Beat Nicotine Cravings: 54 Things To Do Instead Of Smoking

Brushing Teeth Instead of Smoking

Photo: eqqman

Quitting smoking is hard work, and while there's not a single magic formula to make it easy to quit, or one best way to quit smoking that works for everybody, there are things that you can do to make it easier on yourself when the cravings hit.

I chose to quit cold turkey, but whatever method you are using, the early days and weeks will test your willpower with nicotine withdrawals and cravings. The best way I've found to beat those cravings is to substitute something for the cigarette.

At the most basic level, it doesn't really matter what you do, so long as you don't smoke! Some people even use text messaging as a substitute. It has been shown in studies that these cravings only last for 3-5 minutes, so anything you can do to stop yourself from smoking for these few minutes (which may seem like an eternity), will have you one step closer to becoming a nonsmoker for good.

"What can I do, Chris?" I hear you asking. That's perfect, since I have put together a list of lists, if you will (you know you want to), of things you can do instead of smoking a cigarette. Remember, doing anything is better than doing nothing.



DO STUFF INSTEAD OF SMOKING:

1. Keep a journal. Writing about how you're feeling or what you're doing when those cravings sneak up on can help you gain insight. You can read these entries later, and by the time you're done overanalyzing them, the craving will have passed.
   
2. Start a blog. Blogging is fun, and can be likened to a journal or diary without all the erasing.
   
3. Go to sleep. Sleep can be your best friend, especially for those first few days when you're still suffering physical withdrawal symptoms. No matter how hardcore a smoker you used to be, you can't smoke in your sleep.
   
4. Visualize yourself as a non-smoker. Paint a mental image of yourself with pretty, pink, healthy lungs and other organs.
   
5. Breathe. Take a slow, deep breath while you count to four. Feel the clean air refreshing your body as the oxygen is carried to the tips of your fingers and toes. Hold the breath for a count of four, then exhale slowly over a count of four. Finally, allow the air to remain expelled from your healing lungs for, you got it, a four count. Repeat.
   
6. Count the money you've saved from not buying cigarettes (You are saving money, aren't you?)
7. Got kids? It may sound like some corny slogan, but if you have youngsters of your own, or nieces or nephews hanging around, spend some quality time doing anything with them. It will be difficult to light up smoke while doing a jigsaw puzzle or playing a game of checkers. Besides, you never get these early years back.
   

GO SOMEWHERE THAT YOU CANNOT SMOKE:
If you're somewhere that you can't smoke, then you won't be smoking, right? These will depend largely on your location, but smoking is being snuffed out in all kinds of public places across the globe. Hopefully some of these will be safe havens in your area.

1. Movie theatre
   
2. Bookstore
3. Coffee Shop
   
4. Library
5. Shopping mall
   
6. House of Worship
   

DO SOMETHING THAT MAKES IT PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SMOKE:
Some activities just don't go with smoking cigarettes. Spend a couple minutes with one or more of them.

1. Wash your hands. Remember the wrists and forearms.
   
2. Take a shower or bath. Maybe not impossible to smoke in there strictly speaking, but you should be able to distract yourself in there for long enough to get that nice clean feeling, and come out of it smelling like a rose.
3. Chew on a straw. May look funny hanging out of your mouth, but not funnier than a blazing death stick.
4. Mint toothpicks are the greatest things since sliced bread, which we all know is one of the greatest pre-Edison inventions ever to fit into a breadbox.
   
5. Brush your teeth. They're probably not exactly white anymore. Work on it, and give yourself something else to smile about.
   
6. Mouthwash. Use it. Instructions are right on the back of the bottle. Fight the battles against smoking and gingivitis both at once. You're a warrior!
   
7. Learn to play an instrument. It takes a special kind of stupidity to use an ashtray and a harmonica at the same time.
   

INSTRUMENTS YOU CAN LEARN:
You might not get much local radio play, but these instruments are easy enough to make sounds with, and if you've never tried them, you might be surprised how addicting they can be. Much safer than the old smoking addiction.

1. Keyboard/piano. Just push the black and white buttons. Use both hands, and leave the ashtray outside.
   
2. Harmonica. Inexpensive and foolproof.
   
3. Guitar. A little tougher to get started with, but with either an instructor or a good book you can be making melodies within a short time.
   
