Smoking is an unhealthy habit that is responsible for many chronic diseases and high rate of death around the world; it even affects non-smokers when they inhale tobacco smoke.
According to the CDC smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 premature deaths; over $300 billion are spent yearly in direct health care expenditures because of smoking.
In the United States alone; more than 200,000 women die every year from smoking related disease. Quitting is not easy but it is a great decision to make in reducing the risk of chronic diseases and death in yourself and others.
Why quitting feels difficult
The main reason why quitting seems hard for smokers is because they still desire a cigarette; most smokers believe the y enjoy or love smoking but at the same time they want to quit because of the harm this act is inflicting on their health, pocket and freedom.
This leads to a confused state; they want to stop smoking, they have the desire to quit but they also have another desire to smoke. This conflict of desires leads to difficulty in stopping this unhealthy act.
The reason why it is hard for smokers to stop is that they believe that there are benefits in smoking. Some believe it helps them cope with stress, boredom; they believe it helps them socialize, concentrate, enjoy me-time, manage weight, take a mental break or enjoy life. So it is hard to stop because they believe they will lose all these benefits when they quit.
So the fear of losing all these benefits is the reason why they keep smoking. As long as there are reasons or a reason to keep smoking, you will always desire a cigarette. Many attempt to quit while they still desire a cigarette; feeling deprived drags one back to smoking.
A person going through this phase should quit fearing that the desire to smoke will never go away; they should also stop feeling that they are missing something. Forcing yourself to stop can’t help because smoking is an addiction.
What you need to do is not to resist the urge but to remove the urge completely; removing the desire to smoke from the core is the only easy way to quit smoking naturally. Quitting will be extremely hard when you’ve not removed the desire to smoke and the fear that you will keep smoking; even if you quit, you will be feeling deprived and miserable without cigarettes.
So try to stop desiring a cigarette before you actually stop smoking: Remove your desire from smoking first of all; then quitting becomes easy; stress free and permanent. When you choose to quit; the first thing is to crush and wipe out the desire to smoke, you also have to wipe out the fear of being unable to quit because this is the key to succeeding.
To start; you need to honestly find the real reason why you love cigarette; then eliminate that desire but come to think of it, there is no real “good reason” for one to like cigarette.
When you’ve gotten your reason or reasons; write out another list of reasons why you need to quit and reasons why your reason for smoking is not worth it. This will help you in a long way. You can place the second list in places that you can see it every day so that you will be reminded while you try to remove the desire to smoke.
To get more help on how to go through this process effectively click here and here. While you are going through this process above; below are natural things you can do and take to help you and speedup the quitting process.
Detoxify your body: The best way to do this is to detoxify your body; this is the first step in overcoming your addictions and the symptoms of withdrawal, nicotine is a toxin and if it still presents in your body it will be difficult to overcome this act.
The first thing to do is to detoxify your body so that nicotine will be expelled and once it is out of your body, you will not experience cravings or withdrawal symptoms.
Water: Water helps to flush toxins out of the body; nicotine is a toxin that accumulates in the body, it is hard to get rid of and this is what causes cravings for cigarettes.
Water is a natural detoxifier that purges the system better than anything; it is needed by the body to counteract many of the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine. Water helps your body heals and it helps people recover from smoking while they are trying to quit.
When a smoker quits smoking; the body starts to heal on its own but the body needs enough water to detoxify itself, so taking enough water every day will give the detoxification process an extra boost and speeds up the process, it will also fight addictions and cravings.
Take more than 8 glasses of water every day; take more herbal teas, homemade fruit juices, smoothies and alkaline water.
Cayenne pepper: This wonderful spice helps in desensitizing the respiratory system to all addictive substances; it reduces the urge to smoke and it strengthens the immune system.
St. John’s Wort: This herb lessens the urge to smoke and it has an effective anti-depressive potential and it is often recommended to those who are trying to quit smoking.
Co-Enzyme Q-10: This enzyme is present in fermented foods and it is a powerful antioxidant that fights cancer and other chronic diseases; it reduces cravings for nicotine and repairs the damages in the lungs caused by smoking.
