by Leah Curtis

Created on: May 12, 2009

Anxiousness, irritability, sleep disturbance, obsessing about cigarettes are all withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting smoking. Anyone who has ever smoked knows how difficult it is to stop. Nicotine serves a dual purpose to those who smoke because it is both a stimulant and a relaxant. The health risks, the smoker's cough, the reeking smell and the cost, are all well known to smokers. The fact that you cannot smoke indoors anymore, except in your own home, and many people do not even do that, does not deter people from quitting.

Sometimes when I read articles on how to quit smoking I wonder if the person who wrote the article has actually ever smoked. If they have ever smoked, how could they recommend chewing on celery? Who would want to do that, especially first thing in the morning? Do not try lighting celery either because the results are just plain nasty. Telling someone how to quit smoking when you've never smoked is like telling someone how to diet when you have never had the pleasure of doing so yourself.

Six weeks ago, I was a former smoker. Over two years, I had under my belt. I quit the easy way. I was in an accident, and in the hospital I was hooked up to a morphine drip for two weeks and not only did I not realize that I did not smoke, I did not even know my name. A bit drastic, but it worked. By the time I recovered I had not smoked for over three months and all I heard was "surely you DON'T want to go back to smoking now". Well, yes, in fact, I did. I really did. Disregard the morphine drip idea to quit smoking, because I do not think that they are going to make that widely available.

Why I started again is not important. I can make all the excuses in the world, but why bother? The fact is, I did start again. I am not smoking that much, maybe two or three cigarettes per day. I should just quit now but it is more of a psychological block that is stopping me, rather than the full-blown addiction part.

One of the biggest challenges facing a person who is trying to quit smoking is this: it is a pleasurable, and still legal, activity. When you smoke, you think no one else smokes. When you quit, you realize just how many other people do smoke. Smoking becomes part of your stress reducer. People use it to calm themselves. People smoke because it has become a deeply ingrained habit.

The association between smoking and certain activities is one of the major difficulties faced by people trying to quit smoking. During the two years I did not

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