When you quit smoking, it’s not as much the nicotine withdrawal as it is psychological. I know this for a fact because 6 days ago I “quit” smoking, more so the ‘act’ of smoking. The hardest part so far is when I’m driving (esp. in traffic) and when drinking… coffee.  Also – in social situations.

At this point of the supposed withdrawal, you’re already feeling all sorts of crazy so why not act it?

Playing the part of crazy when quitting smoking (sounds like a movie title eh?)

1. I like the “pretend you’re actually smoking” – a la’ mime style. Hold the cigarette, take a deep inhale of the mime cigarette and exhale as though your last exhale. Do this several times and you’ll feel yourself at ease, calm – almost therapeutic! You can use this strategy when faced with stressful situations at the work place, school and when witnessing random acts of stupidity from ignorant people.
2. Another strategy I find works is to say the act of smoking. For example, in the car today I was with a friend and we were stuck in traffic. I told him, “right now, I’d be lighting a cigarette up” – I would then mime me smoking (see step 1). You can also narrate your movements by saying “I’m inhaling now. Exhaling. Oh how lovely the smell of smoke!”
3. The above two ‘tips’ do not require money (just a slight feeling of embarrassment). There are other forms of non-nicotine smoking. What about the smokeless cigarette? Google “smokeless cigarettes” and you will find several brands. They are quite pricy so if you’re kinda on a budget, check out prop cigarettes – also known as joke cigarettes. You’d have to exhale though and some wierd powder puffs out that looks like smoke.

I’m not a professional at this kind of stuff. I wasn’t even a heavy smoker to begin with compared to a lot of people (on average maybe 2 packs a WEEK). Towards my final decision to quit – I was only smoking a pack every 1 1/2 weeks. Even though I didn’t smoke a lot I was still a smoker and that was one less thing I wanted to be.

I read somewhere that “smoking merely relieves the situation that smoking created in the first place – the need for nicotine.” It’s the act of needing the nicotine if I understood that correctly. And there are many ways to replace the actual act of lighting up. It is okay to substitute inanimate objects to replace that cigarette void. Inkless pens and straws make pretty good replacements… but that’s just “mai” way. So far so good!