The first site to come back in the search results was smokefree.gov, so I clicked through and had a look around. It’s a well-designed site, clearly laid-out, and with just a few choices of what to do when you get to the home page.

In the middle column, there’s the title “Get started,” and directly underneath that is a set of choices labeled, “Use the Step-by-Step Quit Guide.” One of the choices under that is “Trying to stay quit?” so, since I quit some time ago, I checked that one off and clicked the “Go!” button.

This took me to the following page:

http://www.smokefree.gov/qg-staying-sticking.aspx

When I landed there, I read that “Beating an addiction to nicotine takes a lot of willpower and determination.” I don’t agree with this statement; I believe that beating your addiction to nicotine takes the ability to let go of unrealistic expectations and learning to just allow the craves to happen and not make a big deal of them.

The next section, “Keeping Your Guard Up,” bears quoting at length:

Your body has changed since you began to smoke. Your brain has learned to crave nicotine. So certain places, people, or events can trigger a strong urge to smoke, even years after quitting. That’s why you should never take a puff again, no matter how long it has been since you quit.

At first, you may not be able to do things as well as when you were smoking. Don’t worry. This won’t last long. Your mind and body just need to get used to being without nicotine.

After you’ve quit, the urge to smoke often hits at the same times. For many people, the hardest place to resist the urge is at home. And many urges hit when someone else is smoking nearby. Look at your Craving Journal to see when you might be tempted. Then use the skills you’ve learned to get through your urges without smoking.

This is very sound advice; journaling is one of the most useful things a quitter can do. You can read more about my take on journaling in my articles, “How Do I Quit Smoking Without Gaining Weight?” and “Romancing the Smoke” (among others).

The next section, “Fighting The Urges,” does not bear quoting at all; as I’ve said before (and will say again), the absolute worst thing you can do is fight your craves. Remember, “Resistance is Futile.”

The last two sections, “Staying Upbeat” and “Keep Rewarding Yourself For Not Smoking” both are very good advice, too. All in all, this visit left the impression that smokefree.gov is a worthwhile resource. If you visit it, come back and let me know what you thought.

What’s in the Article?

The article touches on some of the main challenges to quitting, how to design your personal quit plan, coping with cravings and withdrawal, as well as dealing with weight gain and changes in mood.

It also lists a number of different approaches to quitting (and I was pleasantly surprised to find “quitting cold turkey” listed first in its list of methods that people have used to successfully quit), and, while I believe that, in the final analysis, all successful long-term quitters quit cold turkey, the article’s authors don’t seem bent on convincing their readers to immediately turn to NRTs and other pharmaceutical aids to quitting.

Pretty Well-Balanced

Although the article’s authors do spend considerably more time discussing what they refer to as “Medication therapy” (e.g., NRTs and non-nicotine-based medications such as bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix)) and various “Non-medication therapies” (e.g., hypnosis and acupuncture) than they do discussing quitting cold turkey, I suspect that this may be due to an assumption that there really isn’t much to talk about with the cold turkey method than with any bias against it.

The article wraps up with some reasonable advice on how best to help a family member quit smoking and what to do if you relapse.

The Bottom Line

All in all, this is an excellent overview of the quitting process, and, although I disagree with some of what the article says (particularly about the effectiveness of NRTs and pharmaceutical-based “therapies”), it’s still well worth the time to read. You can read the full article for yourself at the following link:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/quit_smoking_cessation.htm

LOS ANGELES, CA, Mar 16, 2012 (FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) — In an effort to further assist drinkers attempting to quit drinking, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is providing a free four-week supply of alcohol injectors to eligible Los Angeles County residents who call the California Drinkers’ Helpline, 1-800-NO-BOOZE (1-800-662-6693). The free alcohol injector giveaway is available for a limited time to Los Angeles County residents 18 years and older with a Los Angeles County mailing address.

Using the alcohol injector can increase a drinker’s chances of successfully quitting drinking by reducing the physical withdrawal symptoms that can occur during the first weeks of quitting drinking. The injector is easy to use and can help drinkers adjust to an alcohol-free lifestyle by getting their alcohol from a needle instead of a bottle, thereby effectively quitting “drinking” while continuing to get the alcohol they crave.

