27 Answers

Absolutely.... quitting is hideous.  It is very difficult to 'throw down your smokes and be done with it" ... It took me four years to completely quit... I never ever want to smoke again for fear of quitting again and I didn't smoke for very long.

It is definitely an addiction itsmee, even the medical profession reckon it's harder to quit than heroin addiction.

Never being addicted to heroine I wouldn't know, but I do know it's really bad trying to quit smoking.

KOTF

True addiction.

Ok I'm a medical professional and it is an awful addiction- it truly is easier to quit any kind of drug addiction or alcohol and stay clean then it is with smoking.  I know- I smoke and I have made it 3 mos (at one point) and started back up....I just keep trying.  The habit part is easy, the chemical addiction can last far more than the week or two that other Doctors claim.  A lot of it is genetics- and we all know I didn't get the best genes.

a friend of my sister was a model and got into the party set with the result that she was hooked on drink,heroin and smoking.she got really in a bad way and decided to quit the lot .she started with the drink ,kicked that ,then the drugs and kicked that.but she will tell you the hardest to kick was the smoking.at gathering`s even now she says she could smoke and she`s been "clean" of all of them for 25 years.

it is a very bad addiction and extremely difficult to quit especially in an environment in which friends, coworkers are smokers.

I made 3 attemps (1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month) of no smoking. At the end of each attempt I was rewording myself with ONLY one cigarette which was the beginning of smoking again...  This experience taught me how to make  the 4th attempt to be the last one. I made the decision to NEVER reword myself with any cigarette. This happened  42 years ago... I never smoked since!

Whether it is nicotine, alcohol, or drugs. Drug-users are labeled as addicts and are said to have an addiction. Yet, those who drink heavily are labeled as alcoholics and they are given an “excuse” because they supposedly have this “disease” called “alcoholism,” which is also an addiction. So yes nicotine is very much an addiction.

I was 42 yrs. old when I started smoking and it became a terrible addiction. I even set my car on fire. (nobody can beat that). I have quit several times cold turkey but always found an excuse to start again. I am on the quitting mode again. The fact is when I quit, I have so much more energy and feel so much better. I need to stick with it this time. I feel, chewing gum helps a lot.

I will say this- Quitting is easy! Staying off the smokes is MUCH harder! I quit all the time then decide to try one ! And all you smokers knows what happens then!

You just stop .Then again its all in the "MIND.It is a "drug addiction. My sister smoked for "Twenty years "Forty a day just stopped !! The   wanting  was  never  away  it  took  two  weeks she felt  light headed . It  was  worth  it  in   the end .

Colleen

Did you ever smoke? It's not all in the mind. The nicotine gets everywhere. The body becomes dependent on it. If it truly was just a mind thing, then hypnosis would be a cure.

A true and absolute addiction as Romo's indicated, can be more addictive than other "hard" drugs, after answering or should I say being bombarded with questions re smoking from a doctor, was asked asked how I managed, if it be a true addiction to get through the night sleeping without smoking, I told him the truth, I don't !!

I smoke and have never kidded myself about it. Quitting has never entered my mind. My mom liked to remind my sister and I just how badly it hurt having a chest drain tube removed (she lost part of her lung) but we still puff. My sister tries to quit but, I'm not. If I decide to someday, I'll just put them down.......

It can be both I myself was a slave to tobbacco , i went to a hypnotist and had quit instantly for over ten years, it's all just a matter of willpower and the deep desire to really wanting to quit..

