Drinking and Smoking. I know it's a trigger but what to do??!!!

[chris54]

Hi,
I have a really tough question I was hoping could be answered...I've identified one of my major triggers which has hurt me many many times before when i've tried to quit...it's drinking...I'm 24 yrs old and I drink around 3-4 times a week and it's a major trigger for me. I really love having a cigarette while drinking because of the nice buzz it gives and i've been doing it since i've started smoking. All of my other triggers I have identified other things to try instead, but with drinking, I really cant think of any thing to do instead...I really do want to quit, but this is the one trigger i'm scared of. My friends smoke while drinking, and most drugs you cant take if you've been drinking...last time i tried to leave when i felt the urge. Any suggestions would be awesome, I dont think i can set a quit date until i identify a real substitute for this particular trigger...thank you for your help...



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Hey yall, I was asked to close this discussion since it has been going on for awhile. i slipped up once awhile back and was gone for awhile, but I came back a few weeks ago and as of today, I havent smoked for 18 days and feel great, I went out once to a bar last weekend and wasnt tempted at all to smoke, so that felt pretty awesome, still get cravings sometimes at night, but like I mentioned I been running them off and it works great. Anyway I really wanted to thank yall again for all your kind messages and suggestions, you've all been great, and I'm sure I will continue to be smoke free.

[julied]

Yeah, drinking and smoking sure go hand in hand. I'd smoke so much when I was drinking that I'd feel like crap the next day with headache and tight congested chest. As well as a sore throat and raspy voice And of course my hands, body and clothes would all stink. Add on top of that most people are not attracted to smokers. Yeah, drinking and smoking sure felt good.

I remind myself of all of the above when I got out to a bar with friends. Not smoking and drinking sure makes me feel a whole lot better about myself.

I've been quit just under 3 weeks, I can go to a bar and not smoke and feel great. I don't miss it at all. I now much prefer to go to bars that don't allow smoking because I can't stand the smell of it on my clothes.

[sarah31]

Hey Chris.. I'm 24, too, and I also enjoy a few drinks per week. I decided to wait a month after my quit to try drinking again. I quit a week ago, so I have 3 more weeks until I'm going to drink. When I do have a drink, I'm going to try to have it in a non-smoking bar or with non-smoking friends so that I CAN'T smoke even if I want to. It might suck to not be able to drink for awhile, but just do whatever it takes.

[sharon52]

Hey! I completely understand this drinking / smoking issue. I have three suggestions. Maybe one, two, or all will work for you. If I go for a jog before I go out for a few drinks, this helps me to remember why I quit smoking in the first place, and I feel pretty good about doing something healthy for myself. Next, I agree with those below who said going to non-smoking bars and switching your drink of choice may be helpful. Also, are there any bars that offer some sort of activity like playing pool, ping pong, poker, etc that will keep your hands busy. It's hard, but a night of drinking and smoking is so much worse the next day than a night of drinking. Have fun and good luck!

[julie42]

Let me tell you, I am 38 and have been smoking off and on. My biggest downfall has been drinking. When I quit for various reasons ( i..e. 3 pregnancies and new years resolutions), I would also quit drinking. However, when I would find myself in a social situation where people are drinking and smoking, I would always say "I can smoke just this once with this drink". Next thing I know I have another and another and Im back to smoking. Here is what I do now. I switched my favorite drink to something new, that I like, so that I dont feel that same association with my regular drink and smoke. When everybody is smoking I try to chew on a straw or just take a deep breath and ride it out. The point is, if you quit drinking because its a trigger, then when you do drink, you lose your inhiitions and use it as an excuse to start back. Julie

[robert22]

yeah i agree with some of the other people, you should quit drinking for a minute

and if you can't stop drinking long enough to quit smoking, and effectively saving your life and lungs, then perhaps the addiction doesn't end with ciggs

i myself am not only addicted to smoking cigarettes, so this is my perspective, but there may be other things to address for you too

[cyndi-daniel]

You know, I have the same problem! I love to drink my beer at night, but can't drink without a cigarette! The beer just doesn't taste the same without smoking! I need some support regarding this problem!

[kevin22]

Chris. I still kind of have a problem with smoking occassionally and chewing Nicorette and I really want to quit completely. I undertand your situation and one suggestion I have is to start excersising if you don't or do it more often. I was a pretty good athlete when I was younger and still play soccer and basketball. I got out of sports in college for about 6 years, but I found that once I got on a jogging routine 3-4 times a week (nothing major) and working a little I had a much easier time because I kind of got the stress relief I once got from smoking. It really helps with your commitment and stress as oppossed to just going cold turkey. Just a thought.

[denise13]

Hello

I can relate to what you are saying..drinking is my biggest trigger.. I usually drink on the weekends which is also when I smoked to most..what i decided to do was try my hardest not to drink as it is my biggest trigger. Today I visited a friend and the environment itself is a huge trigger... the reason being that whenever I visit we always have a drink, sit, smoke and talk...well today I had to stop by to pick something up.. my friend offered a drink.. I took the drink...when he started smoking I gulped down the drink and told him I had to go. I explained that I am 11 days free from smoking and that if I stayed and drank more I would probably smoke. It was hard.. this because the thought "one cig won't hurt" came to mind" I had to really keep reminding myself of why I was quitting... as well as remind myself that I am not yet strong enough to be in that situation.. I guess what i can suggest is that if you really are afraid and know that this is your biggest trigger try to avoid the situation.. if you happen to be in the situation...run as fast as you can 🙂 I did and I feel great.. I hope this helps a little..I know its easier said than done...I know it was hard for me and it is my biggest trigger.

[chris54]

Hi Kozmik,
Thanks for checkin up. I'll be honest, I failed. I set a date, was super pumped and didnt touch a cigarette for 6 days or touch any alcohol as suggested. i went cold turkey for those 6 days and it really just agitated me, i felt like i was like not myself at all, and pissed off all the time, literally miserable, which i understand might be normal, but still a huge bummer...
On day 7, I just couldnt take it...its not even that I needed one all that bad, but I had one, then another, and then another all in bout an hour...ended up actually feeling like i was gonna throw up. So now I'm back to smoking and drinking, and yes, I understand that people will question my commitment and all that stuff, but I really was commited to it when i started, I just failed, not really sure what to say...

I want to pick another quit date, but in all honesty I'm tenative about picking a specific date. I hated the withdrawl feelings, and not getting to hang with your buds at a bar because you were afraid to smoke. I really appreciate all the feedback on this forum though, it was really nice to read it all. so from here, I just dont know, maybe I dont have the true "commitment" everyone talks about needing to quit...I dont want to have to stop drinking to quit smoking...I do hate smoking, really do...but I'm not gonna lie I miss it like hell when Im not smoking...to all those that are quitting good luck and for those that have quit for awhile props to you, your stronger and better than I...I think I just need some time to re motivate myself to quit. Thanks.
-chris

[leah7]

Hi Chris,
I ran into this problem when I quit a couple of years ago (I've since relapsed and have quit again just recently). Since, quitting drinking for someone our age is kind of unrealistic, the thing that I can suggest is change what you drink. If you're an avid beer drinker, switch to scotch on the rocks. If you Captain and Coke is your dig, a nice cheap merlot could do the trick. Different kinds of alcohol brings different buzzes. I went from Captain and Coke to wine when I quit the last time and that seemed to work for me because the buzz was different it didn't make me want to smoke as much as if I had my usual. I would cut back on the drinking for maybe the first two weeks or so.