Nicotine addiction?

[victory01]

I am trying to quit smoking and recently read 'Easy way to quit smoking' by Allen Carr. I started smoking at 13 and quit for 3 years but started again a year ago. Cigars actually helped relieve the void 4 years ago, however after reading this book he states that substitution leads to further nicotine addiction. Even though I did quit cigarettes for 3 years and started cigars I did find the flavor very appealing and never found it a substitute for the habit of smoking cigarettes. Has anyone else gone through this? Have you used cigars as a substitute and found it to be more of an occasion of flavor rather than addiction, like drinking fine wine versus being an alcoholic??

[r.j. zaps]

I used to smoke ciggs but stopped a few years ago when I came to the conclusion it was just a waste. I would want to smoke a cigarette, id tell myself not to, end up smoking one anyway, and be in the same spot I was before I smoked. To me the idea of smoking was much more enticing then the actual smoke itself.

I still want to have a smoke every now and then-especially when ive been drinking, but now I use this trick where I make myself nauseous at the thought of smoking a cigarette and I strait up tell myself NO...don't smoke a cig!


Since i started smoking cigars I have found my cravings for a cigg all but disappear. Now I see smoking a cigar as a much more relaxing and enjoyable activity(which it is) then smoking a cigarette.

[CptnBlues63]

I am trying to quit smoking and recently read 'Easy way to quit smoking' by Allen Carr. I started smoking at 13 and quit for 3 years but started again a year ago. Cigars actually helped relieve the void 4 years ago, however after reading this book he states that substitution leads to further nicotine addiction. Even though I did quit cigarettes for 3 years and started cigars I did find the flavor very appealing and never found it a substitute for the habit of smoking cigarettes. Has anyone else gone through this? Have you used cigars as a substitute and found it to be more of an occasion of flavor rather than addiction, like drinking fine wine versus being an alcoholic??

I was a hard core 30+ cigarette per day chain smoker for over 30 years. I quit 2 1/2 years ago. About 6 months after quitting cig's I smoked my first "real" cigar (I had smoked colts and the like) when my wife's boss gave me a couple he brought back from Cuba. I first noticed the smell, it was wonderful. Then I lit it and slowly smoked it, without inhaling, and totally enjoyed the flavor and I've been hooked since that moment.

I do not inhale. Yes I know I can't help but inhale some smoke, even when smoking outside. But I've yet to have that buzz you get from inhaling a single drag fully into your lungs (oxygen deprivation!?!?). I don't kid myself, I'm certainly getting nicotine from smoking it whether it's from inhaling second-hand smoke or from direct absorbtion inside my mouth.

I can tell you this much. I don't crave cigarettes. After 2 1/2 years I rarely think about smoking them. I also don't go through wicked cravings for cigars (nicotine) like I used to with cigarettes as can be seen by how few cigars I actually smoke.

In the summer I might have 3 cigars per week. In the winter (I live in western Canada and believe-you-me, you do not hang outside and puff on a cigar for 1.5 hr's when it's -20, or colder) I might smoke 2 or 3 a month. Chances are I'll have 1 every week this winter since I now have a smoking buddy who has a place we can go and smoke indoors.......lol.

Do I use cigars to keep me from smoking cig's or as a substitue? No.

Just out of curiosity, I had a drag from a cigarette last November while out hunting. It tasted like sh*t and left me wondering why I ever smoked them to begin with (as I scrambled to light a Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Torpedo........lol). For me cigars are strictly about the flavor and the sitting and relaxing and talking with friends for the duration of said cigar.

[mrtr33]

Similar to examples listed here, I started smoking cigarettes when I was 13. On my 30th birthday, I put them down for good. I had only modestly tried quitting before - I saw no reason to until then. Some switch went off in my head, and I decided that I didn't want to keep buying those things. I think I had 2 cravings the first six months.

I just stopped. Found other things to do to occupy my time. Got more into other hobbies that didn't include smoking. For me, cold turkey was the best way to go. A few years later I walked into a cigar shop. I wasn't craving nicotine - I just wanted to find a bit more out about cigars.

I have smoked a cigarette since; I think I've smoked two. I haven't been able to finish either one of them. It's strictly comes down to taste. Cloves were tolerable in certain situations, but cigarettes are simply disgusting. Good luck. My best advice is to find something better to do.

[victory01]

Thanks for all the input guys! I really want to kick this nicotine addiction and was just wondering if cigars would pull me back in. It sounds like I'll be able to smoke cigars casually without feeling guilty or crave a cigg.

