"It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times." - Mark Twain
I've seen a couple of threads on the matter and would like to share some of the basics about it to anyone not aware of them along with my own experiences.
Education + Desire + Cold Turkey = WIN
Here is a fantastic resource:
http://whyquit.com/
Lifted from that site (
http://whyquit.com/pr/071007.html) is some very good stuff to know:
-Physical nicotine withdrawal peaks by day three and within two weeks the body physically adapts to functioning without it. Known as nicotine's half-life, every two hours the amount remaining in the bloodstream is naturally reduced by half. All nicotine and 90% of the chemicals it breaks down into (metabolites) will have passed from the body within 72 hours of ending all use. During this period it is entirely normal to feel de-sensitized, as if part of you is being left behind. But your brain is working hard to restore natural neuro-chemical sensitivities.
-You have trained your subconscious mind to expect the arrival of a new supply of nicotine upon encountering specific times, locations, activities, people or emotions. The process of reconditioning and breaking these subconscious triggers and cues also peaks during the first week, at about day three. All but remote, infrequent, holiday or seasonal nicotine use triggers are extinguished within a month.
-Those seeking to profit by selling quitting products paint cold turkey quitting as almost impossible with few succeeding. Take your own poll. What you will discover is that nearly 90% of all long-term ex-smokers and smokeless tobacco users quit cold turkey. Not only is it our most productive quitting method, it is fast and free. But quitting cold -- in ignorance and darkness -- can be frightening. When combined with education, skills development and ongoing support, no quitting product comes close. Not only do cold turkey quitters avoid potential medication side effects, they do not get hooked on the cure (nearly 40% of all nicotine gum users are chronic long-term users of at least 6 months).
-Nicotine was our spoon, with each puff, chew or dip releasing stored fats into our bloodstream. It allowed us to skip meals without experiencing wild blood-sugar swing symptoms such as an inability to concentrate (mind fog), the shakes, irritability or hunger related anxieties. Recovery is a time when we relearn to properly fuel the body by spreading out our normal daily calorie intake more evenly. Eat small, healthy and often.
-Get rid of all nicotine delivery vehicles, including replacement nicotine products. Keeping a stash of nicotine makes as much sense as someone on suicide watch keeping a loaded gun handy just to prove they can. Why toy with failure or play mind-games with your ongoing healing and freedom?
-The "average" quitter will be experiencing just 1.4 crave episodes per day within ten days. After that you may soon begin to experience entire days without encountering a single un-reconditioned subconscious nicotine feeding trigger.
One of the things people don't realize is how pervasive an addiction is. It's capable of altering your thoughts to a frightening degree. You can spot a loose cigarette under a piece of furniture and all it takes is a few seconds to forget all about why you chose to quit in the first place. This can lead people into falsely believing they can quit smoking but simply don't want to, etc.
My latest attempt saw me quit for 2 weeks before a relapse a week ago (I was seriously bored and got that and some beer, you know the rest.) This was extended by a guest visiting us who brought a carton of Marly's with her. I'll be tossing smoking again tomorrow or the day after.
I'm not nearly as driven to smoke when I have a hangover, so the day before I prepare with lots of beer. Sounds unnecessary but it works for me.
Personally, the biggest symptom I experience is not being able to focus on anything. So I do nothing but watch films and shows the first day (this works well with the hangover).
Something extremely important to keep in mind is the fact that a smoker's brain chemistry has been altered to expect nicotine. Upon quitting, your brain will slowly heal itself, but the receptors it created to handle nicotine are still there. Taking one puff will very likely force you to endure those 3 days of withdrawal all over again.
Likewise, there's nothing at all wrong with tailoring your activities to what you experience. If work is stressful, stop smoking when you have a day off. Do you like to blaze trees? Wait until you have an adequate supply and hit the bong the day you won't be having any cigarettes.
Quote:
Quitting by the gradual withdrawal method. I discuss this method quite extensively in my seminars. I always tell how if there is anyone attending who knows a smoker who they really despise they should actively encourage them to follow the gradual withdrawal "cut down" approach. They should call them up every day and tell them to just get rid of one cigarette. Meaning, if they usually smoke 40 a day, just smoke 39 on the first day of the attempt to quit. The next day they should be encouraged to smoke only 38 then 37 the next day and so on. Then the seminar participant should call these people every day to congratulate them and encourage them to continue. I must reemphasize, this should only be done to a smoker you really despise.
You see, most smokers will agree to this approach. It sounds so easy to just smoke one less each day. Thirty-nine cigarettes to a two pack a day smoker seems like nothing. The trick is to convince the person that you are only trying to help them. For the first week or two the one downside is you have to pretend to like the person and you have to talk to them every day. They won’t whine too bad either. When they are down to 30 from 40, they may start to complain a little. You really won’t be having fun yet. When the payoff comes is about three weeks into the scam. Now you've got them to less than half their normal amount. They are in moderate withdrawal all the time.
A month into the approach you’ve got them into pretty major withdrawal. But be persistent. Call them and tell them how great they are doing and how proud you are of them. When they are in their 35th to 39th day, you have pulled off a major coup. This poor person is in peak withdrawal, suffering miserably and having absolutely nothing to show for it. They are no closer to ending withdrawal than the day you started the process. They are in chronic withdrawal, not treating him or herself to one or two a day, but actually depriving him or herself of 35 to 40 per day.
If you want to go in for the kill, when you have them down to zero, tell them don’t worry if things get tough, just take a puff every once in a while. If you can get them to fall for this, taking one puff every third day, they will remain in withdrawal forever. Did I mention you really should despise this person to do this to them? It is probably the cruelest practical joke that you could ever pull on anyone. You will undercut their chance to quit, make them suffer immeasurably and likely they will at some point throw in the towel, return to smoking, have such fear of quitting because of what they went through cutting down, that they will continue to smoke until it kills them. Like I said, you better really despise this person.
Hopefully there is no one you despise that much to do this to them. I hope nobody despises themselves enough to do this to themselves. Quitting cold turkey may be hard but quitting by this withdrawal technique is virtually impossible. If you have a choice between hard and impossible, go for hard. You will have something to show at the end of a hard process, but nothing but misery at the end of an impossible approach. Quit cold and in 72 hours it eases up. Cut down and it will basically get progressively worse for weeks, months, or years if you let it.
I should mention, this is not a new technique. It has been around for decades. Talk to every long-term ex-smoker you know. Try to find one person who successfully used the cut down approach, gradually reducing to eventual zero over weeks or months. You will be hard pressed to find even one person who fits this bill. One other perspective that should help you see the flaw in the approach. Look at people here who had once quit for months or years and then relapsed. One day, after such a long time period, they take a drag and are smoking again. If one puff can do this after years or decades, guess what it will do after days or hours of being smoke free. It puts the smoker back to square one. All that any ex-smoker has to do to avoid relapse or chronic withdrawal is to - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF!
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http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_01_13_g...ithdrawal.html
There's lots of other stuff that can be said about it. I strongly suggest visiting the site.
