Dh is quitting smoking...

[MangaKanga]

Hasn't smoked for three days.

I'm thrilled. He's been reducing for a long time.He had cut way down from 20 a day to 5 a day over the past year or so...

But he's finding this last bit really hard. Especially at the times he would usually light up- just after dinner, while walking the dog, and at bedtime. He is muttering quite a bit and taking himself off to bed where he is grinding his poor teeth.

Says he feels really shit and angry (usually he is a calm soul).

Is there anything I can do to support him?

Is he using patches or anything to help him with the cravings? Going cold turkey will lead to a lot of feelings like this.

He's doing really well; he will be irritable for a while.

As pp said nicotine replacement might help, there's an NHS quit smoking app and also I've heard that dextrose tablets can help - not sure how accurate that is

Chewing gum and a fidget toy can help. Took me about two weeks to stop the strong cravings.

I quit smoking 50 years ago and did it in a similar way to your DH - cutting down gradually - and smoking less and less of the cigarettes i did light up. I remember quiting the last " essential" few cigarettes was awful. Spending the first night in a home with absolutely no cigarettes in it was frightening. Remembering how difficult it was is one of the real deterrents to start smoking again.

I tried to keep myself busy, and resorted to chewing gum. I tried to do something active rather than sitting down at a time when I would light up those cigarettes. I think the best you can do is just be tolerant of his irritability. It will pass with the cravings and the benefits to your DH, and yourself actually, are so great they really are worth getting through this period of intense cravings.

He's doing sonwell, keep reminding him of this.

Is it helpful to have a different activity/ distraction for those times? Reading a few pages of a book after dinner, a Rubik cube, jigsaw puzzle or model building kit on the go, listening to a podcast while walking the dog or before bed.

Thanks so much for the tips and encouragement, it's so helpful.

No, he didn't want to buy nicotine patches or anything but has gone cold turkey. Your description @placetobreathe Sounds so much like what he is going through at the moment. Ugh.

I'll keep trying to help distract him and encourage him. He is really struggling with feeling moody (not showing it but this is what he says). I'm normally the temperamental one so it is definitely weird for him to feel suddenly angry. He said he wanted to kick every step on his way upstairs before and to yell when the toilet paper ran out, stuff like that. So unlike him!

Those of you who have quit smoking and gone through this, you're amazing.

Ask him to try sucking ice cubes and drinking iced water

I did it the same way. He’s reduced so much that what he’s missing is more likely the habit rather than the nicotine. Distraction is the best remedy, get moving, go for a walk. The craving passes on its own. Has he got a reward lined up, end of week 1, end of month 1 etc? That can help with the focus.