Quitting smoking is a very difficult challenge for many. That smoker has never tried it with the wide range of possibilities that exist in the market from chewing gum, patches to acupuncture, homeopathy, and even some home and exoteric remedies. However, tobacco remains the leading cause of avoidable death in Europe. Smoking cessation therapies that include pharmacological treatments and physician assistance are becoming one of the best alternatives to quit nicotine addiction. The past May 31 was the World No Tobacco Day for those who are smokers why not give the kick-off and forget about the cigarette to gain health.
Tobacco remains the leading cause of avoidable death in Europe. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises the union of text and photography on packs as an aid to smokers when it comes to seriously considering quitting smoking more convincingly and as a prevention against the increase of this addiction among the youngest .
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Although the smoker can see it as an impossible challenge. Leaving tobacco is possible. Here are some tips to overcome the most common obstacles faced by the smoker and get rid of smoking.
Quit smoking without getting fat
Several studies show that smokers weigh less than nonsmokers, and that quitting produces an increase in weight, mainly due to the metabolic effects of nicotine. This fact may not be easily accepted by some women because weight gain in women is objective and subjectively important. Objectively, because the feminine distribution of fat causes that the weight increases are noticed more than in men (in them in the hips, in them in the waist). Subjectively, because there is a significant distortion in the perception of ideal weight and most women with a body mass index (BMI) of 22-23 have the feeling that they should weigh less.
Nevertheless, recent studies show that the weight gain that occurs when quitting smoking is moderate and transient in most cases and in no way can constitute a barrier to quitting.
The increase of weight when leaving the tobacco can take place for diverse reasons, between which they emphasize:
- Loss of nicotine effects.
- Increase in caloric intake (especially sweets) to replace the routine behavior that is generated in the smoker.
- Decrease in energy expenditure.
- It is true that nicotine decreases appetite and increases the rate of metabolism at rest, but the effect that the abandonment of smoking has on weight is, many times, less drastic than fears most women smokers.
Thus, most people who stop smoking can gain between 2 and 3 kg of weight and only one in four could gain between 4 and 9 kilos.
In any case, this weight gain is much less serious than continuing to smoke and has a better solution, since the extra kilos can easily be lost once the anxiety has disappeared and the dependence on nicotine has been overcome.
As Dr. Isabel Nerín affirms, "the possible increase in weight due to smoking cessation is not obligatory, in fact there is a percentage of people who, when quitting smoking, also incorporate healthy habits such as exercise or a diet richer in vegetables, and as a result of all these changes, they thin out. "
Smoking is not the safest way to lose weight, in the same way that no one would recommend a slimming product that could increase the risk of suffering ten different types of cancer.
Tips that could help you not gain weight:
- Drink about two liters of water a day.
- Take fruit fasting.
- Daily exercise.
- Do not increase your calorie intake.
- Reassure yourself without smoking. Stop smoking without stress
One of the main psychological barriers to quitting smoking is the fear of the smoker to the anxiety that can cause his process of detoxification. And not without reason. The withdrawal syndrome appears due to both the nicotine addiction of the smoker, and their psychological-behavioral dependence on smoking. This translates into anxiety, nervousness, sleep disorders ... However, this obstacle is surmountable if you have the right tools. As Dr. Isabel Nerín says, "when you quit smoking without treatment, you can have a withdrawal syndrome due to the absence of nicotine, characterized by symptoms such as anxiety, irritability or sleep disturbances. To a large extent this withdrawal syndrome and now you can quit smoking without climbing the walls. "
What can be done to get rid of cigarettes?
To begin with, we must break the myth that tobacco reassures. That assertion is false, since it can even encourage the degree of anxiety when it begins to manifest because of a nervous state. On the one hand, the smoker has learned to calm down with tobacco and that tranquility is nothing more than the action of tobacco itself, which disappears as soon as nicotine levels fall. So any non-smoker is more relaxed than a smoker, who also, the addiction to nicotine creates withdrawal syndrome.
Quitting smoking requires a lot of effort on the part of the smoker, but the smoker is not alone: the role of the doctor is paramount when it comes to providing correct information, offering the appropriate medical treatment and continuous monitoring in the patient's process of detoxification . Once the smoker is determined to give up his addiction, the first thing he should do is go to the doctor since he is the one who can best inform him about the therapies to follow to achieve success in his smoking cessation.
According to the Guide of the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking (CNPT) to quit smoking, there are 7 keys to cope with difficult situations:
It is about overcoming the problem, not about repressing it
- Entertain yourself with something else when you feel like smoking.
