How do I stop smoking?

Quitting smoking is easier said than done. It is an addiction that has often lingered in your body for a long time. Smoking is a certain habit that you have taught yourself. You can’t just get rid of this. What are the disadvantages of smoking? What are the benefits of quitting smoking? What does smoking do to your body?

The disadvantages of smoking

The disadvantages of smoking are well known to many people. It is stated on the cigarette pack. You can get lung cancer or suffer from respiratory problems and ultimately die from this. Yet for many people this is not reason enough to stay away from it. Yet there are many positive effects in your body when you stop smoking. These positive effects can even occur in the short term.

These benefits of quitting smoking are:

Within an hour your heart rhythm and blood pressure will be back to normal.
After about ten hours your oxygen level will be good again
After a day, all the carbon monoxide has disappeared from your body. The waste products created by smoking will be removed from your lungs.
After three days, your senses of smell and taste become sharper.
After about four days you will start to feel fitter.
After ten weeks your blood circulation has improved and you can move more easily.
After six months, any breathing problems will diminish and you will cough less.

Difficult to quit smoking

Why do so many people often have a hard time quitting smoking? Smoking is an addiction. Smoking has become a lifestyle habit for many people. You can’t just get rid of that. Quitting smoking is a major change in someone’s life that should certainly be taken seriously. The major danger of cigarette addiction is the nicotine contained in cigarettes. This drug makes smoking give you a pleasant feeling in your body. Once the nicotine is in your blood and reduced after smoking, your body will automatically ask for this. After the first puff of your cigarette, the substance can be felt in your body within ten seconds. If you don’t smoke for a certain period of time, you will notice this in your body. Withdrawal symptoms such as irritation, insomnia and negative moods are the order of the day. For many people, a cigarette gives a good feeling on bad days. Others like to smoke after eating. And smoking together in a café is of course also a fun pastime.

Second-hand smoke is also harmful

If you enter a room where someone or more people are smoking, this is also harmful to you. The smoke is diluted, but certainly still contains enough components that can be very harmful to you. You also often see that children of smoking parents suffer more from flu and colds. A pregnant woman who smokes can cause serious harm to her unborn child. This can even lead to differences in the baby’s height and weight.

Reduce withdrawal symptoms

If you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, you are doing well. You wouldn’t think so, but it is actually good that your body has to endure this. It means that your body is cleaning itself and that does not happen without a hitch. Here are some tips to reduce these withdrawal symptoms:

For irritation

Try to get enough exercise, but also find enough moments of rest during the day. Sufficient rest and relaxation is good for your body. A nice warm bath also gives a lot of satisfaction. Exercising is healthy, but do sports that you enjoy. This means you are more concerned with the sport and less with your thoughts about smoking.

In case of loss of concentration

Take a little more time for your daily activities. An extra short break every now and then is also good for your concentration. Don’t stay indoors for too long and get some fresh air.

For insomnia

Try to relax more before going to sleep. Take a warm bath in the evening or take a warm shower. This makes you more sleepy. Try not to eat too much in the evening and drink enough. On the other hand, try to avoid drinks with caffeine, such as cola, coffee and tea.

With a dry mouth

If you suffer a lot from a dry mouth, you should of course drink more. When drinking ice-cold water and fruit juices, the effect of a dry mouth quickly disappears. Sugar-free chewing gum also works well.

How do you prevent yourself from starting to smoke again?

Once you have stopped smoking, it is difficult to continue. Of course, you will have to keep motivating yourself not to start smoking again. The following tips can help you with this:

Try to find more smoke-free areas. If you enter a place where there is a lot of smoking, it is easier to fall back into your old pattern.
Live a healthier life. Exercise is important for you. Also eating and drinking healthy products.
Make sure you change your patterns in life. Normally you were used to smoking at certain times of the day. Fill these moments in a different way.
Try to be busy in a different way. Find a sport or hobby to get more distraction from smoking.
Try to save the money you would normally spend on smoking and buy something nice for yourself at the end of the month as a kind of pat on the back.

Ways to quit smoking

There are various resources or agencies that can help you quit smoking, namely:

Method	What does it mean?	Where can you find it?
Nicotine lozenges, nicotine patches and nicotine gum	Provides more control when reducing nicotine needs	Pharmacy and drugstore
‘Quit smoking’ course	Stopping under the guidance of an expert	GGD and home care
Telephonic support	A number of conversations with an expert over the telephone	STIVORO (tel. no. 0900-9390)
Smoke cessation policy	Individual guidance by a nurse	Hospital with smoking cessation clinic
Acupuncture	Acupuncture treatments	Specialist nearby
Behavioral therapy	Smoking behavior is reduced through the smoking pattern	Association for behavioral therapy
Cold Turkey	Trying to quit without using aids has about a 5% chance of success	With yourself
Advice from your doctor	Your doctor can advise you to stop	GP

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