Quiting alcohol versus tobacco. Why is

[JT]

it so much harder to stop alcohol? Or is it? They are both addictions. Is it because one is considered a disease by some and the other is not?

I'm just trying to understand my opponent.

I would appreciate any and all opinions.

[Reed]

Hi Johnny -
I have heard many people say the cigarettes are harder to quit, but I am
sure that it's different for everyone. I smoked mainly when I drank, so I
decided to quit both things at the same time. They were so connected for
me that I think one would have triggered the other.

[AnnieBodie]

Wow! Reed, you gave up both at the same time? I figured quitting drinking 1st would be the more logical option for me as I tend to smoke more when I’m drinking, a hell of a lot more actually, but giving up both crutches at the same time? I can only tip my cap to you.

Annie

[bigsister987]

I quit both, but smokes were in 1989, and drink in 2007, so I guess from that you could argue that the drink was harder, although to be honest is doesn't really feel like that now. Maybe my memory is selective.

Smoking is disapproved of by society so you have no social pressure or encouragement to smoke. In fact I was surrounded by people who hated smoking. Drinking is still approved of and promoted in society and so we don't have the social disapproval to support us in giving up. One suggested explanation for the rise in drinking in the UK is that the old social stigma for drinking has relaxed, especially for women.

These days smoking is seen as deadly and stupid, drinking is seen as social and relaxing.

[jean]

I think that the drinking cravings are much more intense, but they come and go. The smoking craving is weaker, but more persistant. That's just me; but I still smoke...:(

[dreamer]

I find it is harder to quit cigarettes.

[T-Bone]

I found it much harder to quit smoking because the physical withdrawal was more "harsh" for lack of a better word. Quitting drink was easier at first, but is harder to STAY quit, since there are so many things that I associate with drinking.

[Honest Injun]

I quit smoking July 4th, 1998. So almost six years ago. I can't say if it was harder than what I am going through right now. It is so different. Plus I sort of stopped my massive marijuana consumption at the same time. I reduced my alcohol intake from like 60 units a day sometimes more to like say 20 units a day. I wish now at the time I just quit it all. But anyhow, what I CAN say is there is one thing I find similar to my quit here with alcohol. I made a decision, a pact with myself, I don't know what to call it, that I would never ever ever ever inhale voluntarily the slightest puff of nicotine as long as I lived, that it was no longer an option, a choice, no negotiations, nada, period, basta, end of story.

[healthywealthywise]

Hi Honest I.

So you're saying never, ever ever ever? I admire that! You've got my vote of confidence!

[Honest Injun]

I am saying I think it has to be a decision, pact with self, absolutely resolute.

[Megs]

I always thought smoking would be harder to kick than drinking, but for me, it turned out to be easier. My cravings for alcohol were a lot more intense than for cigarettes, oddly enough. I quit smoking at the start of this year, after a year completely alcohol-free - I don't think I could have quit both drinking and smoking at the same time, I reckon it would've been too much for me to deal with all at once. Doing it this way, I think my alcohol quit was a big help to me in ditching the cigarettes, because I knew if I could quit drinking I could do just about anything.

I decided to do it cold turkey and the first couple of weeks were a bit up and down and then it just got a whole lot easier. I had to get to a certain mental readiness to do it, though, it was like I had to draw a mental line in the sand, step over it and decide I was never going back. And I'm not. I'm never going back to drinking or smoking. Life's so much better without those addictions, it's so good to be free of them.

Edited to say: I just wish I could give people who want to quit a little glimpse of how much better it feels to be clear and free, to help encourage them to go for it. Sure it's uncomfortable, but that discomfort doesn't last and the benefits are so worth it.