Smoking cigarettes is a terrible addiction that leads to many health problems both for smokers and nonsmokers alike.
While many smokers want to quit, it is a difficult but not impossible thing to do.
The first thing to do is to get the nicotine out of your body.
This is what addictions counselors call "detoxing" in rehabilitation centers for street drugs and alcohol that are similarly addictive.
Smokers smoke when the nicotine level in their bloodstream dips below a certain point.
The brain feels this drop in nicotine in the body and a smoker lights up to put more nicotine back into his or her body to attain a comfort level.
In quitting smoking cold turkey, the brain is tricked into thinking it needs nicotine like oxygen.
That is how bad your craving will be.
There are things to remember while removing nicotine from your body.
The first, is that smoking a cigarette is a choice.
You actually have control over whether or not to smoke a cigarette.
It is also important to remember that one cigarette leads to thousands of others, so do not smoke that "one" cigarette.
Likewise it is important to stay in the moment and to stay in the day.
Your first goal should be not to smoke one puff in one day.
That goal needs to remain until the nicotine is out of your system.
This takes anywhere from seventy-two hours to one week.
Change your habits also.
Drink water when you want a cigarette.
Replace your oral fixation with something nonfattening if you are concerned about gaining weight.
One sure fire trick to remove craving is to eat chocolate.
So if you want, you can buy yourself a box of chocolates for the week and eat a chocolate when you crave a cigarette very badly.
Something in the chocolate, a chemical, actually eases nicotine and drug cravings.
Once you have defeated the physical craving, the mental is just as important to defeat.
It takes thirty days to establish new habits.
While quitting smoking establish new habits, like an exercise routine.
Your goal should still be not too smoke one cigarette or one puff in one day, but start looking at a thirty day goal once you have kicked the physical craving.
If need be, do not drink alcohol for a month or coffee.
Associations with smoking are part of the mental addiction that are also difficult to break.
With effort and a plan of action to create healthier habits or new habits instead of the rinse, repeat habits of buying cigarettes and smoking them you can successfully quit smoking for thirty days which is enough time to kick both the physical and mental addictions.
In conclusion, quitting smoking is not easy, but it can be done cold turkey with effort and awareness.
You can control what you do and break the chain of smoking in your life.