Stop Smoking Tobacco : The Jockey's Method! 72 Hours Nicotine Free : Tips & Techniques From A Serial Quitter! ;-)

Tobacco is one of the most addictive substances we have in our societies. It is a hugely profitable business for the tobacco companies but causes major health problems in people who smoke. I have known many people who were never able to stop smoking even after a lifetime of trying.

I had my first cigarette at 12 years old as there was a machine outside my house where I could buy a packet of cigarettes. I have smoked at many points in my life. I have stop for years at a time but also relapsed into smoking.

During my time smoking I have developed some techniques that assist me with stopping. I am using these techniques now to stop again and I have not had any nicotine in 3 days. I hope that these techniques may be useful for some of you too.

Should I relapse again I hope this post will remind me that quitting is not hard and is totally achievable. Just keep trying until it happens! =)

Preparation

I always quit in the morning after I have slept. I have found it wise to do a little preparation before I quit. It is not necessary but helps me. Once I decide to quit I do four things:

1. Purchase or make a herbal smoking mixture
2. Pour water on my cigarettes or tobacco
3. Write a note on my mirror which says: "I am not a cigarette smoker! =)"
4. If possible buy lots of honey plus fresh fruits and vegetables in advance

I must also prepare myself to spend three nights at home and not drink alcohol for a week or so. It is important for me not to drink alcohol because it reduces my will power - and I need that to quit cigarettes!

I do not use nicotine patches or other supplements because I have tried them and they are not helpful for me!

Herbal Smoking Mixture

During the first 3 days of quitting there are some mental and physical symptoms of cold turkey. I have found several effective ways to deal with them. One that I have found very useful is nicotine free herbal smoking mixture.

Once I stop, every time I really want a cigarette I smoke some herbal smoking mixture. Herbal smoking mixtures can be purchased in both rolling and pre-rolled forms. There are several brands on the market but there are also many kinds of smokeable herbs which you can grow yourself or purchase to tailor your herbal smoking mixture to your tastes. There is nothing addictive in any of these herbs so there is no chance of any habit forming. The brand I am using at the moment is:

Honeyrose Farmers

I am aware that if you are trying to quit smoking cigarettes a further act of smoking seems counterintuitive. However I have found a herbal smoking mixture very useful during the first few days. Because the body is craving nicotine, smoking something else is not particularly pleasant. I have found that after a few days the drive to smoke anything including herbal smoking mixtures wanes away naturally. If you can do it without smoking anything even better! =)

Gettup In Tha Mornin' Routine

Most smokers are used to waking up and wanting a cigarette as the level of nicotine in their body has dropped while they slept. When you stop you need to be ready for that desire to smoke in the morning.

My method to deal with this is to swish 1 tsp of high quality oil around in my mouth for 20 minutes the moment I wake up. This is the ancient Ayurvedic technique known as oil pulling which has been excellent at keeping my mouth healthy and my teeth white. I have written a previous post about this.

In brief you take 1 tsp of the best quality oil you can get. I use extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil. You gently swish it around your mouth for 15-20 minutes as soon as you wake up. When finished you expel the mixture from your mouth into the garden. Never gargle with it or put it into your septic system. This process removes bacteria from your mouth while naturally whitening your teeth.

Like herbal smoking mixtures I often make my own oil pulling mixture by adding a drop of wild oil of oregano. Finally you brush your teeth and tongue scrape as normal.

Keeping oil in my mouth for 20 minutes means that the first nicotine cravings have come and gone while I have been oil pulling!

Ahhh... Warm Soothing Tea! =)

During the oil pulling process I prepare a nice big glass of herbal tea to soothe my throat.

My favourite cocktail at the moment is:

• 3 or 4 dried Rosella flowers
• A large nub of finely grated ginger
• Hot clean water
• 2 tbs of high quality raw honey - avoid denaturing by adding to body temperature tea
• 1 lime squeezed -add last

Sipping this with a clean fresh mouth makes me forget that I want a cigarette! =)

Exercise

I have always found it much easier to deal with the first few days of cold turkey if I am exercising daily. My preferred method of exercise is Bikram or another Hot Yoga. Alternatively swimming works well for me but any exercise is better than none. I exercise every day for the first week or longer.

I particularly like hog yoga as it pushes me hard which makes me tired. It is always easy for me to sleep after a hot yoga session. The intense sweating also assists the detoxification process. Both swimming and hot yoga help to open the lungs to aid the cleansing process.

If I exercise quitting is easier and I loose weight! ;-)

The First 3 Days

The first 72 hours are when the strongest symptoms of quitting need to be dealt with. During this period it is important to avoid being around people who are smoking and to not consume alcohol. It is also very useful to exercise every day and eat well.

You may find yourself getting hungry without smoking. This is normal and the trick is to fill your fridge with amazing fresh fruit and vegetables. Here in South East Asia I spent $20 to fill my kitchen with an abundance of fresh tropical fruits such as: various mangos, watermelons of different colours, snake fruit, dragon fruit, papaya, jack fruit, pineapple, limes, young coconut, dates, rambutan and bananas. Yummy! =)

I also cooked a medicinal and deliciously spicy tom yum soup for dinner tonight and there are two green salads to eat. Fill your body with nutritious fresh food and it will assist in your recovery.

