Quitting smoking with the patch.

Quitting smoking with the patch.

I wrote this plan up for some friends a number of years ago because I found that without the information below, even the patch doesn't work to stop the smoker from falling back into the habit.  It is some basic ideas that are never addressed when starting the patch.  Since the patch costs more than the smokes do, it is a good idea to get yourself ready and make them work for you the first time.

The idea behind it is to give your body the chemical it needs while breaking the habit of holding, and carrying around the cig itself.  you can read about what percent of the addition is mental, and which part of it is physical but the basic problem is that most smokers need something to use to calm themselves, look forward to, or to just plane pass the time with something for the hands to do.  Because of all of these factors being slightly different for all of us, there are some basic guides i have found to adhere to that will help make the patch work the way it is intended to.

1.  The patch itself.

They are costly.  more so than the cigarettes themselves.  The first thing is that your body doesn't know the difference between the brand name, or the generic.  I advise you to buy the generic ones.  you can also find coupons for money off the two week course, as compared to the one weeks, which you will not need.  They come in two shapes.  find and buy the round ones only.  The square ones do not stay on your body as well.  They put them in the drug stores in bins that showcase the brand names.  compair the prices and look at the boxes carefully to make sure you are getting the round ones, and that they are the correct step that you are on.

2  Using them

The box says use each step for two weeks.  This is not enough time for a seasoned smoker, or  a smoker who is used to strong, non light smokes.  plan on using the step 1 for double that amount of time.  So you will need two boxes of the two week supplies, but don't buy  them all at once.  Start with one two week course.  Each course comes packed with CD's DVDs and a whole bunch of crap which is all basically there to justify the size of the box.  One of the most important things is the time of day you put the patch on.  Water makes the patch glue useless, so does sweat.  It is important to put the patch on at the same time of day each day.  Unlike smoking, which you seem to do whenever you like, the patch needs to have a consistent flow into your skin to break the addiction.  whenever you take a shower, try to put the patch on directly afterwards and try to make it the same time every day.  How the patch touches your skin is also of paramount importance.  many people out the patch on the outside of the arm, in the shoulder area.  this is great to show everyone you are on the patch, but it is the worst place to keep it touching your skin for 24 hours.  I have found that the best place on your body that has the least amount of skin movement is on your torso, under the arm, directly on the side of your lung.  your arm helps press the patch against the skin, and it is protected from being knocked off.  most people get a slight skin irritation from the patch.  It is important not to put the patch on the same part of the skin each day.  The way that I got around this was to switch it each day to the opposite side of the body.  After a couple of weeks the skin irritation does go away, but continue to swtich it form side to side.  Do not a take the patch off at night.  you literally need to have the patch on 24/7 till you are done to break the physical habit.  After two weeks you need to decide if you want to go one more week on step 1 or go for 2 weeks.  due to the cost, this is why you only buy the two weeks to start.  to be safe I would go for the extra week.  when you switch to step 2, use step 2 for 4 weeks.  After that you are on step 3.  do the two weeks and see if you even notice the patch anymore.  that will be a good indication as to how many weeks you will need to be on step 4.

Do not cut the patches in half, no not put more than one patch on at the same time.  make sure you have your supply of patches with you to switch out on time each day.  it is so important to make sure you switch to the new patch at the same time each day.

3. Behavior

The other part of smoking that the patch cant help you with in the mental part.  This is also why nicotine gum is a bad choice.  you do not want to substitute the cig in your hand with gum, or candy, or anything.  Do not try to reward yourself for not smoking with things like candy or anything that reminds yourself that you are not smoking.  Breaking the habit of needing something in your hands is key.

Being around smokers is the quickest way to fail.  You will not be strong enough to be round smokers till you are on the end of step 3.  All it takes is one little thing to happen, a flat tire,  a bad day, and if you are near a smoker, the temptation to ask for just one smoke will be unstoppable. The smoker will want you to be like them and they, unknowingly, want you to fail so they feel better about smoking and not quitting.  You can not be around people smoking period.  That one smoke has inside it the power to undo every bit of progress you have made, and waste all the money and time you have put into quitting.  It will taste like shit and you will feel horrible about doing it afterwards.  Do not smoke while the patch is on you.  you will get sick instantly.  Do not even make it an option.  you will be able to join your smoking friends when you are free of this, and you will not even be close to being tempted by them because the smell of the cig at that point will smell so horrible you will truly not be able to understand how you could stomach it to begin with.

Each day you put the patch on, consider it a win for you.  cherish it.  feel proud about it.  look forward to that moment.  each time you put it on, it is proof that you are taking back your health and your body.  In 7 days you will notice that you can breath again.  In 14 days you will notice that food tastes good again.  You will be amazed that you can run and not be winded.  Take each one of these things and put them on the wall of progress.