Manage Smoking Cravings After You Quit
Accept that You Will Get the Urge
Cigarette cravings are a normal part of the process when you quit smoking, so don’t be surprised when you get a strong urge to smoke a cigarette. Prepare yourself mentally on your quit smoking day by reminding yourself that you are going to experience many strong urges to smoke. That way, you will be less surprised as those urges increase.
What to Do When You Want to Smoke
Try distracting yourself with something else, like a carrot, a piece of gum, a hard candy, or even a fake cigarette. This won’t ease your body’s nicotine withdrawal but will at least satisfy the hand and mouth habits that form a strong part of your cigarette addiction. Try a relaxing activity to help reduce the anxiety of nicotine withdrawal, like taking a shower or putting on soothing music and doing breathing exercises. Whatever your strategy is, have it planned out before your quit smoking day and stick to it, so that you learn to associate your urge with a new activity or item that has nothing to do with smoking. Try a change of scenery. Go outside or get away from the situation that created the urge. You may also want to try Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) like nicotine gum or lozenges. No matter what, DO NOT think “I’ll just have one.” Smoking even just one cigarette will make your body start the process of nicotine withdrawal all over again and will therefore force you to start over.
How to Handle a Relapse
If you do end up smoking again after trying to quit, don’t give up. Quitting smoking can be very difficult, but the important thing to remember is that no matter what, quitting is better than the alternative. A relapse doesn’t mean you have to give up. Evaluate why you started smoking again and try to address that issue the next time you attempt to quit. You may also want to try NRT products or a smoking cessation program to help you quit for the good the next time.