I Quit Smoking

[Pinebarrensbrew]

I quit last September with a vape. Cigs were getting two expensive. Having a job outside with no desk job "cig breaks" was costing $20 a day. Now with my vape I'm around $10 or less a week.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

I smoked cigarettes from the age of about 12 to the age of 20.
I quit cold turkey from 2-1/2 packs a day. Never smoked a cigarette again.

In the past 10 years I’ve smoked maybe 8 cigars a year on the average; and generally only at social events where other guys were smoking cigars. However in the past year I’ve been feeling my mortality and so have stopped smoking pretty much entirely . Had two cigars in the past 8 months (at the holidays).

Nevermind the tars ... it was the nicotine that got me thinking .
Nicotine is a “Toxicity Class 1” poison ... the most dangerous classification (Classes are I, II, III & IV).

As a pesticide (which is what nicotine is), Class 1 poisons are required to be packaged with the Signal Word: "Danger-Poison", with skull and crossbones symbol, generally followed by: "Fatal if swallowed", "Poisonous if inhaled", "Extremely hazardous by skin contact--rapidly absorbed through skin", or "Corrosive--causes eye damage and severe skin burns"

For a bit of perspective, DDT is a Class 2 poison.
Malathion is a Class 3 poison.

As a group, “Toxicity Class 1” poisons are extremely bad actors. You might think of these as in the “Ridiculously Dangerous” category.

Just to name a few ... besides Nicotine, Class 1 includes things like Strychnine, Endosulfan, Aldicarb, Arsenic/arsenates, Mercuric Oxide, ... and Sodium Cyanide (for what it’s worth; the parent chemical of which is another pesticide, “ HCN”, also known as “Zyklon B”... the cyanide based pesticide invented in the 1920’s and made notorious by the nazis in World War II.)

Nicotine is in some very, very bad company.

The EPA registration for the last nicotine pesticide in the United States was terminated in 2008.
Since January of this year (2014) Nicotine has been banned for sale as a pesticide. Now you can only get nicotine liquid in the open market if you want to smoke it in your Electronic Cigarette.



<oh snap!>

 

[krackin]

I quit smoking and chaw 12/27/95. I never looked back. I kept a couple of items around just in case but every time I looked at them I gagged. I smoked cigars and mostly Camel straights for a long time. I started working out and in a year or so I was in the best shape I had ever been in at age 40. I would move 9 ton of iron weights every other day before work, free weight and nautilus. I can still hold my own pretty well at nearly 57, less than 2 weeks. Had I kept smoking, forget it.

You can do it. It takes will power and set up emergency diversions to keep your hands busy for those urges. They do go away after time. Just don't smoke anymore.

 

[BigJack]

I quit last September with a vape. Cigs were getting two expensive. Having a job outside with no desk job "cig breaks" was costing $20 a day. Now with my vape I'm around $10 or less a week.

View attachment 196939

I almost bought an MVP, but went with the eVic instead. Are you happy with the MVP?

 

[passedpawn]

I quit smoking and chaw 12/27/95. I never looked back. I kept a couple of items around just in case but every time I looked at them I gagged. I smoked cigars and mostly Camel straights for a long time. I started working out and in a year or so I was in the best shape I had ever been in at age 40. I would move 9 ton of iron weights every other day before work, free weight and nautilus. I can still hold my own pretty well at nearly 57, less than 2 weeks. Had I kept smoking, forget it.

You can do it. It takes will power and set up emergency diversions to keep your hands busy for those urges. They do go away after time. Just don't smoke anymore.

Sounds familiar. I replaced smoking with running. When I'd get the urge, I'd lace up and run. I was running 10-15 miles every day. I got down to about 155# at one point and had to quit running so much!

Replacing smoking with exercise is the way. You just can't do both.

 

[PRE66_6TART]

Replacing smoking with exercise is the way. You just can't do both.

When I was young I rode my bike a lot. Then I started smoking but still did an occasional 100 mile ride with my dad for a couple years. Those first ten miles or so, it was just non-stop nasty crud coming out of my lungs. I also remember being the only rider wearing jean shorts and army boots, surrounded by people in spandex with those cycling shoes. Good times.

I quit smoking a few years ago, and since then a couple times I've tried smoking one of my wife's cigarettes and they're so freaking nasty. I don't understand how I ever got hooked on them in the first place. When I was addicted I loved smoking. But without the addiction it does nothing for me, except taste terrible.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss cigarettes. I smoked for 18 years. one day our oldest (4 y/o at the time) asked why I smoked. I answered, "I don't know." I finished that pack & quit.

 

[sfgoat]

I quit while in the army after a sniper almost took my head off when I was having a smoke around dusk. Many years after that I started smoking a pipe on occasion but it's not a frequent thing.

