How I quit smoking

If you’re reading this, either you are a smoker or you know someone who is one. And if you’re not, then you know me and just now became aware of the fact that I used to smoke. Well, now that that particular part of the story is out of the way, let us move ahead.

Yes, I have been a regular smoker for quite a while. For about close to two years, before finally kicking the butt, I have been inhaling unnecessary tar and damaging my lungs. Nothing to be proud of. But hey, nothing to be ashamed of either.

In this article I won't tell you what are the “Five steps to kicking the butt”, or “Be smoke free in seven steps” or any other stuff like that. Sure, if they float your boat and help your case then by all means, please read those. However, I am of the opinion that just like workout plans there is no ‘one size fits all’ mechanism that can help you in getting through to obtaining you goal of being cigarette-free (if that is indeed your goal). Our bodies are different, our diet is different, our routines are different from each other and we have different levels of access to helpful resources. What works for one, or has worked for one, does not guarantee that it will work for you too. Thus, all we can do is to make the most of what we have been given.

With this thought, let me take you to my journey of starting this dreadful habit to finally quitting it.

THE BEGINNING

I started smoking when I was about 25 years old. Before that I had had my first puff during undergraduate days. That night I suffered terrible headache and I decided that I will never touch another cigarette again. It took me some three odd years to realize how empty that decision was.

During my masters, I was undergoing a mandatory two month internship. The work hours had turned crazy. I was working from 7 in the morning to 2 in the morning. The only two upsides to that situation were that I was learning a lot and that I was beating the rush hour traffic. Headaches had become my constant source of companionship and coffee was my savior.

Amidst all this, I once complained to my colleague about my headache. He was smoking at that particular moment and offered me a drag. Without thinking, I grabbed it. Within a few seconds, I felt a wave of relief sweep over me (the initial nicotine rush). It was a relief that no medicine had been able to provide for a very long time. Thus, I started surviving those remaining days of internship with one cigarette a day. The timings were fixed. Each day, at the allocated time, I would come down and have my daily puff. Just one. That was it.

Soon, internship ended. I started craving my daily dose of tar at a particular time. However, with classes at that time and the fulfillment of sleep, I started craving less and less. Soon, I found myself having a smoke only when someone else was having it. Never of my own accord or initiation. All was going well till now and I thought I had control over the urges.

THE EXTREMITIES

The extreme part of my habit started occurring after my graduation and a few months into my new job. My relationship of more than 5 years ended. Yeah! Sucks a lot. I started acting crazy. Needless to say, the lady had blocked me. I had no means of contacting her. The frustration of not being able to get in touch with someone whom you’ve listened to every day for more than 5 years made it worse for me. I started losing sleep. Initially, my friends thought that I was in denial. Slowly, they started getting worried.

I remembered that about one year back little white, tobacco filled sticks had helped me to get over work related stress. In the absence of any support mechanism, I started relying on those little seductresses to help me escape the prison of reality. Carrying on day to day activities had become difficult. Since I could not go to office drunk, I started relying on these to help me get tough the day. Soon, I was dependent on them for my basic survival.

THE PEAK

Years ago, when I had started smoking after a failed first attempt, my frequency was quite low. I was smoking one stick a day. Then it began to two, then four and counting. At the peak of my habit, I was smoking about 15-18 sticks a day! Yup. That’s correct.

I knew about the warning signs. I knew about the health-related and economic concerns. Yet, I continued. It wasn’t that I couldn’t do without them. It was the fact that the first high was required for me to kick start my day. That is when trouble hit the roof.

THE DECLINE

Smoking high numbers went on for about 5 months. I was slowly trying to find my way back into real life. I was trying to maintain my hold on my sanity. I had joined a gym and had been working out for about a month when one day I found difficulty in running over a treadmill. That was an eye opener. That night, as I lay on my bed, smoking, I had a vision about my future. I didn’t want to be the guy who became weak years before his age because he was smoking. That is when I decided to start a plan to quit smoking.

Like everyone before me, I started out with a Google search, “How to quit smoking” in the hope of finding a ready-made plan. Unfortunately, by the time I reading articles from the links on the fourth page, I concluded that no such plan exists and that I need to make one for myself. That’s when I used my skills to their use.