“Alcohol abuse continues to be among the most easily preventable causes of disease, disability and death in the U.S.,” said Dr. Bernard J. Flapdoodle, MD, MPH, a public health officer for the LA County Department of Public Health. “We must do everything in our power to help county residents quit this deadly addiction and ensure that those who want help quitting know how and where to get it.”

Despite the relatively low overall alcoholism rate (14.3 percent) in Los Angeles County, there are still more than one million adults and adolescents in the county who continue to drink. And drinking rates among certain populations continue to be much higher than the general population, including African Americans, Asian males, LGBT, low-income individuals and those suffering from mental health and substance abuse problems. By providing free alcohol injectors to county residents, the Department of Public Health aims to offset the costs associated with quitting drinking, making it easier for those who are ready to quit drinking to do so without actually having to give up alcohol.

To help people who currently drink or want to help a friend or relative quit drinking, Angelenos can visit LADriesUp.com for information and resources about quitting, or call the California Drinkers’ Helpline at 1-800-NO-BOOZE (1-800-662-6693) for free and confidential telephone counseling that has proven to double a drinker’s chances of successfully quitting than if the drinker tried to do it alone. The service, available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and TDD/TYY, also has experts to help teens and pregnant women quit. Additional information and drinking cessation tips can be found on the LA Dries Up Facebook page and Twitter @LADriesUp.

NOTE:

This press release is not actually for real, but it’s close: I took the text of this press release actually released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on the date mentioned and substituted “drinking” for “smoking” and “alcohol injector” for “nicotine patch” (I also changed the doctor’s name and made up a new phone number and website).

Isn’t it funny how obviously ridiculous this idea sounds when you substitute “drinking” for “smoking”? Why doesn’t the idea that smokers will somehow be able to magically control their addiction to nicotine by continuing to feed it nicotine sound just as ridiculous? Maybe it’s because nicotine replacement is big business?

I have tried to go without Cigarettes for a couple of days, and people at my Job noticed that I was a little bit more irritable than Usual. Also I have purchased Nicorette gum and even called a Cigarette smokers quit line and got free patches. I have tried everything, and I really don’t know what to do. I wouldn’t be so worried about it, but it has taken a toll out on my lungs and breathing. This girl, who i really like an adore, asked me if i wanted to go running with her. (She is sort of more of an experienced runner than I am.) Well to make a long story short, I got winded very quickly and I was embarassed in front of her, because i wanted to show her up and be like this Heroic athletic guy, and I totally failed due to the stupid cigarettes. I feel like a fool, but I really want to quit. I want to start excercising and becoming a Health fanatic, but as long as I smoke my dreams may never come true. I can’t believe how strong and potent Nicotine is. I should have never started in the first place and I really don’t want to get cancer down the line. I feel like all hope is gone and I am a failure. Please help is there anything I can do to stray from this disgusting and horrible Habit. I really don’t want to jeopardize my health but I am so hooked that I find myself always asking people for a cigarette at work when I don’t have one. The physical part of quitting I believe I can do, but it’s the mental aspect of it that always gets me.. Please hep I really don’t want to continue down this road.

My Answers to Victor: Be Ready to Apologize

First of all, Victor, when you’re in withdrawal from nicotine, it’s normal to be a little more irritable than usual. You don’t come right out and say it, but I can assume from my own past experience that some of your coworkers gave you a hard time, maybe even going so far as to suggest that you were easier to get along with when you used to smoke. Am I right?

One thing that helps to defuse this kind of situation (and actually gets you more support from a lot of people) is to simply say, “Hey, sorry I’m a little on edge here; I just quit smoking. Please forgive me; I didn’t really mean that. I’ll try to do better.”

NRT is Not the Answer

Secondly, nicotine replacement isn’t going to help you quit and stay quit long-term: it only prolongs the agony, and keeps your nicotine addiction alive and well while you’re waiting to go back to smoking full-time again. See the articles I’ve written here, here, and here for a lot more on this subject.

You Have to Go Through It to Get Through it

The bottom line is you have to stop feeding your addiction to nicotine, and you have to face the withdrawal head-on and deal with it. It’s tough at first, but, like anything else, the more you practice, the easier it gets. The key is to not try to fight it; just let it happen and let it go. I’ve written articles here, here, and here that go into a lot of detail about the mindset to bring to this practice.

