Reaching A Place Where You Want To Quit Smoking

In the year 2015 approximately 15 in every 100 adults in the U.S. that are 18 years of age or older smoked cigarettes. It is estimated that 36.5 million currently smoke with more than 16 million living with a smoking-related disease. Numbers have dropped in the amount of smokers from 21 in every 100 people in 2005 to 15 in every 100 in 2015. About 17% of men smoke or nearly 17 in 100. More than 13 of 100 women smoke or about 14%.

Many cigarette smokers try several times to quit smoking before they are sucessful. It takes reaching a place in your life where either you have health scares or you have a personal need to stop. Many smokers have done so for many years so getting to a place in their life where they do want to quit is a muraculous life decision to be sure.

When a smoker gets to the point where they want to quit they may not know how to proceed. One good way to begin is to discuss quiting smoking with your medical doctor. He/she can discuss the different types of products available to you. What their assets are and what help they will give you. These are medication, patches and nicotine replacement therapy. The doctor can also discuss with you the effects that smoking and addiction to nicotine have on your body and how stopping smoking will affect you. What you have to look forward to.

Smoking is a physical addiction as much as it is a psychological habit. To stop giving your body the nicotine it craves will cause your body to go through both withdrawal symptoms and some cravings. Some people find it easier to stop cold turkey while others may cut down over time. For many people smoking is a replacement for eating, anxiety, depression or boredom. It has become a daily routine. So all of this has to change. For some it takes a long time and many stops and restart ups. For others, they are ready and are able to accomplish this in a short period of time. Some find non-nicotine medications or nicotine replacement therapy that help in reducing withdrawal symptoms are helpful. Some try counseling, support groups, acupuncture, hypnosis or cognitive behavioral techniques are helpful. Each individual is different and may find help in different things.

Some questions you might want to ask yourself while in the thinking stages and setting up a plan are such things as are there certain places, activities or people that you associate with smoking? Do you reach for a cigarette when you are down or stressed? How much do you smoke and for how long? Thinking about these areas is important and setting up a plan that will help you through all these aspects. You will need to anticipate the problems and have a plan to counteract each one that may rise up. Have patches, lozenges, gum, medication or whatever you have chosen to help you along the way ready.

With all of this thought out and planned for your next step is to choose a quitting date. Take it a day at a time and pat yourself on the back for each accomplishment you make. You might keep a craving journal so you know when to expect craving by writing down the time they come up. Who were you with, how were you feeling, and the intensity of the craving.

In closing, you know it isn’t going to be easy. Some days will be better than others. With others on board to help you through this time and some determination you can reach this goal and become smoke free.