- Change your routines
- Develop some activity to reduce emotional stress.
- Plan to do something every day that you enjoy, that gives you pleasure.
- Find people who can support you. Many times, people who have already quit smoking becomes one of the main motivations for those who decide to end their addiction.
- If necessary, seek professional support.
- Know how to enjoy the improvements that the ex-smoker begins to experience, starting from the first moment he abandons tobacco.
- The key is to have the command. The first thing to remember is that the anxiety disappears and the best way to combat it is to face it. And that is achieved by making an action plan that includes alternative activities in which there is no room for cigarettes. It is important to eliminate the thought of smoking and try to keep the mind occupied with other things.
Nicotine disappears from the body in 48 hours and the physical dependence on nicotine lasts only about a week. This first week will be the hardest, so it is important to choose the right time to start quitting. Once it has been overcome, the most important step will have been taken.
Exit does not mean relapse
Parties, meals, bars ... these situations can be especially hard for ex-smokers. For many people, the weekend is the hardest time. However, there are tricks that can make partying enjoyable when you are quitting smoking:
- Turn the challenge into a campaign: tell friends that you are quitting smoking so that you do not smoke in front of you and to have more support.
- Approach walking to the place where you have stayed. If it is too far, get off one or two stops and walk a while. In this way, exercise is done.
- Always remember, in a moment of weakness, all the advantages of quitting tobacco both in the short term thinking about the well-being of the morning after the party, and in the long term knowing that each day that passes less depends on the cigar.
- Improve stress: sleep well
A restful sleep is one of the aspects of your life that can be significantly improved when you stop smoking. Improve rest hours can be achieved by trying to go to bed at the same time every night and avoiding coffee and exciting drinks before bedtime. It is advisable not to eat during the last hour before going to bed so that the digestive system does not work while you try to sleep and, above all, do not take the worries.
Fighting impulses: tricks to eliminate temptations
Brushing your teeth often: it will not only improve your oral health but it will eliminate the desire to light a cigarette.
Take a relaxing bath or practice relaxation techniques.
Drinking water or juice: helps accelerate the elimination of nicotine from the body. Creates a feeling of satiety that decreases the craving for cigarettes and does not make you fat.
Do sport: not only will keep you in shape but the body will increasingly ask for less nicotine.
Avoid the abundant meals: you will eliminate the sensation of having to finish the lunch with a cigar.
Look for pleasant sensations to taste, sight or smell: every time you smell the smoke of snuff you will hate more.
Have at hand substitutes: candy, chewing gum, sunflower seeds ...
The feeling that you need a cigarette only lasts a few moments. If you are able to resist the first impulses every time the desire to smoke appears and eliminate your temptations, you will be able to leave it with ease.
Some tricks that will help:
When the temptation to smoke seems to be winning the game remember that every cigarette smoked are 7 minutes that you are subtracting the only life you have. If, in spite of everything, the problems related to the withdrawal syndrome persist, do not hesitate to go to your doctor: he will help you and give you support at critical moments.
Advances in the treatment of smoking
As smoking is considered by many professionals as a "mental disorder", methods to stop smoking often resort to psychological therapies, along with some type of pharmacological help; however, the mechanisms of action of these drugs can be very different:
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT): consists of the supply of certain amounts of nicotine in the body in a continuous and controlled manner. In this way, the withdrawal syndrome is eliminated with an amount that is decreasing until the consumption of cigarettes ceases completely. The possible ways of administration of nicotine are through chewing gum, transdermal patch, nasal spray, oral inhaler or tablets to suck.
Bupropion: It was the first non-nicotinic medication, but it is an atypical antidepressant with stimulating properties, which acts at the level of the central nervous system. It is thought that it acts on brain reward systems in the same way that nicotine would, although less intensely, which would reduce the intensity of the symptoms of the withdrawal syndrome. It is administered orally.
Varenicline: This is an innovative drug that does not replace nicotine, but acts specifically on the receptors of this substance in the brain. When a person smokes, these neuronal receptors release substances, such as dopamine, which generates a sensation of pleasure, which is one of the main neurotransmitters involved in addiction processes. The great novelty that varenicline contributes is that, on the one hand, it stimulates the release of dopamine partially, to attenuate the craving for smoking and the symptoms derived from withdrawal, and on the other hand, it blocks the union of nicotine with brain receptors, to reduce the feeling of well-being associated with tobacco consumption.