Nicotine Withdrawl

[galaxy_soup]

Time: Modern Day

Searches I've tried: nicotine withdrawl, smoking withdrawl, quitting smoking, side effects of quitting smoking, physical side effects of quitting smoking, how to stop smoking.

My character has been smoking anywhere for half of a pack to an enitre pack of Marlboro Menthols a day for the past ten years and has decided to quit. I've

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[irreparable]

This is my own experience here, so make of it what you will. :)

Menthols dull the tastebuds as it is, so smoking those he'd have less taste in his buds than he would if smoked normals. Having said that, I smoke Winfield Gold or Peter Jackson 8's depending on the finances, and I smoke roll-you-own. When I go without for whatever reason, I find my tolerance of people goes right down, I get very cranky and very bad tempered. I get cravings like woah - if you imagine eating the world's best pizza then never being able to have it again, but you can remember the taste of it ever so clearly, but it's like a phantom taste, and you need to have it, one more piece, one more bite! - that's what the cravings are similar to.

I don't get headaches or nausea, though I do find on about day three I get the shakes and start coughing up a lung, but there's nothing coming up, it's a dry, harsh cough. (Maybe this is b.c I do smoke rollies and not tailormades. Don't know. They do taste different though.) I've tried gradually quitting and going cold turkey and the results are the same. It usually takes me a couple of weeks before I can be civil to people, because I really want a damn cigarette! Patches and gum are good to stem the physical cravings, but the psychological cravings are a different thing - it's that holding a cig or having it between your lips. I used to chew a pen and that helped a bit, but the physical need for the nicotine wasn't helped by that.

Hope that helps. Oh, and I've been smoking on and off for...16 years, for last 6 due to extreme stress and chronic depression. I freely admit it's a crutch.