How I quit smoking - Update 75 days

[JakwoW]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

well, i won't condone smokeless tobacco no matter how much anyone tries to sell me on it.

congrats on kicking one habit.

please frequently do an inspection of your oral tissue, especially where you hold your tobacco. if you notice the tissue developing a white look to it that is at the least a pre-cancerous sign. at least try to move the tobacco around so you aren't holding it in one spot all the time.

know that smokeless tobacco users are more likely to develop throat, voice box, esophagus, tongue, and stomach cancer as compared to non-users.

also, you are at increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure.

dental diseases like tooth decay, receding gums, gum diseases, black hairy tongue, bad breath, and stained teeth are in your future.

stomach problems like stomachaches, ulcers, and increased bowel movements are other things you may see.

you may also experience a loss of taste and smell.

smokeless tobacco harms all users in some of these ways. some more than others. ultimately you won't escape any side effects.

as you can read, i'm not sugar coating it one bit. i see smokeless tobacco mouths all the time. this is not something i've "read on the internet". you should really quit while the quitting is good.

Stop it! You're guilting me into wanting to quit! Stop with your logic and factual information!

 

[child of wonder]

Here's what worked for me when I quit smoking.

I started smoking when I was 17. My son was born when I was 23. While I was home watching him in our town home I went outside the patio door for a smoke like I did once every couple hours. I would stand outside the glass patio doors with my son about 4 feet from them on the inside watching TV (he was 16 months at the time). One time while I was outside smoking and watching him he stood up and walked to the patio doors and smiled up at me. Right there I decided I had to quit.

My strategy was simply to slowly decrease the nicotine I was taking in then combat the mental addiction.

To decrease the nicotine I started puffing some of my cigarettes instead of inhaling. At first I'd take about 2-3 puffs like a cigar and inhale the rest. After a day I'd increase the amount of puffing. I also started decreasing the total number of cigarettes I smoked per day very gradually. Soon I was only puffing a couple cigarettes a day and wasn't inhaling much at all. After 2 days of that I realized how disgusting puffing a cigarette was. It tasted awful. Another 2 days went by and I just stopped doing it. The taste was nasty.

This December will be 5 years since I quit.

I still get small cravings when I'm out drinking but the worst I've ever done was take a single drag off someone's smoke one time since I quit. I've also puffed a couple cigars and cloves but no inhaling cigarettes.

 

[Mr. Lennon]

Cigarettes are for the weak.

 

[jfall]

congrats, you didn't quit a darn thing!

 

[marvdmartian]

OP, I'm not going to dump on you for substituting one form of nicotine for another, but I will encourage you to eventually quit the smokeless tobacco......and definitely will tell you that while it has less health concerns than smoking, your substitute is by no means healthy, especially if you're concerned about the effects on your heart!

According to this wikipedia page, the following happens when you intake nicotine to the human body:

Nicotine has very powerful effects on arteries throughout the body. Nicotine is a stimulant, speeding up the heart by about 20 beats per minute with every cigarette; it raises blood pressure, and is a vasoconstrictor, making it harder for the heart to pump through the constricted arteries. It causes the body to release its stores of fat and cholesterol into the blood.

Nicotine increases the risk of blood clots significantly. If blood clots in an artery, blood flow is reduced or halted, and tissue loses its source of oxygen and nutrients and dies in minutes.

Peripheral circulation, arteries going to the extremities, are also highly susceptible to the vasoconstrictor effects of nicotine as well as the increased risk of clots and clogging.

Sorry, but that doesn't sound too healthy to me, especially if you're worried about your heart health!!

Oh, and in case you think I'm some rabid non-smoker that preaches without knowledge, you should know that I too am an ex-tobacco user, who smoked for almost 24 years. Sadly, I watched those damn cigarettes kill my grandfather (emphysema) and my father (lung cancer), and it still took 3 years for me to smarten up and quit! :roll:

So definitely, GREAT job on quitting the smokes. Now do yourself and your loved ones a favor, and quit that damn nicotine altogether!!

 

[ManyBeers]

Two whole weeks without a cig and you think you're done huh! Come back in a year when you have actually Quit.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: Turin39789
I just went cold turkey. I think around the 12th time was the charm, but I've been clean for about 6 months now.

