Best tip on how to "break your habit" before you quit smoking

Most smokers think the hardest cigarettes to quit are their habit cigarettes. You know, the ones you "can't" live without such as the one with your morning coffee. The one when you get in the car (I was sure my car wouldn't start until I lit up).

When working with clients I show them a technique to break the connection to these cigarettes before they quit smoking so that when their actual quit date comes up, these habit are already gone.

Watch this video which explains how: 

I just quit smoking, when will I feel better?

Most smokers feel better in three to four weeks. By this time the nicotine withdrawals have subsided or are being effectively managed and "habit" cigarettes have gone away.

Nicotine withdrawal is the main reason why smokers relapse the first month they quit. Physical withdrawal symptoms are: Cravings, depression, anger, irritability, insomnia, hunger or weight gain, fatigue, restlessness and frustration. For some smokers these symptoms can last up to six months.

There is no reason why a smoker should feel uncomfortable during this first month because there are seven FDA approved cessation medications to help with physical withdrawals. Often a combination of medications works better than using one. A recent study showed that the combination of Chantix with the Nicotine Patch worked better and had higher quit rates than using either of them alone. A professional tobacco treatment specialist can help a smoker figure out what combination of medications may work best.

Habit cigarettes are often seen as the hardest to quit. The one with your morning coffee, in the car on the way to work, or the one at break time. The cigarettes are a conditioned response. Your brain has associated different activities with the jolt of nicotine. This is the same conditioning as Pavlov's dogs. The dogs were taught to associate the ringing of a bell with food. Every time they heard a bell, they started salivating because they knew food was coming. A smokers brain is exactly the same - you smell the coffee and your brain immediately thinks of a cigarette. You get into your car and your brain immediately thinks of a cigarette.

What most people are not aware of is that Pavlov also taught the dogs to stop anticipating food when they heard the bell. It's called "extinguishing the condition". It takes about three to four weeks or about 30 different times where you have a cup of coffee without a cigarette. After this amount of time, your brain no longer anticipates getting a cigarette.

When nicotine withdrawals and the habit cigarettes are no longer an issue, a smoker will feel "normal" again. This is when a smoker may think they have the problem beaten. They have mastered their addiction. But they have only mastered two parts and the tools used for withdrawals and habit cigarettes are not the same tools needed to overcome what is needed to overcome the reasons for long-term relapse: stress, weight gain, emotional triggers, alcohol and being around other smokers.

So just because you feel better soon, don't let your guard down but develop new tools and strategies tostay quit for forever.

Staying Quit Forever and Preventing Relapse

I always ask the participants in my stop smoking workshops, "What is the longest time you have been off cigarettes?" Their answer tells me quite a bit about how to help them be successful with their latest quit attempt. Here is what some of their answers mean:

"I've never quit for more than a few days." This smoker is probably heavily addicted to nicotine and relapses because of the withdrawal symptoms. They might have used medications in the past but probably incorrectly or in inadequate amounts or they might need a combination of medications to be successful. Unfortunately, once the physical aspect is handled, these smokers still need to deal with the other aspects of their smoking and without addressing those issues, they will relapse and blame it on the medication not working.

"I can go 2 or 3 weeks before I give in and smoke." These smokers need help overcoming habitual smoking. Most smokers think that the habit cigarettes are the hardest one to overcome, yet actually it only seems that way for the first month, after that habit cigarettes fall away because smokers get to practice avoiding habits several times every day. For example, often when smokers get a new car, they will avoid smoking in it and very quickly, the urge to smoke in their car passes and this habit is extinguished. These smokers need help with different quitting tips for individual habits.

"I've quit for a year and then something happened and I went back to smoking." When I ask what it was that happened, it is usually stress, negative emotions, or a positive social situation. These smokers need additional coping techniques for these areas.

"This is my first time quitting." Virgin quitters often will have an easy time quitting, too easy and they think they can control their smoking, which they can't. They are too cocky and will almost always relapse.

