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Common Myth After Quitting Smoking

Dr_Hurt
Mayo Clinic
0 9 94

A common myth is that after a person stops smoking they never lose the craving to smoke.  That actually isn't true.  Cravings to smoke do eventually subside and become less frequent and less intense over time. 

Hearing this myth can discourage people from trying to stop smoking.  After all, who could keep up fighting those cravings for the rest of their lives?  But the truth is the cravings do eventually go away and then what you are left with are periodic thoughts about smoking that come and go.  A thought to smoke is much less intense than cravings and usually pass away rapidly.  The thought to smoke might be triggered by sights, sounds, smells even feelings that you used to associate with smoking, but now that you're a ex-smoker these triggers will no longer have the power that they had during the early days and weeks after first stopping smoking.  They are normal and they are also harmless.  They pass after a moment or two.  They will leave you alone because you're not reinforcing them by smoking. 

So don't let yourself become discouraged or confused when you hear someone say the cravings to smoke never go away.  They do, but sometimes thoughts about smoking can linger on and make an appearance every now and then.  You can manage these thoughts by revisiting your commitment to quit, using the coping skills you’ve learned at www.becomeanex.org and keeping yourself smoke-free.

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About the Author
Retired in 2014. Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated more than 50,000 patients for tobacco dependence.