Statistics say that over 70% of smokers want to quit. So what’s stopping them? For many, the thought of going through lengthy withdrawal symptoms is enough to make one light up. They say that in reality, the cravings are far less worse than people fear. I’m not entirely sure. I read the magic day arrives when you go to bed and realize the thought of a cigarette hasn’t entered your mind all day… which could be up to 6 months after quitting.

I didn’t set out to quit. I never tell myself I’m quitting when I’m (essentially) quitting anything — I just decide to go without; but beyond a shadow of a doubt, there has never been anything in my life more difficult than going without smoking. I’ve been a smoker for roughly 12-15 years, and I reckon I’ll always be one at heart. If you’re new here, allow me to enlighten you: smoking is both a physical and psychological addiction. Quitting smoking isn’t easy, but they say it’s not impossible either. Supposedly the proof is in the millions of people who have kicked the habit. In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute, nearly half of all adult smokers have already quit.

So I started down this road two weeks ago, and like I said, it’s hard. I went completely cold turkey, as I’ve read in serveral places that nicotine supplements such as patches or gum only make cessation take longer and cravings to be more intense. I used a few web sites initially for education and support. Slowly I shared with friends and family that I had made a decision to go without.

I also kept a sort of log of my experience each day; I suppose it was therapeutic in some regards. I considered posting it, but after reading through all of my nicotine deprived rants and ravings, it became apparent that I was simply a recovering addict with nothing valuable to share. Well, at least not after a week.

Two Weeks in Retrospect
I didn’t know it at the moment, but I had quit smoking two weeks ago. I don’t even remember my last smoke. Since last November I’ve run into a number of nasty head colds, and my allergies have been getting worse- seemingly with age. More recently, particularly when I spend a lot of time in the house, it seems like my breathing turns to wheezing with an occasional coughing or asthma like episode. I attribute this to a lingering sinus infection or an allergic reaction to something in the house; the symptoms are quite indicative of just that. Smoking naturally makes the symptoms worse - so cutting back seemed like a no brainier.

In roughly the first 72 hours your body goes through physical withdrawal. I felt it, but it wasn’t horrible. I had trouble focusing and concentrating - my head half in the clouds. Overall, not so bad. Wanted to smoke now and again, but I felt good when I decided not to. That was the easy part.

It was day four, five… probably through day nine or ten where things got pretty rough. It was then that my cravings peaked, and I wanted to smoke desperately. I kept to myself, since at best I was cranky — but typically angry. Angry at everyone and everything, particularly non-smoking, judgmental bast– well, you get the idea.

Still, I kept going. I started doing weird things with my free time to avoid thinking about it, but there were long stretches of time where it dominated my mind. Even now it comes and goes, but not at such a severity. The only advice I could give at this point in time is that it does seem to get better, albeit very slowly. You will find yourself borderline crazy, living between the idea that you could actually quit and the notion that you will never be free. Just take it one day at a time; hour by hour if necessary.

I can now smell cigarette smoke in the house from two floors away. I get mild cravings and the occasional intense episode. There’s never much of a warning - some triggers have faded while other linger. Sometimes it feels like I can really pull this off, and other times I’m depressed for simply trying. I eat what’s laying around knowing full well quitting smoking can mean gaining weight — and I’m still not totally convinced I will make it all the way through. I complain about it still at least once a day.

Resources
My favorite resource on the web was Joel’s library at whyquit.com

Joel Spitzer has provided smoking cessation and prevention services since 1972. Having started as a volunteer speaker and then a professional staff member of the American Cancer Society, he became quit smoking programs coordinator for the Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie, Illinois. Today Joel provides smoking cessation and prevention services for the Evanston Department of Health and Human Services while also serving as director of education at WhyQuit’s Freedom from Tobacco, a free online nicotine dependency recovery forum.

He has a number of videos and supplemental materials you can read daily as you quit. This was the strongest and most informative stuff I initially found online to help me make it through the last 8 days. As a web developer I want to completely re-work that website - but the content is, as always, the gold.

