If you are among those who have finally decided to quit smoking, World No-Tobacco Day could be the best time to start. Tobacco addiction is associated with both mental and physical habits. You have to address both in order to control your urge, as for most people, tobacco or smoking urges are the first hurdle.
When you feel an urge to use tobacco, keep in mind that it will likely pass within the next few minutes. Each time you resist a tobacco craving, you are one step closer to stopping tobacco use for good.
Here are some tips to help you resist tobacco cravings.
It can be personal like improving health or lowering your chance of getting diseases like lung cancer, heart disease, or other conditions; or protecting your family from passive smoke or saving money. You should choose the reason carefully so that it is strong enough to outweigh the urge to consume tobacco.
Avoid triggers
Events like parties, bars, or occasions are the likely places where you can develop that urge to smoke. Keep a tab of your triggers and plan accordingly to either avoid them or control the urge at those places.
For example, if you find out that you generally smoke while talking over the phone, keep a pen and paper nearby to keep busy with doodling rather than smoking.
Prepare for withdrawal symptoms
Smoking is a strong addiction. Your brain and body are hooked on nicotine. Without it, you’ll go through withdrawal. So you should plan for this well in advance.
Try nicotine replacement therapy
When you try to quit smoking, you may feel headaches, mood swings, or lethargy. Nicotine replacement therapy can curb all these urges. There are several options available to follow the nicotine replacement therapy. These include nicotine gum, lozenges, nasal sprays, inhalers, and patches.
Even short activities like running up and down the stairs a few times can also help you to get over the urge. Deep breathing, deep knee bends, pushups etc can also help. If you don't like physical activity, you can also try prayer, or do chores like cleaning, gardening or writing a journal.
You can also try relaxing activities like deep breathing, meditation, muscle relaxation, yoga, visualisation, massage or listening to calming music.
Seek help from friends and family
Inform your friends, family, and other close ones that you’re trying to quit smoking. They can encourage you to keep going, especially when you’re tempted to light up. You can also join a support group or take help of a counselor. Join an online stop-smoking program. Or read a quitter's blog and post encouraging thoughts for someone else who might be dealing with tobacco cravings. Learn from how others have handled their tobacco cravings.
Eat fruits and veggies
Don’t try to diet while you are trying to quit tobacco habits. It may put extra strain on your body and can backfire badly. Try to keep your routine simple, consume more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein, which are good for your body.
