Smoking cessation is also known as quitting smoking. It is difficult to quit smoking because of psychological and physical dependence, the addiction, as well as the habit, are difficult to overcome. There are some instant symptoms of withdrawal that are demanding to control, such as depression, weight gain, insomnia, anxiety, and agitation. Hence, these are temporary symptoms and if you are thinking of quitting smoking, it results in multiple benefits of health, the risk of heart diseases and elevated cancer will start to reduce over time.
When it comes to quitting, there are multiple programs, resources, and methods present. The counselors and doctors can assist you and there are a lot of people who are successful in quitting smoking without any assistance.
Smoking Cessation Programs
Some studies reveal that the best ways to quit smoking are through Smoking Cessation Programs and technologies. The services include nicotine products, insurance programs, prescriptive drugs, as well as some quitlines. The people who are involved in the cessation programs have more chances to quit smoking successfully – regarded as abstinence for almost half a year or more – as compared to those who are trying to quit through their own efforts. Anyhow, out of 44.5 million current smokers, less than 50% of smokers try to quit smoking and this percentage is estimated on a yearly level. Almost 70% of the people who try to quit without utilizing the Smoking Cessation Programs and out of those, approximately 90% relapse.
There are multiple programs accessible to smokers. Most of the people do not have any idea about these programs. For expanding the use of cessation programs and increasing the rates of cessation, you should know that the accessible, effective and sage cessation programs are present.
For reaching out to the people who like to quit and to make sure the excessive use of cessation programs, the state, and federal health agencies require making a multi-level and integrated approach. In 2004, almost 90% of the people surveyed, they wanted to know where to get help, how to quit smoking, and need additional data.
The agencies of state tobacco control in association with the health care partners offer the individuals with the required program assistance they need. Moreover, volunteer firms such as the American Cancer Society can play an important role in providing people with cessation programs and services. Several practitioners of health can also have strong supporters, motivating the people to quit and guiding them to the authentic cessation programs to help with the process.
A Promising Approach: Quit Lines
The telephone quitline is one of the effective cessation programs. For many years, the local and state telephone quitlines have assisted the individuals who have called for help in their efforts to stop smoking.
The networks of national quitline have been found to be productive, they have revealed an increased rate of smoking abstinence by almost 30 to 50% more than the rate gained under the control situations.
Offering the people who smoke with a national quitline can reach almost 5 million in a year, saving the lives of three million within two decades.
Smoking cessation methods
When you are trying to quit, the cravings of tobacco can wear you down. For most of the tobacco consumers, the wish to smoke can be strong. Here are some of the smoking cessation methods that you can choose whenever a tobacco craving strikes.
- Try nicotine replacement therapy
Discuss with your doctor about nicotine replacement therapy. The options involve:
- Prescription non-nicotine medications such as Chantix (Varenicline) and Zyban (Bupropion)
- Over-the-counter nicotine lozenges, gum, and patches
- Prescription nicotine in an inhaler or nasal spray
The replacement therapies of nicotine include inhalers, nasal sprays, lozenges, or nicotine gums. It can assist you in overcoming the strong cravings. These are short-acting therapies and they are best to use combining with the on-nicotine medications or nicotine patches.
- Avoid triggers
Sometimes, the wish for tobacco is strong when you chewed tobacco or smoked most of the time, such as at bars or parties. Check out the trigger situations and have a plan to neglect to smoke entirely.
Never make your mind for a smoking relapse. If you smoke while talking on the phone, keep a paper and a pen to divert your mind instead of smoking.
- Delay
If it appears like you are going to smoke again, tell yourself to wait for 10 more minutes. After that, do anything to divert yourself for that time period. Go to a smoke-free zone where you forget about smoking for a while. This simple trick is sufficient to disorganize your cravings for tobacco.
- Chew on it
Whenever you feel a craving for tobacco, give your mouth something to chew. Choose a hard candy or sugarless gum. Or chew something like sunflower seeds, nuts, celery, or raw carrots, anything satisfying and crunchy.
- Do relaxation techniques
Maybe you feel smoking as a great way to deal with stress. It is stressful to resist a tobacco craving. In spite of smoking, choose relaxation techniques to take off the stress. They include listening to calming music, massage, visualization, yoga, muscle relaxation, and deep-breathing exercises.
Quit Smoking tips
First 15 days after you stop smoking can appear like a roller coaster. Your mind and body are being deprived of anything they have become addicted to, and it will make some unnecessary psychological and physical symptoms, there are multiple smoking cessation tips that you can do to make your habit of quitting smoking easier.
The firsts step in quitting smoking is to decide. If you cannot escape from the mental and physical effects of nicotine withdrawal, you can try to reduce them.
Make a list of causes why you want to quit smoking. Read it daily to assist you in remembering why you are doing this when things get rough. After that, start working on these strategies in your routine life.
Eat a Well-Balanced Diet
During the process of withdrawal, your body works hard to remove toxins and it requires energy. Prefer foods that will give you the fuel you need such as lean proteins, whole grains, fresh vegetables, and fruits. You should avoid junk food to gain calories. When you feel hungry, keep sensible snacks with you. Also, keep small bags of veggies with you.
