This document provides tips for quitting nicotine use and maintaining nicotine abstinence. It discusses understanding nicotine addiction as a chemical dependency, preparing to quit by making an honest assessment of nicotine use and its effects, getting support from others, managing cravings and withdrawal symptoms, and maintaining abstinence over time through continued use of program tools and principles. The overall message is that quitting nicotine is possible through education, willingness, support, coping strategies, and an ongoing commitment to recovery.
2. Prior to Quitting - First Days of Freedom - Remaining Free
Tips to Gaining Freedom From Nicotine
3. Itโs Not As Hard As You Think!
This is not to suggest that it is easy, but many of us had
developed the view that stopping our tobacco use was
impossible.
4. Inform yourself about nicotine.
Nicotine is a poisonous alkaloid substance. It has been officially
declared an addictive chemical.
5. Understand that you do not need nicotine (it is not
nutritional).
Nicotine use creates a physical craving. The only way to stop
your craving is to keep nicotine out of your body.
6. Understand that addiction is a chemically compelled
behavior.
Nicotine commands can be more insistent than rational thought.
You respond to these chemical commands, often unconsciously.
Ever find a smoking cigarette (or two) in your hand and you can't
recall ever having lit them?
7. Make an honest appraisal of your nicotine use.
Ask yourself exactly what it is doing for you; then ask yourself
what it is not doing for you. If you think using nicotine offers you
something, consider if there are healthier ways for you to get
any of these perceived benefits. Keep in mind that it is a medical
fact that tobacco use affects every organ in your body in a
harmful way. Ask yourself whether using nicotine is relaxing you
or is it just relieving the tension caused by the chemical craving
for nicotine.
8. Don't delay action toward stopping your use of nicotine
because you think there are too many pressures in your
life.
Nicotine and the 4,000 chemicals in processed tobacco (over 60
can cause cancer) are a real pressure on your physical and
spiritual life. These substances steadily erode your state of
health.
9. Open your life up to new approaches and new
possibilities.
If you keep going about things in the same old way, how can
you realistically expect different results? "If nothing changes,
nothing changes."
10. Treat yourself with love and respect rather then by
placating yourself with rationalizations.
Meetings will help change the way you talk to and treat yourself.
Just by reading this you are taking action. Reward yourself in
some positive way for each action you take.
11. Write down reasons why you want to be nicotine free
rather than thinking about reasons why you "can't quit
yet."
Don't focus on what you feel you cannot do, but take an action
on something that you can do. Move forward toward your goal,
no matter how small a step it may be.
12. Quit for yourself.
You may have family and loved ones who are urging you to quit
using tobacco. This may be helpful, but can sometimes leave a
nicotine user annoyed and defensive. Even though your family
and loved ones will benefit tremendously from your quitting, it is
you who will benefit most. There is a better chance of quitting
and staying stopped when we quit for ourselves. Attending
meetings helps to raise your hopes and to strengthen your
desire to quit.
13. Look at quitting the use of nicotine as giving yourself a
precious gift.
You are giving yourself a better quality of life, possibly a longer
life. You are giving yourself a healthier body. You are giving
yourself more self-esteem. You are also giving yourself a clearer
sense of your feelings. Recovery is a gift that keeps on giving.
14. Make things easier for yourself.
Before quitting, plan your activities for the first few days of
abstinence. This way you will not have to make too many
decisions during withdrawal.
15. Consider quitting as a challenging adventure.
Become willing to go to any length to remove nicotine from your
life. We have found that willingness can change a length into a
strength. If you are not willing, try praying for the willingness.
Even if you still feel hesitant, practice saying aloud, "I am willing
to go to any length to be free." Affirm your desire with your
voice. If this feels awkward, be willing to feel awkward. Keep
moving your willingness forward. The gift is ahead.
16. Imagine letting go of nicotine.
Some people use visualizations as an aid in changing. Imagine
your pack lifting or drifting away. You may reach out to grab it,
okay, but then imagine letting it go again. Sense the release,
imagine the relief. Strengthen your willingness with practice.
Rehearse for an opening.
17. There is no perfect time to start preparing to quit.
Today is a good day to start. Today you are reading this
pamphlet. You may not stop using nicotine today but stay in the
process of preparing for the possibility. Seek your own pace to
prepare rather than seeking excuses to delay.
18. If you are not going to quit right away, try cutting down.
If you smoke one less cigarette each day that will be seven less
per day in a week. However, if this is difficult, remember it is
each dose of nicotine that is creating the next craving.
