Hello my dear readers! Oh, how many packs of cigarettes have been smoked by smokers, on whose boxes we read: "The Ministry of Health warns: smoking is dangerous to health! " So what? How many smokers have paid attention to this inscription? Maybe someone did. But have you stopped smoking? Hardly! But how to quit smoking on your own, once and for all, is a question asked by many, as other methods do not help them. And can you stop altogether? This is what will be discussed today.
How smoking affects health
70% of smokers dream of giving up this bad habit, 80% have tried several times, but have not been able to quit. According to statistics, more than 200, 000 people die every year from diseases caused by smoking.
Smoking statistics say that 96-100% of smokers suffer from lung cancer, because tobacco smoke contains substances that cause mutations in the p53 gene; 75% suffer from chronic bronchitis and nearly 25% suffer from heart disease. Unfortunately, mortality from this addiction is growing more and more every year. For example, before 26% of regular cigarette smokers die each year from smoking. Many of them could have extended their life by 20 years if they quit smoking 5 years ago.
Which systems and organs are affected by smoking?
- Respiratory system: cancer of the lungs, tongue and upper respiratory tract, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive bronchitis;
- Cardiovascular system: ischemic heart disease, angina pectoris and myocardial infarction, obliterating endartaritis and atherosclerosis of the vessels of the lower limbs;
- Gastrointestinal tract: gastric ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer, gastritis;
- Central and peripheral nervous system: neurosis, headache, memory impairment, neuritis, polyneuritis, radiculitis, a smoker with many years of experience becomes irritable and quarrelsome;
- Sight - visual acuity decreases, color perception changes, the likelihood of developing glaucoma increases;
- Hearing: hearing acuity gradually decreases due to changes in the eardrum, the mobility of the auditory ossicles decreases;
- Taste: the taste diminishes and is distorted;
- Odor: bad sense of smell;
- Fertility decreases in women, men are more prone to impotence.
Dear smokers, have you ever thought about the harm that passive smoking does to the people around you? It is especially dangerous for pregnant women. And a disease like COPD can be fatal.
Addiction to smoking
The pharmaceutical industry offers many different types of patches, chewing gum and other products. But even this will not be enough, if this problem is not understood "at the root". There are 2 types of nicotine addiction: physical and psychological.
Physical addiction is the body's need for the next dose of nicotine. Very often, stress, irritation, bad mood, fatigue "attack" with a cigarette. The fact is that the action of nicotine causes the adrenal glands to secrete the stress hormone - adrenaline and norepinephrine. These hormones, to some extent, have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, forcing the heart rate to rise, raise blood pressure and improve the smoker's mood.
Psychological addiction is considered more complex. Even if you realized that you managed to cope with physical addiction and got over yourself without smoking another cigarette, then with the subsequent stress or being in the company of the same smokers, it will be much more difficult for you to overcome the irresistible urgeto smoke a cigarette.
How to quit smoking cravings
To overcome cravings, of course, you need strong motivation and your strong desire. I'll give you a comment on my article "Are Pregnancy and Smoking Compatible? "
I will tell you from my experience that you can quit smoking, if you have this desire yourself, take it and quit, like with alcohol, no coding and treatment will help you, only yourself and willpower. I've tried everything, just a waste of time and money, all these different coding and methods, this is just self-deception and yes, self-deception can have a result too.
And I'll tell you what you tell me about motivation using my husband's example. He smoked a lot with me, and it happened when he smoked almost 2 packs of cigarettes a day. In the shop where he worked he relieved the stress of work with a cigarette, in the forest while he was hunting or fishing he saved himself from mosquitoes with cigarette smoke. In general, I have smoked before a disease such as obliterating endarteritis. What kind of disease it is, I wrote about it in detail in this article. Smokers read, don't be lazy.
The main cause of this disease is smoking and gangrene is a formidable complication. When I told my husband that if you don't stop smoking then you will have to move on bumps in the forest on crutches. Will you be comfortable walking in the forest like that? And it simply cannot live without a forest. This was a strong motivation for him. He quit smoking, he hasn't smoked for a year and a half.
