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My dad quit smoking about 50 years ago. (2 weeks chopping wood in backyard, mostly not speaking to anyone.) When my brother-in-law decided to quit about 30 year

My dad quit smoking about 50 years ago. (2 weeks chopping wood in backyard, mostly not speaking to anyone.) When my brother-in-law decided to quit about 30 years ago, he asked my dad when the craving would quit - Dad told him, "It's not quite so bad after 2-3 years." I think Mark Twain said it best, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it hundreds of times." Or something like that.

gerdesj 4y ago
You are spot on mate. Now imagine how hard giving up heroin might be. I think there are loads of decent approaches to giving up ciggies, from your dad's work out in the woods to my mental thingie. Getting out from fags is really hard - they are sooooo cool etc. Mr Twain is correct for those that don't get it right. Me and your dad did get out and it's really fucking hard. Really hard. Me and your dad have something in common - we are still alive and fucking kicking.
- selectodude 4y ago
  Most heroin addicts say that quitting smoking is more difficult than kicking opiates.
  - eurasiantiger 4y ago
    Both smokers and heroin addicts have significant levels of beta-carbolines in their systems. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006291X04025999 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00062... https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1530-0277.1996.tb01034.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1530-0277.... (paywall, sorry)
- hoorible 4y ago
  Never did heroin, but my experience was that quitting drugs was way easier than quitting smoking. I’ve never had the urge to take drugs again even once, but I miss smoking all the time.
trwired 4y ago
I used to be a heavy smoker, at the height of my habit I could smoke 2+ packs a day. It was bad. When I finally decided to quit, I went cold turkey. For a week or two I had strong but manageable cravings, however they started to fade away and eventually the smell of cigarette smoke started being really unpleasant. Years on and I feel no pull towards tobacco and the idea of smoking it is repulsive to me now. This is of course anecdotal evidence, but you (you, a smoker reading this thinking about quitting) are not doomed to suffer cravings forever nor are predestined to fail, like the Mark Twain quote could make you believe. Perhaps there are people, who find it really difficult to quit, but it is also possible to completely move on. Just don't fixate on how hard it is and simply do it.
- owlninja 4y ago
  I for sure appreciate your points, but my anecdotal experience is I smoked for ~15 years and I really didn't want to quit. Eventually I got a family going and realized I needed to consider it and, boom, I tried a Juul - it replaced them 1:1. I am in the same boat in that cigarettes are repulsive to me now but this ruling would be like taking away my ability to buy a pack of Marlboro lights, suddenly overnight, back when I smoked. It is just frustrating that they want to suddenly take this product down from a convenience store, but the wall of actual cigarettes next to it seems to be ok?
  - easygenes 4y ago
    Yeah, seems to be a sign that the old guard tobacco lobby has their talons sunk in a good deal deeper than the newcomer vaping lobby.
    - owlninja 4y ago
      Yep, this just feels like something is afoot that we'll never be aware of. By some accounts in this very HN post, Juul was operating wildly until Altria (phillip morris) bought a stake. If this does happen, the next likely benefactor would be the Vuse vape that is operated by RJ Reynolds (the 2nd place big tobacco company). The entire thing is so frustrating.
hoorible 4y ago
I started when I was 12, and quit around 21. I still get cravings, and I’m in my mid 30’s now. If I walk by someone smoking on the street, I take a loooong breath in as I go past them, and I can feel my body immediately releasing all sorts of feel-goods. It’s wild.

gerdesj 4y ago

You are spot on mate. Now imagine how hard giving up heroin might be. I think there are loads of decent approaches to giving up ciggies, from your dad's work out in the woods to my mental thingie. Getting out from fags is really hard - they are sooooo cool etc. Mr Twain is correct for those that don't get it right. Me and your dad did get out and it's really fucking hard. Really hard. Me and your dad have something in common - we are still alive and fucking kicking.

selectodude 4y ago
Most heroin addicts say that quitting smoking is more difficult than kicking opiates.
- eurasiantiger 4y ago
  Both smokers and heroin addicts have significant levels of beta-carbolines in their systems. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006291X04025999 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00062... https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1530-0277.1996.tb01034.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1530-0277.... (paywall, sorry)
hoorible 4y ago
Never did heroin, but my experience was that quitting drugs was way easier than quitting smoking. I’ve never had the urge to take drugs again even once, but I miss smoking all the time.

trwired 4y ago

I used to be a heavy smoker, at the height of my habit I could smoke 2+ packs a day. It was bad. When I finally decided to quit, I went cold turkey. For a week or two I had strong but manageable cravings, however they started to fade away and eventually the smell of cigarette smoke started being really unpleasant. Years on and I feel no pull towards tobacco and the idea of smoking it is repulsive to me now. This is of course anecdotal evidence, but you (you, a smoker reading this thinking about quitting) are not doomed to suffer cravings forever nor are predestined to fail, like the Mark Twain quote could make you believe. Perhaps there are people, who find it really difficult to quit, but it is also possible to completely move on. Just don't fixate on how hard it is and simply do it.

owlninja 4y ago
I for sure appreciate your points, but my anecdotal experience is I smoked for ~15 years and I really didn't want to quit. Eventually I got a family going and realized I needed to consider it and, boom, I tried a Juul - it replaced them 1:1. I am in the same boat in that cigarettes are repulsive to me now but this ruling would be like taking away my ability to buy a pack of Marlboro lights, suddenly overnight, back when I smoked. It is just frustrating that they want to suddenly take this product down from a convenience store, but the wall of actual cigarettes next to it seems to be ok?
- easygenes 4y ago
  Yeah, seems to be a sign that the old guard tobacco lobby has their talons sunk in a good deal deeper than the newcomer vaping lobby.
  - owlninja 4y ago
    Yep, this just feels like something is afoot that we'll never be aware of. By some accounts in this very HN post, Juul was operating wildly until Altria (phillip morris) bought a stake. If this does happen, the next likely benefactor would be the Vuse vape that is operated by RJ Reynolds (the 2nd place big tobacco company). The entire thing is so frustrating.

hoorible 4y ago

I started when I was 12, and quit around 21. I still get cravings, and I’m in my mid 30’s now. If I walk by someone smoking on the street, I take a loooong breath in as I go past them, and I can feel my body immediately releasing all sorts of feel-goods. It’s wild.