More and more studies are showing the ill effects of tobacco on the body. The cost of this little weed has risen exponentially over the past couple years and shows no signs of slowing. These factors are combining to force more and more people all over the world to quit this bad habit. The problem is that saying you are quitting is a lot harder than actually doing it. We have all heard the success stories of people that just give it up cold turkey, but they are rare and very difficult. A slow and steady approach seems to work a little easier and more effectively. The main key is to maintain your will to quit. If you are not ready to quit smoking, you can try all of the miracle cures, techniques, or any other method and they will not work. You must want to quit. It cannot be a little whim either. You must want to quit more than anything. This is the only way to attain the goal. If you are ready to stop smoking or using any type of tobacco, then keep reading. If you are doing this for someone else or don’t really want to stop, you might as well just cut down a bit and deal with it. You will never stop until YOU are ready to.
There are several different things that you will need in order to quit using tobacco. Most of them are not tangible and are free of charge to you. Others may be expensive, but there are some other alternatives. Some of these methods may seem a little odd, but they do work. Aside from desire, you will need support, religion, teas and herbs, and exercise. Those are all the ingredients that you will need. This is no miracle cure and it will not make you stop overnight. These are just tips and strategies to help you succeed. Before you start, you must realize that you will fail. I failed many times before I got to where I am today. You just have to shake it off and keep trying.
Step One: Cutting Down-
The first thing you will need to do is throttle back on your tobacco use. You will want to slowly wean yourself from this drug. You will not want to do this drastically, but gradually over the next couple of months. Take the amount that you use per day and shave it by a quarter of that amount the next month. After you go through that month, cut another quarter off. Here is an example. I used to smoke a pack a day. I reduced that to one and a half packs every two days. The following month was one pack every two days, then all the way to one pack every four days. You can use the same measurements for dip and snuff and find a similar measurement for all other types of usage. Do not worry about setbacks. Some stressful times may drive you back up in usage. Do not worry. This happens to everyone. Just get back on schedule and keep trying.
Step Two: Vary Your Routine-
All smokers know that there is a set time to light up. For me it was after meals or every time I stepped outside (I was an outdoor smoker since I had kids and a non-smoker wife). There are certain times that you feel that you must use. This is the biggest habit to break yourself from. If you feel that you have to take a pinch or light up, wait at least a half hour. Try doing something else or taking a nap. You will want to vary your smoking habit. Using a timer may help in this at first. If you set yourself to smoking at a certain time every day, you can better prepare yourself for when you stop all together. This will take away the feeling that you have to light up during certain activities and can help you to cut down and cut out tobacco all together.
Step Three: Substitute-
Here is where it really starts to get hard. You will want to cut out your usage as much as possible. There are many times when the real thing is all that will help you, but try to keep those times at a minimum. Tealeaves, mint leaves, the “patch”, nicotine gum, candy, sunflower seeds, or any other placebo that you can use will help with this. Tealeaves are great for substituting. If you use a caffeinated leaf that is coarse ground or shredded, you stand to have more success. The caffeine will help to take the cravings away and you can smoke or dip it just as you would tobacco. I am no doctor so I cannot tell you that smoking tea is healthy, but it really helped me and is a lot easier to quit smoking than tobacco. It can work as a substitution. This makes your body think and feel like it just got a nic fix, when it really did not. This can really help you to cut the tobacco out completely. For dippers, they make shredded mint leaves that will have the same effect. Using the patch or gum can also help to ease the nic fits when they happen since they do contain nicotine. There are many other home remedies that will help to take the edge off. Some of the more popular ones are sunflower seeds and gum.
Step Four: Quit-
Once you slowly wean yourself from tobacco, you can now start to ease off the placebos. Once you are free of all the crutches, you have officially quit. You must remember that most people will start again within two years of quitting. You are not in the clear yet. You will need to keep working at it to stay completely tobacco-free. Don’t even consider some alternative like the best vape mod. While some people say it is a good alternative, it is not yet proven to be effective. Further research and studies are still needed.
Tips-
There are many different tips and tricks to quitting. If you are still young enough, I suggest joining the Marine Corps. You can’t smoke for three months and you do not miss it at all. My problem was that after boot camp, I was handed a pack and started right up again. Aside from that, you are on your own.
1.) Keep your mind occupied. Find something that will keep you busy mentally. This is the idea behind the aforementioned boot camp trick. If you can keep your mind busy all day, you will not even realize that you went without it.
2.) Exercise is a must. The biggest block to quitting is the weight gain. Nicotine accelerates your metabolism so when you quit, so does your metabolism. This causes you to gain weight, which causes stress, and that can force you back to tobacco. Try to stay active and fit. You will also want to look at your diet and keep a healthy lifestyle. This is, after all, a new you and a new life.
3.) Use foods or devices that make you feel like you are still using. This is great in the substitution stage. Carrot sticks and celery are great for smokers. You can still go through the motions of smoking without getting the nicotine. They also make nicotine inhalers that can be trimmed down in potency. These work wonders. If you use these instead of smokes and slowly decrease the amount of nicotine in them, you may have an easier time. Eventually, you may be “smoking” the empty inhaler as a nervous habit, but at least it does not harm you or others.
4.) Use religion. It can be anything from Christianity or Muslim to Hindu or Wicca. Having a “higher power” to aid you through this tough time can work wonders for you. If you believe that your god is helping you through this, then you help yourself. The mind is a very powerful tool. You can really use it to your advantage in this.
Willpower is truly the key. If you desire to quite enough, you will. Do not give up. Just about every person that has ever quit failed several times before they actually stopped. Many people will not admit this, but failure is part of the quitting cycle. The difference between those that quit and those that did not is that those who did kept trying. There will be setbacks and there is no easy way to quit. It just takes you wanting it and becoming stronger than the weed that rules your life.