Coping with cravings and triggers 

Cravings to smoke can happen with familiar triggers like finishing a meal, feeling stressed, familiar places or being around other smokers. In these situations, your brain can expect nicotine and the urge to smoke can feel sudden and intense.

A smoking craving is a strong urge to smoke. It happens because your body is used to nicotine, and without it, you feel like you need a cigarette.

Cravings can be triggered by things like stress or routines, such as having a coffee or waiting for the bus.  Nicotine withdrawal can also trigger cravings. When you stop smoking, your body neds to get used to not having nicotine anymore.

When you know your triggers you can avoid situations that make you want to smoke. It also prepares you to handle cravings when they happen, making it easier to stay on track.

Cravings can make you:

Cravings​

Cravings happen because your body misses its regular hits of nicotine.​

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There are 2 types of craving:​

1.               The steady and constant background craving for a cigarette decreases in intensity over several weeks after quitting.​

2.               Sudden bursts of an intense desire or urge to smoke are often triggered by a cue, such as having a few drinks, feeling very happy or sad, having an argument, feeling stressed, or even having a cup of coffee.​

Some cravings are physical, which are your body’s reaction to nicotine withdrawal, e.g a tightness in the throat or belly, accompanied by feelings of tension or anxiety. Compared to psychological cravings which are triggered by everyday events. People who smoke develop a number of cues that signal the need for a cigarette. Perhaps you smoke whenever facing stress or while driving, eating, drinking, or socializing. When you quit, those subconscious cues trigger profound urges.​

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These urges to smoke tend to get less frequent over time, but their intensity can remain strong even after many months of quitting.​

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How to tackle your cravings

·   Use your NRT/vape, which will give your body the nicotine it craves without the toxic chemicals that you get in cigarettes. It’s important to use the right NRT product for your lifestyle. Some products, like the patch, release nicotine into your system slowly and steadily, so they’re ideal for relieving background cravings. Others, such as the nasal spray and mouth spray, release nicotine quickly in short bursts, so they’re better suited to sudden intense cravings. A good strategy is to use the nicotine patch to manage the steady and constant background cravings, and carry a fast-working product with you to deal with the sudden intense cravings. ​

·   Breathing necklaces can be a helpful support when stopping smoking by replacing the familiar hand‑to‑mouth action that many people miss. Using one gives your hands something to do during cravings, which can help distract from the urge to smoke. Focusing on slow, controlled breathing through the necklace can also feel calming and provide a simple, practical way to manage cravings in the moment.

·   Avoid triggers: For you, some events or times of the day may have a strong association with smoking: after food, with a coffee, after putting the kids to bed, when chatting to a friend, or having an alcoholic drink. Try doing something different at these times. You don’t have to make this change forever, just until you have broken the association with smoking. Make it hard to smoke – avoid places where you can easily ask someone for a cigarette. And don’t buy a packet.​

·   Watch your alcohol intake – Alcohol can often act as a trigger that brings on an urge to smoke. Even if you’ve been doing well at kicking the smoking habit, social drinking can bring on a sudden urge to have a cigarette. This can be particularly true if you are normally a social smoker, or you tend to smoke mostly in social situations.​

·   Stay strong: Expect your cravings to be at their worst in the first few weeks after quitting. The good news is that they’ll pass, and the quickest way to achieve this is to commit to the “not a single puff” rule. ​

·   Exercise: Physical activity may help reduce your nicotine cravings and relieve some withdrawal symptoms. It may also help you reduce stress and keep your weight down. When you have the urge to smoke, do something active instead. Going to the gym or local swimming pool are good, as is a little gentle exercise like a short walk, or something useful like doing the housework or gardening.​

·   Be prepared: Expect cravings at special events like holidays, funerals or weddings. You may have never experienced these before as a non-smoker, so you’ll associate them strongly with smoking. Have some fast-acting NRT with you just in case. It’s also important to stay away from people who smoke. Most people who relapse do so because they’re with other people who are smoking, and this is usually after having asked one of them for a cigarette.​

·   Delay: When an urge to smoke strikes, remember that although it may be intense, it’ll be short-lived and will probably pass within a few minutes. Each time you resist a craving, you’re 1 step closer to stopping smoking.​

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Other things to do which can help you to prevent relapse:​

·   Don’t take on too much – Changes in your normal routines and habits can help you avoid smoking, but too many sudden and dramatic changes can make it harder to stick to your goals. Changing your routines and avoiding your triggers is important (especially when you first quit), but that doesn’t mean you should turn your whole life upside down. All of the things you used to do as a smoker you can still enjoy as a non-smoker. Once the worst of your withdrawal symptoms begin to fade, you can begin returning to some of your regular routines as you learn to better manage a smoke-free lifestyle.​

·   Remember your reasons for quitting. Whenever your resolve begins to slip, list your reasons for quitting. You might even find it helpful to keep a list of these reasons on a slip of paper inside your wallet or saved as a note on your phone. Your reasons are unique to you, but some of the benefits to consider include having more energy, better health, and fewer cravings. Seeing these reasons in front of you can help you stay motivated, even in the face of temptations.​

·   Call or text a friend/your quit buddy. Have at least one friend who knows about your smoke-free choice and who can offer support when you need it most. If you are really struggling with an urge when you are out, talking to a friend can help get you through difficult moments.​