Did you know that cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in America? One in five deaths in the US is caused by either smoking diseases or disabilities every year.
Smoking cigarettes is clearly not a healthy habit, with 16 million Americans having a smoking-related disease. However, it can be addicting, as 34 million Americans do it anyway.
Sometimes, it gets to the point where someone wants to quit smoking. If you are reading this article, you have likely at least considered quitting yourself.
If you do want to quit, here are some tips for smokers to do so.
Sleep
This may not feel like it connects to smoking but it surprisingly can, because one of the biggest reasons why people smoke is to try and reduce stress.
If you do not get the right amount of sleep, then your body will physically and mentally increase stress because of pure exhaustion. It can also lead to drinking more coffee, which has caffeine in it and can be a potential trigger for people to smoke a cigarette.
A grown adult should be getting about eight hours of sleep per night. Getting the right hours, plus developing other habits to increase the quality of sleep such as no cell phone or TV, dark lighting in your room, etc., may result in you feeling less stressed and more energized.
If you have more energy and feel less stressed, the odds decrease for you to feel the need to smoke a cigarette.
Cut Alcohol and Coffee
Alcohol and coffee can be two of the biggest triggers for a smoker to pick up a cigarette and smoke it. If you have been smoking for a long time, you may have picked up the habit of smoking a cigarette after your morning coffee or use one to balance yourself out while drinking alcohol.
What cigarettes, coffee, and alcohol all have in common is that all of these increase your dopamine, and can get addicting because of what is in each of them. So, if you eliminate the triggers that might make you want to smoke a cigarette, such as a glass of whiskey or a cup of coffee, it is less likely that you will still want to smoke.
CBD
This goes back to stress. Smokers likely are suffering from stress and anxiety, which is why they turn to cigarettes for relief.
You are probably asking, Do People Really Quit Tobacco Using CBD?
Well, studies suggest that people who use it are less likely to consume nicotine. CBD is an alternative to treating stress and anxiety, and it can allow someone to feel more centered and grounded.
Also, CBD has been shown to help cope with nicotine withdrawal. So, if you have something that can allow you to accomplish the same goal (reducing stress and anxiety) and takes away the negative effects of giving up the nicotine, then it can be a legitimate option for smokers looking to quit.
Meditation
Once again, you need to look at stress as being a reason that you might smoke in the first place. Meditation can allow you to build discipline physically and mentally to overcome addictive temptations such as nicotine.
Meditation is another way that you can reduce stress and anxiety, and also allow your body to feel calmer and more in control.
This can allow you to build up a tolerance of not having nicotine, and even potentially get to the bottom of why you felt like you needed to smoke cigarettes in the first place.
Also, meditation is known for reducing negative emotions if done properly, so that can help you ease your withdrawal feelings when you are first trying to quit smoking cigarettes.
Exercise
Getting regular exercise can be another great way to quit smoking because it can help you develop more energy and see the pros for the physical health of quitting.
If you smoke often enough, you are likely to feel more tired, drowsy, and have less stamina. Smoking cigarettes can also lead to breathing problems, and it is a big cause of lung disease.
So, the idea is that if you exercise, you might begin to feel what it is like to be able to run a mile without getting out of breath, lift more weights, and have more energy to live a healthier lifestyle.
Eat Healthier
Another reason that some people like to smoke cigarettes is to reduce their appetite. If you are one of those people, eating healthier could be an alternative to this if you want to quit smoking.
For example, if you replace your lunch of a sub sandwich with fattening bread, with whole wheat bread that has virtually no calories and carrots on the side as a snack, you can feel full from a meal and feel less guilty about eating again later in the day.
Eating healthier can reduce stress, make you less worried about your weight, and it can help support your muscles, which in turn can give you more energy to go about your day.
Plus, you may have gotten into the habit of smoking cigarettes after eating particular meals. If this is the case, changing what you eat can allow you to escape old habits and triggers, and develop new and healthy habits to live by.
Act On These Tips for Smokers
These tips for smokers to quit smoking cigarettes can help you take the first step necessary, which is actually trying to quit. If you follow these tips, you are more likely to stay off cigarettes, and you may see improvements in other aspects of your life that you may have never considered.
For more tips related to your health, check out our articles in the Health section.
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