Very early in my quitting I read a post which was in essence "thanks for the help bros, but I'm out, y'all are holding me back". I was a little offended and thought the poster very selfish, but I now understand the sentiment. For someone who is doing great with their quit and feeling fantastic, it's not really helpful to read a dozen posts about relapses, how hard it is, addiction fuelled rationalizations etc.

Makes one appreciate the people who stick around here years after quitting, if not for them one would come away with the impression that giving up smoking is an impossible endeavor, as these forums self select for people that are struggling

Not too sure how often this book is talked about, it was a reddit post I saw this book recommended on, but it was years ago. I was a couple days in on my quit when reading it, but it says to smoke until after you've finished it. This book changed my perspective in everything with smoking and therefore has changed my life.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 5 YEARS I AM 1 WEEK NICOTINE FREE!!! TWO WEEKS SMOKE FREE!!!!

I know its wrong but my brain thinks that it thinks that smoking now will make things better for me and I will go through the problems and the stress that I have more easily.

I have quit before in the past for 2 years and I started again because of a stressful period. I have stress now again and again I am thinking about smoking… But I will be smarter this time because NOT EVEN ONE.

19M

Started smoking around 9 months ago. Yesterday was my last one but i am scared i will get cancer or other things. Stopping is no problem for me but the anxiety is the thing. I smoked around 10 a week for 8 months.

I smoked for a decade and it has been 1 year since I quit. I did quit before for 9 months, however after a stressful day at work I told myself “actually if I were to just smoke once a week it would be fine”, and as you guys might guess, once a week became once a coffee, once a coffee became anytime that I drink a hot beverage on a cold day and I was back at it again.

I won’t make this a long monologue but here is what I learned so far.

The addiction is chemical
- After my last relapse I decided to study what made me relapse, and why was I smoking. This really helped me in understanding myself. As I started analyzing my cravings, I realized that for me smoking was primarily a chemical addiction to nicotine. Until then I thought I liked the feeling and strongly disagreed that it was about nicotine however this was not the case.

I know this might not be a surprise for many but it really was for me, and helped me really much in managing this situation. I really used to say that I would smoke nicotine free cigarettes and get the same pleasure but now I couldn’t disagree with that sentence more.

Changing my quitting mentality
- The mentality of giving up smoking forever was a really challenging and scary thing for me. Because when I looked back I realized that I met my friends, coworkers, my exes nearly whole of my social circle in smoke pauses and a very large chunk of them smoke.

- So instead of promising myself to never ever smoke again I decided to give a “break” first. I still consider myself an addict but not an active smoker. As far as I am concerned, I am just a smoker that decided to give his lungs a break. This really helped me with the cravings. Im not exactly sure how this happens but I feel like I have deceived my brain into thinking that we still have the possibility of smoking in the future after the “break”.

This Sub really helps
- I love this sub. Reading people’s experiences and knowing that I’m not alone is comforting. I understand how some people may feel overwhelmed when they see other people relapse but I really appreciate anyone that shares their views, experiences or relapses. Because in the end reading them either reminds me of the unhappiness and frustration that I got after relapsing or it comforts me that there are other people who struggle/struggled just like me but achieved quitting.

i reached 65 days so far and feeling proud...

Hi friends! I’m on day 72 no vaping! Yay! I’ve been eyeing NAC supplements at the store and am curious what people notice when taking it? I had horrendous brain fog the last couple months but just this last week it’s started making huge improvements! I’m curious if this would help potentially! Thank you in advance :-)

I (26M) started smoking "daily" back in Covid era, not much but not less than 5 nor exceeding 10 each day, i tried cold turkey back in 2025 and relapsed on 2nd day.

As of today i haven't smoked for 3 weeks going strong, but a friend of mine passed me a 🍃 yesterday and i took a puff, now i feel guilty af.

My final day 1.

After years of struggling to quit, I can now safely say that the habit is behind me.

Granted it's only day 2 but I haven't been able to have a day 1 in over 3 years.

