I just quit cigs 5 days ago and am dying for a smoke. what is your opinion on me smoking a cigar once in awhile to satisfy my smoking craving but not inhaling? Anyone done that. Or should I stay off all smoking for months before I smoke a cigar again?
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can smoking cigars help to quit smoking cigs?
- Thread starter Leemahn
- Start date
Seanholio
Don Quixote
This is a highly personal question, as it depends on the exact cause of your addiction and your no-inhale self control. Everyone is different, and your mileage may vary.
If you're addicted to the nicotine, you're going to get less from stogies than you would cigarettes, since the cigarette manufacturers use cigarettes as nicotine delivery vehicles. If you can cut back on nicotine with large strong cigars, and you have the time to smoke them on your smoke breaks, they may help
If you're addicted to the process of smoking, cigars can help, since the process is similar, but you need to not inhale. You'll also notice that cigars are MUCH less smooth than cigarettes, since they're not processed a dozen ways to Sunday.
You need to ask yourself why you want to quit, and see if cigars might help. Telling us why you want to quit might help us better answer your question. If you 're looking to save money, don't bother. If you end up liking cigars, you'll spend the money on them and amass a huge collection. If you're looking to save your lungs, can you keep yourself from inhaling cigars? Friends of mine can't, and others can.
If you're addicted to the nicotine, you're going to get less from stogies than you would cigarettes, since the cigarette manufacturers use cigarettes as nicotine delivery vehicles. If you can cut back on nicotine with large strong cigars, and you have the time to smoke them on your smoke breaks, they may help
If you're addicted to the process of smoking, cigars can help, since the process is similar, but you need to not inhale. You'll also notice that cigars are MUCH less smooth than cigarettes, since they're not processed a dozen ways to Sunday.
You need to ask yourself why you want to quit, and see if cigars might help. Telling us why you want to quit might help us better answer your question. If you 're looking to save money, don't bother. If you end up liking cigars, you'll spend the money on them and amass a huge collection. If you're looking to save your lungs, can you keep yourself from inhaling cigars? Friends of mine can't, and others can.
denverdog
Not now chief, I’m in the F**kin zone.
I agree with Sean, it's not as simple as a yes or no answer. Personally, I just celebrated 1 year of being chew free. I had chewed since high school and was never able to quit. I attribute it to several things like the upcoming birth of my daughter, cigars to help curve the craving and an overall desire to finally quit. If you are as hard up as I was I don't think cigars alone will do it, but I think it helps. Good luck man!
Devil Doc
When Death smiles, Corpsmen smile back
It never worked for me. When I quit cigs for good, almost 4yrs ago, I went two years smoke free before I allowed myself to have a cigar.
If I can quit cigs, anyone can. I was smoking 2 to sometimes three pks of Camel straights a day. Don't give up. Quiting takes practice. If you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up. Just get back on again. I've known former heroin addicts who said quiting smoking was much harder than beating junk.
Doc.
If I can quit cigs, anyone can. I was smoking 2 to sometimes three pks of Camel straights a day. Don't give up. Quiting takes practice. If you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up. Just get back on again. I've known former heroin addicts who said quiting smoking was much harder than beating junk.
Doc.
amateuraficionado
Active Member
Sean is right, the correct answer is wholely dependent on you and your own personal situation. How long had you been smoking? How much did you smoke? Did you regularly smoke cigars in addition to smoking cigs, or are you now simply looking at it as a substitute. These and other questions are what you will need to ask yourself. The first year of smoking cigars for me was also my last year of smoking cigarettes. I smoked about a pack and a half a day and maybe a cigar a day or at least every other day. I quit smoking cigs in January and now continue to smoke 1-2 cigars/day and on weekends I may get in 3/day.
I would say at this point based on the little info you've given, stay away. It's been said that it takes approximately 21 days to break a habit. Commit to at least that if possible. If nothing else, depending on how much you smoked, a cigar is almost always a better option than going back to cigs. So if you feel like you get to the point where you absolutely have to smoke something, go with a cigar. I don't know if you have, but you should look into Chantix. I know several people who have had tremendous success with it.... and you get to continue smoking for the first week I believe it is. Even if you're medical insurance doesn't pay for it, depending on how much you smoked it's still cheaper than cigs.
Good luck to you man. Just remember that you're not alone. I still have my days that I want to smoke, but these feeling are fleeting. Heck, my father-in-law who hasn't smoked in 30 yrs. says that to this day, once in a while, he still gets the urge to smoke a cig!!! Can you imagine what they must've put in those things..... and at that time they didn't even have the formula perfected yet!
MandyPi
Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off n
I smoked cigs forever (2-3 packs per day). I quit smoking because I had one of my wisdom teeth pulled and the doc scared the holly $hit out of me. Smoke free for over a year and then picked up cigars. I was afraid that it would lead to cigs again, but thankfully, it had not.
FYI:
The best website on how to quit smoking: Linky
FYI:
The best website on how to quit smoking: Linky
NullSmurf
Das Bruce
25 years of 2-3 packs of Salems a day for me. I quit for 5 years before picking up a cigar. I add my urging to those here - conquor the butts, then take up cigars as a hobby.
tigger
gutter-grade asstrash
As do I. I didn't have a cigar for several years after I stopped smoking cigarettes.
