It starts out as a simple way to destress. A few minutes of a puff of not even 10 milligrams of nicotine in a stick. However, smoking almost always becomes a habit, according to medical researches. And it’s not only because of nicotine’s addictive properties but because smoking also changes your reaction towards it so that you become more and more dependent on it.

Through expert tips from Numan in the UK, here are practices to aid you on your journey back to health, and how you can finally quit smoking. 

How To Quit Smoking 

1. The “Why” Of Quitting Smoking

Medical professionals agree that there’s a psychology to smoking habits and why people seem to have trouble getting away from its clutches. If you often want to chuck nicotine out of your regimen yet find yourself going back to a stick of your favourite cigarette brand, it’s probably because you aren’t hanging on to your reason from quitting smoking in the first place. 

Remind yourself of it on a moment-by-moment basis, and whenever you face the urge to grab a cigarette stick. No excuses. No telling yourself that you’ll only have another puff of it. If your health, and being able to keep healthy for yourself, and for your loved ones is the primary motivation for doing so, then keep fighting. It’s something that has to be consistently and continually done with proactiveness. 

2. Learn A New Hobby

Or if you already have one, enhance it. Smokers tend to view smoking as a means of coping with fatigue and stress. Thus, let your hobby be that alternative. Painting, sports, music, driving, cooking, baking, gardening, carpentry, we could go on and on with this list. 

At the same time, you may not want to include Netflix and chilling on here. You can. Just not as a “hobby”. The “hobby” we’re referring to here are things that will keep both your mind and your body focused on an activity. Couch potato-ing for hours on end might bring you to want to have a smoke while having a movie marathon. Movie nights are still okay. They’re just not to replace active hobbies. 

3. Stay Fit

Aside from number 2, bring in “fitness” to your routine. By this, we mean that you should incorporate exercise as a part of your daily-to-weekly regimen. If “every day” is too tough to fit into your busy-bee, hectic schedule, how about every other day? 

Workouts aren’t only beneficial in that they’re among the pillars of overall well-being. It’s also that physical activities will discipline your mind and your body to not crave for that which is detrimental to your health. 

Additionally, you may encounter withdrawal symptoms a few days-to-weeks into your quit-smoking goal. Letting your body be in tip-top shape and ready for said withdrawal symptoms will be for your benefit.

4. Avoid Alcohol

A majority of smokers accompany their alcohol-drinking with a cigarette, almost like a social practice. However, now that you’re committed to ridding yourself of smoking, it will be helpful to quit alcohol as well. 

We know that it doesn’t sound like quite the recommendation, especially if you’re merely a social drinker. Still, every little step counts. So let’s count this in and remove the littlest triggers that impact your tendency to smoke. 

5. Supplements

There are starter packs and replacement packs such as what you’ll find in online clinics which can lessen nicotine cravings. These, along with the three other tips you’ve just read will work together in kicking your smoking habit to the curb and have you live life better and healthier without smoking.