I’m a former smoker, maximum 60 a day.
IMHO the only thing that DOES work is to stop, in what you call ‘cold turkey’ fashion. You say you’ve tried and it doesn’t work. I understand, I sympathise, I’ve been there too. Let me try to help.
Anything which involves continuing to intake nicotine is not really stopping. It is converting the problem, or disguising it a little, but not really facing up to your real destination: a life free from addiction to nicotine. That is where you want to be. Make a positive and focused choice to achieve it. You don’t need to be superhuman. Human is fine, more than adequate! I’m just one of millions of people who have managed it.
Adjust your attitude, and eliminate negativity. Phrases like ‘cold turkey’ are negative. They re-inforce the little labels that say ‘difficult’ and ‘I can’t do this’ around the task of quitting. Be positive. It’s you versus the tobacco companies, and you can and will win.
Are you going to carry on being fooled by the lies of the tobacco companies? NO. Are you going to sacrifice your lungs so that some fat cat executive at tobacco company X can drive a better car than yours? NO. Are you going to hit middle age and experience problems with your breathing, heart, kidneys, stamina, sex drive… all so that the tobacco fat cats can fit a bigger swimming pool? NO.
Your life. Your choices. YOu are going to STOP. No ifs or arguments. You can and will.
First, prepare. You are going to go through 3 days of physical addition withdrawal. During ths time, your brain will send out ‘Urgent! I need nicotine!’ messages roughly as frequently as you used to smoke e.g. 20 times day. But you control your hands. If you don’t light a cig, you won’t smoke.
Find a good 3 days to have this battle. This ideal is 3 days off work with every indulgence you know how to enjoy except smoking (a sympathetic partner is a great help). Learn some basic breathing, relaxation, visualisation and yoga techniques - they can be very helpful.
And enrol at a gym.
Have your 3 days. They may not be the happiest of your life, but they will be worth it. Congratulations, you have beaten the immediate physical addiction, and your brain will have had time to adjust the way it analyses your blood, and the messages it sends out.
What’s left? The other kinds of addictions that make up part of the smoking habit. Four main ones: social (“I’m out with my buddies having a good time, this is when I really enjoy a smoke”); habitual ("!0.30. Coffe break. I always have a ciggie now"; attitudinal (“Hell, It’s my life and my choice and I can smoke a goddamn cig if I want to”); and emotional (“God, I’m under so much stress, I really NEED a cigarette”).
You need to understand and feel these mechansims inside yourself, and learn counter messages that you issue to yourself. Example, “Yep, I’m out with my buddies having a good time, and I can enjoy myself without sacrificing my lungs to the greater wealth of the shareholders of tobacco company X”. You are, in effect, programming your own behaviour to achieve your own goal.
Don’t count the days or the weeks. You just STOP, get through your 3 days, and then follow the guidelines above. Then you just get on with the rest of your life. A non-smoking life. And forget about it.
Good luck.
Oh, by the way, yes it IS worth doing. Not only will you feel better, but by taking on this challenge in your life and WINNING your self-esteem will soar.