did it take for your energy to naturally come back after quitting cigarettes/coffee?

A stressful period is coming to an end soon for me, and then I get some time to finally kick this addiction in the butt. Feel free to use this thread to tell me how you're doing out there. I wanna hear the good, the bad, the ugly, the fantastic, what helped you along the way, whether your life was forever changed or you settled into a quiet normalcy without addiction. :)

I first started smoking carts back in July and only hit it about once a week up until September. After stopping I have experienced slight but noticeable memory loss. My memory was always good and is still good (considerably above average) but why am I experiencing this? I know I barely even smoked but is it possible that the 15-20 times I’ve smoked my cart it resulted in this? Could it just be a placebo?

I need some tips on how to quit smoking . Im only 23 but i’ve been smoking since the age of 15. I cant say its my environments fault but i’ve had plenty of opportunities to quit. I’ve tried the patches,gums so on so far but nothing satisfies my cravings. i smoke black & milds. i usually have one in the morning,one in the noon & one at night. not only that but i smoke weed with every black. it’s starting to catch up with my appetite & appearance. I want to leave them both alone starting today. im going to take advice & update you all in a month 💜

I’ve been smoking for a week on Chantix and I was wondering how other people’s experiences went with Chantix

When somebody quits smoking, they read quit smoking advice as all of us did/do.

Then when said advice doesn't work, the addict brain will convince you that quitting is useless, and some will start smoking again.

It's important to know that we're all different. Some things work perfectly for some, while disastrous for others.

So, let's share some stop smoking advice that didn't work for us personally!

I'll start. My situation is a bit unique, but when I quit smoking, I found out I'm allergic to nicotine replacement products. Gum, spray, patches, you name it, I'm allergic to all of them. If I use them, I get rashes all over my face and body. To be clear, this is a very rare allergy, I just happened to be one of them with it, thank you for that one universe! If you're in the same situation, I managed to quit anyway, and you can too.

Secondly, I've also seen people recommending to have a pack of cigarettes at home, using it as a motivator to tell yourself "I can smoke, but I won't". That didn't work for me AT ALL. I had to throw out all cigarette related things, the pack itself, lighters, and my ashtray when I quit.

What are some quitting smoking tips that didn't work for you?

Hi everyone, this is my 17th day of quitting smoking. Been a heavy smoker for close to 14 years.

Though I am over the craving phase ( atleast for now), I have been hitting the gym consistently for around a month. Few days back, I tried working out on a stationary cycle and couldnt even do it for more than 5 minutes. This blew my breath away and was feeling dizzy for a while. Ever since then, I been having flu like symptoms, like chest cold, slight fever and sneezing. Is this normal or something else?

We have a live discord chat running right now: https://discord.gg/3pYVykQHJG

We run 1-hour meetings at 10am and 5pm EST Mon-Fri. Can't wait to see you there!

Now u am struggling so hard to quit. I ran a half marathon my quit went so well...then my mum died. The stress of it and now any stress is amplified where I can't help but go smoke just to get out of the stress... but it makes anxiety worse.

Never have just one, or a few... now I am a nicotine addict again. I'm so hard on myself and it seems now I will never quit. Life's too hard.

Many smokers believe that cigarettes help them focus better, using this as one of the reasons they don't want to quit. But is this true? Do cigarettes actually improve concentration? The answer is both yes and no. Let me explain.

Cigarettes are not just a habit, they are an addiction, thanks to nicotine.
As we all know, cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance. When you inhale cigarette smoke, nicotine reaches your brain in just 10 seconds, triggering the release of dopamine a chemical that produces a feeling of pleasure. However, as soon as you finish the cigarette, withdrawal symptoms begin to appear within an hour. These symptoms include difficulty concentrating, restlessness, and irritability.

What do we do then? We light another cigarette. The symptoms go away, but the problem is that the cigarettes themselves caused those symptoms in the first place. The issue was never your concentration it was the cigarette. This creates the illusion that cigarettes help. However, this improvement is very short-lived because you’ll soon experience withdrawal symptoms again, and you’ll need another cigarette. The more and longer you smoke, the more cigarettes you’ll need to bring yourself back to an optimal state.

Here’s the biggest issue. Research shows that nicotine doesn’t improve concentration in the long term. On the contrary, it negatively affects memory, attention, and cognitive functions. Cigarettes contain over 7,000 chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic. One of these is carbon monoxide a gas also emitted by cars and present in cigarette smoke. This gas reduces the oxygen levels in your brain and blood, which can impair mental performance.

So, not only does smoking fail to help your concentration, but it also damages your mental and physical health in the long run.

I’m a month into quitting after 6 ish years of having a cigarette/vaping every 45 minutes to an hour. I quit cold turkey and haven’t looked back since the end of the first week. My reasons were solid and I was properly motivated, however one issue I’ve had that hasn’t gone away is that i think i’m constantly mildly constipated. I say “I think” because now i’m wondering if my frame of reference for this comes from a place of having near constant mild diarrhea from nicotine.

