Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is never easy. You can’t just get up one day in the morning and stop smoking. It’s a long and difficult process that needs to be embarked upon, with due caution. For sometime, it’s going to be sheer torture, but if you put up with it, your life’s definitely going to change for the better.

Quit smoking – What is it?

As the two words suggest, ‘quit smoking’ is all about smoking cessation. To quit smoking is to discontinue the practice of inhaling cigarette smoke. In totality, ‘quit smoking’ involves quitting inhaling all kinds of smoked substances. Typically, when somebody talks about smoking cessation, he/she is talking about tobacco smoke and its cessation. As an addiction to smoking is characterized by a very strong physical and psychological addiction to tobacco smoke; smoking cessation involves the use of various techniques and therapies. Smoking is a way of life for many people, and to quit smoking means making a range of lifestyle changes and choices.

Quit smoking – Phases

If you want to quit smoking, be prepared to go through its various phases. On an average, a hardcore smoker makes around 4-5 attempts to quit smoking. Through these attempts, the smoker stops trying to quit, at various specific phases. There are specific issues linked to each phase.

The seven phases:

1. Before contemplating - In the pre-contemplation stage, you aren’t really thinking about giving up smoking. The thought hasn’t entered your head, as you don’t think it’s a big enough problem. The benefits of smoking override the disadvantages.
2. Contemplating smoking cessation - You now think that there are disadvantages to smoking. But, you still don’t have the willpower to quit smoking. You need to tide over this phase, to go on to the next phase.
3. Preparation - You now have taken the decision to quit smoking. It’s now become a big problem for you; one that needs a solution. You intend to change your habit, and you begin to think of a deadline for quitting smoking for good. In this phase, you prepare yourself for quitting and draw out a list of ideas that will help you support your smoking cessation journey.
4. Action stations - This is the most important phase. This phase continues till the period of time, you actually give up smoking for good. It doesn’t end till ‘not smoking’ has become a matter of daily routine. During this stage you can suffer from nicotine withdrawal symptoms; as a result you will have to use exercise, a change of diet and other therapies that will help you manage and alleviate these symptoms.
5. Remaining quit of the habit - During this phase you achieve a certain degree of comfort with your new lifestyle, which does not have any place for smoking. You have experienced the cravings for nicotine and suffered through various physical reactions of quitting smoking. Now the only thing that remains to be done is to be on guard, and not start smoking again. Resisting the temptation is the key to getting through this stage.
6. You have reached your destination - Finally, you are there! You are now a confirmed non-smoker and are very comfortable in your newly found “zone”.
7. The setback - There are times when the non-smoker can relapse into a smoker. On an average you can require 4-5 attempts to quit smoking. Relapse is a part of the quit smoking process and there is no need to get disappointed. It’s important to start again till you quit smoking permanently.

Taking up smoking: Physiological and social influences

• Social influences - Smokers usually start young. Experimentation with smoking begins in adolescence, and there are a number of reasons why children start smoking:
• Parents who are smokers
• For girls, smoking becomes a part of their image accessory
• Lack of communication between parents and children
• Social problems
• Peer pressure



• Physiological influences - The human body actually learns to smoke right from the first few cigarettes. There is an immediate pleasure effect felt, and gradually the body craves nicotine to experience this reward. A smoker now becomes conditioned to smoke. You keep getting hooked onto smoking because the very thought of smoking provides a trigger to the brain. The need to smoke becomes paramount, as soon as you start thinking about it. Also, one keeps at it because of the severe withdrawal symptoms linked to smoking cessation. Giving up smoking or the very thought of giving up smoking is stressful for smokers. For many, smoking is a tool of coping with stress and work related stress. Therefore, they can’t even think about quitting smoking.