According to the American Lung Association, tobacco usage and exposure to second-hand smoke are responsible for more the 480,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. In fact, tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and disease around the world.
When you decide to quit smoking, it is not just a singular event, but a journey that takes constant work to remain effective and successful. Thankfully, there are many proven methods and strategies available to help you on your path to success, including NRTs, medication, behavioral therapy, and nicotine-free vapes.
Select Your ‘Quit’ Day
Arguably, the most challenging part of kicking a smoking habit once and for all is setting a quit date. Select a day that is not too far into the future, so you don’t have time to change your mind, but you have enough time to properly prepare.
Leading up to your quit day, you can choose to carry on smoking like normal until the day arrives and you quit abruptly. Or you can gradually decrease the amount of cigarettes you smoke until your quit day, on which you stop entirely. Multiple studies have shown that neither method offers better quitting rates, so select the option that works best for you.
Learn Your Triggers
The activities you are doing and the way you feel when consuming nicotine and tobacco become linked in your brain over time. If you typically use these products during your morning routine or over your work break with colleagues, you will begin to have more intense cravings during this period or when you are with these people.
To overcome these heightened feelings of dependency, it is crucial to know your triggers and put together effective plans to manage them. It may be beneficial to sit down and document the triggers you experience regularly and ways you can deal with them when they arrive. Come up with a list of people who can help during this time, too. Consult this ‘guide’ when you start to feel overwhelmed to remind yourself of practical ways to move forward.
Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs)
Going completely cold turkey and giving up smoking without additional help is a popular method many people try to follow. But the reality is that only 6% of these quit attempts are successful because many people severely underestimate the power of nicotine dependency.
Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are a highly effective way to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms you experience that may negatively impact your attempt to quit smoking, especially in the first week or two. They are designed to replace cigarettes by providing your body with a frequent and controlled dose of nicotine without the added chemicals and potentially deadly carcinogens found in tobacco.
There are five main types of approved NRTs currently available: skin patches, lozenges, chewing gum, inhalers, and nasal sprays. The latter two are by prescription only. It is important to remember that while NRTS can improve your chances of successfully quitting, the ultimate goal is to end your nicotine addiction altogether.
Non-Nicotine Medication
The FDA has approved two non-nicotine medications that can help smokers quit: varenicline and bupropion. Both require a prescription and work slightly differently in how they impact the body. Varenicline interferes with nicotine receptors in the brain. This interference reduces the pleasure you experience from using tobacco products and lowers any nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
Alternatively, bupropion affects the chemicals in the brain that influence nicotine cravings, helping to reduce the often crippling symptoms of nicotine cravings and withdrawal. Both medications are taken in pill form for 12 weeks, but should you end your smoking habit in that time, they can be used for an extended period to mitigate the risk of relapse.
Behavioral Therapy
The mental, physical, and emotional dependency you have on smoking can make it incredibly difficult to avoid nicotine products once you decide to quit. In order to be successful, you need to address this dependency directly. This can be done through counseling services, self-help materials, or the support system you have in place. As your physical symptoms start to ease over time, your mental and emotional states will improve.
Combining medication or NRTs with behavioral counseling has been shown to improve your chances of long-term success by nearly 25%. Behavioral therapy can include written information and advice learned through group therapy or individual sessions.
Physical Activity
During the initial period of quitting smoking, you may be quicker to anger or feel stronger feelings of frustration and irritability. Feelings of anxiety and stress may also feel heightened and more overwhelming.
A fantastic way to manage these feelings is to channel them into something more productive, like physical activity. This could be a session in the gym, a relaxing and stress-free yoga class, or a pleasant and laid-back walk around your neighborhood. Exercise of any kind can significantly help to lessen tobacco cravings and allow you to redirect any negative emotions.
Plan for Long-Term Success
In order to ensure long-term success, it is worth talking to your healthcare provider about tobacco cessation products. You can discuss the various options available to you, when to start taking them, and any possible side effects you may experience.
A common example of a long-acting medicine is a nicotine patch that slowly releases a controlled dose of nicotine over time. Other long-term medications that don’t contain nicotine include bupropion and varenicline, both of which can be obtained with a prescription.
