# Quitting smoking - give me tips! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 19, 2021, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219 "2021-03-19T09:02:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/61 "2021-03-25T13:11:50Z")
@SanVito, you should do any or all of the above, whatever happens to work for you. The alternative method for quitting is the one I chose, and I don’t recommend it to anyone. I waited until January 2020 to check out why I was wheezing after short uphill walks, where after first getting my heart checked (all good, thankfully!) I went to a pulmonologist and found out that I had COPD. Quit that day, cold turkey, and haven’t had nicotine in any form since. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/62 "2021-03-25T14:33:36Z")
Way to go! Keep it up. It only gets easier. Really no reason to be weak/stupid and give in to the urge. Remember, the difference between ZERO and even a single smoke is EVERYTHING. You either smoke or you don’t. Take a single drag, and you are back to the very beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/63 "2021-03-25T14:42:54Z")
I disagree with a single drag making you go back to zero. Like I mentioned upthread, this last time I quit (it will be three years in May) after a couple of days I was weak and lit one up. It tasted like SHIT! Not satisfying at all. I threw it out, as well as my remaining half-pack. YMMV, of course. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/64 "2021-03-25T14:55:48Z")
I know myself too well. If I had a cigarette now, all my willpower would literally go up in smoke. It’s got to be zero for me. I enjoyed smoking too much. Back on the mints this afternoon. Stomach holding up well so far, thanks for asking. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/65 "2021-03-25T17:07:41Z")
I didn’t intend to suggest that a single drag means you face exactly the same challenges quitting again as before you stopped. But - in my case - I haven’t inhaled from a cig in 35+ years, and I haven’t ingested alcohol in 15+. If I take a drag off a cig and sip a beer tomorrow, no, I’m not addicted. But my my calculations, my times are reset to zero. Maybe just a memory of all those fuckers who claimed they stopped smoking when what the really meant was they stopped buying their own, and just bummed them off of everybody! 😉 Or the old saw about quitting smoking being easy - I do it 20-40 times a day! But to me, having put in the effort to quit both, I consider the states pretty binary. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/66 "2021-03-25T17:12:34Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I know myself too well. If I had a cigarette now, all my willpower would literally go up in smoke. It’s got to be zero for me. You’re pretty lucky. Odds are, no one else is gonna hold you down and shove a burning fag between your lips. So just stay strong. Get rid of all your cigs. Don’t buy any cigs. Don’t ask anyone for one. Then don’t pick one up. Don’t stick it between your lips. Don’t light it. You’ve got al kinds of opportunities to be true to yourself. I never wanted to consider myself someone who “couldn’t help myself.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/67 "2021-03-25T17:17:26Z")
[Quitting Smoking as a COPD Treatment](https://www.healthline.com/health/copd/quit-smoking-treatment#:~:text=Not%20every%20person%20who%20smokes,cases%20are%20caused%20by%20smoking). _In fact, the [American Lung Association](http://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/symptoms-causes-risk-factors/what-causes-copd.html) reports that 85 to 90 percent of all COPD cases are caused by smoking._ _According to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source](http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/copd.html), smoking also accounts for up to 8 out of 10 COPD-related deaths._ > **[Smoking duration, respiratory symptoms, and COPD in adults aged ≥45 years with...](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516194/)** > > The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of smoking duration with respiratory symptoms and history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey in 2012.Data... …_11.2% had frequent shortness of breath, 16.7% strongly agreed that shortness of breath affected physical activity, and 25.6% had been diagnosed with COPD. …_ So that’s 26% diagnosed with COPD and about twice that with obvious symptoms of COPD but who had not been diagnosed. Thus say 50% or so. Too damn high, even if not 100%. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/68 "2021-03-25T17:17:58Z")
Good on you, we are rooting for you! ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/69 "2021-03-25T17:26:52Z")
Guess we used different sources. I had used this one (which I know see is pretty dated): > **[Which Smokers Develop COPD?](https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2007/0315/p903.html)** But regardless of the number–COPD is a nasty thing. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/70 "2021-03-25T17:35:22Z")
Sorry about the sugar-free candy/mints thing. A couple of ideas that might serve your purposes but won’t involve sugar-free potential intestinal disasters. 1. Do you like the Altoids mints? They don’t have significant calories but aren’t made with problematical sweeteners, they come in a variety of flavors, are easy to find in most stores and have the advantage of some hand to mouth rituals like cigarettes with the whole opening the metal tin, etc. their are an intense oral experience like smoking is. Four flavors last time I looked. Then you can use the empty tins to stash all the gelt you’ve saved from not buying cigarettes! 2. Consider other candies that aren’t highly caloric like Necco wafers that give your mouth something to do and have that hand to mouth ritual. Cruise a big candy selection like at a Walgreens for candidates-my mind is coming up short. Even Trader Joe’s has some interesting choices in pocket-sized tins up at their registers-green tea mints, etc. as would a Whole Foods. 