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Stub out smoking before getting hooked

Despite all the health warnings we get about smoking, one in five of us is a smoker. Yet even as new smokers pick up the habit every day, more people are starting to wish they never had.

Did you know that the vast majority of smokers want to quit? When smokers in America were surveyed, almost 70% said they wanted to kick the habit. But simply stopping is not that easy. 

Stopping is more difficult than starting

In fact, quitting is one of the most difficult challenges that many of us will ever face in life. This is because smoking has an addictive hold on the user. Cigarettes are designed to rapidly deliver nicotine, the main drug found in tobacco, to your brain – releasing chemicals that make you feel good over and over again. It’s an endless cycle that changes the way your brain works, makes you feel as if you need nicotine to feel okay, and causes withdrawal when you try to stop. Because of the dangers, the World Health Organisation declared World No Tobacco Day on 31 May.

If smoking is so addictive and quitting so difficult, what is the solution? One answer is to make sure more people never become smokers in the first place.

Every day, up to 3,000 teens under the age of 18 try their first cigarette. More than 400 of them will become regular smokers. What’s more, people who start smoking at an early age are more likely to become seriously hooked compared to those who start smoking at a later stage. Simply put, it’s more difficult for younger people to stop once they’ve started.

And with nearly 9 out of 10 smokers picking up the habit before turning 18, the best way to break the cycle is by supporting young people to never start. You can help by encouraging the youngsters in your life, whether your children, siblings or nieces and nephews, to steer clear. Here’s how.

Talk about tobacco with young people

Rather than simply forbidding cigarettes, explain why the habit is damaging and why starting is a bad idea:

  • Smoking causes smelly hair and clothes, stained teeth and bad breath. All deadly for a teen’s social life!
  • It affects the lungs and heart, making it difficult to keep up in sport and do favourite activities like dancing full out.
  • Because smoking is so addictive, it can easily go from one cigarette at a party to a daily habit.
  • One packet of cigarettes can cost up to R50. Sit together and work out how much that adds up to in a month or a year, then look at all the other things that money could buy.

Help the next generation overcome peer pressure

  • Encourage them to be confident in their decision not to smoke by reminding them of the benefits of being smoke-free.
  • Help them prepare strategies for dealing with the pressure to smoke by planning ahead. Together you can practise what to say or do in advance. For example, how to refuse a cigarette by saying “I want to stay in shape for soccer/athletics/dancing” and walking away from the conversation.

Set a positive example

The importance of role modelling when it comes to smoking cannot be overstated. Children are more influenced by what we do than what we say. Research has shown that kids who grow up with parents who smoke are more likely to start smoking themselves.

It’s never too late to quit

What if you’re still a smoker yourself? It’s important to know that it’s never too late to quit if you’ve already started. Our bodies have an incredible capacity to heal and recover from the damage caused by smoking, even if you’ve been doing it for several years.

Quitting can have immediate health benefits, and many of these improve over time. Just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and heart rate begin to return to normal levels. After one year without smoking, your risk of heart disease is half that of a continuing smoker.

There are many resources available to help you quit smoking. Take a look at these local ones:

  • CANSA’s eKick Butt is an online programme for stopping.
  • Byegwaai is an app to help you kick the habit.

Yes, smoking is addictive, but with the right help you can stop successfully. And by engaging young people on the drawbacks of tobacco, we can keep an entire generation from becoming smokers.

References

Want to quit smoking? Here are your best options

Many smokers decide to go cold turkey when wanting to nip smoking in the bud. Others take it on a day-to-day basis and hope for the best. Fact is, whether you’re an occasional smoker or a 30-a-day smoker, taking that last puff can be difficult. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance.

Your options for quitting include:

  • A diet and beverage change
  • Positive thinking
  • Identifying your cigarette cravings
  • Exercising
  • Patches, lozenges, gum and nasal sprays

And then, there are alternatives…

Allen Carr method

According to Allen Carr, a British author who specialises in psychological dependencies, there’s a smoking trap, as it’s not a lack of willpower that makes it difficult to stop smoking, but a conflict of will. His method aims to remove this conflict so that the smoker doesn’t have to use any willpower to stop. Once the smoker understands completely how the smoking trap works, by following simple instructions, the physical withdrawal becomes easier to manage.

How does this work? 

Carr identified that smokers are aware of how unhealthy, expensive and antisocial their habit is, so what keeps them smoking?

It’s fear, says Carr. It stems from the inability to cope with things like stress, social occasions, concentration, boredom and trauma. All these fears arise out of powerful illusions associated with smoking and nicotine addiction.

He discovered that the actual physical withdrawal from nicotine is slight and is more of a feeling very similar to hunger for food. Smokers recognise it as a feeling of “emptiness” or “something missing.” The real trauma smokers suffer when they try to quit is the mental sense of sacrifice and depression caused by the belief that they’re being deprived of a certain pleasure.

What is the verdict? 

The Allen Carr Method works by destroying the psychological addiction to nicotine by educating the smoker about the facts of the smoking trap.

As soon as a smoker understands and believes that they can enjoy life more, concentrate better, feel more relaxed, handle stress better and that cravings will eventually go away; the fear of stopping disappears.

The method also allows the smoker to realise that if they completely understand how nicotine withdrawal works and they follow a few instructions, they will find it easy to manage and may land up enjoying the process.

Resist tobacco cravings

Try nicotine replacement therapy        

Ask your doctor about nicotine replacement therapy. The options include:

  • Over-the-counter nicotine patches, lozenges and gum.
  • Prescription nicotine in a nasal spray or inhaler.
  • Prescription non-nicotine stop smoking medications.

Avoid triggers

Don’t set yourself up for smoking relapse. Identify your triggers and have a plan to either avoid them completely or to get through them without the need to use tobacco.

Delay

If you feel like you’re going to give in to your tobacco craving, tell yourself that you must wait 10 more minutes first. After that, do something to distract yourself.. When you’re out in public, opt for a smoke-free zone. These tricks may be enough to derail your tobacco craving.

Chew on it

Pop sugar-free gum or sweets. Alternatively, you can snack on raw veggies, nuts or seeds for something crunchy and satisfying.

Don’t give in

Having just one cigarette leads to another and you may end up using tobacco again.

Get physical

Exercising can help distract you from tobacco cravings and reduce their intensity. Go out for a walk or jog. If exercising isn’t your thing, do chores as a form of distraction or pick up a new hobby. Get plenty of rest and focus on eating well.

Practise relaxation techniques

Getting rid of a bad habit can be stressful. Take the edge off with deep-breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, yoga or listening to calming music.

References:

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