How to get rid of nicotine addiction. How to quit smoking using folk remedies

According to statistics, about 34% of citizens in Russia smoke. Most tobacco users develop health problems sooner or later. Not only smokers themselves suffer, but also their loved ones. In addition, cigarettes are not cheap, and the need to purchase them places a heavy burden on the budgets of thousands of Russian families. Many people dream of giving up their addiction, but not everyone succeeds in doing this: nicotine addiction is addictive and it is not easy to get rid of it.

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Habit or disease?

According to the World Health Organization classification, nicotine addiction is a serious disease that requires qualified treatment. No more than 7% of smokers can give up this habit without the help of doctors - those whose metabolic characteristics allow them to tolerate quitting tobacco without experiencing almost any discomfort. Other people who decide to quit smoking face serious problems.

The fact is that when you inhale tobacco smoke, nicotine almost instantly enters the bloodstream, and after seven seconds it reaches the brain and stimulates the so-called nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The brain sends a signal to the adrenal glands, triggering the release of adrenaline. In addition, under the influence of nicotine, the level of glucose and dopamine (“pleasure hormone”) in the blood increases. In general, nicotine acts as a psychostimulant: after smoking a cigarette, a person feels a slight euphoria, feels calm and full of energy. The need to repeat such sensations gradually develops, and the body begins to need an increase in the dose of the substance that causes them. It is this effect of nicotine that underlies the physical addiction to smoking.

But that's not all. Over time, smoking becomes a behavioral stereotype. Simply put, a person becomes accustomed not only to inhaling tobacco smoke, but also to the ritual associated with this action. The addiction is reinforced by the fact that smoking often serves as a means of communication. Teenagers who are just starting to try cigarettes often perceive their use as a sign of independence and high status in youth groups. At the age of 14-16 years, to form a persistent addiction, it is enough to smoke one or two cigarettes a day for a couple of months.

In fact, tobacco use only brings harm to both the smoker himself and everyone around him. The negative impact of smoking on health, ability to work and even appearance has been proven. It is this habit that is one of the main causes of pulmonary, cardiovascular and cancer diseases. Children of smoking mothers often have delays in physical and intellectual development. In fact, addiction to tobacco use is nothing more than drug addiction.

Modern methods of getting rid of nicotine addiction

Most people who dream of stopping smoking make their first attempts of this kind on their own. The confidence that you can quit as soon as you want is typical even for smokers with many years of experience. This is understandable: a person likes to think that he has no dependence and is completely free to make decisions and implement them. Disappointments are inevitable here. As a rule, in the very first hours spent without cigarettes, a smoker experiences withdrawal symptoms. Usually observed:

sleep disorders;
anxiety;
irritability;
difficulty concentrating;
constant hunger;
obsessive cough associated with the beginning of bronchial cleansing;
copious secretion of dark sputum.

In addition, nausea, headache, dizziness and other unpleasant sensations are possible. A person really wants to smoke and understands that a cigarette will immediately improve his well-being. This aggravates his suffering and is the first reason for his relapse (return to smoking).

The main mistake of such attempts is the refusal of professional help. Contacting a narcologist allows you to receive qualified advice on the tactics of treating the disease and the use of medications, based on the individual characteristics of the patient’s body and the duration of tobacco use. Typically, patients are prescribed nicotine replacement therapy (taking substances whose effects are similar to those of nicotine), as well as treatment to help them cope with withdrawal symptoms less painfully.

In addition, the following measures are believed to greatly facilitate the process of quitting smoking:

introducing a large amount of fruits and vegetables into the diet. It is very important to eat a lot of spicy and aromatic herbs (basil, celery, parsley, dill, etc.);
increasing the volume of fluid consumed (the body needs to get rid of toxins);
increasing physical activity. Long walks, swimming, running and other sports are encouraged;
taking expectorants (preferably of herbal origin);
refusal of behavioral stereotypes associated with smoking;
limiting intake of strong coffee and alcohol;
temporary refusal (if possible) from communicating with smokers and visiting public places where smoking is permitted.

How to quickly quit smoking at home? Is it possible to do without medical help here? How should you part with cigarettes correctly? Let's talk about the main questions that smokers face when giving up their bad habit.

When asked how to quickly quit smoking, we often hear: it is very difficult, impossible, you cannot do without patches or electronic cigarettes... As a result, a feeling of a vicious circle is formed. It seems like you want to say goodbye to a bad addiction, but everyone says how difficult it is. I probably won't be able to do this...

The main thing is motivation!

