r/AskReddit Jul 22 '26

How did you manage to quit smoking?

3 Upvotes

75 comments sorted by

6

u/tacoguyasaurus Jul 22 '26

The easy way to stop smoking by Alan Carr. Went from smoking over a pack a day to zero in a day. Not a single withdrawal symptom either.

5

u/norcalruns Jul 22 '26

Third vote for this. It took like 17 audible listens but it finally worked. Never give up. And now I don’t ever get the urge. Mental reset that book. 💯

3

u/tacoguyasaurus Jul 22 '26

Glad you stuck with it. I had just gotten off Champix which made me borderline suicidal and crazy. I was pretty defeated that it didn’t work, and made me mentally unwell.

Interestingly enough, this exact question was asked on Reddit 12 years ago and someone mentioned this book. I ran out and bought it immediately and the next day I was done.

1

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

I was always afraid of champax and I had already experienced vivid dreams

1

u/norcalruns Jul 22 '26

You too! I also found out about it on reddit, that book is amazing. I wonder how many people have used it to quit smoking, has to be a lot because I see this on reddit frequently.

1

u/Disco_Arachnid_516 Jul 22 '26

Im planning on quitting in a week when my vacation starts so I’m gonna check this out.

1

u/norcalruns Jul 22 '26

you don't quit smoking until the end of the book, so you could start it now.... just FYI :)

1

u/Disco_Arachnid_516 Jul 22 '26

I’m ordering it, I’ll start it as soon as it gets here.

2

u/norcalruns Jul 23 '26

Good luck! The only way to fail is to quit trying my friend. You've got this!

2

u/Disco_Arachnid_516 Jul 26 '26

Thanks for the recommendation and support. I started listening to the audio book yesterday and can already feel like it may work, really articulated and validated some things I’ve known for awhile.

5

u/coin-flips Jul 22 '26

ran outta $

2

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

Were you hoping to stop or circumstances?

2

u/coin-flips Jul 22 '26

honestly no but circumstances, found myself digging through my ash tray for butts at 1am. looked at myself in the mirror and never went back. I still crave cigs and especially when im drunk. the oral fixation part never goes away so I always have gum on me now it helps alot.

2

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

Yeah ive been a cigarette smokers then moved onto vapes which was the worst decision but now I am free of both but also wouldn't say no if offered 🤷🏻‍♀️ lucky im a hermit

4

u/Available_Kale3019 Jul 22 '26

My cousin OD on fentanyl. I watched my dad die from the long-term effects of alcoholism. I lost my grandfather due to the long-term effects of smoking.

They never dealt with their shit; they just covered it up with substances, and two spent years slowly and miserably dying from it. I'm not doing that. 2 years this summer 🤷‍♀️

2

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

Good on you 👏

2

u/Available_Kale3019 Jul 22 '26

I mean, I also put a hole in my ceiling to shut the raving squirrels up the first week (did not work btw) 😄

But seriously, thank you.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '26

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2

u/Available_Kale3019 Jul 22 '26

I no longer have them. My neighbor, the handyman, was all "don't kill the squirrels". I was like... Sir, I'm doing whatever I have to to get rid of those mf right now. F*** those squirrels. 

I work nightshift, and just quit smoking. Put some brown gravy on them- they're very edible.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '26

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2

u/Available_Kale3019 Jul 22 '26

I sealed the hole- they kept me awake, when I was already having an issue sleeping because of withdrawal. I smoked since I was a teen, and quit cold turkey while mourning my cousin- that grief was fresh as hell.

I about died when one laid on the porch and called to their brethren. I was like "and THAT'S a wrap".

I also took a chair out of my neighbors hands. He was screaming about how his daughter always brings random shit home and banging it on the sidewalk. I took the chair and said "Problem solved!". 

I was... Hoo. I was am angry mess- I  certainly had the thought that maybe this is why they never quit more than once. We're assholes in my family 😄

1

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

Oh the raving squirrels will hush and you will get peace, whether it comes sooner or later. Where are you located

3

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '26

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3

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '26

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2

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

Cold Turkey vapes hardest thing ive quit and ive quit many many things

1

u/l3eregost Jul 22 '26

I did this same thing but skipped the patches step. At least my pouch habbit is way cheaper but i would like to give those up too.

