Tell a newbie how many seconds a day do you still want a cigarette:
Page 33

Blonde female quitter still experincing strong urges and desires for cigarettes

"I've stopped smoking cigarettes. How long before the craving ends?"

Remember the first few days? Remember worrying that the urges, wanting and craves would never end? If a cold turkey quitter, here's your chance to tell both smokers and new quitters what it's like now.

Tell@WhyQuit.com

#801 | 05 Jan 2015 | Mommiana

Saw this thread bumped back up to the front page. I had perused through it earlier in my quit. I remember thinking, "wow! I can't wait to get to the same point as some of these people who never think about smoking!" Well, guess what?

At 8 months, 2 weeks, 11 hours and some odd minutes and seconds, I think about actually picking up a cigarette and smoking NEVER. I haven't desired a cigarette in over 6 months. My last intense wanting that I can remember was probably around the 1 month mark.

NTAP
~ Christy
Nicotine-free for Eight months, two weeks, 11 hours, 51 minutes and 25 seconds. 5169 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1,034.14. Life saved: 2 weeks, 3 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes.

#802 | 17 Feb 2015 | ThePanster

Six years of freedom my friends, and how often do I want or crave a cigarette? Almost never -- for real. I rarely even think of it. Maybe once a year, and in that split second, I am filled with gratitude for what learned here, not the least of which was to embrace the crave and use it to remember how far I've come. Doesn't never really craving sound good? It is. And you can do it. You really can.

#803 | 18 Feb 2015 | jjbaker

Oh what a bloody Newbie I am with my silly 37 days. 199 Euro's saved by not smoking 740 cigarettes. Not a single craving. Nothing is missed. Not a thing.

I spent lots of time reading here, not because I feel my quit is at risk, but because there are tons of information tidbits that will help down the road, reinforce positively or prepare one for coming challenges ahead. When you are facing your quit mostly alone as a single person without a whole lot of social support and are surrounded by smokers, having a site like this is a good thing because it allows you to celebrate your accomplishment. There are only two places on this planet where nicotine has no voice, power or influence. Whyquit.com and the inside of my mind.

Addiction as a self study topic is turning into one of the most interesting topics for me. How can something that is so utterly complicated and information dense come down to being beaten by such a simple abbreviated sentence such as NTAP. Step one was to acknowledge and accept that this is not a habit but a deadly addiction. Freedom is always one smokeless breath ahead. Just take this next breath and remain true to your commitment to NTAP. Not now, not an hour from now, not today, probably not this week, month or year. Sorry, we have a life to live and freedom to experience.

#804 | 17 May 2015 | Jezza

After joel posted on my journal thread with the video related to this thread i decided to add my bit.

At 16 (and a half) months i only ever think about it if i see another smoker. But it's not a crave, it's a gentle reminder. As an example....

"I used to do that"

How long did it take for you to read that last line? 2 seconds perhaps? That's how many seconds a day i think about cigarettes.

#805 | 16 Aug 2015 | legend018

I quit 5 1/2 years ago cold turkey. Currently do you want to know how often I actually think about smoking. Hmmmmm I would have to say zippo, none, never, not at all.

I don't have anyone smoking in front of me often, but when they do, I don't mind and it doesn't bother me. I really just becomes part of your life.

You get to a point where you used to smoke

#806 | 15 Jan 2018 | Melanie DuBois LeBoeuf

With my smoke meter registering 7 years, 8 months and counting I’d have to say never!

#807 | 15 Aug 2015 | Penny Young

Never, ever.

#808 | 08 May 2018 | Patti Pattenden

None! 5 years later and I am the happiest I have ever been. This website was a life saver…literally.

Thank you for helping me to quit cold turkey.

I have so much gratitude for this wonderful resource and for your hard work at spreading these messages.

Thank you.

#809 | 01 August 2018 | Michelle P.

 I am so glad to report that I spend 3 seconds a day on average even remembering that I used to focus my whole day around smoking.  All thoughts of smoking take up a combined 20-30 seconds of my week and most of that time is me being happy that I don’t smoke any longer.  Cold turkey and the Law of Addiction were the keys to my success and anyone can also be successful!!  

Thank yo so much for your site full of help and wisdom.  I hope it helps many more become the happy non-smoker they want to be.

Michelle P.

#810 | 16 February 2019 | Kimberly Dunworth

Hi WhyQuit! Today is my 16th anniversary from quitting smoking cold turkey, with the help of this site and Freedom board (not sure if it still exists). 16 years!

