Why Am I Craving Cigarettes Months After Quitting?

Maybe you quit smoking three months ago and you still feel bad. Will you ever stop craving cigarettes? First of all, it’s great that you’ve taken the step to quit—it’s not easy and that’s a fantastic achievement. If you’re feeling like you should be “over” cigarettes by now, try not to put that kind of pressure on yourself. 

Ask any former smoker if they’re still triggered by the time of day, places, activities, emotions, and other people who smoke. Chances are, they’ll tell you that they’ve had a craving for a cigarette even a year after they quit. 

We know that sounds discouraging but let’s talk about what drives those urges and some ways that you can cope with cigarette cravings during your recovery.

Will I Crave Cigarettes Forever?

Right after you quit smoking, you go into nicotine withdrawal. During this time, having cravings for cigarettes throughout the day—which can be really intense—is totally normal. Cravings and the other symptoms of withdrawal should start to get better three to four weeks after you stop smoking.

The longer you go without smoking, the less frequent and intense your cravings will be. That said, don’t be surprised if you still get a craving for a cigarette months later. One study found that people reported getting cigarette cravings six months after they quit.

But hang in there! Another study found that people who quit smoking were much less likely to get cigarette cravings after hitting the one-year mark.

Why Am I Craving Cigarettes?

There are a lot of things you’ll encounter in your daily life during your recovery that could trigger a craving for a cigarette. For example: 

• Alcohol use
• Being in a place where they used to smoke
• Depressed mood
• Seeing someone smoke

If you're having cravings months after you quit smoking, you’re probably getting triggered by your environment—either the one inside you (your thoughts and feelings) or the one outside of you (your home, work, etc.). Your emotions—think happiness, sadness, and boredom—are strong drivers of cigarette cravings. When you’re having big feelings, you might notice you all of a sudden want to smoke. 

The world outside you can also make you want to smoke, and you might not make the connection right away. For example, if you always get a craving for a cigarette when you have a glass of wine with dinner it might be because you would smoke when drinking alcohol.

Can’t figure out why being in a car makes you want to smoke? Think back to your smoking days—did you always have a cigarette in hand when you were driving?

Your brain has associated certain activities with smoking, so when you do them after you quit, your body and mind are still expecting a cigarette. 

Being around certain people can also trigger cigarette cravings–for example, maybe you used to smoke with a friend or with a specific coworker on your break at work

Try not to get down on yourself about the fact that your body made these associations with smoking. Research has shown that your genes may also play a role in cigarette cravings—and that’s not something you have any control over. You might be more likely than someone else to have longer-lasting cravings after quitting because of your genetics.

Remind yourself that you're working on changing how you respond to your smoking triggers. With time and practice, those thoughts—and the urges that come with them—will fade. 

How to Get Rid of Cigarette Cravings

Just like you did in the first days of smoking cessation, one of the first things you want to do to try to curb cravings is find a way to get your mind off smoking. Pretty much everyone who quits smoking goes through this phase of recovery.

Rest Up and Get Ready

As much as you can, you want to be rested and ready to start your smoking cessation journey. Coming from a prepared and supported place will make it a little easier to get through the challenges of quitting smoking and resisting cravings. 

Think about the activities that relax and rejuvenate you and make them a priority in your day. 

Make a Self-Care Plan 

Staying nourished and sleeping well can ease physical and emotional tension. Daily exercise, even a short walk, can lift your mood and energy levels, and will also support your body as it heals from years of smoking.

If you feel like your cravings are getting more intense, take it as a sign that you need to take time for more self-care. 

Focus on Why You Want to Quit

Think back to when you made the decision you made to stop smoking. 

Maybe there was a specific moment when you said, “That’s it, it’s time to quit!” Was a scary talk about your health with your doctor a wake-up call? 

Or were there a bunch of little things in life building up over the years? Were you embarrassed when you couldn’t stop coughing during an important meeting at work? Were you hurt when you went in for a hug and your child said your breath stinks? Was there a tough conversation with your partner about your budget where you realized just how much you spend on cigarettes every month?

When you get the urge for a cigarette, it can feel like that’s the only thing in the world that matters. In that moment, shifting your focus back to the reasons you don’t want to smoke anymore can give you some perspective. 

