Hi, Tina.
Your hourly craving may be the result of the habit portion of your addiction. Did you used to smoke once an hour? There's also the rate nicotine is metabolized. From what I've found rooting around on the Internet on this subject, nicotine levels begin dropping immediately after the last puff, around 30 - 40 minutes you reach a point where another becomes desirable, and around 60 minutes the brain starts into withdrawal and the desire becomes forefront of your thoughts. That is a very generalized timetable, but it fits the majority of 15 - 20 cigarettes-a-day smokers.
My doctor told me when I first started looking into quitting that most people smoke because they are depressed, upset, angry, sad, etc. He said smoking was a type of self-medication because it gives the brain's reward centers (the feel-good areas) a boost. I can believe it would also apply for other, more natural, cravings, too. One thing we are warned about during quitting is H.A.L.T. That's never let ourselves get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Believe me, that's good advice.
I analyzed and explored every cig I smoked for a long time before I quit. Never did I find anything good that came from one, but I found a lot of bad, a lot of lies, a lot of danger. Eventually I got so disgusted with it the only option was to quit.
You're well on the right track, Tina. Keep it up. :)
Shevie
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/23/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 412
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 8,251
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1565.6
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 76 [B]Hrs:[/B] 21 [B]Mins:[/B] 52 [B]Seconds:[/B] 39
