r/stopsmoking

Today mark’s 10 months without cigarettes. For more context , I’m a 34 -year-old male, with Type 1 diabetes. I am on our journey to reduce my insulin intake to hopefully only needing long acting.

Little backstory, Me and my wife found out she was pregnant with our first child March of last year, and in June I had my last cigarette. I wasn’t the heaviest smoker this time around. I would have one or two a day, mostly purchasing from a gas station that would sell singles. Before discovering that gas station I would buy a pack, smoke three or four, get irritated with myself and throw the pack away. The amount of money I threw away is ridiculous. I smoked heavily in my early 20s before I had diabetes and quit. I also have struggled on and off, consuming large amounts of marijuana, mainly smoking it. I also smoked only a few times in the last 10 months, but have eaten many edibles. The good news? : I do not crave cigarettes at all anymore. More good news: I’ve cut back my marijuana use, but occasionally find myself binging for weeks at a time. I’ve decided that marijuana once or twice a month is a good balance for me. I also enjoy it a lot more if I’m being really active. In this last month I’ve increased my step count to 17,500 steps per day. All that’s to say, if you’re struggling, it will pass. And by 10 months, hopefully you feel the same way I do, no desire for cigarettes, only desire for energy, freedom, exploration, and health. Best of luck.

Over and out.

everyone talks about the cravings. nobody warned me about:

- the insane vivid dreams every night - randomly crying for no reason week 2 - food tasting completely different - being irrationally angry at everything - actually missing the ritual more than the nicotine

what's the weird one nobody warned you about?

Hi everyone,

About 6 months ago I posted here celebrating my first big milestone after quitting smoking when I found out my wife was pregnant. Today, I’m back with a full year update.

I made it to 1 year smoke-free.

And a lot has changed since that last post.

The Biggest Change:

I’m a dad now.

That motivation I talked about back then? It wasn’t just words. It carried me through the harder days between months 6-12. Having a child puts things into perspective in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’re in it. I’m not just quitting for myself anymore, I already am the smoke-free parent I wanted to become 🤙

Months 6–12: The Quiet Phase

The first weeks were hell. Months 1–3 were a grind. By 6 months, I felt stable.

But this last stretch? It was different.

Less dramatic, but also more subtle. Cravings didn’t disappear completely, they just got quieter, more rare, and honestly… easier to ignore. The real challenge wasn’t fighting intense urges anymore, it was staying consistent when things felt “normal” again.

That voice saying “you’ve proven your point, one cigarette won’t hurt”, that’s the one I had to learn to shut down.

I’ve been in those same situations again:

* Around heavy smokers indoors

* Out drinking with friends

* Stress, lack of sleep (especially now…)

But the difference is huge. The pull just isn’t the same anymore. It’s like remembering a habit rather than craving it.

The Weirdest Part (Still):

Cigarette smoke still smells terrible to me. That hasn’t changed. If anything, I notice it even more now. It’s hard to believe I used to enjoy that smell daily for 15 years.

Where I Stand Now:

At 6 months, I said this wasn’t a finished battle.

At 1 year… I still respect it. I don’t think I’m “immune.” But I’m confident. This feels like my default life now, not something I’m constantly fighting.

To Anyone Earlier in the Journey:

If you’re in those first weeks, push through. It’s exactly as brutal as people say, but it’s temporary. If you’re a few months in, don’t get complacent. It gets easier, but don’t negotiate with yourself.

If you slipped, it’s not over. It never is unless you decide it is.

Final Thought:

A year ago, I couldn’t imagine going this long without a cigarette. Now I can’t imagine going back.

Thanks again to this community. You genuinely helped me get here.

for me it was how much better food tastes. like i knew smoking killed your taste buds but i didnt expect it to be THAT different. ate a strawberry like 3 weeks in and it was like tasting one for the first time lol. curious what caught you guys off guard that nobody warned you about

Hello everyone’s, I’m 26(f) have been smoking since 8 years. Became a heavy cigarettes smoker since the past 3 years. Lately i have gone up to 10 cigs a day, i have tried end number of times to quit but have failed to sustain. I am really concerned about my future but also concerned enough to quit this ugly habit.

