For some individuals, coffee and cigarettes go together like peanut butter and jelly. If your usual ritual is to have a cigarette with your coffee and you're trying to quit, your morning cup of joe may be one of the biggest temptations for you to start smoking again. Quitting coffee and cigarettes concurrently may be too much for you to bear. Instead of attempting to quit both, learn how to enjoy a cup of coffee without the need for cigarettes.
Step 1
Switch your morning beverage to tea if possible, suggests MedlinePlus. The different flavor and ritual of putting on a kettle and steeping a bag of tea may be enough to break yourself of the habit of lighting up while your coffee brews. Drinking tea will still give you the same jolt of caffeine in the morning so you'll still get your artificial energy, just from a different drink than coffee.
Step 2
Purchase a new blend or flavor of coffee. Coffee will taste different when you're not smoking at the same time, and you may mourn the loss of the flavor that you're most comfortable with. By switching to a different blend, you won't be constantly comparing the taste of coffee with cigarettes to the taste of coffee without cigarettes. Not smoking will make your taste buds more sensitive so you'll be able to taste the subtle differences in coffee blends.
Step 3
Inhale the aroma of the coffee and breathe in and out as your drink, suggests the National Cancer Institute. When you feel a cigarette craving hit, breathe in for a count of five and out for a count of five. Not only will this steady your nerves, but the inhalation of the steam can be an act akin to smoking. Doing so while drinking coffee may be able to curb your cravings.
Step 4
Eat something with your coffee, start doing crossword puzzles or drink coffee by your computer so you constantly have something to do with your hands. Keeping your hands busy while drinking coffee can take your mind off of the feeling of a cigarette between your fingers and the act of smoking while drinking coffee.
Step 5
Delay your cravings by doing something directly after finishing your coffee, when you may be most prone to lighting up. Take a moment, put your coffee cup in the sink and look for something to do, suggests the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation. Eventually you'll retrain yourself to do something other than smoke after you have your cup of coffee.
