The third ingredient is actually just a bit of knowledge that I'm going to share with you. It's something you will have to remember in order to get over the humps that will come your way. And it was due to the lack of this ingredient that I started smoking again so many times.
The third ingredient is to always remember, there is no such thing as just one cigarette.
One cigarette is all it takes to start smoking again. It happens every time because your body falls back into its usual patterns when you bring the nicotine back in. If you don't believe me, show me I'm wrong and I'll show you a fool.
If you fail to heed the warning of the third ingredient, you will have that one cigarette and then a week will pass without smoking. Then you'll say, "Ah hah! I can smoke just once in a while without being addicted." So you'll have another. You'll continue this pattern as the time between smokes decreases until you're smoking full-time again.
Still don't believe me? Keep reading.
A Pack For Every Occasion
About five or six years ago, my wife and I had been quit for over a year and we were away for an anniversary weekend. So we decided it would be fun to smoke a pack of cigarettes for old time's sake. We enjoyed it and we were fine after that.
Then about a week later, we were on our way to a family affair where we knew we would be around other smokers. So we decided to buy a pack for that occasion and we enjoyed that too.
After that, we decided it was fine to only smoke on the weekend. After all, we worked hard and we deserved a little treat after a long work week. Soon, Thursday would arrive and we would reason that the weekend was almost here, so why not just get a pack now? When Christmas came around, we called it a holiday smoke because it was only for Christmas.
Well I think you know how this story ended. We destroyed a year's worth of not smoking just to have a little fun. We were like little kids in a playground full of candy and rides, and we thought we were so smart. Damn were we ever wrong!
Do you still think you're right? Read on.
Another Story
My wife and I had quit once again and we decided to have friends and family over for a party night. We were drinking and having fun, so we decided to bum a cigarette here and there. Our reasoning was that since we were drinking, our bodies wouldn't remember the cigarette, so it wouldn't matter.
At the time, I was working with my brother and I bummed a cigarette off of him. I would then just bum cigarettes off of him and buy him a pack here and there to make up for it. I wasn't buying cigarettes for myself so I wasn't a smoker. Duh! I was buying cigarettes, but my logic was all wrong.
I don't care if you don't believe me, just read on.
Okay Another Story
I quit once more, and I thought to myself, "This time, I'm going to be smart about it. I won't buy anymore cigarettes and I'll just bum one when I need one." This worked for a little while, two weeks maybe, and then I thought if I bought a pack, I would only smoke when I really needed one.
I needed one when I woke up, when I ate, when I brushed my teeth, when I drank, when I watched TV, when I drove, when I...
Duh!
Moral Of The Story
I think you already know what I'm about to say. If you don't, duh!
The whole, 'just one cigarette' thing doesn't work. You can justify it any way you like, but as soon as you have that one cigarette, you're addicted again.
Go ahead, have one cigarette and say something stupid like, "That's it for me. No more. I had my one cigarette and I'm done." Bullshit. You've just begun.
Just like a recovered alcoholic can't have one sip of alcohol (including a light alcohol like beer), you are a smoker and you cannot have one hint of a cigarette or you will start again.
I know it may sound illogical, and it sort of is, but it really does work this way. It's also true that some people can have the occasional cigarette and not be a full-time smoker. I only know one such person, but I know a whole lot of fully addicted smokers.
I don't care how you sugar-coat it, though. If you look forward to your next cigarette, you're addicted to cigarettes and one cigarette is all you need to become addicted once again.