Since I quit drinking I am trying to give up smoking and failing miserably.
I thought it will be much easier as I chain smoked when having alcohol, but it’s actually harder now. Especially in social situations I find it almost impossible to have sparkling water and nothing else in my hand. I also drink more coffee now so the morning battle not to have a smoke is really tough.
I will really appreciate it if you could share with me some resources on nicotine addition or some tips how did you stop.
Is there a book worth reading or maybe a podcast?
I have a stressful sales job where a great deal of colleagues smoke and the fact that my flatmate smokes like a chimney doesn’t help either.
Thank you!! 
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Ah, I’m afraid I can’t be much help. After trying champix tablets and nicotine patches, I finally quit smoking for good just by going cold turkey, playing a TON of video games and avoiding people for like . . . a year. My sister quit the same way with her husband. If cold turkey isn’t for you, other people I know quit using an e-cig and slowly reducing the amount of nicotine they put in. It’s hard, but quitting smoking is definitely worth keeping up with. I haven’t smoked in about 10 years and don’t miss or regret kicking the habit - even when spending time with friends who smoke.
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It’s hard but doable Devisi. I quit CT almost 6 years ago. The first two weeks was really hard, after that it became easier. The mindgames kept playing for a long time so you need knowledge. Knowledge of tobacco, knowledge of addiction and knowledge how to break addiction’s back.
What helped me was preparation and a plan. What helped me was peer support. I joined a quit smoking support site that sadly doesn’t exist anymore. But there’s a thread here that has lots of knowledge and support: Grumpy A-holes (quitting cigarettes/ nicotine products)
Take your time scrolling through it. A book I can recommend is Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking . It is aimed at quitting cold turkey, but it helps anyone whatever method they use. Great help in getting the right mindset to quit and stay quit.
Like all addictions in the end it’s all in the mind. Physical withdrawal is pretty tough but it won’t last longer then two weeks max and it isn’t worse than the flu. It’s harder to break the habit. Everything we did went together with smoking. I know as I smoked two packs a day for 35 years. I’m still using toothpicks as substitute. Think about it. Gain knowledge. Make a plan. Find help. You can do this but it’s work, like all addictions we recover from. It takes work. But it is doable. Success Devisi.
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I use to chain smoke pretty bad after i quit drinking, its a disgusting habit and i finally got tired of it. Really did nothing for me but relieve a little anxiety give me something to do and stained my teeth, probably shaved a bit of time off my ticker but i had to get sic of it first before i decided i didnt need it. It just wouldnt give me any effect anymore i smoked like a chimney I wasted enough money so figured it was time to let it go. Tootsie pops, blow pops, and sugar free gum helped with getting through the motions or now sometimes i have a tooth pic that i chew on and i dont think about it much. My dad had a heart attack from smoking so that was motivation as well dont want that to happen to me
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10 years! Wow! I really want to be there…
What really annoys me is the fact that I quit smoking for 2.5 years, then had a bad time and picked up again. That was three years ago.
Previously I quit cold turkey and I thought I would be able to do it once more now, but for some reason it seems impossible for my brain to accept that I don’t want to drink nor smoke.
I made it two days recently and the headache was unbearable. I will look into that e-cigarettes.
Thank you for your opinion 
Thank you so much!! I will definitely read both the thread and the book.
You are right, I definitely need the knowledge and the right mindset.
Over the last 3 years I would quit for a month, then pick up, have 3 months break and pick up, few weeks clean and pick up again. I’m really fed up with constant withdrawals and just wish I could do it once and for all.
Thank you for taking time to write a reply, very helpful
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I quit smoking awhile back and posted this a few times.
One tip I forgot to put in there was. They had us pick a stop date. Like in a week. Know you’re going to stop on a certain day. And keep count each cigarette you have. They gave us a counter. And log how many you had at the end of the day.
Good luck.
It’s so worth it.
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I totally agree with the anxiety. Stress and anxiety are really high at present as I don’t drink so cigarettes were numbing me a bit.
I have just reached my milestone for the first day without a smoke. I feel really crap and rough but I’m determined not to pick up this time. Been a smoker for 13 years, it’s enough of that nonsense.
Thank you for replying!
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I smoked for 20 years. I started when I was 13. I quit cold turkey for 6 months when I was 16. I didn’t try again until I was 29. I tried the patches and they worked ok but I went back time and time again. I went to the vape cig and ended up smoking both cigs and the vape. I ended up doing Chantix. The first time I made it 6 months and relapsed. The 2nd time I took it for 5 months because I didn’t want to stop taking the medicine for fear of smoking again. I haven’t had a cig in 2 years and almost 8 months. My husband still smokes like a train. He doesn’t smoke in our house or vehicles. Those were hard boundaries and the car was a fight because I had smoked in our jeep when I was a smoker. I actually quit drinking for the first 6 months because I knew I’d smoke. One of the first time I did drink I literally cried in a pool hall because I “couldn’t smoke”. I don’t know if that was me weirdly grieving cigarettes but since then I haven’t had a terrible time. Every once in a while I’ll get a random craving and I have to just shrug it off because it’s like drinking for me. If I pick up 1 cig I won’t stop again.
I picked up gum chewing and when driving I carry a bag of jerky or hard candy with me. I also used a straw when driving. Hold it between the fingers I used to use for cigs.
Good luck! There are many ways to quit and it’s the best decision you can make (except never picking up)
I just wanted to say that I read Allen Carr’s book last week and today I have reached 7 days without a cigarette without mourning or feeling like I am sacrificing anything.
I recommend it to anyone struggling with smoking. It is a huge relief that I don’t have to smoke anymore. 
Thank you all for your replies!
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Keep at it, it gets easier. I quit cold turkey because I wanted to be able to breathe again and not almost die when I work out 
Just make the decision to be a non smoker and stick to it. Non negotiable. Its not your life anymore…
Don’t use patches or vape or any of the things people use to try and quit, it is possible to do on your own. You just need to want to.
If I did it, you can 
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Just thought I might update this topic as I am very proud of myself today.
Thank you all for your replies and advice, it helped a lot
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Nice job!!! Quitting smoking is soooo hard! Well done. Are you feeling somewhat back to normal mentally?
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Yes, absolutely. I dont think about smoking at all. I don’t miss it and I don’t crave it.
Few “friends” are less friendly since we don’t share stuff on cigarettes break, but if all we had in common was a cigarette, then I don’t regret it.
I only wish I stopped sooner, I was a smoker for 11 years
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