 

[krackin]

Don't ever go back Billy. You get enough smoke burnin' rods. I know that I did at least. I was doing steel fab when I was your age. I loved it and had a good business. I gave it up due to what I saw man. Brian tumors and leukemia. If you do mig or tig you are better off. I did AC AP stick mostly, it was the era. What is odd is that I have a nephew hotshot that got union wage not too long ago. Newbies don't even know AC 6011 poor fit unclean metal.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Don't ever go back Billy. You get enough smoke burnin' rods. I know that I did at least. I was doing steel fab when I was your age. I loved it and had a good business. I gave it up due to what I saw man. Brian tumors and leukemia. If you do mig or tig you are better off. I did AC AP stick mostly, it was the era. What is odd is that I have a nephew hotshot that got union wage not too long ago. Newbies don't even know AC 6011 poor fit unclean metal.

I quit burning rods a few years ago. I ain't welded pipe in almost 3 years. funny thing is all the guys in the shop I'm in now whining about "all the smoke". we have pretty good ventilation & it's all MIG (mostly pulse). and if something has a slight gap, they're off cutting filler rods instead of using a lower heat setting. 3/4 of the guys I work with now would quit & run home from my old shop in Wyoming.

 

[JonM]

First day of college, I brought a 1.75 liter of rotgut vodka, my roommate brought a carton of Camels, and we both started smoking and drinking. It wasn't until my third year of grad school that I quit.

I started to hate the way cigs would dictate what I would do and when. I'd look at my pack and think "Hmm, I have 10 left, gonna study until about 10:30, store closes at 9:00, I'll want a couple in the morning, so I better go to the store now."

After I quit, I hated the instinctive "well, gonna go burn one" that would always pop into my head. I watched that movie "Blow" where everyone is smoking in every scene and, three times, I patted my chest pocket where my smokes usually were just out of habit. A couple years later, I tried to have a cigar on a poker night and, just by muscle memory, I inhaled right away and got sick as a dog.

Now it's been about 13 years, and I almost never think about it. I can even enjoy an occasional cigar with no problems.

 

[alane1]

I quit almost a year ago after 20+ years and never plan to pick it up again, I can't believe the difference in how I feel. No more cough, no more wheezing, and I can exercise without getting winded. Just went on a 10mi bike ride yesterday and it felt great. Trust me, if I can quit anyone can, I was a hard core smoker.

 

[passedpawn]

I had another smoking dream a few days ago. They are very real. I wake up from them ashamed at myself for starting up again. I did challenge myself to quit, and these dreams make me feel like I failed. Each dream is a mix of the visceral joy of satisfying the desire to smoke, and the guilt at doing so. It's a commitment that I will keep, unless my wife dies before me, at which time I'll start smoking incessantly until it's my turn

I really prefer the flying dreams. They are just as real, and have a similarly lingering effect, but the guilt isn't there. I will say the pangs of not being able to do something that I long to do is the same, though.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I quit a little over a year ago (March 9th, 2013) after about 15 years (I'm 30). I tried a number of times in the past to quit cold turkey, and always failed. Usually after a week or so I'd be back to 1-2 packs a day. One time I got lucky that there weren't charges filed (the guy knew he was pushing my buttons and we left it at that, but if he felt like being a hardass about it, yeah I'd probably still be in the nick). One attempt I actually made it 6 months before starting again.

This time around I had a medical motivator (pneumonia). And I decided not to try and be a hero, and went with the Nicorette gum. Weened myself off of that over a couple months, and it's been about a year 100% nicotine free for me.

Still smells wonderful every time I walk by someone smoking. I've been told by family members who've quit that it may be another couple years before that goes away. But I'm now at a point where unless I smell someone else smoking, the desire is pretty minimal. Although I'd still say I feel it every day.

 

[beekeeperman]

Quitter here too

Started as a teen , quit them for spells a bunch of times over the years and for good 6 years ago. Age 57 now. Trouble was i had to quit drinkin to do it. Went 6 mos no booze but after 6 mos i was free of the nicotene habit once and for all.
Congrats to all the quitters, you will live longer to taste more fine beer hopefully.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I had another smoking dream a few days ago. They are very real. I wake up from them ashamed at myself for starting up again. I did challenge myself to quit, and these dreams make me feel like I failed. Each dream is a mix of the visceral joy of satisfying the desire to smoke, and the guilt at doing so. It's a commitment that I will keep, unless my wife dies before me, at which time I'll start smoking incessantly until it's my turn

A couple of things that helped me when I was jonesing hard were fresh grapefruit, just peel it & eat it like an orange; it helps to eat it over the sink as it tends to drip juice. And those little strawberry hard candies with the strawberry jelly filling. And violent video games, they help to relieve some stress & aggression.
Keep going man, you can do it!
Regards, GF.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

congrats to all of you that are quitters. I have never smoked, so I don't know what how hard it was to quit. There are quite a few guys at work that hack and cough up crap all day long due to smoking. I say, "why not try one of those e-cigs?" They say it makes them look like a "yuppie". One guy is using those and he no longer does all that hacking and coughing. You would think there would be e-cigs all over the smoking areas, but there are not. Scratching head............

