In 2025, I tracked every cigarette I smoked.
Day by day, I kept a running log.
ot because I planned to quit necessarily, but because I wanted to see it clearly. No lies. No guessing. Just facts.
Now that the year is done, I looked back. Here’s what I learned about myself.
Here’s a TLDR-style bullet point list with the key data points and interesting observations from your 2025 smoking log:
Totals & Averages
- Total cigarettes in 2025: 2,725
- Days smoked: 228
- Smoke-free days: 137
- Average per day (all 365 days): ~7.5 cigarettes
- Average on smoking days only: ~11.95 cigarettes
- Highest daily count: 24 cigarettes (July 14 & 15)
- Lowest non-zero daily count: 2 cigarettes (May 5 & July 30)
Monthly Highlights
- January: Heavy start to the year with multiple 16-18 cigarette days.
- February: Wild swings — as low as 5, as high as 23.
- March: A steady month, but with a 21-cigarette spike on March 9.
- April: Mostly mid-range days (8–15 cigarettes), more consistent pattern.
- May: Most volatility. Days with 2-3 smokes mixed with 22-cigarette spikes.
- June & July: Summer surge. July had back-to-back 24-cigarette days.
- August: Consistent use. Multiple 12–16 cigarette days.
- September: Average between 9–14 smokes daily. Stabilized again.
- October: Very steady, mostly between 8–14 per day.
- November: Multiple 16–20 days. Highest total smoking month.
- December: Ended the year with mid-range usage, some dips to 3–7.
Notable Patterns
- Summer spike: June–August saw several 20+ cigarette days.
- May showed the widest range from just 2 smokes to 22.
- Smoke-free days tended to cluster at the beginning of months and weekends.
- Late-year consistency: October–December showed stable patterns, suggesting possible behavioral stabilization or awareness.
- Cigar use: Only noted once, on January 1st.
The Big Picture
There are 365 days in a year.
I smoked on 228 of them. I didn’t smoke at all on 137 days.
Which means I was smoke-free a little over a third of the year. That’s a number I wouldn’t have guessed unless I had the full log in front of me.
I would’ve assumed I smoked more often than that.
Total cigarettes smoked across the year: around 2,725.
Average per day (counting the smoke-free ones): around 7.5.
But on the days I did smoke, the average jumped to nearly 12 per day.
That’s the part that surprised me. Most days I smoked, it was close to a pack.
Month-by-Month Patterns
January
Started off heavy. Two days above 15 smokes, and even a cigar early on. I guess I started the year stressed.
February & March
Some high spikes here and there. One 23-cigarette day in February and a 21-stick day in March. It was up and down, but still consistent. Smoked on most days.
April
Calmed down a bit. Most days fell between 7 and 15 cigarettes. It felt more steady, but still present every day.
May
This was the most interesting month. A few days where I smoked just 2 or 3 cigarettes. And I remember those days too. I was more intentional. Something about May sparked a bit of change.
June to August
Summer was wild. Several days crossed the 20-cigarette mark. My highest recorded days happened in July, with two back-to-back 24-cigarette days. I don’t remember exactly what was going on then, but clearly, it was something.
September to November
More stable again. No wild extremes, but still steady use most days. The average hovered between 9 and 14 per day.
December
The end of the year held steady too. A few low days, a few higher ones. But no more major spikes.
The Extremes
The lowest day was just 2 cigarettes. The highest, as I said, was 24. Multiple days fell around that 20-cigarette line.
These highs and lows are where the real insight lives. Some days I barely touched a cigarette. Other days, it felt like I couldn’t stop. That’s habit for you. Not linear. Not logical. Just… reactive.