Smoking is totally out. Why is obvious. Even occasional smokers should know that they are not immune to the health consequences that the vice can have – and that non-smokers look better, have more fun in bed and have money on the high side. Reason enough to stop for good, right? FITBOOK explains how this works.
Smoking can have serious health effects – studies have clearly shown this. Nevertheless, around a quarter of Germans aged 15 and over smoke. Even those who would not describe themselves as smokers, but only smoke occasionally – for example in the evening with a glass of wine in company – run the risk that the questionable hobby will become a habit and also have a negative effect on their health. There is currently another important reason to keep your hands off the fags: the corona virus. Smokers belong to the risk group for Covid-19 disease, as explained by the experts at the Robert Koch Institute, among others.1 There are a few tips that make it easier to quit smoking – FITBOOK has compiled them.
11 effective tips to quit smoking
1. Find the right time to quit smoking
The best time to quit smoking would logically be the next best thing. The problem: If you are not yet ready to face the challenge because you simply still like to reach for a cigarette, you will not master it either. But if that situation comes up again, in which you find your smoky clothes smelly, have to cough hard and/or you don’t even feel like a fag: throw the whole packet in the bin – and don’t buy a new one!
2. Do it all – or not at all
Reducing the amount of cigarettes you smoke every day may seem like a good solution to gradually quitting cigarettes, but it doesn’t work. The allowed four suddenly become five, on particularly stressful days sometimes eight, and suddenly you’re right back where you started with quitting. If you are sure that you are fed up with smoking, then draw a final line.
Also interesting: Can smoking trigger schizophrenia and depression?
3. Motivate yourself
Remember what you gain. You don’t have to stop smoking (and miss the faint-hearted, albeit terribly harmful, fags), you’re well on your way to joining the attractive circle of committed non-smokers. These are people whose fingers, hair and breath don’t smell like smoke, who can taste food fully, whole and untarnished, who are in much better physical condition and aren’t looked at with pity or disparagement when they’re eating in a restaurant Put nicotine supplies in front of the door. On the other hand, almost everything is better…
Also interesting: »Smoking can also trigger back pain
4. State that you have stopped smoking
Doesn’t anyone around you believe that you can give up smoking? Then they will prove it to you. Brag about it and announce it to a large audience – the impressed looks of your counterpart will certainly spur you on to stick with it. It would be a bit embarrassing to have to admit defeat a short time later. Another positive side effect: your friends are in the picture, so they can take into account any irritability that may arise and try to avoid situations that could make your endeavor more difficult.
5. Introduce new rituals
Most smokers associate certain situations of the day with a cigarette – such as coffee in the afternoon, a beer after work or the end of dinner. These are the moments when it will be particularly difficult for you. Instead of reaching for chocolate or candy like many new ex-smokers do – and soon getting annoyed about a few unwanted extra kilos – it is advisable to introduce new rituals. For example, if you feel like smoking, always apply lotion to your hands or check your hairstyle in the mirror.
6. Look forward to better sex
Various surveys are said to have already shown that non-smokers have better sex. It is scientifically proven and written on various cigarette packets that nicotine narrows the arteries. Conversely, those who give up smoking experience better blood circulation – also in the crucial organs. Last but not least, this is noticed by the greater stability. Erectile dysfunction caused by smoking is then no longer an issue. For example, a small US study with ten subjects who were monitored at night using special monitors was able to determine an improvement in erectile function after just 24 hours of abstinence from smoking.2 Swelling and stiffness of the penis could be improved quickly, according to one conclusion.
Also interesting: Anyone who smokes e-cigarettes every day doubles the risk of erectile dysfunction
7. Plan an investment
Anyone who no longer buys cigarettes saves money. Depending on how much you have previously consumed, you will soon accumulate a certain sum that is much better invested than in smoke.
8. Do sports
Maybe you were already active in sports – but definitely not as successful as you would have been if you had given up cigarettes earlier. Nicotine damages the bronchi and affects lung function, oxygen supply and condition, and it also inhibits muscle growth. Conversely, exercise helps you quit. Sport is a wonderful distraction – especially when you do it in company – and triggers various happy hormones that effortlessly replace the long-cherished nicotine kick. And if you really blow your lungs out on the running track, you automatically don’t feel like puffing anymore.
Also interesting: 5 foods that are said to be good for the lungs
9. Go to the beautician
Skin experts can tell at first glance whether you are a smoker or not: by sallow, dry skin, blemishes, dark circles under the eyes and the formation of wrinkles. Nicotine reduces the vitamin C content in the skin, which is necessary for collagen formation and would be beneficial for a plump, youthful complexion. Why don’t you go to the beauty salon (if the exit restrictions allow it again) and have your skin examined! The staff will agree that you’d look so much better if you ditch the smoking.
Also interesting: How long does it take for the body to recover from the last cigarette?
10. Use apps
Some apps also offer help for all technology-savvy nicotine addicts who want to quit smoking. They motivate in a playful way to achieve the set goal – for example by listing health achievements that have been achieved after a certain smoke-free period – e.g. B. the normalization of blood pressure and pulse after 20 minutes. Or automatic counters for the cigarettes not smoked and the money saved. Our colleague Andreas Filbig from TECHBOOK tried smoke-free apps himself – with success. Read his testimonial here.
11. Face the dangers of smoking
One of the most important tips for quitting smoking permanently is to deal with the dangers. Smokers turn a blind eye to this. The thought that cigarette consumption damages the entire body (and can trigger high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, arteriosclerosis and various types of cancer) should actually be an unbeatable motivational club to refrain from doing so forever. If you get weak from time to time: Please remember that anything between one and ten cigarettes a day can increase the risk of lung cancer tenfold (!). Then the fluppe is guaranteed to no longer taste good.
Why is smoking so addictive?
Aside from the habitual aspect of holding a cigarette between the fingers, smoking also has an immediate effect on the mind and spirit. Those who are tense feel calmed by a deep breath, those who cannot concentrate find new focus (at least for a short time). Docking points for nicotine quickly develop in the central nervous system, which – if not kept in a good mood – take revenge with withdrawal symptoms.