Smoking is a common and addictive habit, which often means that when a regular smoker attempts to quit they experience withdrawal symptoms caused by a drop in nicotine levels that stimulates the brain.
The withdrawal from nicotine causes feelings of irritability, restlessness, anxiety and hunger. Things like nicotine patches, tablets, lozenges, gum and nasal sprays can be very effective in reducing withdrawal symptoms, by replacing some of the nicotine that you'd get from smoking tobacco.
In addition to withdrawal, smoking also has ill effects on your health, including on your senses of taste and smell, increased risk of stroke, heart attack and cancer as well as conditions like blood pressure, diabetes or asthma.
Stuart Gale, chief pharmacist at Oxford Online Pharmacy, recommends the four following tips to help quit smoking.
Make plans to quit
Going cold turkey on smoking doesn't always work for everyone as it can cause bad withdrawal symptoms and result in quitters picking up the habit again.
The best way to go about quitting is to pick a specific date to quit. This can make it easier for you to mentally prepare to stick to it when the day comes.
Make sure to throw away all your cigarettes the night before the quit date. However, ensure you don't pick a date more than two weeks away as you might lose motivation to kick the habit.
Keep your hands busy and keep moving
Exercising can help you cut down your craving for a smoke, by helping your brain to produce anti-craving chemicals.
If it's the act of holding a cigarette that you're enticed by, then Stuart Gale advises first switching to a e-cigarette.
Manage your cravings
Your craving for a smoke usually lasts for five minutes. The trick to overcome these moments of nicotine cravings is to identify five-minute strategies to use as a distraction to switch your mind to something else.
You can also make a list of reasons to help when you're tempted. Write down things like how much money you are saving per day, per week, then month and year by quitting smoking.
Be aware of your diet
Some people often resort to comfort eating or overeating when they give up smoking. One way to make sure you don't fall into unhealthy eating habits is to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables to distract you when you experience cravings.
These types of food not only help to calm the oral fixation that comes with giving up smoking, but are also good for your health, making sure that your body is properly nourished while you're working on giving up cigarettes.
Another thing to note when it comes to diet is that cigarettes taste better after you've had certain foods and drinks. So experimenting with flavours and identifying which flavours clash with your cigarette can help make it easier to quit.
