Cigarette Cravings - How Long before Cravings Stop after Quitting

When we finally decide to quit smoking, one of the first things on our minds is how to deal with cigarette cravings. There's a good reason for this - nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs in the world. More so than even heroine and cocaine! On top of the chemical dependence that we all form, there is the psychological addiction. This is essentially the emotional habit we form of learning to depend on a cigarette for a (false) sense of relief from some perceived stressor.

Today, there are more products available to quit smoking than ever. As cravings are your greatest obstacle to quitting, it is natural that most of these products focus most on this aspect. Unfortunately, many fail in their design – sometimes even making it worse. The two key ingredients in cigarette cravings are:

1. Nicotine Addiction and Chemical Dependence

The first problem we usually encounter when quitting is nicotine withdrawal. 15 minutes after our last cigarette, our nicotine blood level starts declining, and we begin cravings again. 40 minutes after our last cigarette, nicotine levels in our brain have totally diminished. As such, most of us go about an hour without a cigarette.

When we quit, cravings and withdrawal symptoms gradually increase for about 3 days, at which time they peak. Cravings then remain steady anywhere from 2 weeks up to a month.

Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include:

• Intense cigarette cravings (obviously)
• Anxiety
• Irritability and similar intense emotions
• Headache and Nausea
• Trouble with focusing and sleeping, drowsiness
• Appetite Increase (due to blood sugar changes)

2. Psychological Addiction

A much more complex problem, and where many 'quit smoking aids' fail totally in their approach, is with our psychological addiction. This is the one that can cause a successful quitter of 10 years to pick up one cigarette and start chain smoking again. The problem is emotional dependence on a substance to alleviate stress.

In our youth, many of us began smoking under peer pressure of some type. It was cool, we fit in, we appeared 'more mature'. As time passed, life went on, we 'learned' to cope with some of our stress and problems by 'lighting up'. The feeling of instant relief brought by a cigarette puff tricked our brain into believing it made us feel better about problems we thought we couldn't do anything about. Years of this habit forms very strong emotional and physical memories in our neural pathways. We never really forget them, but they fade as time passes.

Many of us find psychological addiction more powerful than nicotine. We can get through the chemical dependence by distracting ourselves in some manner. But 'unlearning' to reach for a cigarette when we want to feel better is much more difficult - especially if we struggle with heavy life stress or depression issues.

Any successful quit therefore depends upon addressing all factors involved in cigarette smoking.

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