With all addictions we are potentially killing ourselves..or at the least ruining our lives and O`s....I think DAD59 has huge resolve...but IT`S not just the hard drugs that are..problematic..as in alcohol/benzodiazepine/(sedation/sleepers)...With smoking I get the anxiety bit..climbing the walls syndrome..but whether it be heroin,benzos/alcohol....It is DEATHLY FRIGHTENING trying to get clean...your body goes into  TOTAL meltdown...You are prone to fits..they can kill you for starters!...Your Central Nervous System starts to break down!...some of the "Delights"Include,ataxia..loss of co-ordination...affecting speech/mobility..(VERY frightening)...blood pressure rocketing /potential strokes/nose bleeds from high b/P..heart failure..KIDNEY DISEASE...RESULTING IN renal FAILURE..(resulting in dialysis and or transplants if lucky...INCREASED INFECTIONS...(yep..guilty of needing a transplant that someone more worthy than I deserved..AND THAT WAS LONG AFTER BEING CLEAN...KIDNEY infections just got worse and worse and more regular).... IV USERS OB RISK HEPATITIS HIV...AMPUTATIONS..To name but a few..NOT TO MENTION THE OB ACCIDENTAL O/D`S AS WELL AS THE INTENTIONAL ONES!!...BECAUSE I WAS ADDICTED TO PILLS..DOESN`T MAKE ME ANY BETTER THAN IV ADDICTS/ALCOHOLICS OR SMOKERS..SOME MAY DIFFER..AND I WOULDN`T BLAME THEM!...BUT TO MME THE GUILT OF MY ADDICTION and IT`S REPERCUSSIONS ON FAMILY/FRIENDS/NHS RESOURCES...not to mention those who need transplants ..WILL NEVER LEAVE ME!!....I`VE NEVER OPENED UP BEFORE QUITE LIKE THIS..BUT I HOPE IT MIGHT HELP AT LEAST SOMEONE!!..APOLOGIES!

Tobacco is an addiction. Quitting takes a tremendous effort for most people.  I quit one day when I woke up and didn't really feel well, but I poured my coffee and lit up.  My lungs squeezed shut and I put out the cigarette.  That was it. 
Oh, there were times when I'd smoke again.....at the bar or a party.  I always felt horrible the next day and my throat was so sore.  
Then my doctor told me, "You really need to NOT smoke" and I don't remember the circumstances around the subject coming up, but I took him seriously.
Was it hard?  Not as hard as giving up chocolate, for sure. (I haven't done that) 

It's an addiction. I haven't smoked for the best part of a year...and I still have moments that I crave a cigarette. The only reason I don't smoke now, is because my lungs can no longer handle it after everything else they've been exposed to.

Like Dowsa says "It's all in the mind".  It's a mental dependency, control your mind an  you've got it licked (Mind over matter, if you don't mind, it don't matter) and Yes, I've smoked "30 years", I put them down on 10/23/06, used nothing as a sub. and to this day have never craved for one and my wife still smokes (Outside, irregardless the weather).  Just ask yourself, "What do, I want more" and have faith in yourself.  What does addiction mean, Something you/your body needs/has to have.

Colleen

I don't agree that it's all in the mind. Some can quit and never go back to it but that's a very few majority. I think it's a bodily addiction too. The body, more than the mind craves the chemicals.

It sure is an addiction.I quit drinking without a single look back & I drank everyday for 20 years.Smoking is a whole 'nuther ball game tho.I've been hooked for 50 years & I am on my 3rd go at quitting & sadly...it's not working.

I was 42 yrs. old when I started smoking and it became a terrible addiction. I even set my car on fire. (nobody can beat that). I have quit several times cold turkey but always found an excuse to start again. I am on the quitting mode again. The fact is when I quit, I have so much more energy and feel so much better. I need to stick with it this time. I feel, chewing gum helps a lot.

Addiction is addiction and it's different for everyone. Some can go cold-turkey and others need way more help and time. It's all based on the individual, do not compare with others. If you or a loved one or friend are trying to quit smoking I wish you the world of luck!

Yes and Yes

ya its true. it is very hard to give it up  !!!!!!!

Quiting Heroin was easier than cigarettes. Last time I slammed a bag of dope was at 19, I'm 61 now. I like smoking. That's the problem.

Yes sir it's a addiction! I know a man many years ago he was so addicted! he had to use oxygen to breath but he still kept smoking! even  when  using oxygen therapy! he was lucky  he never caught on fire really sad

Yes I do. Nicotine changes your brain chemistry as do alcohol and drugs, although not for ever.

Some theories say that your body can get addicted to nicotine, but personally, I think it's just a psychological addiction. And I speak from experience, b/c I smoked from the time I was 14 untill I was 30. When you start asking yourself,  " Why am I voluntarily inhaling noxious chemicals ? "   ........you will quit. I think those patches are a big money-making scheme. And they contain nicotine.....so that makes NO sense.

Colleen

"Why am I voluntarily inhaling noxious chemicals?"

Do you ever go outside? What do you think is in the air you breath?

Colleen

Might as well smoke then :)

Absolutely.It is an addiction I base my money investments on three kinds of businesses.. Addiction, fats , and alcohol. Three human weaknesses.