4. Harp. I haven't tried one of these (yet), but in searching online for opinions on the easiest instruments to get started with, it came up again and again. The main negatives seem to be difficulty finding instruction, and it appears that all product choices are relatively expensive when compared to the others.
   

EXERCISE:
Exercising doesn't have to mean three hours at the gym. Exercise to quit smoking only has to last a few minutes, remember. Here are a few exercises that will stimulate the body, and keep you away from the cigarettes for as long as you can keep them up.

1. Pushups. You can do modified pushups (with your knees on the floor) if you're not ready for full pushups yet.
   
2. Punching bag. It's a commitment getting one of these and setting it up, but it's worth every violent moment. Sometimes you just need to beat the crap out of something, and stopping smoking is likely the best excuse you'll find.
   
3. Jump rope. Actually a deceptively challenging activity.
   
4. Swim. If you're fortunate enough to have access to a pool or natural body of water, swimming is said to be one of the best all around exercises in which you can get involved.
   
5. Go for a bike ride. You haven't forgotten how to ride, have you? Here's another activity that will stop you from thinking about cigarettes, yet can be done for any length of time and at any intensity level. Bring a water bottle, and enjoy the scenery.
   
6. Walk. Feel free to bring along a friend or two.
   
7. Jog or run. Like walking, but faster. With this, you get the bonus of being able to slow to a walk in the middle, thus doing two exercises on the list in one session.
   

KEEP YOUR HANDS BUSY:
After a few days of quitting smoking, the nicotine is gone from your system and the cravings are mainly psychological in nature. Part of this is that your hands are trained to grab a cigarette at certain intervals or when bored.

1. Do a crossword puzzle, or try some sudoku.
   
2. Play Cards. No company, no problem. Here's how to play solitaire.
   
3. Paint your nails, or paint your lady's nails
   
4. Draw something. Don't have an artistic bone in your body? Use tracing paper to get started; You might just surprise yourself with a little practice.
5. Cook. Can't cook? Learn to cook. Which brings us to...
   

EATING INSTEAD OF SMOKING:
Everybody worries about the weight gain when quitting smoking. This is because the habit of constantly having a cigarette in your mouth is easily replaced by stuffing your face with food. This is actually a pretty good idea, if you don't let yourself go down the road of sugary candies and ice cream. Here are some less damaging alternatives.

1. Sunflower seeds. These are my favorite cigarette substitute, aside from sweets. In the shells, and salted to hell and back. It can be ugly finding a place to spit all those shells, and make sure to drink plenty of water to offset the salt.
   
2. Pickles
3. Raisins
4. Celery
   
5. Grapes
   
6. Oranges
7. Berries. Any kind of berries, maybe try something new. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, whatever. And for the record, these are all being counted as one list item so I don't want to hear any nonsense about padding my list to make it look like more things.
   
8. Spearmint leaves
9. Gum. sugarless
   
10. Yogurt
11. Popcorn
    
12. Cinnamon sticks are another interesting thing you can let hang out of your face-hole that don't require ownership of a lighter or matches.
    
13. Lollipops. Yes, they're technically sweets, but you can get them sugar free I guess, and they take a long time to get through, so they're not as bad as the other sweets I'm not listing.
    
14. Carrot sticks
    
15. Orange juice. I remember not wanting to have a cigarette after drinking orange juice because of the bad way the smells of OJ and cigs mix, and it's still true.
    
16. Water or ice water
    
17. Seltzer or tonic water
18. Ice cubes or shavings

Made it this far? Good. If you were having a nightmare craving before, you're probably feeling a little better now that a few minutes have passed. If not, you'll be better equipped for next time you do.

Day 2 Of Quitting Smoking Success

Operation quit smoking continues to run smoothly. Day 2 of a wonderful success story. I have not been able to find any hard and fast info regarding sunflower seeds, though I swear I remember reading something last time about them containing a vitamin or something that was beneficial to the process of quitting. I'll keep on the prowl for this, because now I'm curious.

Quitting sure did make me tired yesterday, I've probably slept for around 12 of the last 24 hours, certainly a 2007 record for me. I've been a little more moody and irritable since I quit smoking, but not as bad as I expected. I also haven't left the house since Saturday, so we'll see how things pan out for the rest of the week.

The outside world usually finds some way to aggravate me if I spend enough time to give it the chance. Hey, I did say I was a little irritable.