19. Don't minimize the truth or deny the risks even if you are
not quitting today.
If this feels uncomfortable, talk about it with a fellow member.
Kept in the dark, denial grows like a mold. The truth may be
awkward at first, but in time can set you free.
20. Set a quit date.
Give it a try. Remember, it is all right if you don't succeed at first.
Just keep trying. The only way you can lose is by ceasing to try.
21. Look at quitting as an investment.
Once you quit for an hour, you have invested this hour in
becoming a healthier person. Now, invest one more hour.
Continue to add to your investment hour by hour. It will grow and
become more valuable as the hours go by. You will begin to see
and feel the rewards from this investment more and more.
Protect and guard it just as you would your life's savings.
22. Quit nicotine one day at time and think only about the
part of the day you are in.
"I am not going to smoke (chew) before noon." "I am not going
to smoke (chew) before three o'clock." Sometimes just do it an
hour at a time or a craving at a time. This is a lot easier than
thinking about trying to quit forever.
23. Any discomforts you experience in the beginning will
ease with time and abstinence.
You will never have to go through it again if you stay nicotine
free. Remember your discomforts! They are valuable! These
memories may prevent you from the common risk of trying to
have "just one."
24. If you could have just one, you wouldn't have had the
thousands of cigarettes you have smoked.
A pack a day for ten years is 73,000 cigarettes! None of them
solved a single problem.
25. Think about letting go of nicotine as a "choice" rather
than something you are doing to deprive yourself.
You can tell yourself that you can smoke a carton tomorrow, but
"just for today" you are choosing to be abstinent.
26. Pray instead of puff.
The intimacy of personal prayer improves our relationship with
ourselves and others. Within the privacy of our own mind and
heart, we can pray anywhere. Nicotine arrives by paper, pipe, or
pinch; recovery arrives by spiritual delivery.
27. When you quit you may experience a sense of loss.
Don't dwell on these thoughts. The sense of loss is temporary,
but the gains you receive will be enjoyed the rest of your life. It
will become a pleasure to remove nicotine from your life.
28. If you feel an urge to use nicotine think H.A.L.T.
Four basic triggers for using nicotine are when we are Hungry,
Angry, Lonely and Tired.
29. Feed your body with nutrition instead of nicotine.
We have used nicotine to suppress our feelings, even hunger.
Recovery is about learning to take care of ourselves in life
affirming ways. Pay attention to when you get "edgy", you may
need to feed yourself. Or it could simply be time to stretch and
take in some fresh air.
30. Drink lots of liquids to help flush the poison out of your
system.
Water can be a wonderful washer. Orange juice is good
because smoking depletes the vitamin C content in our bodies.
31. What and how much you eat is important when you quit
nicotine.
Your metabolism changes. Your organs function differently. You
may experience weight gain. There are things you can do to
modify gaining weight. There is no cure for emphysema!
32. When you first stop, don't be surprised if you find
yourself feeling cranky, grumpy, crabby or downright
angry.
Withdrawal from nicotine will be physically uncomfortable and
you may feel deprived and generally annoyed. It is important to
talk with someone about these feelings rather than venting at
someone. Anger can hurt. You may end up feeling guilty which
could lead you to feeling justified to use nicotine again.
33. Take a second look before you react.
Withdrawal can distort one's perception of a situation. However,
nicotine may have masked issues that are genuinely upsetting
and anger may be a valid feeling that requires being addressed
in a healthy manner.
34. There are better companions than cigarettes.
As we end our relationship with nicotine there may be feelings of
grief or loneliness. It is good to share what you are experiencing
with others who are going through the same thing. Use your
meeting's phone list to keep connected and clean with feelings
of fellowship.
35. Avoid becoming too tired.
When we are tired, situations can get misunderstood, our
patience thins, and our overall resistance becomes weak. This is
dangerous. "Everything" doesn't need to get done today.
36. Take breaks.
Develop new ways to "take a moment" without using nicotine.
We are learning to take care of ourselves in healthier ways.
Enjoying a few moments of rest or pausing to reflect on how we
might undertake our next task can be done without a cigarette.
Really.
37. Sometimes all we need is a distraction to shift our focus
from a craving.
In the beginning it is better to keep yourself busy than to allow
yourself the time to obsess about what you are not doing. It is
important to keep putting more time between you and your last
dose of nicotine.
