One of the reasons why stopping smoking is so hard is because nicotine, which is a natural constituent of the tobacco leaf, is very addictive on two levels: both psychologically and physically. This is why patches and gums are not effective for most individuals - they do not have any affect on the psychological dependence of smokers.
So, anyone wanting to bust the habit has to attack nicotine addiction on both levels. Take the tablets, chew the gum and put on the patches by all means, but you will need something else to replace or displace the psychological dependence too. One of the most effective ways of doing this is attending a support group.
Peer pressure and peer support are two of the reasons why support classes work, but you might not have to attend a full support group, if you can discover a different way of attaining the same effect.
One example that may work is if a couple both give up together providing support for each other. Husband and wife teams giving up together frequently works as do a couple of colleagues in an office.
The more you smoke, the harder it will get to quit. That is fairly understandable, but do you know whether you are a heavy smoker? Astonishingly, it does not depend on how many cigarettes you smoke, but if you have to have a cigarette within thirty minutes of waking up, you are considered to be a heavy smoker.
Despite the famous fact that smoking causes serious illnesses, smokers continue to puff away and give excuses for themselves. This might be because there are other psychological forces at work. One of these is the fear of failure and another is the dread of putting on weight. The former tends to have an effect on men and the latter women.
Have you heard of the ‘Five A’s of Quitting’? It is a system used by counselors and perhaps you could use it to assess your own predicament:
Ask about the smoker’s habit; Advise about quitting; Assess the smoker’s resolve; Assist to stop; Arrange follow up checks.
It is the case that 80%-90% of all long term quitters just stopped smoking one day and never took it back up. 10% of all temporary quitters tried the same tactic. Other less successful methods are hypnosis and acupuncture. There is evidence that fasting reduces the craving for nicotine, but a lot of individuals might find it equally as difficult to fast as to stop smoking.
It helps individuals who are attempting to give up to avoid smoky places where individuals tend to smoke more anyway. This used to be bars, but you may not smoke there anymore anyway, however the law does not apply to private parties.
Be wary of the number three. It sounds weird, but the first three hours of quitting are the most difficult; after the first three days, you think that it was not so hard after all; after three weeks, you start to kid yourself that one cigarette with a beer will not hurt, but if you can sidestep smoking for three years you ought to be in the clear and if you hold your guard up, you will probably never smoke again.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on numerous topics, is at present involoved with the reason why to quit smoking. If you are interested in massage, visit our web site now: Health Risks to Smoking