If you've ever tried to quit tobacco, you know exactly what it means to go through withdrawal. Withdrawal for those of you that have never experienced it is the body's way of kicking into survival mode. If you have any aspirations of quitting tobacco you must be prepared. You must know what to expect, so that you can act rather than react to this mind altering state.
At first you feel an urge, something growing inside of you. That urge develops into desire; eventually you realize you “want” your tobacco. Mmmmm, sounds sooo good right now. Then within minutes that desire graduates to “Hello, I need it and I need it now!” This is what most people call a nic fit, the body kicking in to starvation mode. Because it thinks it’s going to die from lack of nicotine. Sounds melodramatic I know but if you’ve ever witnessed anyone start shaking because they needed a drag or a dip you can attest to the overpowering effects nicotine withdrawal can have on a person.
There are several ways to avoid such an incident, or at least tone it down. One way is to give in, most of us addicts do. That’s why we continue to do something that we know is unhealthy. But then that would defeat the purpose of this Quest.
Another approach which I don’t subscribe to is using nicotine replacement therapy. This is where you use a nicotine containing product to replace your nicotine containing product. There by maintaining your addiction to nicotine while convincing your body that you don’t need whatever you are trying to quit and then in theory weaning yourself of the new products. For some people this has worked and has worked well. They did exactly what they were supposed to do and eventually graduated to not needing the new products and succeeded in quitting. For many others however it allowed them to take their nicotine addiction to an all time high because they started using both.
I know people that have done this. A patch on one or both arms and still smoking 2-3 packs a day. Another friend of mine took up chewing to quit smoking and ended up chewing and smoking at the same time. Where is the sense in that? Truth of the matter is, you have to want to quit. And once you have truly decided to quit you have to make an absolute unmistakable commitment to quitting no matter how bad it seemingly gets. If you’re not ready, you’re just putting yourself and everyone you know through hell. They deserve better and so do you. Don’t beat yourself up or them there’s no point, you weren’t ready, move on, when you are ready then go for it.
In 2001 I quit chewing tobacco using non-nicotine replacement therapy along with several other techniques. I spoke with a lady that used black licorice every time she would normally light up. She initially hated black licorice so this worked well however eventually she developed a taste for it. By that time it was several weeks past the intense withdrawal phase of quitting, so one could say that it was successful. At the time that we spoke she had been a non-smoker for several years. I find black licorice so repulsive that I would rather “eat” a can of tobacco.
I decided to try Altoids instead. These worked perfectly; “The Curiously Strong Mint”, as it says on the tins. If you’ve ever had them you probably ate them one at time and they ain’t lyin’ they’re strong. So I’d pop about 4 or 5 at a time when the need arose and my mouth would forget any notion of putting chew in it. Eventually the cravings for the nicotine subsided and I developed an incredible tolerance to strong mints, sours and the like. On a positive note I had good smelling breathe for the first time in nearly 20 years.
One key ingredient to this technique is to learn what your triggers are. If you don’t know what your triggers are then how can you hope to circumvent a Chernobyl incident in your living room? You might be wondering what a trigger is? Well simply put it can be any routine action.
Here is a daily routine of mine: Wake up in the morning, put in a dip, take out dip, brush teeth, put dip back in, drink caffeinated pop, leave house, maybe stop at gas station for breakfast and more pop, take out dip, eat, put in fresh dip, drive for hour or so put in a little more, go to class, maybe take out dip, maybe not, sit through 3 hours of class, take out dip, eat lunch, study, maybe put in a dip while waiting for next class or put it in right before next class, If I managed to not put one in before class then get out of class go immediately to car and put in huge dip, get another pop, drive home an hour or so, take out dip just prior to dinner, eat, put in another dip, sometimes fall asleep with it in my mouth sometimes take it out just before going to bed...
So what are my triggers? Waking up, eating, drinking pop, driving, periods without chew in my mouth. Oh and the more caffeine I take in the more nicotine I take in, meaning the more chew I put in my mouth. This week I’ve been pushing the envelope with my chew. I’ve been going longer periods without it. I won’t chew on campus anymore. And I’ve been cutting back on my caffeine, which will play an important role next week.
Friday is Q-Day, I will quit cold turkey. I’m spending this week preparing. Preparing for the cold sweats, the panic attacks, my body feeling like it’s going into shock. Tomorrow I have to pick up a big pack of Altoids, I’ve already popped a few of those this week. I have the whole weekend planned out. Busy, busy, busy So if you are wondering just how committed I really am to this you’re just going to have to tune back in tomorrow and this weekend to find out
Enjoy the day.
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