Quitting smoking is not an easy task. Everyday life can present many triggers that may prompt someone to want to pick up a cigarette, from nicotine cravings first thing in the morning to routines like having a cup of coffee and a cigarette that feel impossible to shake. Here, we take a look at what someone who’s addicted to nicotine may encounter in their day.
Morning for a Smoker
Here are a few experiences starting first thing in the morning that may sound familiar to someone who smokes.
Morning Cough
You wake up coughing. It’s common for people who smoke to cough early in the morning. This is known as “smoker’s cough.” It may continue until you smoke your first cigarette of the day.
Getting That First Nicotine Fix
Your focus in the morning is likely on getting your nicotine fix, which may involve smoking a cigarette on the way to work or even first thing upon waking up. Knowing you may have to go for several hours without another cigarette while you’re at work may prompt you to smoke more.
Work Day for a Smoker
If you work outside the home, your opportunities to smoke are often limited. You have to exit the building or even the work campus to a place where smoking is allowed. As a result, you may have to go hours without smoking during your workday.
Practice deep breathing exercises. Help the time pass by distracting yourself and staying busy with an activity, such as going on a walk or calling a friend. Keep a healthy snack on hand to keep your mouth busy. Plan ahead for when cravings hit by looking into support groups, counseling, or asking asking your doctor if a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) such as patches or lozenges may be right for you.
Withdrawal at Work
Every hour without smoking can make you feel more irritable, and your next cigarette may be at the forefront of your mind throughout your day at work. In fact, symptoms of nicotine withdrawal can appear within just a few hours of your last cigarette. As the hours pass since your last cigarette, you may find yourself getting more and more irritable and your ability to concentrate on your work may wane.
Smoke Breaks
It’s likely that you look forward to your lunch or coffee breaks if they also double as your smoke break, but you may find that getting in a cigarette takes priority. Rather than enjoying lunch or sitting comfortably, you may instead find yourself sitting in your car or standing outside rain or shine so you can smoke. Ans if you haven’t had a smoke for hours, you may be tempted to have several cigarettes as soon as you are able to appease the cravings, relax, or stock up on nicotine for the rest of the afternoon.
Evening for a Smoker
You may have more opportunities to smoke outside of work, but smoking still likely affects your social life. This could involve changing up your routine. Identifying these triggers ahead of time can help you avoid becoming susceptible to them down the road.
At Home
If you with with a partner or housemate who also smokes, you may have no problem lighting up in the evening at home, but you may still have to go outside to smoke. If the people you live with don’t smoke and don’t support your smoking, you may find that smoking at home regularly causes conflict in your relationships.
Eating Out
Just as you might be used to smoking at lunch or during a coffee break at work, you could feel similarly in a bar or restaurant. This is especially true if you’re used to smoking while drinking alcohol, or if there are others with you who also smoke. Many states have smoke-free indoor air laws that prohibit smoking in these locations, however, so you may have to go outside. If this is the case in your state, you may also have to smoke on the way in anticipation of these regulations.
Dating
If you’re in the dating scene, you may face additional difficulties. It used to be that offering a cigarette to a person you were attracted to was considered polite, even romantic. Now you might worry about admitting you smoke. On the other hand, you may avoid the issue by only dating other smokers, but you’ll likely find that it really narrows down your choices.
Friendships
Spending time with friends who don’t smoke may prove challenging as well. You may find yourself having a cigarette alone outside while your friends continue catching up and socializing. Smoking can be lonely. If most of your friends have quit and don’t smoke, you may find yourself wondering if it is worth all the hassle and cost to carry on smoking.
Resources for Quitting
It’s common for someone to attempt to quit smoking more than once, so don’t give up if you’ve tried before and were unsuccessful. To give yourself a good chance at success, have reliable resources and a solid plan in place. Here are some places to look:
Online resources: There are online support groups, forums, and information readily available at your fingertips. Healthcare provider: Speak to a doctor about quitting. They’ll be able to recommend any treatments they think would be best for you specifically. That might include a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product or smoking cessation medication that could help. Therapy: See if behavioral interventions such as counseling might be beneficial for you.
Medication and counseling are particularly effective in helping people quit smoking, especially when used together.
A Word From Verywell
It can be easy to fall back into the habit, go back to what you’re used to every day, and start smoking again even after you’ve decided you want to quit. There’s no doubt about it: Conquering a nicotine addiction is hard. It’s a physical and mental dependence, and both will take time to overcome. But above all, in addition to ridding yourself of the inconveniences to your daily life, the health benefits you’ll gain once you quit for good are more than worth it. For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