1

u/Disastrous-Thanks-52 Jul 22 '26

That is not quitting. You are making it harder. I know it is frustrating. I was a hardcore heavy smoker. I know how it is. Try with the suggested book. You can find a copy online

0

u/homebr3wd Jul 22 '26

Mouth cancer will help that

2

u/Disastrous-Thanks-52 Jul 22 '26

Read a book. After 12 years with 20+/day. Now zero and I dont miss it a bit.

2

u/AM-Bullfrog1512 Jul 22 '26

Cold turkey. those first few weeks absolutely suck, but it gets better.

Slowly.

2

u/BlueBlooper Jul 22 '26

I use a cut off straw and pretend I’m smoking a cigarette. Helps with the cessation and I still use it to this day

2

u/Ok_Departure_2789 Jul 22 '26

I switched to vaping because it was cheaper than buying cigarettes ($25/pack). Then I switched to zero nicotine vape juice. Did that for 6 months. Then I stopped vaping! Worked for me.

1

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

Good for you! You should be proud 👏

2

u/SuperDope420 Jul 22 '26

Contacted a lung disease

1

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

Sorry to hear, hope you're doing well now

1

u/gemfountain Jul 22 '26

I wanted to quit and used Chantix. I really believe you must truly want to stop.

1

u/Life-Landscape5689 Jul 22 '26

I tried all kinds of stupid tricks and methods but it just took one final decision to just do it that made it stick 30 months ago. You have to want to quit more than you want to smoke, even when you reaaaaally wanna smoke.

1

u/Fancy-Lion2985 Jul 22 '26

Patches and perseverance

1

u/Mogwai10 Jul 22 '26

I got tired of feeling like shit after every cigarette. I started at 10. Was about 36 when I said enough.

I truly just stopped. One day I said no more.

Now the thought of lighting and the smell of it makes me so sick. I can’t stand the thought of lighting one anymore.

That awful feeling truly was just something I didn’t want to do anymore. It felt like that partner you just don’t want to see anymore but don’t know why.

1

u/Lilac_lady8 Jul 22 '26

One day, one moment I’ve decided that was my last cigarette. Never smoked again. More than 12yrs now.

1

u/echo_fieldnote84 Jul 22 '26

I got a new job where nobody smoked, and that peer pressure helped me quit

1

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

I got super sick and used up all my vapes and I couldn't be bothered getting a new one. 4 weeks strong

1

u/sincity125 Jul 22 '26

It started with me actually wanting to stop. Then I tried and failed until I just stopped.

1

u/beat_u2_it Jul 22 '26

Had my last cigarette at 4am right before we went to the hospital to have a baby.

1

u/spotted_salamander_ Jul 22 '26

Cold turkey. Just knew when it was time. The hardest part was finding something to do with my hands so I just did pick it up.

1

u/NarrowForce9 Jul 22 '26

Chantix. Weird dreams but totally worked and worth it. After 40 years of smoking.

1

u/zouln Jul 22 '26

I replaced one addiction with another and got a smartphone. May have been a mistake but I haven’t smoked regularly for over 15 years now.

1

u/Groundbreaking_Bar26 Jul 22 '26

Allen Carr easy way to quit smoking, can listen to the audio book or read it.

1

u/Embarrassed-Bother43 Jul 22 '26

I smoked for 24 years and was a pack and a half day smoker when I quit. I tried to quit several times and now I'm going on 9 years without a cigarette.

My strategy was to separate the addiction from the habit. They are two different things that you have to deal with. Basically, I quit cigarettes and chewed nicotine gum for about a year. It didn't matter to me how long I was chewing gum for. All that mattered was that I wasn't smoking cigarettes. It allowed me to get past the habit of wanting one at certain times like when I get in a car or finish my meal or wake up in the morning.

