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How
to Quit
Taking the decision to stop smoking is
the first critical step to becoming an ex-smoker. You can
strengthen your resolve even more by understanding your
addiction to smoking, knowing the different quitting methods
available, and by properly preparing for the first day you
stop. You'll be more in control when you stop smoking,
stronger throughout the process, and have a better chance of
staying off cigarettes for good.
Why is it hard?
To help you become an ex-smoker, you need to address your
emotions, your habits and your physical cravings as they
relate to smoking. Once you understand them, you'll be on
your way to a life without cigarettes.
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Your Emotions
Without realising it, you form an emotional
attachment to cigarettes. You might feel that a
cigarette is comforting and calming during stressful
times.
Smoking becomes an extension of your social life, of
evenings at the pub and at parties. Your cigarettes
are always with you, particularly when you're
emotionally at your highest and lowest. They never
let you down.
Cigarettes have probably been a part of the happy
events in your life, and giving them up might feel
like giving up a close friend.
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Your Habits
Humans are creatures of habit, and having cigarettes
as part of your daily routine makes them
increasingly difficult to give up.
Someone who has smoked an average of 15 cigarettes
per day for 15 years will have smoked 82,125
cigarettes. That's 1,231,875 puffs. And most of
those cigarettes are linked to events like having a
coffee, making a phone call, or having a drink.
At first it might feel completely unnatural not to
have a cigarette in your hand. Cigarettes are part
of the rhythm of your life, and without one at
certain times of the day you might feel like a fish
out of water. |
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Your Physical Attachment
This is the one we all know about. The nicotine you get from
tobacco has the power to calm you down and pep you up at the
same time. What could be more addictive than that? You crave
the head-rush, the feeling of well being you get every time
you take a puff. You might even feel like a different person
until you've satisfied your craving, and you might not like
that person very much.
When you puff on a cigarette, you get a rush of nicotine to
your brain. Over time, that causes structural changes to
your brain so that it needs nicotine to function. When you
stop, there's an imbalance in your brain that leads to
physical withdrawal symptoms (cravings, anxiety,
irritability, difficulty concentrating.) It can take days or
weeks for your brain to return to normal. In some cases,
depending on the individual, it could even take months.
When you stop smoking, it's the physical withdrawal symptoms
you notice first. You'll find yourself craving cigarettes as
your body demands the nicotine it has become used to. You
might be irritable, and you might have trouble sleeping.
Also, you might develop a bit of a cough, as your lungs
clean themselves out after years of cigarette smoke. But
don't worry, it will only last a couple of weeks. Then
you'll be breathing easier than you have in a long time.
Ways to Quit
Once you've decided to give up smoking, you have many
options to help you achieve your goal. And you don't have to
choose just one method. You can combine different ways to
help you overcome your physical, emotional and habitual
attachment to cigarettes - becoming an ex-smoker for life.
Willpower alone - Willpower is the foundation of
giving up smoking, and works best combined with other
methods.
Click here for more info.
Stop Smoking Aids - Products such as patches,
lozenges, gum, nasal sprays and inhalers can help with your
physical cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Click here for more info.
Counselling - Counselling and other types of support
can bolster your emotional strength and help you break your
smoking routines.
Click here for more info.
Click2Quit Programme - A combination of your own
individually tailored support plan and products that help
you overcome your attachment to smoking.
Click here for more info.
Alternative Therapies - Therapies such as acupuncture
and hypnosis may offer some people relief from the stress of
giving up smoking.
Click here for more info.
Prescription Only Medicine - Some medicines are
available by prescription. You might want to talk to your GP
about this option.
Giving Up for Good
So you've been smoke-free for quite some time. That's an
amazing achievement - just think of the ways your life has
changed for the better since you stopped smoking. However,
even years after you give up you could find yourself wanting
a cigarette. But remember how hard it was to give up, and
know that you've been through the worst of it.
Physically, you may still have cravings. But without the
nasty withdrawal symptoms you experienced at the beginning,
controlling your cravings should be much easier. Certain
situations might still tempt you to smoke, but look back at
the techniques that have kept you smoke-free for this long,
and stick with what's been working for you. And if you're
going through a tough time emotionally, turn to the people
or activities that helped you get through your most
difficult times, and avoid places that might tempt you to
smoke.
If you feel tempted, remember how much better you look and
feel as an ex-smoker. Consider all the money you haven't
spent on cigarettes since you stopped smoking, and how much
more in control you feel now that cigarettes are not part of
your life. Remind yourself of all the reasons you stopped in
the first place. Most importantly, keep in mind the hard
work you've put into being an ex-smoker, and how badly
you'll feel if you smoke now, when you've come so far.
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