My last smoke, I remember looking at the cig and wondering, "why do I enjoy this"

It's 5am, it's day 2. Will update again on the weekend

Who has quit smoking using wellbutrin?

im 8 days free rn, and day 3 was so easy compared to yesterday and today; all i have thought about was buying a pack im so irritated and so close to giving in. will this urge go away??

Hi! I’m over nine months quit, and I am so glad I did—my life, my mood, my health—everything has improved. I have more time on my hands, and I love coming back on here to support other people (we got this!). My only issue (and I have OCD, for context) is that I have these jump scare thoughts like What If I Start Smoking Again and Have to Go Through Withdrawal Again—I get legitimately terrified. I have noticed myself romanticizing smoking a little bit—since I am further along in my quit, and I sometimes forget how nasty it is—but in response to those thoughts I feel almost a genuine horror because I know I’m only human and could fall right back into it someday. Anyway, I’ll talk to my therapist about it, too, but I wonder if anyone has experienced this! Good luck, everybody, and thank you!

Long-time casual smoker… had a wicked quitter’s flu that subsided and other than that did not struggle too bad with mood. But dang am I shitty today! Anyone else have a delayed irritability response??? Grrrr (still glad I quit tho!)

I have been smoking for the past 12 years. I have flopped between cigarettes and vapes, sometimes both at the same time. It has definitely taken a toll on my lung health (wheezing). I haven’t vaped in almost 3 years. But I still smoke cigs. I stopped back in 2024 for 9 months (became pregnant). I started back up last June or July when I became a single mom.

I need to quit for my son, I don’t want to suffer severe consequences. I want to be able to keep up with my son.

I know I can do it. It’s just hard. I haven’t had a cigarette in 24 hours, however I did pick up some Zyns. I know I know, it’s not good to replace one habit with another. But mentally - I can’t just stop nicotine cold turkey. When I quit when I was pregnant I struggled for MONTHS with my emotions, sleeplessness. I want to wean myself down. I wanted to start with getting over the “hand to mouth” motion first. That was a big thing for me the first time around. Second is weaning down the nicotine levels.

I picked up a 6mg can and I seem to be feeling okay with that. Not really hankering for a cig. Just missing something to do with my hands.

Any advice is welcome. just please don’t scold me for picking up another habit while trying to quit another

So i posted earlier very upset that id smoked after 23 days however im now looking at it in a more positive light because to be honest after smoking about 5 I felt sick, dizzy and visibly shaking. Its made me realise I couldn't power through and after 23 days I dont enjoy them. They made me feel awful so every cloud. I now consider it a lapse rather than a relapse. Thanks to all who commented with kind words and support

I'm tired non stop, scarily tired, Anxious, bad brain fog, asthma symptoms heightened because of tar clearing, dizzy, irritable, feel completely dead inside, random adrenaline dumps, heart rate weird with palpitations, feel sick constantly, everything is absolutely boring and flat, insomnia of course, paranoia, heightened OCD thoughts, can't eat properly when I'm supposed to but am hungry when I'm not supposed to eat, muscle spasms sometimes. It is really making me think what the point is.

Hello everyone. I’m 16 years old and I started smoking when I was 14. Right now, I smoke almost half a pack a day. I really want to quit—I don’t want to deal with health issues, I hate coughing, I don't want my parents to find out, and honestly, I'm tired of spending all my money on cigarettes.

The biggest problem is I just don't know how to stick to it. Last winter, I managed to quit for about 3 months, but then I relapsed and started again. Where I live, it's honestly way too easy to get them as a minor; local shops sell to anyone, and strangers on the street will hand you a cigarette without even asking your age.

Do you guys have any tips or advice on how to break this cycle for good? Thanks.

I am on day 11 cold turkey off the vape. My anxiety the past couple days has been just off the charts from the second I get up. Im paralyzed. I cant watch tv or read my book or play videogames or even doomscroll. Please tell me this is just my brain trying to readjust and it will go away