Most of us have our guilty pleasures and for many of us, smoking is one of them. Smoking, as we all know, is bad for our health and for that of those around us. Smoking is also highly addictive and has been said to be more difficult a habit to “kick” than a heroin addiction. Luckily, these days, when we decide to take that all important step to stopping smoking, there are many options available to us to support the will-power we will need in order to put that tab down for ever.
Where to Go If You Want to Stop Smoking
With the big drive on stopping smoking, there are plenty of places you can go to in order to access help to stop smoking. You could visit your NHS GP or practice nurse, many chemists offer smoking cessation clinics, or you could go on the internet and find your nearest stop-smoking support group. When you attend a clinic or group, you will be asked a series of questions to determine your level of addiction and to see what form of nicotine replacement therapy will be most suitable for you.
What Kind Of Products Are Available to Help You to Stop Smoking?
There is an array of products available on the market now. The most commonly known are:
• Champix – tablets that you take over a period of time to re-wire the receptors in your brain. You will slowly reduce the amount you smoke, rather than going cold-turkey.
• Niquittin Mini’s – little tablets that you can suck on instead of having a cigarette. With these tablets, the idea is also that you stop gradually, replacing more and more cigarettes with the tablets over time.
• Patches – available in a variety of strength, you will be expected to stop smoking as soon as you wear your first patch. Over time, you reduce the strength of the patches.
• Nicotine gum – chewing gum with a dose of nicotine inside them. Again, you are expected to stop cold turkey.
• Nicotine inhalers – these release a dose of nicotine when you draw on them. These are particularly helpful for those of us who are also addicted to the hand-movement that comes with smoking.
• E-Health Cigarette – an electronic cigarette that releases some nicotine when you take a draw and actually smokes.
• Hypnotherapy – where a message is planted into your brain to tell you that you no longer want to smoke.
Most of these treatments can be used alone or in combination with each other, but make sure you seek some medical advice before you decide to combine any of these products. Each of these products has its own particular benefits and draw backs. When you attend your first smoking-cessation visit, these will all be explained to you in order to help you to make an informed decision.
So, if you are ready to take that all-important first step towards stopping smoking, make an appointment at your nearest smoking cessation clinic and get some good advice on what will work best for you. Then find the best time for you to quit and then just do it!