# quit smoking cold turkey **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532 "2013-01-27T15:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/21 "2013-01-28T08:27:18Z")
Good for you, **evelynanyanwu**! Believe me, I know it’s difficult (and nerve-wracking, and maybe even assault-inducing), but honestly, as others have said, you will feel better soon, and this will get easier. A lot easier. I quit a month ago, but I had incentive of a pressing nature: my dearest uncle in the world (who is only in his late 50’s, and who quit smoking about 6-7 years ago) was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer last month, and I was like, oh, shit, you mean this lung cancer thing is for real? (Of couse, I knew it was real long before my uncle became ill, but you know how it is, close to home and all that.) Yep, did it for me, so I had (what I hope was) my last cigarette in late December, on the same day as said uncle’s birthday and in his honor. (He’s in treatment now, and they haven’t given him the “you have “x” amount of time to live speech,” so we’re hopeful.) Here’s to hoping that you keep putting one foot in front of the other, and before you know it, you’ll wonder how you EVER made the mistake of smoking to begin with. Good luck! Oh, and, **myskepticsight**? I’m thinking good thoughts for you, too. You CAN do it! ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/22 "2013-01-28T13:19:24Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I might suggest that **Colibri** made the right call, but I know **TubaDiva** better and don’t wish to offend her by junior adminning. You might learn from that because you look like you will get to know the administration better than you planned, too. 😉 Yeah, honestly I don’t understand how this would be GQ. My vote goes to **Colibri** , actually. This thread is asking for advice, so clearly IMHO was the more ideal forum for this thread, so I don’t understand **TubaDiva’s** actions there. I just thought it was brave and fearless on **Colibri’s** part to move a thread that has already been moved by someone who hired him (TubaDiva hires moderators). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/23 "2013-01-28T13:34:19Z")
Good luck! I’m one month in, although I had the advantage of a horrible bout of flu which prompted me to just carry on not smoking when I got better. I think the initial nicotine withdrawal got lost amongst all my other symptoms. Still getting the odd pangs but it gets easier all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/24 "2013-01-28T15:15:41Z")
Nicotine affects numerous body functions, from the brain to the bowels. Click here for a list of some systems and the effects: > **[Healthfully](https://healthfully.com/the-effects-of-nicotine-on-the-body-4423151.html)** > > Find your way to better health. Removing/reversing these effects will certainly make one feel “not normal” for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/25 "2013-01-28T16:17:46Z")
You know those old V-8 commercials where people were walking around at a 60° angle to the ground? That’s how I felt for about two weeks. It only bothered me when I walked and even then it was intermittent so I truly consider myself lucky. Good luck. Quitting is absolutely possible – don’t let yourself stay disheartened for long. ---
**Author:** ![sidecar\_jon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@sidecar\_jon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidecar_jon)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/26 "2013-01-29T19:52:36Z")
Symptoms are in my opinion seriously under estimated, probably not to put people off giving up. My list is long but the symptoms are brief and are now subsiding for me anyway, not smoked since Christmas eve now. Irritability, normal life is ok, but occasionally something just snaps in me! Lack of focus, i’ve found myself staring off into space a few times. Hot feelings, sudden sweats and red skin. Cold feelings, chills that make me shiver suddenly. Insomnia, go to bed tired enough to sleep instantly but then wake up early (4 or 5 o’clock) and lay awake till time to get up. Vertigo, odd balance things, feeling a bit wobbly. Over eating, so easy to reach for sweets and just something to do with your mouth! Also sweet things seem to reduced symptoms. Cough, yes it gets worse! Hyper smell ability,suddenly i can smell everything, i can smell were smokers have smoked or people who smoke,but also sweat and BO on myself and others. Constipation,charming! Indigestion/ trapped wind… but come this far so i’ll continue!..i hope. ---
**Author:** ![alnewman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@alnewman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alnewman)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/27 "2013-01-31T16:38:15Z")
Great move!!! Try and stay calm, drink lot’s of fluids. If you like chew gum, suck on hard candy or cough drops perhaps. Also since your taste buds are now becoming unimpaired you will no doubt discover that food tastes much better. You may gain weight as a result. Look at it this way though, my guess is that the extra weight is less stress on your heart then sucking on a cig. You can make that one of your new project’s now that you quit smoking loosing… any additional weight you may take on as a side effect… lol. I’m sure your saving lot’s of money not buying cigs now as well. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/28 "2013-01-31T17:48:33Z")
