[delegate]

I've once read somewhere that they polled heroin addicts, asking them what they'd rather do first time they wake up in the morning - shoot heroin or smoke a cigarette.

Of course the vast majority said they'd smoke a cigarette.

I've never been a heroin addict, but I've been a tobacco smoker for many years and I can confirm that smoking a cig was definitely the most important thing I had to do in the morning.

Also if I had to spend my last money on food or a pack of cigarettes, obviously and without further consideration, I would choose the cigarettes.

So yeah, pretty addictive.

[dionidium]

I'll just note that these patterns aren't universal. I have been a smoker for almost 20 years (with some prolonged breaks along the way (one lasting around 3-4 years)). I almost never smoke in the morning (and never did). I currently smoke no more than a pack a week, easily skipping several days at a time.

I'd choose the food.

[ommunist]

What kinds of cigarettes were you smoking exactly?

[delegate]

I started with Lucky Strike, then smoked Marlboro Lights for about 18 years, then the last two years or so I smoked organic rolling tobacco - Cross Road.

I've stopped smoking 18 months ago, but even after 1.5 years, I still get the urge to smoke almost every day.

[payamb]

I've stopped smoking a week ago and brain fog is killing me, I'm not able to do my job any more, any advice ? I just sit and stare at monitor without my brain working :/

[delegate]

Yes. This will go away after a couple of weeks. Depression is a common side effect of quitting, so hang in there. First 2 weeks are the hardest, then it slowly gets easier.

There are few short term advantages to quitting smoking - your sense of smell improves and you have more spare time on your hands - other than that, there's little to brag about.

By going through this short term suffering, you're improving your long term health.

If someone (God) came to you and said: "Hey, I'll add 10 healthy years to your life if you agree to go through a period of feeling shitty and some mental fog and restlessness and nervousness for a couple of months".

I guess we'd all agree to such a deal and it's pretty much the deal you have right now, so hang on.

Congratulations on your decision and good luck !

[phonon]

Nicotine gum? The danger is in the smoking, not the addictive substance.

[delegate]

> The danger is in the smoking, not the addictive substance.

Actually, that's incorrect. Nicotine acts as a stimulant and constricts blood vessels, which causes all kinds of serious circulatory problems in the long term - high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and so on.

Unfortunately there's no easy way around nicotine, you just have to stop ingesting it.

The gum/patch can alleviate the withdrawal symptoms, but you'll still have to quit the gum.

From http://whyquit.com/pr/082613.html

A 2013 Gallup Poll finds that 92% of successful ex-smokers did not use the nicotine patch, gum, Zyban, Chantix or Champix, that most quit smoking cold turkey.

[phonon]

Ehh, sez you..

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/130/16/1418

"There are some studies of prolonged nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) in smokers who have quit smoking. In these studies, no adverse effects have been found when nicotine medication was administered for months to several years. Other studies indicate that patients with known cardiovascular disease tolerate NRT well for periods up to 12 weeks. "

By far, the danger is in the smoking, not the nicotine in your bloodstream.

The Gallup survey

http://www.gallup.com/poll/163763/smokers-quit-tried-multipl...

allowed an open-ended response, so someone "might have decided to quit" or quit because "it was time" but also used an NRT to help them through the cravings and not have mentioned that to the interviewer.

[kamaal]

Smoking breaks are a social activity in many workplaces.

Its hard to get rid of those sort of addictions.

[havetocharge]

In my experience the urge went away completely after several years..

[mountaineer22]

How old were you when you first smoked?

I have anecdotally heard that if one had not smoked by adulthood, chances of addiction are fairly low.

[ommunist]

My own experience confirms this. I am not addicted, I started well after thirty and I only smoke real tobacco. Instead of mental fog on a month without tobacco I am getting the previous default state of mind, and after a pipe, I am getting very cool focus.

[ommunist]

Cigarettes except your last one roll it yourself real tobacco contained additives that made you neural system very succeptible to nicotine, there is biochemical evidence for your case. Were you using plasters like Nicotinelle to quit, or just took off on a bare will?