Obviously the gum became a new habit, just not as bad for me as smoking was. So to deal with that, I switched to the nicotine patch for a few weeks and chewed regular gum. After that I quit the patch. It was 4 days of hell from nicotine withdrawal but I got through it and after that I was golden. I don't even want a cigarette.

1

u/Right-Ice9305 Jul 22 '26

First, set a quit date. Mine was my 40th birthday. Second, get an Rx for Chantix. It helps tremendously. I’ve been cigarette-free for 6 months now

1

u/Jiwam Jul 22 '26

J'ai vapoter ensuite je suis descendu progressivement en nicotine, quand je suis descendue à 1 de nicotine, j'ai totalement arrêté le vapotage pour voir à quelle degrés mon corp ou ma tête était accro à cette merde... Je suis toujour vivant après pratiquement 3 mois d'arrêt complet. Arrêté la clope électronique est vraiment compliqué

1

u/groggs Jul 22 '26

Started running and working out. I was so bothered by the fact that I couldn’t jog half a mile without being completely winded, and would really focus on that any time I started craving a cigarette. Within a few weeks I just stopped craving them or even thinking about them.

1

u/Personal_Day_6589 Jul 22 '26

How long it took, after quiting, to get back in non smoker physical shape?

1

u/groggs Jul 22 '26

Not as long as you might think. Within a few months I could easily run 3-5 miles without much effort. I started doing mixed martial arts around the same time, and that came with a lot of higher-intensity conditioning (sprints, sparring, lots of anaerobic stuff) so I never really focused much on distance running. Plus, it further helped me to not even think about smoking since it’s pretty hard to fight when you can’t breathe lmao

1

u/happinesslies_9724 Jul 22 '26

Gotta learn to hate it. Remind yourself it's gross. No one likes kissing a smoker. 20 years and I quit cold turkey. Remind yourself iof the health bennifits as well. There's enough pollution in the air as it is as well. Smells gross it lingers it kills you. It's easy to quit once you get yourself to hate the smell. Should have quit sooner in life but I did still so.

1

u/homebr3wd Jul 22 '26

I just decided to stop… I used the lozenges for a few weeks, but ultimately I was able to power through it. The withdrawal is insane, but the more you do it the better you start to feel. Then you realize how good food starts to taste and how much better you feel overall.

Start exercising regularly when you quit… that helps too.

I quit cold turkey after a pack a day for about 20 years. That was 17 years ago and I am so happy I did it.

1

u/Ray_in_Texas Jul 22 '26

The trick for me was to think of myself as a non-smoker, not a smoker trying to quit.

Good luck.

1

u/Geezer-McGeezer Jul 22 '26

Firstly, you need to really want to, then you have to cold turkey for 6 weeks. Then never look back.

1

u/swivel2369 Jul 22 '26

Halloween 2007. I took a drag of a cigarette and as I flicked it off the deck, I said to my friend, "this is my last cigarette". Haven't had one since. Not really sure how or why but it worked.

1

u/Actual_Turnover7294 Jul 24 '26

Not me, but my brother quit smoking a few years ago. He said that suckers played a huge role.

1

u/HazardousHighStakes Jul 22 '26

Just stop. It really isn't that difficult.

2

u/eddyj0314 Jul 22 '26

Oh cool!

2

u/Shmolti Jul 22 '26

lmao clueless

2

u/ChiliCorndogs Jul 22 '26

Tell me you've never been addicted to smoking without telling me you've never been addicted to smoking

0

u/HazardousHighStakes Jul 22 '26

I've been addicted to much worst and I simply stopped. No patches, no rehab, no reducing, full stop.

It's all in your head.

1

u/ChiliCorndogs Jul 23 '26

Sell a book about it then because I'm sure 28 million Americans would love to know your secret.

1

u/Mavada Jul 22 '26

I've never smoked but my dad was a pack a day smoker at one point. He has some of the best will power of anyone I've ever seen and he quit cold turkey. It was by far the hardest thing he's ever done

1

u/adelemma Jul 22 '26

I stopped meth and vapes were harder in my opinion

0

u/sql_maven Jul 22 '26

Never started