Don’t Skip Meals
Skipping meal lead to low blood sugar levels, which will activate the wish to smoke. You can choose snacks which will help you to avoid smoking. Try to take meals three times a day or 5 small meals in a day.
Take a Multivitamin
Smoking destroys the nutrients in your body, so give yourself energy through a multivitamin. In combination with a great diet, it will assist you in combating the lethargy that takes place during the withdrawal of nicotine.
Get Out for a Walk
Spare 15 minutes from your daily routine and go out for a short walk. It can work great for improving your mood and decreasing your urges for smoking. Exercise is involved in releasing the feel-good hormones – endorphins. Hence, go out for a walk once or two times a day. You will feel relaxed and refreshed.
Drink More Fluids, Especially Water
Water assists you in flushing the remaining toxins from smoking out of your body. It works best as it fills you up without eating more. Water is an essential part of your food whatever your status of smoking is. It keeps you hydrated, and you will feel better overall, which will assist you in controlling the symptoms of withdrawal.
You should try fruit juices or herbal teas. Limit alcohol, soft drinks, or coffee. Alcohol and caffeine can affect your mood negatively. They are linked with the times when you are trying to light up, so they can improve your wish to smoke.
Quit Smoking Success Rate and Statistics
Tobacco is the primary cause of unnecessary death, disability, and disease in the US. Almost 40 million adult individuals in the US do smoking, and approximately 4.7 million high school and middle school students use one product of tobacco, which includes e-cigarettes. Every day, about 2000 young people with age less than 18 years in the US smoke their first cigarette. Half a million individuals in America died of smoking every year. Almost 16 million people live with a serious disease resulted from smoking. The United States spends about 170 billion dollars on the expenditures of medical care for treating smoking-related disorders in adult individuals.
The Canadian Public Health Association, CDC and the World Health Organization developed the Global Health Profession Student Survey (GHPSS) for collecting data on cessation counseling and tobacco use in all the students of health professionals.
Smoking Cessation Medications
Your health care provider can give you medications to assist you in quitting the use of tobacco. These medications do not consist of nicotine and they do not make habits. They work differently in comparison with lozenges, sprays, gums, and nicotine patches.
The smoking cessation medicines can assist you in reducing the cravings for tobacco, reducing the symptoms of withdrawal, and keeping you away from using cigarettes again.
Similar to the other treatments, these medications work great when they are a segment of a program that involves:
- Determining to quit and decide a quit date
- Making a plan to assist you in dealing with the urges of smoking
- Getting support from a support group, counselor, and doctor
BUPROPION
Bupropion is a medicine that reduces your tobacco cravings. This oil is used for individuals suffering from depression. It assists you in quitting tobacco even if you do not any issue related to depression. It is not evident how this medicine assists you in quitting tobacco and decreasing the cravings. Bupropion is not best for people who are pregnant, under age 18, have a detailed history of medical issues such as serious head injury, manic or bipolar depressive disorder, eating disorders, heavy use of alcohol, kidney failure, or seizures.
You should take bupropion a week before you have decided to quit smoking. Your aim is to take it for almost 7 to 12 weeks. For taking it for a long time period, discuss it with your doctor first. For some individuals, it assists in preventing smoking when taken for a long period of time.
The side effects of bupropion include sleeping issues and dry mouth. If you feel changes in your behavior such as attempted suicide, thoughts of suicide, depressed mood, agitation, and anger, stop taking this medicine.
VARENICLINE
Varenicline assists you with the symptoms of withdrawal and cravings for nicotine. It works best in the brain for decreasing the physical effects of nicotine. It means if you start to smoke again after cessation, you will not feel right when you take this drug.
A week before you decide to quit, start taking this medicine. You can also choose a date within a month to quit smoking. The other way includes taking Varenicline, then stopping the smoking slowly within the next 2 months.
You can take Varenicline after meals with a glass full of water. Do not link this drug with lozenges, sprays, gums, or nicotine patches. Individuals below the age of 18 years should not take this medicine.
The side effects of Varenicline include strange dreams, sleepiness, headaches, changes in taste, nausea, intestinal gas, constipation, thoughts of suicide or depressed mood. Do not forget that this medicine is associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart attack.
OTHER MEDICATIONS
When other treatments have not worked, these medications may help. There are less consistent benefits, so they are regarded as the second line of treatment.
- Nortriptyline is an antidepressant. You should start taking it almost 10 to 28 days before you have decided to quit.
- Clonidine is used for treating high blood pressure. It can assist you when you start taking it before quitting smoking. This drug comes as a patch or a pill.
The first week is always intense for every individual, do not forget that better days will come. All the discomforts are not permanent, so let’s distant yourself from smoking. You will thank your mind and body in the long run.
SMOKING CESSATION PLACES NEAR ME
If you are looking for the clinic that will help you to progress in your smoking cessation process visit the Philadelphia Quit Smoking Center where the team of acupuncturists, homeopath, and hypnotists under the supervision of the Medical Doctor and Hypnotherapist Victor Tsan will help you to avoid discomfort and withdrawal symptoms. Contact us (267) 403-3085 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Tsan and discuss your problems.