Because of this site I stopped craving cigarettes within a couple of weeks. Before in previous quits the cravings never went away.

I usually forget my quit anniversary, but I finally put the reminder into my phone. I barely remember smoking. Thank god for this site. Thank you!

#811 | 01 March 2019 | Jan Schmidt

I quit cold turkey about 10 months ago with the help of this website and the power of information it provided me with. The answer is less than a second. The thought of smoking comes maybe once every two weeks and passes after a second or two.

Would've never imagined that in the beginning.

Best regards

Jan

Responses to a June 6, 2019 Turkevyille "Tell a Newbie ..." parade

#812 | 06 June 2019 | Debbie

It will pass completely..ten years quit...my answer is never! I never want a cigarette anymore . In the world today I love being free from the never ending control smoking had over me. You can do this 🌹🎉🌹

#813 | 06 June 2019 | Susan

6 months on 6/7/19 and it’s not every day!! Maybe 5 minutes once a week.

#814 | 06 June 2019 | Elgenia

3 yrs quit - never crave anymore. Now I wonder why I waited so long to quit in the first place.

#815 | 06 June 2019 | Scott

0 for 11 years

#816 | 06 June 2019 | Scott

Over 3 years here ... it comes and goes...but once I smell how bad the smokers are it goes away....

#817 | 06 June 2019 | Wendy

0 for 6 years

#818 | 06 June 2019 | Velo

1.5 years' quit (today!!!!). I get a weak urge quite rarely, it's been weeks since the last time I had the fleeting weak urge for nicotine. It is rare and it passes easily. And I had a terrible, horrible, protracted difficult quit last year in which even 4 months after my quit I had overwhelmingly intense cravings. Don't give up, it will get better!!

#819 | 06 June 2019 | Dan

5 months for me, i don't think about it too much. I can even go to the smoking section at work and enjoy being outside while everyone else fills their lungs. I can never have another because that 1 would lead to thousands more.

#820 | 06 June 2019 | Lynda

zero...I get a trigger now and then...and coming into summer with a cocktail here and there I get a trigger, but it's shocking that if I get through a trigger experience once or twice, I l seriously don't get triggered after and am surprised how much I FORGET to remember thinking about it. And even with a little trigger, I never "want" one because at 6 months I am breathing so good and enjoying serious financial rewards that I never want to give that up!!!

#821 | 06 June 2019 | Maggie

1 year 7 mos quit and a nanosecond once in a blue moon. not a daily thought at all anymore 🙏👍. I come here to protect my quit NTAP

#822 | 06 June 2019 | Sandra

5 yrs because of this site...never crosses my mind ..smoked forever I’m 56

#823 | 06 June 2019 | Dawn

#824 | 06 June 2019 | Chastity

1 year and 11 months...I still get the occasional urge but nothing that would make me actually smoke. My 3 year old daughter was diagnosed with cancer when I had been quit 4 months and I managed to not start back. It is hard but it is also possible if you truly want to quit.

#825 | 06 June 2019 | Tammy

Zero

#826 | 06 June 2019 | Jessica

Zero

#827 | 06 June 2019 | Nunez

None that's right none !!! NTAP

#828 | 06 June 2019 | Chastity

none

#829 | 06 June 2019 | Joey

I’m at 18 months, it seems like forever ago I was a slave to nicotine. Now it repulses me. If I don’t come to this page I go days forgetting I ever smoked.

#830 | 06 June 2019 | Rebecca

It will be one year quit for me on the 14th of this month. I have an urge to smoke maybe once a month now but it only lasts maybe 5 seconds. Thinking about how my life revolved around them before I quit makes me so happy to be free from them now!!

#831 | 06 June 2019 | Melissa

ZERO

#832 | 06 June 2019 | Brenda

zero.. almost 2 years in

#833 | 06 June 2019 | Trisha

All I can tell you is this...hang in there every second every day. It gets easier I promise.. swear to God I smoked over 40 years never ever thought I would say I'm snoke free 18 months. So amazing in my mind. I share this because you can too...I promise! Reach out for any help when ever!

#834 | 06 June 2019 | Denise

45 days and about 10 times a day but find a quick distraction and all good.

#835 | 06 June 2019 | Melanie

Couple of seconds in a month now... over 527days freedom. NTAP

#836 | 06 June 2019 | C.T.

