Nicotine Addiction

[Alex101]

Hi all, i felt like asking even though it may not be the right place. I am sure a few people here have experienced the dilemma which is nicotine addiction and thought i'd ask for advice.

I've been addicted pretty much the past 4 years, while the past 2 years has been an attempt to stop. I just can't imagine life without them but i hate them because how it is steadily draining me down. I do my fitness, meditation and other healthy like minded practices but when i do it, i feel like i can only put in 40% of my energy into it. When i focus on my breathing, i stop because it is uncomfortable, i can't remember what a clear breath feels like. When i workout i have tonnes of energy but my chest brings my whole body down. When i want to do most things positive, cigarettes weigh down my decisions somehow(not conciously, its just the overall mental and physical impact).

I recently had an attempt, 2 days, but today i cracked..i feel so determined but i lose. My longest stopping was 6 days.I have read/watched/listened too Alan Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking many times(most people recommend it) but it does not work for me, i don't understand it. I feel totally helpless over it, its almost like i am kidding myself by trying to stop because i always end up failing.

I do smoke organic when i can but its not always available. I have looked into the ceremonial use but i don't exactly have that environmental stimuli or discipline to create that kind of habit. Does anyone have anything,advice or their personal experiences to stopping?

 

[cyb]

There is only one way to do it IMO and IME...
You HAVE to WANT to do it...If you want it ...it is easy as pie.

 

[Amygdala]

There is only one way to do it IMO and IME...
You HAVE to WANT to do it...If you want it ...it is easy as pie.

Agreed.

For the physical symptoms, I found 1 week each of 21, 14, 7mg patches worked for me. A little foggy with each step down, but totally manageable. Wacky awesome dreams too.

I had poor luck with the nicotine gum, as I could dose whenever I wanted to, and it just reinforced the smoking behavior. With patches, you can't dose when yr stressed, so I learned to get over it.


Or, you could spend a day in our ICU, watching smokers drown in their own mucous. Worked for me.

Good luck

 

[corpus callosum]

Whilst addiction to any substance is not ideal, the biggest issue with nicotine addiction via smoked tobacco is the well-known toxic nature of this ROA.The cigarette smoker is like the crackhead of nicotine due to the rapid hit the cigarette provides.

If the OPs not quite in the right headspace to cease their relationship with nicotine just yet, then why not initially maintain the habit with another route of administration.Gum with patches is probably the best starting point for this,until the habit of smoking is broken. Then tapering the dose delivered via patches to zero would be much less onorous.

 

[Alex101]

There is only one way to do it IMO and IME...
You HAVE to WANT to do it...If you want it ...it is easy as pie.

Agreed.

For the physical symptoms, I found 1 week each of 21, 14, 7mg patches worked for me. A little foggy with each step down, but totally manageable. Wacky awesome dreams too.

I had poor luck with the nicotine gum, as I could dose whenever I wanted to, and it just reinforced the smoking behavior. With patches, you can't dose when yr stressed, so I learned to get over it.


Or, you could spend a day in our ICU, watching smokers drown in their own mucous. Worked for me.

Good luck

Thanks, that is assuring. I guess i am half flippant when i think about it..its like a constant tug of war. Super confident one day, then in a split second event want too turn back. Its very difficult challenging that.

I tried Nictine Replacement but it never gelled with me because the products made me drowsy and didn't give a relief as smoking felt.. I did actually call up a few hospitals about 6 months back but they didn't allow visits. Maybe i could give that another go.. i haven't experienced people physically suffering or near death and at the time thought it would scare me.

I do believe it is possible to be in that state of mind where it is easy because i have felt it sometimes, but, its hard staying there!

Whilst addiction to any substance is not ideal, the biggest issue with nicotine addiction via smoked tobacco is the well-known toxic nature of this ROA.The cigarette smoker is like the crackhead of nicotine due to the rapid hit the cigarette provides.

If the OPs not quite in the right headspace to cease their relationship with nicotine just yet, then why not initially maintain the habit with another route of administration.Gum with patches is probably the best starting point for this,until the habit of smoking is broken. Then tapering the dose delivered via patches to zero would be much less onorous.

Could i ask what an ROA is?



I did not know that.I just find through nicotine replacement, i still feel i am sacrificing the smoke and i don't take long to turn back. I don't know if i am addicted purely to nicotine or if i smoke for some sub concious reason. I try to idenify it but to little success.

