Whether you want to stop smoking for your health, your family, to save some money or to feel better about yourself, there are ways to make it happen – no matter how old you are, how much you smoke, or how many times you’ve tried to quit. Here are three tools you should know about that can help make quitting easier.
A game plan: If you think creating a step-by-step guide of what you will do to quit smoking, or a “quit plan,” is a pointless make-work project, think again. The act of putting a plan together is a proven factor in helping many of us stop smoking. It reminds you of your motivations, helps you learn from your past attempts, and helps you know how to overcome cravings before you’re in the middle of them.
Your plan should include the reasons you’re quitting, the things that trigger you to smoke and strategies you’ll use to deal with cravings. You can do this exercise on your own or use Health Canada’s online Quit Plan tool to build one in about 10 minutes.
Expert advice: It might surprise you to learn that in every province, territory and state in North America, there are trained quit coaches who give confidential one-on-one support to anyone interested in giving up cigarettes. These free services help in a variety of ways. They can walk you through support and treatment options to help you get through cravings, share self-help resources, talk you through slip ups, answer questions about ways to stay smoke-free, explain withdrawal symptoms and more.
An informed choice: Withdrawal from smoking generally starts within a day or two of your last cigarette, peaks in the first week and can last about two to four weeks. While withdrawal may be uncomfortable, there are quit tools that will help you deal with the symptoms of withdrawal such as nicotine replacement therapy, or NRT. There is also an array of other quit aids, some you likely have heard about, others maybe not.
Overall, the best thing you can do or use to quit smoking is, of course, the one that works for you. But exploring options to make the process easier and combining different tools and approaches can make a big difference.
Find more information about tools to quit at canada.ca/quit-smoking.
— News Canada