"It wasn't that hard to quit and I thought I could have one when I wanted to smoke." Very similar to virgin quitters. These smokers underestimate the addictive nature of nicotine. they also may have a selective memory about how hard it was to quit and even if it was easy, it may be more difficult the second time around.

"This class is my last resort, I've tried everything and nothing works." I love getting these smokers in my class because I know that they have the basic foundation to be successful--motivation-otherwise they wouldn't keep trying to quit. They are willing to try almost anything but they lack the confidence that they can be successful and they need an personalized plan to overcome their individual roadblocks to successful. this is where my expertise can help them finally be successful.

Most of the participants in my stop smoking classes are able to quit. It's not magic but it is because I understand the psychology of smokers and I understand the relapse cycle and what it takes to become a successful quitter.

Different Skills Needed to Stop Smoking and then to Stay Quit

There are two different periods when a smoker quits. The initial quitting lasts 2 to 4 weeks. This is when the quitter is learning how to deal with the physical aspects of quitting and the habit cigarettes. There are now 7 FDA approved medications to handle the physical aspect of quitting and most individuals are able to get through this period by using one or a combination of these medications or for some, they are able to handle going cold turkey. Habit cigarettes fade away within 3 to 4 weeks because they are habits, you get to practice new habits on a daily basis, so that in a short period of time, most quitters have mastered the physical aspect and their habits. But many are not prepared for the second phase which can last up to a year or more. Without medicinal or counseling support, up to 95% of smokers will relapse within the first year and another 15% the second year. This drops to 60% to 90% if medications and counseling are used.
So the reality is that we are successfully able to get smokers to quit for a period of time but not forever. Preventing a relapse takes different skills than were needed in the first couple of weeks. After 6 months, when the telephone rings, the quitter is not still looking for their cigarettes, the car starts without lighting one up, the withdrawals have long since past but new situations pop up and without preparation, the quitter can very easily relapse.
The problem areas usually center around positive social situations, negative emotions and stress situations, being around other smokers, alcohol and weight gain. For long term success, a quitter will need to face this situations without turning to their long lost friend-a cigarette.

Another Effect of Nicotine on the Brain

Nicotine is a powerful drug that enters enters the brain and attaches to receptors that release dopamine, which is a feel-good neurotransmitter. So when a smoker says that they enjoy smoking, what they are really saying is they enjoy the effect that nicotine has on their brain. One of the other things that nicotine does, is that it goes to the part of the brain that enhances external events, which means that when you pair smoking a cigarette with drinking a cup of coffee, answering the phone, driving a car or anything else, the release of dopamine makes each of these events more enjoyable than doing it without smoking. This is how "habit" cigarettes are created. so when a smoker quits, having that morning cup of coffee just doesn't seem as enjoyable, the effect that nicotine has on the brain is what is missing. This also explains why we smoke when stressed, anxious or angry, because the effect of dopamine makes us feel a little bit better. A traditional way of looking at addiction is that the substance needs to cause intoxication or euphoria, like taking a drink of alcohol or a snort of cocaine but with nicotine, the effect is much more subtle but it is still a mechanism that is used to alter our emotional state, not to the degree of other addictive substances but this is probably a reason of why so many people underestimate the power that nicotine has over a smokers brain.

Making Smoking a Conscious Choice

Have you ever found a cigarette in your mouth and forgot that you had lite up or had a second one in the ashtray? Smoking becomes an unconscious, automatic habit. Most cigarettes are not conscious choices but a reflex. The brain triggers a want, desire or craving for a cigarette and the smoker automatically reaches for one without consciously thinking about it. The brain reflex continues after an individual decides to quit and these wants, desires or cravings become stronger and build on one another, especially during the first few weeks. Becoming aware of when, where and why you are reaching for a cigarette can help develop a successful plan for quitting. Before you light up, start a log of what time you smoke, what are you doing, and how you are feeling. Many of your triggers you know about, but there are many that you are not aware of and after quitting, it seems that these triggers come from out of the blue but actually it only seems that way since they were unconscious triggers that you just weren't aware of but your brain remembers every trigger. Every want, desire, or craving for a smoke is your brain saying, "I always get my nicotine when this (fill in the blank) happens, so I want my nicotine and I want it now!" By knowing your triggers, you can plan for alternatives for each trigger. Have a whole tool box of different strategies to deal with your different triggers and you are more likely to be successful than having just one strategy that only works with some of your triggers.