 

[twofourtwo]

I quit with the help of Allen Carr's Easy Way (http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Carrs-Easyway-Stop-Smoking/dp/0615482155).

The guy gets a lot of flak, and he is admittedly a bit cheesy but for me it worked wonders, the way he unravelled the mystery of cigarette-addiction, so to speak.

I was quite a heavy smoker, but I managed to quit cold turkey, without any withdrawal symptoms, just intense euphoria because I was finally free
I was very much motivated to quit at the time, mainly because I felt so unfree, as a smoker.

I'm now experimenting with substitutes for tobacco smoke my cannabis with.

Good luck!



Edit: I feel terribly stupid for not noticing you mentioned the Easyway system in your OP, I have a hard time waking up today... sorry. Also sorry to hear it didn't work for you.

 

[cyb]

Some advice that worked for me:

1. No tailor made cigs...I've always smoked handmade AND use filters.
2. Use the lightest tabac available
3. You can adjust the amount in the roll up and decrease over a period of time.
4. When you are putting in an amount that equates to 4 puffs and it's gone...then QUIT. (Want to quit with all that you have)
5. The 1st 3 days are HARD...climb the walls, chew your nails, distract yourself every time you get an urge.
6. After 3 days Nicotine is no longer in your system...the cravings are just HABIT.
7. It gets easier now...after 2 weeks you will still get urges BUT 10 secs later and they're gone...
8. You have now quit and can Breathe, Taste, Run etc.
9. Don't eat so much...I put on a Stone in weight.
10. Don't give in like I did and return after 7 months.

Best of Luck
and remember...you dont crave for 8 hrs when you sleep...hmmm:?

intention and desire is a powerful thing

 

[Kronas]

Cannabis could be an extremely good replacement Helps you cough up alot of that Tobacco Resin too :thumb_up:

 

[Pup Tentacle]

Oh man... I feel you... in April I'll have been clean of tobacco for 4 years - I smoked for 27 years and I thank the cosmos every day.

I went cold turkey but used about 3-4 patches the first week... just enough to give an me a leg-up on the crazy craving I had - then it was just will power.

Just keep up the effort of quitting... don't beat yourself up if you slip... try to get back to quitting ASAP!

For me, it was a full-on mind and body commitment. I warned my loved ones that I'd be a bit surly but they were very supportive.

Get your friends involved, let them know so they can cheer you on. True friends will want to - even the smokers!

Reward yourself at certain points with healthful things that you truly enjoy.

Go over, in your mind, and aloud, several times a day, ALL of the benefits to being tobacco-free.
Mullein tea/tinctures etc are great for lung health.

Get to know someone with or read up on COPD/Emphysema. Although not everyone gets this from smoking... check it out... slowly smothering to death, seems to me, would be one king-hell shitty way to go.

I also smoked copious amounts of ganja. ( I don't know how good this is as advice - but it helped me.)

I know a few of these things seem hokey... but IMO we have to give ourselves every chance possible.

Good luck. I'm pulling for your success. I know how good it feels to be free of tobacco addiction and you will too very soon.

Blessings,

PT

 

[Alex101]

5. The 1st 3 days are HARD...climb the walls, chew your nails, distract yourself every time you get an urge.
6. After 3 days Nicotine is no longer in your system...the cravings are just HABIT.

That is extremely useful info, thanks.

9. Don't eat so much...I put on a Stone in weight.

Thank Goodness! Its hard for me to put on the kilos lol.

Cannabis could be an extremely good replacement Helps you cough up alot of that Tobacco Resin too :thumb_up:

Unfortunately after i stopped pott, i went to the smokes! I wouldn't be keen on the reverse method.

Oh man... I feel you... in April I'll have been clean of tobacco for 4 years - I smoked for 27 years and I thank the cosmos every day.

Good luck. I'm pulling for your success. I know how good it feels to be free of tobacco addiction and you will too very soon.

Thats awesome man, would like to be in that position. Feels good that you say that.

I appreciate all the advice so far, i will be writing some of these points down. It helps alot.

 

[nwosidsalp]

Try e-cigarettes! I've been using one for about a month and I love it, having been about a 10-15 cig/day smoker for 2 years or so. I'm not talking about the disposable ones (hear those feel like glass shards in your airways), but the marker-sized ones that you refill with liquid. The cigarettes are not completely gone yet, but they have tapered off significantly, lungs feel much better, and the ones that do get consumed happen with company and are spaced out enough they feel nice.

