“Should I try to quit drinking and smoking cigarettes at the same time?”

I see this dilemma happen quite often at the treatment center that I work at.  I would say that the vast majority of people, probably over 95 percent, believe that their chances for recovery are better if they do not attempt to quit smoking cigarettes while they are trying to achieve recovery.  Clearly, this is “conventional wisdom.”

Now apparently there has been research that shows that those who try to quit smoking in early recovery will achieve better outcomes across the board.  In some cases, some treatment centers are forcing the issue now and mandating a smoke free environment anyway.

So it is clear that some people will find themselves in this predicament and will likely end up quitting smoking even though they had not planned on it.  This has to be a good thing, right?

Well, yes and no.  The thing about the “conventional wisdom” that thinks that smoking is a useful crutch that can help a person in early recovery is this: they are right if they think they are. In other words, all of those addicts and alcoholics out there who are considering recovery believe that if they tried to quit smoking at the same time, it would just be too much.  Furthermore, if you were to threaten these people with the idea that they will be forced to quit smoking if they try to seek help for their addiction, then that will just add to their fear and hesitation.

I know for a fact that there are people who would not attend a treatment center or a drug rehab if they were not allowed to smoke cigarettes while they are there.  I know this because I have spoke to them on the phone when they were making the appointment.  You cannot imagine the level of relief these people feel when they are told they will be able to keep smoking in treatment.  Many of them would not even come otherwise.  It would be a deal breaker for many.

Now it would be easy to take the attitude of “Well, if it is a deal breaker, then it is their loss,” but this is not a very helpful attitude for a population that experiences much higher than average rates of nicotine dependence.  And even if we can “prove” that quitting cigarettes along with our primary addiction produces better outcomes in most cases, these studies do not factor in the idea that forcing the issue creates a huge barrier to entry. Many people will simply not consider treatment any further if they learn that they cannot smoke there.

People are going to quit smoking in their own time.  I’ve seen very, very few people who were ready to tackle it so early in their recovery.  Most wait until they have a few years of clean time under their belt.

And so I would suggest the same for this reader: don’t feel like you should be forced to quit everything all at once.  If doing so overwhelms you or prevents you from taking the right actions in your recovery then you are defeating yourself needlessly.  This is not to say you should give yourself license to smoke forever using the same justification.  If quitting is important to you then set a goal in your recovery and be realistic about it.  For example, give yourself 6 months or a year and then vow to tackle the issue then.

Could you use this as an excuse to justify your behavior?  Sure.  But I would rather see that happen than to have an addict refuse recovery altogether just because they are not ready to give up their crutch of smoking cigarettes.

As they say in the program, first things first. It worked for me.   (I quit smoking after 5+ years of sobriety).

Recommended Reading

• Overcoming Addiction
• So You Want to Quit Drinking? Take Massive Action
• How to Quit Drinking Alcohol
• Tips on How to Stop Drinking
• Holistic Addiction Treatment Center

That’s OK. My intent is not to harp on anyone to quit (although there are tremendous benefits to doing so). Instead, just consider the idea that overcoming a smoking addiction is an act of creation – just as overcoming any addiction requires creation.

Networking doesn’t help much

I struggled for so long to quit smoking during my recovery and failed. For years I would try different tactics to overcome my cigarette addiction, but nothing seemed to work.

One of my typical strategies was to acquire a “quitting buddy.” This sounds like a great theory–to simply find someone else who wants to quit and support each other–but it’s actually a terrible strategy. The reason for this is because the odds of success for any individual in quitting are fairly low, so instead of supporting one another, the more likely scenario is that one will relapse and thus “give permission” to the other to do so. The odds of 2 people both succeeding in quitting smoking at the same time are very, very slim – so this “sabotage effect” is very common if you try to use support like this.

When you quit smoking, you do it alone. If you try to reach out for support then you risk sabotaging your own efforts. This sounds like a hard fact and a dismal truth but you should instead let it empower you. Accept that you are on this journey by yourself and own it as your own path. If others see you trying to quit and are inspired to do the same, let them try along side of you. But don’t rely on them for inspiration or support because that is a failed strategy when it comes to quitting smoking. Quit for yourself, by yourself. This is the strongest path, and it speaks to the idea of creation.

More than elimination

Quitting smoking is a creative act. How so? Because you have to learn how to deal and cope with each micro-situation in your life without a cigarette.

For example, driving to work. Most smokers had certain times that they would always light up, like when driving to work or after finishing a meal and so on. In order to quit successfully you have to make it through each one of those micro-situations without a cigarette a couple of times over. You will naturally crave a cigarette during those situations. As you go through them, however, your cravings will subside as your brain starts figuring out that you can do it without smoking. This takes a bit of time and some repetition. You have to make it through these micro-situations as a non-smoker a few times in order to move past the psychological cravings.

See what is happening there? You are creating a new life for yourself as a non-smoker, right at the level of your thoughts and behaviors. This takes time and repetition but it is still an act of creation. You make the decision not to smoke in each micro-situation, over and over again.

The idea of the replacement strategy comes into play here as well. Instead of lighting up, you can try to replace your habit with all sorts of things – such as chewing on toothpicks, sucking on candy, or fiddling with a pen in your hands. If you put these ideas into practice they can become quite powerful for you as they are also acts of creation – you’re deliberately taking some action in order to avoid smoking. I have also advocated the idea of taking a vacation to help you quit smoking because it can be such a powerful distraction. Again, this is replacement in action. More than just elimination – you are actively creating something in place of your old addiction.

