Nicotine cravings - how long do they last?

[RuadRauFlessa]

Damn, all this talk has made me feel like a beer and a smoke...

All this talk made me wanna chuck the carton next to me in the dustbin. Problem is the carton is full

[po10cy]

sell it lol

[RuadRauFlessa]

sell it lol

You wanna buy

Then make a bid.

[po10cy]

dont tempt me to the dark side

[RuadRauFlessa]

Oh come on it is only a starter pack. Should last you a while. K tell you what... You start I quit. Now if that ain't a fair trade I dunno what is.

[Hex_Rated]

Cravings never stop, craving are psychological - the irritation is the physical withdrawal and lasts a few weeks to a few months apparently. I think cigarettes have a higher relapse rate than heroin or at least remember reading something similar. I'm similar to ryanrich in that I smoked for like almost 10 years daily and then one day just stopped and became exclusively a social smoker. Thought what the hell am I getting out of this? I still smoke if I go out to clubs or bars and especially if I drink, it just doesn't feel natural to have a beer in one hand without a cigarette in the other. Wash the beer down with smoke. I have about 20 boxes of cigs lying around with 1 or 2 taken out because I've restarted and decided it wasn't for me by the second smoke. Or after going out with friends and bought a box, had 2 or 3 and stashed the rest. Repeat. I seem to have kicked that habit of always feeling like you need to do something and you don't know what it is, so you light a cigarette. Only a smoker can relate to that. Sounds crazy but almost every smoker I know has said the same thing. Watch next time your out and there's a silence, a lot of people who are smokers will reach for cigarettes (if they don't already have 1 lit). That's the main thing to beat.

If I'm under extreme pressure and about to go postal on my boss and/or clients I might go outside and smoke a cigarette. Have done that about 2 or 3 times this year. But that's more as an excuse to sit outside and stare into the distance with a blank expression on my face, not about the nicotine.

Zyban is apparently good for stopping but is also dangerous and can cause seizures. And can cause people's dormant psychological conditions to surface, hehe. I believe they even had to make an explicit statement somewhere in the controlled substances act preventing it from being banned because of it's similarities to certain illegal drugs (may have been a different country besides SA). I believe it somehow permanently alters your brain chemistry somehow, which would make me reluctant to use it until I had no other option. I would also avoid all other stimulants and medication while on it, it has some serious interactions. If your using anything at all, you need to make absolutely certain your doctor knows about it.

However I would consider using Zyban if I really couldn't stop after trying for about a month by myself. After that there's Ibogaine to get you off your Zyban addiction

The cravings will get better with time, but they won't stop completely. You might be able to train your mind to stop the cravings through psychotherapy that's another option, would flippen expensive if out of medical aid I'd presume. Try nicorettes for a while, get tons of sweets and caffeine containing soft drinks. Good luck and be strong. Use Zyban as a last resort. How long did you have to use Zyban for to get off smoking, rustypup?

[ryanrich]

Oh come on it is only a starter pack. Should last you a while. K tell you what... You start I quit. Now if that ain't a fair trade I dunno what is.

No man don't be a quitter!

[STIR]

Something that worked for me: (could be risky so think carefully before you do it)

I hate hire purchase and would normally never recommend it to anyone but in this case I think its the lesser of two evils.

Work out how much you spend each month on cigarettes.

Buy something on HP that you've always wanted but could never really afford for the same monthly installment as what you were spending on smokes (I smoked so much I bought a Yamaha Vmax) .

Whenever you feel like a smoke go and enjoy what you bought instead.

[Sojourn]

Nice idea Stir.

[RuadRauFlessa]

Something that worked for me: (could be risky so think carefully before you do it)

I hate hire purchase and would normally never recommend it to anyone but in this case I think its the lesser of two evils.

Work out how much you spend each month on cigarettes.

Buy something on HP that you've always wanted but could never really afford for the same monthly installment as what you were spending on smokes (I smoked so much I bought a Yamaha Vmax) .

Whenever you feel like a smoke go and enjoy what you bought instead.

That's kinda what I'm doing. Only mine entails some exercise as I am getting a new bow handle thing costs em around R7000

[SBSP]

Hey, Ive influenced quite a few people, with my mission to quit smoking.

My Brother ,brother in law, a friend and a guy here at work.

The guy here at work brought his pack of kent special and said he also want so quit with me.
So he crushed about 10 cigs and dumped it in my bin.

Feel sorry for him, I prepared before i stopped.
I bought a bucket of Fiz pop's (50 of them), a couple of 2 min noodles, chocolates, and pronutro.
I eint sharing my stash,

[Tribble]

The following is very disturbing.

Two-year-old Tong Liangliang began smoking at the age of 18 months. He is now on a packet of cigarettes a day.

[ryanrich]

Go Tong!

[Tribble]

Not sure how true the story is - but I was shocked anyway.