Stopped smoking recently but keep getting the urge to.

[Accipeveldare]

I stopped smoking a week ago and I am having trouble staying away from it. Every time I see a cigarette I have the urge to ask for a drag but stop myself right before I do. What should I do?

 

[Vandheer]

You could try NLP stuff, or something like that for the matter. You have to kill the urge in your mind after all.

May or may not stop the craving.

 

[Yazata]

Best way to stop an urge is to replace it with something else. And then a healthy one would be best..
When I stopped smoking cigarettes I smoked a joint instead every time. Don't do that
When I stopped smoking weed I did some type of physical exercise every time I felt the urge to smoke: either 10 pushups, 50 crunches, squats, whatever. You will love yourself for it after a week.

 

[Accipeveldare]

Best way to stop an urge is to replace it with something else. And then a healthy one would be best..
When I stopped smoking cigarettes I smoked a joint instead every time. Don't do that
When I stopped smoking weed I did some type of physical exercise every time I felt the urge to smoke: either 10 pushups, 50 crunches, squats, whatever. You will love yourself for it after a week.

Thank you so much. This helps a lot dude.

 

[Mars]

With cigarettes it is boredom and ritual. It is not the nicotine that makes you addicted, but the habit. The ritual, the clear structure. Nicotine withdrawal really is like a flu and could be ignored if it weren't for the habit of smoking. It is a natural break you incorporate in your life and what you will actually miss. And you suddenly have a lot more time when you start to not smoke. Because you unconsciously planned your day around smoking and incorporating breaks for smoking into it.

Waking up? Smoking
Coffee? Smoking
Arriving at work and before the entrance? Smoking
After eating? Smoking
After 2 hours of work? Smoking
Laughing at the club and having a good time? Smoking
After watching a movie? Smoking
Before getting into your car or bus or metro? Smoking
Before boarding a plane? Smoking

There's herbal cigarettes that contain tea leaves, try those. Unfortunately they aren't as popular and available as vapes. But even if you go "cold turkey" and just smoke those you will get that habit and wont miss cigarettes. Even though they taste disgusting at first. But so did your first cigarette.

Eventually you will smoke less and less.

You can also do the exact same behaviour when smoking cigarettes but instead just suck on an unlit one. Also works. Gradually phasing out and smoking less. Imagine you have a ration each day. Like 15 or 10. And every week you get one less. Try planning your day around 10 cigarettes etc.

 

[Accipeveldare]

With cigarettes it is boredom and ritual. It is not the nicotine that makes you addicted, but the habit. The ritual, the clear structure. Nicotine withdrawal really is like a flu and could be ignored if it weren't for the habit of smoking. It is a natural break you incorporate in your life and what you will actually miss. And you suddenly have a lot more time when you start to not smoke. Because you unconsciously planned your day around smoking and incorporating breaks for smoking into it.

Waking up? Smoking
Coffee? Smoking
Arriving at work and before the entrance? Smoking
After eating? Smoking
After 2 hours of work? Smoking
Laughing at the club and having a good time? Smoking
After watching a movie? Smoking
Before getting into your car or bus or metro? Smoking
Before boarding a plane? Smoking

There's herbal cigarettes that contain tea leaves, try those. Unfortunately they aren't as popular and available as vapes. But even if you go "cold turkey" and just smoke those you will get that habit and wont miss cigarettes. Even though they taste disgusting at first. But so did your first cigarette.

Eventually you will smoke less and less.

You can also do the exact same behaviour when smoking cigarettes but instead just suck on an unlit one. Also works. Gradually phasing out and smoking less. Imagine you have a ration each day. Like 15 or 10. And every week you get one less. Try planning your day around 10 cigarettes etc.

Hmmm. This is actually very helpful. You just helped me understand my addiction a lot more.

 

[SkullTraill]

Good suggestions from @Yazata and @Mars. Here's my alternative (considerably worse) suggestion:

Smoke until you throw up.

Buy 3 packs, chain smoke as many as you can. And I don't mean smoke them in the same relaxed way you usually smoke. I mean just constantly puff on it.

Puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale. Long drags. Really taste it.

Do that until you get disgusted, then do it more until you throw up.

