A few years back, I quit smoking. I was happy to be a non smoker and was enjoying my new found freedom. Anyhow, about a month went by, and while tidying my office I came across some nicotine gum that I had bought on a previous smoking cessation attempt. I didn't throw them in the bin straight away - though my rational self was telling me to.
A few days later, I was working late, the office restaurant had closed, and I was hungry. I rifled through my desk looking for something I could eat, and I came across that packet of nicotine gum. I knew that nicotine is a powerful appetite suppressant, and it wasn't like I was going to have a cigarette, was it?
So I had one, and man, it tasted disgusting. Like a chewing minty cigarette butt. But I got that little buzz that I had missed, my hunger subsided, and I thought no more about it. But the next day, I had two or three pieces, and before long my supplies had run out.
So I stocked up on the strong stuff, Four milligrams of magical nicotine in every piece. I felt like I had discovered the answer to my prayers. I could get a fix at home, in the office, in bed... it was fantastic. Hiding smoking from my wife had been impossible, but now with my secret supply of nicotine gum I could get that buzz whenever I wanted. I became a connoisseur of nicotine gum, I tried Nicorette gum, Nicotinell gum, lozenges, you name it. My personal favourite was Nicotinell Fruit 4Mg. This was the Marlboro Red of nicotine gum and I chewed by the box load. I was chewing about 20 a day.
And so my intake went up and up, and soon I was chain-chewing. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep, I would have some gum on the go. I would even fall asleep with gum in my mouth and have to take it out in the middle of the night. Gradually, my self satisfaction began to turn to disgust. I was getting self conscious about the popping sound as I took the gum out of its foil, I didn't want my colleagues knowing I had this weakness. Slowly at first, and then with gathering pace, I came to the inescapable conclusion: I was as addicted to nicotine gum as I had ever been to cigarettes.
It started on a Thursday afternoon. I ran out of gum whilst at work and due to my intense workload I was unable to get out to the shops. I was absolutely climbing the wall, rifling through my drawers, my jacket, under my desk, in the vain hope that I might find a piece of gum that had been accidentally dropped.
This presented me with a major problem. As someone who writes about confidence, success and achievement on a daily basis, here I was, admitting that I had a problem with an addiction. How could I help and mentor other people if I myself would not take my own medicine?
I realised that my secret affair with nicotine must come to an end, immediately.
So here's what I did. Firstly, I did some research into nicotine just to see how bad a poison it is - and it's a really serious poison. I assure you that you don't want this stuff getting into your body in any form. This shocked me into taking action. I said - right then - "no more!". I pictured myself coming into work the following morning and throwing away all my nicotine gum. I had a long run, and drank a lot of water to flush out my system. Sure enough, by the next morning I had collected up all my nicotine gum, including the secret stashes, and I binned the whole lot. That was so empowering!
Nicotine addiction is a trap, not an illness. As such, the problems associated with withdrawal pretty much disappear if you realise that it is the presence of nicotine - and not its absence, that causes problems. It disappears quickly from your body and is gone entirely within seven days. But the crucial point is to see yourself escaping from a trap, hour by hour, day by day, rather than "giving something up". There's no sacrifice. You were fine before nicotine, and you'll be fine after as well.
If there is an advantage to stopping chewing over stopping smoking it is that you don't have that "I don't know what to do with my hands" problem. You can just chew regular gum, same as everyone else.
I expected the first month to be tough. But, to my surprise, it really wasn't bad at all. Once I realised just how disgusted I was with what I had allowed to happen, and then made the decision to end it then and there, I was really on a high.
I hope that this article has encouraged you to kick the gum habit. It's do-able. I assure you.
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