Why do I keep doing this?

[maureengill]

Cigarettes taste like crap, and although I'm down to 1 a day and less than a pack over the weekend...I am still smoking these nasty things. UGH. The plus side is that this weekend including drinking...I smoked less than a pack and still have about 5 cigs left where normally it'd be gone by today.

I'm still pushing to get rid of this crap....smoking cigarettes is gross.

Maureen

 

[farrar01]

Keep at it. It takes time to break the analog habit. Everybody is a little different it seems in how long it takes. I figure it took me 35 years to gain my habit. If it takes me less than that to rid myself of it I am lucky.

 

[CaptJay]

You say its gross but your subconcious obviously disagrees with you!
(grats by the way on the 5 less, any progress is still progess!)
You need to find out what part of smoking it is that you get a reward from - does this happen only in social situations? (This is THE most common reason - because its part of a social ritual)
Does it happen only when bored?
Does it happen because PVs just arent scratching that itch? (2nd most common)
Obviously its NOT the taste - could it be the smell? (the lit ciggie smell can be enticing to some)

I don't want to say 'get higher nic' cos sometimes its nothing to do with nic levels, it might be hte MAOIs you're missing in ejuice the 'ahhhhh' calming factor part. Have you tried or thought of trying smokeless tobacco products at all?

Another question: are you sure you really want to give up smoking? I understand health concerns but that didn't stop any of us from smoking for 20 years and more.

 

[raqball]

Here is what I did when I started vaping...

I tossed all lighters and ashtrays....

Now if you want to smoke you need to find a way to light it.... Ya you can use the stove and I did that a few times, then I got to the point of just grabbing my PV as it was *easier* than waiting on the stove to warm up or searching for something else to light up with...

Been a year now and the smell of an analog make me sick....

Stick with it, you will be fine... Make it hard on yourself to smoke.. Toss lighters and ashtrays and maybe keep the analogs in a difficult place to access like way up in a cabinet you can't reach without a stool or a chair...

Kris

 

[SheerLuckHolmes]

Keep at it. It takes time to break the analog habit. Everybody is a little different it seems in how long it takes. I figure it took me 35 years to gain my habit. If it takes me less than that to rid myself of it I am lucky.

I could not agree more with farrar01. I was rolling my own analogs and using tobacco pipes when e-cigs came into my life. Rolling was such a hassel. So much more than opening a pack and lighting up. So the choice, get out the equipment, get out the tobacco, get out the tubes, go through the routine ~ or vape. Switched over pretty easy.

Currently you are like a person adrift on the ocean and that one cigarette aday is you life perserver. Let it drift away. Don't buy another pack. And after that last cig you won't look back. It WILL be easier than you ever expected two days after that last cig. Promise!

 

[kristin]

It sounds to me like you're just like my husband and need more than nicotine.

I switched right away, but my husband struggled for a few more months - something was just "missing" with ecigs. We tried extra menthol crystals and upping his nicotine to 36mg, but he still craved cigarettes once a day and when drinking.

Finally, I looked into snus, because of the "nicotine...are we getting it?" thread.

I had been fooled by the FDA into thinking snus was as bad as smoking, because they refuse to admit that smokeless tobacco has been shown to be up to 98% safer than smoking! Sound familiar?

After doing the research, I told my husband to go ahead and use the snus (I had previously asked him not to, for unfounded fears of mouth cancer.) Once he started with 2-3 snus a day, he was able to quit smoking finally and even reduce his ecig nicotine down to 12mg!

Some people need the other alkaloids in tobacco as much as the nicotine, so plain nicotine ecigs just won't cut it.

I highly suggest you look into snus or snuf. It may only take 15-20 minutes with 1 snus a day to keep you from smoking!

 

[Richie G]

Like everything else, there is no set timetable for individuals as we all vary for a multitude of reasons.

Something that worked for me that *might* be of help.

Don't buy your normal brand of analogs. The familiarity of my 35 year old Marlboro Lights was too enticing. Instead I picked up one of the wife's cigarettes whenever I had that uncontrollable urge -- putrid Merit Ultra Lights, btw. I was finished smoking about 5 days after instituting that disgusting plan. =)

It worked out well for me because she still smokes that brand and I have no urge to go near those nasty things, nor my son's Marlboros for that matter.

So, go ahead and smoke if you feel you have to -- but don't reward yourself with something you once really liked. JMO, natch --

 

[Rahz]

>>>>1 a day and less than a pack over the weekend

One a day is GOOD, but when you smoke more on the weekend you create these mini 'relapses'. The solution in my experience is to really regulate your tobacco use so you have a solid basis for reduction.

