Congratulations!

One year ago, I quit smoking and vaping. I had been hooked since my teenage years, and for the longest time, I thought I couldn’t imagine life without it. Smoking became a daily ritual, first for the “buzz,” then out of habit, and eventually just because I felt like I couldn’t function without it.

But here’s what I learned: your body wants to heal the moment you stop. Within weeks, I started noticing real changes, my breathing got easier, my sleep improved, and even food started tasting better. The mental shift was just as big. I wasn’t planning my day around smoke breaks anymore. I stopped worrying about the long-term health consequences hanging over my head.

What finally pushed me to quit wasn’t just my health, but also realizing how much life I was wasting. Time, money, energy, it was all going into keeping up a habit that was giving me nothing in return.

It hasn’t been easy, but I can honestly say this has been one of the best decisions of my life. If you’re reading this and still smoking or vaping, I want you to know: quitting is possible, and it’s worth every bit of effort. The first few weeks are rough, but the freedom you’ll feel after is incredible.

If you’re on the fence, just try. Even if you slip up, keep going. Your future self will thank you.

Hey guys, I’m back

I just finished day three, which was one of the worst days in my life. I had a consistent headache, which wouldn’t go away.

And I started thinking negatively about the whole quitting thing I had thoughts like addiction last forever and they will never forget it. Or stuff like nothing but replace the feeling of nicotine and also why aren’t I feeling normal? When I was on nicotine? It was much normal than this etc

Despite all the negative thoughts, I finish day three without caving in even though I’m still feeling a bit of disappointment ever since I had the realisation of nothing would give me the feeling of nicotine

But guys, please motivate me because I’m feeling like I’m starting to break

Hey guys, M[21] here. Smoked occasionally for a couple of years in my teens and for the past year and a half I Smoked heavily(1 pack/1,5 pack a day) Im quitting cold turkey because nothing helps. Any tips for my process?

i finished my pack this afternoon and have been fighting myself internally to not open a new pack (which i should probably throw out). im currently tiring myself out with movies until i eventually sleep and forget to smoke.

Today is my first day without smoking. I started at the age of 13 and I am currently 25 years old. I have never had another addiction, alcohol does not attract my attention and I am repulsed by hard drugs.

My life has always been marked by an environment with mental health problems or drug addiction, and I myself have serious problems managing my emotions or not falling into depression and self-destruction.

The question in the post is because, although I know the theory of why not smoking improves your life in all aspects, right now I wonder if even with all that it is worth trying.

I recognize that I myself have turned it into a false escape route during these years. It doesn't help me at all, but I'm afraid to live without smoking.

• I started so young that I feel like after 13 years I don't know what it's like to live without it. • I'm afraid that withdrawal will harm my mental health or that my emotions will overflow. • My head betrays me and makes me wonder if it is really worth going through abstinence or worse, it makes me think that perhaps this feeling of having to consciously control myself not to smoke lasts forever. • 90% of my circle of close people smokes, and although they applaud and support me, the temptation is considerable. The typical "change your environment" does not apply.

I would like to read similar experiences or any advice to deal with the psychological part of this addiction. I go to therapy regularly, but I think sometimes the best advice comes from those who have experienced the same thing as you. Emphasize that I consciously and after much reflection decided to stop smoking, but right now abstinence takes over my brain.

Thank you very much 🫂

I was skeptical at first until I saw this on a subreddit I believe it was this one a few weeks ago. I’ve been using this for 12 days now I read somewhere that you should stop smoking after taking it for five days so I did now my cravings are down to around 20% of what they usually would be, I didn’t really care if this had any side effects or not. I just wanted to stop smoking especially because I have a baby coming soon. I’ve tried to stop cold turkey, but never worked for me. I don’t know why this product isn’t so marketed, I’m so glad that I found it and now I’ve been smoked free for seven days. I actually got two of these one for myself and one for my brother. We are both smoke-free. I am glad to say please do your own research before buying or getting into it but I 100% recommend this to everybody. Good luck, I don’t think I’ll ever be smoking again. Please let me know if my post pushed you to try this and actually stop. I would love to hear your stories as well. I have tried to look for the post that led me to buy this product, but I cannot find it anywhere. Apparently this product might have a different name in your country so look it up and check the composition. I got this off Amazon Germany. Good luck everyone. I have a football game in five minutes, this will be my first game after stopping

Anyone else's cravings kick into high gear with major weather changes? I have a very hard time when spring and autumn kicks in. My quit cycle lasts for 6 months (just as the stains on my teeth start to fade) and then I have to fight to keep my head above water.

