If you call yourself a social smoker or someone who only smokes when he drinks, you might think you're above addiction, but even smoking just for the weekend can lead to addiction. The more times you smoke on an occasional basis, the harder it will be to walk away from smoking. If you've been smoking a little here and there, or if you've been smoking for a while and don't think you're addicted, the easiest way to find out is to stop smoking and monitor what happens to your body.
Step 1
Pick a date for your addiction experiment. You'll need at least two to three days to get a full assessment of your reaction to nicotine withdrawal.
Step 2
Purchase a journal to record your reactions to stopping smoking.
Step 3
Stop smoking on your chosen date. Throw all of your cigarettes away if you're unsure if you can avoid them.
Step 4
Begin recording any symptoms you might relate to withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms, according to the American Heart Association, include irritability, anxiety, increased appetite, trouble concentrating and decreased heart rate.
Step 5
Record information about your cravings. When you feel the urge to smoke, write it down and describe its intensity. Determine if it was a passing thought, a desire, a strong need, a nearly irresistible urge or an irresistible urge.
Step 6
Review your results at the end of two or three days of not smoking. If you experienced an intense urge to smoke and experienced the withdrawal symptoms of smoking, it's likely you were addicted. If your desire to smoke was a passing fancy and you still felt fine during the course of your experiment, you might not have been smoking long enough to become addicted.
Step 7
Use the two to three days you spent gauging your level of desire and withdrawal as an opportunity to quit smoking. If you stuck to the plan, you should notice your withdrawal symptoms decreasing, making this an excellent time to not pick the habit back up.
Things You'll Need
- Journal
