Prevention
Giving up smoking
Smoking cessation
One of the best things that you can do for your health is to stop smoking. Even if you have been a smoker for many years, you will gain many health benefits from stopping.
- Always contact your primary healthcare physician or GP for advice on quitting
- Contact local smoking cessation service for help. Counselling services (face-to-face and via telephone) can double your changes of quitting and staying quit.
- Consider using nicotine replacement therapy, such as gum, patches, and lozenges. These can help to control cravings.
- Search for an online program for support and advice
- Use a smoking cessation app to help you track craving, stay motivated and monitor your progression
Tips
Think how much money you will save! Calculate how much you spend on cigarettes each week and see how much extra money you will gain over the years from quitting.
Track your triggers
Some people like to smoke when they drink coffee or alcohol, or after eating certain foods. Try to change your habits and avoid foods and drinks that might make you crave a cigarette. There are. There are many online apps that can help you track cravings and triggers.
Keep a diary
Keep a diary to track when you usually smoke. For example, do you have a cigarette in the morning or after dinner? Try to specifically do something else at those times to distract yourself and reduce cravings, such as having a shower, washing up, or doing some exercise.
Give up together
If a friend or family member also smokes, try to give up together so you can support each other.
Distract yourself
Every time you get a craving try to distract your mind and body. Such a strong mint or chew gum or go for a walk or jog (even just running up and down the stairs to get your heartbeat up). Try to go to a public place where smoking is not allowed until your craving passes.
Focus on 5 minutes
Nicotine cravings can last 5 minutes. Before you give up smoking, make a list of activities that last 5 minutes that you can easily do to distract yourself. Make a healthy snack (such as a fruit salad), meditate, phone a friend, do some yoga stretches, run up and down the stairs 5 times, occupy your hands by doing a crossword, suduko or playing solitaire.
Focus on your motivations
There are so many benefits to quitting. Make a list of reasons why you want to stop smoking. Identify your 3 main motivations and keep a list somewhere that you see every day.
Vaping
Electronic cigarettes (also known as e-cigarettes or vape pens) work by heating nicotine, which has been extracted from tobacco, with flavourings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that is inhaled.
If you are considering vaping as a substitute for tobacco smoking, be aware that these products can also have a negative impact on your health.
- As e-cigarettes have not been around for long, there is a lack of information about the long-term effects of these products
- Although it is likely that there are fewer toxic chemicals in e-cigarettes than regular tobacco products, you will still be exposed to many chemicals that can be harmful
- most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is very addictive
- There have been several reports of lung injuries and deaths associated with vaping, which are sometimes called EVALI (“e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury”)
- Some research suggests that vitamin E acetate, which is sometimes used in vape products, can interfere with normal lung functioning when inhaled and might be associated with EVALI. Note that vitamin E acetate is found in many foods and is used in cosmetic products but is not usually dangerous when ingested or applied to the skin