There is definitely something about smoking the actual cigarette beyond nicotine addiction that keeps you there. This has been my experience with e-cigarettes (which deliver pure nicotine in a flavoured propylene glycol solution), they do satisfy the nicotine craving but there is something else left that would be satisfied were you to light up a smoke. Some people attribute it to an MAOI present in the tobacco, some say the ridiculous number of chemical additives contain something addicting, some even seem to say that inhaling smoke itself (of any variety) is addictive in some way.

Check out E-Cigarette Forum

 

[Solar Jetman]

Anyone tried to use Ibogaine to help quit as i'm interested in giving a whirl?

 

[psilonautical]

Try e-cigarettes!

I second this ^^^, also mescaline made me have no desire for a cigarette for a couple of days, i bet if i had another dose and took mescaline once a week i'd be completly clean of nicotine. I smoke American Spirit menthols, even though they are natural i still feel that smoking is not good for me and isn't getting me anywhere. Oh and yesterday i ate a big bud of cannabis raw and i had no desire to smoke and felt really good, not high at all though. The thc-acid and cbd-acid are non-psychoactive until it's heated to at least 212*F for at least an hour or something. It took away my headache from drinking too much and left me feeling calm and content and i actually enjoy the taste of chewing up buds I'll be growing my own stash here shortly and eating some daily as a supplement. We're in the same boat, i wish you the best and hope you overcome the habit. Peace.

 

[embracethevoid]

Anyone tried to use Ibogaine to help quit as i'm interested in giving a whirl?

Iboga will help but it will not stop smoking for you. It will however switch off the cravings and give you a chance. It will tell the nicotine to shut the hell up for a little while.

However you will always have to consider YOUR want for nicotine - not just nicotine's desire to remain within you. It takes two to tango as is the phrase. If you fill all the gaps in your life which you normally substitute with tobacco then it's much easier to quit.


The most important thing is giving yourself permission to take a break. People go out for smoke breaks all the time and nobody bats an eyelid. But 90% of the time they do it to move away from stress, rest for a bit, then move back, under the auspices of having a smoke. So give yourself permission to relax anyway, without a crutch. Take a 5 min "smoke break" and if anyone looks at you funny tell them to fuck off.


Also, switch to additive free rolling tobacco (e.g. American Spirit) so you can eliminate the addiction to the additives in cigarettes.


Find the original trigger point of a nicotine craving in yourself. This originates at the amygdala. It will feel like this really silent pulse; this pulse activates a cascade of things and then you start getting the feeling of really needing a smoke. It can be as long as 0.25 seconds between that pulse and the emotional response although usually it is nearly instantaneous.

That silent pulse is the killswitch to the addiction. Switch this off (it's VERY easy) and the addiction will disappear like it was never there, zero withdrawals. The Allen Carr method essentially teaches someone how to sense it and observe it clearly for one, which is why it works. It didn't work for you because your perception of the book did not lead you to isolating that pulse.

Once you do see and behold with clarity this amygdala spark, the addiction is nothing. Deciding not to trigger this pulse is no different to wiggling your finger.


So to summarise, this is what you will feel:

[smoking-related cue OR ~1hr since last cig] => (silent amygdala pulse) => blood flow change => emotions change => voice in mind says "I need a cigarette"

The whole process happens very fast but every craving has a beginning, so it's easy to find it. Also you must eliminate all smoking related cues from your reality for around 2 weeks: do not hang around smokers, or drinkers for that while, do not try to smell smoke or see a lit or unlit cigarette. Do not write yourself a cheque that your willpower can not and will not cash.

This reduces the fight down to a single repeating cue: the one you get each time nicotine levels in your body drop to a threshold where they no longer satisfy and consequently the amygdala signals it's time for a smoke.

 

[NamahsNaicigam]

:thumb_up: Congrats on wanting to quit! Your desire creates your outcome. I quit after 11 years of smoking cigarettes using American Vapor. You can put it down and pick it up any time, so you don't have to commit to smoking a whole cigarette. Also good for music festivals because it doesn't weigh you down.

 

[Nathanial.Dread]

Just a question: what prompts people to start smoking in the first place?
Is there a buzz or high associated with nicotine? I've tried cigarettes but found them to be mostly gross.