How to quit smoking quickly and easily? What can be done?
It is easier to overcome physical addiction. This can be overcome with the help of medicines: valerian tinctures, motherwort or other sedatives. Aromatherapy with bergamot, geranium, orange, basil oil discourages the urge to smoke.
Psychological cravings are much more difficult to overcome, but you can fool them by replacing regular cigarettes with others.
- Electronic cigarettes - create the illusion of smoking a regular cigarette, but such cigarettes do not contain dangerous compounds: benzopyrene, ammonia, various resins and arsenic compounds. The functioning of electronic cigarettes resembles a conventional inhaler, in which the cartridges change from weak to heavy in terms of the amount of nicotine content. In this case, you can gradually reduce the nicotine dose, thereby reducing the craving for nicotine.
Acupuncture, hypnosis and coding can help you quit smoking. But you must admit that if you have a strong motivation for it, then it is quite possible to quit smoking on your own and at home. Try these methods first.
What else will help you quit smoking?
How to quit smoking alone if there is no willpower? Of course, the example of others is important. Maybe there are people in your environment who also want to get rid of this bad habit. So why don't you join in this noble cause? Here are some tips to help you:
- Tell your loved ones about your intention, they will certainly support you in this matter.
- Give up on fellow cigarettes: coffee and alcohol.
- Food on days off should be light, include only plant-based foods.
- You can quit smoking immediately, but this is more difficult, but more effective and more accurate. To get through this phase more easily, you can reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke each day.
- Drink a glass of water on an empty stomach in the morning. During the day, try to drink as much water as possible, it not only distracts from thoughts of smoking, but also allows you to better remove harmful substances from the body.
- Sunflower seeds or lollipops can be a distraction.
- Move the ashtray, cigarettes and lighter out of sight.
- More outdoor activities, physical activity, hobbies.
- To the invitation to smoke, respond with a categorical refusal.
- Join a non-smoking company. Avoid situations where you have always smoked: do not go to the smoking room with colleagues, do not visit places where there are many smokers, at a bus stop move further away from people with a cigarette, remove the ashtray and cigarettes from the computer.
How to quit smoking on your own - folk ways
Popular methods tested by many people will help you get rid of nicotine addiction. Reviews of former smokers speak of their effectiveness.
Tea with St. John's wort. Put 3-4 stalks of St. John's wort in a boiling kettle, let it brew during the day instead of tea.
Plant leaves. Mix about 1 tablespoon each. fresh chopped leaves of horseradish and plantain. Chew this mixture 2-3 times a day for 5 minutes, swallow the juice and spit out the remaining leaves.
Filling cigarettes. This is the old way, when clipped nails, shrimp shells, etc. were added to the tobacco. The fillers need to be dried, ground in a coffee grinder and added to the tobacco in cigarettes. Smoking such a mixture completely weaned you from smoking throughout your life, as it caused severe headaches, nausea and vomiting.
Rinse before smoking. If there is an intolerable desire to smoke, rinse your mouth with a solution of baking soda or sea salt - you need to dilute 1 tablespoon in a glass of water. soda or sea salt.
Lemon juice. Lemon juice can create an aversion to tobacco, the sour taste of which will help distract from the thought of smoking. To do this, squeeze the juice of one lemon and dilute it in a glass of water.
Herbal decoction for internal use. Take 100 grams of dried dandelion and plantain leaves, pour 1 liter of milk and simmer for half an hour over low heat, then cool and strain. It should take 1 tbsp. after the meal. Such a decoction will help with the discharge of phlegm.
Smoking a pipe. But instead of the tobacco filling, fill the pipe with an herbal filling made up of equal parts of European mammoth, clavate leopard, and cranberry leaves. Smoke this pipe 2 times a day. Then drink 2 glasses of mineral water.
Conclusion
It is important to be without cigarettes for a week, then it will be easier for you. And it also counts. how much money do you spend on buying cigarettes. The figure, I believe, will impress you. This money can be spent on vacation or on the right thing.
Maybe some of you, dear readers, have faced the same problem and you have experience on how to quit smoking on your own, help smokers and share with your readers, maybe your advice will help them.