Quitting is not an easy task because it is an all-too-common story for people to quit multiple times. This is because they end up relapsing after missing the cigarettes that they have become so used to. So if you want to know how to quit smoking immediately and how to do it for good, read on for some tips that researchers have found to be most effective for quitting smoking
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Try your best to quit today
Smokers always make plans to quit sometime in the future. Whether it be tomorrow, next week, next month, or even on a particular birthday, the quitting plan is always sometime soon because they want to savor and enjoy their “last days of smoking.”
However, when the date they set has finally come, their will to quit has significantly wavered, and they end up putting off their quit date to some other day in the future. From there, the cycle just keeps going on and on.
They say that the best time to quit smoking was yesterday, and the second-best time is now. According to a study by the University of Oxford, quitting abruptly (or quitting “cold turkey”) has better success rates of quitting for good, as opposed to gradually cutting down until you quit.
The only problem you might face here is that your withdrawal symptoms might be quite intense at first, but you just have to stand firm in your resolution. And besides, there are also helpful ways for you to handle withdrawal symptoms which we will list out below.
Look for possible nicotine replacements
The ingredient which makes cigarettes so addictive is nicotine, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But the most harmful ingredients in cigarettes are their other components. So what makes cigarettes dangerous is that you crave the nicotine, but you have to inhale all the other toxic substances that go along with it in a stick or in a pack of cigarettes.
That is why when smokers first try to quit, one of the most helpful things to keep the withdrawal symptoms and the nicotine cravings at bay is to substitute their source of nicotine. The authors at the Cochrane library conducted a study on this, and they found that using nicotine replacements after quitting makes a person more likely to quit for good.
However, the effect is maximized when you combine at least two different forms of nicotine replacement. It might sound expensive but remember that this is just a temporary measure to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay. You will spend much more when you keep smoking for the rest of your life.
Try using E-Cigarettes as a substitute
E-cigarettes have a controversial story behind them, but that’s because science is still trying to answer the question of whether they really have no long-term side effects. While we are not sure about its beneficial or harmful effects for people who have never smoked a cigarette stick in their lives, one thing that we can be fairly certain of is that it is helpful for smokers to get during the first few months to get them to quit for good.
It can also be helpful for those of you who have oral fixations and just need the physical sensation offered by cigarettes.
Find time for physical activities
Doctors keep recommending regular exercise for a slew of benefits it gives you, but did you know that exercise also helps with reducing the intensity of withdrawal symptoms?
That’s exactly what the researchers at St. George’s University of London found out when they realized that exercise targeted the same receptor in the brain that nicotine does.
This is not just limited to cardiovascular exercise like running, jogging, and jump ropes. Resistance training like weightlifting has also been shown to be beneficial for those who quit smoking, according to researchers from The Miriam Hospital’s Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine.
So get your heart rate going and work towards a better body and healthier lungs!
Explore the idea of induced hypnosis
Among the multitude of methods that have been studied in terms of effectiveness for quitting, hypnosis has been shown to the most effective way. Researchers from the University of Iowa conducted a comparative study of different ways to quit and found that those who used hypnosis had an average success rate of 30%, while all other methods had an average success rate of only 19%.
Hypnosis involves getting into a state of deep relaxation while listening to suggestive tracks or music. There are plenty of ways to try this method, and one of the most accessible ways is to do it through an app, like Quit.
Quit is designed to help smokers quit by using suggestive hypnosis audios. The program is custom-made, and it includes a tracker to show the user the time since they quit and how many cigarettes they have not smoked. It also includes a tracker for money saved, so it can be helpful for those who like to have positive reinforcement to stay motivated throughout their journey.
Frequently Asked Questions about Quitting Smoking
Why is it so hard to quit smoking?
If you have smoker friends, chances are, they have tried to quit at least once or twice in their lives. The fact that they still smoke now means that all their attempts so far have failed.
The thing with smoking is that everyone wants to quit, but very few have done so successfully. That is because of nicotine, a chemical that is inherently addictive. When you first consume nicotine (and your first time was probably through a cigarette), you might have felt a rush when the nicotine was first introduced into your body.
As you consume more, your body starts building up a resistance to nicotine, making you need more to achieve that initial effect. Eventually, you will be consuming nicotine just to feel normal. Without it, you start to feel all kinds of side effects, and these are the withdrawal symptoms that are caused by the body’s developed addiction to nicotine.
It’s so hard to quit smoking because your body has grown to develop not just a dependence but an addiction to cigarettes—specifically, an addiction to nicotine.
What are the Benefits of Quitting?
The moment you put down your last cigarette, your body immediately starts working to purge all the chemicals from your body. In 20 minutes, your heart rate drops. In 48 hours, your senses of taste and smell come back. There is a continuous process of improvement all the way up to 15 years after smoking. The sooner you quit, the more likely it is for you to fully recover and restore your body to what it was before you started smoking.
Will Quitting Make Me Gain Weight?
No, quitting by itself will not make you gain weight. Quitters usually gain weight in the first few months because they have developed an oral fixation, which is addressed with food instead of cigarettes. As they start to acclimatize to the lack of nicotine in their body, they eventually lose the weight they gained.
If you can monitor your food intake after quitting, you can prevent or minimize weight gain, but don’t let it distract you too much.
The benefits of quitting smoking, both long- and short-term, vastly outweigh the few pounds you might gain after you quit. If you see the numbers on the scale climb up, don’t get too distraught. Just stay firm in your resolution to quit smoking for good.
The benefits of quitting smoking, both long- and short-term, vastly outweigh the few pounds you might gain after you quit. If you see the numbers on the scale climb up, don’t get too distraught. Just stay firm in your resolution to quit smoking for good. To help you successfully quit and for good, download Quit now and try suggestive hypnosis since it’s known of be one of the best and most effective ways to quit smoking.
