I Quit SMOKING
I'm 34 and I've been smoking non-stop since I was 16! After 18 years of 🚬 puffy adventures 🚬, I think it's time to call it quits! No more smoking for me! Not because of health issues, but because it's the right path for a more balanced, longer, and addiction-free life!
My Smoking Habit
I've tried to quit smoking dozens of times in the past, but I could never keep it up for more than a couple of days (smoked joints 🤣)! Is this time different though?!?
To give you the full context, I replaced cigarettes with IQOS (heated smoke) 6 months ago, and I went from smoking over 20 cigs/day to smoking a pack of IQOS/day (20 sticks)! Even though I can breathe better since I stopped real cigs, I still feel out of breath sometimes, and I still believe I can reach the ultimate goal... QUIT SMOKING COMPLETELY!
Why isn't this just another attempt?!?
Cause I can feel it — it’s the right timing! I was never really serious in my previous attempts, nor did I have a specific reason to quit, which always led me to say, "ahhh, fuck it, I'll quit smoking later." Fast forward 5 years after my last quitting attempt, I now know exactly why I want to quit:
🛹 Because I wanna keep skateboarding for as long as I can 🛹
That’s the real reason! And at the age of 34, I catch myself being out of breath 10 minutes into the skate sesh! This sucks and it’s time to change that. NO MORE SMOKING!
My Plan
There are a billion ways to maximize your chances of quitting smoking like nicotine replacement therapy (patches, gums etc.), prescribed medications, support groups and more, but I’m sticking to the old-school one... going cold turkey lol!
It’s just me and my willpower to become a better skateboarder and live a more balanced life. I believe in myself, and I know I can pull this off.
I get a very strong urge to smoke every 20–30 minutes, and I’m currently suppressing this urge by doing all sorts of random stuff to make my brain forget the smoking need, like walking around the house, washing the dishes, push-ups, reading a book, writing, drawing… anything I can think of to keep myself occupied until the urge goes away. Easier said than done though...
This urge is not just psychological. I can actually feel the addiction symptoms in my body! The BIG urge lasts around 10 minutes, and during that time not only does my brain feel numb, but I can also feel my body shaking, my fingers twitching, and a feeling of exhaustion. Cigarettes are such a bad habit! Holy shit!
It's Day 3 Today
Today is Thursday, July 10, 2025, and my last cig was on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. I'm 48+ hours in, and the urge to smoke just keeps getting worse! Same goes for my motivation and willpower to never touch this shit again though.
Every time I wanna smoke, I just remind myself why I'm doing this in the first place, how far I’ve come, and that I can FUCKING DO THIS! And it's working!
Almost halfway through the first goal, a week without nicotine, but according to Google AI, the rough part starts now!
Wish me good luck everyone! I’ll keep you updated with a new post after every milestone I achieve so I can both look back and be proud of what I pulled off, and maybe motivate some of you to quit smoking too!
🚭 LET'S FUCKING DO THIS 🚭
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Great decision! 👏🏻 It is 100% worth it to live longer and better. I never smoked because my dad did and I always hated the smell, but I know it's not easy to quit, there's a reason science says nicotine is more addictive than cocaine for example.
I guess you have been told many times, you will have known of many cases of illness and death around you because of it, and without the intention of giving sermons it is the truth: smoking does not bring you anything positive, it only takes money and years of life. My dad was never able to quit and died of lung cancer at the age of 64.
I wish you success! ✊🏻 Don't give up this time, at 34 you still have time to clean your body of that crap and skate around breathing well until you're 90 hehe, cheers!
Thanks a ton for the supportive comment and sorry for your dad!
Yeah, smoking is a bitch! While there's nothing positive in smoking, I do find myself enjoying cigs A LOT, but that's just 1 out of 50 I smoke. Definitely not worth inhaling that much bullshit for a few seconds of pleasure! Can find that pleasure somewhere else!
The toughest part is that I live in Greece, a country where most people smoke, so the temptation is everywhere haha! But I can do this!
Cheers @sofathana
I can understand it! That's what my dad used to say, that what got him hooked on cigarettes was the sensation it gave when he inhaled. But of course it is possible to quit, a positive example is an uncle, he smoked about two boxes a day of red Marlboro, horrible... one day more than 15 years ago he had a serious respiratory problem and the doctor told him: either you quit or you die, and he quit from one day to another, without replacing it with anything, it was admirable his mental strength, and of course his health improved enormously!
And yes, I know that in Greece the scenario is terrible, I was born and raised in Venezuela, I live here, but my parents are Greek, I lived there for a few years in my childhood and I have gone several times on vacation. Clearly I see it as a public health problem, too many smokers! But I'm sure you can free yourself from that! Cheers! 😉
Didn't know you were Greek! Makes sense when checking your username hehe!
Your uncle is a beast! 2 packs to 0 from one day to another is legendary! Marlboro reds are the classic cigs all old school Greeks smoke by the way haha!
I think people will start quitting cigs here too. We're one of the 3 countries in EU with super cheap cigarettes, and from next year prices will almost double so many will quit cause smoking will be very expensive! Let's see how this will play out!
Yes, my user says a bit of that hehe.
True, Marlboros are classic, I remember the advertising with the cowboys. Hey I didn't know cigars were so cheap in Greece, no doubt the double price will be a hard hit and an opportunity for many to quit, hopefully! 😃
Best dessicion ever!
Yeap!
It's rough but cold turkey is the way to go! I've pulled it off a few times but back to it :/ good luck with it man! I've been thinking of quitting again myself so you've inspired me to try!
How about that weed tho?? lol
Yo Nick, sup bro? Yeah, cold turkey is fucking rough, but can be done with enough will to quit!
Weed is a different story haha!
Congratulations on your successful life-improvement decision! I was a long-time smoker too. I started out in my teens just like you, at the age of 17. Quitting was something I've tried many times in the past and the longest one was around two years.
Then I got employed in my first job in animation, and the sudden change of status from being a flat broke college dropout, to earning a decent salary every month, enabled me to indulge in many things again. I could now afford to go places and hang out and get drunk with my colleagues on Friday nights after work.
And of course, drinking and smoking go hand in hand, so the ugly vice made a comeback. Fast forward to 2017, the big animation studio I was working at closed because of money problems. So I ended up doing remote jobs to be able to keep paying the rent and bills.
But my remote work at the time was not stable, so I thought of quitting smoking again because cigarettes had gotten ridiculously expensive over here at the time, thanks to our dictator president who hated smoking and banned it in public places, even in open air bars.
That's when I decided to quit the habit for good. I knew it was going to be difficult because even though I had a remote job, it wasn't stable yet, and things got really stressful at times. And when you're stressed out, you tend to chain smoke.
So, from that point on in 2018 until the next year, I gave it my best effort. And by mid-2019 I was finally free of the habit for good! And my timing to quit couldn't have been better, as it allowed my lungs to heal and be clean, before the start of the pandemic in the following year.
And I have remained smoke-free ever since. So, good luck to those who are also on their journey to quit. I wish them all to be as successful as you and I are.