Quitting nicotine

[mob]

Has anyone here managed to quit smoking/nicotine? If so, how and how hard was it?

I want to quit - I started smoking cigarettes and using those nicotine pouches (aka "snus", but without the tobacco) over three years ago. I rarely smoke anymore, so that's not the problem here. The problem are those damn nicotine pouches that I just simply can't stop using. I take the strongest they sell here, and about 10-14 a day. I use them after breakfast, at work, in the bus, in the car, train, etc. Basically after every small thing I do. People notice, and I don't want to know what they think. I'm heavily addicted and get headaches and irritated if I don't use them for two hours or so. My friend said at some point I'll look like a crackhead when my teeth begin to fall out.

I wouldn't even think of stopping if my gums weren't slowly getting destroyed, and if I wasn't on Bupropion at the moment. Also I'm turning 20 tomorrow and I don't want to go into my twenties addicted to nicotine pouches.

 

[bipolar22]

Started with the gum but gave me bad stomsch issues and made my teeth yellow after few years so I switch to vaping. It still irritates my stomach quite a bit so I can't use is
It as much as I'd like to. I tapper from 18 mg to 6 recently which is less harsh. It'd easy to taper with vaping I don't miss the 18 mgs. Just gotta eventually taper to 3 then 0 mg.

 

[nofunclub]

I managed to quit 3 years ago, after a 1-2 pack a day addiction for around a decade. I used nicotine patches + gum + the Smoke Free app, with the upgraded option where you could talk to a counselor anytime you felt like you were gonna give into a craving.

I don't know if gum would be helpful though, since it seems like nicotine pouches sort of have the same function as the gum? Gum does have the additional effect of being so unpleasant you don't want to use it forever though. Worth a try.

Strongly recommend patches, they take the edge off. I had to start with 2 of the highest dose patches haha. You can take your time with them, in terms of how long you stay at each dose. These could help with the headaches etc.

I also got blow pops which I think helped with the oral fixation? Weirdly gum or lollipops alone didn't cut it.

Best of luck.

 

[StillBreathing]

Tapering down is the way to go. I'm a smoker/vaper myself and I noticed that the more access to this stuff I have the more I will consume it.

I bought vapes to cut down my smoking - which worked, but now I vape constantly because I don't have to go outside to have a cigarette.

Try allocating yourself a certain amount of snus per day and lower it a little each week - I think this is the way to go. Treat it as if you are tapering off a medication.

 

[HighLowHigh]

Everytime I think smoking would make me less stressful, I always come across posts like these...

 

[AlexYaBoy]

Has anyone here managed to quit smoking/nicotine? If so, how and how hard was it?

I want to quit - I started smoking cigarettes and using those nicotine pouches (aka "snus", but without the tobacco) over three years ago. I rarely smoke anymore, so that's not the problem here. The problem are those damn nicotine pouches that I just simply can't stop using. I take the strongest they sell here, and about 10-14 a day. I use them after breakfast, at work, in the bus, in the car, train, etc. Basically after every small thing I do. People notice, and I don't want to know what they think. I'm heavily addicted and get headaches and irritated if I don't use them for two hours or so. My friend said at some point I'll look like a crackhead when my teeth begin to fall out.

I wouldn't even think of stopping if my gums weren't slowly getting destroyed, and if I wasn't on Bupropion at the moment. Also I'm turning 20 tomorrow and I don't want to go into my twenties addicted to nicotine pouches.

Cutting down is always the best way. Slowly go from heavies, to lights. Professionals recommend lights, typically. The most effective method is to slowly cut down cigarette usage until the person's smoking 1 per day, before switching to light patches for a while. I'd slowly cut down the amount. Either time between each one, or count out how many you use, and slowly reduce them by 1, over time.

 

[333s]

i quitted with cytisine - it affects exactly the same receptors as nicotine which helps to reduce that physical urge to smoke - stomach and head dont hurt this much, anxiety and appetite stay at the same level etc
although it doesn't stimulate ones brain and i felt completely powerless first week after quitting (and absolutely dead months after)
so i recommend to discuss your quitting process with someone qualified (bupropion may be a great help to get your brain to work again but idk how it interacts with cytisine)

 

[Forveleth]

Another thing to think about is breaking the behavioral habit. So if you take a pouch after every little thing you do, you need to find small (healthy) replacements that you can do instead. Whether that be distracting yourself with a fidget toy, doing some breathing exercises, going for a short walk, or listening to music. I'm no expert on this, but I've heard people say that breaking the habit is actually a lot more difficult than breaking the physical addiction. This is where reaching out to a professional might help because you can treat this as a negative behavioral coping mechanism and they can give you advice on how to rewire your brain to not rely on it.