 

[passedpawn]

A couple of things that helped me when I was jonesing hard were fresh grapefruit, just peel it & eat it like an orange; it helps to eat it over the sink as it tends to drip juice. And those little strawberry hard candies with the strawberry jelly filling. And violent video games, they help to relieve some stress & aggression.
Keep going man, you can do it!
Regards, GF.

Thanks, but I don't ever crave them physically (I quit a long time ago). I miss the act of smoking mostly. For example, I miss smoking while fishing. But it's seldom I think about the cigs at all, which is why it's hard to explain the dreams.

 

[DrunkleJon]

when I tell my story most smokers will tell me that I was never really a smoker. I started up at the beginning of college, and quit my last year there (5 years). I was more of a social smoker, and otherwise would have 1-2 a day (much like how I drink currently). I would smoke more when I drank, but not much and a pack would last me a good week, week and a half. In my senior year a roomate had bought a marked down tin of Top loose tobacco and A rolling machine. I started rolling them by hand sans machine because it just didnt work well for me and would smoke filterless crappy cigs from there because the tobacco really was crap and kinda stale. The funny thing is this is not what made me quit. It was at a party where I bummed a Baileys branded cig from him, lit it up and took a drag, decided right there that it was not for me, handed the cigarette back and said something along the lines of "ugh, i'm done." and quit right then and there. I have had a cigarette on a rare occasion especially while drinking and can only get through 1/3-1/2 before the nicotine buzz kicks in and I have to stop. They do not taste as good anymore either.

I have noticed though that ex-smokers are very sensitive to the smell of cigarettes and tobacco smoke. I can smell a smoker or lit tobacco from much further away than friends that have never smoked. I really do enjoy the smell of unburnt tobacco as well as that quick subtle hint that is smelled when someone in the distance lights one up. The heavy smoke smell is gross to me as is the stale smoke smell. I do not really miss it though I occasionally think that one would go well right now then think about it and realize that it really wouldnt. I do miss the cigarette breaks though. It is a shame that non smokers dont really get equivalent breaks. I also resent, since smoking indoors is against the law pretty much anywhere around here, that the heavy smokers crowd every entrance and exit (and if one has two paths both of them) and it is not possible to enter or leave work without getting a lungful.

I do worry about the e-cigs. That nicotine is usually in a glycol solution. That can not be healthy to ingest as it is used in such things as antifreeze which can be deadly. Not to mention that the concentration of nicotine varies by brand and can really make you feel ill if you accidentally spill it on your skin. Long term effects worry me. I do not forsee myself using those, but at least they only have a little fruity smell and disappear quickly over real smoke.

 

[JonM]

A couple of things that helped me when I was jonesing hard were fresh grapefruit, just peel it & eat it like an orange; it helps to eat it over the sink as it tends to drip juice. And those little strawberry hard candies with the strawberry jelly filling. And violent video games, they help to relieve some stress & aggression.
Keep going man, you can do it!
Regards, GF.

Legend has it that's why Reagan kept the big jar of Jelly Belly jellybean on his desk.

 

[hunter_le five]

SWMBO used e-cigs to quit. The jury is still out as to whether e-cigs have horrible health effects or not, but I have to believe it's "less-bad" than regular cigs. If nothing else, she smells and tastes a lot better now (in more than one sense).

She hasn't touched a real cigarette since switching to e-cigs (the better part of a year ago) with the exception of once in a bar. She bummed one off a friend, and quickly decided she could no longer stand the taste of real cigs anymore. She couldn't fathom why she started in the first place.

I'm glad the e-cigs have helped her quit, but in a sense she pretty much just traded one addiction for another. She insists its more of a "hobby", but her frequency of use suggests otherwise. She is slowly dialing back the nicotine content of her e-juice over time, so hopefully she will be able to eventually wean herself off. Time will tell.

 

[krackin]

Most of the smoking dreams go away. The ones where you are smoking while sitting on the toilet in a crowded room never go away. I get those after drinking a lot of apple jack. I think they are dreams anyway.