This psychological attitude is the main mistake on the way to getting rid of cigarettes. Before you decide to quickly quit smoking at home, you need to clearly understand whether you really want this. If you made such a decision under pressure from loved ones who regularly nag you about how harmful it is and how bad it affects you, but you yourself don’t want to stop smoking, you won’t succeed. There's no need to even try. So first answer yourself 3 questions:

Do I want to do this?
Why do I need this?
How will my life change after quitting cigarettes?

To make it easier for you to answer these questions, pay attention to the following information. When the last cigarette goes to waste, your body will:

blood pressure drops to normal within 30 minutes;
the level of oxygen in the blood is normalized - in just 10 hours;
blood circulation and blood supply to the brain and heart will improve - after 24 hours;
a sense of smells and tastes will appear - after 3 days;
the cloying, unpleasant odor from the mouth, skin, and hair will disappear in 5 days;
complexion will improve - after 7 days;
The cough will go away, the sudden headache and chronic fatigue will disappear, it will become easier to breathe! - after 30 days;
there will be a craving for movement, sports, active life - after 6 months;
the risk of coronary heart disease will decrease by 2 times - after 1 year;
the risk of developing lung cancer will decrease 10 times compared to a smoker consuming a pack of cigarettes a day - after 5 years.

These numbers will help you find the right motivation, why and how to quit smoking at home. And the advice of psychologists and folk remedies for quitting smoking will help you quickly get rid of the habit and help restore the body. When the decision has been made, it’s time to think about how you can quit smoking at home. And this is where the fun begins. All you need is... to stop smoking. All! Once and for all!

Be consistent in your actions, and most importantly, be proud that you were able to quickly quit smoking at home. In the future, help the body get rid of the consequences of a bad habit.

What to do next?

The first question that worries you after giving up cigarettes is how to cleanse a smoker’s lungs at home. It is important to understand that not only the respiratory organs, but also other body systems suffered from the poison. If you are not bothered by a suffocating cough and pain in the heart area, you don’t need to see a doctor. It is enough to drink as much fluid as possible so that toxic substances come out in urine and sweat.

By drinking at least 2 liters of water per day, the lungs will receive enough moisture to form sputum, which will remove substances deposited on the surface of the alveoli. Breathing exercises are also useful to help cough up foul-smelling mucus. You can use folk remedies: aromatic inhalations with pine needles, drinking herbal teas from chamomile and oregano, drinking oats with milk. The effectiveness of these products will be increased by walks in the fresh air and mandatory humidification of the air at home during the heating season. Regular ventilation, using a humidifier or daily wet cleaning will help create a favorable environment in the apartment.

Gradual cessation of smoking. One of the common tips for smokers is not to quit smoking immediately, but to give up cigarettes gradually, reducing the number of cigarettes. It is assumed that in this case the body will have time to “get used” to the fact that it is receiving less and less nicotine, and it will be easier for it to adapt. In practice, this does not work for the specialists at the NarcoDoc clinic. Nicotine is a soft drug. Like any other narcotic substance, it requires a constant increase in the “dose”. If a smoker begins to reduce the number of cigarettes he smokes gradually, he does not get rid of his addiction. Nicotine continues to enter the blood, albeit in smaller quantities. At the same time, the body experiences severe stress. He lacks the amount of nicotine he receives. At the same time, he cannot rearrange his metabolism so as to do without the drug, due to the fact that a person still smokes a certain amount of cigarettes. Trying to quit smoking in this way, a person experiences all the same symptoms as when abruptly quitting cigarettes, but at the same time does not get closer to his goal - to completely get rid of nicotine addiction.

Use only nicotine substitutes when quitting smoking. Patches, gum, tablets and e-cigarettes are marketed as products that help smokers kick their addiction. They relieve withdrawal symptoms, and it turns out that the person no longer smokes, but still does not experience the unpleasant sensations associated with it. This is a good option provided that the person uses other means to overcome nicotine addiction. Therapy, hypnotic suggestion, acupuncture techniques and other means should be used simultaneously with nicotine substitutes. Otherwise, the smoker will return to using cigarettes after some time. When using cigarette substitutes, nicotine continues to enter the bloodstream, which is why nicotine addiction continues. Psychological dependence also does not stop, because a person replaces one action with another. At the NarcoDoc clinic, an integrated approach is used to treat tobacco smoking - psychotherapy, coding, acupuncture and pharmacological treatment.

Excessive concentration. If the person's own motivation to quit smoking is not strong enough, he may artificially concentrate on his decision to give up this habit. Such a person constantly calculates how many hours or days he has already gone without cigarettes, how much money he has managed to save, how many days later nicotine must be removed from the body, etc. This concentration carries a positive charge, but at the same time it constantly focuses the smoker’s attention on the cigarettes that he is now deprived of. This increases stress levels and increases the risk that a person will smoke again.