Survived First 24 Hours Without Smoking

Once again, I have joined the ranks of nonsmokers. The first day of quitting smoking, as anticipated, was not very bad at all. I have my sunflower seeds to help me with cravings, and they have been doing their job wonderfully, as they did last time I quit smoking.

There's not much else to report, as Sunday is typically a day of R&R for me. I intend to do a little research in order to find out what it is about sunflower seeds that makes them such good help with eliminating the nicotine cravings. I'll let everybody know tomorrow what I'm able to find out, if anything.

Still Alive After Quitting Smoking 14 Days Ago

It's been a rough couple weeks, but today marks the fourteen day anniversary of the day I stopped smoking cold turkey. It's been a rough couple of weeks, with days both good and difficult, but I am finally beginning to feel like I am really meeting with some measurable success as someone who has quit smoking.

There are no more cravings whatsoever first thing when I wake up, and the overall amount of cravings I've been having on a daily basis that I consider significant is low, perhaps one or two a day. After dinner I still almost always think about a cigarette.

I've been told that it will probably take from two to four months to become very, very comfortable as a non smoker. I have heard wildly different amounts of times stated as to how long it will take until the possibility of smoking will become completely foreign. These range from six or eight months to a year or two to probably never.

I guess time will just have to tell, but for now I'm celebrating.

We're going out on a triple date to dinner and a show tonight, followed by question marks (???). The kids are sleeping out, so who knows what could happen?

I might not be able to catch up again until Monday, so enjoy the weekend.

Quitting Smoking Day Five: Summary

I'm getting pretty close to the end of day five over here, and wow there are a lot of you reading!

I must admit, I am nothing if not grumpy today. Every little thing has been setting me off. At least nobody's around for most of the day, so the effects are minimalazed to a reasonable extent. I've tried to take some good deep breaths and kind of keep myself mellow now that we're all back home sharing our spaces for the evening. How good of a job I am doing remains to be seen.

Yes, I ate Santa.

No, I never got any respectable sunflower seeds. I'm trying some other things, and will report over the weekend. Promise.

I have had occasion to learn that running still sucks. We ran out of heating oil overnight (can you say, "Chris is in inattentive idiot?"), and the delivery arrived while I was down the street getting the boys from the bus stop. Knowing that the oil guy needed to be paid before pumping any oil, I had to sprint the length of the street to make sure I got to him before he decided to leave.

I didn't hack up a lung or anything, but wow did my sides cramp up. We're only talking about like a thousand feet here. I guess I should start working on that too.

I have given some consideration to the exercise section of this plan, the bulk of which is slated to revolve around my heavy punching bag. That sucker is an instant stress reliever, only problem is that it's in an unheated area. Well, That's not the only problem. It's going to get down to three degrees tonight. Total 'nother problem. And some spring cleaning is in order if I think I'm gonna get anywhere near the thing. Okay, three problems.

Things are looking up quite a bit for next week's high temperatures though, so I might just have a chance to wrap the hands up and throw a few punches after all.

All you quitters out there reading, keep your quit on. Everybody else, think about it.

Oh No, Anything But That!

"Okay, now you've done it. Now you've gone and pissed me off."

That's what I was thinking an hour ago. I really could have used a good place to vent. somebody to yell at would have been perfect. Man, was I mad.

What great injustice was served upon me, you ask? It was the food store. They don't have my sunflower seeds. Yeah, sure, they have sunflower seeds, but only the ones that have already been removed from the shell. Can you imagine how fast they'd be gone if I didn't have to play around with the shells? I'd gain a pound every two hours, not what I'm going for.

For those of you late to the party, I've alluded to the fact that sunflower seeds have been helpful as a quit smoking aid. Don't worry, I'll put out a comprehensive list once I've figured out what's actually helpful.

So I just said screw it and came home. Did I mention that we celebrated Christmas a few weeks ago? I know, it seems like a lot longer, right? Nope, only ten weeks or so. Why is this important?

Because-- lookie-lookie what we have heeyah! Six crispy chocolate Santas, that's right, a hundred and ninety grams of chocolatey, crunchity goodness, all for me. Now don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily recommend this kind of behavior for everyone. To be fair, I didn't even eat all six of them, either; There's still one lonely Santa here.

Man, he looks lonely.