Quitting smoking

by | May 8, 2007 | Columns, Wise Woman Ways | 0 comments

Hi Susun,
I’m trying to quit smoking…am down to only 4 cigarettes a day. I follow a healthy lifestyle in every other way but this is one thing that’s been so hard for me to give up. Do you have any tips on how to transition out of a nicotine addiction naturally? Thanks.


Susun Weed’s response:
Tobacco is highly addictive and you can beat it. Get an extra edge on quitting by nourishing yourself with a handful of freshly toasted sunflower seeds and a cup of nettle or oatstraw infusion daily for 4-6 weeks before you stop smoking. Sunflower seeds reduce cravings for nicotine by filling nicotine receptor sites. Nettles and oatstraw strengthen nerves and cushion the impact of withdrawal.

Red Ochre Udegan

Nourish yourself the Wise Woman Way when you want tobacco:

• Take an oatstraw bath
• Eat a wild salad (even if its only one dandelion leaf)
• Bring home a flower
• Let someone cook dinner for you
• Go to a yoga class or a martial arts class
• Buy something for yourself instead of cigarettes
• Miss your smoke break? Take a break for pleasure!

Keep in mind that a weight gain of 15 pounds / 7 kilos is normal for quitters and nicotine withdrawal causes constipation (for remedies, see New Menopausal Years, the Wise Woman Way, p. 44). Also, read, get, buy The No-Nag, No-Guilt, Do-It-Your-Own-Way Guide to Quitting Smoking by Tom Ferguson, MD.

Green blessings, Susun Weed

photos: Wise Woman Spiral ©iStockphoto.com / Chuck Spidell | Red Ochre Udegan © Carolyn Hillyer

Author

  • Susun Weed

    Susun S. Weed has no official diplomas of any kind; she left high school in her junior year to pursue studies in mathematics and artificial intelligence at UCLA and she left college in her junior year to pursue life.

    Susun began studying herbal medicine in 1965 when she was living in Manhattan while pregnant with her daughter, Justine Adelaide Swede.

    She wrote her first book -- Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year (now in its 30th printing) -- in 1985 and published it as the first title of Ash Tree Publishing in 1986.

    It was followed by Healing Wise (1989), New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way (1992 and revised in 2002), Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way (1996), Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way (2011), Abundantly Well - Seven Medicines (2019).

    In addition to her writing, Ms Weed trains apprentices, oversees the work of more than 300 correspondence course students, coordinates the activities of the Wise Woman Center, and is a High Priestess of Dianic Wicca, a member of the Sisterhood of the Shields, and a Peace Elder.

    Susun Weed is a contributor to the Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women's Studies, peer- reviewed journals, and popular magazines, including a regular column in Sagewoman.

    Her worldwide teaching schedule encompasses herbal medicine, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, psychology of healing, ecoherbalism, nutrition, and women's health issues and her venues include medical schools, hospital wellness centers, breast cancer centers, midwifery schools, naturopathic colleges, and shamanic training centers, as well as many conferences.

    Susun appears on many television and radio shows, including National Public Radio and NBC News.

    View all posts



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