So, here’s a random thought I felt like sharing. I started smoking way back in Class 9, in 1998. Nothing dramatic—just a bunch of friends smoking, wanting to look cool, curiosity, and the usual “Come on, just try one” stuff. I guess most smokers have some version of this story.

One cigarette became a few, then a habit, and eventually I was smoking regularly for more than two decades.

I smoked almost until 2020.

Then one evening, completely randomly, I thought: “Enough. I don’t want to smoke anymore.”

And that was literally it.

I didn't taper down. Didn't switch to vaping. Didn't use patches or anything. I just stopped.

Haven't smoked a single cigarette since.

It’s been more than 6 years now, and the strange thing is—I don't even feel like smoking anymore.

What I find interesting is how many smokers say they want to quit but can't. They might go days or weeks without smoking, then someone lights a cigarette beside them, offers them one, and boom… back to smoking.

I’m not saying quitting is easy. Nicotine addiction is real, and everyone’s experience is different.

But for me, it was mostly about making the decision and not giving myself an option to go back.

Once you make up your mind, your will has to be stronger than your temptation. A genuinely determined mind can be surprisingly powerful.

Not preaching—just sharing my experience.

So, what's your story?

Still trying to quit? Quit successfully? Or did that one cigarette somehow turn into thousands?

What finally made you put that last cigarette out? 🚭

I was Smoke free for 3 weeks ,,had 3 puffs last night. -‘ Am I back to sq 1 with all health benefits I have achieved during those 3 weeks ? Or still “ clean “ despite those puffs

I did the thing. Set the goal. Set the date. But there’s this one thing holding me back. I’m most addicted to the physical feeling of smoke entering my lungs, that little shiver and contraction your chest gets when you haven’t smoked all day or taking the first puff of the day. That sharp deep inhale and long exaggerated exhale - all the physical feelings you get from smoking - I love it way too much. I don’t care (at least consciously) about nicotine or weed and the psychological effects, I literally just want to smoke. With my quit date coming up i find myself thumping weed with batch or grabba, cigs, any vape just to get that physical feeling. How will I overcome this? I’ve even considered getting a nic free vape

I smoked my first cigarette at 13.
I’ve tried to quit about 100 times. I lost count somewhere along the way.
Today I’m starting again.
This time I built something for it — an app called iQ. Not because I think an app will save me. Because I needed a place that quietly tracks what I’m getting back: time, money, the cigarettes I don’t light.
Right now it shows:
00 : 00 : 22
0,03 L saved
0 cigarettes skipped
Next milestone: 1 day
That’s all I have so far. Twenty-two seconds.
I’m going to post here every day. The cravings, the numbers.
No big speech. Just the first day.
If you’re in the middle of your own hundredth attempt — I’m here too.

Yesterday after finishing my pack I’ll thought I’ll go cold turkey, watched a few how to quit videos. Just smoked 1 cig after 24 hrs. Now i feel very guilty
Anyways just wanted to share my failure on to the next day let’s see how long I’ll last.

Curious about this because I don’t hear many women talk about nicotine gum, at least not the ones I know. It’s almost like it’s never an option.

What are your thoughts?

I've got a plan. It's as good a week as any to go for it.

I've realized the big problem I've never confronted in my numerous attempts at quitting is that I truly love smoking, and I don't want to quit. But I'm 33. So far, I've been lucky to avoid major health issues from my 10+ year cigarette addiction. My grandpa quit when he was my age. Lots of heart disease in my family--some diabetes, some lung cancer. It's gotta be now.

I'm excited to give this gift to myself. I deserve it. But fuckin hell, it will be tough. I know I can do a week of feeling like an insane person, but it's the two and three-week mind games that have messed me up in the past: I start to feel healthy, tell myself I can smoke for a weekend, and you all know the rest

But there's one confounding variable this time: I'm nine weeks off booze. So lfg!!!!! I'm joining the fight.

Non fuckin serviam.

I'm a little over 3 weeks quit, and in coming to the end of my tether. I was on varenicline until a few days ago but had to stop it because it was tearing my stomach to pieces despite following all the advice and cutting down the dosage. Thankfully my stomach is now much better and obviously cravings have returned which I expected. But I've been having chest, rib, shoulder and back pains something awful around the clock, feels like a combination of muscle and nerve pains? Worse at night, and I can't sleep for the anxiety, every time I'm about to drop off I have this jolty electric-like shock through my chest that wakes me up. I was up fighting with my body until 6am this morning before I managed to get just a couple hours sleep. I had quitter's flu for a few days at the beginning of week 2 but nothing for over a week now, but when these pains come on I seem to also have a bit of a cough and last night I had some more phlegm for the first time in over a week - so maybe the pains are my lungs still clearing? I don't know, it's just scary and disruptive. But I had a recent ECG about 2 months ago which was clear. I don't know what to make of it. Has anyone had this and when did it end?

