Quiting cigarettes...still have cravings.

[yigs]

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[Jason]

Welcome, yigs.

The method of nicotine intake from snus is very different from cigarettes, so your body will need time to adjust. I switched between snus and cigs for at least a couple of weeks before I got into the groove. Some people here were able to stop smoking immediately....it just depends.

Give it some time...it will be worth it. :wink:

[Toque Snuff]

Try using snuff as well. A lot of snus users also use snuff and what the guys here say is, to help with the craving take a pinch of snuff for the instant nicotine hit and use the snus to keep your nicotine levels topped up.

Keep going, you can beat it with snus and snuff.

They are the most successful way of stopping smoking by a long way.

The figures I have as a percentage of those remaining stopped after 6 months are as follows:

Nicotine chewing gum 12%
Nicotine patches 17%
Hypnosis 24%
Hypnosis and patches/gum 26%
Snuff/snus 76%

I don’t have any figures for chewing tobacco.

[Pus]

I've not smoked, I'm sure I won't start either, I'm pretty young and I've only been snusing for about 2+ years so I can't talk with experience but I'll come with my tips.

If you really want to stop smoking you have to keep this in mind. Try as much as possible to avoid them, try to "forget" them in your daily day and rather take a snus/snuff as mentioned above.

If you're starting to become independent from the smoking try to not have any packs lying around waiting for you. Just get them if you REALLY are desperate after some.

Read a few articles about how smoking harms you, or how Snus is better than smoking (rumors are 98% healthier?). This might be a good and bad idea, if you get the thoughts; I want a smoke, when reading / thinking about cigs.

I'm 16 btw. ;^D

Welcome to the forums, and good luck!

[holnrew]

Welcome, I've been using snus since July and I still smoke sometimes. I find it very difficult to ignore the cravings, even with a lip full of los. I think there's something self-destructive about me.

[lxskllr]

A cigarette a day? I honestly wouldn't worry about it. Cigarettes aren't the instant death people make them out to be. 1 per day is perfectly reasonable, and I don't think it'll affect your life in any major way. You probably breath more crap from a modern lifestyle than you get in 1 cigarette.

BTW, Welcome to the forums :^)

[warthog]

Well, I fell off the wagon (in spectacular fashion after 18 months without a smoke) about 6 weeks ago after (well, during actually) a heavy drinking business trip.

At first it was just the odd one with a drink then before I knew it I'm back on 10+ a day and worse still... not snusing.... :cry:

But, with a bit of mental preparation, some snuff and our old friend 'Mr Pouch' I'm cig free again for 5 days and loving the juice

Don't worry about the odd one, it will pass and with this great product if you want to stop, you will! The way I figure it - 6 weeks in 18 months ain't gonna kill me - the vodka might tho..... :twisted:

[mbyrd624]

I fell off the wagon briefly, as well. My advice is that if you need to buy cigarettes, DO NOT BUY YOUR USUAL BRAND!

I intentionally wanted to make the experience of smoking as unpleasant as possible, because I really do want to quit. So, I picked up 2 packs of American Spirits, one was the non-filter variety, the other was their Perique Blend. By the time I was done with both of those packs, I was ready to commit to snus again

[KarlvB]

Re: Quiting cigarettes...still have cravings.

I have a question to all those who have switched to snus. I have been smoking for 3 years about 10-15 cigs a day. 2 weeks ago a friend introduced me to snus, been using ever since (sounds like a drug). however i keep getting cravings for a cig (using catch dry peppermint) but when i use genereal 24g i get lightheaded/"high"

yigs, the lightheaded feeling may be due to the amount of nicotine in snus and the way it is released. I know that sounds weird considering that you used to smoke at least half a pack a day and probably have a high nicotine tolerance, but I had the exact same experience. Mini portions (Catch) didn't do the job and General just made my head spin..

What I can suggest is aiming for the middle ground (Mocca+ which has about 6mg of nicotine) or alternatively leave a regular portion in for as long as you feel comfortable and until you get enough nicotine to still the craving for a cigarette.

Either way the longer you snus the more you get used to it and before you know it you will completely forget about cigarettes. The latter simply doesn't compare with snus for me in terms of satisfaction

[bmwgsa]

Welcome to the wonderful wacky world of snus!

I smoked for 30 years and switched to snus about 3 months ago. Your cravings might just be a learned habbit that you have to break (that was a biggie for me).

As for getting light headed on a regular portion - been there did that. You get over it faily quicky.

Just give it some time and you'll get it all in order.

[Xobeloot]

It took me about a month to fully set down the smokes after switching to snus.

Now, about a year later, I still crave a smoke on occasion. I do still have a cig now and again, the only difference is that now when I have a cig, it just leaves me craving some snus.

[itchystiches]

Man, when I lived in NC, all I ever smoked were American Spirit Perique's in the evening and Camel Wides in the daytime. My goodness, how damn good those Perique's are. I miss those suckers SO much Infact... if anyone wants to mail me a couple of packs I'd make sure you were adequately compensated

Kools were another big love of mine, although you can't buy them in the UK either man I wish I was back in NC.

[RobsanX]

Yigs, the same thing happened to me when I tried to quit cigs with snus. I would snus until I got dizzy and I would still be craving a cig. What worked for me was to eat something, or have a sweet drink. When I used to get hungry, but couldn't eat, I would have a cig or have a soda to curb the hunger. For me, hunger became a trigger for a cig craving. I solved it by just eating a cookie or drinking a soda.

[spirit72]

Like several of the other posters here have hinted at, you're getting your nicotine, but cig smoking is a two-headed beast. You have the physical addiction, and the psychological habit.

Basically, you want to take a tally of all the things that trigger you to smoke, and associate them with using snus instead. Gotta have that smoke after coffee or a meal? Pop in a portion or a pris instead.

The hardest one for me was the car. Now, when I get in the car, I start the engine, crack the window like I did when I was smoking...and pop in a portion instead of lighting up.

[snusjus]

Catch Dry Peppermint only contains 4mg nicotine per pouch. If your gums absorb 10-20% of nicotine from snus, this means you are getting around 0.5mg nicotine in one hour! A cigarette delivers around 1.0-1.5mg nicotine within minutes. I would recommend switching to a normal or stark strength snus. The higher nicotine levels will help kill the desire to smoke.