At this point, everybody understands the health risks that come from smoking. Many people see their lives shortened considerably because they smoke cigarettes. This is why it is so important to quit smoking. Your health really depends on it.
The problem is that quitting is so difficult. Many people try and are unsuccessful as they end up reverting back to their old habits and picking up a pack of cigarettes again. This leads to a lifelong struggle to quit. Since it is so important, you have to understand the ways to quit and find one that works for you. Everybody’s different so the methods will work for certain people and not others. In this article, we will go over some of the best methods to help you quit smoking for good.
1 – Vaping
Vaping is quickly becoming the preferred method to be able to quit smoking. Most ex-smokers who take up vaping instead report that they haven’t smoked a cigarette after one year of vaping.
The primary reason is that using a vaporizer is very similar to smoking. It can look and feel just like using a cigarette. Since addiction is also about habits, it helps to do something that mimics the act that you are trying to quit so it doesn’t feel like you’ve quit.
The feel of many of them in the hand is similar to what it feels like to hold a cigarette. Many of them feature technology to make the draw feel similar to taking a puff off of a cigarette to fulfill the sensation.
There is also the fact that many vape juices have large amounts of nicotine. Since nicotine is the primary addictive compound, you are simply swapping one nicotine delivery device for another. The benefit is that there are none of the other harmful compounds that come from smoking lit tobacco.
There haven’t been enough long-term studies to show if vaping is not harmful. However, it certainly looks as though it is far less harmful than smoking cigarettes which we know to be one of the worst things you can do for your health. For smokers to start vaping instead seems like a no-brainer as far as health goes.
2 – Avoid your typical triggers
Since addiction can be just as much about habits as it is about physical dependency, it is important to avoid triggers that will make you want to pick up a cigarette. What those triggers are will depend highly on the person. For instance, some people are triggered by the sight of somebody else smoking. This means that you will have to avoid hanging out with people that are smokers so you can avoid seeing them smoke.
Other triggers may involve situations that are stressful and that make you crave the calming effect of smoking a cigarette. If you can avoid those situations that would make you smoke then you can help avoid even wanting to smoke.
If you can’t avoid the triggers that make you want to smoke, you should set yourself up with an activity that you will do as a reflex instead of smoking. For instance, you can chew gum when you get the urge to smoke if you are at a party or see others smoking.
3 – Start a physical activity
A reaction to smoking that is a huge health benefit in itself is to replace cigarettes with working out or playing a sport. Distraction is the name of the game when it comes to reducing the need and want to smoke a cigarette. If you have a routine in which you are playing sports or going to the gym then you will start feeling better physically and have a reduced craving to smoke.
If the craving to smoke strikes you randomly during the day, you can use exercise as a way to distract yourself without having to go to the gym or play a sport. For instance, if you are at work then when the mood strikes you then you can walk up and down the stairs. The serotonin that starts to flow in the body will also keep you feeling happy and give you the same buzz that you would get from a cigarette.
When you start working out at the gym or joining a sports team you will also form a network of support. If the people around you know you are there to help you quit smoking then they will try to help you out so you can kick the habit for good.