[Thad E Ginathom]

Giving up smoking is easy! I've done it lots of times!

(This joke needs to be on every page of this thread: I do my best )

Just as I repeat that trying or attempting to give up smoking is useless and doomed to failure. The only giving up that works is giving up, not trying to give up.

Originally Posted by vivek95

I agree with you. As a Doctor, I would say that gradual withdrawal from any addiction is "recommended"...

Yes Doc. My actual (rather than joke) giving up was aided by nicotine patches, reducing dose over three months.

Different methods (including cold-turkey) suit different folk, but the reason that patches worked for me is the constant dose. There is no hit from the patches (there is from the gum) and there is no bad withdrawal symptom either, just a very slight twinge each time the dosage is reduced. The patches keep you nicotine level high enough to avoid craving, but not high enough to enjoy.

It works so well that, after about ten weeks, I just started forgetting to stick the things on!

[am1m]

Got a call from an old friend today. Hadn't spoken with him for almost a year, so had a lot of catching up to do. Turns out he was put on cholesterol medication and that was having some negative side effects. Since I've been trying to bring down my cholesterol numbers too (though fortunately I've been able to do that just through cutting out some things from my diet and through exercise), we spoke about what we've been trying. Gave him all my suggestions, when suddenly he tells me that he started smoking again after quitting for almost 2 years! Probably thought I'd have some sympathy because we used to be smoking buddies at our first job together 20 years ago, but I'm afraid I instead lost it a bit with him- what's the point of talking about medication, diet, or exercise if you're going to do the one thing guaranteed to exacerbate the problem?!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by am1m

... when suddenly he tells me that he started smoking again after quitting for almost 2 years!

Seems to be a danger point. I've heard of it from several smokers in the past.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Seems to be a danger point. I've heard of it from several smokers in the past.

Frankly, I'm quite put out- this is the second good friend of mine who isn't ready to quit smoking, despite the obvious detrimental health effects. I feel like I should be doing more, but at the same time apart from making a pest of myself by bugging them to stop, what else can I do?!

[kurmist]

I smoked for 30+ years. Yes, started when I was 18-19 thinking it was the "cool" thing to do. Never stopped, continued for the next 30 years, however over a period of time brought my intake down from 15+ a day to around 5 - 6 per day. Never had I even imagined that I would stop, or even made any effort to do so.

However, when Covid struck and lockdown happened, prices shot up from approx. Rs. 300 per packet to around Rs. 800 - 1100 per packet (depending on brand and availability). THAT was the one and only catalyst required. Woke up one fine day and wondered why I was making the cigarette-walla rich at my expense and at a huge cost to my health.

Didn't think too much and just stopped smoking in that very instant That was March 2020 and its now been 2 years. The first 2 - 4 weeks are the worst, where you are irritable and grouchy. After that, it becomes much easier. What also helped initially, was that due to the lockdown, I was also not exposed to other peoples' smoking and hence put in the way of temptation.

So many benefits to note after giving up. Financial, health (used to have a continuous cough and lung build-up issue) etc.

[josetom89]

Allen Carr's easy way to quit smoking (Book) did the trick for me. Smoked few times after that but never had the urge to restart that habit after those relapses.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by am1m

I feel like I should be doing more, but at the same time apart from making a pest of myself by bugging them to stop, what else can I do?!

Nothing. Did you take any notice of friends and family when you smoked? I didn't. We have to make our own decisions.

[eyesice]

This thread is an inspiration. Team BHP Rocks!

I have been smoking for about 13 years now (oddly never smoked in college!). I have literally tried to quit every other week all these years but have failed in a grand fashion so far. I smoke mostly during office with co-workers and as of now, I am averaging 3 - 5 cigarettes a day.

I very rarely smoke when I am alone and most of my smoking is with friends / co-workers. I never get cravings while at home (even during weekends / holidays). I read Allen Carr back in late 2019 and went on smoke free period of upto 2 years. It was the best period of my recent life that I can remember.

Now that offices have reopened, I have fallen back into the same trap. For the past 3 months, I have been trying to quit every single day. I can literally explain how my mind works these days

8:00 AM: Usually I go for a run and post that my mind is clear and confident that I am not going to smoke today.
10:30 AM: I reach office, and immediately the little monster kicks in and slowly tells me that I can have that one morning cigarette. This is the peak time the craving kicks in and I give up.
Post Lunch: My co-workers go for a smoke and I follow along. Pathetic I would say.
Evening Tea: You know how this works. I mostly don't even need one now but still its a ritual
While returning home: By this time, the rational mind wakes up and shouts at me to stop. I feel pathetic and helpless.

And the cycle repeats.

Just like what James Clear tells about the Cue -> Craving -> Action -> Reward, I very well know my triggers. It's just that I am failing everyday to rewire my mind every single day.

I have run out of ideas on how to get out of this loop and hence decided to post this as a log for myself. I am planning to stop smoking from tomorrow onward and see how long I can go. This time, I have started listening to Allen Carr again on my way to work and back home as well as keep a bunch of nicotine gums just in case I need them.