Expecting quick results. A person who quits smoking begins to wait for his quality of life to improve: he will smell better, shortness of breath will disappear, and the craving for cigarettes will disappear. When this does not happen in either the second or third week, the former smoker becomes disappointed. It seems to him that he quit smoking in vain, because there was no improvement. In practice, there is no point in concentrating on expecting such results. The body needs time to rebuild its metabolism and recover from prolonged toxic exposure. This will happen gradually and unnoticed by the former smoker. However, at some point you will realize that you can climb stairs more easily, you have stopped coughing, or you have not thought about cigarettes for a week or a month. The main thing is not to expect this to happen immediately or within a few days after you finish your last cigarette.

Ignore your health. After quitting smoking, the body rebuilds metabolic processes, recovers, and begins to work normally. During this period, it is important to “support” him. Doctors at the NarcoDoc medical center note that in the first time after quitting cigarettes, dizziness and nausea, problems with concentration, weakness, sleep problems, etc. are possible. It is important not to ignore these symptoms. Help your body recover: switch to a healthy diet, spend more time in the fresh air, control your blood pressure. This kind of health care will help the body rebuild itself faster. In addition, thanks to it, the withdrawal syndrome (removal of physiological dependence) will not be as pronounced.

“Seize” the desire to smoke. Food is often used as a nicotine substitute. A person who gives up cigarettes more often experiences hunger and the desire to eat something. This may also be due to a psychological factor: you need to occupy your free time with something, and instead of smoking, a person starts eating. In the first time after quitting cigarettes, carefully monitor your diet. Try switching to fractional meals. If possible, eat more often, but in small portions. This regimen will help speed up your metabolism and remove nicotine from the body faster. At the same time, you shouldn’t “seize” the absence of cigarettes with unhealthy, heavy food or sweets, otherwise you risk getting not an improvement in your well-being, but excess weight and related problems.

Inappropriate companies. Former smokers often light up again when drinking alcohol or in “smoking” companies. Try to avoid people who might smoke in front of you for a while, and not drink alcohol in the first two to three weeks after quitting smoking. This will help you cope with nicotine addiction easier.

Light up again. Some time after quitting smoking, a person begins to feel that he has completely overcome nicotine addiction. He no longer wants to smoke, he doesn’t think about cigarettes, he feels better. At this time, smokers often light up again. Believing that they have completely overcome addiction, they decide that “just one cigarette” will not cause harm. When nothing changes after the first cigarette, it is easier for the smoker to decide on another cigarette in a provoking situation a week or two later. As a result, he gradually goes from one cigarette a week to one cigarette a day, and soon starts smoking again in the same quantities as before. It is important to remember that the mechanism of nicotine addiction “starts” from the very first puff. If you have already quit smoking, you feel great without cigarettes, you can easily do without them, there is no need to start smoking again. Take care of the result that you managed to achieve.

The NarcoDoc medical center works with the treatment of addictions: nicotine, etc. Our specialists will help you quit smoking forever and cope with addiction quickly and easily. We offer affordable prices for drug treatment services. The NarcoDoc clinic uses several different smoking cessation techniques. We individually select a treatment program in each case.

Addiction to cigarettes is akin to a drug addiction, and a smoker who decides to quit this bad habit develops real withdrawal symptoms. It is its unpleasant symptoms that make you give up and return to smoking again. But if you approach treatment correctly, you can get rid of the habit once and for all.

How does cigarette addiction develop?

It is no secret that nicotine is quickly addictive. According to statistics, only one third of heavy smokers are able to quit smoking even after a long period of smoking. Unfortunately, the later a person decides to give up cigarettes, the more damage has already been done to the body. Some diseases acquired through smoking remain with him forever, albeit in a milder form.

Physical dependence develops from nicotine, since the alkaloid affects the brain receptors responsible for pleasure and euphoria. Even a few hours without a cigarette turn into hell for a smoker; he becomes irritable and nervous, and he may develop an unpleasant characteristic cough.

The body gets used to nicotine very quickly, since it is almost instantly absorbed into the blood and reaches the brain within 10 seconds after inhaling. At this moment, the smoker may experience satisfaction and a surge of energy, but this effect is temporary. After euphoria, fatigue and a feeling of depression set in; you want to get pleasure again as soon as possible. Over time, you have to use more and more cigarettes to achieve the pleasure of smoking. Those who initially smoke several cigarettes a day sooner or later begin to consume cigarettes in packs. As with alcohol, the body gradually gets used to the active substance, developing tolerance, which is why higher doses are required.

