A lot has changed since the days when tobacco companies got doctors to endorse their products. Since the Surgeon General’s report in 1969, the evidence that smoking is bad for us has been unequivocal. Now nobody with any kind of reputation to defend disputes the evidence. Even the tobacco companies themselves admit that their product is harmful and that it is a “lifestyle choice.”
Many people still struggle to kick the habit, despite all the evidence that it is bad. Moreover, only a small number of smokers are actually happy to smoke: most want to quit. Smoking is a really hard habit to kick, both because it is chemically addicting but also because it’s a lifeline for many. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things we can do to make the process of kicking the habit easier. Here’s what to do.
Write Down Why You Want To Quit Smoking
Taking the time to write down why you want to quit can be a real help. Articulating your reasons for quitting forces you to focus on what really matters to you. Perhaps you want to give up smoking because you’re terrified of getting a disease like lung cancer. Perhaps you want to give up because you want to see your children grow up and you’re worried that right now you won’t live long enough. Maybe you want to give up because you still have so much you’d like to achieve in your life and this habit risks cutting your life short. Whatever the reason, writing it down can help give you a boost in the hardest times.
Use Alternatives
One of the negatives of using nicotine patches and gums is that they don’t replace your smoking habit perfectly. Patches might give you the nicotine your brain is craving, but are they really all that effective? What you really want is the comfort and association that comes with holding a small stick in your hand and puffing away. That’s what relaxes you and makes you feel good again.
Fortunately, there is a solution at hand: vaping. Vaping has been doing the rounds in the media recently, thanks to the ongoing controversy about its health effects. The evidence from the UK, at least, suggests that it is far less dangerous than smoking.
E-liquid flavours for e-cigarettes range from the obscure to the sublime. Vaping, unlike smoking, is an interesting and varied habit.
Deal With Root Causes
It’s rarely the case that an otherwise happy person gets addicted to some substance. Usually, the addiction is the result of a deep need within a person just to feel normal. In other words, the conditions that make addiction possible precede the addiction itself.
This explains why people suffer so much when they try to quit smoking. The thing that provided them with solace is taken away and they feel lost and without hope.
The trick is to find out what it is that is causing the regular negative feelings and is driving the addiction. It could be all manner of things. But once identified, it will improve your life enormously and make quitting a lot easier.
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