Quitting smoking is a goal that many seek to achieve at the beginning of the new year, not only in order to rationalize expenses, but also to maintain health, as smoking raises the risk of developing many serious diseases, such as lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Understanding smoking behavior
German Dr. Tobias Rutter, a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy, said that this goal can be achieved by following some useful measures, the most important of which is understanding one’s smoking behavior and finding alternatives to cigarettes.
He explained that for many smokers, smoking is associated with certain situations, for example when drinking coffee, while waiting, or when feeling anxious and stressed.
Here, alternatives to cigarettes can be found. For example, one can listen to an exciting audio book or sing a favorite song out loud. One can also eat fruit and vegetable sticks instead of smoking a cigarette.
It is also useful to practice breathing and relaxation exercises and motor activities, such as going up and down the stairs.
Nicotine replacements
Nicotine replacements are among the means that help in quitting smoking, as they replace the nicotine found in cigarettes that have not been smoked, and thus they relieve the symptoms of physical withdrawal without burdening the body with the many harmful substances that arise when burning tobacco.
These alternatives are available without a prescription in the form of patches, gum, or mouth spray. The advantage of the patches is that they provide a continuous level of nicotine, while the gum or spray works to reduce the desire to smoke.
To achieve the desired result, patches, gum, and sprays should be combined, taking into account their use for two months, as this period is the amount of time it takes for behavioral changes to actually become established.
If these measures do not help in quitting smoking, then one can resort to some medications that help achieve this goal, such as “bupropion,” which is a very effective medication, taking it into account two weeks before starting to quit smoking.