6 Tips to Help You Quit Smoking For Good

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By Marcia Sirota, MD.

Smoking is really hard to give up. There’s the physical addiction aspect, of course, but there are also other reasons why it’s so hard to quit.

There’s the social aspect of smoking, the emotional aspect of it, and the ritual aspect that make it so hard to let go of. You’ll need to deal with all aspects if you want to quit smoking for good.

My six guaranteed tips for quitting smoking for good are as follows:

 
Quit Smoking Tips

1: Take advantage of the products that help decrease your cravings.

You can try acupuncture; nicotine gum, patches or inhalers; medications and even e-cigarettes to help decrease the cravings and taper off tobacco.

Whatever it is that you choose, and you may choose more than one product, remember that these are a means to an end, not your new habit.

The most important thing is not to keep using these products, but to eventually get off them as well, or you’re just transferring from one addiction to another.

The one exception I’d make is if, while you were working to quit smoking for good, you were put on specific medications for depression or anxiety. These meds might be appropriate for the long-term, but of course, you’ll have to discuss it with your physician or care provider.

2: Discover and deal with the emotions connected to your smoking.

Any addiction has a strong emotional component. If you want to quit smoking for good, you’ll have to deal with this aspect.

Whatever emotion you’ve been unconsciously using smoking to deal with, whether it’s sadness, anger, loneliness, hurt, jealousy, frustration or fear, you’ll need to find a better way to deal with this emotion or you’ll never be able to give up the habit.

There will be a lot of feelings coming up once you’ve stopped smoking. Some will be due to the discomfort of withdrawal, but many will be the deep emotions that have been lurking within you and which are now being brought to the surface because they’re no longer being suppressed by your smoking.