3. Buy one big bag of dum-dum pops. They aren’t that caloric (and you could offset that by thinking of losing the extra pound or two later, when smoking is long gone or each day not eating a serving of some calorie dense food). Dum dums have lots to offer-variety, lots and lots of hand to mouth ritual motions just liking lighting and smoking a cigarette (replacing this was a big factor in my success). Unwrapping the little sucker, sucking on it, twirling the pop in your mouth with your fingers almost like dragging on a cigarette, chewing on the stick after the lollipop part is gone just extends the benefit without more calories. You can even fiddle with the bitty little wrappers for substitute hand fiddling options. Take your mind off the jonesing for a drag but doing dum dum wrapper origami and build a collection of origami shapes to document your no more smoking progress. > **[Candy Wrapper Origami | Candy Wrapper Origami | Hershey, Starburst](https://origami-resource-center.com/candy-wrapper-origami/)** > > See some outstanding chocolate and candy wrapper origami. Origami made from the wrappers from Hershey, Kisses, Starburst, Dum Dums, and other sweet treats. You can do this. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/71 "2021-03-25T17:45:13Z")
Another note of caution about Chantix. It turned a friend of mine into a violent aggressive asshole. He’s back to normal now, but it was a bizarre thing, a complete personality change. Obviously it works for some people but I’d be wary. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/72 "2021-03-25T17:46:41Z")
I’d certainly consider Wellbutrin long before Chantix. Chantix be a scary beast. And I’d do prescription nicotine patches before Wellbutrin. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/73 "2021-03-25T18:14:25Z")
Good job @SanVito! Keep it up. You can do this!!! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/74 "2021-03-25T20:13:44Z")
OK, I can see that. So, medical science marched on, no big deal, happens to me also. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/75 "2021-03-25T21:16:53Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Another note of caution about Chantix. It turned a friend of mine into a violent aggressive asshole. He’s back to normal now, but it was a bizarre thing, a complete personality change. Obviously it works for some people but I’d be wary. I tried to use Chantix years ago. Turned me into an raving asshole as well. Folks at work begged me to start smoking again. And I had super weird dreams. Even after I quit taking it, it took a months for me to return to normal personality-wise. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/76 "2021-03-25T21:17:12Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > OK, I can see that. So, medical science marched on, no big deal, happens to me also. thanks. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/77 "2021-03-25T21:38:31Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > So, I’ve had enough. I’m 51 and still smoking, and I hate myself for it. I am right there with you. I’m a few years older than you. During the pandemic, I’ve drank more beer and smoked more smoke. Oregon just passed a $2 tax on cigarettes. I smoke American Spirits, because they’re organic, and have no chemical additives. I try to justify to myself that they are better, and maybe I won’t get lung cancer. I hate to admit this is the reason, but after the $2 tax, I’m smoking less, mostly because it pisses me off that a pack costs $10. But I am smoking less. I’m taking a few puffs off a smoke and saving it for later. Now I don’t even smoke on the way to work. I’m getting closer to quitting… ---
**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:** [March 26, 2021, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/78 "2021-03-26T09:45:20Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > I hate to admit this is the reason, but after the $2 tax, I’m smoking less, mostly because it pisses me off that a pack costs $10 Pfff, you should try UK tobacco tax - the excessive tax means a pack of 20 now costs on average £12-13 (that’s $16-19). Sounds like you’re in a similar place to me - not chain smoking, having certain times in the day when you don’t smoke, but certainly smoking more in lockdown. It’s now Day 3. Yesterday was really good, but I woke this morning with that distinctive watery mouthed craving, which is unusual for me - I don’t normally want a cigarette til I’ve been up at least an hour. My body is obviously making a cry for nicotine. So I took the dog for a long walk, and made some toast as a food crutch (hey, it’s Friday). As it’s Friday, I’ll be having some wine later, which may be another temptation for me. Or not, we’ll see. But I’m not giving up wine as well. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/79 "2021-03-26T19:48:07Z")
Go **SanVito**! You can do this! You really are almost over the physical part. Are you able to get your teeth cleaned? If so, do it to get the lingering tar out of your mouth. I was worried about drinking being a trigger for me as well. It really wasn’t, but I think that’s because I don’t smoke inside so didn’t really have that strong of a link between smoking and drinking. Hopefully, it won’t be much of an issue for you either. I have full and complete faith in you! ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219/80 "2021-03-26T21:04:41Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > As it’s Friday, I’ll be having some wine later, which may be another temptation for me. Or not, we’ll see. But I’m not giving up wine as well. Have a cigarette, just take a couple puffs, and enjoy your wine. I’ll have a beer. Be careful not to think having a cigarette is a failure. Just smoke less each time. I’m getting to the point where I don’t really want a cigarette as often. The ‘habit’ part is fairly easy (I always smoke after a beer, or after a meal). The less I smoke, the less the ‘addiction’ part kicks in. Keep it up! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quitting-smoking-give-me-tips/938219.md?page=5)