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| Why you smoke | ||
There are three main reasons why most people smoke:
HABIT There was a scientist named Ivan Pavlov. His dog experiments let us know how habits are formed. Ivan rang a bell every time he fed his dog meat. After a while, the dog began to salivate when he heard the bell, even though he wasn’t given any meat. This was because the dog formed a connection between the meat and a ringing bell. This is exactly how you formed the habit part of why you smoke. After many years of smoking at certain times (after dinner, in the car, on the phone), you formed a connection between these activities and smoking. The connection can be so strong that not smoking at these times feels unnatural. This also explains why finishing a meal triggers a craving to smoke. After many years of smoking at this time, you formed a connection. It’s really no different than Ivan’s dog salivating when he heard a bell. Instead of salivating, you get a craving to smoke! Also, the simple act of smoking is very reinforcing of a habit. If you take ten puffs off of every cigarette and smoke 20 cigarettes each day, that equals 200 puffs a day. That’s 200 times bringing a cigarette to your lips. ADDICTION Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances on the planet. In fact, it’s more addictive than heroin, cocaine or alcohol. Many people who have stopped using those substances report that quitting cigarettes was more difficult! One of the main reasons nicotine is so addicting is because it reaches your brain very quickly. This speed causes your brain to get a “hit” of nicotine, just as if a drug was injected into your vein. In fact, inhaled nicotine actually reaches your brain faster than if you were to inject it. Getting withdrawal symptoms if you go a few hours without smoking means you have become addicted to the nicotine in your cigarettes. Some signs of withdrawal are:
The good news is that you don’t have to feel this way. There are many quit smoking medications that all but eliminate the withdrawal symptoms. These medications are safe, effective and in our opinion, a key part of quitting. Fact: Nicotine blood levels are less with medications than with smoking.Fact: Medicines don’t cause cancer, but cigarettes do Fact: Medicines help you avoid withdrawal symptoms, and increase your success rate. EMOTIONAL Smoking for emotional reasons is very common. Typical emotional reasons include smoking when you feel:
There are several reasons why smoking cigarettes works so well for dealing with emotional issues:
If you think about the three reasons why you smoke (habit, addiction, emotional), you will understand why going cold turkey doesn’t work. Going Cold Turkey:
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