Same story here.

5 years ago now.

I had smoked for 8 years prior.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
OP, I'm not going to dump on you for substituting one form of nicotine for another, but I will encourage you to eventually quit the smokeless tobacco......and definitely will tell you that while it has less health concerns than smoking, your substitute is by no means healthy, especially if you're concerned about the effects on your heart!

According to this wikipedia page, the following happens when you intake nicotine to the human body:

Nicotine has very powerful effects on arteries throughout the body. Nicotine is a stimulant, speeding up the heart by about 20 beats per minute with every cigarette; it raises blood pressure, and is a vasoconstrictor, making it harder for the heart to pump through the constricted arteries. It causes the body to release its stores of fat and cholesterol into the blood.

Nicotine increases the risk of blood clots significantly. If blood clots in an artery, blood flow is reduced or halted, and tissue loses its source of oxygen and nutrients and dies in minutes.

Peripheral circulation, arteries going to the extremities, are also highly susceptible to the vasoconstrictor effects of nicotine as well as the increased risk of clots and clogging.

Sorry, but that doesn't sound too healthy to me, especially if you're worried about your heart health!!

Oh, and in case you think I'm some rabid non-smoker that preaches without knowledge, you should know that I too am an ex-tobacco user, who smoked for almost 24 years. Sadly, I watched those damn cigarettes kill my grandfather (emphysema) and my father (lung cancer), and it still took 3 years for me to smarten up and quit! :roll:

So definitely, GREAT job on quitting the smokes. Now do yourself and your loved ones a favor, and quit that damn nicotine altogether!!

Exactly why i very specifically stated in the OP that smokeless tobacco is not safe but merely the lesser of two evils.

Quitting nicotine all together will be next. I've got the smokes licked but I'm going to allow myself some time before going off the chew. When I start to go a few entire days at a time without thinking about the smokes then it'll be time to quit chewing.
At any rate...I'm just so ecstatic about being a non-smoker now I'm not really concerned with it. My body is thanking me already.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: Perry404
I've got the smokes licked but I'm going to allow myself some time before going off the chew. When I start to go a few entire days at a time without thinking about the smokes then it'll be time to quit chewing.
At any rate...I'm just so ecstatic about being a non-smoker now I'm not really concerned with it. My body is thanking me already.

I quit smoking two weeks ago and would never even think about chewing. The whole purpose of quitting smoking is to lose the nicotine addiction, not replace it with another form. Congrats on quitting smoking but you replaced one bad disgusting habit with another one.


When you say "Allow yourself" you're basically saying you're not going to quit. You're being weak. Now, go to the doctor, get some Chantix and be done with nicotine all together. Your lungs, heart, body, lip, will thank you.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
I quit smoking two weeks ago and would never even think about chewing. The whole purpose of quitting smoking is to lose the nicotine addiction, not replace it with another form. Congrats on quitting smoking but you replaced one bad disgusting habit with another one.

No your whole purpose was to get rid of the nicotine.
My whole purpose was to be healthier and live longer.
Nicotine isn't what kills.
Didn't have the strength to go cold turkey so I did the next best thing.
people can say what they like.
My lungs feel better
my heart feels better
my body feels better
I can run and work harder without getting winded
I FEEL GREAT!

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: Perry404

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
I quit smoking two weeks ago and would never even think about chewing. The whole purpose of quitting smoking is to lose the nicotine addiction, not replace it with another form. Congrats on quitting smoking but you replaced one bad disgusting habit with another one.

No your whole purpose was to get rid of the nicotine.
My whole purpose was to be healthier and live longer.
Nicotine isn't what kills.
Didn't have the strength to go cold turkey so I did the next best thing.
people can say what they like.
My lungs feel better
my heart feels better
my body feels better
I can run and work harder without getting winded
I FEEL GREAT!

Wait until you lose nicotine all together. To be honest with you, nicotine plays a very important role on your mood as well. I'm more upbeat, happy, level headed, and clear minded that I've ever been.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: Perry404

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
I quit smoking two weeks ago and would never even think about chewing. The whole purpose of quitting smoking is to lose the nicotine addiction, not replace it with another form. Congrats on quitting smoking but you replaced one bad disgusting habit with another one.

