ElegantlyWasted

On day 34. Happy all things considered. Have heard different takes on quitting caffeine and nicotine. Has anyone successfully quit early in their sobriety? I've been told by some to keep smoking for a year. Their take is that quitting smoking adds to stress in general and makes one more at risk for alcohol relapse. Others have advocated quitting booze and nicotine all at once. What is you take????

Bamboozle

I still smoke...I'll quit when I'm ready.

I've cut down so that's a start. It takes 4-5 days for me to go through a pack, now.

Caffiene? Ha! I don't know if I'll ever give that up.

Dee74

I don't do coffee. LOL.

Cigs? I quit both at once - but I rarely smoked when I didn't drink...mind you by the end that was a rare occurence...but, for me, the two were related.

I hear a lot of opinions. My take would be try not smoking if and when you want to - visit the dr first and get their opinion and guidance on any aids or meds....

You know how stressful trying to quit smoking is...weigh it up...if you're not good with stress, you'll have to factor that into yr decision, but I wouldn't advise anyone to 'keep smoking 'less they start drinking'.

Neithers better than the other and both'll kill ya.

As soon as practicable is the key for my money.
D

CarolD

No coffee drinker am I however I do use caffeine
see no reason not to.

I still smoke...however I did cut back from 3 packs a day
to 1. ...more about money than anything else.

I've been sober a long time...actually don't plan to give
up either cigarettes or caffeine.
I have not found either to threaten my recovery.

Hope you continue to find ways to benefit yourself.

OddSpot80

I was able to quit smoking in June, when I quit drinking for 16 days. I still don't smoke but am struggling with the alcohol.
I think it's a personal decision. It's individual to your situation. My smoking was directly related to my drinking. I'd chain smoke every night while I was drinking, sometimes a pack and a half in 7 hours. Smoking has been easier to quit then drinking and quiting it has helped reduce my drinking. The two kind of fed off of each other. If drinking had been easier to quit then I'm sure it would have reduced my smoking.
So, yeah, I don't think there's one right answer. Just be intune to you. I definitely think, just like with drinking, you have to be done with it, ready to let go. If you force yourself before you're ready that might be detrimental.
And the caffiene thing, I guess if it was related to your drinking somehow then it could be a problem but I've never heard of the two being a combination other than on the Drew Carry Show

socialismislost

My take is that they are both drugs and people with addiction are not being honest with themselves when they quit one addiction only to go chain smoke. My dad was an alcoholic. He was sober for 30 years. But continued to smoke. He died at 61 years of age from COPD. What would be the difference if he were to drink himself to death at that age? Addiction is addiction. And Im getting out the popcorn because I know this will be a controversial topic.. By the way, good post.

looking4sanity

i dip i dont smoke and i am fully addicted to nicotine and honestly i could only handle one type of withdrawal right now not too and i have a dip in right now and its helping me relax and feel better so im less likely to use so its helping me through this so to speak, plus if i use i could die tommorow getting the drugs, robbing someone to get money for drugs and etc so im gonna take my chances with oral cancer which will suck but at least ill be sober in the time being to give all i can give to my family and be there completely for them and not drunk or high so thats my view im basically picking my poison if i dont quit dipping in the next 15 years

ElegantlyWasted

Theoretical cost benefit analysis.

Daily Consumption Analysis
2 Steel Reserves @ 1.69 = $3.65 w/tax
1 pack premium cigs =$7.14 w/tax
Drinking vs Smoking Savings =$3.49

Chugging 2 Steel Reserves (I would buy the pack anyways after the first steelie) and Driving and Potentially Killing Myself and or Someone else......= PRICELESS in a very bad way.

I think for me right now cigs are kind of a crutch.

My sympathies to Social, horrible way to go.... I'm still relatively young and do need to quit soon. Anyone try Chantix?

Faerie

Okay, back on topic.........

I'd suggest talking to your doctor for advice.

I went to mine to ask about quitting smoking. He said that because of my severe depression and because I was tapering off of painkillers smoking was a good crutch for me to have for the time being.