Any explanation for this that can make it easier to ignore this urge?

After having battled through acute anxiety, depression and insomnia for weeks on end things were beginning to look up for me a bit recently in relation to mood & sleep. However I felt very crappy this morning and had extreme cravings for some kind of quickfix dopamine injection - for some reason I wasn’t able to resist this time after having done so many times before, I also quit an age old habit of the devils lettuce alongside nicotine in early June, quitting both simultaneously has hit me hard to say the least. As mentioned in the title I had a ‘minor’ relapse and had around 6-8 pulls on my old vape over the course of a few hours, I regret it and keep telling myself at-least I haven’t ‘smoked’. However I’m not thick and realise that reintroducing my brain to something it’s not been in contact with for quite a while now wasn’t wise.

What I’m worried about is this resetting withdrawal, initially the addicted part of my brain was trying to rationalise with me by convincing me that vaping would be better than returning to smoking but I’m resisting as I’ve gone 10 long hard weeks and have seen/felt progress along the way. I’m writing this out to hold myself accountable and because I can’t really post it in the support group for cannabis cessation. I think I’ve put too much emphasis on my struggles being related to that & not nicotine as-well, reading through some people’s posts on here makes me realise a lot of my struggles could have been more to do with nicotine than I had realised.

I quit cold turkey 18 days ago, and it has gone pretty well actually, but I am really Really REALLY craving a cigarette this evening. There is no real point to this other than to get some support of people who can relate. Thanks!

Pack a day Marlboro red smoker for 23 years. Started varenicline last week. Smoked up until the very last second of my last day. Today is day 5 without a cigarette and I legitimately can’t remember the last time I felt this well. A couple interesting dreams but other than that, no noticeable side effects and didn’t feel any kind of withdrawals. I’m pretty shocked.

I just had to deal with a tough first week in the sense that I had to actively fend off the cravings.The rest has been as hard as I expected. I had my annual checkup at the doctor's office and passed most of the things with flying colors. We even did a Coronary calcium score and it was 0, meaning no plaque around heart this time, meaning low chance of heart disease. Doc was happy to hear what I had done. That was good encouragement last week.

Tonight, I went out with friends. Normally, I would smoke during and after hanging out but no strong effect pulling me toward smoking tonight .

I've saved $300 already in 3 weeks alone.

Let's get out of this hole and make sure never in fall in it again.

Good luck!!

I saw a video on TikTok of an Indian man who noticed that many in his village were idle and spent their time drinking and smoking.

So he started teaching chess, and many quit their addiction and switched to playing the game.

I'll do the same, keep my mind busy playing and studying games. (I'll become the next Bobby Fisher)

It’s been 26 days since I’ve touched a cigarette, I’m not gonna lie to you guys, it’s not been easy and there has been multiple counts where I almost failed, but I’ve now developed a number of strategies that help me (a huge one for me is going for a walk outside whenever I’m craving + having the panic button whenever I need it)

I’ve quit numerous times in the past but no longer then a week, I’m in totally new territory and I think i'm actually starting to feel the benefits... My lungs and breathing have felt so much clearer at work, and I've actually started running which i would have NEVER done in the past!

Ultimately I wanted to make this post to mark as a pivotable point in my journey of quitting smoking so that I could come back in a few months and look at the progress I've made, but I also made it to encourage anyone else who is trying to quit.

No sugarcoating, it's really fucking hard... but you have to remember IT IS possible and I'm telling you it is 100% worth it :)

Looking online, all the UK pharmacies are charging £150+ but seems to be cheaper on polish ones? Not sure if they’re legit?

