Cut down on cigarettes.
One lever here: how many. A plan that drops the count a little each week, towards a lower number or zero.
What a plan looks like
One plan, from 10 cigarettes a day to zero at the steady pace, week by week.
| Week | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | 10 cigarettes a day |
| Week 2 | 9 cigarettes a day |
| Week 3 | 8 cigarettes a day |
| Week 4 | 6 cigarettes a day |
| Week 5 | 5 cigarettes a day |
| Week 6 | 4 cigarettes a day |
| Week 7 | 2 cigarettes a day |
| Week 8 | 1 cigarettes a day |
| Week 9 | 0 cigarettes a day |
What it costs
At those numbers and a typical price:
- a month
- $111
- a year
- $1,351
10 cigarettes a day · $0.37 each
Try your own numbers in the cost calculator. What it costs a year, at every level.
What tends to help
- Push back the first one of the day. An hour at a time is the easiest cut there is to hold.
- Choose which ones to drop. The automatic ones, with coffee, in the car, on the phone, go before the ones you actually enjoy.
- Buy a pack at a time, never a carton. It turns every cigarette back into a decision.
- "Light" cigarettes do not lower your intake; people draw harder to compensate. Cut the count, not the label.
- Ask a pharmacist about patches, gum or lozenges. Nicotine replacement is designed to be used while you are still cutting down.
Instead of it
- Switch the product. Some people step down via pouches or vaping first; track it as its own habit.
- Lozenge or gum. Gives your mouth and hands the same job.
- Take the break anyway. The pause outdoors is half of what you would miss.
- Water or a mint. Cheap way to spend the four minutes a craving lasts.
Free support
- smokefree.gov: Free US quitline: 1-800-QUIT-NOW
- NHS quit smoking: Free UK support, tools and advice
Worth knowing about
- Nicotine replacement. Patch for the background level plus gum or a lozenge for the peaks is the combination pharmacists most often suggest while you are still cutting down.
- Buy small, never in bulk. Singles or the smallest pack. Every purchase becomes a decision instead of a restock.
- A free quitline or text program. Public health services run them at no cost in most countries. See the support links below for yours.
- Curb’s widget and Siri shortcut. One tap from the lock screen. Logging in the moment beats reconstructing the day at bedtime.
Curb takes no money for anything listed here, and none of these are affiliate links. General guidance, not medical advice. A doctor or pharmacist can tell you what fits your situation.
Start with the number you use now.
The first week only watches. The first step down lands on a Monday.