There are plenty of great reasons to quit smoking. It’s awful for your lungs. It can cause cancers of the mouth and throat, on top of that. Not to mention the long-term damage you could be doing to your heart health. If you’re serious about quitting, then you will want to have a plan of action in effect. Here, we’re going to look at the steps to breaking your smoking habit once and for all, and a few of the different options available on the way.
Going cold turkey
For some people, the approach that works best is to suddenly stop, all at once, to throw out anything to do with tobacco, nicotine, and smoking, and to make a commitment on the spot. This method works best for some, as it doesn’t make the quitting process take too long. If you’re not able to go cold turkey, however, that doesn’t mean you have to stop quitting.
Decreasing your nicotine reliance
For a lot of people, the brunt of their addiction to smoking is the chemical dependence that they have built up to nicotine. As such, decreasing that reliance over time can help them make that clean break eventually. Options like vaping can be an easy side-step for a lot of people, and you can reduce how much you vape over time until you’re using nicotine-free products. That said, vaping is not without its health risks.
Stopping the physical habit
While the nicotine itself might be an issue for some, for others, the bigger problem is that they crave the feeling of smoking something, of inhaling, which can make options like vaping just as much of an addiction liability. For some, temporarily switching to pouches of nicotine can address the cravings, while getting away from the sensation of smoking, and mitigating the harm to the lungs that it can do. Nicotine patches and gum are other options, that allow you to decrease your nicotine intake over time.
Asking for further help
If you’re finding that you’re not having much luck with breaking out of the habit, yourself, then you can always talk to your doctor about other options, as well. For instance, there are medications that can help you reduce your body’s cravings for nicotine, which can make it a lot easier to stay cold turkey.
Mind your other habits
With the tips above, you should hopefully be able to break off your smoking habit without too much difficulty. That said, people who are able to put the breaks on one addiction can often find that they start relying on coping mechanisms that, when out of control, can be harmful in their own right. For instance, overeating is a serious concern for a lot of people who stop smoking, so try to be mindful of other habit changes, and what you can do to address them.
With the tips above, hopefully, it won’t be too long before you’re smoke-free. It’s a decision to have to keep trying to maintain over time but, as many ex-smokers will attest, the longer you last, the easier it gets.
*contributed post*
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