Quitting smoking is very difficult, but also very rewarding. If you quit, you will have more money, more dating opportunities if you are single, fewer problems being segregated from colleagues if you work, fewer annoying short-term problems like a persistent cough, and the prospect of living longer. However, smokers' efforts to quit are often blocked by nicotine, according to the 1988 U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Nicotine Addiction. Fortunately, there are many remedies to quit smoking.
Nicotine Replacements
The benefits of nicotine often cause people to keep smoking long after they want to quit. Nicotine alleviates depression, boosts energy, improves memory and reduces stress, reports "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease."
Medicines with nicotine are often the remedy to quit smoking because they provide the benefits of nicotine without the adverse effect of smoking. The list of nicotine replacements includes a nicotine patch, nicotine gum, and nasal spray that delivers nicotine. According to "Essentials for Health and Wellness," nicotine replacements deliver less nicotine to your blood than cigarettes and they help reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
Setting and Achieving Goals
According to "The Well Adult," 68 percent of smokers try to quit, but only half of those who try succeed. Studies show that simple remedies are often the key to quitting, reports "The Well Adult." Remedies to quit include setting goals for gradually reducing smoking, keeping track of the amount of cigarettes you smoke, rewarding yourself for making progress, and setting a targeted date for quitting. Substituting something enjoyable for cigarettes as you work toward your goal also helps. The substitute could be a healthy food or beverage, a personal gift, or a conversation with a friend.
Friends Can Help You
Smokers who bring friends--smokers and nonsmokers--into their quest to quit usually have more success, reports "The No-Nag, No-Guilt, Do-It-Your-Own Way Guide To Quitting Smoking." This is because people work better as a team and it is human nature to try to impress others.
"No Nag" author Dr. Tom Ferguson has several remedies for using people to quit. They include finding at least one friend to quit with you, asking friends to support you when you are tempted and phoning them when you are, announcing to people that you intend to quit, asking your smoking friends to not smoke around you and to not offer you cigarettes, and urging friends to pressure you to quit.
Quitting With Others
If you consider bringing friends into the quitting process is pushy, you have other alternatives. According to "How to Quit Smoking," a chapter in Ornish's book, there are support groups for smokers who want to quit in communities all across the United States. Organizations which offer such programs include the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and Smokers Anonymous as well as local community centers, hospitals and YMCAs. Your doctor might have information on specific groups in your community.
References
- "The No-Nag, No-Guilt, Do-It-Your-Own Way Guide To Quitting Smoking;" Dr. Tom Ferguson; 1989
- "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease;" Dr. Dean Ornish; 1996
- "The Well Adult;" Dr. Mike Samuels and Nancy Samuels; 1988
- "Essentials for Health and Wellness;" Gordon Edlin, Eric Golanty, Kelli McCormack Brown; 2000
