There aren't any shortcuts, as you probably know. And please don't expect this quit to solve all your problems. It will solve some of them, but others are likely to spring up, while some old ones will just stay there and fester.
1. Learn your way around www.quitnet.org during the next few days, so you can take full advantage of that place when you need it. Learn to post. Make yourself known, and someone will help you out.
2. While you're still smoking, study your patterns, and learn your weaknesses if you don't already know. Plan how you will avoid the pitfalls or deal with the situations.
3. Come to quitnet often, and let us know how you're doing. That makes such a difference. We will tell you how incredibly well you are doing in the face of all crises, from hang nails to pending execution. You'll get lots of support, information, advice, everything except criticism. And soon you'll be doing the same. [By the way, you've done exceptionally well to have read this far. Nice going! ]
4. Drink extreme quantities of water. I mean Lake Superior, if possible. Then drink more water, and more water and then some extra water. After that, have a little water, then lots.
5. Hot tip: Skittles. Buy them now, while you can still go into stores. You can pretend that they're illicit drugs if you like, or just quitting medicine. They give a pleasant placebo effect, and are they ever tasty! Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. My good friend SaraC prefers Twizzlers, but you must avoid eating the entire package in 10 minutes. I have a hard time with that. Another disadvantage is that it is more difficult to eat them in a discreet manner. They are hollow and tubular, and can be used as surrogate cigarettes, or as straws for drinking all that water. Note: some recommend against substituting a food consumption habit for a nicotine addiction, but really now. Everything, even bad food, just tastes too incredible not to be eaten, and some of the smaller states are missing now since I began my quit. Ate them.
6. After the quit begins, don't allow yourself to enter the Stop 'n' Smoke, or the Pik 'n' Pay, or the Store Galore, or the Kwikee Ripoff Mart or any other establishment that panders to smokers, for at least two weeks. If you don't have them, you can't smoke them: simple and elegant concept. If you can't trust yourself (and you probably can't), restrict the amount of cash you carry with you to the minimum you need to get through the day. If possible, put someone else in charge of your purchases for the first week or two. If you do need to visit a store where cigarettes are sold, remember that Skittles are always within reach at those same counters during that moment of truth.
7. Make this effort your top priority. Don't expect to do much besides quitting for quite a while.
8. Expect to feel really lousy for a few days, then just lousy for a few weeks. Maybe more. It does get better, but not as soon as you want it to. Sorry.
9. Go back to 3. Repeat from there for as long as it takes.
You can do this.
"ToddL's Tips for Perfect Quits" are brought to you by:
The Other Recovery Story: what the quit-lit doesn't tell you
A common item in the Quit Literature is a timetable of physiological change within your body as your quit proceeds. This sequence appears in various forms in the quit-lit, including the following excerpt from the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program. One can only wonder how all of these things are known, but they are indeed remarkable and inspirational. Those changes are listed below.
The Quit-Lit Story
Two Hours After Quitting.
Nicotine begins to leave your system. Some people may feel withdrawal pangs. This is a good sign. Your body is cleaning itself out. Hang in there. Within two days all the nicotine by-products will be gone.
After Six Hours.
Heart rate and blood pressure decrease (although it may take up to a month for them to return to their normal rates).
After Twelve Hours.
The carbon monoxide is completely out of your system. Your lungs work more efficiently and you can do more without becoming short of breath.
After Two Days.
Your sense of taste and smell sharpen. In addition, your breath, hair , fingers and teeth will be cleaner.
After One Week.
Most withdrawal symptoms are completely gone.
After Two Weeks.
Your circulation improves. So does your confidence level because you feel good about your progress. You begin to think of yourself as a non-smoker.
One To Nine Months.
Your body's overall energy level increases. Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease.
Within Two Months.
Blood flow to your hands and feet improves, keeping them warmer. Your skin looks healthier.
Within Three Months.
The cilia (a hair-like cleaning system in the lungs) begin to recover and remove the mucous, so you can cough it up, cleaning your lungs and reducing the chance of infection. You may notice increased coughing for a few days.
After A Year.
Your risk of lung cancer is reduced and you have less of a risk of heart disease. Fifteen years after quitting, the risk approaches that of someone who has never smoked.
There are some other changes, listed here, which seem to be experienced by a large number of quitsters and are not commonly listed in the inspirational quit-lit. I do not know why. Perhaps they don't want us to know, or maybe they don't know about these changes. Whatever the reason, I add the following for completeness, with the hope that I don't discourage anyone from giving it a try.
The Untold Story
20 minutes after quitting.
You begin looking for loopholes in your quit commitment, thinking about postponing the whole arrangement until after the next millenium begins.
After 8 hours.
You have already contemplated at least three murders and several other brutal acts of violence.
After 24 Hours.
Your city or town declares a mysterious and unforeseen water shortage, while municipal sewers are suddenly overwhelmed.
After one week.
You have consumed enough calories to sustain a Bengali village of 2000 for four years. Food shortages become critical within your region; pets and local wild animals become nervous.
After two weeks.
Quitzits establish early outposts on your face. Risk of Browser's Butt Syndrome (BBS) rises to equal that for 13-year-old boys with new computers and internet access. Smileys appear in your writing and begin to replicate :)
Within one month.
You have already begun to pester smokers and complain about the smell of their obnoxious cigarettes; IQ returns to low double-digits; Quitzits begin to function autonomously. Exclamation point shortages prevail across the land.
After six weeks
You may have experienced your first bowel movement since your quit began; if not, be patient, it will happen within a few more weeks.
After two months.
You begin to forget the pain and misery of the first week without cigarettes, and are wondering if you could, perhaps, remind yourself of what you've been missing; Quitzits establish territorial treaties with each other.
After five months.
Intelligence returns to at least 60% of its pre-quit level; concentration remains a problem, at only 50%; carpal tunnel syndrome incidence exceeds all known levels for any keyboard-intensive occupation; you have typed more words than are contained within all the works of William Shakespeare, but with more flair and "sparkle".
After six months.
You wonder why you ever waited this long to quit. It's way, way, worth it.