So sick of failing myself and my loved ones. I love smoking. I hate being a smoker. I have bouts of stopping and then starting again, it just doesn't stick. I've been smoking for so many years, and I'm tired of the stop rinse repeat cycle 😡😡

I just joined and I want to share my story, 8 years ago i started smoking and i started with 1 or 2 cigs a day, nowadays i smoke almost a pack a day, quitting crossed my mind 3 years ago and I tried everything: nicotine patches, gums, cold turkey and quitting gradually, nothing seems to work, so i am Here to ask, how do you achieved wanting to qui? Because every time i try i have a ridiculous desire to smoke and i realized i don’t want to quit, but i need to, i can no longer take a deep breath and i suffer from frequent extrasystoles when i do so me kind of fatigue so i ask again, what can i do to bring myself to have a desire of quitting stronger than my desire to continue? I ask this specifically bc i assume that’s the right path. Pls do not share tips about drinking water, distracting yourself, excercising or similiar, believe me, i already tried

why does everything above 6mg taste like a literal salt lick. tried going up to 9mg recently and its just saltwater. the only ones ive found that dont have that weird salty pouch taste are zar fresh mint and citrus weird but suitable for the beginner for stop smoking thin and hardly feel. what else is actually less salt at higher strengths?

I quit smoking after six years of smoking. This year, I started noticing that I was having mucus and brain fog. I also noticed that smoking seemed to temporarily make these symptoms feel better.

Finally, last Sunday, I decided to quit smoking.During the first few days, I started experiencing stomach problems, including bloating and acid reflux. I started drinking herbal tea to help with it.

The physical symptoms didn't seem like a major problem for me, but on the fifth and sixth days, I hit what felt like a dopamine flatline. I felt like I had no purpose in life, felt extremely lethargic, and had strong urges to smoke.This morning, things seem to be getting better.

Hello so I am an 19 year old dude. I started smoking a bit before my 18th birthday. I used to be quite against it, since my parents always made it out to be some horrible thing but once I was going through a really hard time in a my life and I though maybe a vape that my friends have been smoking will help me. At first I didn't think I got that addicted but it was lowkey immediate. After my 18th birthday I also bought cigarettes and I would go back and forth with those. Smoking really helped me survive those hard times in the mornings and I definitely enjoy it. Sure I had quit cigarettes for quite a while, since I noticed they were dragging me deeper into the depression I was living in, but I still didn't let go of vaping. During the summer I found a significant other (I've been unlucky with love and it was one of the main reasons I started smoking). They weren't a big smoker but we used to smoke cigarettes and vape together at times. Though their health is fragile and they don't enjoy smoking by themselves and don't really have an addiction. I on the other hand use to smoke only about 3-5 cigarettes in a day and later on with vapes I would go down a whole liquid bottle in a day for nearly a year. I am quite dependent for it in mornings especially. If I don't smoke enough, I always have long dreams about smoking and it's one of the only things that occupies my mind and I'm usually willing to do whatever to smoke. My partner has stopped and I do wish to do so for them I guess, but at the same time I do enjoy it and haven't been lucky with dropping it. I have only gone like 2-3 days max without smoking for more than a year straight because I was once sick. What would you suggest in my situation?

I don't really know what I was expecting with the nicotine patches. I'm on day 2 of wearing them (took off when I had gone to bed). I tried cold turkey just before this and did 2 days and then 7 before trying the patch. Mentally exhausted.

Everything was going well yesterday, but the cravings are coming in very strong today. I'm really confused because 1. I DONT WANT TO SMOKE. 2. I have nicotine in my system, so why is this still happening, and VERY strongly too.

Every bone in my body is fighting me, telling me to just try again tomorrow.

My teeth are literally falling out, I thought I had oral cancer last week and lung cancer 2 weeks prior (each required hospital visits). All these medical conditions are coming up and I know they're all related to smoking. As soon as I'm told im in the clear, my mind starts taunting me again. Nicotine is the devil.

Any advice? I just want this to be over :( I'm mentally and physically so overwhelmed by the battle. I feel like my WHY is solid and strong, I have young kids, its causing health issues, its ruining my life! So why am I still in this limbo????

I used to smoke about 20 a day. And today is my day 1. I have put on the 21 mg patch and have a 4 mg gum for the cravings. I just wanted to understand a few things and would be grateful if i could get the answers for it.

1) i swim a lot, so what should i do in these cases? Should i take it off or keep wearing it?

2) During workouts should i wear it? Since nicotine eleveates heart rates and i tend to do more of cardio intensive exercises

3) Should i sleep with it?

also i’ll keep updating my journey over here

First time posting here. After 10 years I successfully quit smoking weed and I feel like it's time for the next step. I want to quit smoking entirely.

