Quitting cigarettes is tough at any age, especially when smokers become addicted in childhood, but so we’re happy to see that FitPerez reader Anna is trying to quit at just 18-years-old!
Unfortunately, it hasn’t been easy and she’s having a tough time kicking the habit, so she wrote smoking counselor Craig Nabat for advice, asking:
Hi Craig,
Im 18 years old, Ive been smoking since I was 12. Ive tried to quit lots of times. I denied for longest time that I was addicted, first time I tried to quit, I cried for 3 days before I broke down. Ive tried nearly everything. Any suggestions for what I can do? What does your program offer!
Please help!
According to Craig:
Hello Anna,
Don’t beat yourself up about smoking. It is highly addictive and you will eventually quit.
You must make a plan to quit. Pick a specific day when you are committed to quitting. I’d recommend going cold-turkey. Using smoking cessation products like the nicotine patch or gum can actually prolong the quitting process. You want to stay away from nicotine. The goal is you must get nicotine out of your blood stream and NEVER allow it to enter again to stay off cigarettes.
The first 3 days will be the most difficult, because nicotine is completely coming out of your system. It will take another 7 days for the toxins to get removed. My suggestion is to get a book about quitting smoking also at your local book store or purchase one online to help with the psychological aspects of quitting. The first step to quitting smoking is having the desire to stop.
The pain anguish during this 10 day quitting process is short, compared to a lifetime of smoking.
Sincerely,
Craig
For more tips to quit smoking, feel free to tweet Craig questions @freedomlaser or write to [email protected]!
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