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World No Tobacco Day So you finally manage to quit smoking
Smoking is known to be associated with significant health risks. Nevertheless, in this country almost every third adult regularly takes to the cigarette. Many want to stop, but do not really know how or do not dare the attempt for fear of failure. In this regard, smoking cessation has exclusive benefits, including, in addition to improved health and longer life expectancy, e.g. also include increased performance and reduced stress. On the occasion of the World No Tobacco Day 2016, an expert gives tips on how to successfully exit the addiction.
A clear decision to quit is helpful
"I'll definitely smoke my last cigarette tomorrow!" Most smokers probably know this project. Some people actually succeed in spontaneously expressing the last tip and never to start again. However, this includes the firm will to do it - and even that does not guarantee a lasting success. "The clear decision helps sometimes. Unfortunately, the temptation is sometimes too great and it takes several attempts to overcome smoking spontaneously, "explains Edith Girstenbrei-Wittling of the Caritas addiction counseling and treatment center Augsburg in an interview with the" Augsburger Allgemeine ".
Giving up smoking is often not easy. But it is always worth it! (Image: Brian Jackson / fotolia.com) For many, smoking cessation is therefore not easy and there is a risk of relapses through familiar routines. "I had been on it for three weeks, but then I had some stress with my boss and bought another package on the way back home," says Anke P. For some people who want to quit, according to Edith Girstenbrei- Wittling can not cope alone, instead they need "help from a group," said the expert.
Switching to e-cigarette does not make sense
Not infrequently, attempts are also made to give up "normal" smoking by switching to e-cigarette. But of the addiction expert is not convinced of the Caritas, because by the e-cigarettes, the smoker would retain old patterns of behavior. "Better you could do it without a replacement, maybe a nicotine patch," says Girstenbrei-Wittling. In some cases, smoking cessation is also more an involuntary response to a change in living conditions such as a pregnancy or illness. However, many ex-smokers are struggling and often need several attempts to live a smoke-free life.
Whether the new cigarette packs with shock images of black lungs and bloody smoker's legs can help here remains to be seen. On 20 May, the bill amending the Tobacco Products Act came into force, according to which in future at least 65% of the front and back of the parcels must be covered with warnings in the form of scary photos and text. This implementation of an EU directive also applies to rotary tobacco bags and hookah tobacco. But the drastic measure is controversial. Many experts doubt the usefulness of the photos and call for a wider ban on tobacco advertising. The Augsburg tobacconist owners are largely the same opinion, reports Gabriela Lösche from the tobacconist Bertsche in conversation with the newspaper: "Who already smokes, who will continue to smoke."
Help by Allen Carr's "No Smoking at Last"
Many are willing to stop in the well-known book "Finally non-smokers" or in seminars that are based on the content of the work, which the Briton Allen Carr in 1985 write. Carr had quit smoking after more than three decades and now wanted to help others with their "easyway" approach to overcome their addictions.
Hypnotherapy can also be used effectively to quit smoking. Here the smoker is put into a state of trance in order to be able to analyze and "reprogram" the deep-seated psychological motives for smoking. So does someone grab Especially in case of stress or tension to the cigarette, it is necessary to learn alternative behavior patterns for these situations. Many people also rely on acupuncture to quit smoking. It usually three needles in the so-called "addiction points" in the ear, which suppresses the desire smoke and withdrawal symptoms such as inner restlessness and irritability should be minimized. Not infrequently, a session is enough to get rid of the old truck.
Health and psyche benefit
And that's always worth it. Because giving up smoking means only benefits. These include above all the health effects, because the smoke is, for example, as a central risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke, smoker's cough or a smoker's leg. In addition, it is responsible for 25 to 30 percent of all cancer deaths, according to the Federal Center for Health Education (BzgA), reports the news agency "dpa". Accordingly, according to the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg (DKFZ), male smokers have a 20 to 30-fold increased lung cancer risk compared to non-smokers. In smoking women, the risk is 9 times higher compared to non-smokers.
On the psyche, the exit from the addiction has a positive effect. For the new life without cigarettes describe many former smokers as "independent" and "free", since no more stress arises when necessarily be smoked at certain intervals. In addition to the benefits of the external appearance, because smoking provides, for example for more wrinkles and faster skin aging. If you stop, you usually quickly get a much fresher and smoother complexion and look healthier overall. The hair and nails become stronger again, as well as unpleasant yellowish discoloration often disappears on the fingers and on the nails. (No)