Nicotine addiction is much more dangerous for children and adolescents because it develops faster in them than in adults. It is quite simple to understand that a person has become a slave to cigarettes. All his thoughts during breaks between smoking are focused only on tobacco. He cannot give up a cigarette, even if he wants to quit. Persuading relatives not to tar for at least a day is also not very effective. A heavy smoker does not even pay attention to his own health, and cough and shortness of breath do not make him think about quitting the habit.

Physical dependence

Tobacco smoking is, first of all, a physical addiction. Nicotine affects acetylcholine, a receptor responsible for the excitation of nerve impulses in the brain. In effect, this substance “tricks” the brain into reacting in the same way as if acetylcholine had set off a chain reaction through neurons for natural reasons.

In heavy smokers, the structure of the brain changes as it begins to produce much more acetylcholine in an attempt to restore normal functions. With each new cigarette, the body becomes more and more accustomed to smoking. Nicotine becomes a familiar source of joy. When such a smoker misses even one cigarette, he experiences anxiety and stress. These symptoms make it clear that there is a real physical dependence on cigarettes.

Psychological dependence

For many, smoking is a kind of ritual, for example, when communicating with friends, to join the team or to relax. Some people are used to relieving nervous tension after work or a difficult task with a cigarette. The calming effect of nicotine is just an illusion, but quite stable. In fact, the smoker is calmed by measured and deep inhalations and exhalations, fingering the cigarette, etc. The same effect will occur if, during excitement, you roll Chinese balls in your hands or crush plasticine.

Psychological addiction is not always combined with physical addiction, and in the early stages of smoking it is easier to cope with. Usually it is enough to find something to do to keep your hands and head busy.

How to get rid of nicotine addiction

To get rid of a pathological habit, you first need to determine its severity. To do this, they use a variety of psychological tests, where the patient answers questions. Based on the answers, the specialist determines the number of points from 0 to 10. If the dependence is from 7 to 10 points, complex treatment, including drug therapy, is necessary. What is used for treatment:

preparations with medical nicotine or its synthetic analogue;
sedatives;
psychological assistance;
physiotherapy.

In addition to classical medical measures, proprietary methods are also used, as well as non-traditional ones in the form of herbal decoctions, hypnosis and other things. In any case, if the addiction is severe, it is necessary to undergo treatment under the supervision of a doctor.

Medications

The most common group of drugs for the treatment of nicotine addiction is nicotine replacement. It includes tablets, patches and chewing gum that contain small amounts of nicotine or its analogues. These drugs are designed to alleviate the symptoms of withdrawal at first. Some of them can be taken even before quitting smoking, gradually reducing the number of cigarettes. Such drugs include:

Nicorette;
Niktivin;
Cytisine;
Champix;
Varenicline.

All medications should be taken strictly according to the instructions. An overdose of pills can cause addiction, which you will also have to get rid of. The second most popular group of drugs includes sedatives. Surviving the first week after quitting smoking is very difficult psychologically. Drugs such as Nortriptyline or Bupropion are designed to normalize sleep, relieve aggression, irritability and depressive feelings.

Unconventional recipes

Non-traditional methods primarily include various folk methods of getting rid of cigarette addiction. To fight the urge to smoke, you can chew:

calamus roots;
eucalyptus or mint leaves;
pumpkin seeds;
pine nuts.

Some people advise soaking all cigarettes in milk and drying them thoroughly. The puffs after the manipulations done will seem simply disgusting. And to prevent your hands from reaching for a cigarette, especially during periods of boredom or nervous tension, they need to be occupied with something. You can sort through small pebbles, count change, assemble puzzles, or roll so-called health balls in your palms.

Help from a psychologist in eliminating addiction

Few people manage to quit smoking on their own, and you shouldn’t blame yourself for it. Fighting any addiction is a long and difficult path that is difficult to go through alone. In addition to your own desire to quit smoking, you need the help of a specialist. Advantages of psychological support:

Psychological support is very important. It helps you find the right motivation and reconsider your life priorities.