I've asked that to my smoker friends and none of them seem to know. They just all say that they just sort of started doing it for no reason, and now they can't quit.

No 'mind-altering' effects at all.

 

[satchelpack]

Just a question: what prompts people to start smoking in the first place?
Is there a buzz or high associated with nicotine? I've tried cigarettes but found them to be mostly gross.

I've asked that to my smoker friends and none of them seem to know. They just all say that they just sort of started doing it for no reason, and now they can't quit.

No 'mind-altering' effects at all.

Most of my friends started because of its social engagements. Maybe they were feeling self conscious about just sitting around doing nothing or they were just bored but most of my friends mainly did it just to pass time. I'd even joke with them before they started smoking religiously about how one turns into two which turns into four and so on, but they would always just respond with, "dude, I'm not addicted, I just like to smoke one every now and then." Every single person I've talked to about it is now addicted and wishes they could quit.

To the OP, I've seen many of my friends and family try to quit and the biggest mistake I see them make is contemplating another smoke. Once that urge gets into you immediately do something! Write in a journal, do some jumping jacks, run around the block, or even clean your house. Just keep trying, keep yourself active, and good luck!

 

[twofourtwo]

That silent pulse is the killswitch to the addiction. Switch this off (it's VERY easy) and the addiction will disappear like it was never there, zero withdrawals. The Allen Carr method essentially teaches someone how to sense it and observe it clearly for one, which is why it works. It didn't work for you because your perception of the book did not lead you to isolating that pulse.

Once you do see and behold with clarity this amygdala spark, the addiction is nothing. Deciding not to trigger this pulse is no different to wiggling your finger.

This is what I experienced and the enthousiasm got me a bit carried away, about the Allen Carr method, which was truly a magic experience to me at the time.

I wasn't aware of the amygdala's role in the nicotine addiction, I don't know much about brain chemistry at all, so thank you for pointing that out. It's a fascinating subject. I was reminded of an article I once read, on the practice of 'amygdala tickling' -stimulating the amygdala through active imagination, which supposedly has all kinds of physical, mental and psychic advantages.

AMYGDALA: Amazing Music Brain Adventure

Viewzone Magazine offers a look at life and humanity from different angles. Amygdala, bran function, conspiracies, lost history, religion and mysteries as well as humor and facts... we tell it like it is.

www.viewzone.com

I don't know the source very well so I cannot attest for its accurateness, but I find the idea very interesting.

Perhaps it can be of assistance to people who want to quit.

what prompts people to start smoking in the first place?

That is a tough question. When I was fourteen I bought a pack of cigarettes, smoked half a cigarette in my window, got sick and threw everything away. Looking back I wouldn't know why, except for curiosity and, well to feel a little more sturdy I guess, being fourteen years old and all. :roll:
Later on, when I was sixteen I was smoking my weed with tobacco as is the practice over here, and after I while when I wouldn't have cannabis but I would have papers and tobacco... I was trapped.

 

[GolemGolem]

Try e-cigarettes!

I second this ^^^,

I third this. I still have a (smaller) nicotine addiction, but I have not smoked in over a year and a half. I can run further and harder, food tastes much stronger, don't stink as much, and have more money.
Something to research maybe. The ones in gas stations, and most of the ones that actually look like cigs kinda suck (don't taste that great, batts have to be be recharged constantly, don't hit very strong, yet more expensive). Making your own however is easy if you can handle a soldering iron. Making your own juice is also easy (except for tobacco flavors which is why I still buy that ((thinking about making a full spectrum extract outta organic tobbacco)). Get to support basement businessmen, and they aint even figured out a way to tax it yet.
Used to smoke a pack and a half a day, now I spend 20-40$ a month on gear.

 

[nwosidsalp]

Just a question: what prompts people to start smoking in the first place?
Is there a buzz or high associated with nicotine? I've tried cigarettes but found them to be mostly gross.

I've asked that to my smoker friends and none of them seem to know. They just all say that they just sort of started doing it for no reason, and now they can't quit.

No 'mind-altering' effects at all.

I absolutely get a buzz from every single cigarette, just a tiny one if I've been at it heavily. Think it has a lot to do with smoking technique honestly, nicotine absorption can be a little different for everyone

Edit: Used to smoke clove cigarettes sometimes and they have something on the order of 1.5x the nicotine content of your average cigarette. Smoking one right after waking up in the morning would just about remove my ability to remain standing (not necessarily a nice effect)