Five tips to help you stop smoking

There is no way of sugar coating it – quitting smoking is hard. It’s not one single event, but a journey that involves altering behavior that may have been ingrained in you for years, coping with the withdrawal symptoms that will come from cutting out nicotine and finding ways to manage your moods.

The incentives though are plenty. There are the facts and figures such as smoking is responsible for the deaths of around 200,000 women a year in the USA or that in 2014, an estimated 70,700 women died of lung and bronchus cancer.

Then there are the improvements that quitting will bring to your life – improved health, an increased chance of living for longer and a definite improvement in the quality of both your life and those around you.

With the right plan, you can break free of nicotine addiction. Here are five ways to kick the habit for good.

Decide how you are going to quit and when you are going to start

Ultimately, you have to decide whether you are going to quit abruptly or gradually reduce your cigarette consumption rate down to zero. There is no right or wrong way to go about this, it all depends on which method you think is best for you. You then need to pick your quit day. Don’t pick a date too far in advanced as that will give you time to change your mind but by the same token, you won’t want to stop immediately as you’ll need some time to prepare.

Use NRT’s

Going cold turkey is a popular way to quit smoking, but only around 6 percent of cold turkey attempts are successful in the long run. As addiction information from Ambrosia will tell you, it is easy to underestimate how powerful addictions can be. NRT’s help to reduce your cravings and dependency on cigarettes, offering a controlled dose of nicotine. They normally come in the form of skin patches, chewing gum or lozenges.

Get behavioral support

The emotional and physical dependence on smoking can make it difficult to stay away. Behavioral support can range from written information and advice in the form of books and leaflets to group therapy or individual counseling. Not going through the quitting process alone has been shown to increase the chances of successfully giving up by up to 25 percent.

Give alternative therapies a go

Some people find alternative therapies helpful. These can range from the likes of herbs and supplements to hypnosis to magnet therapy. E-cigarettes are the hottest alternative therapy out there at the moment. They aren’t technically meant to be a quit smoking aid, but they’ve been shown to be less addictive than normal cigarettes and studies have found that established smokers who use E-cigarettes daily are more likely to quit than those who don’t.

Most important of all – don’t give up giving up

As aforementioned, quitting smoking isn’t easy. It requires planning and commitment. Decide which method is right for you and stick with it. If it doesn’t work, try another one. No two people in the world are the same, and that means that every person’s method for giving up smoking will be different. It’s all about finding the best and right way for you.

Good luck!

Thanks to Carol