So you’ve decided to stop smoking but you still finding yourself going back for a few drags and then feel it’s impossible to quit smoking. News flash! Deciding that you are ready to stop smoking is half the battle. Knowing how to navigate your way towards becoming smoke-free can help in making the decision easier to follow through. In this article we put together some effective ways to help you stop smoking today.

Quitting smoking is not a single day event; it is a journey. By deciding to quit, you will not only be improving your health and the quality and duration of your life, but also the lives of those around you.

Coping with the withdrawal symptoms from quitting smoking is one thing you’re likely to come across. You’ll also need to find other ways to manage your moods. Following proven effective ways, you can beak free from tobacco and nicotine addiction and say good bye to smoking for good. Here are the five ways to quit smoking.

Choose a quit day

Once you’ve decided to quit smoking, get ready to set a quit date. To ensure that you follow through, choose a day not too far in the future, so you do not change your mind.

There are two known ways to stop smoking.

To continue smoking normally as you would until the quit day you’ve chosen arrives and then you stop using smoking all together. Or,

To reduce the amount of cigarettes you take gradually before going on to quit completely.

A research compared the effectiveness of both methods and discovered that none was more effective than the other. So, deciding to quit abruptly or reducing the amount of cigarettes until you stop smoking eventually is up to you.

The following tips are recommended by Cancer.org to help you prepare for your quit date.

Pick your desired quit day on your calendar.

Tell friends and family about your quit day

Get rid of all cigarettes and ash trays and any other tobacco products in your home, car and workplace.

Decide on a plan. Will you be using NRT or other medicines

Set up a support system, could be a group, friend or family member that’s willing to help you.

Think about past attempts to quit. Weigh in what worked and what didn’t.

One way to reduce smoking before quitting is to cut down the number of cigarettes you take each day. Doing this, you slowly reduce the amount of nicotine in your system.

On your Quit Day

Make sure you follow through with not smoking at all.

Stay busy – try walking, take short bursts of exercise, or other activities.

Take lost of water and juices

Take less alcohol or avoid it completely

The urge to smoke will certainly pop up during your quit day, but it will pass. You can practice the following actions to help you battle the urge.

Take deep breathes.

Take water sip by sip to beat the craving

Get engaged to distract yourself.

Use NRTs (Nicotine Replacement Therapy)

NRTs can help reduce the cravings and withdrawal symptoms you may experience while you’re trying to stop smoking. They are designed to wean your body off cigarettes by supplying you a controlled dose of nicotine while sparing you from the exposure to other chemicals found in tobacco.

NRTs can be found in five ways

Skin patches
Chewing gum
lozenges
nasal spray
inhaler

If you’re choosing to quit smoking through NRT, discuss with a healthcare professional before you follow through with the decision.

Using non-nicotine medications

You’ll need the approval of your healthcare provider if you would like to go through this path to stop smoking, as you’ll be needing a prescription.

The Food Drug Administration (FDA) approves two non-nicotine containing drugs to help smokers quit. They are Bupropion and Varenicline.

Bupropion acts on chemicals in the brain that are responsible for nicotine craving and reduces the cravings and symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.

Varenicline interferes with the nicotine receptors in the brain, which results in reduced pleasure that is got from tobacco use. It also decreases nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

There are side effects associated with the usages of these drugs. It’s why you must not begin it’s usage with your own discretion. Do not use these drugs without the prescription of a healthcare professional.

Seek Behavioural Support

One of the reasons why stopping smoking after your quit day is a challenge is because of the emotional and physical dependence you have built on smoking. You can opt for counselling services, self-help materials and support services that can help you follow through with your decision to quit.

It’s also possible to combine all of the listed methods to increase your chances of quitting smoking better.

Try out Alternative therapies

There are several alternative therapies that could be helpful to quit smoking, but they aren’t all proven to give the best result. Some of the alternative methods include:

Acupuncture
Hypnosis
Magnet Therapy
Yoga, Mindfulness, and meditation

The benefits of Quitting smoking

Quitting smoking will benefit you, no matter how long you’ve been smoke dependent.

Quitting smoking lowers your risk of getting various cancers especially lung cancer, your chances of having heart diseases, stroke and other serious diseases are reduced.

You also lower the risk of heart disease and lung disease to non smokers who would be exposed to second hand smoke.

It is advisable to quit smoking early when the body still has greater chance to heal from the the damages that may have occurred by smoking.

Also have in mind that your lifestyle can affect your life insurance acceptability. Being a long time smoker can affect your insurability as the age and health of an applicant determines the rate and premiums to be paid. So you stand a better chance of enjoying lesser premiums when you’re smoke free and healthy.

Good luck!