I have a really important exam coming up, for which I have to study 8 to 9 hours a day! If i try to quit smoking right now, it makes me unable to study, which gives my brain an easy excuse to smoke more and more.

I have also lost the will power to quit also. The ex smokers who quit pls give me advice on how i can make this quitting as a positive experience into my exam which is in the next 40 days.

I have tried bupropion but it gives me restless legs at nights. So i stopped. I don’t like gums and lozenges. Tried a 21 mg patch for a day got nauseous. PLS PLS HELP this poor girl!!! 🥹🥹

The craving to buy a pack emerged 4pm. I deeply felt the profound need to silence racing thoughts. Angry feelings, everybody my enemy, restless, uneasy, troubled. I was home alone, no triggers but my thoughts. I was about to put my coat on.

Then I remembered my card with tricks on the inside of the kitchen cupboard.

1. 5-finger breathing, twice.

2. ice cube from one hand in the other.

3. Cold water over my face.

4. tense muscles for 60 seconds, 5 times

5. 'breath with sandy' on YouTube, Playlist 'Nervous system regulation' vagus nerve, 5 minutes.

The craving faded away, completely.

My brain learned once more there are other, bétter, solutions to relax, so it does not need cigs anymore.

I managed to calm my nervous system.

I would love to read your tricks to calm your nervous system!

I am smokefree for 1m and 6 days.

I stopped vaping 221 days ago.

it has not become any easier. If anything, I crave it far more than I did last month, and last month I craved it more than the month before.

I spent almost 10 minutes of my lunch break outside the vape store just looking at the displays by the window.

I feel like I'm losing my mind and every single day gets harder.

Please, someone tell me when this gets easier. It was supposed to be easier after a month, then they said 2 months, then they said half a year. I want it a million times more today than I did during the days after I quit.

Do any of y'all have any sort of tips or anything to make it easier? I'm worried by the time I hit a year I'll snap and just start vaping again.

Felt bad at first, but i think i get it now. At first i thought i would miss cigarettes forever, but after i had a few cigarettes today because i was stupid and thought it would be "cozy" i just feel dirty, breath instantly got worse again and it tastes like trash. I finally threw away everything related to smoking and wiIll never fall in this trap again. I think it is finally over and even if i was weak today this might be the last thing that i needed to understand for the journey ahead. Just wanted to share this with everyone that struggles, do not listen to the addiction. It is not worth it.

I followed through with my quit date - I stopped smoking yesterday evening- it’s been about 12 hours so far. I thought the morning would be the hardest, but it’s been fine so far. I’m happy that I quit. When I think about smoking, I realize it’s either because 1. I’m bored, 2. Idk what to do with my hands.

So I remind myself why I’m doing this. To be healthy. To stay healthy. And free myself from nicotine. I keep thinking of what Allen Carr says in his book, and it’s so so true. It’s kind of pathetic to use smoking as a way to fill up your time

I’ve been smoke free for three and a half months, but since quitting, whenever I get a cold, cough, fever, or sneezing, I have breathing problems and can’t sleep. Sometimes I also have very mild, almost unnoticeable breathing issues even when I’m not sick.

I did an entire week cold turkey.

I caved in on a lunch break at work my cravings weren't even horribly bad until that day.

I had a craving that just kept rolling and rolling and it wouldn't stop and I broke under the pressure.

it was the taste and the ritual and the concept of never having another one that caused me to break.

I'm quitting again next Wednesday exactly a week apart.

This time I'm gonna do it for good I hope but I am feeling discouraged about quitting at all after that.

I am trans and it's fucking up my HRT and I can't keep doing it I need to be done.