Source: Survey conducted between 17th July 2025 to 4th August 2025, among India Gen-Z with 384 total respondants.
Tools used: Microsoft Excel
Credits: Anjul Bhatia.
Posted by anjulbhatia
Source: Survey conducted between 17th July 2025 to 4th August 2025, among India Gen-Z with 384 total respondants.
Tools used: Microsoft Excel
Credits: Anjul Bhatia.
Posted by anjulbhatia
26 comments
i dont know any smokers at all that think its easy to quit and i know a few, including both my parents
“I’m in control”
– every addict ever
Sounds like what an addict whould say.
I grew up with plenty of smokers and i cant recall anyone ever saying it was anything but a nightmare to stop.
Most people actually said its the most addictive thing theyve ever been exposed to.
As a former heavy smoker who took years of struggle to finally quit for good, most of those people are absolutely lying to themselves.
I quit cold turkey after smoking for about 12 years. Best thing I ever did. Took maybe 3-4 similar attempts before I managed. It’s very tough and you have to want it
As a former smoker and snus user, it is really hard to quit but it is also correct that anyone *can* quit anytime. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if most long-term smokers HAVE quit “successfully” in the past before picking it up again. I always tell smokers, you are five days from freedom. After about 5 days, the worst of the cravings and dopamine drop is over and you can taste independence again.
I was a smoker for 20 years. I did quit 5 years ago.
The thing is: Not smoking is easy as soon as you want to stop. However nicotin tricks your brain into thinking that you actually want to smoke.
So you never really want to stop. And stoping just because you know it would be smart is very hard.
If you ever get to the point of ‘I really dont want this anymore’ its actually easy. The addiction is almost entirely psychological. The physical part is over in a few days.
Indian? Is there evidence to show this is similar or different in other countries/cultures.
A lot of them are probably right. It’s just a matter of actually doing it.
I smoked for about 7 years and figured I could stop whenever. About 2 years ago I decided I didn’t want to anymore and I haven’t gone back.
It wasn’t easy but nothing about 20 packs of gum couldn’t eventually fix.
It’s hard because it’s not as difficult to quit smoking as it is to quit smoking while keeping one’s life/work performance/relationships/etc. intact. In my experience, it’s moreso how nicotine withdrawal affects others that makes it difficult to commit to quitting when the alternative (smoking again) appears to fix most of the problems that quitting causes.
I quit smoking cigs by vaping and slowly reducing the nicotine level until it was zero. After a few weeks of zero, I didn’t feel the urge. 10 years later, I still think about smoking cigs daily.
I’m an idiot.
I started a new job and if you could pass a nic test you got cheaper insurance. You had 30 day. So, I quit smoking. Took the test.
And then started smoking again.
That’s because they can quit. Source- me who smoked for a long fucking time and quit forever on the 3rd try.
I smoked for a few years and tried to quit repeatedly. But when I actually decided to quit, I was just done.
I bought a pack earlier this year and polished it off over the course of a month. Prior to that it had been 4 years, and I haven’t had another since.
Every ex-smoker I know, myself included, understands that it’s just a matter of time.
I know I can “quit” any time and fairly easily.
But I also know my definition of quit does not insinuate finality.
Interesting, this reminded me that I used to smoke.
Glad I don’t anymore.
Primarily a lurker, but I wanted to chime in on this. As a former smoker of about 18 years, I have to say that those who believe they can quit anytime are correct. I highly recommend the book “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking” by Allen Carr. It empowered me to quit about 4 years ago, and I have not had cigarette since. I also have no desire to do so.
If you are a smoker that has decided to quit, please check out this book and take back control of your health and finances.
I support the message – but I’m not sure your data actually backs up the claim you’re making.
How are you defining “early” and “experienced”? Because comparing the least and most experienced (less than 3 months and more than 2 years) shows what appears to be a significant difference in the number who responded “very confidant” that they could quit.
On methods, is someone responding “somewhat confidant” consistent with the claim that they believe they could quit “with ease”? Because that seems to be the point you’re making, but I don’t think the question you’re asking actually supports the claim you’re making. This is especially backed by the comments – multiple people who selected “somewhat confidant” added comments about how addictive smoking is, or how hard it is to quit, but those people would be counted in the “able to quit with ease” group you claim in your title.
Also – did you do any statistical analysis on these groups? Some of your groups (specifically in the middle and low ranges) have less than 10 respondents, why leave them as single groups?
This is an interesting project, and some of the questions you asked in your survey would make for great investigation, but in order to actually figure out what your data says, I would recommend trying some statistical analysis, and looking into how to phrase survey questions in a way that allows for accurate data to be collected, because it looks like that unfortunately isn’t the case now.
Good luck in future endeavors!
Yeah and it was super easy for me to cut down on drinking.
As someone that has quit and started again many times, I know I can quite if I want, I also know I will likely start again if I feel like it.
Oh I used to smoke and snuff/dip, and while it was true I could absolutely quit anytime I wanted and did… it suuuuuucked and was not easy.
Quit and picked it up again 3 or 4 times. Started at age 12 with snuff.
The last time I quit was vapes, which strangely was the easiest, just put it down and had no problems.
But dip? Ungh. Brutal. Months of grouchiness, twitchy anger, no sleep, stress… soooo sucky. Amazed I actually quit really.
Cigarettes was pretty easy, but that’s cause I had Copenhagen still…
Experienced is an odd word choice. Long-time, chronic, I don’t know but experienced makes it sound like they know how to blow smoke rings…
Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it a thousand times.
Denial is a common feature of addiction.
It’s so strange to me that 85% of smokers seem to think they can quit at any time when almost every smoker I’ve ever met will tell you it’s bad and not to do it
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