Classical Conditioning Can Keep You Smoking

Palov was a scientist that discovered that dogs can be conditioned to salivate when they hear a bell rung because the sound had been paired with the presentation of food. The dogs learned that when they hear the bell, they would be fed. This is called classical conditioning. Habit cigarettes are the very same thing. Everything a smoker smokes a cigarette while doing something else, they can become classically conditioned to think of a cigarette every time they do this other activity because it has become paired with smoking--the next time you hear the phone ring, do you want a cigarette? Even if you just had one? Getting into your car, do you need a cigarette first? Habits can be associated with people, places, situations, times, events, objects, and emotions.
This conditioning happens because nictoine goes to a part of the brain that give extra attention to external events. So when you smoke, you are more aware of what is happening at the same time. if you do the same thing many times while smoking the brain now expects to receive nicotine when you do this activity again, every time.
Smokers often think that these habit cigarettes are the harder to give up but the opposite is true. If you smoke every time you answer the phone and this happens 5 times a day, when you quit, 5 times each day you will "crave" the cigarette, so it seems like you are thinking about cigarettes all the time, but what this means is that you get to practice not having a cigarette 5 times each day also. In a very short period of time, you brain extinguishes the connection between the phone and the cigarette. Pavlov also proved this theory too, it is called extinction.
The urge for habit cigarettes falls away within 2 to 3 weeks. When the conditioning is extinguished, most smokers will feel like a non-smoker and believe that they have beat Kid Nicotine but not all conditioning is extinguished and the smoker needs to be aware of the "out-of-the-blue" craving. Often this is a habit cigarette that is paired to an activity that you don't do very often, maybe only once or twice a year, yet your brain still remembers this connection. You need an emergency plan for when those "out-of-the-blue" craving pop up.

Planning Ahead to Quit Smoking

The average smoker smokes a pack a day and each of these 20 cigarette represents a different ritual. The first one in the morning might fit in with a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. The one that you light up to start your car. The one you grab to answer the phone. The two that you smoke after getting into a fight with your spouse. the unexpected extra half a pack from partying with smoking friends.
When quitting, some of these cigarettes will just naturally fall away, while others will be more difficult to give up. Have you ever bought a new car and didn't smoke in it to preserve the new car smell? Didn't seem a hardship, did it? so you don't have to quit all 20 cigarettes when you quit, you just have to be prepared for the slippery area where you tell yourself, "I'm just going to have one." Because that one, will lead you back to all the rest.
If you're not ready to quit all of your cigarettes, start by breaking the different associations with your smoking. For the first week, don't smoke in your car, you'll get over it. The next week, don't smoke when using the phone. Each week break one more ritual until you're ready to stop all of them.
After you quit, most situations will be easy but there will be those moments that you haven't prepared for--those "out of the blue" cravings. Have an emergency plan for those times. who can you call that will support you? How can you change the way you think about the situation to feel better about not smoking? What can you do to get out of the slippery situation?
Individuals have told me about going to a party where "everyone" is smoking and they finally gave in and smoked a few.
I ask, "Why didn't you leave the party?"
"I didn't want to be rude."
"If you had a sudden case of diarrhea, would you stay? Or would you excuse yourself and go home?"
You don't have to announce to everyone that you're leaving because of being around the smoke, that would be rude. But a quitter needs to protect themselves from relapsing. So plan ahead for slippery areas and those "out of the blue" cravings. The better prepared you are, the more likely you will be successful.

