Tobacco

[meckleyj]

Newbie here. I have been looking at the raw diet for over a year but never got anything substantial until about three weeks ago. I bought Carol Alt's book which advocates a partial raw diet. After reading that I bought Alissa Cohen's book. This made complete total sense to me. So I went on a final 4 day pigout and ate and drank everything I could get my hands on.

Yesterday, (with hangover) I went totally raw. The no caffine combined with the hangover had me sleeping a lot my first day. By last evening I felt so absolutely terrible that I went and bought some tobacco.

My question is; is there anything that will help with the physical discomfort and brain fuzzies that come with nicotine withdrawal? Or must I just tough it out and cold turkey. I don't want patchs or gum. Just seems like addiction substitution to me.

Jim

[jaurequi]

Wow, meckleyj, you're trying to quit smoking -- Bravo! I do not have any advice as I've never smoked. My dad did for decades. He only quit when *he* really wanted to, though he attempted many times. He actually went through hypnosis and it did not work the first time because he truly, in his heart, did not want to give it up. It was only when he was told by his doctor he would be dead in 5 years if he didn't that his second attempt with the hypnosis worked :).

If you can go cold, then more power to you! I know it's difficult, and brace yourself for hard times ahead. How long have you been smoking? Changing diet and quitting smoking at the same time is a pretty ambitious endeavor ;)

I hope others can comment on coping strategies to help you; I just want to encourage you and give you kudos for trying :)

Best,

[meckleyj]

Actually I quit smoking a long time ago. But I just substituted it with dip. So I am still addicted but I can breath and don't have the what do I do with my hands.

Thanks for the encouragement.
Jim

[exurb]

Jim, wishing you support to quit the tobacco.

OK, I will tell you what an MD explained to me about tobacco. Nicotine is one of those substances that our bodies normally make and use in small amounts. When you smoke a cigarette, you flood your body with such a huge amount that your body stops making the nicotine. Then when you stop smoking, you suffer because your body needs the nicotine but has shut down the mechanism to make it. After some small number of days (I forget exactly how many), your body will kick in and start making the small amounts of nicotine you make. Thus after those days, the addiction is more psychological, and wanting the huge amounts. If you f* up and have a smoke or even a drag of a smoke, you've totally screwed up the thing back to the beginning, and your body will shut down making the nicotine. So I think if you're going to do it without a nicotine supplement, then the key is to not cheat and take a drag here and there. You should have gotten past the true worst part of the problem after a matter of days, after that according to this MD, it's all the psychological need of the smoking habit and the wanting the huge overdoses of nic for other reasons.

If the money savings is a real motivating factor for you, maybe cold turkey is the way to go over the patch. Have you added up how much it would cost you over 10 years of smoking with compound interest and what you could do with that money?

That said, it is very hard to get over an addiction. Can you do anything to increase your endorphins, acupuncture, exercise, etc., these can be helpful according to people I know. Heck, aerosmith swears by wheatgrass juice helping them get clean.

Coffee is also a tough one, some people on here have said they had better success by first tapering off the amounts (or switching to decaf which still gives you some caffeine), then quitting. I say #1 is the smokes, IMO please put a priority on that, do what you need to do to support that. I have quit coffee twice. The first time around (years ago before I even knew about raw) it took a good month to feel normal, but then once I did I had much more energy and stamina overall then when I was using coffee for energy. The second time was when raw, I tapered it off and found the transition much easier. I think with all habits you really need to substitute an appealing new habit, so if coffee first thing in the morning is your thing, you need to find a nice warm delicious beverage that is also raw that you can learn to enjoy. Like lemon or ginger in warm water, whatever, and think of it as a tonic that is reinforcing your health to reinforce the good habit.

It's not really raw and it's got some caffeine, but some people swear by raw cacao nibs to make them feel great, my jury isn't in on that one, but maybe you want to look into that for yourself just as a transition.

[SamuelWilson]

Tabacco is actually good for you in raw format. It has been reported that the tobacco leaf raw, not cured as for cigarettes and cigars is an excellent source of niacin and other nutrients. It is said to be tasty in salads, but I haven't tried it. IM not recommending that you eat tobacco-leaf salad as I haven't done enough research on it, yet.

[RawTruth]

I say just tough it out. Hold on with your fingernails if you have to. Your body will cleanse itself out faster if you don't use substitutes. I know this may be challenging -- I've gone cold turkey off substances myself. But -- you seem to have the grit and guts to handle it.

You mention that you have Alissa's book -- just keep reading it and rereading it. Her plan will get you and keep you raw if you follow it.

Hey - thanks for the water info in another thread. It's good knowledge.

[Raw Jewelrylady]

Well, after 16 years of not smoking- I picked up a cig this past Summer & then got hooked. Tried to quit w/the patch, but had bad reactions so I had to tough it out cold-turkey.

It takes 4 days for the nicotine to leave your system. Drink tons of water.

I won't lie to you, the w/drawls are a b*tch. You can go from angry to emotional in a few seconds, but IT DOES GET BETTER.

If you do cheat, just keep quitting until you get it right.

