|
I actually think quitting cold turkey is goddamn insane. And quitting with the help of a patch, gum, inhaler, etc. often ends up being like the methadone maintenance program for nicotine addicts.
I quit smoking a pack a day a couple years ago, but damned if I don't still put on a 21mg patch every single day, and smoke at least one cigarette in the morning and one before bed. At least.
I've tried cold turkey. I think the longest I ever made it was one day, and that was mostly because I was extremely sick, and thinking about putting anything in my mouth made me vomit.
I hope to quit entirely by the end of 2016. As of now, I have it down so that nobody in my life except for my girlfriend and family knows that I smoke. I'm terribly ashamed of it. Things are not like they used to be. Taking a smoke break at work is just a terrible idea all around unless you're indispensable. I only smoke outside, at home, in my back yard, in my "smoking clothes" (which are disgusting). Because of this, I haven't had a cig for hours by the time I get to work, and my nose has already gone back to "normal," so I can smell the smokers across the goddamn room just like everyone else who doesn't smoke.
I'm not sure if I've achieved a kind of happy medium (I don't drink, and many non smokers do smoke when they drink, and most drinkers drink rather often), or if I'm just in denial. But whatever. 2/day is better than 20.
Advice? Don't ask me. I suck at this. My girlfriend was able to quit using an e-cig, "vaping," while if I suck on one of those things all I want to do is suck down a massive unfiltered rollie. But I will say this, the patch has been the only thing that's successfully decreased my smoking. Nothing else comes close. I love the patch. Prefer it to smoking actually.
I think I'm just a weakling. My father quit with cinnamon sticks, for Christ's sake. But my mother is like me. She used the patch for 10 years after her last cigarette, and only recently started cutting it into halves and then quarters.
Shrug.
|