Tobacco smoking has become a problem for a large number of people. Most often people aged 25-40 suffer from this addiction. The desire to be in your company, the false idea of the steepness of smoking, the myths that cigarettes calm your nerves and prevent you from gaining weight - these and other reasons make a teenager or an adult to be poisoned by tobacco products.
Some people want to quit smoking but lack the will or a little information about really effective methods to deal with nicotine addiction. Few people turn to a narcologist, considering this problem insignificant or unsolvable.
This article describes the most effective ways to start a healthy lifestyle by quitting smoking.
Nicotine harm to the body
7 million people die each year from the effects of smoking. Not only traditional cigarettes, but also their counterparts: vaping, chewing tobacco, hookah, electronic cigarettes, snus and so on are harmful to the body. Passive smoking is no less dangerous. This is when a person stands near a smoker and inhales smoke. It is believed that in this way a person gets even more carcinogenic substances than the smoker himself.
The most terrible disease that is directly related to tobacco consumption is lung cancer. It takes 250, 000 lives a year. If you smoke from a young age or 20 cigarettes a day, the risk of dying between the ages of 35 and 65 doubles. Addiction negatively affects all organs, including the unborn baby of a pregnant woman who smokes. She may have a miscarriage, a premature baby, or a child with pathologies. Bad habits are dangerous for the elderly with the development of circulatory disorders and cataracts. Passive smokers, especially children, are also at risk. They develop diseases such as bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma. The fetus, which is located in the uterus of the smoking mother, also receives poisonous substances. In the future, they may suffer from SIDS - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
If a teenager starts smoking, he may develop a craving for harder drugs in the future. Young people with low incomes, uneducated and nervous are in danger.
The main substance in a cigarette that causes the greatest damage to the body is nicotine. It is able to penetrate even through chromosomes and cause their mutations. If such a mutation occurs in the germ cell, future offspring will suffer, because many of them will be with congenital defects.
Nicotine begins its journey in our body from the mouth and then enters the lungs. From there it enters the bloodstream through the alveoli. After the first inflation, this dangerous substance appears in the tissues of the nervous system within 8 seconds. The concentration of this substance in the blood remains high for another 30 minutes. Vital organs withstand the blow: liver, kidneys and lungs.
The cells of the central nervous system are excited first, and then - their oppression. Therefore, the person should smoke again. One cigarette contains 2 mg of nicotine, and a smoker needs 20 mg to satisfy his needs. The person gets a short-term stimulating effect and does not think about the terrible consequences. Smoking has no benefit, only harm. Blood clots and atherosclerotic plaques are caused by nicotine. All this leads to heart attacks and strokes.
Nicotine is addictive. Therefore, it is difficult for an experienced smoker to survive the withdrawal syndrome: irritability, insomnia, headache, fatigue. All this can take up to 2 weeks. Cigarettes serve as a kind of entertainment for addicts. If they decide to quit smoking, they often do not know how to fill their free time and how to stimulate the brain.
Some people do not become addicted to tobacco because the body rejects nicotine. Nausea and vomiting occur at the first bloating. If these symptoms are not ignored, then there is an aversion to cigarettes. Others remember "pleasant" feelings in the form of relaxation, excitement, loss of appetite and continue to smoke.
In any case, swallowing nicotine in the body does not go unnoticed. Diseases of one or more organs will occur. Even bone tissue softens and osteoporosis occurs. The smoker's voice becomes weak and hoarse, a chronic cough appears. Persistent stomach pain is also an effect of nicotine on the gastrointestinal tract.
Cigarettes and their analogues contain other harmful impurities that do no harm to the body. Acetoin causes diseases of the digestive tract and lungs. Diacetyl is used as a flavoring and causes chronic bronchitis. Acetylacetone is intended for the chemical industry. Internal use harms the whole body. In addition to nicotine, several dozen impurities are present in cigarette smoke, including heavy metals (lead, bismuth, polonium), poisons (hydrocyanic acid, cyanide, arsenic, formaldehyde) and others. Some of them can accumulate in the body, slowly poisoning it.
A person who smokes is easily recognizable by his yellow teeth, characteristic mouth odor, unhealthy facial skin, and red eyes. If you look at his lungs, it will be a black rotten mass.
Anyone who thinks about their health or those around them should stop smoking. Yes, it is not easy, because addiction develops quickly, but it is possible with certain efforts of the will. To do this, below are ways that should help you get rid of bad habits.
Ways to quit smoking at home
A strong man or woman of willing will one day will decide to quit smoking forever. The man smokes the last cigarette and no longer touches the tobacco. The support of loved ones and the wishes of addicts are important here. You can reward yourself for giving up a bad habit. For example, with the money that went to cigarettes buy something nice.
If a person stops smoking, then they need replacements. Such products can be seeds, lollipops, sandwiches, nuts. Naturally, all foods should be consumed in reasonable amounts to avoid being overweight or high in sugar.
