Collaborative Post
According to the statistics on who.int, around 1.3 billion people on the planet consume tobacco products regularly. Most people are aware of the dangers of smoking and the myriad of health conditions and diseases that it causes.
Many smokers want to give up the habit and lead a more healthier lifestyle. However, a lot of those people find giving up smoking an almost impossible task. Arguably the biggest reason for that is simple: smoking (or rather than nicotine in cigarettes) is addictive.
It will undeniably be easier for a light smoker to give up the habit than someone used to smoking a minimum of 30 cigarettes a day for the past decade or two.
You’re likely reading this blog post today because you’re a smoker, and you’d like to take some actionable steps to give up your unhealthy habit. However, you’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to give up smoking in the past.
With that in mind, the following reasons explain why many smokers find it so challenging to kick the habit once and for all:
You Haven’t Explored All Therapies
Firstly, it’s worth bearing in mind that there is a multitude of therapies to help smokers give up their nicotine addiction. For example, psychiatric and psychological treatment centres like sunnysideclinic.com.au offer therapies to permanently help people give up smoking.
Believe it or not, there is plenty of support and advice out there for individuals who want to stop smoking and lead healthier lifestyles. The trouble is, while your doctor can recommend some of those therapies, others might not be so well-publicised by doctors.
It’s worth researching what help there is for you in your local area. Some help might include face-to-face therapies, while others might be virtual, such as via Zoom or Skype therapy sessions.
Photo by Daniel Monteiro on Unsplash
You Hang Around With Other Smokers
Another reason why some folks find it hard to give up smoking is that most of their family and friends are smokers themselves. As you can imagine, it can be hard to avoid the temptation to accept a cigarette offered to you by one of those people.
Of course, you might think the best option is to avoid meeting those people in social settings. But that’s obviously impossible considering they are your family members and friends!
One way around the problem is telling those people you’re quitting smoking and not offering you cigarettes whenever you meet. You might even ask them not to smoke around you, although that might be tricky for some of those people to agree to do.
Your Life Is Too Stressful
Lastly, it comes as no surprise that many people smoke because they have a lot of stress in their lives. The stress they experience might be to do with their home lives or workplaces, for instance.
If that applies to you, it’s worth looking at ways to diminish the stress in your life. For example, you might benefit from getting a less stressful job or taking steps to lower stress at home.