What are your New Year’s resolutions? Although quitting smoking no longer features on the list of most common New Year’s resolutions (these days, health and fitness rank the highest), it’s a goal that millions of smokers around the world would like to achieve.
Quitting smoking has numerous benefits, from reducing your risk of cancer and heart disease to improving your cardiovascular fitness, enhancing your vision and saving you money. But it’s not an easy process — in fact, the vast majority of smokers that try to quit will eventually relapse.
Luckily, there are a variety of ways you can increase your likelihood of successfully putting your smoking habit behind you. Below, we’ve listed several tactics you can use to quit smoking, from switching to vaping to using nicotine replacement therapy for a simpler process.
Switch to vaping for healthier nicotine delivery
One of the most challenging aspects of quitting smoking is giving up nicotine — the addictive substance found in cigarettes. Switching to using a vaporiser lets you take in nicotine without the harmful carcinogens and other substances that are found in tobacco-based cigarettes.
Using a vaporiser gives you more control over nicotine delivery, letting you lower your dosage gradually without the withdrawal effects that are common when giving up smoking cold turkey.
The end result is a simpler quitting process, without the cravings that are common when you completely stop smoking. If you’ve tried to quit before and failed, switching to vaping could be the gradual, long-term solution you’ve been looking for.
Use alternative nicotine replacement therapies
Health experts have long urged smokers to give up by “cutting down” rather than quitting cold turkey, recommending the use of nicotine gums and patches to reduce nicotine intake over the long term.
Using alternative nicotine replacement therapies achieves the same objective as switching from cigarettes to a vaporiser — letting smokers gradually reduce their nicotine consumption without the withdrawal symptoms of quitting suddenly.
Nicotine replacement therapies, known as “NRTs”, are seen as a safe replacement for smokers interested in quitting. As “safer” sources of nicotine than tobacco, NRTs can serve as a bridge for smokers interested in quitting but unable to tolerate the effects of giving up.
Fix your habits through behavioural therapy
Smoking is often triggered by specific events or behaviour — stress, emotions or situations that make you feel like you need a cigarette. Often, behavioural therapy can help you stay on top of the emotions that drive you to smoke and more effectively end the habit.
A study from 2013 found that behavioural therapy, both in one-on-one and group formats, has a positive impact on smoking cessation. In short, being able to talk to someone about the feelings and situations that drive you to smoke can play a major positive role in helping you quit.
CBT, or cognitive behavioural therapy, is also linked to a variety of benefits that can play a role in helping you quit smoking. From increased confidence to coping with stress, websites such as Everyday Health offer a more detailed look at the benefits of CBT for smokers.