Those who are thinking about quitting good things to do are:
1. Pick a day you wish to quit
2.Get rid of your cigs, lighters, ashtrays etc, get them out of the house, out of arms reach, any remaining ciggies you got, light them up, knock yourself out for what will hopefully be one last blow out
3. Make a list of the reasons why you wish to quit, and keep them at hand to refer to for when you get those moments where you get a craving
4. To successfully quit, it's best to adopt the "not one puff rule" rather than a few cheeky little puffs won't hurt
5. Identitfy situations where you are likely to smoke eg having a cuppa, a beer, after lunch, dinner, taking a dump etc . The urge to smoke in these situations is more like a reflex reaction if any, so it's a case of "mind occupation" ie try to find something else to do so as to distract your mind from thinking this is the time you normally smoke
6.Tell others around you that you are trying to quit and ask them to be supportive if possible, this also means them not smoking around you for the first few weeks or offering you a cig.
7.If after a few days after quitting you do have a relapse and light up, don't be too disheartened, this happens to many people trying to stop. One slip is not a failure, just carry on with your quit attempt
8. Think about the positive things when you quit such as your sense of smell/your taste returning, BP going down, blood oxygent levels increasing so your stamina increases, therefore you won't feel out of breath so easily/quickly. Also, the money you'll save, watch it build up
In terms of smoking aids you can use, depends on the amount of cigs you smoke, possibly current meds you may happen to be on and current or past medical conditions eg stomach ulcers etc.
One effective way is dual therapy, ie use a nicotine patch (if tolerated) to deliver a constant hit of nicotine within your system then use add on therapy for those breakthrough cravings such as lozenges as
@Lulabelle has mentioned, or chewing gum. Other products which can be used on an as required basis are:
1.Nicotine inhalator - plastic unit, looks like a dummy ciggie - can be useful for those that need something between their fingers (clean thoughts please
:eek::rolleyes
2. Microtabs - held underneath the tongue where they will quickly dissolve
3. Oral spray - just like one of those breath sprays you can get, delivers a short concentrated burst of nicotine which is quickly absorbed and so quickly handles those cravings
4. Nasal spray - as with the oral spray, delivers a rapidly absorbed hit of nictotine, helps to dampen down those cravings, works so fast it's like having an iv line of nicotine going into you. Word of caution though, it can take a while to get used to, as it can be a bit of a nasty fucker in the early stages as it's like inhaling a pepper spray and so can potentially cause irritation in some patients.
Notes about the patches:
24hr patches are handy if you get a craving the moment you wake up in the mornings. Only drawback is that with it delivering nicotine whilst you are asleep, it can cause what is known as vivid dreams. So if that is an issue, then just take them off at night or switch to the 16hr patch instead. Oh and remember, make sure you start on the strength appropriate to how many cigs you amok a day then titrate down accordingly in a steady orderly fashion.
Best of luck to you all
