cinj

It's day 8 for me on Chantix, and it's my very first quit day. On a scale of 1-10 for craving a cig, it's about a 3, but I must say, if it wasn't for the Chantix and this pack of sunflower seeds I've been crackin', spittin' and chewin' today (in my sophisticated accounting office, to boot!) I would've felt it a bit stronger.

Do *I* want one, you ask? Shoot, NO!! But they want me, and there's no way I'm going there.....

Astro

I totally understand! I've been tobacco free for over 4 years, but I've put away bags and bags of sunflower seeds since then. I'm sure the sodium wasn't all that great for my health but it's not as bad as the nicotine.

Recently my fiance and I started Weight Watchers, I've had to say goodbye to the seeds too. Now I've got a drawer full of sugar-free candy and gum in my desk at work. I was a tobacco chewer, so part of the addiction was the oral obsession, I feel the need to have something in my mouth.

If the seeds work for you, stick with them. Keep exploring other options too, gum and candy can help to curb the cravings.

tuffenuff

Keep up the good work cinj!

As the days go by, it gets better and better. It just keeps getting better from here on out! And your lungs are SP PROUD of you!

PS....pumpkin seeds are yummy too!

cinj

Thanks, Astro and tuff! Yes, I think I have oral obsession, too, if I look back over my whole life. I sucked my thumb as a child until age 12, have always bitten my fingernails, feel the need to eat something constantly, and held a cigarette between my lips for years. Thanks for opening my eyes on that Astro. I will see what I can do about all that once I've gotten over this smoking habit. Btw, it's day 2 for me today! I've not smoked in 2 days!!!!!

cess101

Yeah! Ditto! Sunflower seeds imitate sort of a smoking-like ritual and the mess sort of resembles the ashes mess that comes along with smoking. Only---sunflower seeds smell good. Yum-Enjoy! and wait/watch all the taste buds you've been missing will start emerging.

Funny thought just came to mind: Remember the ol' Frankenstein movie? (I can't remember exactly which one, but I think it was the oldest one) where Frankenstein is with a man having a drink and the man he's with lights up a cigar or cigarette.....Frankenstein says: "Drink--Good, Fire--Bad." Well, just thought it was funny to mention a little advice from Frankenstein: "Sunflower seeds--Good, Smoke & Ashes--Bad!"