If you just quit smoking cigarettes without any creative efforts involved you’re going to have a very tough road ahead of you. Part of this is due to the enormous emotional connection most of us have with smoking. We see it as our “friend” and our comforter in many cases. Emotional loss is very real for most people when they give up cigarettes.

My own path to quitting

When I finally managed to quit smoking and make it work for myself, I had definitely shifted towards a creative approach instead of an elimination approach. Here is how I used the creative theory to make it work for me:

1) I started exercising before I quit as a means of replacement – theorizing that the endorphin rush from running would help replace some of the dopamine rush from smoking. So I had built this habit of running on a regular basis before I even quit.

2) I used replacement strategies such as toothpicks, candy, chewing gum, and so on.

3) I did not seek any “quitting buddies” or try to draw support from my peers (most of which were still smoking).

When we see “quitting smoking” as an act of elimination we limit ourselves and our own strength in the ability to achieve a smoke-free life. Approach quitting as a creative act and start creating a healthy new life for yourself without smoking. This subtle shift in perspective can lead to more powerful strategies for quitting.

Recommended Reading

• Overcoming Addiction
• 5 Ways to Supercharge Your Recovery, Avoid Relapse, and Dominate Your Addiction Over the Holiday Season
• 10 Ways to Embrace Creative Recovery and Take Your Sobriety to the Next Level
• Warning: Taking Massive Action in Drug Addiction Recovery Could Result in Creating an Awesome Life that You are Genuinely Grateful For
• Holistic Addiction Treatment Center

1) Underestimate – the intensity of physical withdrawal and Nicotine cravings

2) Overconfidence - in medical “cures” for smoking (the patch, the gum)

3) Lack of Planning – and becoming overwhelmed with life situations while attempting to deal with withdrawal symptoms

Let’s look at these 3 reasons in greater detail, and outline a strategy for correcting each oversight.

The First Reason Smokers Fail to Quit: A Strong Tendency to Underestimate Withdrawal Symptoms

Why does anyone light up a cigarette? To avoid withdrawal, of course! That’s all smoking really is: a series of “feedings” to keep your physical body topped off with a sufficient level of Nicotine. If the level of the drug drops to low, smokers start to feel uncomfortable. The cure, of course, is to light up another cigarette.

Photos by giuvax

Although smokers regularly have short periods where they must go without smoking, they almost always underestimate the devastating effect that a full week of withdrawals will have on their lives. Even if a smoker does anticipate the full level of discomfort, they rarely do anything to plan ahead in order to compensate for this situation. As any smoker can tell you, life goes on even though they might be trying to quit, and every problem becomes that much more intense due to withdrawal. Life happens. And it continues to happen, even when you quit smoking. Not only do smokers typically underestimate the withdrawal symptoms, they also underestimate the degree to which they rely on cigarettes as a coping mechanism.

It’s not just the rush of nicotine we are addicted to. Smoking is an escape, a way to step outside and take a breather when life gets chaotic. It can also be a precursor to a more intimate social setting–where people can step away from the crowd for a moment and discuss something more serious. All of those coping devices that go along with smoking fly out the window when you’re trying to quit, and people underestimate how important all of those things are.

Overcoming Strategy #1: Plan ahead to maximize your comfort during withdrawal. Schedule vacation time to allow for extra sleep during the first week of quitting.

The Second Reason Smokers Fail to Quit: Overconfidence in the Nicotine Patch and Gum

Nicotine Replacement Therapies, such as the Patch and the Gum, sound like a magic bullet. Some smokers imagine that they can avoid the discomfort of withdrawal altogether by medicating themselves with more Nicotine. Statistics are misleading here: in the short term, people wearing the patch or chewing the gum don’t smoke, but they are still experiencing discomfort, and they will tell you that they still crave cigarettes. The statistics get much worse once the patch finally comes off, with success rates being nearly identical to cold turkey quitters. The patch and the gum are not magic bullets, and smokers who think that they are will be in for a rude awakening.

Overcoming Strategy #2: Don’t rely on Nicotine Replacement products to ease you through withdrawal. This is a false hope and you are better off gutting it out through a few days of cold turkey and being done with it. With expert planning you will find cold turkey quitting to be much easier than you imagined. There are also a number of other quit smoking techniques that can help you as well.

The Third Reason Smokers Fail to Quit: They Don’t Plan Ahead

Smokers have a tendency to underestimate withdrawal symptoms, as well as an overconfidence about how easily they can handle their life while quitting. Because of this combination, smokers fail to plan ahead for their quit, because it seems unnecessary. If I had realized how many years it would truly take me quit smoking, and had I known the full cost of smoking over those years, I probably would have checked into rehab just to get off cigarettes! This might seem funny, and we can probably laugh about it, but after you add up the true cost of smoking over several years time, then it certainly rings true. When we honestly assess the true cost of smoking, then no amount of planning seems unreasonable.

Overcoming Strategy #3: Plan ahead. Formulate a master plan that all but ensures your success in quitting. Go overboard. Get extreme. Go to any lengths. Spend any amount of money. Plan to get truly outrageous with quitting smoking and reward yourself in a big way.

You might also go here to learn more about how to help someone to stop smoking.

Recommended Reading

• Overcoming Addiction
• Should I Try to Quit Drinking and Smoking at the Same Time?
• Nicotine Gum Addiction – as Bad as Smoking?
• Using Creation to Quit Smoking
• Holistic Addiction Treatment Center