Tobacco companies had to own up to the fact that smoking is harmful in the 1960s when undeniable evidence came out. People struggled to quit because it is somewhat addictive, but mainly because they enjoyed it.
Those companies then encouraged the rhetoric about it being more addictive than heroin. It isn’t. In my experience it’s less addictive than caffeine.
Here’s my history with nicotine:
- Smoked cigarettes from 15 - 26.
- Quit totally for 14 months
- My friend who smoked moved back to town and I smoked when I was with them.
- Switched to vaping 8 years ago.
- Quit vaping in January this year (2024).
I bought 30 cigars at the start of last month (April 2024) and have smoked 9 of them so far. I normally just have 1 a week if I’m having a beer at home but I went out drinking 2 nights in a row at the start of this month and smoked 6 over that weekend.
Am I addicted? Maybe, but I haven’t had any nicotine this week and don’t plan on having any next week either.
Interesting. It’s been like 7-8 years here and I still crave them once in a while, especially in stressful situations. Not the sweats and the likes that I got in the first couple of days, obviously, but I kind of accepted at this point that “cigarette = relaxing” is just how my brain connects the dots, and it’s up to me to rationalize.
The relaxation element of cigarettes is partly that you have to go and be yourself in the quiet but mainly because you’re stopping and taking a deep breath. Try some breathing exercises and try to associate that with relaxation.
I never really managed to do these things outside really controlled environments, like laying down in bed as I fall asleep. My inner voice/chatter just doesn’t stop going off unless I’m too tired for it apparently lol. It’s easier if I’m medicated obviously, but then I feel like I need it a lot less often.