Smoking again?

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  • Sacrilicious
    Member
    • Nov 2007
    • 118

    Smoking again?

    I smoked for 20+ years.. Camel, Marlboro, Drum, Lucky Strike, you name it.. I finally quit with the help of Swedish snus and had been completely smoke-free for three months. Yesterday at work I felt stressed and out of sorts and figured a cigarette my calm me down.. It just about knocked me on my ass! I felt like I was back in middle school. It hurt going down, it was like sucking on a tail-pipe and it tasted like crap! I smoked one more last night, but have stuck to snus today and have no desire to smoke another one. Just thought I'd share my experience with you guys. Anyone have any "re-smoking" stories to tell?
  • Zero
    Member
    • May 2006
    • 1522

    #2
    :lol: It seems a common experience. I think that stage really cements the smoking quit for snusers - up until that point there is sort of this dreamy memory of how good smoking used to be. That first cigarette after your initial switch to snus really is, for many it seems, a harsh realisation that, what with your newfound sense of taste and smell again, smoking really is a wretched habit. I think having a good deal of nicotine in your system really blunts the reward and, while you still feel the headrush, a lot of that is just oxygen deprivation - not really anything with a hook to grab you, eh.

    At any rate, good to hear. As much as I think having the "remind yourself why you quit" cigarette is a totally foolish idea in the general case of quitting, I have actually *recommended* it for people quitting with snus as a technique to assist someone who is having a hard time letting go. The risk of getting "addicted" again is minimal, because you're already getting nicotine anyway, but after a month to six weeks of snusing, you are in an excellent position to disgust yourself out of ever craving a smoke again. Bonus.

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    • TropicalBob
      Member
      • Feb 2008
      • 316

      #3
      We ex-cigarette smokers tend to "forget" the down sides: Long-duration colds, coughing, being unable to taste or smell as non-smokers do. We remember the good times, when a cigarette was our best friend. It got us through .. everything from anxiety to boredom to depression. It made us social. It rewarded our successes. It comforted our failures. What a buddy it was.

      My bet is that about three days from now, your brain will say "That cigarette wasn't so bad. I think I can safety have another at the party tonight." Don't listen. Addiction lies. With every puff you take, your brain is rewiring itself to hook you to that instant-reward type of addiction. Don't give in. You have found a safer way to quiet the demons you created by smoking. Stick to it.

      Stay off 'em!

      Comment

      • Kadett
        New Member
        • Feb 2008
        • 12

        #4
        I'm also quitting using snus and even then its not a total walk in the park. I have smoked 15 years, unfiltered Luckies, Camels, Chesterfields, Woodbines etc (I like historical smokes of the WW2 vintage I guess) and although I didn't smoke more than a pack a day, usually about 15, I was/ am a pretty serious smoker as far as the psychological aspect goes. My best buddies, and all the family emotional pull, like my grandfather smoked Camel all the way through Europe in WW2. It sounds weird but sometimes I would smoke to remember him. My point is that as smokers its not just a way of delivering nicotine but if you smoked a long time its got alot of deep psychological associations. Buddy of mine quit and says there are no ex smokers just like there are no ex Marines, just retired ones. While I dont agree 100% I do feel the phrase echos what TropicalBob is saying that a significant part of this is mental. This is my third quit, previous times I went cold Turkey and lasted 7 months on one and 8 on the other. The actual physical addiction had been licked long before, but what got me was my mind.

        Don't worry if you fall off the wagon and smoke something one day, theres too many that just go back to full on smoking after lighting up assuming they somehow 'failed'. You just had a few smokes, its just a slip so you just get back on the truck of not smoking. I slipped and smoked this week too, I was missing all the longstanding emotional history and went out and got a pack of Camel. Its interesting that after having quit with snus I'm noticing that the taste was really really bad, hurt my throat and that should help reinforce the quit, but also the nicotine delivery from snus seems to be significantly more calming. I actually found the cigarettes deliver a brief shot of relaxation while smoking but this wears off really fast causing anxiety. With snus I dont need another for several hours sometimes.

        TropicalBob is right at this point its all mental at this point we view our smoking with a rose tint and luckily snus allows us to quiet the demons.

        Comment

        • Xobeloot
          Member
          • Jan 2008
          • 2542

          #5
          I did the same thing over this past weekend. Had some friends in for the weekend. We were out at the bar and after a few I grabbed a smoke. After about 2 pulls on the thing it hit the ashtray. Made me wonder how I enjoyed it for as long as I did. Now dont get me wrong, I do still crave one now and again, but I now know that it will not satisfy me. Knowing this, I highly doubt i'll be tempted to light another one any time soon.

          Sans those couple puffs over the weekend, I have not smoked in months.

          Comment

          • yummi4tunekookie
            Member
            • Feb 2008
            • 277

            #6
            Hopefully I'll be able to make it to this point. So far, I've been smoking less, but I still smoke... :?

            Comment

            • Zero
              Member
              • May 2006
              • 1522

              #7
              Just wait until you have ten kinds of snus in your fridge - you'll be so excited to try them all that you won't have time to smoke. By the time the excitement wears off, you'll realise that you've quit smoking without even noticing. Then, I predict with some degree of confidence, ^^ (the above) will happen. Having hardened your resolve at that point, you'll likely drift over into the realm of lössnus connoisseur and spend the rest of your days looking like the illegitimate offspring of Kirby and the neighbourhood chipmunk :shock:

              Comment

              • ['nju:bI]
                Member
                • Dec 2007
                • 29

                #8
                I totally understand that.
                I'm working in the advertising business and last week was a real odyssee, sitting in the office until late at night, every night.
                The (preliminary) climax came yesterday, when I started at 9am and got home at 6am. When the real stress broke out in our team, around midnight, we had already had some beers each and the smokers among us started chain smoking. Naturally, I got cravings for a cigarette and quite quickly broke down and bought myself a pack. And smoked it.

                So what? I have a fridge full of unbelievably yummy snus, another order from buysnus to arrive next week with all those exciting new flavours I yet have to taste and I'll be damned if I trade that for a pack of Luckies.

                I'm addicted to nicotine either way (and so are you, I take it), what is there to fear? Do you think this one cigarette is gonna be the one that kills you in the end? Nah...
                It tastes like crap, it makes you weak and tired, it's actually so useless, noone can put all it's disadvantages into one sentence.
                And than there's our beloved snus - yummy, cheap, hardly any thread to your health. A totally different league.

                We didn't stop smoking, man - we went for the real thing!

                :!:

                Comment

                • STORM6490MT
                  Member
                  • Mar 2008
                  • 138

                  #9
                  I ran out of snus and had one hit off of a lucky strike. This was after almost 8 months of not smoking and using snus to do so. It made me gag and I wanted to puke. Just what I needed to reinforce my commitment to not smoking.

                  If I do crave a smoke, I will just pop in a large pris of knox and smoke a bowl. Two minutes later you forget what your were craving and what you were working on!

                  Keep your head up! Don't give in to the temptation of smoking.

                  Comment

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