38. Surround yourself with supportive positive people.
This will help you keep a positive attitude. Avoid negative
people, places and things as best you can, especially in the first
weeks of stopping your tobacco use. Don't try to test yourself or
try to prove a point by taking chances. Act as if your life is at
stake.
39. Ask for help from family, friends, and co-workers.
Whether it's to ask for some tolerance as you go through
withdrawal or asking them not to use tobacco around you for a
while. They may not be as understanding as your group or
Higher Power, but you can ask. After all, when you look at the
statistics, you could say it is matter of life or death.
40. Plan activities that do not permit tobacco use.
Go to the movies or museums or any public place where
tobacco use is not allowed. Relax in a warm bath. Go swimming,
hiking, visit non-smoking friends, or do something else you
enjoy.
41. Keep something handy for your hands.
We are accustomed to holding a cigarette; being without one
might leave our hands at a loss. Squeeze a small ball,
playdough or fiddle with any object. You may also have a
personal item that offers spiritual strength when held.
42. Boredom is a signal to get busy.
It is hard to just sit and not smoke. Offering service to your
group will enhance your recovery. You can also keep busy with
things you enjoy or explore new activities. Pace yourself, but
stay active. Take a walk to see beauty. Enroll in an evening
class just for fun. This is a good time to indulge yourself with a
sense of newness and enjoyment.
43. Suck, bite, or chew.
You may miss putting something in your mouth. Avoid fattening
foods. Some people substitute sucking lollipops or candy. Carrot
or celery sticks are good to bite and good for you. Chewing gum
is also a good substitute. Others enjoy cinnamon sticks or
licorice roots from health food stores.
44. Caffeine is a stimulant like nicotine.
Once you stop smoking, your body's chemistry changes and
caffeine stays in your body longer. You may crave cigarettes
more to smooth out a caffeine high. To help make these initial
stages of nicotine abstinence easier consider gradually reducing
your coffee intake if you drink a lot of coffee or eliminating it if
you are a moderate drinker.
45. Avoid drinking alcohol while you are quitting.
Once alcohol is in your system your defenses will diminish
greatly.
46. Change your routine.
Drive to work using another route to avoid familiar triggers along
the way. Watch TV in another chair to break the association.
Changing your patterns helps change your responses.
47. Give yourself rewards, frequently.
What you are doing isn't easy by any means. It takes a lot of
guts to change and break the cycle of addiction.
48. Avoid the self-pity trap.
If we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, our minds will tell us that
we deserve a cigarette to make us feel better.
49. If you have a problem..
... and then use nicotine, you now have two problems.
50. Re-read all the Nicotine Anonymous literature on a
regular basis.
As your recovery progresses you will discover new insights
about your nicotine use and your relationship with yourself and
others.
51. All you have to do is not have the "next one" and you will
avoid smoking thousands.
Don't fool yourself and think you can start and stop at will. You
can't (or else you would have years ago). Trying to control an
addictive substance is engaging in an endless battle.
52. Frequently notice how you are improving.
Your breath no longer smells like a dirty ashtray. Your fingers
are not stained from tobacco. Your senses of smell and taste
are better. Your complexion has a healthier color. Your teeth are
beginning to lose their yellow color. Your smoker's cough may
increase temporarily during the clearing process, but eventually
eases. Your general attitude about yourself is better because
you are really taking care of yourself.
53. Be open to opportunities to take Steps.
Our everyday activities present us with a chance to practice
applying the Twelve Steps to our lives. Sometimes we can take
only tiny steps but they start us past "stuck." We won't know how
far we will get or even to where, but any movement forward
becomes an act of faith.
54. Working any of the Twelve Steps is an act of faith.
The more we practice them, the more we change. The more we
change, the more we realize the power in an act of faith. We are
inspired into spirituality.
55. Simplify your options.
Simple is easier to maintain. Complicated plans either never get
started or eventually break down. Addicts tend to make things
complicated, wanting to avoid certain "simple truths." If we keep
things simple and just do the "next right thing," serenity can
grace us. This is a gentle program.
56. Give your gift away.
Whenever you encounter a nicotine user who is seeking help,
give your experience, strength, and hope. Helping others
transforms your past into a "present."
57. Maintain what you have gained.
Whenever you encounter a nicotine user who is seeking help,
give your experience, strength, and hope. Helping others
transforms your past into a "present."
58. If you want to smoke, use all the tools of the program
instead, and Keep Showing Up.
The principles of Nicotine Anonymous are based on the
successful experiences of many others who now live nicotine
free.