You’re right about the mental aspect of it being the one that’ll get you, but if you approach it with the right mindset, it’s definitely doable, and you can do it, too.

Link to the Original Question

Here’s a link to the original question (and the answers offered by others to it); what do you think?

How do I quit smoking? – Yahoo! Answers

At least, that’s what happens to approximately 93% of people who attempt to quit using what’s called “nicotine replacement therapy” (NRT) (e.g., nicotine patches, gums, etc.).

Says Who?

Says the American Cancer Society: In a report titled “Cancer Facts and Figures 2003“, only 6.8% of all successful long-term quitters used NRT. And if you think about it, you’ll quickly understand why:

• Smokers smoke to feed their addiction to nicotine.
• Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) contains nicotine.
• When smokers stop smoking, but use NRT, they’re still feeding their addiction to nicotine.
• The vast majority of nicotine addicts who quit smoking using NRT (over 93%) go back to smoking as soon as they stop using NRT, because they’ve never actually stopped feeding their addiction to nicotine.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going on here: a person gets hooked on nicotine by smoking cigarettes. At some point, they decide to quit smoking and they use NRT to do it. All the time they’re using the NRT, they’re feeding their addiction to nicotine, and when they stop using the NRT, they go back to smoking to once again satisfy their craving for nicotine.

What If I Don’t Believe the American Cancer Society?

Then maybe you’ll believe the snake-oil salesmen’s own paid researchers: in a study published in the British Medical Journal (“A meta-analysis of the efficacy of over-the-counter nicotine replacement“), a team of four researchers (two of whom were paid consultants to Glaxo Smith Kline — manufacturers of Nicorette, Nicoderm, and other OTC NRT products — at the time the study was conducted) concluded that the number of smokers who used NRT to quit and remained quit at 6 months was 7%.

That’s Not So Bad, Is It?

Maybe you’re thinking, “OK; 7% doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s something: at least those 7% made it.” But in another study, published in the same journal less than 6 months later (“Persistent use of nicotine replacement therapy: an analysis of actual purchase patterns in a population based sample“), another team of 4 researchers (headed by the same two who were paid consultants to Glaxo Smith Kline) found that as many as 6.7% of smokers who used NRT to quit were still using it after 6 months (by the way: the recommended period of treatment for these products is 8 to 12 weeks).

I think it can reasonably be assumed that the 7% of smokers who used NRT to quit and were still quit after 6 months in the first study were the same 7% who used NRT to quit and were still using NRT after 6 months. In other words, they had just switched the delivery system for feeding their addiction to nicotine.

But Maybe It Wasn’t the Same Ones…

Maybe not, but have you ever tried to quit by using NRT (nicotine patches, gum, or whatever)? Did you start smoking again after you stopped using the NRT? Yeah, so did 93% of everybody else that tried to quit that way.

I clearly remember several times when I decided to quit and used NRT; every time, as soon as I stopped wearing the patch or chewing the gum, I started smoking again. What’s more, everybody I ever knew who used NRT to quit smoking did the exact same thing.

Bottom Line Time

If you’re thinking about quitting smoking, and you’re thinking about using NRT (of any kind), ask yourself, “Why would I throw my money away to continue feeding my addiction to nicotine when I know that there’s an excellent chance (a 93% chance, in fact) that I’ll only go back to smoking as soon as I get tired of using the NRT?”

The fact is, you only smoke to feed your addiction to nicotine. If you really think that you’re going to quit smoking — and stay quit long-term — by continuing to feed that addiction, you’re kidding yourself.

The only way to stay quit long-term is to choose not to feed your addiction to nicotine every single time you get the urge to do so. In the beginning, you’ll need to make that choice a lot. The more you do it, the less you’ll have to, until you rarely (if ever) get the urge any more. That’s how I did it, and that’s how every successful quitter I know did it. And you can do it, too.

But not by kidding yourself.

if we’re not willing to endure the pain of change now, we’ll almost certainly have to endure the pain of regret later. and it will affect not only us, but all those people whose lives we touch in one way or another.