I do, however intend on quitting in the future as I know if I don't smoking WILL kill me.

I think this situation is highly personal and would be different for each person depending on how they are tracking with their recovery and other issues.

Best wishes to you.

Faerie

thirtybubba

I actually was trying to click the down arrow, but yeah, I agree with Elegantly. On both y'all though, 'cause I was going to answer earlier but didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

What I was going to say and am now:

As far as trying to quit smoking and drinking at the same time, I'd either go crazy and end up on the ten o'clock news, or I'd just relapse later in the afternoon on both. If it wasn't for all these cigarettes--and I used to only smoke about a quarter to a half a pack a day, now up to a whole pack a day some days--I could not even consider quitting drinking. Same goes for candies. Can't quit the candies yet, and I didn't even eat candies two months ago.

Don't know if I will in the future, but before I were to consider it, I'd make dang sure I was comfortable in my sobriety.

Anyways, that's all. Have a nice, peaceful, day/night y'all.

CarolD

Everyone chill please.....

Some posts were removed from this thread.
Just to remind y'all....

Please do continue to share your experience on the topic.
Tahnks.....

keen2bclean

For me the two went hand in hand...smoking didnt bother me unless I was drinking...and when I was I could hammer a couple of packets in a night...those vending machines are a flaming rip off aswell...(least they are here in ole blighty)...nearly twice the price and u get about 4 less in the packet (robbing so and so's lol)...I used to hate the heavy feeling on my chest the next morning and the smell in my hair used to make me feel sick, I would also feel regret that I'd done it to myself...I quit tho when I found out I was pregnant with my first child (about ten years ago)...to quit I had to stay away from pubs etc (you could smoke here in a pub at that time)..so I stayed at home more...gave up work to look after my child and that's when I started to drink at home more...and it got progressively worse. At the end of the day they are both drugs that can and probably will kill you. I guess, like anything, you need to be ready and willing to quit...but, physical health aside for a moment, if u need a crutch then perhaps weigh up the pros and cons....alcohol has more of a ripple effect in that it alters your personality/judgement so others around you (family, friends, job, DUI - other road users/pedestrians, etc) suffer as a result..whether it be emotional outbursts, aggressive behaviour, incessant rambling etc. On the other hand smoking (when not around other non-smokers) predominantly only affects you...until you get ill or die of course...then everyone else who gives a damn about you suffers...some might say 'whatever gets you through' but there's still a high price to pay...why does everything we get hooked on have to be bad...I'd love to have an addiction to apples or something instead lol

yeahgr8

I quit smoking last night at midnight and started again today at midday...i can't do it at the moment, maybe later when i am really ready...i am going to stop 'quitting' in the meantime though lol

My sponsor said don't worry about it for the first year, my counselor said don't worry about it for the first year, my doctor said don't worry about it for the first year but being an alcoholic i thought i would quit anyway...what a moby i am sometimes;-)

Skeeter2

Elegant -- As I don't smoke, I can't speak to the withdrawl you may feel when you quit. But I guess like alcohol, you have to feel the time is right and you have the strength to do it ... Personally, I'm psyching up to give up refined sugar, which I've been consuming a bit more of since stopping drinking. Knowing my alcohol cravings had to do with blood sugar levels, I decided it was the lesser evil for now. I encourage you to stop smoking as soon as you feel you can ... Good luck!

Boleo

I would not go so far as to say "keep smoking for a year" but I would say don't make it a high priority for now.

Take a wait & see attitude and when you feel comfortable in your sobriety try using the same new coping skills that you have learned to give up Nicotine.

donweezy

I quit drinking about 2 months ago , and started using the patch about 10 days after I quit drinking. Its easier for me to quit because for me alcohol and cigs went hand n hand. The patch has helped me greatly. Ive been using each stage of patch and Im starting the 3rd stage tommorrow. Good luck.

holdfold

I have done both and so far ok.... my focus has gone to chocolate now.... before the detox I never had sweet tooth..... amazing what the poison does.

meo348241

What I'm about to say, I'll say as the biggest hypocrite in the world; everyone should quit smoking. I'm really struggling with it right now; just reading this post gave me the inclination to light up. Sober just over 4 months now and I'm feeling good about where its going, but I know I'm going to feel much better once I finally make the commitment to put down cigarettes. I know I shouldn't assume that since things are one way for me, they are the same for everyone but perhaps there's something behind my case that everyone can relate to so here goes.