 

[Hopinista]

I'm from Europe originally, it was a much more acceptable thing. I smoked from 14 til I was 26. So two years no cigarettes. I do smoke cigars though

 

[Qhrumphf]

when I tell my story most smokers will tell me that I was never really a smoker. I started up at the beginning of college, and quit my last year there (5 years). I was more of a social smoker, and otherwise would have 1-2 a day (much like how I drink currently). I would smoke more when I drank, but not much and a pack would last me a good week, week and a half. In my senior year a roomate had bought a marked down tin of Top loose tobacco and A rolling machine. I started rolling them by hand sans machine because it just didnt work well for me and would smoke filterless crappy cigs from there because the tobacco really was crap and kinda stale. The funny thing is this is not what made me quit. It was at a party where I bummed a Baileys branded cig from him, lit it up and took a drag, decided right there that it was not for me, handed the cigarette back and said something along the lines of "ugh, i'm done." and quit right then and there. I have had a cigarette on a rare occasion especially while drinking and can only get through 1/3-1/2 before the nicotine buzz kicks in and I have to stop. They do not taste as good anymore either.

I have noticed though that ex-smokers are very sensitive to the smell of cigarettes and tobacco smoke. I can smell a smoker or lit tobacco from much further away than friends that have never smoked. I really do enjoy the smell of unburnt tobacco as well as that quick subtle hint that is smelled when someone in the distance lights one up. The heavy smoke smell is gross to me as is the stale smoke smell. I do not really miss it though I occasionally think that one would go well right now then think about it and realize that it really wouldnt. I do miss the cigarette breaks though. It is a shame that non smokers dont really get equivalent breaks. I also resent, since smoking indoors is against the law pretty much anywhere around here, that the heavy smokers crowd every entrance and exit (and if one has two paths both of them) and it is not possible to enter or leave work without getting a lungful.

I do worry about the e-cigs. That nicotine is usually in a glycol solution. That can not be healthy to ingest as it is used in such things as antifreeze which can be deadly. Not to mention that the concentration of nicotine varies by brand and can really make you feel ill if you accidentally spill it on your skin. Long term effects worry me. I do not forsee myself using those, but at least they only have a little fruity smell and disappear quickly over real smoke.

Apparently the cartridge ones are pretty safe, but the refillable ones with the nicotine solution can be very dangerous, especially with little kids around. Apparently a little drop on the skin of a small child is enough to put em in the hospital in serious if not critical condition.

The way I look at it, nicotine is toxic and carcinogenic in and of itself, so they're not safe. However, you're losing the combustion, plus all the other additives, so they're probably safeR.

 

[Subsailor]

My Dad's been smoking since he was 12. He's 80 and still smokes but has switched from cigarettes to filtered cigars because he can get a carton of the for the price of 2 packs of cigarettes in Michigan.

My wife smokes cigs and at $10.68 a pack it aint cheap, fortunately she takes about a week to smoke a pack.

I started smoking at 13. I quit cigarettes cold at 28. I still smoke cigars and pipes and the occasional hookah. I cannot see me fishing or sitting around a campfire without a pipe or a stogy.

 

[HopHeavy]

I started smoking in 7th grade, aged 12 or so... I am 43 now. I have quit every year or two since then. Most recently, in January, started nicotine gum. Works like a charm! I don't even think about cigerettes. I don't fiend for one in the company of smokers, when I have cocktails, or when I am working on those tasks where I would usually light up. Thing is, the gum is far more addictive then cigarettes if mildly less dangerous. Having picked up cigarettes in the absence of the gum the last time around, I am pretty much resigned to gum as an eternal replacement.

 

[Pappers_]

I have never smoked, both of my parents did and both died of cancer, at ages 28 and 52. My wife did briefly when she was a teen, and my youngest son does occasionally. I noted when I was in NYC recently that there seemed to be more folks walking around smoking than in Chicago. Not scientific by any means, just an observation that may be more or less accurate.

 

[brettg20]

I am also an ex smoker (pack a day unless drinking than maybe 2) and stopped thanks to my E cig. The jury is still out on them BUT the way I feel is night and day and glad I made the switch. Slowly dialing down the nicotine mg's every couple of months. I still like the smell of cigs but the taste seems so dirty compared to my ecig.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[shelly_belly]

I started in 1978, smoked a pack a day and quit cold 4 months ago. Mostly because I want more money for brewing.

 

[BigJack]

Apparently the cartridge ones are pretty safe, but the refillable ones with the nicotine solution can be very dangerous, especially with little kids around. Apparently a little drop on the skin of a small child is enough to put em in the hospital in serious if not critical condition.

The way I look at it, nicotine is toxic and carcinogenic in and of itself, so they're not safe. However, you're losing the combustion, plus all the other additives, so they're probably safeR.

Not exactly. If you make your own e-liquid, then the bottle of pure nicotine you would have around to mix into your e-liquid is toxic enough to send a kid to the hospital from skin contact alone.

If you buy pre-mixed liquid, the nicotine level will range from 0-36 mg per bottle. If a child ingested the e-liquid in any quantity, it could make them ill- possibly seriously ill if the child is young and the nic level is high.

I buy pre-mixed with 9mg of nicotine and I keep mine stored safely as I would with alcohol or any other chemical in the house that I don't want my kids getting into.