Ginger: When one tries to quit smoking; the person experiences nausea and other withdrawal symptoms, ginger will help one overcome these withdrawal symptoms and empower the immune system to clean the body and heal it, it is also a powerful herb that can detoxify the body and fight the development of cancer and other chronic diseases. You can take ginger tablets or ginger tea and you can generously add it to your meals.
Massage: Massaging your ears or hands or both when you have cravings can help overcome the cravings and urge to smoke.
It calms the mind, lowers anxiety, improves mood and leads to fewer withdrawal symptoms. A two minutes massage on these two microsystems can make one feel at ease.
Essential oils: Withdrawal syndrome always comes with a restless feeling that you are missing something and this can be changed or suppressed by using essential oils for aromatherapy, it clams your mind, relieves jitters and keeps the mind clear.
Essential oils good for this are lavender, ylang-ylang, clary sage, orange, rose, sweet marjoram, bergamot, valerian, vetiver, cedar wood, roman chamomile and valor; these essential oils also relieves stress and helps you sleep.
Black pepper and angelica essential oils reduce nicotine cravings when inhaled and black pepper essential oil also produces a response in the respiratory tract that is similar to smoking and it keeps cravings away.
Vitamins: Eating foods rich in vitamin A, C and E will boost the immune system; they have powerful healing effects and they do an excellent job in repairing the body and expelling toxins, they combat addictions by easing withdrawal symptoms; they minimize cravings, energize the body and strengthen the individual to fight back.
Don’t use supplements unless prescribed by a doctor because if taken wrongly it can lead to toxicity which will lead to another health problem.
Green tea: This powerful tea repairs the damage done to the lungs by smoking and it also cuts the risk of lung cancer. It also helps smokers keep their hands warm when they get fidgety with their hands.
Ginseng: This powerful herb combats cravings; it is also a natural multivitamin and it empowers the immune system; you can take it as tea or you can use the powder by adding it to anything you eat.
Acupuncture: This naturopathic treatment can help smokers quit; in some cases, the effect of this treatment lasted up to five years in some cases and it makes the taste of cigarette worse.
Grape juice: Grape juice is a powerful detoxifier due to its rich content of acids; it cleans the toxins faster and rejuvenates the whole system.
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables: This will supply your body with powerful nutrients that will reduce dependence on nicotine and stop the cravings; it even speeds up the detoxification process and repairs the lungs. They also fight inflammation and promote healing.
Oat extract: Avena sativa also known as oat extract helps habitual smokers to significantly decrease the number of cigarettes they smoked.
Lime and lime juice: This helps to alkalize the body which is already acidic due to tobacco use; it also fights cancer and boosts the immune system.
Sweet foods: It is said that in about 30% of cases when someone craves a cigarette, what they are actually craving for is carbohydrates; taking sweet things when you have cravings can satiate this, candies and candy bars can do this trick with minimal calories.
Honey: This is an excellent home remedy that handles the withdrawal symptoms when quitting smoking; it helps smokers quit with ease because of its rich nutrient content.
Exercise: According to Brown University research, regular exercises double the potential of someone to quit; aerobic exercises are good at this and it should be done five days a week and the exercises should be vigorous.
Radish: This helps the body overcome the acidity caused by tobacco use; it is usually recommended to addicts and chain smokers and it works better when combined with honey.
Don’t diet at the same time: Quitting smoking should be a focused priority and all your efforts should be placed on kicking this unhealthy habit because it is one of the most difficult habits to break.
Trying to get in shape at the same time that you are trying to quit smoking can thwart your efforts, it will affect the nutritional level of your body and this can negatively affect the immune system and its ability to fight off the addiction and damages.
Those who gain weight after quitting smoking only gain 5 to 10 pounds and this weight can easily be lost in one to two months with healthy diet and regular exercise.
Licorice: The most common way to resist the urge to smoke is chewing on a licorice stick; it curbs the urge and adds extra benefit to the digestive system by regulating it.