It’s also an opportunity to shift from the negative consequences of smoking to the positive opportunities you’ll have when you quit. So, instead of using these things to make yourself feel bad about smoking, use them to inspire and excite you about how good you’ll feel when you quit. 

Let’s say you get the urge to smoke. Instead of taking a look at your bank account and beating yourself up about all the money you’ve spent on cigarettes over the year, think about a savings goal you have. For example, you might say, “I might want to go buy a pack of cigarettes now but I’d much rather save the money so we can take the kids to Disney next year.” 

Another example? Instead of being hard on yourself about the harm cigarettes have done to your health, think about the health benefits of quitting smoking. It might even be something as simple as, “In a few months, I bet my skin will look so much better!” 

Change Your Habits

Think back to what triggers your cravings—driving to work? Seeing a certain friend for Sunday brunch? A fight with your partner? 

One of the most challenging—but potentially interesting—parts of quitting smoking is trying to change what your brain associates with cigarettes. If you think of it more like a game, it might even feel a little fun. 

Once you figure out that something is a smoking trigger for you, avoiding it altogether might be the first step. But you can’t avoid places and people forever. Instead, you’ll want to change your brain and body’s association with those triggers. 

You don’t have to upend your entire life all at once with these changes, though. Just make little changes, one at a time. For example, if you always want to smoke when you get in the car to drive to work, try taking a different route to get there. Not only does this “shake up” your brain’s exceptions, but it also gives you something to focus on—you don’t want to get lost and be late!

If there’s a person you always used to smoke with, you’ll want to find something else that you two can share that doesn’t have anything to do with cigarettes. So, instead of having a “smoke break” at work together, maybe you take a walk. 

If the person is still smoking and you’re not sure that you want to be around them when they do, you can still find a way to stay connected. Instead of taking a smoke break, maybe you can take a “meme break” and text them a funny gif or link at that time of day as a lighthearted way to check-in. 

If the urge to smoke catches you off guard, don’t panic. Your goal is to stay present in the moment without acting on the craving. If you’re finding this hard to do, tap into strategies like mindfulness meditation or breathing exercises.

Another strategy to keep in your back pocket for when you need to get through a cigarette craving? The five Ds of smoking cessation: delay, distract, drink water, deep breathing, and discuss.

Ask For Support

Before you quit, you want to make a plan for what you’ll do when the urge to smoke comes up. A key part of this will be making sure you’re not alone in your journey.  

Figure out who you can turn to—a trusted family member or friend. Who in your life can offer encouragement while you wait for the craving to pass?

You might also want to join a support group for quitting smoking, either in person or online. You might also find that a quit-smoking app on your phone is a helpful tool.

Talk to Your Doctor

Keep your doctor in the loop about your plan to quit smoking. They can be another layer in your support system and can step in if you find that your coping strategies for cravings aren’t working well enough. 

You may find that nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) helps you get through cigarette cravings. NRT gives your body small doses of nicotine without the toxic chemicals in cigarettes. It comes in lozenges, mouth sprays, gum, and patches. You and your doctor can talk about which one would be best for you.

There are also prescription medications to help you quit smoking such as Zyban (bupropion) and Chantix (varenicline tartrate). However, these tend to be most effective when taken before you quit smoking—so that’s why you want to tell your doctor about your plan before you stop. 

Face Your Fear

If you’re afraid to quit smoking—or afraid you won’t succeed—pause and take a deep breath. It’s normal to feel unsure and even anxious about making a huge change in your life—even if you know it’s a positive one. 

It sounds cliche, but it’s the truth: as with many other challenging times in our lives, we can only take it one day at a time.

Be Kind to Yourself

If you have a craving for a cigarette, it does not mean you’ve failed at quitting or that you’re doomed to fail. It also does not mean that you need to punish yourself if you get the urge to smoke.

Think about it—negative feelings are a pretty big trigger for a craving, right? Putting yourself down for having a craving can be counterproductive because it just makes you feel worse.

You also don’t want to punish yourself for having a craving by taking something positive away—for example, saying, “No latte for you today, you wanted to smoke this morning!”

You might feel like punishment is going to push you to “do better,” but when you take away something positive in your life that you have to look forward to, you’re just making another empty place in your life that you might end up feeling like a cigarette could fill.