For the next three days, I allowed myself the indulgences untethered from the idea of quitting. The only change I made was that I started noting down the time for each of my ‘smoke breaks’. After about three days I had a fairly decent idea about the timings of my cravings. I was now ready for quitting.

The first thing I did was make a chart with the timings. I categorized them into three: Timings marked in red were the ones where I knew my cravings would be the strongest (for instance, as soon as waking up). Timings marked in black were the ones where I could/ could not avoid smoking (evening coffee breaks). And timings marked in green were the ones which I knew I could avoid (mid-morning breaks). I started off with targeting the green ones first.

That was fairly simple. All I had to do was schedule calls/ meeting at those times. I was informed that a cigarette craving lasts for some three minutes. I don’t know if this is backed by science or not. However, I made it my truth that I just need to control my urges for three minutes. Three minutes of absolute agony. Do note that this was in the first week of April when I had started the decline.

FURTHER DECLINE

Within two weeks, I was able to bring down my consumption from 18 to around 11. Just this cause was reason enough to celebrate.

At this point, I would like to mention that there were times when I tried quitting cold turkey. One day, I did not consume any sticks. The next day, I was back to my old self, puffing in 15. A couple of such attempts later I realized that cold turkey method wouldn’t work for me. I salute the people who are able to go cold turkey on their cravings. I respect their resolve and seek inspiration from them. However, I am not one of them. Once I realized that a phase-wise approach would work best for me, I started working on my second step.

This was, by far, the most difficult step for me. I had cleared the greens from my chart. It was time for the black ones now.

These were the timings when I was in company, or when I was sleepy. For instance, the hardest time for me to check out from my chart was the 4 PM slot. You see, at around 4 PM, we take our tea break. My colleagues and I go downstairs to have the deadly combination of smokes and tea. That is one time where I cannot find myself stopping from having a cigarette. This is one time when I am in an environment conducive to it.

How did I break the habit? Simple. I replaced one item with another, that is, samosas. I am not kidding. If you are trying to quit, replace each cigarette with a food item that you love. For me, the one snack I can have meals out of is samosa.

This replacement started off as an experiment. Soon, I had crossed the 4 PM slot from my chart. The other two prominent black timings were 11 AM and 6 PM. My cravings at these time slots were as strong as the one at 4 PM. Instead of replacing the white stick with food, I replaced that routine with another routine: push-ups.

The surge of blood in your body after doing a set of 20 push-ups was something that I hadn’t experienced at any point before that in the day. I knew that working out made me feel alive and I really enjoyed my time at the gym. However, doing push-ups was the one good thing that I could do any time. In addition, it made me feel less guilty for having the samosa a couple of hours earlier. By the time April ended, my smoking had greatly reduced. A month ago, the number was 18 per day. In one month’s time, I had bought it down to 5 per day. I was quite pumped up at this achievement. Please note that by this time, I had exhausted all my options/ techniques to quit. The last 5, which were in the red category, were the most difficult for me to quit. And it is dramatic how I got rid of that. In mid-May, I and my friends went to Goa. For three days, we indulged in all sorts of revelry. The drinking and smoking increased exponentially, because, well, Goa. After three days I returned back on Sunday night. And that was it.

As soon as I entered my residence something inside me snapped. I had three sticks left in my box. I crushed it all and threw it away. Then, I wrapped up the garbage bag and discarded it too. That was it.

The last 5 were quit cold turkey.

The next day I was highly aware of my existence. There was no craving, no thirst for a smoke, nothing along those lines. At all.

I had finally quit smoking.

Here are some key takeaways for you:

1. Try quitting in phased manner. I have seen only a few people successfully quitting cold turkey. It is okay to phase it out, one stick at a time

2. Keep yourself hydrated. It definitely pays

3. Replacement is a good way to eliminate the sticks. Anything tasty would do. And sometimes, tasty options are healthy too.

4. Do not lose faith in yourself. If you find yourself failing, it is okay. Feel free to start again.

Do know that you are not alone in your journey. It is okay to take help of friends, family, your partner. I would love to know how you managed to kick the habit. Do let me know your views in the comments below.