How to stop smoking: methods and techniques?

How to stop smoking: methods and techniques?
 August 05, 2019


The first smoking cessation tool? The strength of will but, if it were not enough, here is a series of tips to say no to smoking.

 Life is a constant resistance to the inertia that attempts to sabotage our deepest will. Whoever gets tired of wanting wants nothing, "wrote the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. A phrase that fits perfectly to those who, with great willpower, are trying to quit smoking , finding themselves - and inevitably - facing a real moment of change.

A step characterized by two phases: one of preparation, one of action . Wanting is power, the saying goes. But it is not so simple, because when you are used to smoking you tend to lose sight of the benefits of life without cigarettes  and it becomes difficult to go back. In the long run, the risk is to lose the motivation to get rid of smoking , forgetting that in reality there is no good reason to smoke .

You can (and must) quit smoking
Hundreds, in fact, toxic substances released when it lights a cigarette . Smoking is one of the first avoidable causes of premature death: this is a fact, as are the negative effects of smoking on health. According to data published by the World Health Organization, in the world tobacco is responsible for a greater number of victims than those caused by alcohol, drugs, AIDS , road accidents, homicides and suicides put together.

It is estimated that around 6 million deaths could be prevented worldwide every year only by abolishing the use of tobacco; in Italy it is estimated that smoking-related deaths go from 70,000 to 83,000 each year. It should also be remembered that over a quarter of the victims of smoking are aged between 35 and 65 years.


Smoking cessation tips
However, as you have decided to smoke, you can decide to quit. Statistics show that abandoning cigarettes is not an easy goal to achieve, but available to those who make this choice - currently - there are a number of tools that can be relied on. Here is a series of tips for quitting smoking:

Counseling: numerous studies show that the only advice from your doctor to stop smoking is to have a certain number of people follow you. Smokers can sometimes participate in self-help groups to stop smoking.

Anti-smoking centers: in Italy there are hundreds of smoke-free centers (all information is on the website of the National Institute of Health ) which, to help quit smoking, resort to various tools: individual counseling and group treatment for smoking cessation, but also prescription of nicotine replacement products or cessation drugs.

Drugs : in some cases the doctor, in addition to psychological support and behavioral help, can prescribe antidepressants or other drugs that can help the patient to overcome the most complicated moment, that of detachment from the cigarette.

Replacement treatments : patches, chewing gum and other nicotine based products. Trying to quit smoking is equivalent to confronting the psychological dependence on tobacco that is expressed (also) in the pleasure and gestures of smoking, especially through disorders caused by nicotine withdrawal, a substance that the body is accustomed to taking.

Electronic cigarettes : regarding the risks and benefits of electronic cigarettes (a few years ago there was a real boom in the sale of electronic cigarettes), much has been discussed. Studies conducted so far do not allow us to exclude possible damage related to this new way of smoking.

Smoking cessation books : bookshelves are full of smoking cessation manuals. In some cases the reading of these volumes can help concretely, or at least stimulate the desire to stop smoking in those who did not think about it.
It goes without saying that even today the willpower remains the first, indispensable "tool" to say goodbye to smoking and cigarettes . Of course, nicotine is addictive, and it is normal to fall back on smoking after a few days (or week) of smoking withdrawal. In these cases what matters is not to be discouraged , to try again until you can stop, perhaps by helping yourself to make this difficult decision once and for all and to implement it concretely.