No your whole purpose was to get rid of the nicotine.
My whole purpose was to be healthier and live longer.
Nicotine isn't what kills.
Didn't have the strength to go cold turkey so I did the next best thing.
people can say what they like.
My lungs feel better
my heart feels better
my body feels better
I can run and work harder without getting winded
I FEEL GREAT!

Wait until you lose nicotine all together. To be honest with you, nicotine plays a very important role on your mood as well. I'm more upbeat, happy, level headed, and clear minded that I've ever been.

I look forward to that day as well.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: Perry404

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
I quit smoking two weeks ago and would never even think about chewing. The whole purpose of quitting smoking is to lose the nicotine addiction, not replace it with another form. Congrats on quitting smoking but you replaced one bad disgusting habit with another one.

No your whole purpose was to get rid of the nicotine.
My whole purpose was to be healthier and live longer.
Nicotine isn't what kills.
Didn't have the strength to go cold turkey so I did the next best thing.
people can say what they like.
My lungs feel better
my heart feels better
my body feels better
I can run and work harder without getting winded
I FEEL GREAT!

I would suggest you talk to your doctor about Chantix instead of substituting smokeless tobacco for cigarettes. I used Chantix to quit 8 months ago and have not touched a cigarette since. Before that I was a chain smoker who could not go more than a few minutes before I had to have another one. Within two weeks of taking Chantix, I had cut down to just 8 cigarettes a day and went cold turkey a few days later.

Chantix does what you are using smokeless tobacco for without relying on nicotine.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Zeppelin2282
Cigarettes are for the weak.

holy crap honey i had no idea you were a member here.

 

[nerp]

Right on.

The gum can help soothe those tough moments.

I found the patch unberable. It was like mainlining. I like to build up the jones and then chew some gum and feel the waves. The patch has no catharsis. It's like a band aid for your wounded soul.

 

[Baked]

Switch to smoking pot, it's healthier and all natural.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: Baked
Switch to smoking pot, it's healthier and all natural.

Bullshit

Pot smoke also contains tar, carbon monoxide and other cancer causing substances. Smoking pot also does nothing to stop the cravings for nicotine. (Casual pot user here.)

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: nerp
Right on.

The gum can help soothe those tough moments.

I found the patch unberable. It was like mainlining. I like to build up the jones and then chew some gum and feel the waves. The patch has no catharsis. It's like a band aid for your wounded soul.

The patch sucks!

:beer:

 

[nismotigerwvu]

I'm not trying to threadcap or anything, but anyone who views smokeless tobacco as a "less unhealthy" alternative to smoking is simply misinformed. Mouth cancer is just as serious as lung cancer and will spread all the same. Not to mention gingivitis and the cardiac risks that are still involved. Really, I'm not trying to put anyone down, I'm just concerned about the OP's health.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Trading one dangerous addiction for a different dangerous addiction is hardly cause for celebration. There's no doubt that smokeless tobacco is safer than smoking just like russian roulette is safer than skydiving without a parachute. All you did by swapping smokes for dip is to increase how long it's going to take to get cancer and where it's going to strike when it arrives.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: nismotigerwvu
I'm not trying to threadcap or anything, but anyone who views smokeless tobacco as a "less unhealthy" alternative to smoking is simply misinformed. Mouth cancer is just as serious as lung cancer and will spread all the same. Not to mention gingivitis and the cardiac risks that are still involved. Really, I'm not trying to put anyone down, I'm just concerned about the OP's health.

Dead on. OP may have prolonged his life a few years but that is because he switched between the two, not because chewing is more healthy.

 

[IEC]

I was expecting cold turkey.

At least that's how my dad did it. He probably smoked for three or four years before he quit cold turkey. He's never touched a cigarette or alcohol in 25+ years now, nor does he have any desire to.

My uncle on the other hand still smokes and coughs all the time. Not only are his lungs now effed up, he has high blood pressure. Smoking has a lot of health consequences. Chewing does as well. Best thing is just to quit tobacco altogether.