12 days cold turkey; Just once today but cannot look at cigarettes when I purchase gas at QT.

#837 | 06 June 2019 | Kayla

0 no joke. I quit dec 19 2017

#838 | 06 June 2019 | Bobby

After a month about 3. After a year about 1.

#839 | 06 June 2019 | Brenda

I thought about smoking 2x today for a fleeting moment each time. (58 days free.)

#840 | 06 June 2019 | Kelly

Almost never!!! Honestly! 2 years quit. Every once in a blue moon (maybe 1 time a month) I crave a smoke. Otherwise, never even passes my mind.

#841 | 06 June 2019 | Natalie

Never. Smoked for over 30 years and have been free from it for 4 years.

#842 | 06 June 2019 | Candy

Never ! 5years for me :) 2 1/2 packs a day I smoked NTAP

#843 | 06 June 2019 | Kelly

At 4 years...not one second.

#844 | 06 June 2019 | Sarah

The first two times I “quit,” it was pretty frequent for the first three months because I convinced myself that I was missing out on something. This time, (free since 1/1/18), the urge was gone almost immediately. Something clicked and I decided I was completely done, forever. I can confidently say that I will NEVER smoke again. So I spend zero seconds per day wanting to smoke. Hang in there! NTAP ♥

#845 | 06 June 2019 | Kate

Yes!! Same here second quit. I threw my first quit away and it took alot for me to put them down again, can honestly say that I don't crave. I don't think about it. Im Day 38

#846 | 06 June 2019 | Daphne

Rarely

#847 | 06 June 2019 | Leandri

Day 40 something for me. I think about smoking 3 or 4 times per day, but the thought doesn't even last 20 seconds then it's gone. It's usually when I do something that I would associate with smoking like getting into my car, or being bored at work. Stay strong!

#848 | 06 June 2019 | Konate

I don't even think about it anymore. It's been over 2 yrs.

#849 | 06 June 2019 | Zach

Some times I think about it, but then when I really consider it, the prospect of smoking seems gross. Day 209

#850 | 06 June 2019 | Tara

Truthfully ... I'm almost at the 3 year mark and most days I don't even think about smoking anymore.

#851 | 06 June 2019 | Veronica

Almost three years down and I have no desire at all.

#852 | 06 June 2019 | John

I quit cold turkey over 10 years ago. I never crave a cigarette. Seems the longer it goes the worse tobacco smoke smells.

#853 | 06 June 2019 | Ralena

14 months free. Zero times a day. Maybe 3x in the last 10 months. I’m 4 sessions into learning how to run for the first time in my life.

#854 | 06 June 2019 | Amy

July 4th will be one year for me and maybe two seconds a month it's a fleeting thought.

#855 | 06 June 2019 | Phaedra

6 months in, maybe 5-10 mins a day

#856 | 06 June 2019 | Lisa

I am 7 years and I probably think about it a few times a week. but, I never want to go through the process of quitting again. it gets better.

I'm coming up on 11 and a half years and it really is next to never. Now, I recently quit all of my last remaining unhealthy coping strategies (alcohol, junk food, sugar, etc) and while walking in and out of AA meetings through the smokers I still hardly get a craving. I miss having a social lubricant of some type, but I'm so much less anxious and obsessive that the benefits FAR outweigh any fleeting cravings.

#857 | 06 June 2019 | Jun

None ... Already 4 years 9 months...

#858 | 06 June 2019 | Jennifer

10 years quit and never! I actually hate the smell and it just disgusts me now.

#859 | 06 June 2019 | Kim

Almost 3 years.... not one second.

#860 | 06 June 2019 | Janis

It has been almost 6 years and I only think about it during stressful times, but the moment passes quickly.

#861 | 06 June 2019 | Ryan

Just over a year, no seconds a day do i want a cigarette

#862 | 06 June 2019 | Cindy

Zero - year and half

#863 | 06 June 2019 | Frank

Never...95 days in...after 30 I knew I was done forever ❤❤❤ haven’t craved a cig since...

#864 | 06 June 2019 | Aven

0–almost 6 years

#865 | 06 June 2019 | Deanna

None

#8 66 | 06 June 2019 | Dawn

None

#867 | 06 June 2019 | Christopher

None

#868 | 06 June 2019 | Jeff

7 years going on 8. It never really crosses my mind anymore. Now if I walk by a smoker I just think about how bad it smells.

