Why We Smoke - The Psychology of Smoking

Did you know how cigarettes triggers you to smoke?

Here's a related explanation by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist who studied changes in behavior in the early 1900s. One of his observations were that dogs normally salivate just as they are given food. In one of his experiments, he rang a bell just before he fed his dogs. Subsequently, the dogs began to associate and link the sound of the bell with food. Soon, they salivated even if he rang the bell without giving them any food. The dogs had learned “The bell rings means I’m going to be fed!”. Pavlov describes this phenomenon as "a conditioned response".

The same "conditioned response" or association, the term we prefer to use, occurs with you and smoking. After smoking many, many cigarettes, your daily routine and acts become associated with smoking and triggers the urge to smoke. For example, if you smoke every time you drive, just getting into the car can activate associations to smoke, as if your brain tells you, “I’m in the car now so its time to smoke!”

Similarly, if you smoke immediately after you wake up each morning, you mind associates smoking with waking up from sleep. Even long after you’ve quit smoking, you may still get triggers to smoke when you wake up.


Understanding and dealing with these powerful associations is one of the most important part of quitting smoking.

A similar study by B.F. Skinner included a series of animal experiments to study how habits are formed. Skinner found that when behavior, good or bad, is rewarded, it is more likely to be repeated and when punished, it is less likely to be repeated.

Just as in Skinner's research, smokers believe that smoking rewards by relaxing and soothing them. In addition, the close company of other smokers may also lead them to believe that smoking rewards them with social acceptance. Of course, there is no proof to these false perceptions. Still, smokers continue to smoke because they believe smoking rewards them somehow.

At the same time, smokers who try to quit smoking receive "punishment" through bad moods, irresistible urges and cravings. It is no wonder why smokers find it difficult to even consider quitting smoking.

**References
Human Psychopharmacology Volume 11
Journal of Drug Issues 31(2)
BBC Homepage
Your Medical Resource
The Quit Smoking Company
Men Health Magazine Online

Why We Smoke - The Psychology of Smoking

How Jogging Stopped My Nicotine Cravings

When I first took on the task of quitting cigarettes for good, I sat down and did a lot of reflection. I asked myself the question, how would I deal with the cravings that Nicotine withdrawal would throw at me. Instead of looking at nicotine cessation aids I looked at activities I could introduce into my everyday life.

This to me made great sense. Instead of feeling rotten for weeks I decided I wanted to feel the complete opposite. Jogging is what I chose as my main decoy to eradicate any nicotine cravings I may suffer. As a younger man jogging was an important part of my life and it felt natural to migrate back to this great and healthy pastime.What could be better to cope with quitting cigarettes than running for free and receiving an abundance of health benefits everyday for the rest of my life.

The Quit date was set. I gave myself 2 weeks to prepare my mind and to smoke those last venomous packets of cigarettes. I made a decision to also set myself a goal every week. I decided that I would run/jog 3 times a week and my goal would be to ad 3 km per week. The first day I would run 1 km, second day 2 km and so on. After  3-4 weeks when I reached 10 km I would keep it at that distance. I would then try to do the 10 km faster each time (within reason, not killing myself).


@ weeks after I set my Quit date I gave up cigarettes for good, that's the way I had to see it. I went in thinking that this was my last cigarette, there was no going back. Determination was my foundation and it was rock solid. Once the Nicotine cravings started I turned my mind to running. It was not feasible to run every time I had a craving, but it was feasible to think about it and all the benefits that were waiting for me to achieve.

For the first time ever I felt my mind was in the right place, I was beginning to feel like a healthier person even though I hadn't ventured on my first run yet. When I did manage to get out and run that first km, I was overwhelmed with a great sense of achievement. It gave me purpose. Cigarettes seemed less important now, which was difficult for me as my life as a smoker revolved totally around smoking cigarettes. I couldn't ever get them out of my mind. I always new the health risks that came with smoking cigarettes but I only realize now the changes they made to my personality, negative changes that effected my self esteem and messed with my mind no doubt.

As the weeks progressed my fitness levels were up, my self esteem was up and I was starting to believe in me the non smoker again. I was back to where I started from, as a non smoker. My energy levels were so high I hardly recognized myself, I was on top form. My zest for life was abundant, I saw life through clearer vision, I saw a new life with me playing a bigger part.

Quitting smoking is a difficult thing to grasp. Running to get fit and revitalize my body sensationally worked for me. It doesn't have to be running if it doesn't suit your fitness level. The same approach can be taking using walking, cycling, swimming or even a light work out, whatever ticks all the boxes for you! Just try give up the cigarettes and incorporate some exercise into your Quit regime and I promise you that you wont know yourself.