I also tried to diet, etc. but at that time my life was very crazy & I could only focus on the quitting. I had gotten away from my "Raw" foods. Looking back, I think if I had the time to eat well, it would have been easier.

Good luck to you. BTW...I believe there is a "quit" hotline, I never used it, but it could help. also, check out the message boards.

[Salsify]

I quit after 26 year of heavy smoking (about 25/day), because my cough got scary and I choked about once a day just by drinking water or on my own spit and somebody told me the lungs are getting hard from smoking. It helps too to check out some cancer sides/pictures. You have to want it really bad in order for it to work. I used the patch AND the gum (not recommended) to be on the save side for a few weeks. Then only the patch and after 3 or 4 weeks I noticed one day that I had gone all day without the patch and had no cravings. The first year was hard, and the second still tempting sometimes. I am fine now, even when I'm stressed or something really bad happens, or I have a few glasses of wine, I will not smoke, it does not even cross my mind. I had about 8 cigarettes during the first 2 years, totally stupid when I had too much to drink. I think you will always be an addict and have to be aware of that.

I look every morning on my quit meter on the PC. You can get it free. It is made by silk quit. I am not sure what the webpage is. Looking at the numbers from non-smoking still make me proud every day.

It might be hard to quit and completely change to raw in one step, but then again, you will have the full benefits sooner. Never give up. If you tripped, pick yourself up, don't beat yourself up. You will look years younger, smell better, the constant fear of cancer will go away, you will smell and taste foods better and be able to walk and run and excercise without getting dizzy or tired fast and be around for your grand kids.

I wish you all the best!!!!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT.


Here is my quit statistic: Three years, two weeks, six days, 2 hours, 15 minutes and 19 seconds. 33482 cigarettes not smoked, saving $4,687.59. Life saved: 16 weeks, 4 days, 6 hours, 10 minutes.

[Dandelion Girl]

I've heard and read that lobelia can help with the physical cravings. You can get it in capsule form to take on a regular basis while you quit. You can also get it in tincture form. The lady at the health food store told my sister it helps to have a few drops of the tincture when you are wanting a cigarette. Good luck with quitting.

Pam

[Alice in Rawfoodland]

I would recommend quitting cold turkey without gum or patches.

It takes 21 days for the nicotine to leave your system and the worst withdrawal symptoms are over in 6-10 days.

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking book is very helpful. The worst part of the addiction is the mental part. Your body is no longer craving nicotine after 3 weeks so why do people continue to puff - because they still have the desire even without physically being addicted to nicotine. Allen deals with this issue. He points out all the misconceptions people have about cigarettes and how stupid smoking really is in a way that makes you want to never smoke again. Check out the reviews on Amazon - you'll be amazed.

Good luck,
Alice

p.s. Don't bother getting the 500+ page version - the 100+ page version is fine. Just keep re-reading it.

[Nini]

On a side note....


Here is my quit statistic: Three years, two weeks, six days, 2 hours, 15 minutes and 19 seconds. 33482 cigarettes not smoked, saving $4,687.59. Life saved: 16 weeks, 4 days, 6 hours, 10 minutes.

Salsify - I send you a "Woot! Woot!"
:)

[mindelicious]

You can do this--you can not fail!!!!!!

Couple of things to help you-- I got an all natural anti nicotine kit for my mom--a smoker for 25 years--- I found it at my local Healthfood Store. It is called STOP IT! There are two different lozenges/chews you take. The first one is to detox the body of nicotine and all the other junk that comes with it, the next one you take frequently throughout the day whenever you want to use. It worked for her.

Also since you may have become accostum to having a chew in, you may want to get Dulse and chew on that--it is kinda salty but the first time I tried some I thought of chew.
Also even wheatgrass if you need to get over having something in your mouth.

[greywolf]

one day - after almost 20 years of smoking - i just stopped.

i still describe myself as a smoker - i am just chooseing not to do so RIGHT NOW. this was about 3 or so years ago, and still deciding EVERY DAY not to smoke.

all that said - water and orange juice are the keys to helping get the evil stuff out of your system. citrus will help to clean it out - the mood swings are possible to deal with when you remember that it is the toxins doing it and not you. they pass.

make it through the first 3 days - you will be gold from there.

[karenisraw]

I too have heard that wheatgrass juice really brightens up your mind. I have not tried it yet, but I may in the future.

I quit caffeine, and since I have been 99% raw I feel so much better off caffeine and I now look back and caffeine gave me a "Oh I feel better, but I don't feel so great" kind of buzz that I will never go back. A Natural raw high is what you have been looking for, but did'nt know how to get it until now. So much better this way. I imagine it is the same with the nicoteine as the coffee.

k :p :p

[monkeyboy]

Hi Everyone,

I'm raw.....................but

I fire up a big fat Cubano and drink the best wines of France.

It's O.K. to do what you feel.

Life is short dude.

Peace and goodwill to you........you big sissy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ha ah aha

M.B.

[karenisraw]

helloooooooo....you can get cancer of the mouth with a cubano or chew......you said it, life is short... :eek: