A Common Vocabulary

 

From the Random House Webster's College Dictionary…

Addiction - dependence on or commitment to a habit, practice, or habit-forming substance to the extent that it's cessation causes trauma.

and..

Habit - 1. an acquired pattern of behavior that has become almost involuntary as a result of frequent repetition.
            2. customary practice or use.
            3. a particular practice, custom, or usage: the habit of shaking hands.
            4. a dominant or regular character or tendency: a habit of criticizing everyone.
            5. addiction, esp. to narcotics

These definitions are very similar. It's easy to see how addiction and habit might be used interchangeably. If we're going to talk about the basics of smoking, we need to agree on certain definitions. I'm not suggesting that mine are the only correct definitions. However, within the context of this material, if we have common definitions we will communicate more successfully.

Our word list is:
           1- Nicotine Addiction
           2- Smoking Habit
           3- Situations
           4- Body Cues
           5- Rational Response
           6- Urge/Craving

1- 'Nicotine addiction' - a physiological dependence on nicotine to relieve reoccurring nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Immediately after a smoker finishes a cigarette, their nicotine level begins to drop. At some point the first signs of nicotine withdrawal will appear and become increasingly uncomfortable until they are dealt with. The most effective way for a smoker to deal with withdrawal is to raise their nicotine level by lighting up another cigarette. That is the basis of the need/feed nature of 'nicotine addiction'. A smoker's addiction is entirely about nicotine.

2- 'Smoking habit' - smoking for any reason other than a fluctuating nicotine level.

Some examples are hunger, anger, loneliness, boredom, and fatigue. The important point here is that most quitters continue to feel urges to smoke long after they've dealt with the chemical addiction. Those ongoing urges to smoke occur because of an established connection between certain 'cues' and a specific effective response. For a smoker, that response is invariably a cigarette and usually has little or no direct connection to nicotine addiction.

3- 'Situations' - internal or external events that we encounter in an average day.

They include places we go, people we meet, conditions and states of being that we experience. A partial list of 'situations' is:
      - a cup of coffee
      - driving
      - being tired, hungry, angry, lonely, bored, hot, cold, relaxed
      - on the phone, at the computer, taking the garbage to the curb
      - getting up in the morning, taking breaks, meeting with family
      - nicotine withdrawal because it's been 'too long' since the last cigarette.

4- 'Body Cues' - one or a set of specific physical sensations.

Think of them as little flags that go up on a map of your body. The most common body cues are:
      - tension in identifiable muscles or areas
      - changes in breathing
      - abdominal and chest sensations.
      - a shift in mental clarity, usually toward foggy. May also result from a shift in focus related to topic or task.
      - a shift in mood or emotion usually toward increased intensity.

Mental 'clarity' (the ability to concentrate or think) and shifts in emotion or mood are included as body cues because they are often physiologically rooted. Additionally, every mood or emotion can be defined in physical terms.

Example 1: When we're angry we generally experience muscle tension (in our back, shoulders, neck, jaw, and stomach) and our breathing becomes rapid and shallow.

Example 2: Fatigue, whether due to insufficient sleep, extended time at a particular task, or improper eating will result in a reduced ability to think or concentrate. Difficulty thinking is often also accompanied by an increase in frustration.

5- Rational Response - an action that's taken based on a rational evaluation of current existing conditions and not on established beliefs or automatic assumptions.

A rational response to tension in your neck and shoulders would be to stretch for those specific muscles. A rational response to shallow breathing would be to take several proper deep breaths, to hunger - eat, to thirst - drink, to fatigue - rest. That may sound over simple, but rational statements often are just that simple.
It must be added here that smoking is a rational response for any smoker who is experiencing nicotine withdrawal.

6- Urge or Craving - a desire for something or to do something.

I don't differentiate between the two. Urges or cravings result when a particular action is believed to be an effective response to a specific need. We are generally unaware of the association of a response to a need. That's why many smokers feel that their urges and cravings to smoke come 'out of the blue'.

To Recap…
Addiction is a physiological dependence on nicotine to relieve reoccurring withdrawal symptoms.
Habit is behavior involving cigarettes and the ways in which they are connected to daily life.
Situations are external and/or internal occurrences.
Body cues are specific physical sensations. Mental acuity and shifts in emotion are included as body cues.
Rational Responses are actions based on an evaluation of current conditions.
Urges and Cravings result when a response is associated with a particular need.

 

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