SmokeFree.gov outlines five basic steps that will help you get ready to quit. Acronyms are so totally awesome these days, and I totally should have read this before quitting. It’s called START, which actually is means stop…? Here’s a recap with my thoughts:

• S = Set a quit date.
  I didn’t set a date. Anticipation is for losers. Just do it. I see this a lot, and I don’t really see the point. You totally pysche yourself out, and place even greater value on that last puff.
• T = Tell family, friends, and co-workers that you plan to quit.
  I didn’t tell too many people at first. I didn’t feel like dealing with their shit if I relapsed. I still don’t, thank you very much. Full disclosure: everyone I talked to was really supportive. It means a lot to me.
• A = Anticipate and plan for the challenges you’ll face while quitting.
  I guess I thought about the challenges - but there’s no way of anticipating the severity of the cravings until you’ve actually quit a real addition like this.
• R = Remove cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car, and work.
  Fuck that. I’m still carrying around a full pack. They say the thinking is it makes it harder to relapse, since you have to drive to the store… Let me tell you something: that’s the least you’d do for a smoke if you give up on quitting. There were a couple of times I was fully capable of full blown fist fights. There may be a couple more.
• T = Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.
  This one’s tricky, but I say don’t unless you there’s a really good reason to do so - there’s enough information on the web. See the Patches, Pills and Problems section below.

Also, one rather consistent resource I found on multiple sites was a list of ways to help combat the cravings. I make a lot of personal assertions about the nature of quitting, but I do know that everyone is different. If you’re going down the road we’ve been talking about, and since everyone likes lists, I have found many of these tactics useful:

• Remind yourself why you quit Focus on your reasons for quitting, including the health benefits, improved appearance, money you’re saving, and enhanced self-esteem.
• Distract yourself Get your mind on something else until the craving passes. Do the dishes, concentrate on a crossword puzzle, take a shower, or call a friend. The activity doesn’t matter as long as it gets your mind off of cigarettes.
• Get active Go for a walk, do some jumping jacks or pushups, try some yoga stretches, or run around the block.
• Brush your teeth The just-brushed, clean feeling can help get rid of cigarette cravings.
• Drink water Slowly drink a large, cold glass of water. Not only will it help the craving pass, but staying hydrated helps minimize the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
• Find an oral substitute Keep other things around to pop in your mouth when you’re craving a cigarette. Good choices include mints, hard candy, carrot or celery sticks, gum, and sunflower seeds.
• Try to relax Do something that calms you down, such as taking a warm bath, meditating, reading a book, or practicing deep breathing exercises.
• Get out of a tempting situation Where you are or what you’re doing may be triggering the craving. If so, a change of scenery can make all the difference.
• Light something else Instead of lighting a cigarette, light a candle or some incense.
• Reward yourself Reinforce your victories. Whenever you triumph over a craving, give yourself a reward to keep yourself motivated.

Patches, Pills and Problems
If you’re not going cold turkey, you can can try a variety of things to assist you if you’re trying to quit. I’ve read in several places that quitting with nicotine supplements only extended the duration of time it will take you to quit, as well as make your withdrawal cravings more sever. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you can try a nicotine patch, gum, lozenge, nasal spray, or inhaler. I was tempted by these, but in the end decided agaisnt them all.

You might also be interested in less traditional methods such as lasers, accupuncture or hypnotherapy. I’ve heard and seen varied responses to all - the only qausi-scientific conclusion I came up with was that most of these methods rely heavily on how much you want to quit, and how much you believe they are going to work.

Finally, there’s Chantix. I ran into this on the web not to long ago, and was rather suprised to see such mixed reactions. There is no doubt that this newer drug will get you to stop smoking without the typical cravings - but there seems to be heavy debate all over the web. Some say it’s a Godsend, whereas others complain of some truly disturbing side effects. I implore anyone interested in this to read This Is My Brain on Chantix, along with all the reader comments for starters.

Talk to your doctor about your options and whether anti-smoking medication is right for you. If you decide to try nicotine replacement therapy or another smoking cessation drug, remember that they are not intended to be the only method used to help you quit smoking. They should always be combined with other methods that address the psychological side of smoking.

Enough Already
When you’re addicted to a drug, you know it’s bad for you. You know it’s bad for the people around you. Sure, there’s stages of denial. Addiction allows people to convince themselves a variety of excuses and lies. If you judge someone for smoking - we will resent you. We know it might be because you care. We know how bad it is for our health. We know how inappropriate it is to society. In all likelihood, we know more about it than you do. Nevertheless, it’s patronizing for non-smokers and perhaps even quitters to preach. Quitting is unimaginably difficult, particularly for someone who has never had to overcome a drug addiction. I’ve noticed this one a lot in the last year. Enough said.

We were talking about six months for freedom in the introduction. My brother-in-law mentioned that kicking an addiction really takes 21 days. My wife had said something about two weeks. All a far cry from the 72 hour nicotine flush I thought might be the worst of times. Still, I endure one day at a time, like all the support sites say. I still refuse to say I’m quitting. I’m going without, and I’m might still relapse - but I know a lot more now, and I’m thankful to everyone who listened.

Filed under: Speak Easy