Dozerhead
New Member
I smoked cigarettes for about 11 years before quiting. I didn't start smoking cigars until a couple of years after that. The one thing I've found that with smoking cigars I don't ever have any cravings for a cigarette like some reformed smokers get, but I'm not sure I would have been able to quit if I had picked up cigars so soon afterward. I agree with some earlier posters though, it's probably best to get complete control of your cigarette habit first before starting cigars. Good luck, it will get better...eventually.
LilBastage
Meat is murder! Tasty, tasty murder.
I'll add my urging, as well.
I smoked 2 packs of Camel straights or filters for 12 years. I quit cold turkey and it was absolute hell. I was completely tobacco free for 2 years before I felt comfortable enough with my control to get seriously into cigars as a hobby. There are times when I go a little overboard and smoke a couple of cigars a day for a few days and I feel the nicotine grabbing hold again. I stop at that point for a time (sometimes for up to 2 weeks or longer).
I've been a slave to nicotine before, and I don't want it to happen again. If you want to quit, you will. I'm not sure smoking cigars is going to help. I try to avoid smoking really strong (nicotine heavy) cigars for this very reason.
bigwhiteash
Binge Responsibly
Same story here, quit cigarettes for about two years before picking up a cigar.
The Green Monkey
Brap-brap
I started smoking cigars as a New Year's resolution for 2008 and I quit smoking cigarettes three weeks ago today. Prior to quitting, for the past 15 years, I had smoked varying amounts of Marlboros--anywhere between a third of a pack a day as I was slowly weaning myself off of them over the course of 8 months, to 2-3 packs a day in college and law school.
I echo everyone's sentiment that this is a situation that differs dramatically from person to person. However, I found that by writing the date and time I opened each pack on the lid (I switched to boxes from soft packs at the start of my weening--both for an easier writing surface, and so I'd always be able to count and ration cigarettes) an also keeping track in a journal, along with total duration per pack and an "hours per cigarette" value, I'd be able to chart my progress and slowly improve. There were times when I'd be drinking like a madman and a pack would be gone in an evening, but there were also other times when I'd stretch a pack over 90 hours. The key for me was just beginning to be able to say to myself, 'instead of going out for that smoke right now, how about you go in an hour, or after you finish (whatever)' which basically gave me a little bit of preparation for dealing with the nicotine withdrawal fits when I eventually quit.
Earlier this month, I went on an annual four day camping/drinking trip up in Wisconsin. I bought a carton to take along with the intention of smoking my nuts off for that last hurrah weekend and then quitting that Monday after my return. When I got home, I realized that I had only gone through four packs. I was astounded. After having cut back my consumption for 8 months, a pack a day actually seemed like I was going nuts. In past years, I've finished off the carton on this particular trip.
I'm writing my quit date on one of the remaining unopened packs and throwing it in the back of the freezer for the rest of my life just in case I have a truly catastrophic day somewhere down the line and absolutely need a cigarette, but for all intents and purposes, that pack will cease to exist. I'll be giving the remaining five packs away in a contest here very soon.
I think I'd go so far as to say that having cigars to smoke has made quitting cigarettes a little easier for me. I don't inhale, and I rarely smoke more than one cigar a day so it's not like they're a replacement or anything, but it does seem to sort of satisfy that lingering need to engage in smoking routine behaviors. I also found Blow-Pops to be an excellent replacement for when I found myself craving a cigarette.
Good luck.
I echo everyone's sentiment that this is a situation that differs dramatically from person to person. However, I found that by writing the date and time I opened each pack on the lid (I switched to boxes from soft packs at the start of my weening--both for an easier writing surface, and so I'd always be able to count and ration cigarettes) an also keeping track in a journal, along with total duration per pack and an "hours per cigarette" value, I'd be able to chart my progress and slowly improve. There were times when I'd be drinking like a madman and a pack would be gone in an evening, but there were also other times when I'd stretch a pack over 90 hours. The key for me was just beginning to be able to say to myself, 'instead of going out for that smoke right now, how about you go in an hour, or after you finish (whatever)' which basically gave me a little bit of preparation for dealing with the nicotine withdrawal fits when I eventually quit.
Earlier this month, I went on an annual four day camping/drinking trip up in Wisconsin. I bought a carton to take along with the intention of smoking my nuts off for that last hurrah weekend and then quitting that Monday after my return. When I got home, I realized that I had only gone through four packs. I was astounded. After having cut back my consumption for 8 months, a pack a day actually seemed like I was going nuts. In past years, I've finished off the carton on this particular trip.
I'm writing my quit date on one of the remaining unopened packs and throwing it in the back of the freezer for the rest of my life just in case I have a truly catastrophic day somewhere down the line and absolutely need a cigarette, but for all intents and purposes, that pack will cease to exist. I'll be giving the remaining five packs away in a contest here very soon.
