I can not seem to be able to find that post i wrote 7 months ago about how i quit smoking, but since i think my experience is a very important one, i think i should tell you all about it all over again
On January 1st 2010, i woke up happy that this new years, i did not set a new year resolution (since new years resolutions usually last through the first day of the new year at best),
And at the beginning of what seemed like any other day, i started my daily routine by locating my pack of cigarettes, unfortunately (and later fortunately) there was no pack, i didn’t have any cigarettes left.
So i got into the car and headed for the supermarket, on the way to the supermarket i stopped by a pharmacy to get something for a mild headache i had, and there was a big poster saying quit smoking with nicortell or something like that.
But before we get into that, let me tell you something about my previous attempts to quit smoking, i tried everything, i used to tell people that quitting is so easy, i quit smoking over 300 times in my lifetime ! i tried nicotine patches by many manufacturers, i tried nicotine chewing gum, i tried everything
Anyway, i asked the girl behind the counter if the nicotine lozenges are as bad as the gum, the gum (i remember it was probably made in Sweden) was awful , it tasted awful, and it gave that burn feeling.
the girl told me that they are mint flavored and i should not feel anything such as what i am describing right here.
So i got myself a pack, and off i went, i got into the car, and decided to go get a pack of cigarettes anyway, because i felt that i am not going to quit anything.
In the meantime, while i was driving back home, the nicotine withdrawal symptoms were so obvious i can feel my craving for nicotine, and somehow i can small it ! in the super market, i could smell the food that is in the fridge !
Now with the massive craving, i decided to try one of those lozenges rather than a cigarette, i opened the pack, and stored the thing between my teeth and my cheeks as instructed by the pharmacist, and what do you know, i feel that lovely “Morning nicotine intoxication” not to the dizzy extent, but i certainly feel it.
The joy of sucking on the lozenge was not even close to the feeling a cigarette would have given me, but it did stop the (i need the cigarette right now) feeling, and to a certain extent, it DID give me that kick i get from a cigarette, but it was far more evident to me because my craving was so severe, and the lozenge resolved my problem.
Now, my pack was still in my pocket, and i had every intention to smoke, but the pack did a different kind of magic no one ever thought of, it gave me a sense of security, the feeling that cigarettes are available if i ever need them, the pack stayed sealed in it’s plastic wrap for a week, making me feel good that i am in no corner, and nothing is mandatory.
Anyway, as the week progressed, quitting stopped feeling so hard, after 1 week, i could easily throw away the pack of cigarettes knowing that the lozenges can save me whenever i have nicotine cravings ! i could feel the habit dyeing slowly.
On the third day, i noticed that i consumed 2 many lozenges, when in reality, not every lozenge i took was to resolve a craving, i found out that i was consuming most simply for “Food oral gratification”, so i went to the supermarket and got chewing gum, sweets, and other things that melt slowly in the mouth.
even though i was not hard on myself to slow down on the lozenges, i did put some effort to cut down on the lozenges consumption, and i did go down from 15 a day to 4 or 5 a day, with the help of the sweets and candy surely.
The Lozenge consumption went down on it’s own, until one day, at around 4 o’clock, i asked myself where the lozenges were, and i remembered that my pack finished the day before, this is when i knew i no longer needed them, but i got myself a pack of lozenges anyway just in case, that pack lasted over 3 weeks and i still have some of it in the car, i did not use it all, and i did not even remember to take most of it, i just used some before and after beer sometimes.
The bottom line.
1- Divide and conquer, First get rid of the habit by feeding your addiction lozenges then get rid of the addiction (which is an addiction mild enough to die on it’s own if there is no habit to support it)
2- Always have a pack of cigarettes around to kill your insecurity, the insecurity feeling gets your brain into a loop that keeps reminding it of cigarettes all the time, keep a pack in your pocket until your insecurities shift from cigarettes to lozenges
3- Don’t talk to people about it, if they notice you are not smoking, just say i quit a long time ago (Don’t tell them you are struggling with quitting at the moment)
4- Be happy, don’t think about it all the time, and give yourself plenty of lozenges on the first few days (along with sweets and candy).