Ever since the first Surgeon General’s report more than 50 years ago warned about the health risks of smoking, smoking has been on the decline. Still, that doesn’t make smoking cigarettes any easier to quit.
In fact, quitting smoking can be one of the hardest things a person can do. Many people today are turning to vaping as an alternative but we still don’t know the long term health effects.
Are you trying to give up cigarettes? Continue reading and we’ll show you some of the best ways on how to quit smoking.
Table of Contents
Nicotine Gum
Nicotine gum delivers a concentration of nicotine to the user. The aim is that the user will chew less gum over time and thus decrease their dependence on nicotine.
There are two types of nicotine gum concentrations. 2mg is for users who smoke after the first 30 minutes of waking up. The 4mg concentration is for users who need to smoke within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning.
You shouldn’t eat or drink or drink anything for 15 minutes prior to chewing nicotine gum. This is because you could reduce how much of the nicotine your body absorbs. It can especially be reduced if you consume something acidic.
How to Use Nicotine Gum
Nicotine gum is not like regular gum. The proper way to chew it is with the chew and park method.
You should start by slowly chewing the gum until you start to feel a tingling sensation in your mouth. Once you feel the tingling, you want to park (or rest) the gum somewhere between your cheek and mouth.
When the sensation goes away, continue chewing. When the tingling comes back, park the gum somewhere else in your mouth.
You should continue doing this until all of the nicotine has been absorbed. This takes about 30 minutes or so.
You should only ever chew one piece at a time and should chew slowly.
Every few weeks you should be spreading out the time between chewing pieces for longer and longer periods. Ultimately, the goal is to finally make the switch from nicotine gum to regular, sugar-free gum.
It should take around 3 months to fully quit the nicotine addiction.
Nicotine Patches
Similar to nicotine gum, nicotine patches deliver nicotine to your body in order to prevent symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
You should start using patches the day after you finally decide to quit. You should not smoke cigarettes once you start using the patch.
How to Use Nicotine Patches
Nicotine patches are applied directly onto your skin.
You should apply them only once a day and at the same time each day.
In order to use the patch, peel it off of its protective strip and immediately apply it to your skin. Hold the patch in place for about 10 seconds.
After you apply the patch, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water.
If the patch falls off your body, go ahead and replace it with a new one.
You should wear the patch between 16 and 24 hours. It depends on what the instructions on the package say.
Normally, you can even wear the patch while you’re bathing or showering.
After you remove the patch, place your next patch onto a different area of your body.
Those looking for another method that involves nicotine should consider nicotine salts. Nicotine salts are absorbed into the blood faster than nicotine. If you’re interested in possibly using nicotine salts, learn more here.
Meditation
Looking for a more holistic route to quitting smoking? More and more people are turning to meditation.
In various trials, mindfulness practices like meditation were proven to be twice as effective as the American Lung Association’s Freedom from Smoking treatment.
Meditation brings several positive qualities that can contribute to quitting smoking. First off, meditation helps to reduce stress, which is a big factor for why many turn to cigarettes.
Second, meditation can help give people more focus and self-control.
Hypnosis
For decades, smokers have turned to hypnosis when more traditional methods just didn’t cut it for them.
During a hypnosis session, the hypnotherapist often asks the smoker to envision the very unpleasant outcomes that come from smoking.
For example, the hypnotherapist might suggest that smoking will leave the smoker’s mouth feeling extremely dry or their breath smelling like truck exhaust.
A hypnotist will try to drill down the fact that smoking poisons the body and help the patient realize the horrible things that cigarettes can bring.
The science proving the effectiveness of hypnosis for smoking cessation is hard to come by. But there are many people who claim that they wouldn’t have been able to quit without it.
Still, more studies and scientific research is needed to better conclude just how effective hypnosis really is.
The Importance of Knowing the Many Ways on how to Quit
By knowing how to quit smoking, you will be better prepared to actually do it. There isn’t one method that works for everyone. And if you only think there’s one method, you’re less likely to be successful.
Instead, it’s important to pick the method that will best fit your lifestyle, goals, and timeline. And sometimes, it takes a combination of methods in order to successfully quit cigarettes.
No matter what strategy you decide to go with, just make sure that you go at your own place and have clear reasons for why you’re doing it.
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