Quitting smoking and drinking at the same time
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: UK
Posts: 322
Quitting smoking and drinking at the same time
Today is my 3rd day of conciously not drinking (although I am not a daily drinker, more a binger atm so its not unusual for me to have a few days off so the reality hasnt really kicked in yet).
I stopped drinking for 14 months and stopped smoking for a year (prrgnancy kept me on the straight and narrow). Over the past year, smoking began to creepy in along with the drinking and I am now a full time smoker again.
I desperately want and need to stop smoking and I just did 2 days smoke free but relapsed an hour ago. I do feel smoking and drinking go together and one encourages the other.
So I am wondering in peoples experience, is quitting both together at the same time a good idea? How did you go about it?
I stopped drinking for 14 months and stopped smoking for a year (prrgnancy kept me on the straight and narrow). Over the past year, smoking began to creepy in along with the drinking and I am now a full time smoker again.
I desperately want and need to stop smoking and I just did 2 days smoke free but relapsed an hour ago. I do feel smoking and drinking go together and one encourages the other.
So I am wondering in peoples experience, is quitting both together at the same time a good idea? How did you go about it?
Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 167
Totally quit both at the same time.
Get the quitting over with once and for all to reduce the bullcrap withdrawls and extending the lousy feelings and cravings over a longer period of time.
the faster you quit smoking the better you will feel, the next day.
for me i could never quit one then the other, and the two go hand in hand so having a smoke could trigger constant booze cravings, some addictions go together, like coffee and cigarettes, you know, in order to help quit smoking some folks have to give up coffee for a while as well.
That's how i have to quit, and if i take up smoking again it always leads back to drinking because for me the two go hand in hand... Refraining from one makes it easer to not do the other....
Some people refer to it as a double quit. and it's not as hard to do as you think. You can do it.
YES you can do it. personally i think it's easer to get the quitting over with once and for all.
Get the quitting over with once and for all to reduce the bullcrap withdrawls and extending the lousy feelings and cravings over a longer period of time.
the faster you quit smoking the better you will feel, the next day.
for me i could never quit one then the other, and the two go hand in hand so having a smoke could trigger constant booze cravings, some addictions go together, like coffee and cigarettes, you know, in order to help quit smoking some folks have to give up coffee for a while as well.
That's how i have to quit, and if i take up smoking again it always leads back to drinking because for me the two go hand in hand... Refraining from one makes it easer to not do the other....
Some people refer to it as a double quit. and it's not as hard to do as you think. You can do it.
YES you can do it. personally i think it's easer to get the quitting over with once and for all.
saoutchik
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: London
Posts: 16,202
I quit smoking long before I became an alcohilic so my experience is not directly comparable but when I still smoked then drinking did make me want cigarettes to whereas smoking a cigarette did not make me want to drink so my recommendation would be to quit drinking alcohol first and once you have a decent period of sobriety then the ciggies can follow.
Hope that made sense. Good luck.
Hope that made sense. Good luck.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Canada
Posts: 167
I have experience, twice...
i quit drinking and smoking cold turkey on Oct 11, 2005 for 2.5 years, then a slip, and then quit drinking and smoking again Nov 17 2011 for 5 years, and tell you this... if you KNOW you have to quit something, get it over with as fast as possible and get on with your life, bring on the good health as fast as possible.
Put the gas pedal down on quitting.
smoking makes you feel like crap, and when you feel like crap you will want to drink. I think the first time I used nicotine gum to get me started. the second time i just stopped both like a bad marriage.
If you think you can do it then give it a try and see how long you can go.... Smoking is not as addictive as we are led to believe. . . .
C. Evertt Coop knew that in 1965... before then people were quitting smoking cold turkey left and right without overthinking it, he didn't do anyone any favors when he falsely stated it was more addictive than heroin. Smoking was considered a bad habit, and like nose picking - could not be banned in public spaces so he had to put FEAR into the minds of the public to pass a law to be able to ban smoking from restaurants etc... but yes everyone knew smoking was bad for your physical health, but at the time nobody could do anything about it...
anywho, after hearing his lecture years ago ,
when i felt like smoking i would say to myself "smoking is not as addictive as you think it is" and i would find my cravings gone immediately.
I do have an audio recording of a very old interview where it is stated that the public notion and fear of quitting smoking is highly exaggerated and overblown, and nicotine is not as addictive as the public believes it to be. It's the fear of quitting that people are afraid of if that makes any sense.
DO IT ... YOU CAN DO IT.
i quit drinking and smoking cold turkey on Oct 11, 2005 for 2.5 years, then a slip, and then quit drinking and smoking again Nov 17 2011 for 5 years, and tell you this... if you KNOW you have to quit something, get it over with as fast as possible and get on with your life, bring on the good health as fast as possible.
Put the gas pedal down on quitting.
smoking makes you feel like crap, and when you feel like crap you will want to drink. I think the first time I used nicotine gum to get me started. the second time i just stopped both like a bad marriage.
If you think you can do it then give it a try and see how long you can go.... Smoking is not as addictive as we are led to believe. . . .
C. Evertt Coop knew that in 1965... before then people were quitting smoking cold turkey left and right without overthinking it, he didn't do anyone any favors when he falsely stated it was more addictive than heroin. Smoking was considered a bad habit, and like nose picking - could not be banned in public spaces so he had to put FEAR into the minds of the public to pass a law to be able to ban smoking from restaurants etc... but yes everyone knew smoking was bad for your physical health, but at the time nobody could do anything about it...
anywho, after hearing his lecture years ago ,
when i felt like smoking i would say to myself "smoking is not as addictive as you think it is" and i would find my cravings gone immediately.
I do have an audio recording of a very old interview where it is stated that the public notion and fear of quitting smoking is highly exaggerated and overblown, and nicotine is not as addictive as the public believes it to be. It's the fear of quitting that people are afraid of if that makes any sense.
DO IT ... YOU CAN DO IT.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,439
I quit both at once but my smoking was pretty much tied into my drinking.
Some folks can, and others struggle.
Most countries have a lot of help now for people trying to quit smoking though
S
Some folks can, and others struggle.
Most countries have a lot of help now for people trying to quit smoking though
S
Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 177
I think it totally depends on the person. I'm doing both right now and it does really suck but I always drank and smoked at the same time so one acted as a trigger for the other. So yeah, its all or nothing here.
But if you think you'd be better off quitting drinking then quitting smoking at a later date and would have better success that way, then do whatever you need to recover long term.
But if you think you'd be better off quitting drinking then quitting smoking at a later date and would have better success that way, then do whatever you need to recover long term.
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