This may sound weird, but I would suggest smoking less on the weekend... and perhaps more during the week. If you're smoking slightly less than a pack on the weekend, say 8-9 cigs a day, try setting a goal of 7 cigs a day. This way you're moving forward in a small step towards reducing the max ammount you smoke on any particular day. And give yourself some leeway during the week. Knowing that you induldge on the weekend, there's anticipation being built throughout the week. If you allow every day to be the same, there's nothing special about the weekend in regards to tobacco. So if you smoke 7 cigs a day, every day, it becomes much easier to transition to 6 cigs a day, every day, and so on.

Something else that was helpful to me was switching brands for reduced tar/nicotine cigarettes. Most American cigarettes don't go below .5nic/5tar so if you're smoking an 'American ultra-light' you're not going to find much lighter in the stores. However, if you look around on the internet you can find cigarettes with .3nic/3tar and .1nic/1tar. When I lowered my usage to 5 cigs a day, instead of switching to 4 a day the next week, I switched down to 5 of the .3nic/3tar cigs. Then about a month later I started smoking 5 a day of the .1nic/1tar. After a couple weeks of that, moving to 4 a day was no problem (the difference between 5 cigs with .1nic, and 4 cigs with .1nic isn't very much).

Basically, a slow smooth reduction, seems to work better than 'roller coaster' usage where you're using more some days than others. That is what worked for me. I still have quite a few packs of those .3 and .1 cigarettes and would be glad to mail them to someone who would get some use from them. They've been sitting here at my house for the last two months and I have no desire to use them.

 

[maureengill]

Actually...it's kind of weird...I don't have a problem going back down to the one cig a day during the week after smoking almost a pack on the weekend. (I used to smoke 1 1/2 to 2 packs a day)

I started vaping in October and totally stopped smoking at work for 8 hours in the first week. I found it was harder to give up the cigs in the car, but eventually that stopped too. The one cig during the day that I still "jones" for is after 8pm for some reason.

Maureen

 

[Rahz]

Yea that's cool. Being real strict about how much I smoked seemed to help me... towards the end I was forcing myself to smoke the same ammount every day, even though I didn't really want it.

But after reading as much as I have, I know there are various ways of going about it... and perhaps suggesting you smoke more during the week isn't the best advice. And, you've already reduced your tobacco consumption a great deal, which is good work. I think if you keep playing it the way you have been, things will continue to evolve in a good way.

 

[Melwig]

Could be you are stuck in "should" instead of "want to". Very few red blooded individuals are all that happy about being told what they "should" do, even when they are doing it to themselves.

Once that little switch goes off in your head so that you really WANT to vape rather than smoke, the transition will be a whole lot easier.

So my advice, for what it is worth, is to explore and experiment so that your vaping experience gets tuned up to be exactly what you want it to be.

When your vaping experience is really great and truly scrumptious...its a lot easier for it to become your first choice.

 

[CaptJay]

Actually...it's kind of weird...I don't have a problem going back down to the one cig a day during the week after smoking almost a pack on the weekend. (I used to smoke 1 1/2 to 2 packs a day)

I started vaping in October and totally stopped smoking at work for 8 hours in the first week. I found it was harder to give up the cigs in the car, but eventually that stopped too. The one cig during the day that I still "jones" for is after 8pm for some reason.

Maureen

Not weird at all - you fall into the social ritual part of your habit perfectly.
Try changing what it is you're drinking (if its brand B try brand A or go for spirits instead of beer - something you LIKE though). You have to break the connection you have between cig-social ritual in an easy way. Your subconcious associates everything you're doing when you go out at the weekend with smoking, so trying to give up those ones is going to be the hardest for you. Depending on how you feel about it you could just leave that and keep the smoking but from what you say you DO want to give those up too. The harshest alternative is to go somewhere ELSE, or not go out at all, when you go out but that may not be practical (or fun!)
Small changes might be easier.
For me it was coffee drinking that was the hardest cig to give up.
For others its the morning one.
I don't think its just a question of being strong - your habit has tied itself in to a big area of your weekend life so slow n steady is probably the way to go.
I do wish you all the best and hope it works out the way you want it to.

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

What kristin said . Some folks really do need more than the nicotine to quit smokes and stay sane. Supplementing with Swedish snus has a proven safe usage track record and has helped many here quit smokes completely. I would also add that according to a harm-reduction study by The Royal College of Physicians, the guys that started the anti-smoking movement in the early '60's, there's little health benefits to be found in those who have reduced smoking compared to those who are full-time smokers. They also see the logic in using reduced harm smokeless products for those who can't quit.
Here's the study for those interested:
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/4fc74817-64c5-4105-951e-38239b09c5db.pdf
It's a pdf, and a very large one, but good reading for all who take a serious interest in nicotine addiction and all. If anyone disagrees, that's fine, but these guys are not only smart, but care. That's what separates them from the rest of the anti's . And for those who don't read it, don't argue .