This document provides information about nicotine cravings when quitting smoking. It discusses that there are two types of cravings - psychological and physical. Psychological cravings are triggered by habits associated with smoking, while physical cravings are the body's reaction to nicotine withdrawal. Nicotine causes cravings by stimulating the brain's pleasure centers. Cravings typically last 3-5 minutes. Ways to handle cravings include drinking water, exercise, distracting activities, and reminding yourself of reasons for quitting. Nicotine replacement therapy can also help reduce craving symptoms.

1. How to Stop Nicotine Cravings
When You Quit Smoking
By
http://2stopsmokingtips.com

2. Introduction
When you stop smoking, the first few days can
be the most tormenting. It’s like going through
hell. In fact, going through hell is even an
understatement. It is so because of what is
popularly known as cigarette or tobacco or
nicotine cravings. Most smokers have to
contend with cravings or urges when they
decide to drop off cigarettes. To succeed with
your stop smoking attempts, you must learn
how to fight off such cravings or urges.

3. Two Types of Cravings
Smokers trying to quit go through two types of
cravings (psychological and physical) in the
initial stages of smoking cessation.
Psychological or Mental cravings are elicited by
what you do daily. They are your daily habits or
routines. These habits are the unconscious
voices that urge you to continue smoking.

4. Two Types of Cravings(2)
When you quit, those voices will set off the urge
through activities that your mind has come to
associate with smoking such as drinking coffee
or alcohol, eating, driving, or simply relaxing.
Usually, mental and physical cravings generate
the same sensations in our bodies.

5. Two Types of Cravings(3)
Cigarette contains a highly addictive substance
called nicotine. It is the nicotine inside
cigarettes that causes dependence and when
you cease smoking, your body starts protesting
the loss of a routine (or friend, if you like). Due
to this, you might develop anxiety, have a
headache, become sleepless, irritable and have
difficulty concentrating. These emotional and
psychological symptoms may be on for several
weeks as you battle to adjust to the absence of
cigarettes and subsequently, nicotine.

6. Two Types of Cravings(4)
This article titled: reprogram your mind to quit
smoking will help you understand psychological
cravings better.
Physical or bodily cravings are your body
system’s reaction to the absence of nicotine.
You may feel a bit tense in your abdomen or
throat, while feelings of anxiety can also not be
ruled out.

7. What Causes Cravings?
Nicotine causes cravings. It’s because of the way
this highly addictive substance works. What it
does is to simply stimulate the brain’s pleasure
spots. Due to the enjoyment and pleasure this
brings to the body, the brain keeps asking for
more, more and more. When the brain notices
a deficit in the supply of nicotine, cravings set
in.

8. What Causes Cravings?(2)
They can also start whenever you get a “signal”
that it’s time to smoke. This signal is triggered
off by anything your brain links with smoking –
an event, an emotion, an object, stress or
anxiety. For instance, if you always smoke
while sipping coffee, you might not be able to
get past the first sip without feeling a strong
urge to light up.

9. Wiki Answers on Cravings
Wiki Answers lends credence to this fact.
According to it, “Cigarette cravings are
predominantly a result of the addictive nature of
nicotine. The craving itself is a message from
the brain asking for more nicotine. That is why
even if you smoke something in response to the
craving and that something doesn’t contain
nicotine, the craving will not go away.”

10. How Long Do Nicotine Cravings
Last?
Each time quitters ask about nicotine craving
duration, we tell them that even though
cravings are hard-hitting, they disappear
quickly. Normally, a craving will last three to five
minutes, and then go away, whether you smoke
or not. As soon as the craving goes away, there
is absolutely no need to smoke that next
cigarette.

11. How Long Do Nicotine Cravings
Last?(2)
But in the first few days of cessation, the cravings
are going to come in quick succession and to
successfully renounce cigarettes, you’ll have to
be ready to beat or fight off those cravings
three to five minutes at a time.
If you are one of those asking when nicotine
cravings will stop, please know that they will
never stop, even if you last smoked 1 year ago,
you may still experience cravings but not with
the intensity with which they came immediately
after you smoked your last cigarette.

12. How Long Do Nicotine Cravings
Last?(3)
Your addiction to nicotine did not develop
overnight, nor will your cravings vanish
overnight. Tobacco cravings are usually at their
strongest three to five days after smoking
cessation, and they stay like that for a couple of
weeks. After that, your brain gradually adapts to
a life without nicotine, but you won’t be totally
free. Any time your brain gets a cue or signal
that it’s time to smoke, it will request for a puff.
Most quitters have to battle intermittent urges
for no less than 12 months.

13. How Long Do Nicotine Cravings
Last?(4)
But one way to finally nail the coffin of cravings is
to start thinking and seeing yourself as a non-
smoker. After all, we are what we think and see.
And when you’re a non-smoker (not just a
quitter), it will require more than just a bit of
stress or the aroma of cigarette to make you
want to smoke again.

