Stopping smoking

It’s just occurred to me that I’ve only had about two cigarettes since about late June. I put my success down to snuff of course, and also a bit of real basic psychology (how DO you spell that word!!!) - I resolutely refuse to give up smoking or even considering it. Let me explain… I smoked for over 25 years, getting heavier all the time. I could easily smoke two or three packs a day, I also smoked a pipe and cigars. I realised I had to stop because it was making me feel ill and then the smoking ban came in in the UK and that effectively made it impossible to smoke anywhere apart from at home - where I have always been banned from smoking in any case, except at the bottom of the garden. I had tried every NRT product out there and had used snuff on and off since a teenager. Nothing had worked and I genuinely felt that I was doomed to a life of guilty smoking, being lectured by my wife and kids and being a social outcast. In July 07, I said to myself - ‘self, you are going to cut down. But if it gets heavy, you are going to smoke and you are not going through any guilt trip either’ I did the standard repalcement of cigs with snuff but still had times when I smoked quite heavily in the yard at work or the back garden. As snuff took over, and still refusing to stop smoking, the cigs became further apart and now, as I said at the start, it has been weeks since my last cigarette. I still refuse to stop smoking and will have a cigarette the second I feel like one - and that approach, for some reason, makes me not want one and seems to be the key to it. I have also developed comparable rituals with my snuffing, as I had with cigs. The best maybe, is getting a nice nicotine hit at my desk whilst at work. Of course, smoking may have already done for me, but I have got further away from it than I ever have before. Sorry if this is boring twaddle, just thought I would share it as there are a lot of us smokers on this forum…

I think the best way to help quit or cut down, is like you said. Do not tell yourself ‘This is my last cig, ever’ as that is way to much for anyone. Then the quilt trip people put themselves through when they have one. Allow yourself to have a cig if you really need one, but snuff in the mean time as well. You will cut back smoking, if your doing snuff, that comes natuarlly. But for a long term smoker to try and smoke his ‘last’ cig is just to much.

I’ve quit smoking more times then I’d like to remember. I started @ 12-13 or so, and got into purchasing packs buy the age of 17-18. I turn 30 this year and have really cut down in the last 2 years. But I can tell you this… Since my first experiment with snuff in January of this year, I can count the number of smokes I’ve had on one hand. And I only smoked them because of being out in a social evening, around other smokers, that would get all weird if I were to pull out my snuff, and that would just ruin the evening… God I hate weddings!!! I’ll most likely continue with snuff and remove all smokes by the end of this year. Not sure if I will continue with a pipe or not… still thinking about that. nightcap.

I found a pipe has always made me want to smoke cigarettes, best left alone now I think

Get a pipe with a large bowl. One of my pipes has a huge bowl and I don’t even want more snuff for a while after smoke that one (usaly last about three to four hours of straight smoking.)

I’ve stopped smoking with snuff and my electronic cigarette which is a really good device I’d recommend any smoker to get one. Since the beginning of July I’ve had 7 fags which isn’t bad from 10-30 a day. Istill smoke a pipe occasionly but no more fags for me I’m afraid. For our US cousins fags are cigarettes. Stefan

lol!!! the guys in Texas were about to hornswagel you!!!

AS I said to TS once, we could really get into trouble with that terminology - ‘fags are evil and you just got to ground them under your boot’ probably wouldn’t be the thing to say in downtown LA.

Downtown LA you could probably get away with it you would probably have a lot of people agree with you, but its not something to say in San Francisco. You would end up wearing cement shoes and getting a nice look at the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge as your falling to your watery grave.

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@TS, HeHe!!! hydrahead8883 - That was some habit! Have you tried only taking a pinch when the need for a cig is at its worst? Thats how I have done it; knock all other tobacco on the head and when I was desperate for a smoke took two big pinches - the craving just tapers off, and as I said, not saying to myself I’m not smoking ever again. I guess saying to yourself that you can have a cigarette the moment you want one is a bit like a mental safety net, although it flies in the face of all standard advice, and for a long while I kept a stock of cigs in the house. Now the only ones I smoke are other people’s.

Hydrahead, - LOL! I know exactly where you were at! lol! Honestly though, it’s possible to quit just by doing or thinking of something else when that urge hits, but with snuff, it’s much more fun, and it does take the edge off, so long as you give it a chance. By giving it a chance I mean holding out until as long as you can, then when you feel like bursting, take a couple of pinches. You’ll feel it fine.

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Way to go Shadoza! Quitting is within your grasp now if you carry on like this. The alcohol test really proves it I think. By accident you have put yourself on a stop smoking programme as advocated by one of the members here on his website ‘quitwithsnuff’. Check it out for some facts and figures on smoking/snuffing. Well done!

By the way, I should say a big THANK YOU for nobody complaining about me ‘borrowing’ the comments from here. I asked for permission a few times a several people responded with a resounding YES and there were no NOs. However, if any of you do not want your post on QWS just let me know and I will remove it promptly. Indeed if anybody would like to add any comments about how snuff worked for them, I will be happy to add them also. Gives the notion of snuff helping to quit the ciggies a big boost. Which, btw, is how I got into the whole idea in the first place. My brother and my best friend stopped smoking with snuff. Despite both of them trying patches, gum etc, only snuff worked.

If its the slightest help you can use anything I post on this forum - I would support any new company as much as I could and I guess thatsthe same for a lot of us. In my case you have complete permission, not that I think I’m worth repeating!

Thanks Snuffster!

MY very great pleasure!

I’m just grasping at straws here, but I wonder if the (seemingly) higher quitting success rate with snuff over gum, patches, etc, is because snuff is tobacco, and not just synthetic/extracted nicotine. Kind of the same reason cancer patients smoke or eat marijuana and have a better effect then Marinol (synthetic THC), which, I’ve heard, really, really sucks. There’s other compounds in the plants than just THC or nicotine and maybe that makes a difference. Does that make sense? Is there anyone here more science-y than I who could shed some light on this? BTW, not really about quitting, but my mum asked me for a tin of snuff as she’ll be travelling by plane and train for something like 38 hours and needs a fix. Neat! I love it when you can share a hobby with your friends and family.

Hope your mum has a good journey. I think it is about tobacco, you just can’t reduce it down to a tablet. Tobacco is enjoyable for lots of reasons as well - the flavour, satisfaction, ritual, comfort an probably a million other things as well that makes it hard to duplicate. The problem that NRT products have is that they reduce them down to a medication - thats not really helpful mentally for someone trying to quit. Snuff is harmless by comparsion to cigs and gives you what you need - real tobacco goodness in good old flavour country!