How long does it take to quit smoking?
Ell asked:
I know each person is different, but about how long does it take for the cravings to go away. I can restraint from a cigarette for 8 hours each day at work, and have gone as long as 12 hours when I was on a trip with students. However, the minute the opportunity arises I’m having a cigarette. I crave the act of smoking much more than the nicotine I recieve from it (nicotine gum makes me crave a cigarette). I’ve tried to quit unsuccessfully and find if I don’t have access to them, the nicotine cravings occur about every 4-6 hours while the craving for a cigarette occurs ever 15-30 minutes. How long would it take for these cravings to disappear?
I know each person is different, but about how long does it take for the cravings to go away. I can restraint from a cigarette for 8 hours each day at work, and have gone as long as 12 hours when I was on a trip with students. However, the minute the opportunity arises I’m having a cigarette. I crave the act of smoking much more than the nicotine I recieve from it (nicotine gum makes me crave a cigarette). I’ve tried to quit unsuccessfully and find if I don’t have access to them, the nicotine cravings occur about every 4-6 hours while the craving for a cigarette occurs ever 15-30 minutes. How long would it take for these cravings to disappear?
If you don’t understand the difference between craving a cigarette and craving the nicotine I don’t really know how to explain it to a non-smoker. Sorry.
Create a video blog…instantly.
Because you realize that you’re a quitter
it’s a little something called withdrawl symptoms…
your body is reacting to a change in your habits and doesn’t like it because it is addicted to nicotine.
I quit 4 months ago (march 23) and the first month was really really rough. I was an a-hole too, but after a while although you still want a cigarette, you just do something else and forget about wanting one. Now, many days I don’t even think about smoking a single one! It’s only when I see people smoking or smell them that I want another. But, tough luck I tell myself, just chew a piece of gum.
I figured why use the patch or nicotene gum? It will only prolong my addiction and drag my suffering out over a longer period of time. That’s why 2 days after using the patch, I decided to go Cold turkey, which ended up working for me.
Nicotine is a euphoric.
It actually make you feel happy. Which is part of the reason it is so addictive.
When you are a regular smoker your brain gets used to the nicotine. Once you quit it creates a chemical imbalance in your brain because you took away a chemical that has become part of the regular system. This most likely causes headaches, depression, and cravings. It is also why using gum and other methods that have some nicotine in them help people quit. It reduces the amount of nicotine slowly over time to help the brain functions learn to balance and operate without the nicotine. I would recommend just using one of those systems offered in drug stores or use your own such as going from say a pack a day to half a pack for a week then a quarter of a pack for the next week to 2 a day for a week to one a day for a week then one every other day for a week to none. This way the brain should balance out and he should be much healthier and happier! Good Luck!
I quit smoking nearly 8 years ago, after years of quitting half-heartedly. I had few withdrawls (a few days of headaches, and I twirled a lot of pencils) and the desire for smoking was completely gone in a week. I never got depressed, but I did get a little fidgety. I got so used to the habit of reaching into my pocket, tapping a smoke out of the pack, putting filter end to lips, and flicking the lighter to light it up… that it took a little time to break myself of the habit. I also used to rub my fingertips together on my smoking hand. Got over both pretty quickly.
Ask your doctor about a drug called Zyban. It acts on the brain center that generates cravings for smoking and simply eliminates them.