What exactly are we talking about?

Smoking has become a Fad these days where every second teenager you meet is smoking. Not only men, but adolescent women smokers have drastically increased in the past 5 years. Such a situation may be alarming. Maybe it is an outcome of the Peer Pressure, and outcome to match the demands of the environment around oneself or just an excuse to be a part of the Norm. It is only after the damage has been done that the people realize what harm they are doing to themselves just for the sake of faulty belief system and being in sync with the Group Norms. Once a person starts to smoke it becomes very difficult to quit. However, also to note that there is nothing that is not achievable. If you have the will, there is always a way. There are various products on the market which support smokers to quit smoking such as nicotex gum etc but is not sustainable. Once a person has decided to quit smoking then he/she should follow few steps to quit smoking.

PLANNING FOR SMOKING CESSATION

Planning would help the smoker to attain positive direction to remain focused and motivated to quit smoking. There are various guidelines and various guide apps that supports to quit smoking. If one is focused on one particular plan than he/she should make sure to follow the plan carefully and seriously.

DIVERSION OF MIND BY KEEPING ONESELF BUSY

Being busy helps the individual to divert his/her mind from smoking and also lessens the cravings for cigarettes. One can keep himself busy through regular exercise regimes, by chewing nicotex gums, drinking lots of water in a day, deep breathing exercises are very beneficial, going to walk or dining in smoke-free restaurants.

AVOID THINGS THAT TRIGGER SMOKING CRAVINGS

Ignore or avoid people, places, friends who trigger smoking.

Try to visit those places where smoking is not allowed.

Try to modify the regular routine to have the healthier lifestyle.

Never keep cigarettes, trays at your home or workplace.

HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE ABOUT QUITTING SMOKING

Attitude of quitting smoking for forever could help quitting in a better way.Try to reward yourself for not smoking.

CALL FOR HELP IF REQUIRED

It becomes quite difficult to quit smoking so ask your family, friends, to support you in a positive way.

WHY DO PEOPLE SMOKE?

People tend to smoke to get relief from stress, pleasure, or due to social peer pressure. People tend to get addicted to nicotine present in cigarettes which causes nicotine dependency affecting all parts of the body including the brain.Nicotine releases adrenaline which causes the rush of energy in people who smoke so they feel relaxed and happy. People who are in a habit of smoking tend to have the high tolerance to nicotine so they have more and more cigarettes to maintain that level.

Many people smoke due to their emotions; in order to cope with any trauma. They develop the habit of smoking to subside negative thoughts and moods.

Some people make smoking their habit. Whenever they want to relax they just have a cigarette so smoking becomes the part of routine or pattern.

WHY STOP/QUIT SMOKING?

One should have a good reason to quit smoking as whenever the person tries to quit, a strong craving hits him which can make him deviate from his focus.One should make an exhaustive list of reasons and whenever the craving hits one should read those reasons to remain on track.

REASONS?

Chances of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, strokes are less if I don’t smoke.

Coughing will be less and my lungs condition will improve.

My face appearance will improve.

The money will be saved.

My food will be tastier.

My smell sensation will improve.

I will feel better and healthier.

I will live longer.

I will save my family from passive smoking.

I save myself from co-infections.

It may hasten menopause.

It affects my quality of life.

It can damage me internally.

HEALTH ISSUES THAT IMPROVE AFTER QUITTING SMOKING- “WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU QUIT SMOKING”

After quitting smoking one can have better smell and taste sensations. A person who smokes does not have the full taste of food because smoking has the tendency to damage the taste buds of a person. Smoking also causes damage to the lining of a nose which damages smell sensation.These sensations tend to improve after quitting smoking.

Person’s energy levels increases after quitting smoking as cigarettes contain carbon monoxide which impairs RBC’s that carry oxygen throughout the body. Smoking causes the shortage of oxygen in the body. The person looks much better in appearance after quitting smoking as it increases blood flow throughout the body and reduces wrinkles/fine lines from the face. Persons face looking much brighter and full of glow.

Stomach ulcers, GERD symptoms increase when the person smokes. Quitting it can make the individual feel better and healthier as it reduces heartburn and other symptoms related to stomach. Smoking effects on the heart are reduced. Quitting smoking reduces heart diseases as it improves oxygen flow and reduces chest pain etc.

SYMPTOMS AFTER QUITTING SMOKING

After quitting smoking individual suffers from withdrawal and craving symptoms. Stress level also increases so in order to conquer these ones should find various ways to distract his/her mind. Follow proper routine and diet to maintain weight as many people gain weight after quitting smoking due to metabolic changes.

After quitting smoking person feels comfortable after 8–12 weeks of quitting. Nicotinic dependency causes these withdrawal symptoms.

Always keep in mind that you are quitting smoking for your own benefit.

Always keep a reminder for yourself that this is the reason to quit smoking.

The person feels both physical as well as mental symptoms such as tingling in hands and feet, sweating, headaches, confusion, vagueness, irritability, anxiety etc. These tend to improve as recovery phase is over.

TRANS THEORETICAL MODEL FOR QUITTING SMOKING- HOW TO STOP SMOKING

This model is used to bring intentional behaviour change in smokers. This is the best way to quit smoking.

STAGE1- PRECONTEMPLATION (NOT READY)

Here at this stage smokers are demotivated to quit smoking due to various failures. They are not ready to quit smoking.

STAGE2- CONTEMPLATION (GETTING READY)

In this stage the smoker is very much aware of the consequences of smoking on his/her health. He/ She is very much aware that smoking is injurious to health. He starts making up his mind to bring a change in future.

STAGE3- PREPARATION

Now it’s time to prepare for quitting smoking. In this stage person has an action plan, such as regular exercising, meeting a counsellor or a self-change behavioural approach.

STAGE4- ACTION

In this stage smokers tend to quit smoking practically through various ways.Once the person had tried to reduce the number of cigarettes or switching to very low nicotinic cigarettes — are the considerable actions undertaken to quit cigarette smoking.

STAGE5- MAINTENANCE

In this stage person has achieved the objective and tries to prevent relapse of smoking. People in this stage are very much confident about the maintenance of change in their lifestyle.Maintenance lasts from 6 months to 5 years.

CONCLUSION

It is not easy to quit smoking in one go because there are various physical, emotional and mental withdrawal symptoms that person has when he tries to quit smoking that makes difficult for the individual to quit smoking. One should have the good willpower to quit it.Awareness about pros and cons of smoking are of utmost importance. One should be motivated and confident enough to bring a change in his/her lifestyle as well as behaviour to remain healthy.

REFERENCES

www.smokefree.gov,Steps to manage quit day.

www.netdoctor.co.uk,7 surprising health problems that get better when you quit smoking.

www.quitnow.ca,Cravings and withdrawal.

www.quitsmokingsupport.com.

www.prochange.com,The Transtheoritical model.

www.smokefree.gov,Reasons people smoke.