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Substitution Therapy

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In my opinion, the best way to quit smoking is to replace one habit with another. Most smokers are probably creatures of habit, and if we have one habit, we're not likely to give it up without another. And while there are a number of substitution possibilities, ranging from toothpicks, to lollipops, to sunflower seeds, the most popular and the most effective are Nicotine Replacement Therapies, which I talk about at length here.

If nicotine replacement therapy is not your thing, I can offer some substitution ideas. I've tried sunflower seeds, which are generally quite effective, unless you plan on meeting someone during the day, because after 12 - 16 hours of chewing on sunflower seeds, the salt (which helps curb cravings) tends to dry up your mouth, and by the end of the day (not to mince words here) but your mouth smells rotten, your teeth hurt, and you've probably put on half a pound in sunflower seeds. Lollipops (or dum dums) are also fine choices in the short term, but after a few days, those will also begin to hurt your teeth, and the sugar content can get a little sickly - and you may find that lollipops are a lot easier to quit than cigarettes.

While regular toothpicks help to relieve your need to do something with your hands and have something in your mouth, they don't offer much of a reward. However, I do find that toothpicks made from tea-tree extract do actually help curb the actual nicotine cravings (or at least it feels like it), and cinnamon toothpicks also help to some extent, so if you're not going to use NRTs, those would be my recommendation, though they are also good supplements to NRTs.

Many other people simply switch to regular gum, which also helps considerably with the need to have something in your mouth and can offer the feeling of receiving a small reward, but it doesn't really curb your physical withdrawal symptoms.

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