For many years, I usually smoked around 20 to 30 cigarettes a day, and it was often more when I was out and about a lot. After switching to working from home in 2021, my consumption increased significantly. I usually smoked two to two and a half packs a day, or around 40 to 50 cigarettes. During stressful periods, there were times when it was even more.
At the beginning of 2026, my consumption then climbed to its highest levels. From January to June, there were periods when I smoked as many as three packs a day. At the same time, I started having problems with my asthma, and at the end of April I had an asthma attack in connection with an infection. Even so, health was not what finally made me smoke less. It never motivated me enough, even when I was having health problems.
I tried different apps to track my consumption and make my smoking habits more visible to myself. None of them worked the way I needed them to. So I started building my own system – and that became SmokeGoal.
For me, the decisive lever was surprisingly not health, but money. Only when I could see what I saved with every cigarette I did not smoke, how my consumption was changing and how much I could get back over the long term did my smoking begin to decline almost by itself. I gradually set new daily goals that felt realistic to me – and quite often I ended up well below them.
I started with a daily goal of 45 in July, then reduced it to 35 cigarettes a day, and on July 29 I wanted to try 30 cigarettes. Unfortunately, that did not work, as you can see. I then raised the goal back to 35, and on August 1 there was another extreme day – I was at a wedding – and after that my consumption simply started to fall. At the time, even 35 felt very tight to me, but subconsciously I kept challenging myself to handle moments when I used to smoke differently, or simply to leave my cigarettes at home when I went out.
Once I realized that I actually could smoke less – something I had never thought possible before – 25 cigarettes a day started to feel more and more realistic. And on September 4, without forcing it, I smoked just 12 cigarettes. My personal best since ... honestly, I cannot remember the last time I smoked so little.
That is why the charts above show real values from my own journey. What worked for me will not necessarily work the same way for everyone. But I sincerely hope that SmokeGoal can help you and others become more aware of your smoking, feel the change, save money and find your own path toward fewer cigarettes.
Do not be too hard on yourself if you do not reach a goal. Do not set your goals too strictly, and celebrate every cigarette you smoke less than before and every deep, fresh breath you take.
Yours, Andreas