For those who are determined to quit smoking, there are several tips to help overcome addiction and start living in a new way. What do we have to do:

Avoid alcohol. It removes internal inhibitions and reduces the ability to resist temptations. In addition, a drunk person often wants to smoke even more.
Watch your diet. Giving up cigarettes for a heavy smoker is very stressful. The body’s first reaction to it will be the desire to replace one addiction with another. For many, very sweet or fatty foods become a source of joy, and often such overeating goes unnoticed by the person himself.
In fact, a former smoker begins to automatically eat everything that comes to hand, even if he is not hungry. This is the main reason for weight gain after quitting cigarettes.
Take vitamin complexes. Vitamins A, E, C and B (especially B1 and B6) help the body cope with nicotine withdrawal more easily. The average course of treatment is 1 month.
To distract from thoughts of cigarettes, you can use chewing gum or sugar-free candies.
Do breathing exercises. Deep breathing helps you calm down and relieve stress. The exercises are very simple. It is enough to breathe with your stomach. You need to take in air for three counts, hold it for the same amount of time and release it in the same period of time.
Drink sedatives. Instead of drugs, you can use herbal teas or decoctions with valerian, motherwort, lemon balm or chamomile. These plants have a calming effect, help get rid of insomnia and relieve irritability. People with hypotension should drink such drugs with caution, as they lower blood pressure and pulse.
Get a good night's sleep. Sound sleep and good rest reduce the level of the stress hormone cortisol in the blood.
Move more, play sports. Any physical activity, even general cleaning of the house, distracts you from thinking about cigarettes. After sports exercises or hard physical labor, a calm and peaceful state occurs. The fact that smoking before or after significantly worsens the results, affecting endurance, also speaks in favor of sports and greater activity.
Remove from sight everything that reminds you of cigarettes. This also applies to nest eggs, if you have any. You need to throw away all cigarette packs without regret. Lighters are strongly associated with smoking in the mind. Therefore, you will also have to get rid of them, and in the kitchen use matches or household lighters for the stove.
Protect yourself from smoking companies. In the first time after quitting cigarettes, it is especially important to have as little contact as possible with other cigarette lovers. This means not standing in a group with colleagues in a smoking room, even just to chat, and not being in nightclubs, hookah bars and other places where people might smoke a lot.
Find a hobby. Any new hobby will help take your mind off thoughts about cigarettes; you simply won’t have time for them. A hobby can be anything, just sit down and think about what you wanted to do most, but lacked the determination or resources.

And of course, any smoker, without buying cigarettes, can easily calculate how much money can be saved by giving up the bad habit. Financial incentive is quite a powerful factor.

How to deal with stress when quitting smoking

When stressed, negative emotions are the first to spill out, psychologically it’s easier. After yelling at colleagues or family members, the smoker calms down by unloading his irritation on others. Relief after an outburst of rage does come, but it is not worth the subsequent shame for one’s own behavior and damaged relationships with people. To release accumulated stress, you can use much more peaceful techniques.

Guided meditation can help you calm down and relax. To do this, you need to sit in a comfortable position and imagine yourself in a pleasant, beautiful place. It could be a beach on the ocean, a forest clearing - anything.

It is important that the chosen place is associated with peace and security. You must not only imagine the desired picture, but also try to hear the sounds around you, feel the grass, sand, and wind.

Just 5-10 minutes of such meditation a day will make a person more balanced. Tense thoughts about the future and the unknown cause stress no worse than abruptly quitting cigarettes. Constant worry about whether or not you will be able to quit smoking and what will happen next often leads to a stressful state.

It is important to train yourself not to live in the past or future, but to solve problems here and now, in today. You should not reproach yourself because the desire to smoke does not go away quickly and periodically returns. Attempts to return to a bad habit happen to everyone, and here it is important to overcome the psychological craving to smoke. The support of loved ones at such moments is most valuable.

Prevention of addiction

Smoking prevention is not individualized. It is carried out at the state level. To ensure that the population smokes less and children do not start smoking at all, the following measures are being taken:

A ban on demonstrating smoking to the younger generation. This applies primarily to age markings on films and books in which characters smoke. Adults, of course, should also not smoke in front of children, especially in public places.
Ban on advertising of tobacco products. Such measures exist not only in Russia, but also in other countries. It is impossible to come across cigarette advertisements on the streets or on television; even the shelves in stores are covered with an impenetrable curtain.
Mandatory information about the consequences of smoking. For this purpose, schools hold preventive classes where the dangers of cigarettes are explained to teenagers. The packs are printed with images of the consequences of diseases typical for a smoker.
Propaganda of healthy lifestyle.
Age restrictions for the sale of cigarettes (up to 18 years).
Smoking ban in public places and trains. The law has been in force since 2013, and any tobacco products fall under it. Electronic cigarettes are not yet banned, but they may also be included in the list if appropriate amendments are adopted.

The best prevention of smoking is not to start it at all. And if the temptation is great, you should not spend time in companies that smoke, since passive inhalation of smoke is very harmful.

Conclusion

Getting rid of nicotine addiction is difficult, but it is possible with an integrated approach to treatment. Medical care should be combined with psychological support and auxiliary methods. But the most important thing that anyone who is planning to quit smoking cannot do without is willpower and desire. Without these components, final recovery from addiction is impossible.