1)did you reduce sigarettes days before going cold Turkey? 2)how many sigarettes did you smoke last days before quitting

i’ve been nicotine free for a little over 4 years but recently i cannot get the idea of wanting to smoke cigarettes out of my head.

i only ever smoked cigs occasionally like at the beach with friends or on nights out, my daily addiction was my vape. i never really craved cigarettes like i did my vape. ive probably smoked a total of 3 packs worth over my ~6 years with a nicotine addiction, so nothing too crazy

my problem is now i cant stop thinking about wanting to smoke a cigarette when im out. for context im in my 20s and i quit smoking weed and drinking alcohol right before i quit nicotine.

i feel like i have nothing now. im trying to reason with myself that its okay to have a cigarette when im out since i dont do anything else. i also live an active lifestyle and i eat relatively healthy so a little smoking wouldn’t be that bad, right?😭😭

i’m mainly worried that it will trigger something in my brain and i will start vaping again, but i also think that being off of alcohol & weed for this long shows something? i think i can trust myself to not start vaping again but i dont know. i just miss having at least one vice for the weekends :/

One of the biggest fears I had before quitting smoking was how I would handle stress and nervousness. I was known for always being on edge, and honestly, whenever someone asked me why I was so nervous, I never had an answer, I was nervous for no reason. I truly believed that my life was stressful.

Of course, just like everyone else, I had stressful and tense situations in my life, but for me it felt different.

When I quit smoking, I discovered that I’m not nervous at all and that my life isn’t stressful. It was all because of the cigarettes.

The issue with smoking is that it keeps us in a constant state of withdrawal. As soon as nicotine starts leaving our system, we begin to feel nervous. To calm ourselves, we light another cigarette and temporarily satisfy that withdrawal. This process tricks us into believing that cigarettes calm us down, but in reality, they’re just relieving the craving they caused.

When you quit smoking, these problems disappear. There’s nothing left to trigger that state of withdrawal or make you nervous. You’ll realize that your life isn’t as stressful as you thought and that you’re not a nervous person at all. Cigarettes bring out the worst in you.

Once you quit smoking, you’ll see how much better and more relaxed you are as a person, and how much brighter life becomes. Don’t wait, there’s nothing to lose, only so much to gain.

Today has been the worst day since stopping 7 weeks ago.

I had some anxiety-inducing paperwork to do. Stuff I have been procrastinating for month now and which makes me worry a lot.

And I’m feeling an almost unbearable craving to use my usual “anti-anxiety drug”, that helped me through every crisis in the last decades. Just like a huge hole in my breast that can only be filled with smoke and nicotine. I’ve tried to get distracted, to drink water, to eat, whatever. Nothing helps. It’s been going on non stop for hours now, it’s a very physical sensation.

I’ve been doing so well up to now, it was pretty easy to stop, as I was in a relaxed environment, far from home and with only non smokers. Now I’m back home and back to reality, and my mind keeps telling me to smoke again and search an excuse to go for it. It’s crazy, I’m supposed to be over nicotine by now…

I haven’t given in yet, will try to get an anti-anxiolytic to sleep and hope for the best that it’ll be gone by tomorrow. But these cravings are not just a passing thing for me, I’m literally obsessed with smoking right now and I can feel the need literally physically. Why does everyone always say it just takes a distraction and it’s just in your mind. It certainly doesn’t feel this way right now :-)

Its been 4 weeks since I stopped smoking and it was cold turkey. Since day 1 haven't had any craving at all. It's just happened like a miracle to me. However, since I stopped, everything looks boring, and I can't focus, can't read as my important exam is coming at the end of next month. I feel sad sometimes but my inner self already understands the process I think.

The only thing I'm here to ask is if any experts are here and would give me a suggestion on this. First day of the second month and I really want to study but somehow I got distracted all the time? What should I do to gain more focus? I mean I know this exam is super important for me and I knew that I need to study hard but this quitting smoking process is slightly in my way. So if anyone has any suggestions for me, I would appreciate your thoughts on it. Thanks #Stayhealthy,

I've been a smoker for 12-13 years (now 25) It's been already 87 days since I stopped smoking. I just want to share with you guys (especially with the people who struggle at the start of this journey) that it's getting easier and easier everyday.

Thanks to you guys, it was my morning routine to scroll the posts of others, it helped me to believe in myself.

I quit for a year, and he was so proud of me. Then my mom got sick, and I bought a pack "just for the drive home from the hospital." That was three months ago. Now I'm hiding it, brushing my teeth constantly, and lying to the person I love most. The guilt is crushing me. Has anyone else been here? How did you come clean and start again?