No matter how difficult it sounds, kicking the smoking habit is one of the best choices you can make for your health and well-being. If you’re ready to take that step towards a smoke-free life, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll tell you how to quit smoking through the top ten healthy ways.
These ways will not only improve your health but also support you in breaking free from the grip of tobacco addiction.
Healthy Ways To Quit Smoking
1. Try Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Nicotine Replacement Therapy is a treatment that helps people to stop smoking. The therapy uses products with low doses of nicotine. Replacement therapy’s goal is to cut down on nicotine cravings and ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms. There are options available in the therapy, such as:
- Nicotine in a nasal spray or inhaler.
- You can buy Nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges without a prescription.
- Non-nicotine stop-smoking drugs like bupropion (Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL, others) and varenicline.
2. Chew Something To Distract Yourself
To stop yourself from smoking, give your mouth something to do, like chewing on nicotine gums, chewing gums, candies, or sugar-free options like raw carrots, sunflower seeds, and nuts. These are crunchy yet healthy.
3. Delay The Need To Smoke
If you are craving to smoke, force yourself to wait ten minutes, move around and do something to distract yourself. Keep your hands busy by typing, drawing, and doodling and try to move away from the smoking area in your office. As you begin delaying giving in to your cravings, you will gradually not feel the need to smoke.
4. Identify The Triggers To Smoke
When you decide to quit smoking, you should find out what triggers your need to smoke. Tobacco urges are prevalent in places where you have smoked or eaten tobacco. Craving can appear in pubs or bars or when you sip your coffee. Find out what triggers your need to smoke and plan to avoid such places. If you smoke when you talk on the phone, have a pen or pencil the next time you are on the phone to distract yourself by doodling or writing something.
5. Quit ‘Just One’ Cigarette Habit
When you feel stressed, you might feel the urge to have that one cigarette to relax you. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that you would be satisfied with that one cigarette. Often, one leads to a few more cigarettes.
6. Do Some Physical Activities
Doing physical activities relaxes you and helps you get rid of stress as well. If you feel the urge to smoke, go out for a walk alone or with your pet. You can also write something in your diary, hum a song, dance to a particular song or do anything that distracts you from the urge to smoke. Even doing simple physical activities like jogging, walking, and running, helps in making the craving go away.
7. Call Your Loved Ones
Even after you have done some physical activity, you get the urge to smoke and connect with family members, friends, and your support groups. You can chat on the phone, go for a walk with your friends, share a few laughs, or meet your friends and talk to each other.
8. Try Different Relaxation Techniques To Avoid Smoking
Smoking is a way to deal with your everyday stress. Instead of giving in to the urge to smoke, try relaxing exercises like yoga, meditation, muscle relaxation, massaging or listening to calm music. Guided imagery is another way to control your craving. You need to visualise yourself in a calming and serene place to let go of the stress. Aromatherapy helps alleviate your stress mood and reduces the urge to smoke.
9. Search For Online Support Groups
Even after trying all the ways to quit smoking, if you still get cravings, it’s better to look for online support groups. These support groups have people who can share their experiences and tips on how they quit smoking and how they manage the withdrawal symptoms. Seeing other people quit smoking and being successful can work as a motivation factor for you to quit smoking.
10. Remember Why You Want To Quit Smoking
When you decide to quit smoking, say it out loud or write down the benefits of quitting smoking. Maintain a diary to record your progress and remember why you want to quit smoking. These reasons include your need to get healthy and feel better, save your family from second-hand smoke and save your hard-earned money.
