I guess I also didn't allow for the possibility that if the habit breaks, you might switch from wanting to, to realising you don't want to. Pays not to generalise one's individual experience to the wider world.

I'm at nearly four months after smoking for 15+ years. At first I did not really WANT to quit. I enjoyed smoking. What I really enjoyed, of course, was the habit, the ritual, and most importantly the fulfillment of the addiction to nicotine. It reached a point, though where a few things really weighed on my mind. I got married last year. We had already been together for 8 years and my wife quit years ago, but getting married made me realize that my poor health choices were not really my own to make anymore. Smoking is terrible for your health. Obviously! I also love to sing, and though my voice isn't much to start with, I don't want to cough and struggle my way through songs. And wheezing and coughing in the middle of the night is scary.It's so fucking expensive. I've never had extra money, and constantly scraping money together for cigarettes was insane. It is a noticeable change. I'm not constantly budgeting for cigarettes. I actually buy myself a nice lunch now sometimes.The smell is nasty.As far as a drug fix goes, you could do better. I still smoke pot. That's what I'm saving my lungs for.I was able to quit because I told myself mentally you are not going to smoke. I didn't say that I wasn't EVER going to smoke, and this helped. I bought the nicotine lozenges as soon as I made the decision and started taking them immediately. I only needed them for about 2 months. I also told myself that maybe after 3 months or so I would have a cigarette, that it could be an every once in a while thing. Well, that time came and I didn't want one. I still absolutely do get the craving, but the idea of actually physically smoking a cigarette does not sound appealing to me. It honestly kind of makes me want to gag. Little victories are awesome. A night of drinking without smoking was huge. Shortly after the decision was made, I went on a long vacation. I didn't smoke. It seemed insane. Usually on a plane I would obsess over the post flight cigarette. The lozenges really came in handy then. After that, it was a day of recording without smoking. Playing a show without having the pre and post show cigarette. Going to a baseball game, a bar, a long day with family etc. etc. etc.I have not had a drag since the day I made the decision. I'm not saying I never will, but just MAKING THE DECISION and celebrating small victories has worked very well for me. Good luck to everyone who is trying.

Right...I understand all of these things, yet I still find myself enjoying it from a ritualistic standpoint.Being in China, there's a whole extra layer of crutch. Is giving up trying to quit for the moment because the true WANT isn't there just the addiction / long held ritual talking?Surely, a pros and cons would lead to more cons, but... hell. It's so stupid not to care enough...yet here I am.

gonzochicago wrote:Right...I understand all of these things, yet I still find myself enjoying it from a ritualistic standpoint.I thought the exact same thing, and had been thinking it for years. After a difficult month or two of not smoking at all, it became obvious that my enjoyment was actually just the addiction to nicotine delivered by smoking in particular. Whats not to enjoy? It's the delivery of the drug I'm addicted to! If it was truly just about the ritual and not the drug, I could suck on a Dum Dum or chew on a tooth pick and it would have the same effect. But...nope. That doesn't deliver. The big thing for me was that, when I was smoking, my mind could instantly detach and wander. Like meditation. Because I was satisfying the urge. The lozenges really helped me get over the initial cravings, even if they were just a placebo. If I craved a cigarette, I could still allow myself SOMETHING. And that something had a little nicotine in it.

As an ex-smoker I can say this: Until you have actually quit, totally and forever, you haven't really quit. It's about breaking a habit. If your mind is thinking in this situation I would really like a smoke, then your mind is still in the habit, even if you only have one cig every two weeks or whatever. Only when this thought no longer crosses your mind, you are free.It can be done. Keep at it.

I quit last September after 18 years of close to a pack a day.First time I ever tried to quit . Cold turkey. First week was a nightmare.This April I started having one a week then it was two. It got up to one a day. So I went cold turkey again in July. I thought I could just have one occasionally but now I know that I'm not that guy. I can second that aerobic exercise curbs the desire.

MatthewK wrote:gonzochicago wrote:So, now it's looking like either : I'll get so disgusted with smoking because of China, and Chinese off-brand cigarettes, that my trigger will come and I'll have my need to quit....I supposed we'll see.Passive decisions don't stick. If you don't want to smoke, you will stop as a result of that desire, even if the process is bumpy.If you hope some external factor will cause you to stop, that means you still want to, and any stoppage will be temporary until you resume doing what you want to.I quit a 13 year habit twice and resumed, then one day realised I didn't want to despite being free to smoke if I wanted. 14 years later, zero relapses, zero interest in taking it up.If only I could fix all my other shitty habits.Indeed, this is true.Still haven't quit. Haven't even thought about it.I am dumb.

MatthewK wrote:I quit a 13 year habit twice and resumed, then one day realised I didn't want to despite being free to smoke if I wanted. 14 years later, zero relapses, zero interest in taking it up.If only I could fix all my other shitty habits.Exact same thing happened to me. It was like I had a sudden epiphany: "this is yuk, and I never want to do it again." And I've felt like that ever since.I don't even feel like I can take any credit for it because it required no willpower, just BLAM. Total certainty. Maybe I had been building up to it for a while. I guess it would be more helpful if I could say how I reached that point but I dunno. I'm glad though.

I haven't had a cigarette, not even a drag, in 20 months after 15-17 years as a smoker. You can't know the myriad ways it makes your body feel like shit until you've quit. Every morning I feel better. Even if I have a hangover, I'm like god, imagine how much worse I would feel if I smoked a pack last night on top of this.. I'm not wheezing in the middle of the night or hacking shit up in the morning. I don't have that fucked up feeling in my mouth from too much nicotine, or the heavy chest feeling. Singing in the band is so much more enjoyable. I'm exercising...I'm fucking RUNNING occasionally which is something I've never really done before. All the reasons that people smoke...the ritual, the escape, the delivery of the nicotine that gives you a little rush, lets you zone out and daydream for those couple minutes...I get it. But seriously...vaporize some weed, do yoga, do a writing exercise, take a walk. It's rough to quit at first but as soon as you break the ritual and get that shit out of your system it becomes crystal clear that, as awesome and romantic and sexy as smoking cigarettes could be, you spent years spending LOTS of money to do something tens of thousands of times that makes you feel like shit and smell like shit and gives you cancer and will kill you. Don't get me wrong, if a friend is smoking next to me, I'm not going to give them shit at all. I won't say peep and they are still my friend. Everybody is capable of making their own decisions, but if you think you should quit smoking, you are right.

Still doing this like an idiot. China's extremely low cost and ability to smoke e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e doesn't help at all. Excuses, excuses. Wondering if that yuck flip will switch. Some day.