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Treatment to stop smoking

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The proportion of people who stop smoking without help is 5-7%. This success rate can be multiplied by four, it is 20-30%, with specific treatment, consisting of educational support, group or individual meetings with a health professional in psychobehavioural therapy or specific drugs.

The smoking cessation process starts with:

Motivation and a commitment from the person who smokes towards a decision not to smoke. This is often done best by choosing a date not too far away, D-Day, to stop smoking.

Once aware of starting this process, personalised support is offered (either individually or in a group) to acquire the tools necessary to face nicotine addiction, understand the initial symptoms (withdrawal syndrome), be able to share and express emotional situations, and raise any possible concerns.

This therapy can also be supplemented by specialist pharmacological treatment, which is usually well tolerated by the patient. Examples are cytisine and nicotine replacement therapy.

Recommendations to stop smoking

When stopping smoking, the smoker starts a long journey that does not have an ending date; but rather it is the smoker himself who sets his own pace, respecting his own tempo. This involves going through a series of emotional states, from frustration, when relapsing, to satisfaction as small successes are achieved.

Being aware and knowing what is going to happen next are very important to be able to face the obstacles arising until reaching the goal. The intense urge to smoke will appear for a few minutes and, just as quickly as it comes, it will disappear. This situation is constantly repeated, so you have to remember it will always last a few minutes. Thus, you should follow a series of strategies to appease the smoking urge.

Planning things to do on a particular day. It is useful to consider those activities that you have done without smoking up till now, repeat them during the day and apply them in your daily routine, as well as discover new ones.

Stay hydrated with water and/or fruit juice; you can use a bottle or glass fitted with a stem that simulates the act of smoking.

Keep your hands busy with a pencil or chew sugarless gum.

Do relaxing things like yoga, walking or going to the cinema, for example.

Meet up with non-smoking friends and family and, if anyone does smoke, try and go indoors instead of being outside.

Learn and practise breathing exercises such as the 5-5-5 technique. Inhale deeply for 5 seconds, hold the breath for 5 more, and exhale slowly for another 5 seconds. Repeat this process about 10 times when you feel the compulsive urge to smoke (those well-known withdrawal or “cold turkey” symptoms).