To quit smoking, everyone must find a method that suits them. If you decide to do it on your own, over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy increases your chances of success. You may also find other tips useful to facilitate withdrawal.
Here is a list of 10 very simple tips to put into practice on a daily basis, which will help you to free yourself from your addiction to tobacco. Draw from this list according to what you feel able to do.
Ask Yourself Why You Want To Quit
First, ask yourself the right questions: why are you quitting smoking? You want a child, you are pregnant, for your loved ones, for the love of sport, for your health, every smoker has a reason that will affect him more than another. Keeping it in mind will allow you to maintain your motivation, a key element of success, throughout this withdrawal and especially in difficult times.
Then it is necessary to assess its degree of dependence. You can do the Fagerström test for this. This step is very important because it will determine the dosage of nicotine substitutes necessary for weaning.
Another important point, which method is right for you? Each smoker is unique and what worked for a loved one may not work for you. The important thing is to find the method that best suits your profile as a smoker. The same goes for deciding if you prefer to quit suddenly or gradually.
Choose a Date To Quit Smoking
After taking stock of your reasons for quitting smoking and assessing your level of dependence, you must now choose a date to get started. This will prevent you from postponing your withdrawal until the next day, but it will also give you time to plan for it and to prepare yourself to overcome certain obstacles. Plan alternatives if you feel like smoking, buy your substitutes.
Go Beyond Preconceived Ideas
Do not be put off by certain misconceptions. Just because you quit smoking doesn’t mean you will necessarily gain weight or be irritable and unpleasant with those around you. And if this happens, it is not irremediable: rebalancing your diet and doing a little more sport should allow you to avoid or limit weight gain and with regard to the symptoms of withdrawal, nicotine substitutes can help. decrease sharply.
Use Nicotine Substitutes
Using nicotine replacement therapy increases your chances of success of quit smoking by 50 to 70%. This is because the nicotine inhaled with smoke passes very quickly into the blood and the brain. It is addictive and when stopped, the unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal are felt (irritability, lack of concentration …), which can lead to relapses. Nicotine substitutes compensate for part of this lack of nicotine by providing the body with the necessary dose to avoid this feeling of lack. They diffuse it slowly. Each substitute must be sufficiently dosed to be effective. There are different kinds:
- Patches.
- Chewing gums.
- Inhaler.
- Sublingual or sucking tablets.
They can be associated with each other for better efficiency. The patch will diffuse nicotine slowly throughout the day on a consistent basis. But to cope with a strong urge to smoke, especially at times of “important” cigarettes (at coffee time, after a meal, in the evening …), gums, tablets, or inhalers offer a more suitable response. to this urge.
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Identify Risky Situations
Some situations will put your will to the test to quit smoking, you know that in advance. Beyond physical dependence, cigarettes also lead to psychological dependence. Before quitting smoking, identify those moments that are likely to be difficult: an evening on the terrace with smoking friends, a coffee, the end of the meal, and above all, plan for alternatives, answers.
At first, avoid drinking alcohol when you go out if it makes you want to smoke, repeat to yourself the answers you will give to people who offer you a cigarette: “no, I quit”, and if you are too afraid to crack, plan different outings with your friends: a cinema, an indoor dinner, preferably choose places where you cannot smoke.
For the cigarette at the end of the meal, as soon as you have finished eating, leave the table and brush your teeth, first of all, replace the coffee with a herbal tea or drink a large glass of water.
Wait for a For Few Minutes
You have a strong urge to smoke and it seems overwhelming. However, this desire will be intense for about 5 minutes, it peaks and then will decrease. Try to be strong to pass it. To help you take deep breaths, drink a full glass of water, go for a walk, occupy your mind until it is less strong. If you are using nicotine replacement therapy, now is the time to take a gum, tablet, or take out your inhaler.
Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle
You are less out of breath, take the opportunity to find a physical activity that makes you happy. It does not have to be intense but it will distract you, you de-stress and help you limit or avoid gaining weight at weaning related. On the same diet side, weaning is not the time to start a draconian diet but you can opt for small adjustments to have a healthier diet. For example, if you crave sugar, have fruit on hand, avoid refilling yourself at the table, eat balanced but in sufficient quantity to avoid cravings that could make you crack.
List The Beneficial Effects
They are numerous, varied, and can be seen quickly after stopping:
- You are less breathless.
- You rediscover the tastes and smells.
- You have better breath.
- You save a lot of money.
The Health Effects
They are both immediate and long term:
- After 20 minutes your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal.
- After 24 hours, the carbon monoxide is eliminated.
- In 72 hours, your breathing improves.
- In 2 to 3 weeks, cough and fatigue decrease.
- One to 9 months after the last cigarette, the bronchial eyelashes grow back, you are less and less breathless.
- At the end of one year, the risk of myocardial infarction is halved and that of cerebrovascular accident reaches that of a non-smoker.
- After 5 years, the risk of lung cancer is almost halved.
- After 10 to 15 years, your life expectancy is the same as that of a non-smoker.
Get Support
Tell those around you that you are quitting smoking so that they can support you. If there are smokers, ask them not to light a cigarette in front of you so as not to be tempted.
If it helps, talk to former smokers, ask them to share their experiences, tips, and tricks. You can also connect with someone who is also going through withdrawal to support each other. If you don’t know one, you can go to forums.
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Be Kind To Yourself
Very important, do not be too hard on yourself. It’s an important time in your life, but not always easy. Putting too much pressure would also be counterproductive since stress is the main cause of relapse in smokers who try to quit.
On the contrary, keep positive thoughts, treat yourself to small pleasures as a reward when you pass stages without having smoked.
And if you do, don’t panic, that doesn’t mean you’ll never get there. Instead, you can learn from your mistakes and adapt the method on your next attempt. On average, a smoker has made 4 serious attempts before successfully quitting smoking. If you get there the first time, great, but if it takes you longer, that’s okay, the main thing is to get there!