How Jogging Stopped My Nicotine Cravings

I've Quit Smoking - What Next?

There are many changes that take place in your body when you finally Quit Smoking Cigarettes. All  of the changes are totally beneficial, some may be unpleasant in the short term. 

Depending on the quantity of Cigarettes you previously smoked will in turn determine how strong your cravings will be.  The first 24-48 hours can bring on many changes in your body after Quitting Cigarettes.

Headaches, sweating and nausea are very common side effects associated with Quitting Smoking. Because the body is not receiving its usual fix of nicotine anymore it has to respond with these physical symptoms. These symptoms will generally only last up to 3 days or so after Quitting Nicotine. Irritability can also become a short lived side effect, but you must persevere and get through this.

At this point many Quitters fall off the Wagon and start Smoking again. They sometimes feel that their short temper and irritability is not worth the hassle they are putting their friends and family through. This is where many people give in to their cravings. But the reality of it all is that they want you to succeed in your Quit Attempt, sometimes more than you want to.  The irritability will subside after a few days and you will feel mas if you have a new lease of life.



8-12 weeks after your last cigarette your cravings should be totally gone and you will start to see yourself as a non smoker. Don't get too confident as it is an easy path for an ex smoker to stray away from. Take each day at a time and enjoy your new health benefits.

There are many physical changes that your body will go through when you quit smoking cigarettes. Within 20 minutes of quitting your heart rate and blood pressure will return to normal. Your Carbon dioxide levels will decrease and your oxygen levels will increase after a couple of hours. The risk of heart attack will decrease after 24 hours of quitting cigarettes.

Within a few weeks of your quit, the blood circulation will improve and any obstruction in the blood vessels will clear. Within a few months, coughing should stop and fatigue will disapate and you will start to feel much better in yourself.

After a year, the heart attack risk should decrease to half the level of a smoker and after about 5-10 years it decreases to that of a non-smoker. Within 15 years your body will have the same risk of lung cancer as that of a non-smoker.

The advantages are so many, and the price to pay is so puny. Quitting is the wisest decision that any smoker can take in his/her life.

I've Quit Smoking - What Next?

The Dangers of Cigarette Smoking

Cigarette smoking is one of the biggest causes of preventable deaths worldwide. Each year the diagnosis of Lung Cancer caused by cigarette Smoking effects thousands of Americans,

Smokers are subjected to so many reasons to quit smoking every day, and there are many quit smoking tips, quit smoking aids and quit smoking support groups. Unfortunately, if a Smoker is not ready to Quit Smoking, these programs will not be of much help. Understanding the effects of cigarette smoking on your body and health will help a smoker prepare for life without cigarettes. Only with this knowledge can a smoker make the first step to a healthier life.
Why should people Stop Smoking?

Cigarette smoking is possibly one of the worst things you can subject your body to. Studies show that each cigarette smoked can shorten your lifespan by six minutes. In terms of cigarette packs per day that's two hours per pack, which for the average smoker this can be 14 hours per week (based on a pack a day for 1 week) This seems like such a drastic sacrifice to make for the sake of just smoking.


The cost to your pocket is another incentive to QUIT SMOKING, with these recessional times eating every last cent we have. Cigarette prices are always on the rise as more and more sin taxes are added. In states such as New York, one pack of cigarettes can cost more than seven dollars. If you add up all of that money, a pack a day smoker could save more than two thousand dollars a year if he or she quit smoking.

Cigarette smokers leave themselves as high risk candidates for heart problems. They are twice as likely to suffer heart attacks than a non smoker. They are 5 times more likely to die from these heart attacks than non smokers or people who have quit at an early age.

Cigarette smoking can seriously effect the blood circulation in the body which can lead to strokes. Cigarette smokers are 5 times more likely to suffer a stroke than a healthy non smoker. Women who smoke and take birth control pills are at higher risk again, especially over the age of thirty.

The most harm cigarette smoking can do is its effect on the lungs. Lung Cancer is a huge risk for smokers with cigarette Smoking the leading cause of lung cancer worldwide. Though non-smokers can also get lung cancer, smokers greatly increase their chances beyond those of non-smoking individuals. Smokers are also at risk for developing emphysema, an incurable breathing disease.

Though cigarette smoking causes some irreversible damage, there is good news for those who decide to quit smoking. It only takes ten years after you quit smoking before you lungs return to normal. This means that if you quit smoking now, you can have a new lease on life within ten years. In addition, the immediate effects of quitting smoking are even more exciting.

The Dangers of Cigarette Smoking