Cold turkey is definitely the way to go. I'm even gonna stop pipe smoking because I do inhale pipe tobacco.

If anyone of you know of someone you want to help quit smoking you should get them to read The easy way to quit smoking by Allen Carr. This guy makes a lot of great points and methods you guys all seem to have successfully done on your own. He provides the benefits of being a non-smoker more so than bash smokers. It's a more positive way to look at it and has helped me so far.

Cheers

[mrtr33]

Good luck.

If you look at it strictly financially, think of all the money you will be saving:

Many cigarette smokers smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. I'm assuming many of these smoke "name-brand" cigarettes such as Marlboro. Assume these average out to be $5 a pack. In a month, you've saved $150. One year, $1800. That should buy you at least one box of glass-top Cohibas.

But you'll find that you'll also feel better, sleep better, and will be able to taste food again. Sure, you may start out ornery and awkward, but it gets easier.

[RP Cigar]

I believe like Cigar Dave, I'm sure most of you listen to his broadcast on the radio one time or another but he said to enjoy a fine cigar you must quit smoking cigarettes for least a year.

I'm on the road traveling and never smoke all week until I get home. I can say that there is no addiction for me. I just enjoy lighting up a great stick and relax.

Just my opinion so don't scream at me.

[ashauler]

I believe like Cigar Dave, I'm sure most of you listen to his broadcast on the radio one time or another but he said to enjoy a fine cigar you must quit smoking cigarettes for least a year.

I'm on the road traveling and never smoke all week until I get home. I can say that there is no addiction for me. I just enjoy lighting up a great stick and relax.

Just my opinion so don't scream at me.

I don't listen to Cigar Dave. I started smoking cigars within a month of quitting cigarettes. I seem to enjoy my cigars just fine.

In other words, BULLSHIT. Just my opinion.

[ggiese]

I believe like Cigar Dave, I'm sure most of you listen to his broadcast on the radio one time or another but he said to enjoy a fine cigar you must quit smoking cigarettes for least a year.

I'm on the road traveling and never smoke all week until I get home. I can say that there is no addiction for me. I just enjoy lighting up a great stick and relax.

Just my opinion so don't scream at me.

Don't know "Cigar Dave", or anything about his broadcasts on the radio - but there is definitely a difference between smoking cigarettes versus smoking a cigar.

I smoked for quite a long time when I was younger, and quit about 20+ years ago. I am no longer addicted to Nicotine (it took well over a year for me to shake off the effects - never realized it was that powerful). I know I'm getting a significant dose of Nicotine while smoking cigars, but I do not feel the same about my need for nicotine (I don't need nicotine - I don't miss it when I don't smoke a cigar).

I have noticed that since I quit smoking cigarettes my taste has returned. I very much enjoy the subtle flavors in a fine cigar. Cigarettes never offered me the same pleasure. So - I tend to avoid cigars that do not give me pleasure when I smoke them (e.g. Macanoodles, White Owls, etc).

BTW - so glad you joined the board! I've been wanted to give RP feedback - your Edge is AWESOME! For the money - it has few equals. And in my view - one of the best you produce.

[badwhale]

I don't watch TV, or listen to talk radio. Too much hysteria.

I smoked cigarettes in college, but I was never what I consider a hard core smoker. I did kick those, but replaced it with Skoal & Copenhagen for several years after college. Then, I kicked that too, for reasons similar to what mrtr33 described. Just got sick of it, and relized that it was ultimately a destructive habit.

I don't remember how many years it was prior to smoking my first "real" cigar (let alone anything else.) Never felt the urge for a cigarette, and like others, am actually repulsed by the surround smell of them (although I'm not hypocrital enough to bitch them out about it.) I've been up to as many as 20 cigars a week, but I'm down to under 10 now, and for me it's more of a monetary issue. I'd rather smoke less, but better cigars, and keep the same budget. I don't consider it an addiction, because I don't wake up in the morning, and light up a cigar first thing. Often, I hang up the cutter until mid-week, or the weekend before I fire one up, and I'm usually not all crabby about it. Sometimes I reward myself for a tough day, or a major acomplishment with a cigar. I don't sweat it (too much), cause I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.

Wifey was more of a hard-core cigarette smoker as described in some of the above posts. She quit cigarettes for several years, prior to having her first "real" cigar. Her feelings on the matter are very similar to my second paragraph here. She only has 1-3 cigars a week, sometimes less, or none.

This is my humble opinion, and feel free to scream at me. I don't give a shit.

Will