F%#& the smokes! - How do I quit smoking when drinking?

[heders]

Okay, so I quit successfully (somewhat, except on parties) with snus and has been smoke free (again, at least during the days and when sober), and did not even miss or crave cigarettes at all. However, now I'm in Thailand, and started up smoking 1-2 packs a day, sometimes even more. Being only 20 years old, it's a frickin' disaster; 2 packs a day is what old veteran smokers feed their nicotine demon, not a young adult.

I feel very bad about smoking now, what adds to it is that the cigarettes here are mostly crappy copies. I'm not even sure it's tobacco they put in it (tastes strongly of sugar and gives very little nicotine it feels like). My father smokes them (2-3 packs a day and has for 20+ years) and gets a terrible cough as soon as he gets a pack of the cheap copy ones. His brother also smoked them while he was in Thailand, together with snusing, so he smoked less than a pack a day, but when he came back after a few months, it sounded like he had signs of lung cancer already. Wheezing voice, terrible cough, etc.


Soooooo, yeah. I want to quit the cigarettes. As if they are not disgusting enough, smoking this shit is not good, and I hate it.

I can easily go by through the day using only snus, and not craving a cigarette. The problem is however that when I open my first beer, I automatically reach for the cigarettes (and of course regret it the day after). If I don't have any, I can easily go to the store and get a pack or two. I have no idea why. When I have had more than one beer, I chain smoke like a chimney, and can, at my worst party nights, go through three packs and even crave more. It's absolutely ridiculous.


So, how the hell do I stop smoking when drinking? What I think I need is some encouragement. I know extra sterks are my safest bet, although I do not have many with me, except for three cans of Thunder Frosted Long+ plus Odens Extreme and 59. I will place an order soon though, so I will get some of the new good extra sterks.


So yeah, how do you handle drunken moments? Some of you I know might say "it's ok to have one cigarette with a beer", but I can't do that. If I smoke one, I end up smoking a pack.



Thanks!

[spinyeel]

I smoked heavily for 40 years and found Extra Strong portions worked for me when having a brew or twelve.
General,Thunder,Skruf and Odens were my choices. Flavored Snus such as mint or licorice are not good with beer though.LOL.

[Snusdog]

Spit...........seriously


It's not the nic that is the problem (though an extra stark would help).......it's the repetitive motion.....the ritual of movement.....that is really the problem

satisfy the nic.............AND find something to replace the ritual and movement

keeping a portion in and then throughout the night using nasal snuff might work.....there is a ritual with snuff missing from portions snus


there is the feel of the tin/decanter in your hand......the ceremony of pulling it out of your pocket and holding it while you add to the conversation………..then there is elegantly taking the lid off (like getting a cigarette from the pack).....after that there is the technique (a pinch this time?....or from the back of the hand?.....or maybe from the thumb)....then the satisfaction...........there is also the style points..............."what the hell did heders just do"...."man that's just snuff.......it's his thing"......."hey bro let me see that"

you have got to have something that involves feel (the feel of the tin)......motion/ritual.......and pay off (nic hit)


or you could just use los and spit.....but that may be only a southern thing

[heders]

I smoked heavily for 40 years and found Extra Strong portions worked for me when having a brew or twelve.
General,Thunder,Skruf and Odens were my choices. Flavored Snus such as mint or licorice are not good with beer though.LOL.

Wow, 40 years? That's a long time. I don't want to end up smoking for that long... I've smoked 5-6 years now (with a few brakes and some time with smoking only at parties etc), but I figure it's better to cut it out early before you smoke long enough to have problems.

Spit...........seriously


It's not the nic that is the problem (though an extra stark would help).......it's the repetitive motion.....the ritual of movement.....that is really the problem

satisfy the nic.............AND find something to replace the ritual and movement

keeping a portion in and then throughout the night using nasal snuff might work.....there is a ritual with snuff missing from portions snus


there is the feel of the tin/decanter in your hand......the ceremony of pulling it out of your pocket and holding it while you add to the conversation………..then there is elegantly taking the lid off (like getting a cigarette from the pack).....after that there is the technique (a pinch this time?....or from the back of the hand?.....or maybe from the thumb)....then the satisfaction...........there is also the style points..............."what the hell did heders just do"...."man that's just snuff.......it's his thing"......."hey bro let me see that"

you have got to have something that involves feel (the feel of the tin)......motion/ritual.......and pay off (nic hit)


or you could just use los and spit.....but that may be only a southern thing

That's an awesome post Snusdog, thanks a lot for that!