It is impossible to imagine a healthy lifestyle without sports. Therefore, you should try to dedicate all your energy and free time to useful exercises. Now the training set is available to everyone, for example, as an application on a smartphone.
If you can't stop using tobacco right away, you can reduce the dose day by day. At the same time, relatives should provide maximum help: do not stress, do not bother anymore, do not resemble cigarettes. A person should have an incentive for a healthy lifestyle. Some will want to live longer and without disease, others will be sorry for finances because the prices of tobacco products are rising, others will think about their loved ones, who also get toxic substances.
For smokers who want to quit smoking, it would be helpful to read Allen Carr’s book The Easy Way to Quit Smoking. Contains the author's techniques. The main idea is to get rid of fear and act decisively.
Proven traditional anti-smoking techniques
Bird Cherry
Collect bird cherry twigs before flowering. Cut them to the size of a match. If you want to smoke, take one stick of bird cherry and chew it. Then spit out this mass. Substances found in bird cherry cause an aversion to the taste of cigarettes. Apply this method for 7-10 days and the desire to smoke will pass.
Calamus root
Calamus roots have a similar effect. You can buy it at the pharmacy. This product can be swallowed, not spit out. After the course, there should be an aversion to cigarettes.
Rinse Solution
If you do not want to chew, you can simply rinse with the following solution: take the rhizomes of calamus and peppermint in a ratio of 6: 3. Pour one tablespoon of the mixture with a glass of boiling water and insist. Rinse your mouth whenever you smoke.
Another solution for gargling: 5 parts wormwood, 2, 5 parts yarrow, 2, 5 parts licorice root. Pour one tablespoon of the mixture into a glass of boiling water and leave for 2 hours, then strain.
Herbal teas
Herbal teas can be used to soothe and detoxify. Cooking ingredients can be from your own collection or pharmacy.
Recipe one:
4 parts hawthorn flowers, 2 parts valerian, 2 parts peppermint, 2 parts lemon balm. Pour 3 tablespoons of the mixture with 0, 5 liters of boiled water and leave for 3 hours. Drink half a glass of infusion 3 times a day. Tea has a calming effect, has a positive effect on the heart.
Recipe two:
4 parts marshmallow root, 4 parts mother and stepmother leaves, 2 parts oregano. Pour 3 tablespoons of the collection with 0, 5 liters of boiling water, leave for 2 hours. Drink a third of a glass 3 times a day. The infusion calms the nerves and cleanses the lungs.
Recipe three:
4 parts valerian, 2 parts cumin, 2 parts chamomile, 2 parts hops. Pour 0, 5 liters of boiling water over 2 tablespoons of the mixture and insist. If it is a thermos, the tea will be richer. After 2 hours of infusion strain and drink one glass at night. This tea relieves nervous tension, helps with good sleep.
Effective medical methods to combat cigarette addiction
Ideally, any person who chooses to quit smoking should visit a psychiatrist-narcologist. The doctor will provide medical assistance consisting of medication choices and psychological counseling. In particularly severe cases, coding is used.
There are products in pharmacies that are sold in the public domain and are designed to help get rid of addiction. You must clearly follow the instructions to avoid side effects.
Tablets
There are drugs that block nicotine receptors, helping the body get rid of toxins faster. For example, nicotine medications should be taken only after consulting a doctor, contraindications are possible. After taking these pills for a short time, in the vast majority of cases, you completely quit smoking.
Modern smoking pills act on the brain and suppress the need to smoke. It also relieves the symptoms that occur with withdrawal.
Nicotine patches
Nicotine enters the body through the skin in small amounts. It will help those who suffer severely from addiction or suddenly cannot stop smoking. In the future, it is necessary to cancel the patches themselves, which stops the persecution of the body.
Smoking spray
It contains the same substances as in cigarettes, but in a smaller dose. But a person who has become accustomed to looking at cigarettes, then completely stops feeling the need for them. Plus, sprays are expensive, which means you won’t get used to them. This is a help in the beginning.
Nicotine gum
Contains a small dose of nicotine. Due to the unpleasant taste it does not cause addiction and gradually a person begins to feel aversion to all tobacco products.
Electronic cigarette
The only advantage of this method is that the smoker does not poison the environment. The person inhales the vapor with purified nicotine and thus avoids a sudden deterioration in health. Gradually, smoking periods should be reduced and then stopped altogether.
Hypnosis
When the reason lies more in the psychology of the smoker, then hypnosis can be offered to him. This is one of the types of coding in which the patient is set not to smoke.
Exit
If a person has found the strength and stopped smoking without aids, then it is very good. The body will experience an earthquake, but there is no reason to worry. Gradually, all vital functions will return to normal. When an experienced smoker cannot get rid of the disease on his own, a qualified specialist will come to his aid. The course of treatment is absolutely safe, and the reward will be excellent health and long life.