Nicotine Addiction And Recovery: 5 Tips To Help You Quit Smoking

Let's start with the grim stuff. Around 14 percent of the adult US population smoked in 2017, and this nasty addiction causes more than 480,000 deaths every year in that country alone. Those who don't die from smoking-related causes still often live with the consequences, in the form of cancer (throat, mouth, nasal, kidney, pancreatic, lung, and the list goes on), heart disease, stroke, and of course lung diseases. Smoking is — yes, still — a heck of a lot more socially acceptable than, say, doing heroin, but it's not really less addictive.

If you're here because you're a nicotine addict and don't want to be one any longer, you need quitting strategies that are going to bring you success, and not ultimately give you the message that your addiction is stronger than you. 

Set yourself up for victory by making a personal quitting plan. Here's what it should include. 

1. Why do you want to quit?

For many people, a general "it will kill me in 30 years" actually isn't a sufficient motivator, so write down concrete reasons that motivate you to stop smoking now. For some, it may be a planned pregnancy, a need to save money, or being told they have gum disease or high blood pressure. For others, not wanting nicotine to determine their daily behavior or hoping their children will never start smoking may be a powerful motivator. Most smokers will have multiple reasons. You may need that list to keep you on the path once you do quit, so get started on it. 

2. What are your biggest obstacles?

Besides "nicotine addiction", of course. All smokers have their personal smoking triggers. Maybe you strongly associate smoking with social time, maybe you feel the strong urge to light up as soon as you have a coffee, or maybe you can't resist the urge to smoke when you are really stressed. If you have sensory issues, smoking may be satisfying those, too. Identify your personal triggers. Knowing what most makes you want to smoke can help you get through those rough times that are just around the corner. 

3. Make a plan for coping with triggers

OK, so, physical nicotine withdrawal can be really bad for about a week, while the emotional side can last much longer. You're going to want to smoke. How are you going to make it easier not to? This can include taking a week off work if you usually smoke with your coworkers, quitting coffee too, starting therapy to deal with stress at the same time you quit, and creating alternatives to the oral stimulation smoking provides — like sucking on lollipops, getting a piece of "chewelry" designed for autistic people but also great for quitters, or downing a large glass of water every time you feel the urge to smoke. You may also want to keep low-calorie munchies on hand, like carrots or cucumbers, because many recent non-smokers feel the urge to overeat.

4. Make a plan to hold yourself accountable

Tell your friends, family, and coworkers that you are quitting and ask them to stop you from lighting up if they catch you trying to. Join an online support group for quitters. You don't have to tell yourself you'll never smoke again if that's too much — some groups encourage you to commit to not smoking in the next 24 hours every single day, and it does get easier to keep that promise over time.

5. Do you need to bring in the big guns?

Talk to your doctor and consider whether any of the options they may suggest — and some others doctors won't typically mention — are right for you:

• Counseling, to help you deal not just with quitting, but also the stress that may have been encouraging you to smoke more. 
• Hypnosis to help you quit smoking. 
• Nicotine replacement therapy, like gum, patches, and even vaping — they'll help some people quit smoking, but will simply maintain the addiction for others. 
• Joining a gym, yoga class, or team sport. This will help distract you from your urge to light up and will also help you combat that post-quitting weight gain so many people experience. 
• In some cases, you may need a medication to help you quit smoking. These include bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix). 

A final word

Quitting smoking is hard. It is hardest at the very beginning, but your health begins recovering the moment you stop, and those benefits just keep on increasing with time. Once physical withdrawal is over, you'll still face the risk of tripping up every time you're in a situation that you've strongly associated with cigarette smoking in the past — when someone dies, work is especially stressful, or you get together with that old friend you always used to smoke with, for instance. In that sense, a nicotine addiction has a lot in common with, say, alcoholism.