For most smokers cravings or urges to smoke can be powerful. But you're not at the mercy of these cravings. When an urge to smoke strikes remember that although it may be intense, it will be short-lived, and it probably will pass within a few minutes Each time you resist a craving, you're one step closer.
Urges to smoke are likely to be strongest in the situations where you smoked most often, such as at parties or bars, in the car, or while watching television. Identify your trigger situations and have a plan in place to avoid them entirely or get through them without smoking. Don't set yourself up for a smoking relapse. If you usually smoked while you talked on the phone, for instance, keep a pen and paper nearby to occupy yourself with doodling rather than smoking.
If you feel like you're going to give in to your craving, tell yourself that you must first wait 10 more minutes and then do something to distract yourself for that period of time. This simple trick may be enough to derail your craving. Repeat as often as needed
Give your mouth something to do to fight a craving. Chew on sugar free gum or hard sweets or munch on raw carrots, celery, or nuts.
You might be tempted to have just one cigarette to satisfy a craving. But don't fool yourself into believing that you can stop at just one. More often than not, having just one leads to another— and you may end up smoking again.
Does that make any sense? x