Different Reasons Why We Smoke

I have personally quit a total of nine separate times for at least 3 months each time. This is not counting the numerous attempts of a day here or a day there. Each time I have quit, I have learned something else about how I was connected to my cigarette. The first time I quit, it seemed easy, too easy and I thought I could control my smoking. But I was wrong, I needed to learn about relapsing and how just one cigarette can lead to a whole pack.
Another time it was important to learn what to do with my hands and the hand to mouth motion. Chewing on coffee stirrers worked for me. Other times, it was learning how to handle social situations without smoking and having a cocktail. I used to run a social club and often smokers would come up to me with a cigarette in their hand and want to talk. I would excuse myself and say that I would be right back. As soon as they put out their cigarette, I would return and them tell them that I had recently quit and it was difficult for me to be around a lit cigarette. That put the emphasis on me changing, not on changing or making them wrong.
The last time I quit, I needed to learn to control my strong emotions. I had started again because I was so angry at someone else that I had no outlet to vent and I saw no option except to smoke. Each time I quit, I develop another tool for my toolbox in dealing with my addiction to nicotine. Just like a carpenter needs many different tools for different jobs, a smokers needs different tools to handle the many different way they are connected to their cigarettes.
Since I've quit at least 9 times, this also means that I relapsed 8 times before I was finally successful. Most smokers would have given up before that because we want to make it easy to quit, we just want it over with but for some people like me who are truly addicted to nicotine, we need all the help we can get--which is developing more tools for your toolbox.

Dealing with Habit Cigarettes

Smokers are connected to their cigarettes in many different ways, one is through habits. Just like the scientist Pavlov taught dogs to salivate by ringing a bell, a smoker becomes conditioned to smoke by external events such as drinking coffee, driving in a car, answering the phone. Nicotine acts on the brain to heighten these associations. So to be successful, the quitter needs to have different tools to deal with different situations. What works for one habit may not work for another.

• Telephone: only answer the phone in rooms where you do not normally smoke such as the bedroom, have a piece of paper and pen handy to doodle, don't answer the phone when you are feeling particularly weak.
• After meals: have a breathe mint, go brush your teeth, take a walk,
• With coffee: sit in a different chair, drink tea instead or a different flavor of coffee, change your morning routine--having coffee after you read the paper instead of while you read.
• Driving: have unsalted sunflower seeds available and eat them one at a time (mimics the hand to mouth motion, smoke a "fake" cigarette--often the unconscious mind doens't know the difference since we are not consciously aware of each cigarette we smoke.

The trick is to have a variety of tools to deal with each craving as it comes up. The good news is that habit cigarettes fall away very quickly since you get to practice them each day. If you're not ready to quit just yet, why not start changing your habit cigarettes, one at a time, so that when you are ready to quit, you have already dealt with that aspect. Habits cigarettes can be associated with people, places, times, situations, and emotions.

How Nicotine is a Different Kind of Addiction

We need to find a different way of describing how individuals are attached to nicotine besides addiction, which implies the heavy withdrawals like from heroin, crack and alcohol--which hospitalization may be required. However, nicotine does change the structure of the brain--which is why it can be easy for some smokers to quit but hard to stay quit since most will relapse within a year. The nicotine is out of the body in a few days but the brain has memories attached to external events--habits, nicotine goes with coffee, talking on the phone ete..These habit cigarettes go away very quickly too. However, it can be years later when a nicotine memory is triggered in the former smokers brain and should the quitter decides to have "just one", they may find that just like potato chips, they can't stop at just one. the Nicotine locks into receptors in the brain and starts creating more of these receptors, which do dormant when quitting but can wake up with the reintroduce of nicotine---The brain is screaming--Don't tease me with one cigarette, I want the whole pack. The brain has the memory of being flooded with dopamine when Kid Nicotine locks into those receptors. So there are two parts--Stop Smoking AND Stay Quit to be successful. Understanding what nicotine does to the brain can help when Kid Nicotine comes knocking on your door out of the blue just when you think you've got kid nicotine beat.

