Hello my dear readers! Oh, how many packs of cigarettes have been smoked by smokers whose boxes read: “The Ministry of Health warns - smoking is harmful! ” So what? How many smokers paid attention to this inscription? Maybe someone did. But did he stop smoking? Barely! But how to quit smoking once and for all is a question that many ask as other methods do not help them. And can you even stop? This is being discussed today.
How smoking affects health
70% of smokers dream of giving up this bad habit, 80% of them have tried repeatedly but could not stop. According to statistics, more than 200, 000 people die each year from diseases caused by smoking.
According to smoking statistics, 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 almost 25% from heart disease. Unfortunately, mortality from this addiction is increasing every year. For example, every year more than 26% of normal cigarette smokers die as a result of smoking. Many of them could have added 20 years to their lives 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, obliteration of endartaritis and atherosclerosis of the vessels of the lower extremities;
- gastrointestinal tract: gastric ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer, gastritis;
- Central and peripheral nervous system: neuroses, headaches, memory disorders, neuritis, polyneuritis, radiculitis, smokers with years of experience become irritable and quarrelsome;
- Eyesight: Visual acuity decreases, color perception changes, and the likelihood of developing glaucoma increases.
- Hearing: due to changes in the eardrum, hearing sharpness gradually decreases, the mobility of the ossicles decreases.
- Taste: The taste decreases and becomes distorted.
- Smell: poor sense of smell;
- Fertility decreases in women, men are more prone to impotence.
Dear smokers, have you ever thought about the harm that secondhand smoke does to the people around you? It is especially dangerous for pregnant women. And a disease like COPD can be fatal.
Smoke addiction
The pharmaceutical industry offers many different types of patches, chewing gum and other products. But even this will not be enough if you do not understand the problem "at the root". There are two types of nicotine addiction: physical and psychological.
Physical dependence is the body's need for the next nicotine dose. Most of the time stress, irritation, bad mood and tiredness "grab" a cigarette. The fact is that the effects of nicotine cause the adrenal glands to secrete the stress hormones - adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system to some extent, forcing the heart rate to increase, increasing blood pressure and improving the smoker's mood.
Psychological addiction is viewed as more complex. Even if you find that you have managed to cope with physical addiction and have overcome yourself without smoking another cigarette, the next time you are stressed or in the company of the same smokers, it will be much more difficult for you to settle into overcome irresistible urge to smoke a cigarette.
How to stop smoking
Of course, to overcome cravings, you need strong motivation and cravings. I will give you a comment on my article "Can Pregnancy and Smoking be Compatible? ".
I am going to tell you from personal experience that if you have that desire yourself, have taken it and given it up, just like with alcohol, no coding and treatment will help you, only yourselfand willpower. I've tried everything, just a waste of time and money, all these codings and different methods, that's just self-deception and yes, self-deception can lead to a result too.
And I'll tell you what motivation is using my husband's example. He smoked a lot with me and it happened when he was smoking almost two packs of cigarettes a day. In the workshop where he worked, he relieved the stress of work with a cigarette, and saved himself from mosquitoes with cigarette smoke while hunting or fishing in the forest. In general, I smoked before a disease like endarteritis eradication. I have described in detail in this article what kind of disease it is. Read smokers, 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 quit smoking, you will have to walk on bumps in the forest on crutches. Will it be pleasant for you to walk through the forest like this? And he simply cannot live without the forest. This was a strong motivation for him. Quit smoking, haven't smoked for a year and a half.
How can I stop smoking quickly and easily? What can be done
It is easier to overcome physical addiction. This can be overcome with the help of drugs: tinctures of valerian, feverfew or other sedatives. Aromatherapy with bergamot, geranium, orange, basil oil discourages the desire to smoke.
Psychological food cravings are much more difficult to overcome, but you can fool them by replacing regular cigarettes with others.
- Electronic cigarettes - they create the illusion of smoking a normal cigarette, but such cigarettes do not contain dangerous compounds: benzopyrene, ammonia, various resins and arsenic compounds. The work of electronic cigarettes is similar to a normal inhaler in which the cartridges change from weak to heavy in terms of nicotine content. In this case, you can gradually reduce the nicotine dose, thereby reducing nicotine cravings.
Acupuncture, hypnosis, and coding can help quit smoking. But you have to admit that quitting smoking alone and at home is entirely possible if you have strong motivation to do so. Try these methods first.
What else will help you to quit smoking?
How can you stop smoking on your own when there is no willpower? Of course, the example of others is important. Perhaps there are people around you who want to get rid of this bad habit too. Why don't you unite in this noble cause? Here are some tips to help you:
- Tell your loved ones about your intention, they will definitely support you in this matter.
- Give up the companions of cigarettes - coffee and alcohol.
- Food on rest days should be light and contain only plant-based foods.
- You can give up cigarettes right away, but it is more difficult, but more effective and accurate. To make this phase easier, you can reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke each day.
- Drink a glass of water in the morning on an empty stomach. Try to drink as much water as you can during the day. This not only distracts from smoking, but also allows you to better remove harmful substances from the body.
- Sunflower seeds or lollipops can be distracting.
- Move the ashtray, cigarettes and lighter out of sight.
- More outdoors, exercise, hobbies.
- Respond to the invitation to smoke with a categorical refusal.
- Join a non-smoking company. Avoid situations that you have always smoked in: do not go into the smoking room with colleagues, do not visit places where there are many smokers, move further away from people with a cigarette at a bus stop, remove the ashtrayand the cigarettes from the computer.
How you can quit smoking yourself - the folk way
Folk methods tested by many people will help you get rid of nicotine addiction. Reviews from ex-smokers speak of their effectiveness.
St. John's wort tea. Put 3-4 stalks of St. John's wort in a boiling kettle and brew instead of tea during the day.
plant leaves. Mix about 1 tablespoon at a time. chopped fresh 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, crabs, etc. were added to tobacco. The fillers should be dried, ground in a coffee grinder, and added to the tobacco in cigarettes. Smoking such a mixture prevented you from smoking for life as it caused severe headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
Rinse before smoking. If you want to smoke unbearably, 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 induce an aversion to tobacco, the sour taste of which detracts from the thought of smoking. To do this, squeeze out the juice of one lemon and dilute it in a glass of water.
Herbal boil for internal use. Take 100 grams of dried dandelion and plantain leaves, pour 1 liter of milk and simmer on low heat for half an hour, then cool and strain. Should take 1 tbsp. after eating. Such a decoction will help in the release of mucus.
pipe smoking. But instead of the tobacco filling, fill the pipe with a herbal filling made up of equal parts European Clefthoof, Clavate Leopard, and cranberry leaves. Smoke this pipe 2 times a day. Then drink 2 glasses of mineral water.
Conclusion
It is important to go without cigarettes for a week, then you will feel better. And count too. how much money you will spend on buying cigarettes. I think the figure will impress you. This money can be spent on vacation or on what is right.
Perhaps some of you, dear readers, have had the same problem and you have experience of how to quit smoking yourself, how to help smokers and how to share it with your readers. Maybe your advice will help you.