Before quitting, I would poop every day after my first smoke. And it’s literally the only thing that’s tempting me to break my streak right now. I feel like I poop different and I don’t go every day like i used to and today I just want to have half a cigarette so that i can have what i consider to be a normal bowel movement. I’ve tried eating more fiber, i’ve tried chia seeds and changing positions and coffee and oatmeal and cutting out dairy/processed meats/fried food. I’m afraid to try laxatives because I work all week and I’m not guaranteed a free stall while working and i don’t really wanna shit myself at work.

I guess what i’m asking is, did anyone else who quit deal with something similar? if so, how did you deal with it if you were able to?

Hi, I’m writing this post to share that I just smoked the last cigarette of my last pack. I’ve been thinking about quitting for the past couple of weeks, and today I made a purchase for something I really wanted but knew I couldn’t afford if I kept smoking. Over the past few weeks, I’ve already been cutting down by limiting where I smoke—no more smoking in my car or at home.

I know the next few weeks will be tough, especially with university exams coming up, but I’m determined to stick to this. Wish me luck!

I am 1 month 25 days into my quit journey. One thing I have recently discovered is that anxiety really kicks up those smoking urges.

How do you recommend I handle these anxiety-fueled triggers?

What is your primary trigger?

I'm quitting today. I've been having an odd sensation in my throat and it clicks now when I swallow.

Yes, I know, go to the doctor. Working on that.

I have about 3/4 of a pack on my dresser that I will be gifting to a random stranger that smokes once I get to work.

As for me, I have my wife to look out for. Wish me luck and let's just pray this isn't cancer.

Did somebody try to stop smoking using nicotine pouches as a way of replacing nicotine ? Because I have tried it and now I use too many pouches and I dont track the time during which I use it. Does somebody has the same issue and if so, have you tried to track it somehow maybe with some app ?

Ugh.

I go literally all day long without giving smoking a second thought.

Then the evening rolls around and it's time for a cigarillo on the back porch. Every. God. Damn. Night. I give in, acting like it'll be the last one.

Instead of just fucking going to bed I'll literally wait for my girlfriend to go to sleep so I can go out and do this.

Back to day one lads. Time to finally put some effort into stopping like I promised I would. Wish I could say it's been a fun ride but it wasn't even, just a pointless waste of time, money and longevity.

We have a live discord chat running right now: https://discord.gg/3pYVykQHJG

We run 1-hour meetings at 10am and 5pm EST Mon-Fri. Can't wait to see you there!

Congratulations!

We all have something to celebrate! We will not be smoking for the next 24 hours! What are you using to cope with cravings? How many days smoke free are you? Please discuss your progress and feelings in the comments!

Discord Group: As a reminder, meetings are held on the discord group: Monday through Friday at 5-6pm EST. An additional meeting will begin at 10am EST starting 9/18/2023. Invite Link

More meetings will be added in the future to support more time zones.

First time posting on Reddit but have been following this sub for a few months since I first began thinking about quitting. Just wanted to post a message detailing my experience so far with the info I would have found helpful when deciding to quit/quitting. Hopefully this will be useful to some of you.

Context

• 35 years old. Male. United Kingdom.
• Smoked for 16 years
• Averaged about 7-10 cigarettes a day for the most part, but would smoke more if out for a drink.
• Lead an otherwise relatively healthy life style – average diet, exercise 3 times a week, average weight etc.

Affects of Smoking/Reasons to Quit

• Appearance – I had started to notice how grey/sallow my appearance was getting over the last couple of years, and it was beginning to bother me more and more. I was noticing more wrinkles, my eyes were beginning to look sunken, loss of fat in my cheeks, and generally my complexion wasn’t great.
• Teeth – Although my teeth generally look ok, smoking has lead to receding gums and some gum disease.
• Circulation – I had begun to notice poor circulation, particularly in my hands. This meant my hands would generally go numb/tingly which I would notice when lying in bed reading or holding my phone. Also, it was having an effect on my erections, maybe only achieving 80% potency in that area for the last few years.
• Exercise – I play football 2 or 3 times a week and noticed I couldn’t sustain any extended periods of intensity without losing my breath completely. Also couldn’t swim front stroke at any speed or for any length of time due to shortness of breath.
• Long-Term/Old Age – The current/immediate effects of smoking were my main drivers to quit. However,  I was beginning to think more and more about the future and what that would be like if I continued to smoke. Based on what I have read, there is about 50% chance that smoking would kill me, and I would likely die an average of 10 years earlier than I would otherwise. If it didn’t kill me early then it would likely make me seriously ill anyway and greatly impair my health and well-being in my older age. Basically, by the time I got to a point that I may be able to enjoy my retirement I’d almost certainly be dead or seriously ill.

Quit Method

• I had been thinking about quitting for about 6 months or so and managed to reduce my cigarettes to 5 a day for about 4 months. However, reverted back to normal smoking habits after a holiday.
• I had planned to use Nicotine Patches and had bought Allen Carr’s book in preparation to quit in November. However, after smoking too many on a night out, and catching a cold at the same time, I decided to quit cold turkey when hungover as I was already feeling rough and had less desire to smoke anyway.
• I didn’t read Allen Carr’s book in the end, though I have a good idea of what it includes based on posts in this sub.
• For support, I used the following apps – Reddit (read lots and lots of posts on this sub, some really helpful). Also NHS Quit Smoking App, Smoke Free, Quit Tracker - these apps have various ways of tracking your progress, and the various health and financial benefits you achieve over time.