Snuff I like - BUT, I don't like the guck in my nose. I don't like the feeling of having a bunch of powder in my nose (or on my nose so people can see it). Here in Thailand they apparently have some strong snuff that they sell in pharmacys, so I'm figuring of giving that a try. If it gives me a blasting nic hit and as you say, something to do and a replacement ceremony, it's awesome.

And that's very true about smoking and the ritual that goes with it. I think it's that I'm addicted too. The nicotine I get more than enough from snus. Even after a few beers, after I have the strongest snus you can find, I still can crave a cigarette. And why? Must be for some stupid psychological reason.


I did however order a lot of strong snus from Buysnus this morning. General Long Extra Sterk and Long ES White, Thunder Cool Mint White, Skruf Stark Lös along with others. I think that is what I need to keep my smoking to a minimum or eliminate it completely. However, I feel like I don't have the urge to quit completely. I want to have one sometimes (parties), and that's probably better than smoking every day. I have a feeling of not wanting to smoke at all at the same time though. It sucks, I don't understand why I would even want to smoke, except for the rapid nicotine blast.



Thousand thanks for your responses though! From morning until night I did not have a cigarette at all, but now in the evening when I popped my first beer, I had to go and get a pack of cigs for some stupid reason. The Odens Extreme did not destroy the craving. :/ So from 8 in the evening until now, 1:34 AM, I've smoked 12 cigarettes already. Bah...

[lxskllr]

The only suggestion I can give is just don't buy cigarettes. You get plenty of nic from snus, so that isn't it. Maybe quit going out and drinking too. Perhaps the people you're hanging with are boring. I always smoked a lot when bored. Instead of going to clubs, hang with a few people that have interesting things to say. That way you don't have to make up destructive ways to pass the time.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

I have found I need a lot more nicotine while I'm drinking. I use regular strength while sober. First beer I switch to 9mg. Second beer 11mg. Third drink 16mg. Just keep ramping up the nicotine while getting drunk works for me. Once I get to the highest strength snus I just stay with it. Sometimes I'll switch it out after 15 minutes. Sometimes I double barrel. Throw some strong nasal snuff in as well if you need to. Hope you get it worked out. Good luck!

[heders]

The only suggestion I can give is just don't buy cigarettes. You get plenty of nic from snus, so that isn't it. Maybe quit going out and drinking too. Perhaps the people you're hanging with are boring. I always smoked a lot when bored. Instead of going to clubs, hang with a few people that have interesting things to say. That way you don't have to make up destructive ways to pass the time.

Haha, I know. Quitting buying cigarettes is THE way of quitting smoking. Together with stopping with asking friends/people for a smoke. But when I get the craving to smoke, I start working automatic. I get the craving, get cigarettes (in which ever way I can) and I light up. It sucks. Now I've smoked 14 cigarettes in 6 hours, and I don't even why. Completely ridicolous. It's almost like I get a blackout, get cigarettes, smoke xx of them, and wake up and think to myself "why the hell!?". It may be because I'm bored though as you say. Very true.

Actually, right now I'm working here in Thailand. I've been cleaning paint, mold and stuff off houses and in the evening I've been relaxing at the bar which will open in a few weeks. When it opens I will work as a bartender there, so I will be busy all the time. Hopefully that will stop me from smoking during the nights. Flashing a cigarette in front of customers (especially non-smokers) as a bartender is not very nice. Also it will keep me occupied, and still satisfied with the nicotine from snus. Actually I think you just have to get used to doing something else in situations where you would normally want to smoke. Just sticking to snus no matter what.

Quitting drinking is not an option right now for me by the way, haha. I'm not an alcoholic, but I've had a cold beer after a long day of hard work here while watching the sunset, and one or two days a week I drink a few more than that.

I have found I need a lot more nicotine while I'm drinking. I use regular strength while sober. First beer I switch to 9mg. Second beer 11mg. Third drink 16mg. Just keep ramping up the nicotine while getting drunk works for me. Once I get to the highest strength snus I just stay with it. Sometimes I'll switch it out after 15 minutes. Sometimes I double barrel. Throw some strong nasal snuff in as well if you need to. Hope you get it worked out. Good luck!

That's an awesome tip! Right now though I have General Lös, LD White, Thunder Long, Odens Extreme 59/Wintergreen/Regular Extreme, and as I said before: on the way; Jakobssons Mint/Melon, Skruf Stark Loose, General Long ES/Long ES White, and Thunder Cool Mint White. I will order more ASAP though as I only ordered a total of 10 cans.

But I could use 12 mg with my first beer, 14 mg with my second, 16 with my third, and 20 with my forth and so on. Haha. But again, great tip! Better to use a lot of nicotine than to smoke actually.