14. Nicotine Craving Symptoms
Nicotine craving symptoms manifest in several
ways including a strong urge to smoke,
irritability, touchiness, sleeplessness, difficulty
in concentration, tiredness, headache, cough,
sore throat, constipation, nervousness,
vomiting,a great appetite and so on. These
symptoms manifest a few hours after you’ve
smoked your last cigarette and can last a few
days up to several weeks.

15. How to Get Rid of Cravings
The first step to getting rid of urges is to identify
cigarette cravings for what they are: a trick from
a predominantly naughty part of the brain.
When a craving surfaces, just dismiss it as
such. Identifying a craving is only the first step.
You have to be ready to take decisive action to
avoid a relapse. Whatever you can do to
distract yourself for those few minutes can
make or mar your stop smoking efforts.
Considering the fact that you may not be
thinking clearly when that craving surfaces,
make sure to plan ahead.

16. Ways to Handle Cravings or Urges
Your options for getting through a craving are
unlimited. They include the following and more:
Positive thought is very powerful in the battle
against cravings,so,engage it without any
reservations. Everyday when you wake up,have
a positive mental attitude,know that whatever
the form the cravings will manifest,you will
overcome. Never give in to negative thoughts
as they will weaken your resolve to stop
smoking. Always tell yourself,”I can do it!” And
do it,you will.

17. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(2)
Throughout the three to five minutes that the
craving will last, have a glass of water and take
a sip now and then. Not only will this reduce the
urge to light up, it also keeps your hands busy.
The extra water will also help to flush the
nicotine out of your body.
Exercise whenever you feel the urge to smoke.
Studies show that taking some
aerobic or cardiovascular exercises can make a
big difference in overcoming cravings.

18. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(3)
A University of Western Ontario research lends
credence to this fact in a publication titled:
Sweating out the Cravings. The research team,
headed by Dr. Harry Prapavessis, insisted that
“supervised exercise in addition to
pharmacological agents like nicotine
replacement therapy (NRT) helps smoking
cessation, improves physical fitness, and
delays weight gain in women smokers.”
After the exercise, treat yourself to a refreshing
bath.

19. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(4)
You may try to do other things to distract yourself
from smoking like doing a puzzle, sucking on a
sugar-free sweet or chewing some gum or a
piece of hard candy. Some people who have
tried quitting may recommend you to put
something in your mouth that has no calories,
such as a stirrer, toothpick, or another
replacement for a cigarette. They say it keeps
your mind off the craving for a smoke.

20. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(5)
You may also try going for a walk around your
neighborhood each time you feel like smoking.
If you don’t want to step out of your house or
office, you can just get up and move around for
five minutes. It will help the urge pass away. As
you fight the cravings, they become less
frequent and you are able to refrain from
smoking.

21. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(6)
You may also want to avoid places and events
where you may come across a lot of smokers,
because you might be tempted to join their fun.
If you are the kind of person who associates
smoking with drinking, then you may want to
avoid drinking alcohol as well. Keep your mind
off the idea of smoking, and keep yourself busy
so as to stay a quitter.

22. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(7)
Breathe in and out. When breathing in,make sure
to take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds,
and breathe out as if you had just taken your
first puff on a cigarette. Part of the sensation
you get from smoking is a direct result of taking
a deep breath. A deep breath allows you to take
in a maximum amount of oxygen, and exhaling
lets out large quantities of carbon dioxide. This
results in a feeling of relaxation. Try it, you’ll
see.

23. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(8)
Get busy with something, anything, for the next
five minutes. It’s better if what you are busy
with is a hobby which you feel excited about.
This way your mind is taken off the urge to
smoke totally, you concentrate 100% on your
hobby.

24. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(9)
Think of why you are quitting, and stay focused.
Remind yourself of your reasons to stop
smoking, and constantly reaffirm to yourself
that you are tough enough to win the fight
against smoking. Don’t you ever assume that a
single stick will have no effect on your struggle
to stop; otherwise you might commence from
the very beginning again.

25. Ways to Handle Cravings or
Urges(10)
Try your possible best to drink plenty of fruit juice
for the first three days. This will help keep your
blood sugar level. Also,try not to skip your
meals; eat a balanced diet and reduce your
caffeine intake drastically.

26. I Can’t Resist Cravings,What Should
I do?
At 2stopsmokingtips.com, we believe nicotine
cravings can be overpowered but if you feel like
your cravings are too strong to resist even for a
few minutes, talk to your counselor or doctor
about your options, or join a quit smoking
support group. You need a strong support
system to get through nicotine craving
symptoms. You may also want to use a nicotine
replacement therapy like the patch or
stop smoking pills. They can help manage your
cravings and make it easier to quit.

27. Conclusion
Whatever approach you take, remember that
every craving will pass. No matter what your
brain tells you, neither you nor your body needs
that next cigarette.
In most cases, it takes about 7 days to get the
nicotine out of your system, everything else is
purely emotional and a matter of routine. Just
stay strong; you can do it with your willpower
and determination!

28. Thanks for Reading!!!
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