> [@evelynanyanwu](#): > > I quit smoking 3 days ago. I’m not really feeling normal. Is that normal Good for you and congratulations. The good news is, after approximately three days nicotine is out of your system. Don’t go to the patch or gum because that’s just a _different_ nicotine delivery system. And you want to get off the nicotine. When I quit (also cold turkey sandwich) I ‘smoked’ pencils, straws, and toothpicks. Take a full ‘puff’ and inhale and exhale and it will help you get through it. It will be my nine year anniversary this April… best decision I’ve ever made. It will be yours, too. Soon you will start hating that awful cigarette smell. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/29 "2013-02-01T03:07:35Z")
I disagree with not using the patch or gum. The gum helped me enormously, and I managed to quit smoking on my first try after 17-1/2 years of a pack a day. I stopped chewing the gum after abut a month I think. ---
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/30 "2013-02-01T03:34:47Z")
Actually it all depends if you really, really, really gotta try the gum, or the patches. Even hard candies. Don’t worry about weight gain until the cigarette cravings are under control. I am very lucky in that I gave my children the Authority to tell me NO! I just tell them I need a cigarette, and they tell me absolutely not. I think they need some honorary jackboots. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/31 "2013-02-01T03:48:04Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Mmm… cold smoked turkey… A cold smoked turkey once bit my sister. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/34 "2017-06-28T19:08:37Z")
When I quit cold turkey 35 years ago, I went through a lot of bags of sunflower seeds to help with the oral fixation. I also made a point of engaging in the smoking “triggers”. Every time I was able to have a beer with someone without lighting up, it was a small victory for me, and eventually it just didn’t bother me at all. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/35 "2017-06-28T19:19:30Z")
In case anyone is wondering, Chef didn’t revive a zombie. There was a spam post advertising for an e-cig. It got deleted before I could report it ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/36 "2017-06-28T20:12:56Z")
> [@Scoobysnax](#): > > In case anyone is wondering, Chef didn’t revive a zombie. There was a spam post advertising for an e-cig. It got deleted before I could report it Ah hell. Snookered again! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/37 "2017-06-28T22:49:07Z")
I quit cold turkey 52 years ago. It only took about ten years before I didn’t want to smoke again. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/38 "2017-06-28T23:39:53Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I quit cold turkey 52 years ago. It only took about ten years before I didn’t want to smoke again. I quit cold turkey almost 24 years ago. For the first several months, I would dream that I was still smoking. Then my dreams changed so that I had quit smoking, but then had started again. About once or twice a year I still dream that I’ve started smoking again. I tell people that I’ll never be a nonsmoker – I’ll always be a former smoker. My favorite “started smoking again” dream occurred less than a year after I quit. In the dream, I was smoking a cigarette when someone said, “Hey! I thought you quit smoking!” “I did,” I replied. “I smoke only one cigarette a day now.” A few minutes later in the dream I was smoking another cigarette. “Hey!” someone said, “I thought you quit smoking!” "I did, "I replied. “I smoke only one cigarette an hour now.” ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/39 "2017-06-28T23:44:03Z")
Drink lots of water and watch out for food. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/40 "2017-06-29T13:12:07Z")
I’ve quit a lot of things in my lifetime. The only thing harder to quit than smoking cigarettes was quitting prescription pills (uppers and downers, all legally prescribed). It will get better, but right now put all the money you’re not spending on smokes in a jar. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/41 "2017-06-29T14:19:46Z")
Someone should market some cigarettes with the brand name “Cold Turkey”… ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532/42 "2017-06-29T15:04:26Z")
This is a good ted talk that could be helpful. [Johann Hari: Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong | TED Talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addiction_is_wrong) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quit-smoking-cold-turkey/648532.md?page=3)