First of all, the last 5 years or so that I smoked, I smoked Carlton Brand cigarettes. I felt that because they had only one MG of tar and .01 of nicotine, I was at least putting less bad into my body. Ultimately, I feel that this decision actually made quitting much easier, which I will explain.
I had smoked Marlboro for many years. Every time that I changed brands to reduce the tar and nicotine, it took about a week for my body to fully adjust to the change, and feel totally comfortable with the new lower levels of tar and nicotine. My first suggestion toward quitting without any discomfort seems obvious, but rarely stated: begin by lowering your tar and nicotine with the cigarettes you smoke.
If you smoke a regular level of tar and nicotine cigarette, begin by going down one level to a light brand. Check the tar and nicotine levels and change completely to go down about 5 to 7 MG of tar in each increment. Don’t worry if you seem to smoke more the first couple of days – I always smoked more from routine than actual need, so you will settle into a similar amount of cigarettes soon. Remember, each time I did this, it took about a week to fully accept the new lower level as normal. You will too!
Once you are comfortable with a new lower level of tar and nicotine, it is time to repeat the cycle. I do not think that it is helpful to have an actual “quit date” at this time, because it only adds to your pressure. It is helpful to tell your family and friends that you are working towards becoming a non-smoker, and ask them to support you with each step. I was lucky enough to be the only smoker in my family. I suggest that you share your success at each level with your loved ones, and try to do this together, or at least get them to start after you.
Continue this transition with each level of tar and nicotine. If you start at a level of about 18 to 20 MG of tar, drop to a light brand of 12 to 15MG. After that, change to a low tar and nicotine of between 5 to 7 MG of tar. The final step is to go to an Ultra Light such as Carlton with 1MG of tar. Remember, the nicotine drops in proportion to the tar, so my logic was always that every time I lowered my tar I was also reducing my level of addiction.
It is not important to dwell on how long to smoke at each level. Reducing the overall stress of the process is good and adding time constraints will only will add road blocks for you. The important thing for you is to continue seeing yourself as a non-smoker and continue making the changes as you feel comfortable. Although becoming a non-smoker is the goal, each step you take and each new level you reach should make you feel good and make your loved ones proud.
Once you are comfortable on Carlton or another Ultra Light cigarette, it is time to pick a date and plan for it. If possible, try to pick a low pressure time in your life. In my case, I felt that Christmas would help keep me busy with plenty of positive family time and events, so quitting several weeks prior would make sense. I live in New York, and our state allows smokers to get help quitting by providing 8 weeks worth of FREE Nicotine Patches, after we sign up on the internet or via toll free number. I suggest you check with your individual state and take advantage of any free support your tax dollars will pay for.
In my case, I am off on Sundays and Mondays. I picked the Monday as the day to begin. I smoked normally on Sunday, not really dwelling on Monday, because I was nervous and did not want to find a reason to put it off. I should mention at this point that for the last 10 years, and on the advice of my daughter’s doctor, that I stopped smoking inside my house, as it was causing problems for my daughter who was having her tonsils removed. I stopped smoking inside my house and in the car if I had any passengers. This meant that if it was raining, I needed to stand under the overhang of my house. If it were snowing, I needed to shovel a spot before stepping out. On occasion, a raccoon, wild cat, possum, dog or some other animal would startle me, or the wind would try to blow me down. I stuck with this routine for 10 years, and at the very least, begin to only smoke outside when you make your first transition to a lower tar cigarette. It will help keep you focused, show your family that you are serious, and most of all will be taking a step to make your family healthier. If any family members or friends smoke, make the same rule for them – Only Smoke Outside! My last cigarette occurred in fairly heavy rain, before bed on a Sunday night, after everyone had laid down for the night. I thought that after all those years smoking, it would seem much more festive or life changing. It wasn’t. I came in wet from the rain, and feeling quite let down. In quitting, smoking was no more gratifying than it ever was smoking!
Choose the 21MG nicotine patch, if you have than option. On the day that I quit, I woke up and put the patch on. We have our garbage picked up on Mondays, so my wife made me throw our my cigarettes, lighter and above all, the ash tray I had used for years. They all left that morning on the garbage truck. I was off on Monday when I started, and felt kind of “up tight” n the later morning. I called about the patch and found out it takes 4 to 6 hours to fully release and give your body the nicotine it wants. This was key to my success.
My original plan became to change my routine and put the new patch on at night before bed, so I would feel the nicotine relief when I was awake. I did not change the plan, so what actually happened was that I realized that during the mornings, I was actually on my own with minimal discomfort, and around midday, the nicotine would kick in for relief. This went on for several days, with the ups and downs.
The key for me was this: I learned before I quit that after about 24 hours, the nicotine addiction is actually gone and you only want to smoke due to routine. I realized that the way I felt in the morning (without nicotine) was really quite similar to afternoons and evenings (with nicotine). I was beginning to see that life without nicotine really wasn’t that bad, certainly not as bad as I had thought it would be.
Then the last straw popped up. Increasingly, after a couple of day, one of the side effects of the patch showed up – difficulty sleeping! I have always been a sound sleeper, so this was tough. After just one week on the patch, I decided to not put it on one morning and see how the day went. Guess what? It went fine. After only one week, the pleasure I received of having a good night’s sleep was actually greater than the need at that point for the patch. I gave away the rest of my patches to a co-worker after that.
To really see how important this step has been and how quitting has effected my life, I’ll give you a real life example that many of you probably can identify with. My family and I also had a family vacation planned for mid January to Disney World. In the past, as a smoker, a trip like this is filled with difficulty. First, no smoking in the airport or on the plane. Flying makes me nervous, so my instincts were to want to smoke even more. Going 3 to 5 hours with little if any chance to smoke makes a smoker’s life sort of miserable. Once at Disney World, there are strictly enforced and very limited places in the resorts or the theme parks to smoke. Our son is 5 years old and at Disney for the first time, so I was so happy that I did not have to plan his rides based on the adjacency of a secluded smokers outpost! It really hit me there, when I was walking in Tomorrowland to get a better picture of our children on the Speedway ride. I walked through a smokers area. I smelled the smoke and looked how unhappy the several people there looked – here in the middle of the Happiest Place on Earth! That moment, I proudly new I was a Non Smoker!
It is almost 3 months now. I have absolutely no want to smoke. No urge, no reason. It makes me feel sick when I think about breathing in a big breath of smoke. It makes me sick when I think of how much
a pack of cigarettes cost. It feels terrible that I contributed to many childhood illness for my children. I feel bad that I spent so much time smoking around my wife, as well as making her stand and wait while I puffed at every smokers spot! I am thankful as well as hopeful that I quit before I created any future health risks for me. I now carry a pack of sugar free bubble gum, which I use often. It is funny, because now, I am almost as uptight about leaving my gum at home, as I would have been leaving my cigarettes at home several months ago. Maybe that is more about personality, and less about nicotine. Either way, you can quit smoking easily, save money, feel better and live longer. The next time you buy cigarettes, plan to lower the tar and nicotine, and see how you feel in a week. Then simply stay on your journey until you succeed! I’m living proof!