Dealing with the Rituals of Smoking

Often smokers continue their mantra of "I enjoy smoking" when they stopping enjoying it years before but they have continued to smoke unconsciously since each cigarette is paired with so many of the individual's daily routine. Everyone has a morning ritual that they go through, I wake up, get the newspaper, read the paper while drinking a cup of coffee. For a smoker, a cigarette fits in there someplace. I know that when something upsets my morning ritual such as running out of coffee or not getting the paper, it can throw my day off. The smoker has 20 rituals a day, so not only are they dealing with the physical aspects of quitting but every aspect of life where that cigarette fit into their daily rituals.
It helps to prepare before quitting to smoke by the clock and start disassociating smoking with daily activities. If you smoke a pack a day that is about one an hour, so smoke every hour on the hour, but don't drink you coffee when smoking, don't talk on the telephone, do nothing but stand and smoke the cigarette. This give you time to figure out how to have that morning cup of coffee without the cigarette, how to drive the car without the cigarette, how to talk on the phone without the cigarette but without having to deal with the physical aspects until you are ready to quit.

Many Reasons Why We Smoke

There are many reasons why people smoke, these are just some, see how many apply to you


STIMULATION:
I smoke cigarettes in order to keep myself from slowing down, such as in the late afternoon.
I smoke to stimulate myself, to perk myself up or to wake up in the morning.
I smoke to give myself a “lift”
Smoking helps me to concentrate when I am reading or studying.

BOREDOM:
I smoke a lot when I am alone.
I smoke when I have extra time on my hands.

HANDLING:
Handling a cigarette is part of the enjoyment of smoking it.
Part of the enjoyment of smoking comes from the steps I take to light up, from packing the tobacco to lighting it up and holding the cigarette in my hand.
When I smoke, part of the enjoyment is watching the smoke as I exhale or blowing smokerings.
When I don’t have a cigarette to smoke, I feel awkward because I don’t know what to do with my hands.
When I smoke, I enjoy the feeling of the cigarette and the smoke on my tongue and lips.

PLEASURABLE RELAXATION:
Smoking cigarettes is pleasant and relaxing.
I find cigarettes enjoyable.
I light up a cigarette most when I am most relaxed and comfortable.
Smoking helps me relax quickly when I feel tense.

REDUCE STRESS AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS:
When I am trying to solve a problem, I light up a cigarette.
When I feel “blue” or want to take my mind off cares and worries, I smoke.
When I feel uncomfortable or upset about something I smoke.
I light up a cigarette when I feel angry about something.
Few things help better than cigarettes when I’m feeling upset.
When I am faced with troubles of some kind, smoking a cigarette seems to help me face them more easily.

PHYSICAL ADDICTION/CRAVING:
I smoke at least one pack a day.
I smoke within 30 minutes of getting up in the morning.
I need to smoke at least one cigarette every hour.
I am very much aware of the fact when I am not smoking a cigarette.
I get a real gnawing hunger for a cigarette when I haven’t smoked in a while.
Between cigarettes, I get a craving that only a cigarette can satisfy.
When I run out of cigarettes I find it almost unbearable until I can get them.
I go on smoking even though I find the taste rather unpleasant

HABIT:
I smoke automatically without even being aware of it.
I always smoke in certain situations such as answering the phone, getting in the car or with a drink or with coffee.
I have found a cigarette in my mouth and didn’t remember putting it there or I light up and find one already burning in the ashtray.
There are specific times during the day when I regularly smoke.
Right after lighting a cigarette, I put it out because I realize I don’t really want it.
I smoke a lot when I am talking to friends.

When quitting, it is important to have many different tools to deal with the different cravings. What works for a "habit" cigarette, may not work for a "stress" cigarette.