There is supposed to be some sort of mouthwash that makes ciggies taste vile.
I gave up for 9 months by using aversion therapy. It was fantastic. I didn't really want to give up, but went through the 5 day course and after 3 days, didn't touch another cigarette again for 9 months (very little will power required, which was the best part).
I'm ready to stop again and in fact am going to a hypnotherapist tonight. I'm also trying to get hold of the mouthwash.
Can't do the aversion therapy course again, because it was so foul I've er.. developed an aversion to it.
Ravs
Cut and paste follows:
AVERSION TECHNIQUES
Aversion simply means ways of putting you off - making smoking seem unpleasant. Most people instinctively use some form of aversion therapy when they quit smoking, when they remind themselves of all the things they hate about smoking - the smell, dirty ashtrays, coughing, etc etc.
There are various techniques that take this idea a step further by linking the idea of smoking with strong unpleasant sensations so that you become conditioned to dislike smoking, in much the same way as you became highly conditioned to enjoying it. There is a sound basis to this theory, with roots in the famous 'Behaviourists' school of Psychology. Some techniques that can be used for smoking are as follows:
Rubber Band Technique - This slightly masochistic method is the most common technique prescribed by Psychologists for 'thought stopping' - stopping unwanted thoughts dead in their tracks. Wear a rubber band round your wrist and every time you get the unwanted thought (ie a desire to smoke) 'ping' it so that it hurts. The thought soon becomes associated pain and gradually neutralised.
'Rapid Smoking' - A technique in which you set aside special smoking times once a day for the first 3 days after quitting. At these strictly scheduled times you effectively over-smoke in a way that makes it taste and feel very unpleasant, while repeating phrases such as 'smoking irritates my throat', 'smoking burns my lips and tongue', and so on. You need to buy a new packet of cigarettes each time, as you smoke three (putting the butts in a jar of water, which you keep) and tear up the rest! This method was made famous by Judy Perlmutter in her now out of print book, 'Stop Smoking in Five Days'. It should be attempted with caution - particularly if you are less than 100% fit, or if you are pregnant.
Hypnosis - Most Hypnosis for smoking includes some form of aversion therapy. Often it is in a fairly gentle form in which it is suggested that smoking will be utterly repulsive from now on. However, some Hypnotherapists take a more brutal approach where the subject imagines he is actually experiencing some of the worst possible consequences of smoking, such as dying of lung cancer! (See Hypnosis).
Mouthwash - Special mouthwashes are available which, when used before smoking, alter the taste making cigarettes taste awful (but without affecting the tase of food and drink). The aim is for smoking to eventually become associated with with this very unpleasant taste. (See Mouthwash).
