How I Finally Quit Smoking

Just one more.

That’s what I’d always tell myself. When I woke up. After breakfast. On my morning commute. You get the gist.

I thought I loved it, as if smoking a cigarette was a habit worth romanticising. It wasn’t. I didn’t love it – not really. But then, there’s a thin line between love and addiction, isn’t there?

At the peak of my smoking habit, I was caning through thirty a day. Now? I’ve got that number down to zero. If you’re reading this, then chances are, you’re wondering how the heck I managed to break this twisted cycle of addiction, release, and shame. Well, it’s the hardest thing I ever had to do.

A lot of former smokers will tell you that they don’t miss it. I do. If it were healthy, I’d be smoking right now. But I can do without them now and feel a lot better for it. Let me tell you how I did it.

Breaking the Old Routine

On my first day as a non-smoker, a sad reality quickly dawned on me. I’ve subconsciously structured every day of my life to revolve around my addictive habit. The routine was punctuated by cigarettes 1-30, so when they were no longer in the picture, I felt it.

The morning commute (minus cigarette), my 10am break (minus cigarette), my trips to the local pub (minus cigarette). Because I could feel the phantom of each cigarette looming over my days, something needed to change.

Changing things up was a shock at first. In hindsight, perhaps I changed too much, too fast, but I suppose it all worked out in the end. I started waking up earlier and cooking myself a more substantial breakfast, filling my usual morning breaks with meetings, and instead of going to the pub with my friends in the evening (most of them smoked), I signed up to my local gym. I didn’t know what I was doing, but the progression I felt there became my best distraction.

Fighting the Cravings

But even then, I still had a hard time fighting cravings – especially if I was bored at any point. There are plenty of alternative sources for nicotine that I’ve seen people try over the years, like vaping. But I didn’t want to pick up another bad habit. I needed something that could quell my temporary hunger for nicotine, so I opted for nicotine pouches – specifically Killa Nicopods. They completely muted my cravings and allowed me to move on to other things more easily.

Other than that, I drank coffee and consistently went to the gym. Regular cups of coffee (until late afternoon) gave me a bit of a buzz that helped me to get into the flow with different tasks. After three or four months, I really got into the swing of things at the gym and started to see noticeable changes to my strength and physique – though I did get the feeling that I’d just swapped one addiction for another. But hey, at least this one hopefully wouldn’t kill me one day.

Where Am I Now?

After six months of commitment, discipline, and distracting myself to the best of my ability, I’m feeling a lot better. I haven’t touched a cigarette since I told myself that I’d really try to stop. So far, so good, I suppose…

But like I said earlier: I do miss smoking. I feel like, at least for now, there’s a cigarette-shaped tattoo on my brain that’ll take years to fade. But I’ve got the hardest part out of the way and feel better for it.

I’m healthier than I was – both physically and mentally. But what really surprised me throughout this journey is that I’m stronger than I thought I was. Maybe you are too.