I never said everyone can quit cold turkey (though perhaps my comments could be construed as such).

However, for those of you that tried and couldn't stay off, did you try meditation? Psychotherapy? Other cognitive behavioral therapy? There are a variety of perhaps non-obvious tools that can be used to help change behavior. I'm curious how many things people actually try before they declare they can't change.

I'm working with a PT/acupuncturist to try and reverse decades of poor physical mechanics and accumulated sports injuries/crashes. It is painful, inconvenient, and will take months to get long-term results (and require years of continued stretches/exercises). I could just throw up my hands and either ignore it (and slowly lose the ability to play music), or do medication to mask the problem for a couple more years.

There usually are different options available for dealing with personal issues. Often we don't see more than one or two though.

I've ben vaping exclusively for two years. WAY less expensive and I'm missing all those carcinogens. No combustion by-products. Various flavors. I can vape inside and not stink up my house. I'm down to the weakest 'juice' (6 mg nicotine). Next step: 0mg. After that, dropping it altogether.

I have tried, in no particular order:
Hypnotism
Hypnotherapy
Acupuncture
Acupressure
Chantex
Gum
The Patch
Desert Island. Really.
Cold Turkey
Electroshock therapy
Smoke Enders


Other than the island, all of the above at least twice and I may be forgetting some.
Always went back until now. With vaping, I can V something in my hand and puff away, that certain element that nothing else provides. Even though there is no nicotine in my juice anymore, maybe the nipple fixation theory was correct after all!

Superman?
Outta nowhere? Really?
SmileWavy

well, the obvious follow-on question is how long were each tried. Often times we psych ourselves out before even starting.

Most of those are short-term fixes anyway, focused on the symptoms not the underlying issues. Hypnotherapy is questionable at best for long-term efficacy, and acupuncture is mostly valuable to pain treatment rather than behavior modification. The patch/gum/etc are treating the physical addiction, not so much the psychological.

Not familiar with Smoke Enders - is that kind of a 12-step thing?

Strong attachment to a habit usually has some deep psychological roots. Getting to those can be time consuming, costly, and painful. Not everyone wants to, or even can do that, and I totally get it. Combine that with the fact that there are a lot of bad psychotherapists and you have a recipe for frustration. In the end, whatever makes things work for you and those around you. If vaping does it, great. Life is short so you have to pick your battles...

It is personal experience. I really do not care about your proving your position, have at it. This person made a statement that no one who has not smoked is entitled to an opinion regarding quitting. My position on that statement remains, BS.

Again, my comments were "if the shoe fits...", it's why I did not directly quote you, it's a general comment on the thread.

Like others in this thread our issue is not the smoking habit or even addiction to nicotine.

Very simply we have made a subconscious correlation between nicotine use and the ability to function normally. A diagnosis that is not without medical / scientific basis.

There's a lot more going on clinically with a lot of us that willpower simply can't fix.

I don't see a difference between Nicotine and any other prescription my doc might write.

OK, fair enough.

Someone who has never smoked is certainly entitled to their opinion for whatever that's worth.

Or food...or booze...or exercise...or working overtime. Often the underlying issues are the same, just a question on how it plays out.

2.5 years!:eek:

Most recovering alcoholics will tell you that drinking was just a symptom. When they stop consuming alcohol they learn that drinking was a coping mechanism; that their bigger problems were medicated/treated/numbed by the alcohol.

Like Todd mentioned, various forms of meditation and a strong focus on the hard work of dealing with their issues/character defects is how they stay sober.

As one mentioned earlier, when they stop cold turkey, many find they are no longer able to cope with the day to day challenges of normal life. Thus they return to what ever behavior was working before. Alcohol, nicotine, meth etc.

For many many people, it takes much more than willpower to stop using whatever crutch has worked in the past.

- they stop smoking but start eating
- they stop drinking but start smoking
- they stop drinking and begin massive exercise routines
- they stop smoking and start vaping
- they stop drinking and find religion, or prayer and meditation, or are "religious" about self help and 12 step programs

And for many, moving to a less destructive (or less offensive) crutch has a lot of positives in their particular lives.

And I concur with many here that you cannot prescribe your solution on others.

I guess, like so many here, giving up everything and taking up a "massive exercise regime" would probably be a good thing.

I really think you should be congratulated for making it to zero nicotine. When I was a smoker, I remember the physical act of puffing, manipulating the cigarette, the social interaction involved with other smokers, etc., were a large part of it. But the nicotine (along with the other harmful chemicals) were the important things to get away from. At least you should potentially live longer with just the vaping.

It is all about addiction. I believe cigarettes are perhaps the most addictive thing there is. Some people are prone to addictions, others are not. That is why it is not a one size fits all answer.

Almost all the people I know that quit and stayed stopped, decided they wanted to quit and did so.
You are very much mistaken about that last bit.

It is interesting how many former junkies have told me that heroin was much easier to quit than tobacco.
Not really. Methadone has a long half life, heroin is short. Your body gets rid of them at different rates and you don't get the high from methadone, but it does satisfy the opiate receptors. Vape is just a different delivery system.


Supes, hope you have been well, up there in the PNW. You could just switch to weed, it is legal up there now, but then you would have to start wearing tie dye, and nobody should do that.

IMHO it is a tough habit to break. It is my opinion that you really never quit, just hope you stop for the rest of your life. Seems to me that it is a combination of tough and patience. I failed many times but was determined and have been off the sticks for over 4 years. My weakness is Cigars, they always lead to cigarettes again, so I gotta say no to the Cigars.

As far as the vapping; if it helps I am all for it.

+1

Swooped on in.

Thanks for the fly-by, supe. :)

I actually like Vaping and have no plans to quit.
That's also why I smoked on and off for over 30 years... Because I actually liked doing it.

My attitude is if you're not hurting anyone else then do what you want.

Yes smoking is bad for you but according to the latest info more people are dying from obesity and its related illnesses than anything else.
Is that because so many smokers have quit or are we eating ourselves to death?

may be hazardous to your face.. Man In Coma After E-Cig Blows Up In His Face « CBS Miami

Sub Ohm vaping.

People who use atomizers with supper low resistance on a non variable mod which overheats lithium batteries to the point they go boom.

Idiots trying to get a huge plume.