Smokers in many countries are faced with an ever-shrinking habitat as legislation restricts the places where you can light up. So now is a good time to quit smoking.
A bit of external pressure can sometimes help beat an addiction.
“Most smokers really want to quit,” said Stefan Andreas, a pulmonologist at the Immenhausen Lung Clinic, near the western German city of Kassel. “Many have been unable to do so because everywhere are other smokers who encourage them to smoke.” Surveys have shown that many smokers also favour strict laws protecting non-smokers. Some may even want to stop smoking themselves. Whether or not they succeed depends mainly on their approach to quitting. Health experts offer the following suggestions to smokers who want to kick their habit.
Join a support group: Smokers serious about quitting should join a support group in the framework of a professional quit-smoking programme, recommends Christa Merfert-Diete, spokeswoman for the German Centre for Addiction Issues (DHS). It is considered the best method, she said, because the smoker confronts his or her addiction together with fellow sufferers.
While some smokers are able to give up nicotine on their own, Merfert-Diete noted, many find that shared experiences in group talks help keep them on track toward their objective. She said that quitting was a matter of getting control over certain, often automatic habits.
Statistics underscore the efficacy of quit-smoking programmes.
“They result in withdrawal rates of 30 to 40 per cent after a year,” Andreas said, compared with 3 to 5 per cent for people who try to quit on their own.
Take a systematic approach: To stop smoking for good, Andreas recommends a systematic approach. “Don’t stop abruptly,” he said.
Instead, smokers wanting to quit should involve their social milieu.
“People close to them need to be aware of their intention and should support it,” he said. If relatives and friends are in the know, they will be less likely to offer the smoker a cigarette.
A plan to quit smoking should include changing one’s habits.
During the withdrawal stage, it can be helpful to refrain from usual pub visits, for example. This avoids the temptation of lighting up in the company of other smokers.
It is also important to be careful with alcohol at first, warned Germany’s Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA). Drinking alcohol, it said, weakens one’s ability to persevere.
Last but not least, Andreas added, would-be ex-smokers should consider beforehand how to deal with possible setbacks. Smoking a single cigarette after supposedly quitting need not mean that all one’s efforts were for naught.
Once preparations are complete, smokers should set a quit date, the BZgA advised. As the date draws near, they should leave the house without their cigarettes now and then and create a “stub museum” of the last cigarettes they smoke. On the eve of the final day, they should get rid of all their smoking utensils: cigarettes, ashtrays and lighters.
Find alternatives to smoking: It helps to find alternatives to smoking in situations that typically cause a craving for a cigarette.
In moments of stress, the BZgA recommends relaxation exercises instead of smoking.
Smoking a cigarette while drinking a cup of coffee can be avoided by switching to tea during the withdrawal phase. And people used to lighting up immediately after waking up in the morning should remove their cigarettes from the bedside table and place a glass of water there instead.
Wash your clothes: Another smoking cessation aid is washing all articles of clothing to get rid of the smell of smoke. The BZgA also recommends that smokers have their teeth cleaned and polished.
Take medications: Certain medications and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can make quitting easier in some cases. For people with lung disorders, Andreas recommends the use of a nicotine patch, nicotine gum or a nicotinic antagonist such as bupropion.
Andreas noted that nicotine, the strongly addictive substance in tobacco products, was safer when provided in NRT than in tobacco smoke, which contains carcinogens and toxic gases.
Exercise: Staying physically fit by taking walks, jogging, cycling or swimming can help people who have stopped smoking from having a relapse, the BZgA pointed out. It said that people who felt fit and healthy had less of an urge to light up.