Sorry for the long rant. Will keep you all posted!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by eyesice

I have literally tried to quit every other week

That's your problem. You tried to quit. Cue old joke:

Giving up smoking is easy: I've done it lots of times.

There is no point in trying. Trying means you might not succeed. And guess what, you won't.

Give up trying, attempting, and all those words and do it. Don't try to give up smoking: give up smoking.

Absolute decision. No going back. No alternatives. No get-out possibility allowing failure.

I have run out of ideas on how to get out of this loop

Give up trying and just do it. Byebye loop!

It's actually not nearly as hard as you think it is, but you'll only realise that afterwards.

You don't even have to go cold turkey. You can use patches (my recommendation, see my other posts in the thread), or anything except one thing. You can ease your journey towards being a non-smoker. But the first, absolutely necessary thing is your decision. That means you must also seriously want to, not just be messing around with yourself and nicotine. I'm sure many of us did that a few times!

The one thing you cannot use for helping yourself become a non-smoker is cutting down. It doesn't work. It's just an excuse for pretending to give up but not really.

(I've just made it to thirty smoke-free years. The above is how I did it)

[am1m]

Met up with 15 friends from college over the weekend. All of us used to smoke in college (over 20 years ago). Surprised to see that at least 10 of them were still smoking. And all of them said they "smoked only on occasions like this"! Well, they certainly made up for the occasion, I must say. Felt queasy and sick after a couple of hours in that place with the secondary smoke. Can't believe I used to sit like this for hours, smoking too, for years. I don't think I'll be attending any more of these reunions unless it's in an outdoor setting! Thank god I quit, certainly the best thing I've done in my life!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by am1m

Surprised to see that at least 10 of them were still smoking. And all of them said they "smoked only on occasions like this"!

Inflicting their smoke on the non-smokers.

No doubt you and I are both nice guys, with some consideration for others. But didn't we both do this too when we smoked?

It still amazes me that I just expected others to put up with it. In fact, never even thought about it, most of the time.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Inflicting their smoke on the non-smokers.

But didn't we both do this too when we smoked?

I'm sure I did, especially since I did most of my smoking before the whole no-smoking in restaurants was this strict. In this particular case though, I wouldn't categorize it as them inflicting their smoke on me - it was a smoking section, it was my choice to go there and continue to sit there.

(I'm all for people quitting smoking, but for those who still want to smoke, I'm not in favour of forcibly closing off every possible space for them, that's already shrinking anyway.)

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by am1m

(I'm all for people quitting smoking, but for those who still want to smoke, I'm not in favour of forcibly closing off every possible space for them, that's already shrinking anyway.)

Fair enough!

Back in office days, I used to eat lunch at a particular restaurant. Sometimes it would get full and table-sharing would be necessary.

There was one bunch of dining women, that I got to be on chatting terms with, that, if I joined their table, it was understood that they smoked, because they did.

[Su-47]

Hopefully, what I'm going to discuss is topic-adjacent and not completely off:

I find cigarette smoke smell to be very unpleasant and try my best to avoid it by staying away from smoking areas. Unfortunately, a smoker seems to have moved into the apartment-building and smokes in a bathroom that has a ventilation duct which is vertically shared with other apartments. This renders that particular bathroom almost unusable. I find this weird, as the bathroom is ventilated with an exhaust fan. Maybe, I don't understand how smoke moves...

Can something be done to take care of this smell? Do activated carbon filters help? Or, are there any products specially designed to take care of cigarette smoke smell?

And, just because I can smell the smoke, does it also mean that I'm passive smoking and getting exposed to harms associated with it?

Thanks!

[100Kmphormore]

A perspective from a non smoker on this.

As someone who hasnt touched/tried a cigarette or alcohol but watched 2 others pass away and one who landed in the hospital, quit both immediately, for the sake of those around you. The save money/gained weight/cant shit rationale is pure rubbish. Your lungs are fried, you stench of ugly, your arteries are full of plaque and valves hardened, non smokers hate you for the unpleasant smell and causing them more harm in the form of passive smoking, you are that much closer to a heart attack. You may be constipated, but what goes in, has to come out eventually.

My family is full of non smokers and hence that environment helped in not getting to the habit. Outside, if you dont smoke/drink/gamble, you arent considered cool these days. Damn them. I would rather my Scorpio/Himalayan do that for me. I find that irresistible feeling with food/coffee and if controlled, wont kill/hurt you. I may have had a grand lunch, but call me to a good pizzeria for dinner and I WILL join you types, but also jog my ass off to control my weight. every meal = 45 mins of jogging.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Inflicting their smoke on the non-smokers.

No doubt you and I are both nice guys, with some consideration for others. But didn't we both do this too when we smoked?

It still amazes me that I just expected others to put up with it. In fact, never even thought about it, most of the time.

This mindset is very bad. I once asked a fellow rider who smoked in our presence to smoke somewhere else. Was rudely asked to move away ourselves. I was like, see you at heaven 25 years later after you go there!