this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2023
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I know it's gross, unhealthy, a stupid habit, makes no sense.

Trouble quitting cuz it's something to do with hands, fidgety, restless, oral fixation I think, and it gets me out of the house. Can't find a habit to replace it with.

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[–] Rhoeri@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I used Wellbutrin about 7 months ago to quit. And was only on it for about a month or two. I have since gone through the death of my best friend for over 30 years, and recently the loss of a beloved pet of 15 years. Neither of these events triggered my urge to smoke again, so there’s at least a testimony to it’s effectiveness.

More on the process:

So I went to my GP and asked for help in quitting, (habit was a pack or more a day for 40 years) was prescribed Wellbutrin and just went with it. I was smoking while on the medication for probably two weeks or so, and then gradually lost the taste for it along with the urge to smoke. It got to the point where I would forget to smoke at times when I normally would, such as- after waking up/eating, etc.

Having dealt with some extreme grief/sorrow/stress/anxiety over the course of this shitshow of a year and still not smoking as a result of it has been one of the very few things I have to be happy about.

Helping someone achieve this and paying it forward would certainly help make it more worthwhile, so I wish you the best of luck in whatever works for you.

Hang in there.

[–] Gerudo@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I was put on Welbutrin for depression and it was like a switch turned off for the cravings. I was done in about a week. I didn't even know it can be used to stop smoking at the time.

[–] KrankyKong@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

Lol, i just posted a comment here. Almost the exact same experience. What's funny is that even if you do smoke, the effect of nocotine is so dulled while on Welbutrin that you basically get nothing out of it.

[–] Tat@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Vape.

It's a good gateway to quitting, also cheaper

[–] Bizarroland@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

I quit smoking 10 years ago thanks to vaping.

I'll agree that it's most likely not as safe as not vaping at all but I am also on the side that it's harm reduction and your clothes smell a lot nicer if you vape than if you smoke.

I now mix my own vape juice using premix chemicals and a year's supply cost me something in the neighborhood of $400 and that's including coils and batteries and all of that stuff.

I also use only a very small amount of nicotine, something like 1.5 mg compared to commercial Vapes bottoming out at 3, and on my next batch I'll reduce it to half of that.

[–] denshirenji@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I used Nicotine patches and would use dip patches on occasion, as well as eating a lot of cough drops while I was quiting. Not sure how good eating cough drops was but it worked better than candy for the oral fixation.

It took me too many years to finally quit the habit from when I determined that I was going to, but I am very glad that I did. Good luck, I am rooting for you.

[–] Aggy@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago

I did similar. Patches and gum. I was vaping between 5 and 10 ml of 18mg/ml at the end.

I followed the patch program, but during the first phase I slowed down how much gum I would chew. By the time I got to phase 2, I was gum free.

[–] zepheriths@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Sunflower seeds

[–] CoachDom@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 years ago

Reduce first but have attainable goals. Go easy and steady.

For some folks cold Turkey works best but it might not be for you.

Most importantly, find a reason that's really important to you.

Maybe try sports - something measurable. It easier to tell yourself no after a cardio as you realise how it ruins what you just achieved.

I've heard regular walks to replace getting outside and taking a break helps

I've been using a Dynavap with CBD (hemp) and it's worked great: Very similar to smoking a cigarette but it's a dry herb vaporizer. The main downside is, there's a decent learning curve to using it well.

[–] WetBeardHairs@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

My solution: peer pressure. Get your smoking buddy to quit with you. Just go cold turkey - but tapering down a bit before hand might help. Don't use gum. Don't use drugs or patches. Just fucking quit. Statistics show that people who use quitting aids like vapes, gum, patches, drugs, etc, fail far more often than people who just go cold turkey.

So cold turkey with a friend. Hold each other accountable. Use each other as a support group. If they fail, sympathize with them but guilt trip them into quitting again so they can be your quit buddy.

[–] bestusername@aussie.zone 2 points 2 years ago

I'm not a smoker, but have a few friends that struggled to quit, the ones that succeeded went cold turkey with meds for the cravings.

Go see your doctor!

[–] Matty_r@programming.dev 2 points 2 years ago

I got up to a pack a day when I decided to quit. The biggest thing that helped me quit was getting an app on my phone which tracked the cost and how many you're smoking. When you start reducing the amount smoked etc it tracked how much money you've saved, how much healthier your lungs are (lung capacity etc), how much more time you've added to your life expectency, all that sorta stuff.

Having numbers and stats to track, made it feel more tangible and felt like I was making actual progress towards something.

Its worth a shot.

[–] squaresinger@feddit.de 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Siegmund Freud would recommend picking up cocaine to replace smoking.

(Ok, he actually used it as a substitute for alcoholics and continued doing so after his first client died of a cocain overdose, but close enough.)

[–] moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 years ago

Psychoanalyse is like any other religion. They do what the books say not to do.

[–] Maaj@hexbear.net 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I bought an ounce of CBD weed rolled a joint to smoke every time I had a nicotine craving for 2-3 weeks.

[–] JK1348@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

This is very fascinating, I would love more people to try this and share their experiences

[–] Obi@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 years ago

Cut both your hands off.

[–] kzhe@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Aren't there like herbal non-tobacco smokes?

[–] interolivary@beehaw.org 2 points 2 years ago

I really wouldn't recommend those: you're still inhaling burnt plant matter, and while it might not be as bad as tobacco, that's not going to be great for you.

Also, those things probably aren't as controlled as tobacco so who the hell knows if they're even actually better for you.

[–] franzfurdinand@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

I wouldn't be surprised. I used to use snus and found versions that are just coffee grounds inside. It's helped a ton with curbing cravings.

[–] Steve@startrek.website 0 points 2 years ago

Switch to crack

Take walks!

[–] supersane@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Highly recommend vaping for cold turkey quitting of cigs. Once you taper the vaping nicotine dosage down to a few mg/mL., you should consider a product like fum, which is a non-vape flavored oral fixation device.

[–] zepheriths@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That's literally the worst idea

[–] supersane@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] zepheriths@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Replacing an addiction with another doesn't fix the addiction

[–] supersane@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Not all addictions are equal. The plan I suggested gradually reduces harm. It's better to aim for harm reduction rather than cold turkey quitting which frequently leads to relapses.

[–] zepheriths@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Ok let me say the issue in a different way. Both are nicotine. You have the exact same addiction. You aren't even quiting your just changing the flavor of tobacco. If I start drinking vodka instead of beer and say I am trying to get over alcoholism, you would say I am insane because that won't work.

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