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Comment by kanwal3 | Hacker News Reader

9 pointskanwal37 comments

I hear that nicotine withdrawal can be overcome relatively fast. It takes less than 4 days to get past the hardest part. The real problem is beating the habits that push you to smoke. They get you to smoke without you even thinking about it.

You need to identify every reason you smoke a replace the cigarette smoking with something else. Like every time you get the urge to smoke because you are stressed you go for a walk instead. Or if you are bored then you find a hobby to do. Do this for every reason you smoke.

Also, make it harder for you to smoke. Like buying the smallest size pack. If you do this then you'll force yourself to out and buy a pack every time you run out. Another one is to pledge that you will never smoke inside so you'll need to go out every time you smoke. I would also keep my pack inside a cash box, or something similar, with a combination lock. Again, you want to make it difficult to smoke so that it becomes a hassle to smoke so you think about why you are trying to stop and it stops being an automatic function.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323012

I can confirm this. I quit smoking 18 days ago. The first few days were a struggle. Once the physical addiction passed I had to really start dealing with all the habits that slipped in over the years.

For example; I didn't quite know how to structure waking up. For years, I'd wake up, make coffee and smoke a cigarette. I had to carefully think about all the occasions on which I smoke and figure out what I'd do instead.

It's been a few weeks now and it definitely got easier. My new habits are slipping in and I haven't had the slightest temptation to light a cigarette in the last few days.

I'd also like to add that it highly depends on the country in which you live. In Eastern Europe (where I live) smoking is still very prevalent. Up until two years ago, I was smoking in restaurants and bars. In summer, all the terraces are full and there's a ton of smoking. Cigarettes are cheap and easy to come by. It does not make it easy to quit. I can imagine that in the US or Western Europe, there are less temptations.

I would also start a timer on your phone and record how long since your last smoke.

Also don't kick yourself when you do have a smoke. It took me 7 times to quit fully.

It sounds like a cliche new year resolution but I went cold turkey in 2020. I had been smoking moderately for almost a decade. The first ten days were really hard. 45 days on, I still feel the occasional urge to smoke but it is far better.

My personal experience so far is that it is a mind game. You need to truly tell yourself that there is zero possibility to smoke. Unless your mind accepts that, it is not easy to stop.

I smoked for ~10 years before quitting. I had many failed attempts to quit before finally pulling it off (going on 2.5 years now). My approach was to separate the nicotine delivery from the habit of smoking itself by using nicotine lozenges for about 3 weeks. That kept me from dealing with withdrawal symptoms AND changing habits at the same time. Once I no longer had the urge to physically go outside and smoke, I quit using the lozenges. I found it really easy to stop using them but of course YMMV.

I hope any of this helps, good luck.

If you drink alcohol, stop drinking that (even temporarily) as it tends to be the time when you will slip up.

If you have a ritual of coffee and cigarettes, best give up the coffee as well for a while.

I read that 90% of all people who smoke finnaly stop smoking at some point.

I couldn't stand the idea I was in the 10%. That was six years ago. I never smoked again.

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