One of the things that scares smokers the most is to hear ex-smokers say they still have cravings even years after giving up. Indeed this is one of the 'lies' that kept me smoking for so long. The crazy thing is of course that full time smokers have many more cravings than quitters.....but you don't see that at the time.
When you quit, the first 2-3 weeks, those cravings can really come at you in waves. We all know that this is the tough crazy craving phase.
Then at month 1 the madness is starting to get better. You are coping more effectively and you plod onwards having a mixture of good days and bad days. These are the rollercoaster days - dancing one minute, miserable the next.
By the time you reach around 5 months, you are feeling much more confident in your quit. You have been through just about everything the addiction has to throw at you, and are starting to feel more comfortable as a non-smoker. You are not necessarily happy all the time, but the rollercoaster is levelling out.
Now let's compare that to a full time smoker....as a full time smoker you experience cravings and triggers every day. If you smoke a pack a day, on average that's 20 triggers which provide you temporary relief when you light up. If for any reason you can not light up IMMEDIATELY eg you are in the store/sports centre/cinema/work, then you can start adding up additional triggers and minutes of cravings before you get your temporary relief. Given that one can smoke in fewer and fewer places these days, I would estimate that the average full time smoker has about 30 cravings/triggers per day. Let's add that up over a year....say 10,950.
So let's look at those stats....
Triggers per YEAR
Full time smoker = 10,950
Ex-smoker (after 6 months) = 100
Ex-smoker (after 12 months)= 50
Ex-smoker (after 18 months)= 10
Ex-smoker (after 24 months)= 5
Never smoker = 0
So do not be worried when ex-smokers say that they still get triggers....it does not necessarily mean that they would want to start smoking again.
Lizzie :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/23/2003
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1013
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,198
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4558.5
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 98 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 2 [B]Secon
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Quit Meter
$9,469.50
Amount Saved
-
Quit Meter
Days: 848
Hours: 11
Minutes: 11
Seconds: 8
Life Gained
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Quit Meter
6313
Smoke Free Days
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Quit Meter
37,878
Cigarettes Not Smoked
