subject: Your Guide To Quitting Smoking And Improving Your Health [print this page] You may be reading this article on your smartphone while standing outside in difficult weather and smoking a cigarette. By all means, you are probably tired of being treated like a pariah. If you have the initiative to quit smoking, this article can help you start your path on the right foot.
Talk to your doctor about prescription medicines. If you want to ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms, consider prescription medications. There are certain medications that affect the chemical balance in your brain and can help reduce cravings. There are also drugs that can reduce bothersome withdrawal symptoms, like inability to concentrate or depression.
Do not neglect to look at alternate methods to stop smoking, including natural remedies. Acupuncture is not proven scientifically, but many have benefited from this method. It is typically applied to areas around your ears. Make sure that you choose a practitioner who is certified by the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture.
Don't expect yourself to be perfect about quitting. It's hard to stop smoking, and most people have intense cravings from time to time while they are quitting or even backslide once or twice. Don't beat yourself up if you give into temptation. Just get back on track as soon as possible and keep working on quitting.
Keep mints or hard candies in your desk drawer to help you overcome cravings while at work. Smokers get used to having something in their mouths, so sometimes this type of candy can help satisfy your cravings. You can also chew gum to help reduce cravings if your workplace allows you to do so.
To aid in smoking cessation, remove yourself from your circle of friends who smoke. Don't worry; this is just a temporary measure, but you really do need to do this. Constant exposure to cigarette smoke, plus the social aspect of smoking together, will automatically squash your hopes for success.
Try replacement therapy to quit smoking. Pick an activity as simple as chewing gum, drinking tea, or eating a piece of candy. Every time you get a craving, or at times when you would normally go out and have a smoke, take part in your new activity instead. If you keep it up long enough, you could replace the pattern in your head.
Before beginning to quit, talk with your doctor about your intentions. Your doctor can advise you on the best methods to quit, and if need be, can provide you with prescription drugs to aid your quitting. Also, your doctor can be an important sounding board throughout your entire quitting experience.
If you are in the process of quitting smoking and you feel an urge coming on, go for a walk. When you walk, the body releases endorphins, a chemical your body uses to help fight the urges. Also, going for a walk will take your mind off of the urge.
To avoid unnecessary discouragement, tell everyone in your life that you are quitting smoking. This will prepare those closest to you for the mood swings that often accompany nicotine withdrawal. This will also alert other smokers that you do not want or need the temptation of them offering you a cigarette.
Abstain from alcohol when you first quit smoking. Many people associate smoking and drinking, so the temptation to smoke will be higher if you drink. If you don't want to stop drinking altogether, limit yourself to drinking in restaurants or bars so that you'll have to go outside if you want to smoke. You might decide it's not worth the effort if you have to leave the table to smoke.
If you want to quit smoking, don't do it. Quitting smoking are two words that imply losing something, making it a grieving process. Instead, psychologically embrace tobacco freedom. Don't think about how you would make anyone else happy, but what would make you happy if you were free from cigarettes. What could you do with that money and time?
Hopefully you feel a bit more optimistic about getting either yourself or someone you know to quit smoking after reading through this article. Quitting smoking can be done and shouldn't be thought of something that is impossible to do, so use everything that you can from this article to tackle smoking and take it out of your life.
