benintendi

I don't care what you say nicotine is more powerful of a drug than alcohol. While the fact remains you can question my sobriety as I did relapse and get 2 beers. I don't feel bad, but I do question if this was all setup by something or not.

biminiblue

I quit nicotine without any real physical symptoms, it was all psychological. But I had weaned down to two or three cigarettes a day for probably six months.

When I quit alcohol, I had a lot of physical and psychological symptoms. But I had been drinking 12 ounces a day or so for a while. I weaned off alcohol too, but only did a three day taper.

I don't understand this:

benintendi

You're lying about the 2-3 cigarettes a day for 6 months that's impossible. If you're trying to say alcohol had more of a hold on you than nictone I'd believe it. What you're truly trying to say is alcohol has less of a safety mechanism I guess.

When I said I question if something set this up I wonder from doing crystal meth if there are out of this world entities who possibly have contact with humans. That's all I'm saying. That is pretty far fetched and I'll take what comes with it.

biminiblue

hm. Nope, no reason to lie to you. I really only smoked a couple a day. I guess it affects different people in different ways. I never smoked anywhere but at work. For years on my days off and on vacations I didn't I didn't smoke at all.

Uh. I'm not sayin' it's aliens, but it's aliens? Okay. Crystal will definitely mess with your head. But then I believe in God and some think that's an out of this world entity, so I guess it's all good.

So - are you trying to quit one or two or all of these substances? I'm not sure I'm following your thoughts here.

ScottFromWI

No one is here to lie to anyone benintendi. And different substances affect people differently, so we treat each one with respect here. I am also not exactly sure what it is you meant to say, but you'll find a lot of support here.

NYCDoglvr

I had been a hard drinker for ten years. When I quit smoking after l.5 years of sobriety it was much, much harder. I still use nicotine gum 22 years later.

zjw

i tried ot quit cigarettes a lot more times then i tried to quit booze. So i guess there is that but in the end when i finally did quit it was easier to quit nicotine then alcohol for me.

now as far as teh setup stuff. I dunno i wondered if someone was poisoning my beer cause of all the panic attacks i was having. I even theorized it was some kinda conspiracy theory. and who knows maybe there are forces out there that wanna get us hooked. if thats so tho then all the more reason to get unhooked and not give them the satisfaction.

I later realized no one was poisiong my beer tho i guess alcohol was poisoning me and the panic attacks i was having where normal alchol withdrawel type symptoms i was having.

David29

I started drinking at 16 and only started smoking at 18 when I joined the Army. I never smoked before as I was into my sports and fitness. But when I joined the Army most of the others were smokers so I joined in.

I've never really tried to stop smoking but think I would find it very hand. I always feel like smoking when I am drinking, I did stay off drink for 4 months when I had to and the odd week here and there.

I know when I was last arrested and in a cell I would have given anything for a cigarettte but didn't think about having a drink but was pretty drunk at that stage.

KissMyTiara

OH let me tell you for me personally. Quitting cigs was soooo much easier than quitting alcohol.

tomsteve

might be more powerful, but nicotene never made me get arrested, crash a car, get in fights, destroy relationships, forget days, get fired from jobs...........

JeffreyAK

I've quit both, for me quitting alcohol was the hardest thing I've ever done and the post-acute withdrawal dragged on for more than a year, while quitting smoking (couple packs a day for decades) was hard for a few days but then got much easier. A completely different scale, there was really no comparison at all. But obviously it depends how badly addicted you are to alcohol.

anxiousrock

Exactly.

Madnellie

I quit smoking 3 months after I quit drinking. I used nicotine gum for a few days but can honestly say that it was an absolute breeze for me compared to quitting drinking. Quitting drinking was by far the hardest thing I've ever done and continue to do, I'm coming up to 18 months sober and still struggling with PAWS. I have a very hard time being around alcohol but you could leave me in a room full of cigarettes and I wouldn't give you a thank you for one.
That said, I know plenty of people who have found the cigarettes the hardest to quit. I, personally, think it completely depends on the individual and their level of use/tolerance.

Dee74

How are you going today benintendi?

D

corriec

I totally agree with Jeffrey and Madnellie, both. Cigarettes are a breeze when compared to alcohol, and yes - your level of addiction to alcohol definitely matters. I stopped smoking after 22 years of 30 a day, and after the first week it did not bother me any longer, whatsoever. Today, 15 years later, even being in a room filled with cigarette fumes, does not bother me. I find the smell pleasant, to tell the truth. What does smell bad, though, are the people who smoke. A musty, stale smell, reminding of something dead.
Alcohol, on the other hand, is bad, man. The headaches, the sweats, the shakes, the dreams, the stomach cramps, the liver and spleen and kidney pains, the brain fog, the red eyes, the blotchy skin...
If I had to compare the two, I would say alcohol is the devil, nicotine maybe one of his distant relatives... Seriously.

Forward12

I agree that addictions affect people differently. There are people who are heavy smokers that rarely drink, alcoholics that don't smoke, people that need to guzzle coffee all day, etc. What may be a breeze to kick for some, can seem nearly impossible for others.

shortstop81

I've been an on/off smoker for a number of years. I can quit fairly easily cold turkey and not touch them for years before picking up socially again for a period of time.

For me, smoking has far less dire & immediate consequences, which is why I'll occasionally still light up. Alcohol is the real beast I need to be vigilant against.

zjw

not to derail the thread but i seem to be having a back and forth love afair with caffinated coffee i cant seem to just put down once and for all. everytime i get off it for months at a time give me a few rough nights of no sleep and BAM i'm hooked on it again. it seems pathetic put down smokes put down beer even put down caffine for many many months but i keep playing this game with it.

SoberCAH

I decided to give up the chewing tobacco, Copenhagen and cigars when I was in treatment for my drinking.

It turned out to be a great idea.

I never was a cigarette smoker, except for a few months in high school.

ScottFromWI

I used smokeless tobacco for years too and quit about a year before I quit drinking. The physical withdrawal was basically non-existent compared to quitting alcohol for me, but the cravings/mental side of things was really bad. It was a really disgusting habit that i'm really glad I quit.