[Reynard]

Not to make myself out to look a killjoy, but I quit alcohol 3 months or so ago. It's an effective way round the problem, but if you have an active social life it might be impossible. My social life involves playing golf and going to watch my local football team, where I allow myself to drink full fat coke, otherwise I drink a cup of tea round a neighbour's. I have different reasons for quitting the booze from not smoking though: it interferes with my meds, helps to keep my weight down and if I'm honest I had a bit of a problem with alcohol.

Benefits:- weight loss, self control, more money to spend on snus and good tea/coffee :-)

Don't hate me for being teetotal! ;-)

[dman21]

Another suggestion I have is try doing e cigarettes when you drink. That may help too. I've been dabbling with those on top of my snus as of lately. A lot of it is the whole hand to mouth thing. Also, there are times when it is inconvenient to leave a snus in for a half hour, when you just need a quick hit. Obviously with snus, you need to leave the portion in for at least 20-30 minutes to get the full effect. Besides the point, snus these days is an expensive commodity and I do not like wasting portions.

[Tristik]

~~
Drinking was a bitch when I quit smoking too.

The thing I found that worked the best was finding Maxi-pouches. I'm not sure who makes them anymore, but both General and Granit used to make them.

Using stronger tobacco didn't help me out at all. When you start buzzing, you aren't even going to notice it. However, having a gigantic pouch in my lip gave me that psychological tic that I was doing something and helped keep my mind off the smokes.

Or like Dman said, just pick up a disposable e-cig when you go out drinking.
~~

[billfrombyron]

I do flips and spins with my can. Im learning some nifty tricks like attempting to roll it down my arm etc.

This is my technique for replacing the ritual.

The best part is that once people realize your not going to spit everywhere they no longer seem to care.

-Byron

[Skell18]

I know that feeling mate, was very hard this last week when I was in Germany as you could smoke indoors in some places. May sound controversial but, I drink more when i feel the need to smoke when drinking, take a sip of your drink to replace the hand to mouth sensation of taking a drag on the cigarette, works for me. As dog said, taking snuff is a great way to break the habit, I do it when drinking from time to time as it gives you that quick hit you would get from a cigarette and is also moving your hand to your face area thingy too. Just try some other stuff to break the habit.

[Brian74]

I am a snus regular these days (used to be a regular smoker). On occasion when I drink, I will reach for the cigarettes if I am around other smokers. Mind you, I don't get out often these days since I have became a family man, but once every 3 months or so I find the time to drink with my smoking friends. I just trash the box and any leftover cigarettes before I come through my front door at the end of the night. Yeah, nasty taste in the mouth the next day, but no more worse than a hangover is, either.

Smoking every so often when drinking isn't gonna kill you. Don't let anyone convince you it is some hand-to-mouth or ritual of movement habit; that is absolute horseshit. I quit smoking regularly over a year ago; and when I drink, I crave smoking like it was yesterday, and when I light up, the first few puffs don't even feel familiar. It has more to do with the fact that smoking gives an instantaneous nicotine delivery like no other tobacco product can. When drinking, there are a few more additional chemical reactions that take place when nicotine is added; Google it.

Smoking is a shitty habit and I am so glad I found snus as a fix for my day to day nicotine addiction. I enjoy tobacco far too much to quit. Unless you're trying to quit nicotine altogether, don't give yourself a hard time for smoking when you drink. Think of the reasons why you don't want to smoke, and snus in the meantime. If you're drinking heavily every night, then most likely the cigarettes aren't gonna be what kills you to begin with. After you get used to snus, you'll likely find smoking to be far less satisfying under normal conditions.

[ESjonne]

I have never even smoked regularly but I also get that weird craving for smoking when i drink, even when i have used plenty of snus that day. Well, i smoke a cigarette or two from a friend when i drink and i don't think that's too harmful.

[Mdisch]

I so follow you heders! I feel the same way - I go without cigarettes just fine, but a beer in my hand I'm puffing 1½ packs on a night out.
My throat is destroyed the next day and I can't deal with guilt... Especially since everybody in Denmark is smoking at parties and they ask if you want one. I used to smoke heavily before and I very often bounce back because I buy 2 packs at parties and then I have half a pack, and with these prices I feel compelled to smoke the rest of it - and suddenly I crave more. It's an evil circle - Especially since it's so hard to get snus in Denmark these days :/ I feel ya bro!
(Men det löser sig!)

Edit : It actually just made me remember something ; if I don't smoke on nights out and don't have any snus I get sort of cranky but I just can't get drunk or properly tipsy because my body is craving nicotine to bad... I guess that might be why we smoke sometimes? To get the instant nic hit that helps the alcohol move along?