If you want to get a massage or take a hot bath, both these things ease the process! Drink lots of water and remember to love yourself! =)

I am so much happier if I don't smoke cigarettes and at almost 72 hours nicotine free I feel I am already on that path to freedom! Sadly as a smoker I have often wondered why I harm myself in such a way - do I not like myself? Now I am totally loving to myself again and I feel amazing! =)

With will power we can do anything! =)

The Benefits Of Quitting

I have taken this excellent document from whyquit.com. This is a time table that is inspiring and very useful to read while quitting. I have read it many times! =)

"Our body's ability to mend is beauty to behold!

Within ...

• 20 minutes : Your blood pressure, pulse rate and the temperature of your hands and feet have returned to normal.

• 8 hours : Remaining nicotine in your bloodstream has fallen to 6.25% of normal peak daily levels, a 93.75% reduction.

• 12 hours : Your blood oxygen level has increased to normal. Carbon monoxide levels have dropped to normal.

• 24 hours : Anxieties have peaked in intensity and within two weeks should return to near pre-cessation levels.

• 48 hours : Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal. Cessation anger and irritability will have peaked.

• 72 hours : Your entire body will test 100% nicotine-free and over 90% of all nicotine metabolites (the chemicals it breaks down into) will now have passed from your body via your urine. Symptoms of chemical withdrawal have peaked in intensity, including restlessness. The number of cue induced crave episodes experienced during any quitting day have peaked for the 'average' ex-user. Lung bronchial tubes leading to air sacs (alveoli) are beginning to relax in recovering smokers. Breathing is becoming easier and your lung's functional abilities are starting to increase.

• 5 - 8 days : The 'average' ex-smoker will encounter an 'average' of three cue induced crave episodes per day. Although we may not be "average" and although serious cessation time distortion can make minutes feel like hours, it is unlikely that any single episode will last longer than 3 minutes. Keep a clock handy and time them.

• 10 days : The 'average' ex-user is down to encountering less than two crave episodes per day, each less than 3 minutes.

• 10 days to 2 weeks : Recovery has likely progressed to the point where your addiction is no longer doing the talking. Blood circulation in your gums and teeth are now similar to that of a non-user.

• 2 to 4 weeks : Cessation related anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, restlessness and depression have ended. If still experiencing any of these symptoms get seen and evaluated by your physician.

• 2 weeks to 3 months : Your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function is beginning to improve.

• 21 days : The number of acetylcholine receptors, which were up-regulated in response to nicotine's presence in the frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, basal ganglia, thalamus, brain stem, and cerebellum regions of the brain, have now substantially down-regulated, and receptor binding has returned to levels seen in the brains of non-smokers (2007 study).

• 3 weeks to 3 months : Your circulation has substantially improved. Walking has become easier. Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared. If not, get seen by a doctor, and sooner if at all concerned, as a chronic cough can be a sign of lung cancer.

• 4 weeks : Plasma suPAR is a stable inflammatory biomarker predictive of development of diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer in smokers. A 2016 study found that within 4 weeks of quitting smoking, with or without NRT, that suPAR levels in 48 former smokers had fallen from a baseline smoking median of 3.2 ng/ml to levels 'no longer significantly different from the never smokers' values' (1.9 ng/ml)

• 8 weeks : Insulin resistance in smokers has normalized despite average weight gain of 2.7 kg.

• 1 to 9 months : Any smoking related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath has decreased. Cilia have regrown in your lungs, thereby increasing their ability to handle mucus, keep your lungs clean and reduce infections. Your body's overall energy has increased.

• 1 year : Your excess risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke has dropped to less than half that of a smoker.

• 5 years : Your risk of a subarachnoid haemorrhage has declined to 59% of your risk while still smoking (2012 study). If a female ex-smoker, your risk of developing diabetes is now that of a non-smoker (2001 study).

• 5 to 15 years : Your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker.

• 10 years : Your risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer is between 30% and 50% of that for a continuing smoker (2005 study). Risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day). Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus and pancreas have declined. Risk of developing diabetes for both men and women is now similar to that of a never-smoker (2001 study).

• 13 years : The average smoker who is able to live to age 75 has 5.8 fewer teeth than a non-smoker (1998 study). But by year 13 after quitting, your risk of smoking induced tooth loss has declined to that of a never-smoker (2006 study).

• 15 years : Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked. Your risk of pancreatic cancer has declined to that of a never-smoker (2011 study - but note 2nd pancreatic study making identical finding at 20 years).

• 20 years : Female excess risk of death from all smoking related causes, including lung disease and cancer, has now reduced to that of a never-smoker (2008 study). Risk of pancreatic cancer has declined to that of a never-smoker (2011 study)."

I hope this post can inspire you or someone you love to stop smoking cigarettes! =)

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Images courtesy of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

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Jockey loves you All - smoking or not!

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