#869 | 06 June 2019 | Joshua

24 months. Was I ever a smoker???

#870 | 06 June 2019 | Renee

The new journey, you can’t stop thinking about them (the bad boyfriend) and then each day you think less and less and do more for your new healthy body. And then less and less. Finally after you want to almost give up - you noticed Wow !! I actually didn’t think of a cig for 4 hrs. Wow. And then it becomes longer. And finally (The day of Graduation) you actually didn’t think of a cig ALL DAY. And then 2 Days and on and on, and finally you just STOP —- and don’t think of them at all. I’m over 5 years.

#871 | 06 June 2019 | Lucia

Almost 3 months in and suddenly constantly craving

#872 | 06 June 2019 | Velo

It can happen with the change in seasons, new triggers. Face the new triggers with the same mindset of when you first quit, breathe through the cravings, and you will get through them and then they won't bother you anymore. Then the next season will come with some new triggers, but that also you can face and conquer.

#873 | 06 June 2019 | Jayne

Never. I can't believe I used to smell so bad.

#874 | 06 June 2019 | Rebecca

None

#875 | 06 June 2019 | Iossif

0 and 5 years

#876 | 06 June 2019 | Marilyn

#877 | 06 June 2019 | Jamie

2 seconds per day and I’m at 9 months!!

#878 | 06 June 2019 | Steve

Most days not a moment

#879 | 06 June 2019 | Amber

5 years and I have forgotten I ever smoked most all the time. Never crave it anymore. And it smells terrible now.

#880 | 06 June 2019 | Andrea

2 months and 2 weeks without smoking and I have days that I don’t think about it anymore. I also have bad days and want to smoke, but I remind myself that I still have a choice to do something for my life and to follow my dreams. Don’t give your life to this vice. Read and learn about addiction, it helps your perspective.

#881 | 06 June 2019 | Randhir

Year on July 6, rarely! Thanks

#882 | 06 June 2019 | Stephen

Never think about smoking now - can’t believe how the cravings have gone

#883 | 06 June 2019 | Karen

0 times a day. 4 years quit on July 21 and I rarely ever think about it. Honestly, after the 3 month period is up, you won't hardly think about it at all.

#884 | 06 June 2019 | Dawn

Zero!! I actually can’t stand the smell anymore it smells like poison ☠.

#885 | 06 June 2019 | Elle

Zero and 19 months

#886 | 06 June 2019 | Paulette

Zero! Made a year in April

#887 | 06 June 2019 | Rose

Well I guess I am the strange one. I am 78 days in and I think about it everyday!! I don’t do it but I am being honest about it. A friend of mine quit 26 years ago and she still has cravings. Not everyday but she still has them. Take it hour by hour! You got this!!

#888 | 06 June 2019 | Asad

Marion I am on day 79. I guess 3 month or 4 month marks will help. I think about smoking all the time but that is not want.

#889 | 06 June 2019 | Jim

After one month quit I was still experiencing intense cravings and daily frustration. I realized I quit because I should, but I continued to desire to smoke again. After reading about the 5 Stages of Grief/Loss and how they apply to smoking I was finally able to ACCEPT that "I" did not desire or need a cigarette. Making that decision ended the frustration, no more intense cravings, and I have been at peace since then. There is a huge difference between "choosing" to quit and truly deciding to quit forever. This helped me a lot, I hope it can help you too. Good luck.

#890 | 06 June 2019 | Christopher

I'm 11 months and 10 days in,and I have people smoking around me all the time,haven't once wanted one. They smell gross and I no longer want any parts of them👏

#891 | 06 June 2019 | Patty

Never now..only first 3 months.

#892 | 06 June 2019 | Susan

0 seconds, now! ODAAT NTAP

#893 | 06 June 2019 | Nadjwa

#894 | 06 June 2019 | Rowena

After smoking for 37 years that was my biggest fear. People told me when they quit they always still wanted one. 4 years after quitting with Joel's videos and I never feel like one.

#895 | 06 June 2019 | Sherri

None. And it was a year on May 15th.

#896 | 06 June 2019 | Bel

#897 | 06 June 2019 | Sandra

80 days in mate and although I still think of them of course I don't want one even after a few drinks. It will pass believe me 💪😊🌈

#898 | 06 June 2019 | Ladi

Zero

#899 | 06 June 2019 | Lacy

Little over a year. I still think I want one once in awhile but I know I really don’t.