Breaking the Physical Addiction to Cigarettes

Most seasoned smokers purchase their cigarettes in cartons. I myself smoked the Benson & Hedges (regular) brand of cigarettes. The first thing I did when I began to ramp down my addiction was to switch to Benson & Hedges Lights. They don't taste quite as rich as the regular cigarettes, but you can get by with them, and after a carton or two, you'll find that the light versions of your cigarettes will satisfy you eventually.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no evidence that switching to light or ultra-light cigarettes actually assists smokers in quitting. However, other research suggests that indeed low-nicotine ciggies can help fulfill the need for the smoke while working on the psychological aspect of the addiction. Worse case scenario is that putting all this effort into weening yourself down from regular ciggies to the ultra-lights may be more about your resolve and intent. In the end, resolve and intent are two components of a successful quitting process. So stick with me a little bit longer. :)

After you've gotten used to the lighter cigarettes, keep repeating this process until you're smoking the lightest cigarettes that you can find. Benson & Hedges has another style that is lighter than their "light" ciggies. They're called "Deluxe Extra Light". So, after getting used to the "light", I switched my next carton purchase to their "Deluxe Extra Light" style. Again, I had to go through a brief period of dissatisfaction with each new lighter cigarette but it is a small step that you can make peace with if you really want to quit smoking.

I need to at least make some medical statements at this point. Lighter cigarettes have not been proven to be any safer in regards to all those diseases that cigarettes cause. However, our goal is to get your body used to lower levels of nicotine. That's why I encourage weening yourself down to the lighter cigarettes. There is also some who suggest that when a smoker moves to a lighter cigarette, they'll compensate by smoking more often, holding the smoke in longer, or taking deeper breaths while smoking. All of these items would cause the net loss of tar and nicotine to rise again to their prior levels. Still, once you get used to the lighter cigarettes, you will smoke less tar and nicotine.

After I had transitioned to the Benson & Hedges Deluxe Extra Light cigarettes, I moved over to Carlton brand cigarettes. They were (still are?) marketed as the lowest in tar and nicotine. They have different types of cigarettes too. Their regular strength cigarettes are pretty low in tar and nicotine, but I found the taste to be unsatisfying and if I were to do this all again, I would stop at the Benson & Hedges Deluxe Extra Lights. Carlton's lightest cigarettes have little holes in the filter to add more air to the mix. It is this added air that makes the machine that measures the tars and nicotine in the cigarette think that it is the lightest of all cigarettes. However, in real life usage, one's fingers can be placed over these little holes which renders them somewhat ineffective. I don't especially suggest that you move into the Carlton brand unless perhaps that is already your brand and you're already used to them. If you're already smoking one of the lighter forms of the Carlton brand, you're already taking in a minimum of tar and nicotine, so you can move on to addressing the psychological addiction.

Page One: Quit Smoking in Five Minutes
Page Two: Breaking the Physical Addiction to Cigarettes
Page Three: Breaking the Psychological Addiction to Cigarettes
Page Four: Acupuncture
Page Five: A few stray ideas