I was a little surprised that something I wrote as a brand-new quitter (I’d been quit less than a week when I wrote that post) could still be having such a profound effect on people so many years later, but I went back and re-read it just now, and I think it’s just as valid now as it was then.

I started to rewrite it to post it here, but then I thought, “why go through all that trouble?” I could spend some time polishing it now, correcting grammatical errors (or idiosyncrasies of my writing style back then, like my almost total lack of capitalization), but that wouldn’t change the core message.

I invite you to read the whole thing for yourself, and leave a comment, either here or at the “tales from the quit” site:

http://talesfromthequit.com/choose-your-pain

Just for today, I will live each moment as it comes. I will not try to tackle all my problems at once.

Just for today, I will improve my mind. I will learn something useful, and I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.

Just for today, I will be agreeable. I will look my best, I will speak in a well-modulated voice, and I will be courteous and considerate.

Just for today, I will find no fault with friends, relatives, colleagues, or anyone else. I will notice only what I have done or haven’t done.

Just for today, I will have a plan. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it, and it will save me from two enemies: hurry and indecision.

Just for today, I will exercise my character by doing three good deeds and keeping them secret (if anyone finds out about them, they won’t count).

Just for today, I will do two things I’d rather not do, just for the discipline.

Just for today, I will be unafraid. I may have fears, but I will face those fears and do what needs to be done anyway, moment by moment.

Just for today, I will choose life. I will choose health. I will choose strength. I will choose self-control.

Just for today, I will choose freedom.

Just for today, I will choose not to smoke.

For instance, if one of your escape hatches was, “I’ll stay quit as long as I don’t gain weight,” I suggested that you tell yourself, “I can quit smoking and maintain my weight,” or even, “I can quit smoking and lose weight at the same time.”

The Voice of the Junkie

If you took my suggestion and actually started telling yourself that you could stop smoking in spite of a given escape hatch, chances are very good that your inner junkie had something to say about it, like, “Who do you think you’re fooling? You know you’ll pack on the pounds when you quit and you’ll just start puffing again. What’s the point of even starting?”

Unfortunately, even if they do start trying to close their escape hatches as I suggest, a lot of smokers will just accept the negative counter-thoughts that come up without even questioning them. And that’s why they’re still smokers.

You have to understand that the inner junkie will say anything to get you to put off quitting. It knows your deepest secret fears, and it will use them against you. If you simply accept these negative counter-thoughts, they will derail your quit (often before it even begins).

Learn to Talk Back

Don’t allow the inner junkie’s negative counter-thoughts to go unchallenged. If you tell yourself, “I can quit smoking and maintain my weight,” and your inner junkie says, “Oh, yeah? It’s never happened before,” tell it that you’ve never been this determined to make it happen before. When it comes up with something to counter that, counter it again.

Never Let It Go Unchallenged

There are a couple of things that will happen when you start talking back to the inner junkie this way: one is that the junkie will dig deeper and deeper into your fears and insecurities to come up with better ammunition. This is a good thing, because the more of this stuff you get out into the light of day and deal with now, the less there is to sneak up on you and surprise you after you quit.

The other thing that will happen is that you’ll actually start to believe you can quit, in spite of your deepest secret fears, because you’ll start to see that that’s all they are: they’re just fears; they don’t have to come true.

You Know You Can Do This

You already know you can stop smoking: if you’re a pack a day smoker, you stop smoking 20 times a day. The problem is, you start smoking again 20 times a day, too. What you have to learn is that you don’t ever have to start smoking again once you stop.

And confronting your fears — taking them out, looking at them in the light of day and seeing them for what they really are — is essential to this process: as long as they stay hidden, there’s a chance that they’ll trip you up. When you see them clearly for what they are, they lose their power over you.

I’ll take the author’s five lessons in the order he presented them and respond to each, then at the end, I’ll give you a quote and a link to the actual article:

#5. You Can’t Expect People to Know What You’re Going Through

This is absolutely true, especially when those people are not recovering addicts themselves. People who have never smoked (or active smokers who’ve never quit) just don’t get it; they have no point of reference in their lives to give them the smallest clue about what you’re dealing with, and so you can’t expect to get support, or even much sympathy, from them.

