The Mental Addiction Of Smoking

Written by Stuart Stevens | Wednesday, 09 April 2008 | There are 0 comments

Many people talk about smoking as being a physical addiction and there is no doubt that the nicotine in cigarettes is something that makes people want to continue smoking. But what you should also consider is that smoking has a psychologically addictive nature too which some people say is much more difficult to control than the physical cravings.

Rather than just describe it as a psychological addiction what many smokers have is a social or an association addiction. People who have been able to quit for a couple of weeks will suddenly get an overwhelming urge to light up when they are in a particular social situation.

For example if you are used to having a cigarette after lunch with a bunch of friends you may find it very difficult not to light up when meeting them. You may also be one of those people who finds it very difficult not to have a cigarette with an alcoholic drink and you may also find that you don’t enjoy the drink as much without a cigarette. The danger of wanting a cigarette with an alcoholic drink is that the more you drink the more your resistance and control will wane and thus the more likely you are to light up.

If you are serious about quitting smoking but dread the situations where you feel you cannot go about a cigarette you should make a list of all these situations and try to avoid them for the first few weeks of stopping smoking. When you do finally say go to the pub and your friends are smoking try not to make a big deal in your head about not smoking. Relax and if need be go outside for some deep breaths.  If it gets too bad just go home. It is not worth risking your health just to stay in the pub for another couple of hours.

You should try to encourage your friends to quit to and maybe try to hang out with people who don’t smoke. Going to places which have smoking bans can be a great relief because it means that you can go for hours without even thinking about a cigarette as nobody’s lighting up in front of you.

At the end of the day should always remember that quitting smoking is not easy and the majority of the effort required comes from you. Quitting smoking may be the most difficult thing you ever did. 

© 2009 This content has been exclusively written by UKMedix