Your prepared craving action is unavailable: what should replace it?

01

‘My plan does not work’ hides different problems

‘I planned to read in the quiet room, but it is occupied today’ suggests a backup for today. ‘My new night shift ends after that room closes’ changes its continuing availability. ‘The room is open, but reading is not what I want during this break’ is a mismatch with the action, not the opening hours.

Ask what you wanted from that step: a non-smoking place, something to do, or contact with a person. Do not assume every function is essential. If you no longer want one, you can retire it rather than preserve the old wording at any cost.

02

Follow the dependency through a changed shift

Fictional example: the old plan was ‘go to the courtyard and call my sister at the end of the shift’. On nights the courtyard is shut and your sister is asleep. Moving to another place repairs only one dependency. Check an accessible non-smoking break place and a suitable activity there; separately ask whether a different contact time is possible.

Until she agrees, use an independent backup activity that does not require an answer. A message sent is not a booked conversation. Mark the old courtyard step inactive for nights while retaining any still-useful preparation for other shifts.

03

General options are not universal instructions

NCI's quit-day guidance states that no single plan works for everyone. It is reasonable to consider your needs rather than copy an option merely because it appears on a list. The dependency comparison here is our organisational example, not an NCI-approved treatment protocol.

Choose an activity compatible with your abilities, actual break and responsibilities. Do not enter a closed area, leave a necessary post or add an interactive task while driving to make a plan ‘work’. If a step has become unsafe, stop using that step; it does not deserve another trial.

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04

Check access first; review use at the next ordinary occasion

You can check opening hours, reachability and a person's agreement before an urge occurs. At the next ordinary break, ask whether the option was available, whether you could use it and which part remained difficult. Do not deliberately seek a smoking situation or smoke to create a test.

If the action was available and used but the urge continued, describe both facts. Usability and change in urge are different questions; a single difference does not prove the action caused it. If the option was unavailable, do not report an unused action as ineffective treatment.

05

When no reasonable replacement is available

Bring the obstacle, not an entire private history, to a qualified local quit service: ‘My old break activity cannot fit this shift; could we discuss available alternatives?’ If the missing condition involves workplace access, ask the responsible person about the arrangement without assuming this page grants permission or interprets your rights.

Questions about symptoms or an existing medicine belong to qualified care, not replacement by guesswork. Keep any useful old plan privately labelled inactive and the current action clear; there is no requirement to erase every past note. Nothing is entered or uploaded here.

06

What to keep in mind

• Name the missing condition, not a personal failure.
• Repair every linked part that needs it; a minimum-change rule is not required.
• Available, used and changed urge are separate observations.