Why the cravings.

[Patti]

I have been quit for a little over 7 months, I wanted to know if anybody else has cravings that sneak up out of nowhere, and attack, and if so, does this ever go away completely? I don't want to bum any newbies out, (it's not as bad as I'm making it.) I just don't smoke the first one and can't become a smoker again. However, I would like to know if most people become ex smokers that don't think about it anymore? Does this make sense?

[Cindy]

Hi Patti. I was quit for over ten years before. I really never even thought about smoking after the first few months. I never craved it at all. Not a thought!!!! I relapsed because I was so confident that I would never start smoking again, I decided to smoke a cigar with a friend (for "fun"). I was hooked immediately! I really never thought it would get me again. I am now 5 days into my quit. I hope I can eventually not think about it at all once again!

[Rosario]

This is my first day and its being very difficult not to think about smoking all the time. I Hope it goes away in some days or weeks, but I am not sure. I was a heavy smoker and my doctor warned me about problems with my health coming soon. He scared me to death! Think about your future health and vision yourself in a hospital not being able to breathe!

[ckoalaco]

I am an ex-smoker that dosen't think about it anymore. But I have to admit, that first year or so threw me some curve balls. They weren't really cravings but thoughts. Getting through all of the "firsts" without smoking triggered the smoking thoughts. For example, I had been quit for months and not really even thinking about smoking anymore and I was out stacking wood for the first time as an ex-smoker. When I took a break, bam! There it was. It wasn't really a "I want a cigarette" thought but more of a "I usually smoke during my wood stacking breaks, now what do I do" kind of thought. The first playday when I ran barrels on my horse for the first time as an ex-amoker, same thing. I usually had a celebratory smoke after a good run so the thought popped into my head. But it wasn't a craving at all. The first Thanksgiving, Christmas, the first time mowing the lawn... Man everything I did I had smoked my way through for 26+ years so it was normal for the thoughts to creep in.

But the thinking that I actually wanted a cigarette thing went away within a couple of months. I started hating the smell and resenting the hold that they had on me for so many years so the desire of wanting to go back to that simply wasn't there for me.

Hope this helps you and answers your question.

[Tami]

They will go away for the most part but you will always be susceptible to relapse. You know how they say if you're an alcoholic you can never have another drink; it's the same for smoking. The cravings aren't physical since you are no longer addicted to nicotine, but rather psychological. These thoughts of how nice it would be to smoke "just one" will come up months, even years after you quit. It's what gets me evey time! I've read that any chemical that you've been addicted to leaves a sort of imprint on your brain. Your brain never forgets whatever benefits the drug was giving you and will refer back to that in times of stress or other situations you associate with smoking. So basically once you've been addicted to something you will always have a problem with it. You can't just smoke one once in a while, or be like that friend you know who only smokes when she drinks. You will get to a place eventually where you don't think about it anymore I promise! However that will only happen if you have a strong enough commitment that you will never smoke again. As long as you entertain the thoughts that maybe you would like to smoke again, then those cravings will continue. Congratulations, 7 months is absolutely terrific!

[birdygal]

I have been a nonsmoker for 13 1/2 months just the other day I was doing something and I went to reach for a ciggarette totally forgetting I no longer smoked. I smoked for 37 yrs I am 51 I think it will take quite along time before I totally forget about smoking I do have urges though I am finding it is alot more often when I am around smokers. My husband quit over 25 yrs ago but all of our children smoke and when they come for a visit is when I think about it more often. I keep telling myself that this is it if I am not successfull this time I never will be able to quit again. I quit many times before and stayed smoke free for 5 months 2 times but those tries had years between them most of my tries never lasted 2 wks. Just remember how hard it was the first month and it will be easier each and every day that passes

[Angela]

Wow, I can relate (and it's only been three days), as I smoked for 37 years and last night, after dinner, I unconsiously walked over to my purse to get my medication and I PANICKED because there were no cigarettes in there anymore! Then I remembered: "Oh yea, I quit the other day." Scary. I wasn't intentionally looking for that but the habit is so ingrained that it happens automatically. I will be so relieved when I stop doing that little move.

[~Edith~]

Absolutely. It makes perfect sense. When I quit it was like I gave up my confort blanket. I put away the ashtrays, gave most of my lighters away and got rid of my cigarette case. There's some grief involved even though it was one of the best decisions I ever made besides giving up drugs and alcohol. I still have dreams sometimes that I started smoking again. Some dreams are about cigarettes and some are about pot. I'm so relieved when I wake up and realize that I did neither! I've been completely smoke-free for 4 years now, but I'm definitely not cured. I just choose not to smoke anything today.

[Patti]

Hey oh my god, I just went on this site and saw how many people responded. Thank you so much for your support. I have to say that is is a little over 10 months now and I think I turned a corner in my thought process. I definately feel like a non smoker today as opposed to a smoker who just isn't smoking. I occationally think about a smoke, but it's not something that I act on today. It is really nice being on the other side of the fense now. I don't get discusted by smokers, I do however, feel glad that I'm not one anymore. Anybody struggling, it can be hard for a while, but it is definately doable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[patricia]

I gave up my comfort blanket. That is exactly how i feel even though I know deep in my heart what the cigarettes are doing to my body. I told my husband and children that I have not quit, I only chose not to smoke today .. and i pray that I will not pick it up tomorrow.. Congrats on four years.. Trish

[Sue Ross]

I hear from ex-smokers that it takes about 2 years for the cravings to go away

[ckoalaco]

Nope... It certinally didn't take two years for THIS ex-smoker's cravings to go away. And I'm not an anomaly either. I've been involved in stop smoking support for the going on 5 years of my quit and there are plenty of quitters who have been craving free since just a few months into their quit - just like me. I think that some may blur the lines between cravings and thoughts though. Does smoking still pop into my head on occassion? Absolutely... just as it does a never-smoker. One simply must "think" about smoking because it is so prevalent in our world. If I stand in the line at the grocery store and the person who gets in line behind me is a current-smoker, I "think" of it - just as a never smoker would. Shoot, how can I not... they almost bowl me over with the nasty stench streaming from their body, lol. But thinking about smoking doesn't mean I "want" to smoke.

The actual "cravings" - the physical part of our bodies kinda freaking out because we've stopped giving it the nicotine that it "thought" it "needed" - only lasts for a short time. The rest of quitting... and staying quit... is entirely a mind game. Which is really pretty good news because what we allow to park in our minds is entirely and completely within our control. So, in essance, each and every one of us is in total control over how long those smoking "thoughts" reside in our minds... and our lives.

I've done numerous blogs on the mental part of quitting... but I saw a fed flag in something patricia said in her post above. Those words "I gave up" are a sign on trouble ahead, proven to me over and over again in my years of being active in quit support. So I'm gonna put in a link here to one of my blogs that directly addresses that point. Click below and enjoy...

Are you "giving up" smoking?

Another thing I've learned from continuing to help others find their way to freedom is this... Any one of you absolutely can beat this addiction!!! You CAN become a happy and well adjusted ex-emoker. There was no-one who was a more die hard, in love with their cigarettes smoker then I was and I'm here, even after major life crisis' and all - that tells me that you can too.

Hi, I'm Peggy and I have been happily smoke free for 4 Years, 8 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days, 9 hours, 59 minutes and 6 seconds (1,719 days). I have saved $10,208.67 by not smoking 60,179 cigarettes. I have saved 6 Months, 3 Weeks, 6 Days, 22 hours and 55 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 2/3/2005 10:00 PM - Not so much as one puff since!