Burning Desire
We all have our weaknesses.
I was reminded of that the other day after I worked out at my gym. As I was leaving, I noticed that one of my fellow “sufferers” had stepped outside for a smoke right after her workout. Sure, it’s ironic. Here’s someone health-conscious enough to join a gym and actually go, and yet she still smokes. I know that seems like a contradiction, but as a former smoker, I understand. And I think it says less about her willpower than it does about the powerfully addictive hold that cigarettes can have on a person.
In the e-Alert “Warm In The Tropics” (1/26/04), I shared a technique I used a few years ago that helped me finally kick smoking for good. I invited members to write and tell us about methods they used to successfully stop smoking. The response brought in so many practical suggestions that I’m sure anyone who has a genuine desire to quit smoking will find something useful here.
How to quit smoking Part Two
We’ll start off cold turkey with a member named Buddy who was once a college athlete and a two-pack-a-day smoker. Buddy writes:
“I simply stopped cold turkey. I don’t think any other approach would have worked for me. You hit the nail on the head when you implied that whatever ‘crutch’ one might use may be wasted if you’re not truly ready to quit. The key element is DESIRE. The desire to quit simply has to outweigh the perceived pleasure derived from smoking.”
As every smoker who’s ever tried to quit knows, it’s no easy road to get to that place where quitting is more appealing than continuing. One member, named William, says he was reduced to throwing a hammer at concrete walls when he went cold turkey after 30 years of heavy smoking. When he quit, he was finishing his cellar, so a hammer was always handy. He says, “It was horrible. It took 3 months before it began to ease off a little, and for years I’d have periods during which I’d long for a cigarette.”
The cold turkey method is a tough way to go, and it’s not for everyone. A member named Kody found a way to wean herself from smoking by using other tobacco products – sort of a do-it-yourself nicotine patch. When she decided it was time to quit, she started chewing tobacco with her husband, and after three months successfully quit both smoking and chewing. Her husband went on to wean himself from the chewing habit by dipping non-tobacco snuff until the nicotine need was gone.
Mind over matter
Two members wrote to describe what you might say are variations on the progressive “reward” method that worked for me.
Joy says that during her 18 years as a smoker, “I tried MANY ways to quit and all failed until one day I thought I could wait another 15 minutes for my next cigarette, and there began the method I used to quit. I moved from waiting 15 minutes to 30 minutes and so on. Finally I KNEW it was the time to stop, and I did.”
A member named Kathy overcame a 13-year habit by “talking to myself.” She writes: “Every time I craved a cigarette I would tell myself ‘I don’t smoke, smoking taste terrible and it is a disgusting habit.’ This really worked for me. I kept the ‘last pack of ciggys’ in an obscure cupboard and once in a while I would look in there and then sigh and start my ‘mantra’ all over again ‘I don’t smoke ‘ So go ahead and quit and start talking to yourself, it won’t hurt a bit!”
Stepping it up
Sometimes you need a little help to quit. A member named Noel, who’s also a naturopath, used a hypnosis, or “guided imagery” technique called the Goen Method to kick his smoking habit. Noel writes: “Understanding the mechanism of addiction in the brain that causes the cravings was a powerful lesson.”
Noel was also helped enormously by using lobelia; an herb that contains a substance called lobeline, which has a chemical structure similar to nicotine, but is non-addictive. Noel says, “Using Lobelia and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), the neurotransmitters are calmed until the body begins to produce the N-acetylcysteine again, which is about a 45 day process.”
By now, most HSI members are probably familiar with NAC; an invaluable amino acid that enhances the production of glutathione, one of the body’s most powerful antioxidant enzymes. Some animal studies have shown that NAC may help prevent the DNA damage of cells, caused by chemicals in cigarette smoke.
A major boost
Another botanical that’s been shown to help smokers is Plantago Major. In the December 2000 HSI Members Alert, we told you how Plantago Major (commonly called the Broadleaf Plantain) has been found effective in treating lung ailments. In one 1982 clinical trial, for example, it reduced chronic bronchitis in 80 percent of the patients tested.
Almost 15 years ago, Dr. Mary Cody, a physician and researcher, found that Plantago Major creates a natural aversion to tobacco when inhaled or ingested. In a 1992 study, 24 heavy smokers were given Plantago Major tincture in a nasal spray and then instructed to smoke. More than 80 percent of the subjects reported an aversion to tobacco shortly after receiving the dose, and the effect lasted as long as 24 hours for some of the subjects.
Dr. Cody’s Plantago Major formula was patented shortly after that trial and is now available as a product called CIG-NO. Unlike nicotine patches or nicotine gum, which deliver the exact chemical you’re trying to avoid, CIG-NO (which is sprayed under the tongue) creates an almost immediate reduction in cigarette cravings, with no reported side effects. For more information, visit cigno.com.
Just desserts
Here’s one last motivator that I have to offer any smoker who’s trying to quit. My husband and I both stopped smoking about 12 years ago. We estimate that with the money we’ve saved by not buying cigarettes we could take a two-week, around-the-world vacation, with first-class air fare and deluxe accommodations the whole way. Talk about an effective reward system!
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
