May 31 is No Tobacco Day, proclaimed in 1987 by the World Health Organization. Almost every smoker has tried to give up cigarettes at least once in their life. Today is an excellent reason to give yourself another chance to quit smoking forever.
To quit smoking easily and quickly, it is important to remember that the negative symptoms associated with quitting nicotine decrease after just 3 days. Having made a decision today and quit smoking tomorrow, in a week you will not believe that it was so simple.
How to quit smoking correctly?
The most important step in quitting smoking is making the decision. You need to want to quit smoking and be determined that you will quickly be able to do it correctly. If you treat a cigarette as your assistant, friend, and reward, you will never quit.
Nicotine is a psychostimulant. When smoking, the level of adrenaline increases sharply, which leads to an increase in heart rate, an increase in blood pressure, and the release of glucose into the blood. Nicotine also increases dopamine levels in the reward centers of the brain.
The mechanism of smoking addiction is based on the fact that nicotine causes a sharp release of dopamine. In simple terms, smoking brings pleasure “now” in exchange for a worse mood “after”.
Nicotine – briefly:
- psychostimulant
- increases adrenaline levels
- increases dopamine levels
- elimination time from the body – 1-3 days
Advice from former smokers
The most difficult day of quitting smoking is the first day. However, not so much because of physical withdrawal and lack of nicotine, but because of the force of habit. Having quit smoking, you will be faced with the fact that you need something to do with your hands:
- choose a day to quit smoking – set a clear date, and put it on the calendar.
- temporarily change your habits – to quit smoking and think less about a cigarette, change your daily routine.
- monitor your stress level – cigarettes by themselves do not relieve stress, they only create nervousness when trying to quit smoking;
- do not focus on negative symptoms – three days are enough to completely remove nicotine from the body.
An easy way to quit smoking
Allen Carr and his “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” is an international bestseller of methods for getting rid of nicotine addiction. The book was written in 1985 and gained wide popularity. She helped Richard Branson, Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Pattison, and singer Pink quit smoking.
According to Carr’s method, you need to quit smoking at once, and also rely on the help of a group – the important thing is to feel that those around you understand your decision. Criticism of the book is based on the fact that the author denies the effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy.
Key ideas of the book
The basis of the book is the mindset of abruptly quitting smoking, without trying to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked. According to Allen Carr, quitting smoking using “willpower” will not work. A person is preparing for the fact that he will have to suffer and make sacrifices – whereas there is no need to give up anything:
- The pleasure of smoking is an illusion based on the fact that quitting smoking can be painful.
- Smoking is a trap that millions of people fall into. When a person finds himself in it, he does not suspect it, being confident that he can stop smoking at any moment.
- The main problem with smokers is that they constantly find a reason to smoke again.
- Very few people ask the question, why is it difficult to quit smoking? Most accept this as a fact without trying to challenge it.
Nicotine substitutes
The use of nicotine replacements increases the likelihood of quitting smoking by approximately 2 times. In this case, instead of smoking tobacco, nicotine is introduced into the body in another way – through chewing gum, a patch, or an inhaler. For example, one stick of gum is equivalent to one cigarette.
In this case, the person completely gets rid of the unpleasant symptoms associated with quitting nicotine. Including, sleep is normalized, excessive irritability disappears, and appetite improves. The dose of nicotine that helps you quit smoking is selected after consultation with your doctor.
On average, the duration of replacement therapy is from 2 to 6 months. Ultimately, the desire to smoke, as well as the habits associated with smoking itself, disappear.
How to quit smoking without gaining weight?
Since nicotine increases adrenaline levels, smoking leads to a regular release of glucose into the blood – and therefore an increase in insulin. Quitting smoking, in turn, is characterized by a feeling of hunger associated with low blood sugar levels.
In simple words, the body begins to crave fast carbohydrates and sweets – as a result, you can gain weight and gain weight. In addition, the fact that adrenaline is a fat-burning hormone that accelerates metabolism also plays a role.
To quit smoking and not gain weight in the first week, it is important to increase your level of physical activity – even if it is to take more steps. It is necessary to increase the amount of fiber in your diet. This will help balance your blood sugar levels and prevent weight gain.
To quickly quit smoking, you must first choose a specific date. After this, you can either abruptly quit smoking (Alain Kara’s method), or replace cigarettes with nicotine in the form of chewing gum, patch, or inhaler.