If you had to pick one thing that always helped you with cravings what would it be? I don't mean NRT gums or lozenges  or ecigs or vaping.

 

Im talking about things like mints..seeds..toothpicks...licorice..sugar free gum etc. Teas even. Whatever your pleasure. The things you turned to address the oral fixation or the need to have something in your hand.

 

Full disclosure..im doing research for things to include in a quit smoking gift box. Something that does exactly what this forum is designed to do..help former smokers pass it on to others they care about and want to help quit. 

 

I have seen many patients suffer from smoking related illness (im in medical field) and felt the need to develop something to get the quit train rolling so to speak.

 

Thanks in advance to all who respond.

Physically it was chewy (gum).. Usually something in a flavour identity like too much because I didn't want a whole new addiction... Also hard lollies like Castlemaine Rock or Sovereign Hi Raspberry drops. Castlemaine Rock was better because it gets pretty razor blade sharp as you suck it down so you have to focus on what its doing in your mouth so you don't cut yourself... Aussie lollies, entertaining and delicious... Hard lollies need to have a d ent suck time... Cuppa cups (a type of lollypop) was also good.

However the absolute best thing for me early on was a memory name on my mobile, where you trun the cards to find the match... I I would last about 5mins but by focussing on the matches instead of the cravings g by the time the timer ran out the craving was gone.

Edited April 4, 20188 yr by notsmokinjo

I hope you didnt play that match game while driving hahah. There is a lollipop called chupa chups that has a hollow straw like stick. Ive found people like it because once you get down to the stick you can inhale air kind of like puffing a cig.

4 minutes ago, QuitforMe said:

 There is a lollipop called chupa chups that has a hollow straw like stick. Ive found people like it because once you get down to the stick you can inhale air kind of like puffing a cig.

That'd the one... And there are some great flavours too.

Exercise.  Sometimes it was a simple walkabout.  Other times it was more vigorous exercise like doing push-ups to failure.

 

Deep breathing.  Deep inhale, hold, slow exhale.  I don't crave cigarettes anymore, but I still do deep breathing if I feel myself getting wound up about something.

 

The acceptance of the fact that all craves pass.  Most are relatively short-lived.  When you see the cravings for the powerless little buggers that they are, you simply can't live in fear of them anymore.

I used an air cigarette and lots of soft peppermint puffs. But the thing that helped me the most was joining a support forum with others who were fighting to beat this addiction. And I made some great friends along the way.

Unfortunately no matter the contents of a quit smoking gift box, the person has to want and be ready to quit in order to succeed.

Deep breathing, water, walking and I played online solitaire (several different variations) endlessly!!! Still do! After being quit over a year now... discovered a sugarless gum called Ice Breakers Ice Cubes. I like the plastic containers they come in (I recycle them!), you have to flip open the lid to get one or more out....they are shaped like little cubes and there are lots of different flavors. 

 

I didn't use anything special but will say this - my pepsi intake went up considerably.

 

Gotta have some kind of bad habit.

Deep breathing - Meditation

Vacuuming, cleaning the house

Closing my eyes and focusing on my breathing. Long, deep cleansing breaths. Over a year later, I still do this.

Qi Gong.... My I pod....my punching pillow ...lol....

My balls! The commintment i made to myself to never smoke again. Stick with your ammunition, take the highs with the lows and everything will work out in the end.

The deep breathing exercises I too found helped a lot with the feelings of anxiety I would get with the strong craves. I ended up sucking on small mints a lot as well early on. Probably wouldn't recommend that though because of the sugar content.