If you’re thinking of giving up tobacco, you’re not alone. More than two-thirds of smokers want to quit, and more than half have tried. And former smokers who’ve succeeded say they tried an average of five times before succeeding.
Obviously, it’s not easy to quit. But thousands of people have done it, and you can, too. And there’s lots of research available on what works. Here are a few tips:
- “Cold Turkey” vs “slow and steady”. Most successful quitters do it by going “cold turkey” – total cessation. However, fewer cigarettes are better than more so get started. Start cutting back on the number of cigarettes you smoke each day if you can’t quit completely.
- Nicotine Replacement Therapy. If you’re highly addicted to nicotine you may benefit from nicotine replacement therapy. There are simple survey questions which tell you if you could benefit from nicotine gum, patches or other medications. The Flagerstrom Test is one such test you can take to determine the level of nicotine dependency. For more information and useful tips you can also listen to a recording of my DocTalk seminar, ‘Focus On: Alcohol Use and Overuse; Tobacco Avoidance and Cessation’. Just go to http://doctalk.webex.com, click on View All Recorded Events in the upper right corner and select the appropriate topic.
- Motivation. Make a list of reasons you want to quit and review it every day.
- Risk avoidance. Stay away from situations where you tend to smoke, or find other ways to relieve stress when you can’t avoid those situations.
- Exercise. Physical activity reduces stress, anxiety and irritability.
- Watch your diet. It’s true that people tend to gain weight when they quit. Try to drink lots of water and focus on high-fiber, low-cal foods.
- Buddy system. Social support is one of the real keys to success. Have a friend or loved one you can turn to for support and encouragement. Make a commitment to him or her that you’re going to quit.
Want to really increase your chance of success? Try a counseling program, which combines personalized counseling with tools such as nicotine replacement, when appropriate. Success rates for people who join these programs are up to five times as high as for people who try to quit alone.
Dr.Mike
