Factsheet: Coping with cravings
Coping with CravingsIf you can control your cravings for a cigarette, you’ll boost your chances of quitting. The most effective ways to tackle cravings are a combination of stop-smoking medicines and behavioural changes.Going cold turkey?may be appealing, and it does work for some, but research suggests that willpower alone isn’t the best method?to stop?smoking. In fact, only three in every hundred smokers manage to stop permanently this way.Why cravings occurNicotine is the chemical in cigarettes that creates cravings. Nicotine is an addictive drug that triggers the release of brain chemicals related to pleasure sensations. When you quit smoking the supply of nicotine to the brain receptors is cut off, causing them to adjust, reducing the amounts of nicotine in your body. When your brain recognises the lack of nicotine, it sends signals that it wants more. This is nicotine withdrawal, which causes your cravings.Types of cravingsThere are two types of craving:The steady and constant background craving for a cigarette. This type of craving decreases in intensity over several weeks after quitting.Sudden bursts of intense desire or urge?to smoke. These cravings are?often triggered by a cue?such as having a few drinks, feeling very happy or sad, having an argument, feeling stressed or even?having a cup of coffee. These urges to smoke tend to get less frequent over time, but their intensity?can remain?strong even after many months of quitting.Tackling cravingsUsing Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and other stop-smoking medicines can double your chances of quitting successfully compared to willpower alone.?This is because untreated cravings often result in lapses.There are three tried and tested ways to tame cravings:Nicotine Replacement TherapyPrescription stop smoking medicinesBehaviour changes Nicotine Replacement TherapyNicotine replacement therapy (NRT)?gives your body the?nicotine it craves without the toxic chemicals that you get in cigarettes, so it doesn’t cause cancer.It helps you stop smoking without having unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. NRT won’t give you the same “hit” or pleasure you would expect from a cigarette, but it does help reduce cravings.NRT is available as gum, patches, lozenges, microtabs, inhalator, nasal spray, mouth spray and oral strips. It’s important to use the right NRT product for your lifestyle. Some products, like the patch, release nicotine into your system slowly and steadily, so they’re ideal for relieving background cravings. Others, such as the nasal spray and mouth spray, release nicotine quickly in short bursts, so they’re better suited to sudden intense cravings. A good strategy is to use the nicotine patch for background craving relief, and carry with you a fast-working product to prevent or treat breakthrough cravings.These products are supplied on prescription if you choose to access your local stop smoking service, visit the West Sussex Wellbeing Smoking services web page for details: .uk/smokingservices. Your advisor will be able to recommend which NRT products would be most suitable to fit in with your lifestyle. If you choose not to access the service, then you can buy NRT products over the counter at pharmacies and other retail outlets. Discuss the products available with the pharmacist. E-cigarettes, also known as E-cigs or Vapes?are currently the most popular stop smoking aid in England and evidence indicates that they can help people quit for good.?They can be particularly effective when combined with expert face-to-face support. E-cigarettes give smokers the nicotine hit they need to help beat?their cravings without the same dangerous cocktail of chemicals found in tobacco smoke. E-cigarettes aren't currently available from the NHS on prescription, so you can't get one from your GP. If you'd like help choosing the right e-cig and liquid, a specialist vape shop can give you lots of advice, see: or you can talk to your local stop smoking advisor. Visit the West Sussex Wellbeing website for information about local stop smoking services: .uk/smokingservices Stop smoking medicinesThe prescription tablets Champix (varenicline) and Zyban (bupropion) are an alternative to NRT in helping you stop smoking. They don’t contain nicotine, but they work on your brain to dampen cravings. As they take a few days to work fully, you need to start these medicines for a week or two before you stop smoking.Ask your doctor or a local?stop-smoking adviser whether prescription medicines may help you.Change your behaviourNRT, E-cigarettes and stop-smoking medicines can help curb cravings, but they can’t completely eradicate them.?It’s also a good idea to follow?these smoking cessation self-help techniques:Avoid triggers:?there will be times that for you have an especially strong association with smoking – after food, whilst driving, with a coffee, after putting the kids to bed, when chatting to a friend or having an alcoholic drink. Try to identify these triggers and do something different at these times. You don’t have to make this change forever, just until you’ve broken the habitual association with smoking. This is an important part of getting ready to quit.Stay strong: your cravings will be at their worst in the first few weeks after quitting. The good news is that the cravings will pass. When you are?ready to stop for good, you must promise yourself not to have a single drag on a cigarette. It will help to remember this promise when you experience a craving and the feeling will pass.Exercise: physical activity may help reduce your nicotine cravings and relieve some withdrawal symptoms. It may also help you reduce stress and keep your weight down. When you have the urge to smoke, do something active instead – going to?the gym or local swimming pool are good, as is a little gentle exercise like a short walk or something useful like doing the housework?or gardening.Be prepared: for cravings at special?events like holidays, funerals or weddings. You may have never experienced these before as a non-smoker so you’ll associate them strongly with smoking. Have some fast-acting NRT with you just in case. Take time before you go to think about how you will manage these.Delay: when an urge to?smoke strikes, remember that although it may be intense, it will be short-lived, and it probably will pass within a few minutes. Each time you resist a craving, you’re one step closer to stopping smoking.Reproduced with contributions from Quit4Good Warwickshire ................
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