I was never an everyday drinker. With the occasional exception, I only drank on the weekends. Nevertheless, alcohol causes me to mess up so much in my life, nearly cost me my marriage and almost led to my early death. It did all this and yet I could set it down Mon-Fri without thinking twice. Smoking on the other hand, is an all day everyday thing for me. I'm lucky if I make it 5 minutes from when wake up in the morning and its the last thing I do before bed, even after brushing my teeth. So then, which of the two drugs has a greater hold on me? I'm thinking its the smokes.

The obvious difference between the two is that I won't get arrested, black out or neglect my marriage because of smoking. I think there's a lot more to be considered though. I know that I'm definitely spending more $ smoking, over 5 bones a pack now where I live and I'm under no illusions that they'll ever get cheaper or even stay the same price. My wife also smokes. Between the two of us, were wasting at least $280 a month. That's a car payment and then some. For someone who dug himself quite a nice little financial whole in his addiction, that money would really help me to climb back out. All this is not to mention the health care costs that are sure to come if I keep smoking.

Money aside, could you imagine how much of a kick to the groin it is going to be if I get cancer or some other chronic disease after I've just wrestled my life back from addiction to booze and drugs. I also think that smoking is putting my recovery in jeopardy in a more significant way. I'm convinced that I used drinking and drugging to mask the pain I was feeling from deep rooted psychological problems. I'd feel stressed out or depressed and I'd pick up a drink or a pipe. Guess what I'm doing now when those feelings come about? Yea I'm not taking a physically impairing substance and so therefore I'm not making impaired decisions and taking action on them. That's a plus. I'm also able to feel these feelings much more vividly. The problem is that smoking still dulls this pain to some degree and I'm still looking to substances to deal with problems. I believe that what I need is feel the full effect of these feelings and deal with them in a constructive manner not by slowly killing myself.

I'm glad I read this thread. It got me to focus on something I've kind of been avoiding. I'm going to talk to my wife and set a quit date for next week. It is going to be tough but I know it needs to be done. In the past when I've tried to quit, going to a bar or just drinking in general always tripped me up. I won't have that to worry about this time so I'm already one step ahead.

I'm certainly not an expert so take what I say for whatever its worth. The whole waiting a year thing seems a bit much to me. If you truly can't give up booze and smokes at the same time then I guess booze is the better problem to tackle first. I will say that I've heard from many people who have been successful with their recovery that one needs to change their whole lifestyle in order to achieve sobriety. Why we tend not to include smoking in this change baffles me. Anyway thanks for reading.

keen2bclean

Meo

jamdls

I work for a professional association that has a group of said professionals who help other professional of said group with alcohol/drug/mental issues. Once a year we have a 2-3 day training seminar (at a wonderful beach resort) to teach how to help one another with these problems, the trainers are "experts" in the field of addiction/recovery. So anyhow, last year, (my 1st time being part of this group), the training was recognizing the signs of addiction then how to help-smoking was included more as a side note and the trainers said that yes they agreed everyone should also quit smoking but that they would tell the addicts/alcoholics to not even worry about quitting smoking until they had been clean for at least a year. Smoking is a way to deal with stress. After a year of sobriety I quit smoking, for 3 months, then Thanksgiving came around and I had 4 days off with nothing to do and for the first time since I had quit drinking I wanted to drink or smoke or do something! So I started smoking again. Yes cigarettes are an addiction and yes they will kill me, but I have never embarrassed myself nor another because of smoking, smoking has never caused a blackout for me nor a hangover, my smoking does not endanger the lives of others (I live alone and only smoke in my own yard), you won't get a DUI for smoking (cigarettes) and driving. I will quit smoking again and likely will start again.