Symptoms/Withdrawals

• Initial Withdrawals - As mentioned before, I had a cold/sore throat when I quit so I already didn’t feel well and I believe that this helped me bypass or overlook the worst of withdrawals for the first few days, so I cannot comment too much on this. I believe my experience was kind of skewed and wasn’t as bad as it may have been if I had been feeling well.
• Smokers Flu – I went on to develop a chesty cough and my cold went on to last a couple of weeks in total - there were some headaches and runny nose/congestion etc. I believe some of this was what might be referred to as Smokers Flu, but I had already been ill anyway so I am not entirely sure.
• Cravings -  Physical cravings generally weren’t too bad and I can only really remember a handful of intense physical cravings during the first week. In the most part the worst cravings are mental and based on routine/habit. I believe I was also able to avoid the worst of this too as I was on leave from work for the first 2 weeks of quitting and was visiting family abroad – the fact that I wasn’t going about my normal daily/work routine made it easier to not be triggered with cravings. In general, over the course of the last 7 weeks, I think it has gotten easier each day and the cravings basically disappeared after 4 weeks.
• Sleep – my sleep was a bit disrupted for maybe the first 3 weeks or so. Falling asleep was fine but I would find that I would often wake up during the night, or early in the morning and find it difficult to fall back asleep. However, I am back to sleeping normally again now.
• Mood – I did experience some short tempers and general frustration, but this would not last long and have steadily decreased and stopped entirely after 3 or 4 weeks.
• Weight – I so far haven’t experienced any weight gain but I gave vigilantly tried to make sure that I did not increase any snacking and tried to keep my diet the same. I have also began drinking more water and reduced fizzy drinks to almost none as I also used to drink too much of these. I believe this may have helped to keep weight off, and even reduce slightly.

Benefits

• Appearance – my complexion has improved greatly and my face/skin just looks healthier in general. I began to notice the effects within the first couple of weeks and has continued to improve since then. Wrinkles under the eyes appear to have reduced, my eyes look less sunken, and I no longer look grey/ill. Hoping this will continue to improve over the coming weeks and months too.
• Teeth – my gums have started to return to a healthier colour and I expect this to continue to improve over the next few weeks.
• Circulation – My circulation began to improve gradually over the last 7 weeks, and although I still get some numbness/tingling in my hands it has reduced loads and is still steadily reducing. I expect it to have gone completely in the next couple of weeks.
• Erections – have now returned to 100% potency in the last week or so. Almost worth quitting for this alone!
• Money – Roughly saving around £185/£200 a month on cigarettes. Over £2,000 a year. Hadn’t really considered this before as had just got used to the expense, but it is definitely a huge bonus. I’m currently thinking I might use the money to treat me and my partner each month – maybe a massage or a nice meal out etc.
• Energy/Exercise – I have noticed a general increase in physical energy and willingness to be active/pro-active. I am running more during football and generally walking more and being more active.
• Mood/Mental Health – I feel like my mood and mental health has also improved. These were generally fine whilst smoking too, but I now feel a new kind of confidence and peace of mind now that I have quit. The odd tendency to overthink or experience of intrusive thoughts have pretty much gone and I generally feel healthier and happier.
• Hangovers – I don’t drink too often, maybe a night at the pub once a month or so. However, hangovers are a 1000 times more manageable now that I don’t smoke heavily on a night out.
• Taste/Smell – these have improved. Certain smells and tastes have become more pronounced and enjoyable, but overall I must admit it has not been a drastic change for me.
• Freedom – the ability to enjoy things and experience things without having to think plan/think around cigarettes. I also used to think it would be really difficult to enjoy a coffee or a beer without a cigarette but you can actually learn to enjoy these things themselves and they are just as good, if not better without smoking.
• General Health – I have been wearing a Fitbit for the last few years and this has highlighted the improvements to my health already – Heart Rate has reduced, Heart Rate Variability has increased, Breathing Rate whilst sleeping has decreased, Oxygen Saturation has increased.

I’m sure there are still a lot more benefits to come, and some I may have forgotten to mention, but I hope this info has been helpful to some of you.

Quitting is definitely worth it, and honestly gets easier with each day.

Good luck.

I feel bad. I used to smoke for 3 years then I stopped for 1 year. A week ago I started smoking again. 1 cigarette a day, today I smoked about 5 cigarettes.

I feel so bad I slipped.

I just destroyed cigarettes that I had left and threw away in trash.

Before I started smoking again, for 1 month I felt a really strong urge to smoke. I liked my routines I had with them, you know, after a meal, in the morning, on a terrace etc.

I hope this is the last day.

What I liked is that I am much more talkative when I smoke. I guess nicotine helps me relax and be more sociable. Not sure how to be the same way without cigarettes.