I am more convinced than ever that an educated cold turkey approach is the least painful, quickest way to reach comfort as an ex-smoker.
One thing really opened my eyes. The Become an Ex program is a nicotine-based program. They push NRT hard and, in fact, won't even let you set a quit date until you have chosen your NRT. So if there is anywhere in the world there should be a lot of successful NRT quitters, it's here.
Yet, time after time, when a newbie quitter asks for help from the veterans in how to get off the nicotine gum or patch after a month or two or three, they hear.....crickets......
I've finally come to the conclusion that there just aren't very many old veteran quitters who successfully got off the NRT. The either quit using it right away (like in the first two weeks, basically switching to a cold turkey quit), quit taking it months later and relapsed. Or, are still using NRT on a chronic basis.
It's been very frustrating for me to watch because I'm all about telling quitters what to expect and how to deal with it. I can't touch those NRT questions because I have no idea. I never used the stuff. But, then it saddens me when quitters asking for advice get nothing.
Anyway, since I'm all about advice. For anyone starting out with a cold turkey quit:
a) Set small goals. Just get thru one day. Then set a goal of going another 24 hours. And so forth. Worry about he immediate goals and let long term take care of itself. This keeps you from freaking out ("oh my god, I've got to do this for six montths!") and it gives you the thrill of victory as motivation.
b) Devote as much time as you possibly can during the first days and weeks to education. While fending off craves, immerse yourselves in www.whyquit.com and Allen Carr stuff online. Spending a half hour is perfect for working through a crave and, truly understanding the drug addiction and the trap it's got you in is the key to a relatively painless quit. Once you truly come to view cigarettes as a drug addiction keeping you from enjoying freedom, you will lose all desire to smoke. All the triggers and learned behaviors are a lot easier to work through when you really don't want to continue as a smoker.