You'll never smoke again.

 

[Accipeveldare]

Good suggestions from @Yazata and @Mars. Here's my alternative (considerably worse) suggestion:

Smoke until you throw up.

Buy 3 packs, chain smoke as many as you can. And I don't mean smoke them in the same relaxed way you usually smoke. I mean just constantly puff on it.

Puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale. Long drags. Really taste it.

Do that until you get disgusted, then do it more until you throw up.

You'll never smoke again.

I'll never forget the time I got nic sick.....

 

[Mars]

Good suggestions from @Yazata and @Mars. Here's my alternative (considerably worse) suggestion:

Smoke until you throw up.

Buy 3 packs, chain smoke as many as you can. And I don't mean smoke them in the same relaxed way you usually smoke. I mean just constantly puff on it.

Puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale. Long drags. Really taste it.

Do that until you get disgusted, then do it more until you throw up.

You'll never smoke again.

That's like confrontation therapy. There even was someone in my area, a therapist that offered a session like this. You had to smoke a few packs until you became so disgusted with yourself and smoking that you never will do it again. I didn't know what the therapist did exactly but perhaps it was similar to gaslighting. Not that its bad, but unconventional. I think also the smelling of the ashtray was involved and something like "And when this smells bad, imagine what your lung and breath smells like"

 

[Xenophon]

Good suggestions from @Yazata and @Mars. Here's my alternative (considerably worse) suggestion:

Smoke until you throw up.

Buy 3 packs, chain smoke as many as you can. And I don't mean smoke them in the same relaxed way you usually smoke. I mean just constantly puff on it.

Puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale. Long drags. Really taste it.

Do that until you get disgusted, then do it more until you throw up.

You'll never smoke again.

Does that work with smoking? Guys who drink heavily seem to be undeterred. I swear here there are a fair number of gents who don't think they've had a good dinner party unless they technicolor yawn en route to the taxi stand. Of course the problem could be that alcohol blunts the memory in a way cigarettes do not.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

Good suggestions from @Yazata and @Mars. Here's my alternative (considerably worse) suggestion:

Smoke until you throw up.

Buy 3 packs, chain smoke as many as you can. And I don't mean smoke them in the same relaxed way you usually smoke. I mean just constantly puff on it.

Puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale, puff cig, exhale. Long drags. Really taste it.

Do that until you get disgusted, then do it more until you throw up.

You'll never smoke again.

A friend of mine, when at school, was caught smoking one of his father's cigars. They made him smoke the whole thing. He loved it.

 

[Xenophon]

A friend of mine, when at school, was caught smoking one of his father's cigars. They made him smoke the whole thing. He loved it.

SkullTraill's prescription was have him smoke the whole box. (Which could run into money with Havanas; legal complications with Tommy Chong's grandson.)

 

[SkullTraill]

A friend of mine, when at school, was caught smoking one of his father's cigars. They made him smoke the whole thing. He loved it.

I guess you don't inhale cigar smoke, so it is different. But still, 2-3 cigars are you're definitely throwing up from nicotine poisining.

 

[Mars]

Does that work with smoking? Guys who drink heavily seem to be undeterred. I swear here there are a fair number of gents who don't think they've had a good dinner party unless they technicolor yawn en route to the taxi stand. Of course the problem could be that alcohol blunts the memory in a way cigarettes do not.

Drinking alcohol is more a cultural thing. So it's even harder to stop if you ever started.

Wine or beer already in the morning and with every lunch comes a bottle of wine in italy, france and Spain and a bottle of beer in the other countries. Alcohol is worse than nicotine though, literally melts the brain and hoped beer causes breast growth and balding in men.

 

[Accipeveldare]

Drinking alcohol is more a cultural thing. So it's even harder to stop if you ever started.

Wine or beer already in the morning and with every lunch comes a bottle of wine in italy, france and Spain and a bottle of beer in the other countries. Alcohol is worse than nicotine though, literally melts the brain and hoped beer causes breast growth and balding in men.

I'm personally an avid beer and vodka drinker. However, I have a beer like twice to three times a week and a glass of vodka on the weekends so I've never had any alcohol problem. Plus, I don't drink specifically to get drunk.