How I controlled tobacco cravings

I will begin by telling you dear reader, that i am not medically trained or in fact qualified in any way whatsoever to give you advice about stopping smoking.

What I am going to tell you is how I stopped smoking and what made me determined to do so, in the hope it might inspire you to do the same.

For over fifty years I smoked pipe tobacco and cigars, and 'tried' several times to quit.

Sure I enjoyed a pipe full of tobacco after a meal or with a glass or two of beer, but over the last fifteen years social habits have changed, and i found myself increasingly in the minority of the few die - hard smokers that gather outside buildings standing in the corner like they have some dreadful disease.

One year ago on May 22nd 2009 to be exact, I lost a very good friend to lung cancer and the shock of grief hit me hard. On reflection, I now know the reason WHY I stopped. It was because I found a shocking good reason -the loss of a dear friend. That was the catalyst for me and I think every smoker needs to find one.

It's not as if I, and all those that still smoke, do not know the risks, for the Health Authorities around the Planet have spent millions of dollars telling us about the dangers of tobacco and what it does to our system.

Some countries even give out free quit packs that contain these 'quititene' (I will not use the correct brand names but you know which ones they are) patches and gum to help smokers quit. But still people continue to smoke - risks or not.

WHY?

Is it because they enjoy it? Is it because it makes them get a 'buzz'?

I now know from my own personal experience that I was hooked on a very, very addictive habit that made me short of breath and my mouth and clothes stink.

And that really is it. An addicted bad habit. Tobacco is a DRUG and the nicotine in it is very addictive and hard to break.

There is no need for me to tell you about the contents of tobacco - all you have to do is look at the warnings on any pack of cigarettes, cigars, or pipe tobacco - to discover the poisons that lurk within the tobacco contents, and how they change to deadly in the high burning temperatures of taking in the smoke to your lungs.

So how did I manage to beat the tobacco cravings?

Not easy! Although stopping smoking is not going to kill you the cravings will drive you mad for some time.

But I found that what worked well for me was to set my mind on a target of going without a smoke for first day. I did something I have not done for years - I went swimming! Ok it is not part of your 'how to stop smoking treatment' but hey, it took my mind off the tobacco craving for a few hours.

Then the next day when the urge to smoke returned, I decided to occupy my mind by chewing on ordinary gum, and I was determined to put the thought of a smoke out of my mind.I took a two hour train ride because I knew i could accept the fact that no smoking was allowed anyway! You might think that was a little drastic, but it worked for me.

I made it to around 9.50pm that evening, and when the cravings got too much I had a shot of whiskey and went to bed early, and having a good night's sleep was so refreshing.The following morning I did not feel the cravings for a smoke so strongly and drowned any thoughts with orange juice!

I am not going to bore you to death with all the exact details of how I made it through a complete week, except to say the cravings became less ,and I knew by day six that I was in with a chance. But you must be strong and determined not to give in!

This is your key to success. Determination.

In my case it was the shock of the loss of a dear friend that was my helping hand to be determined to stop.

Now this is where the 'eebiejeebies' as I call them kicks in - the withdrawal symptoms. Sometime around the 10th day of not smoking I had an almost uncontrollable urge that I MUST have a smoke.

I was edgy, listless and driving my wife up the wall with my miserable moaning. Not only is she a fantastic cook but I listen to her because I like to eat. Her encouraging words soon stopped me feeling sorry for myself.

"Come on - you CAN DO IT! ten days and now you want to spoil it all? think about your friend that died from cancer - do you want to join him?"

A fortnight went by and something weird was happening...I was waking up in the morning feeling great, and going all day without even a little pang of craving for the weed.

So it went on....12 weeks went by and I did not feel any craving to smoke, and just to be sure, I lit up my pipe and took an almighty drag on it and nearly fell down with the dizzyness and nauseous choking.

It was a daft test but I needed to know what the reaction to my system would be, and it convinced me I had finally won. Needless to say I threw the pipe and all the tobacco out into the trash can. I knew I had won! and from that day to this I have never smoked again and can truthfully say I KNOW I will never smoke again.

Now this might work for you or it might not.

But trying will certainly be the first step, and if you feel using those gums and patches might help, then go for it. I did not use patches or nicotine based gum and did it 'cold turkey', for I had a powerful reason to stop in knowing someone close to me had died from smoke related lung cancer.

I have glaucoma, and when I was first diagnosed they asked me how long I had been a smoker and I told them. The Doctor said I was lucky to still be alive after all those years, and that smoking was definatly one of the contributors of the cause of glaucoma in my eyes . If you do not know what glaucoma is then read my hub entitled 'My Glaucoma and me'

Nobody likes to be told what to do, and I for one used to hate those constant tv & radio health warnings telling me to stop smoking. "Who do they think they are telling me what to do! I will make my own mind up if I want to stop or not!"

Yes, it's your life, but please don't let ignorant pride stand in your way.

Your smoke CAN and DOES damage the health of others around you, and that includes your loved ones that are unable to tell you because they are small children, or love you too much to tell you what they really wish you would do. Stop.

If you need a stronger reason to stop then just 'google' about lung cancer and look at those photographs of damaged and unrepairable lungs.

One final word of advice. If you do decide to stop smoking be aware that you will get withdrawal symptoms and you will want to eat far more food than than youj should do.

This will likely cause you to put on weight so if you must munch, then try things such as celery sticks, small slices of fruit, thin bread sticks, but don't eat larger portions at meal times. You will soon learn to adjust to your new healthy living style.

Good Luck.

I hope this has been of use to you.