Source: www.nps.org.au
Preface
This article is a basic introduction to assist you when you are planning to quit or have decided to quit for good.
Introduction
You have done well to yourself by deciding to quit. In order to succeed, you need to prepare yourself and be consistent with your decision to quit.
- Lists the reason why you want to quit
- Get someone reliable to help and support you.
What do you need to quit?
- Make a plan.
- Adopt a healthier lifestyle, which includes eating right, exercising, managing stress and getting support from family and friends
Developing your quit plan
There are a few things you need to consider when you develop your quit plan
- What type of program is best for you? A self-help plan or a group support program?
- What method of quitting is best for you? Cold turkey or slowly weaning off nicotine and cigarettes?
- Do you want to use medications to boost your efforts?
Cold Turkey Method
- Experts have found that the most popular method of quitting is cold turkey.
- However just throwing your cigarettes away on a whim rarely works for more than a day or two.
- Planning a quit date and then quitting usually works. But you have to be consistent with your decision.
Preparing yourself for the quit day
- Ask yourself what is the toughest cigarette to go without?
- First cigarette of the day, with coffee, after dinner, during break and so on.
- Make the decision to NEVER smoke during these times!
- Make a true commitment and stick to it!
Keep to your target
- Be consistent
- Do not ever smoke during these times!
- Do something else instead and drink sips of water to keep yourself busy
- Once you gain control over this worst time to give up a cigarette, you have accomplished a lot!
- Set a quit date to completely stop—you can do it!
Quit
- Anticipate temptations.
- Develop a plan to avoid these temptations, find things to do to help keep your mind off smoking.
Common ways to quit
Cut down and then stop approach
- Targets smokers who want to stop but not yet ready or unable to stop abruptly.
- A first step to help increase confidence, motivation and compliance to stop completely.
- Cutting down gradually may reduce withdrawal symptoms when cessation is attempted.
- This may help achieve the ultimate goal of complete smoking cessation after reduction
For those who want to quit smoking but not ready or unable to stop abruptly, an effective, safe and convenient approach to cut down smoking might lead to a higher chance for successful quitting.
Who should consider medication to quit?
- Those who have tried several times without success
- Smokes one pack per day or more
- Bothered by cravings and withdrawals for nicotine
Withdrawal symptoms
- Anger, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia, and restlessness are valid withdrawal symptoms that peak within the first week and last 2–4 weeks. Knowing this in advance will help you cope better.
- Within the first 24 hours, you may experience a change in pulse rate and body temperature and you may feel uneasy.
- However, after approximately 10 days to 2 weeks, the body has overcome the major physical aspects of quitting .After this; it will become easier for you to cope with the psychological aspect needed to recover.
- Below are some changes to your body that can motivate you to sustain quit:
- After 5 days : Most nicotine out from your body
- After one week –two weeks : You will have better sense of taste and smell
- After three months : You will notice improvement in breathing by 30%
- After one year: You will feel a lot healthier.
How did former smokers actually quit?
According to the American Cancer Society report, 2003:
- Those using drug therapies and counselling had a 6.8% quitting rate while those using other methods 2.1%.
- Approximately 90% of the people who are successfully classified as former smokers quit cold turkey.
- It is generally accepted that cutting down techniques had an extremely limited impact (1.4%) upon the overall number.
- Assisted quit has better success rate than non- assisted quit.
Learning from failures
Most people who have quit smoking were unsuccessful at least once in the past. Try not to view past attempts to quit as failures. See them as learning experiences. Expect relapses when you try to quit. On the average one need to undergo 6-7 cycles before final success.
“Quit smoking for a healthier you. Every cigarette you don’t smoke is doing you good.”
Dr. Lydia Mason is a Public Health Specialist (Oral Health) attached with the Ministry of Health, Selangor. She is a collaborative member of the National Addiction Research Collaborating Centre and the project leader for the school based Smoking Intervention Programme conducted through the existing school dental services.
[This article belongs to The Malaysian Medical Gazette. Any republication (online or offline) without written permission from The Malaysian Medical Gazette is prohibited.]
References
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- George TP. Nicotine and tobacco. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds.Cecil Medicine. 24th ed.Philadelphia,PA: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 31.“Guide to quitting smoking”. American Cancer Society. 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2011-02-15.“Guide to quitting smoking. A word about quitting success rates”. American Cancer Society. 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- Grimshaw GM, Stanton A (2006). “Tobacco cessation interventions for young people”. In Grimshaw, Gill. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4): CD003289.
- Hays JT, Ebbert JO, Sood A. Treating tobacco dependence in light of the 2008 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services clinical practice guideline. Mayo Clin Proc. 2009;84:730-735.
- Fiore MC, Jaén CR, Baker TB, et al (2008). Clinical practice guideline: treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
- Jason Wright (2013). Knowing How To Quit Smoking. Lincoln, England: CreateSpace.com. ISBN 1-4942-3845-4.