Why Quitting Smoking is Difficult
There is no side-stepping the fact that quitting smoking can be a lengthy and arduous process. Not only do smokers have to recondition their addictive urge to smoke, but they also have to wait long enough for their brains to alter, due to the chemical changes brought on by nicotine addiction. Another fact is that there is no set timeline to how long it takes a person to quit smoking. Some smokers find it relatively easy to quit "cold turkey," while it takes others years--even decades--to relinquish that last cigarette. Quitting smoking is subjective because smoking produces biochemical, mental and emotional changes that differ in intensity for each smoker.
Nicotine Urges
By far, the hardest part of smoking is subduing the physical craving to smoke a cigarette. The craving is all due to the nicotine receptors in your brain, which first developed when you began to smoke. Literally, the nerve receptors want a cigarette to ensure their survival. This craving manifests so strongly, and is why so many people use a nicotine patch as a crutch to quit smoking. As a result of this craving alone, it takes the average person at least 3 months to quit, especially if they use a nicotine patch or other aid.
Breaking the Habit
Many smokers find it equally difficult to let go of their personal and social smoking habits. For example, many smokers smoke at a bar when they are out with their friends, and if they are trying to quit, they will find it extremely hard to resist smoking because of their ingrained habit to smoke in these environments (especially where many other people are often smoking). Staying away from these environments, and even limiting contact with people who smoke, can often cut the time it takes for a smoker to quit by half. As stated before, quitting smoking varies from person to person, but it can be a matter of weeks for a person to quit, as long as they identify the "triggers" that cause them to smoke, and avoid them.
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