I quit years before the pandemic, but if I was still smoking when lockdown started I would've probably gone from being a pack-a-day smoker to a two-pack-a-day smoker.
First, all that pandemic anxiety would've made me smoke way more just as a matter of course. Second, being at home all day means I'd have no reason not to smoke. Back when I smoked, if I wanted to smoke at work, I'd have to stop what I'm doing and go outside (which royally sucked when it was either swelteringly-hot out or raining), but in lockdown? I could just smoke in my house all day while working.
I'm so glad I quit before that.
I immediately lost interest, it's a terrible habit, I never smoked in the morning, rarely during the day, only at night when I'm out with other people, but I keep going back because... I don't even know why.
One thing is sure, if I have something meaningful to do I don't even think about cigarettes.
So in my case boredom is probably the main drive.
Other people might have other reasons to do it.
But it's absolutely something that every smoker should fight as hard as they can, because nothing good can come out of it.
One thing that really helped me to reduce my addiction to just 1 or 2 cigarettes a day has been avoiding "the bad ones".
Those cigarettes that you smoke knowing you won't even enjoy them.
I smoked one after dinner and one after a drink and that was enough.
If you start associating the habit of lighting up one after everyday activities - a coffee, waiting for someone or something, watching a movie, drinking a beer - that's when you are screwed and should understand you're smoking too much. Easier said than done, I know, but it worked on me until I let it win again.
Smoking is one of the few things that changes your status by simply doing it: from being a John Doe you become a smoker.
«The smoker simultaneously injects and excuses idleness in his life with every cigarette»
«Many idlers love to smoke. It gives us something to do when we’re not doing anything.»
As a smoker who quit several times over the past 20 years and went from few cigarettes a week to 20 a day, back to 1 or 2 and then 20 again after the lockdown, I think the real threat is not the physical need, that is really easy to overcome, a few days and it's gone.
It's the idea of losing your status and missing the habit of being that kind of person that is really, really hard to win.
But it really sucks, we all know it, it's probably the most stupid thing a person can do, but we still fall for it.