June 14

12:40

Sorry for the late update. I really wasn’t in the mood. For those of you just joining us, three days ago I decided to quit smoking and have managed not to touch the butt. Click here to read about Day 1 and Day 2. 

Yesterday was terrible. Around noon I decided enough was enough; there was no reason to quit. I had smoked for years without anything terrible happening and even if it did; how does it matter? It’s not like we’re going to live forever. Why can’t I live the lesser time I am assured I’ll spend on this planet happily instead of living an unhappy, smokeless existence?

Battling such ontological conundrums I made my way down but instead of a paan shop I ended up at a pharma store asking for Nicorette gum. Now the Nicorette gum is one of the many products that works on the principle that a smoker can quit if he is provided with a daily nicotine ‘hit’ without the other harmful effects of smoking like tobacco, tar, etc. This is the basic premise of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).

Nicorette Gum

Well I can say the gum worked because I didn’t smoke but perhaps not the way the makers intended it. Unlike simple gum one simply doesn’t chew it. One has to chew the gum then hold it between one’s teeth and cheek while the nicotine seeps in. Well there was nicotine in the product, that’s for sure (I’ve always wondered whether these gums had nicotine or not). In some ways it reminded me of gutka (I’ve never really cared for smokeless tobacco products) and threw it away after a few bites. 

After hours

Now the moment of truth arrives after you’ve left the office and are let loose in the world where no-smoking signs aren’t visible everywhere. I decided to try some retail therapy and went on to splurge the better part of my salary on clothes I didn’t really need. But it did help. Maybe the women do know what they’re doing!

Having considerably shot up my credit card bill for the month I made my way to the gym only to become transfixed with the cigarette shop downstairs. Young and old people were happily puffing away… I couldn’t take it anymore and bought a cigarette.

Somehow I couldn’t bring myself to light it; I had come too far to give in to my craving. I’ve have had similar experiences where I’ve almost broken my abstinence. I remember in my weight loss days, I’d stand in McDonalds’ queues and somehow drag myself away just when I was asked to place my order.

So there you go. Another 24 hours without smoking.

Quitters Tip: What every quitter really needs is a person who’ll help them quit. Someone who knows what they’re trying to achieve and will help kick the butt away. Someone who wants you to quit badly more than you do. Ideally said person should be of the opposite sex unless you’re gay. No amount of Nicotine Replacement Therapy can ever replace good old fashioned love and support. 

Time 12:00

It’s starting to get ugly. I woke up at 4 am with a severe headache and a very strong desire to smoke. Even went around looking for paan shops but thankfully none of them were open. I don’t know if this will last. I can go a day or two without smoking but the very thought of never smoking again is scary. What made smoking so necessary? What is the big deal anyway? If I was locked away from the world with no access to cigarettes, I’d simply stop wouldn’t I? 

Yesterday I was talking to a friend who quit and he said he didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms. Maybe  there are no withdrawal symptoms and most of the things you feel is placebo caused by information overload. 

Quitter Tip: Don’t read about withdrawal symptoms. They  seem to aggravate the problem and give you new things to worry about.

June 12 

I have decided to quit smoking. Just like that. Cold turkey. I have smoked for 6 years, a pack a day and doubt if I’ve gone a day without smoking since I lit the first one. I don’t really know what brought about the desire to quit. May be I finally decided to believe in the overwhelming medical evidence about the harmful effects of smoking, to set an example for my chain-smoking Dad (who recently suffered a mild heart attack and was asked to stop) or the fact THAT I am the SUB-EDITOR OF THIS SITE.

It’s not really important why I decided to quit. Just that I did. I am used to drastic upheavals and lifestyle changes. In the last one year I lost about 40 kilos which constituted abstaining from every palatable food item on the planet. So quitting smoking should be a cakewalk compared to losing weight right? There’s only one way to find out…

Time 13:29   

It’s been 24 hours since I had my last smoke and I’ve not really felt any of the well-documented withdrawal symptoms (nausea, headache, etc.). Occasional hunger pangs and a low level of irritability are the worse I’ve had to deal with. Getting up in the morning was the most difficult bit as all experienced smokers know that one’s bowel movements are intricately tied to the first smoke. Caffeine helps but the problem is aggravated by the fact that caffeine seems to call out for nicotine. Anyway I’ve managed to not fall off the wagon yet but I’ve a feeling it’s going to get a lot tougher as time goes by.

Quitting Tip 1: The first and the most obvious step is don’t buy cigarettes. It’s not really an existential conundrum. If there are no cigarettes you can’t smoke.

Time 15:00

Things are getting a little worse now. I can experience mild stomach discomfort. If I had smokes on me I am pretty sure I’d have lit up one of the bad boys. Had an ice-cream which kept away the pangs for a while. Maybe sugar can be an able sub for nicotine but that’d just be like swapping cancer for diabetes.

Time 20:30

Well like I predicted before it really is getting tougher. There’s a nagging headache that won’t go away even after one hour of kickass cardio. I haven’t gone this long without smoking for years, barring a week I spent at the hospital with a broken leg. Guess the WHO and  every other medical institution on the planet were right when they compared nicotine to higher, more addictive drugs. 

Quitting Tip 2: Do something to distract yourself. The only time I wasn’t thinking about smoking was while I was at the gym. Be prepared for major hunger pangs. According to researchers, this is because nicotine acts as a stimulant by releasing stored calories in your bloodstream giving you the feeling of being ‘full’ and when you remove the aforementioned stimulant there is a drop in blood sugar levels. There’s also the psychological angle. There is more to smoking than merely nicotine addiction. Smokers constantly use their mouth and arms and feel the need to keep them occupied even after they quit. Load up on healthy food items like nuts and dry fruits. Not only will they keep your hands and mouth busy; they are also excellent food items to keep one’s cholesterol levels in check and stave off lifestyle diseases like diabetes.