More and more people are starting to see the benefits of quitting smoking. Gone are the days when it was seen as ‘cool’ – with constant television adverts reminding us of the devastating effects that smoking can have on your health, it’s well worth joining the thousands of people that decide to quit each year.
However, this if often easier said than done. There’s no getting around the fact that quitting smoking is incredibly difficult, though it can be done if you have the desire and willpower to get through it.
So if you want to quit, here are five ways that you can you can try:
1) Go cold turkey
An extreme technique and deemed to be least effective, many people wake up and decide that they can just no longer smoke. This may especially be so if they have serious health reasons to do so. There can be strong side-effects to going ‘cold turkey’ such as fevers, sweats and such strong cravings that it can be debilitating on your life. However, for those that have very strong will-power, and are committed to not being around any smoker friends or environments for an extended period of time then this may well be the way to go.
2) Cut down gradually
More effective is cutting down slowly. If you currently smoke 20 cigarettes a day then try 10 per day for a week, five a day for the next week before cutting them out completely. Also known as the taper method, it’s recommended that you don’t dwell too long on cutting down – it shouldn’t take any longer than two to three weeks from the moment you decide to reduce your amounts. Some strong-mindedness is still required to make this technique successful.
3) Try nicotine replacements
Nicotine replacements can be combined with other methods such as cutting down – and then used solely once you have given up smoking real cigarettes. Deemed as a very successful method – items such as gum, electronic cigarettes and patches provide smokers with a smaller dose of nicotine to help reduce the cravings they may get once you have decided to reduce the number of cigarettes you have or once you decide to give up altogether.
4) Look for counselling
It’s possible to use health services which provide counselling to those who want to quit smoking or are struggling to do so. They may be able to talk you into understanding the benefits and getting into a positive mindset about giving up – or even helping you to realise how detrimental continuing to smoke could be on your health.
5) Hypnosis
If none of these methods work then you may fancy turning to a more alternative type of therapy. Although not for everyone – many don’t believe that they could be put into a hypnotic state – it has worked well for numerous people who have gone from heavy smoking habits to quitting completely following the treatment.