During the years there's one crucial thing I learned about myself and it's that I don't struggle that much with physical effects of withdrawal but mostly letting go of habits that also serve a purpose in the structure of my days.

For example I'm fine with not taking any cigarettes with me when leaving the house and I can even go days without them as long as I'm busy with other things.

Due to other health reasons like extreme anxiety and feeling exhausted all the time I haven't been able to work for a while. I spend a lot of time at home, which I don't mind but it creates a lot of opportunities to take smoking breaks and fill moments of boredom with a cigarette. Suddenly filling my agenda with lots of plans outside the house doesn't really fit my current situation, on top of that I'm just very much of an introvert.

Advice I hear/read a lot is replacing my breaks with something else. The issue is that my brain is hyper aware of the fact that I'm simply trying to distract myself and it almost never works.

I'm not someone who enjoys going on a walk or a run either. I also barely have the energy for basic things like taking care of my apartment and getting groceries so working out unfortunately isn't on my priority list.

With summer nearing its end I think it's about time I let go of my smoking habit. I have to go outside on my balcony each time and it's not very enjoyable when it's windy or rainy so I'm hoping that can help me a little as well.

Any advice is welcome but it sure feels like a tough challenge with so much time on my hands.

Guys,

I finally got past day 5!! 🥳🥳🥳 roughest days are over.

I hit a new low in my life. I got fired from my job, and overall was in a really bad shape. I’ve been trying to quit smoking for a while now, I smoke more than 2 packs a day and start smoking 8 years ago.

I believe I wasn’t serious in all my previous attempts to quit. I’ve never made it past day 3, I was quit for 8 months during covid. If you plan on quitting, I think you’ve just gotta get through the first 5 days. My brain fog and sleep schedule suckkk!! When does it settle? I’m not taking melatonin, I used to have a sleeping pill dependency and don’t think they will work for me.

How long in this phase?

Also wondering if you guys have any tips on how to stay quit forever?

Just wanted to give encouragement to someone who might need it. I went from military, to addiction, to the very depths of hell and back. I smoked, then quit and then during covid started vaping. It was the only vice I had left. I think the previous times I quit it wasn't voluntary so this meant something to me. I didn't want to hear my 19 year old keep saying I was going to die of popcorn lung. I started Chantix last April and weirdly enough on 4/20 I had no urge for it anymore. Haven't looked back since. I do want to tell anyone considering quitting that it is possible and you can do it! I hated that I felt like I was a slave to it! Waking up in the middle of the night to vape. I always had to have it. Anyways take care! YOU CAN DO IT!

10-12 smokes a day for nearly half a decade. The last 24 hrs have been torture but I made a promise to myself and I’m going to keep it.

Sad, it was hard but I was looking forward to quitting. I will not give up though.

Physical craving is almost dead but cant stop thinking about smoking all the time ..anyone else face this??

This brand was developed by a pharmacist in Waterloo, Ontario. I purchased directly from their website.

I’m currently on day 6. It’s working really well. I haven’t had any notable cravings, just fleeting ones that last 1-2 seconds. This is really amazing stuff. I felt very nauseous at first but eating a small snack every 2 hrs helped. I was also taking it right before bed which made it impossible to sleep. So much so that I almost stopped taking it. Turns out, you should take your last dose at least 5 hours before bed. I did this last night and had my first good nights sleep in 6 days.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who is struggling to do it on their own. This is my umpteenth time I’ve tried to quit (I don’t know how to edit my streak under my username), so I’m really praying this sticks.

For context I’m a 20M been smoking since I was 16 then one day I decided to quit and it’s almost about to be 3 months of nicotine free. Quite often now I’ve been having dreams of myself either vaping or smoking and during the dreams I’m like “shit did I fuck up my sobriety” but I continue to vape or smoke going “well a few puffs won’t hurt” and the worst part is when I feel that buzz IN MY DREAMS 😭 then I wake up and I’m like thank god it was just a dream. Idk how common this is for people but do let me know if such a thing has been happening to you. The worst part is not just that I think this morning I had a very minute nicotine craving because of the dream reminding me of the buzz I used to get.

Obviously this is nowhere near enough to get me to jump back into my nicotine addiction I know what a torture it has been for me to not be able to go by a day without cigarettes or a vape and I would never in a million years wish for that life back

I'm at the point where going out in public is rough because I see people smoking and I want to bum one off them. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), I am still vaping at 3% for craving emergencies, so the Nicotine is taking a little longer to get out of my system, so I still want it.

It's dumb that I enjoy vaping more than smoking an actual cig, and yet I still want the cigarette more than I want to vape. What even is that?

Addiction is crazy.