A smoking habit influences the way smokers act over time and, for many, smoking a cigarette becomes not only an activity companion but also a coping mechanism. Smoking becomes a subconscious psychological habitual behavior.

The chemical addiction to nicotine can usually be broken within 1 to 2 weeks. The habit of smoking, on the other hand, can take much longer to get over. In fact, relapses not associated with nicotine withdrawal symptoms usually occur within the first three months after quitting because of situational triggers, or situations or feelings that cause "people (to) reach for cigarettes automatically because they associate smoking" with that certain activity or feeling, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report (CDC).

In other words, once the nicotine addiction is gone, many smokers still have the urge to light up a cigarette because it has become part of their daily routine. In fact, "for so many people in the cessation groups [that I conduct], making it through the withdrawals is much easier than going to the grocery store and not picking up a carton of cigarettes out of habit," said Tammy Swindle, Health Education Director for the Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans (CAGNO). "Or sitting on the back porch with a glass of wine and not having a cigarette as you normally would," she continued.

According to the CDC, "urges will probably come at times when you smoked before," whether it’s when smokers feel stress or worry, or when they are engaging in certain activities, such as driving, eating, watching television, socializing with friends, or drinking a cup of coffee or an alcoholic drink. One of the most common complaints for smokers who are trying to quit is that they miss having something in their mouth or that they don’t know what to do with their hands because they’re so used to holding a cigarette.

"You need to develop coping strategies to help with the times you feel like this," Swindle said. "If you think about it, most pack-a-day smokers inhale anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000 times a year and this is a very difficult habit to break."

In order to quit successfully, smokers need more than just a pill or a patch--they need to understand when and why they smoke. By understanding what feelings and situations cause them to pick up a cigarette, smokers can avoid vulnerable situations and consciously replace smoking with new coping mechanisms and habits, thereby ending their addiction to smoking.

Swindle also said that many smokers face doubts when trying to quit because they have identified themselves with the habit for so long. "Many who try to quit face the question, ‘If I am not a smoker, then who am I,’" Swindle explained. "I usually say, ‘You are the same person you were before, along with the other 75 percent of Americans who do not smoke.’"

CAGNO, a United Way community impact partner serving 13 parishes, has been leading the local fight against cancer since 1959. The local cancer services agency prides itself in protecting and defending community members against cancer through educational outreach, research grant administration and assistance to needy cancer patients. For more information about CAGNO’s smoking cessation groups, please contact Tammy Swindle at 733-5539.