How to Beat Nicotine Fits

Getting through nicotine fits is perhaps the biggest challenge to quitting smoking. Every fiber of your body will scream for nicotine but you will have to say no.

The good news, and this helped me a lot, is that nicotine fits usually only last for 15 minutes or so. What this means is that when they hit you, you only need to tough it out for a few minutes, it is not a day-long event. This is the secret that the patch & gum manufacturers don't want you to know about. If you were to slap on a patch or chew some nicotine gum you would only delay the inevitable while prolonging your suffering and you would have to start over again and again and again.

Now that you know that nicotine fits only last 15 minutes, the question then becomes this: How do you get through them? For everyone it is different but for me, I found it *very* helpful to have a physical outlet of some sort. Mostly when a nicotine fit hit, I would get on my bike and drive around town. I put a lot of miles on that thing but it sure helped me quit smoking. In retrospect, a punching bag would have been great too, let me tell you, they are a great way to reduce stress.

Before you officially quit, I would suggest doing a few trial runs to help you figure out what you'll need to do to get through your nicotine fits. Essentially what you want is a way to distract yourself until they pass. You can do almost anything but it should be something that take your mind off smoking. Buy a banjo or something and try that. When my nicotine fits would get bad I would hop on my bike and ride around town and that really helped a lot.

Gradually, the nicotine fits will subside both in frequency and intensity and after your first week or so they should be pretty much gone entirely.

Remember - you only have to make it 15 minutes at a time. When a nic fit hits, distract yourself until it passes. This worked for me, it will work for you too.