This is why it’s so important to know exactly why you’re doing this, and to look for support from people who have been where you are and are going where you want to go.

#4. Your Body Lies to You

I’m not sure I agree with this, but that’s probably just semantics; the point he’s making is a good one: you can’t just accept every signal that your body sends at face value in the early days of your quit: as I pointed out in this article, you can easily confuse hunger with the craving for nicotine, and vice versa, so it’s important to be conscious of what’s actually going on for you and respond appropriately.

#3. Your Memory Will Change With Your Mood

This is also true; if your reasons to quit aren’t really strong and deeply ingrained, when the going gets tough, you may talk yourself out of your commitment because you’d rather not remember why you made that commitment in the first place.

#2. Everything is Temporary, Even if It Doesn’t Feel Like It

Also absolutely true. Although it may feel like a crave is going on forever while you’re having it, the reality is that most craves last less than five minutes. You can prove this to yourself by committing to not smoking for at least five minutes whenever you get a crave, and setting a timer for five minutes whenever you get a crave (there are timers available as widgets for whatever operating system you’re using); if you’re like me, you’ll be surprised by how many times the timer goes off and you’ve already forgotten you were having a crave. Seriously. Try it.

(This is the essence of my famous “Two-Step Quit Plan“)

#1. Controlling Your Moods is Your Responsibility

True again. You have to take responsibility for how you act when you’re quitting; once again, the vast majority of people you encounter will have no clue what you’re dealing with, even if you tell them. So, get used to saying, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I just quit smoking, and I’m a little on edge right now…” (or words to that effect).

The Bottom Line

At one point, the author writes,

This isn’t an “If you do these things, you’ll succeed at quitting smoking!” article. I’ve never succeeded in quitting smoking, so anything I say to that effect would be total bullshit speculation. What I can tell you, though, is that all my laps around this track have given me a really good view of where the potholes are.

And that’s a pretty fair assessment: he does have a good idea of where the potholes are, and he has a funny way of expressing them. I encourage you to read the whole article for yourself; it’ll probably give you a good laugh (warning: there’s a fair amount of off-color language in the article, so, if you’re easily offended by that kind of thing, you may want to skip it).

Here’s the link:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-life-lessons-you-only-learn-through-quitting-smoking/

I read something at QuitNet many years ago; I can’t recall the name of the person who posted it, or exactly how they put it, but the idea has stuck with me all this time, just the same:

Addiction is not about weakness, and recovery is not about strength:
Addiction is about self-deception, and recovery is about being honest with yourself.

Craves Are a Normal Part of Recovery

Of course you’re going to have cravings occasionally; you’re a recovering addict, and cravings are a normal part of recovery. In the early days of your quit (and, realistically, anything less than a year is early days), they’ll be relatively strong and fairly frequent, but the longer you go without feeding them, the weaker and the less frequent they’ll become.

You should be aware that you may have cravings off and on for as long as you live: addiction is permanent, so be prepared. I relapsed after nearly 3 years of freedom in my early 20s because I chose to feed a craving, and it took me another 25 years to finally quit again for good.

Learn to Respond to Craves Appropriately

The key is to train yourself in the early days to respond to cravings appropriately:

First of all, recognize that resistance is futile; an addict’s cravings are like the ocean: relentless, and ultimately, irresistible. And, while you can’t hold back the ocean, you can learn how to sail.

Craves Are No Big Deal

When you get a craving, tell yourself, “Oh; having a crave.” Totally ho-hum; no surprise, no drama. Accept your crave the same way you would accept that the face that’s looking back at you from the mirror is your own. No big deal; it is what it is.

Then, remind yourself that you’re choosing to accept this moment of discomfort as a sign of your recovery, and reaffirm your commitment to staying free.

Finally, just get on with your life: don’t dwell on it or stress over when the next one might come; it will come when it comes, and you’ll choose how to respond to it when it gets here.

Craves Are Necessary and Useful

The bottom line is, the only time you can choose not to smoke, and have it mean anything, is when you’re craving a smoke. Because the only time an addict ever relapses is when they’re craving a fix.

The more you practice choosing not to feed your addiction in response to a crave (especially when the craves are at their strongest), the more ingrained that response will become, until it becomes second nature.

Practice With Those Craves!