I think I'd go so far as to say that having cigars to smoke has made quitting cigarettes a little easier for me. I don't inhale, and I rarely smoke more than one cigar a day so it's not like they're a replacement or anything, but it does seem to sort of satisfy that lingering need to engage in smoking routine behaviors. I also found Blow-Pops to be an excellent replacement for when I found myself craving a cigarette.
Good luck.
ilcchef2
Member
I plan on quitting cigs when I turn 50 in 5 months and go exclusively with cigars...I'll let you know...
jfields
Where did all my money go?
I quit cold turkey after thirteen years of smoking cigs. I tried dipping, and smoking cigars before that method, only to find that I had traded one form of the habit for another. I only tried going back to cigars (with some trepidation) after being smoke free for two to three years. I don't ever get that craving from smoking a cigar like I did with cigs. It's been about fourteen years since I quit for good, and I still can feel that tug once in a blue moon when I walk by someone smoking a cancer stick.......Other than that, they smell like crap to me.
g-smoke
Silent but deadly
Just to add to some of the voices and experiences, I quit smoking cigarettes about 18 months ago after smoking off and on for a good 20+ years.
Similar to The Green Monkey, I found cigars were helpful, but mainly in stemming urges when I'd be out having drinks. I was a fairly light cigarette smoker (usually took me about a week to go through a pack, unless it was a stressful week), but smoked a lot if I'd ever go out for drinks or to a party. Having a cigar or two on these occasions helped get cigarettes out of my consciousness pretty much for good.
Like everyone else said, it's a relative experience, and I think it's relative to how addicted you are to nicotine and how heavy of a smoker you are. Sounds like everyone who found it best to stay completely away from nicotine for years before taking up cigars were pretty heavy smokers.
For what it's worth I love my new hobby and have no desire to smoke cigarettes again -- in fact, I had a cigarette last weekend with a friend and found it completely lacking of what I like about cigars: flavor.
Good luck with quitting.
Similar to The Green Monkey, I found cigars were helpful, but mainly in stemming urges when I'd be out having drinks. I was a fairly light cigarette smoker (usually took me about a week to go through a pack, unless it was a stressful week), but smoked a lot if I'd ever go out for drinks or to a party. Having a cigar or two on these occasions helped get cigarettes out of my consciousness pretty much for good.
Like everyone else said, it's a relative experience, and I think it's relative to how addicted you are to nicotine and how heavy of a smoker you are. Sounds like everyone who found it best to stay completely away from nicotine for years before taking up cigars were pretty heavy smokers.
For what it's worth I love my new hobby and have no desire to smoke cigarettes again -- in fact, I had a cigarette last weekend with a friend and found it completely lacking of what I like about cigars: flavor.
Good luck with quitting.
cpprhead59
We are the music makers...we are the dreamers of d
I still smoke cigs but find when I have a cigar (I don't inhale) I do not feel the need at all for a cig. I am more addicted to the process versus the nicotine.
I have cut down from a pack and a half a day to abut 3/4 of a pack a day even when I don't smoke cigars. When I do smoke a cigar, I smoke only a handful during the day and all are usually pre-cigar.
I have cut down from a pack and a half a day to abut 3/4 of a pack a day even when I don't smoke cigars. When I do smoke a cigar, I smoke only a handful during the day and all are usually pre-cigar.
bluestone
New Member
On the two year anniversary of giving up cigarettes I smoked my first cigar. That was ten years ago. I've been smoking cigars ever since and have no desire to smoke a cigarette because I will always remember how bad I hated them and how bad I felt when I quite. My cigar intake changes with the seasons and how cold it is. Usually a few per week. Just my experience!
Didn't want to start a new topic after finding this one. I am quitting cigs as we speak (1 day 12 hours so far), so would you guys recommend me stopping cigars also for now? I was going to wait about 2 weeks, but any more will make my humi/coolidor sad to sit for so long.
Eshaw99
Just livin' the dream
When I worked at the Tinder Box, I had several customers who said they started smoking cigars to quit cigarettes and it worked. It depends on the person, but I'd say it's worth a try.
Not A Nice Person
Pink.
I smoked 1-2 packs of Marlboros a day for about 20 years, with a couple extended quits (once for two years, once for nine months) in there. Quit smoking again when I graduated from college at age 38, and starting smoking cigars to handle the cravings and social situations after a month or so off cigs. I found that anywhere from one a week to as little as one a month kept me "urge free."
There was one short relapse, when I was stressed out over an upcoming surgery, but I haven't had a cigarette in over six years and never have any "niccy fit" urges at all anymore.
Everyone's different, but that's what worked for me. I'd say to replace cigarettes with cigars, you need to be able to delay gratifying the "urge" until there's time and opportunity to relax with a cigar, and that's going to be easier to do after the first month . . . minimum.
~Boar
There was one short relapse, when I was stressed out over an upcoming surgery, but I haven't had a cigarette in over six years and never have any "niccy fit" urges at all anymore.
Everyone's different, but that's what worked for me. I'd say to replace cigarettes with cigars, you need to be able to delay gratifying the "urge" until there's time and opportunity to relax with a cigar, and that's going to be easier to do after the first month . . . minimum.
~Boar