This week marks 40 years since I quit smoking cigarettes. It was a very different world in 1984. People still smoked in restaurants and bars, the last ten rows of movie theaters, and in airplanes at 30,000 feet. It’s hard to believe now. The success rate for people trying to quit back then was something like 10%. I won’t bore you with the details, but I’ll share a few things I learned.
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Like alcohol, the psychological addiction to smoking is worse than the physical addiction. The physical withdrawal from cigarettes is largely resolved within the first 30 days, although your health may improve for months or even years.
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Thinking, rethinking, and questioning your decision to quit is a significant contributor to the difficulty of cigarette withdrawal. That’s one reason one-day-at-a-time works. It helps you stop questioning your judgment. There’s science to back this up: neuroplasticity; your brain will re-wire when you stop using the old pathways and develop new, healthier ones.
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Change your mindset from I’m trying to quit to, I’m a non-smoker; I gave it up; it’s over. This new thinking will help you write new neuro-pathways.
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I’ve read the following one several times on this website. Change your habits: if you’re used to sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee, and smoking a cigarette in the morning, take your coffee and go for a walk.
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The cravings get shorter, and the time between the cravings gets longer as the weeks pass. You can take comfort in this, knowing the cravings will pass, often in as little as 15 minutes. An image I like to hold in my mind is that of a message in a bottle. No matter how rough the sea gets, the bottle always comes to the surface to complete its mission.
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I made a personal vow to keep quitting until I succeeded. Ultimately, I succeeded because I got tired of torturing myself with the back and forth.
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I don’t know anyone who regretted giving up smoking.
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Giving up cigarettes gave me the confidence to overcome other challenges in my life. Truly, this is the hidden benefit of quitting smoking.
Smoking is one damn ugly monkey on your back, constantly pounding on your head. Wherever you go, am I gonna be able to smoke? How many cigarettes do I have? Do I have a lighter? It’s an expensive, nonstop, smelly, health-destroying addiction. If you are attempting to give up smoking or vaping, I hope these suggestions help. I wish you all the best for your success.
