Support in Quitting Smoking





When the time comes that a smoker decides to quit, it does not always happen as he or she expects. Only a few people can give up cigarettes and never come back, the rest need help.

Family and friends can be a great support (if they do not smoke) and have a big influence on the smoker. Being constantly surrounded by non-smokers, a person can forget about cigarettes and more easily give up the habit.

Like relatives, co-workers could be a great help as well. Instead of five-minute breaks with smokers, the person can choose a coffee break with non-smoking colleagues. This, however, does not only change the habit, but the circle of people the smoker communicates with during free time at work.

Every state in America has a free telephone-based program for those who decide to quit smoking. For example, the Quitline tobacco cessation program developed by the American Cancer Society offers trained counselors who help plan a unique program for quitting, based on the smoker’s smoking pattern and life habits. More information on Quitline can be found at www.cancer.org.

Statistics say that smokers which choose telephone counseling are twice more likely to quit smoking than the ones that do not. The main reason is because counselors have great experience and can foresee the obstacles that are awaiting the quitters. They know about the most common mistakes and wisely lead the participants away from them.

Telephone counseling is a better variant than other techniques in several aspects: one can do it from home, it is available even at night and on week-ends.  During a telephone talk a participant does not see the counselor, so they can relax and talk more freely about the problem.

There have been established support groups all over the country for those who want to quit. This is a good way to meet other people who are trying to quit. Being on the same path, participants help each other not to slip on the way to a smoke-free life.

Nicotine Anonymous is one of such group. It was established thanks to the example of Alcoholic Anonymous, and offers the same 12-step program which will allow the participants to escape addiction. During the program men and women share their experiences, giving hope and strength to each other. The official website http://www.nicotine-anonymous.org gives more details on their efforts.

All professionally developed programs are created with the goal to help smokers first realize the problem, then find the best way to quit and stay that way. It is always good to have someone near who can encourage, support and show a good example in the times of quitting a bad habit.

The most effective results have been found in the programs that propose one-on-one work or group counseling. The same idea has been noticed in sports: when a person has a couch or partner, it is harder to give-up exercising; and practices bring more joy because there is always someone there who shares the results with them. At the same time, when one decides to do physical exercises on his or her own, it turns out to be not so effective and after some time, the person starts being lazy or feel pity, and sooner or later returns to previous way of life.

Another interesting fact about quitting in a group or one-on-one is that the intensity and length of the program are very important. The more often people communicate, spend time together, work on changing their lives to become smoke-free, studying the harmful effects nicotine does to one’s body, the better result they will achieve.

Those interested in help and wanting to know more about what can be found in their state; www.smokefree.gov is a good source that gives information about programs specifically in one’s own area.

George Smith

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Posted on March 4, 2009 
Filed Under How to Quit Smoking, Stop Smoking

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