Smoking cessation: how to avoid relapse Over 80% of smokers have ever announced their intention to quit. But quitting a cigarette is not that easy, and it's easy to relapse. Advice from the High Authority for Health to avoid smoking again. According to the Heart Foundation of Great Britain, the majority of smokers quit smoking four times without success before successfully quitting on the 5th attempt . It is indeed difficult not to relapse: as we have smoked for years, every day and in all places, the habit ends up having a very great force, close to that of instinct.
As underlined by Dr. CĂŠdric Grouchka, member of the High Authority for Health (HAS), only 3% of smokers who decide to quit without any help do so. For this doctor, who worked on the HAS recommendations for quitting smoking, the key success factor is support from the attending physician. "The general practitioner is the key professional in realizing a desire to quit smoking, supporting the smoker and preventing relapses.
Dedicated consultations should make it possible to deliver psychological support and medical follow-up, conditions for greater success" insists he.
RISKY SITUATIONS THAT CAUSE RELAPSE To avoid relapse, the French National Authority for Health has developed a tool (called Beck's columns ) which allows the doctor and his patient to assess risky situations and the emotions they arouse:
“I am with friends and there is a good atmosphere. As I am happy, I want to light a cigarette ”;
“My boss scolded me. Discouraged, I light a cigarette ”;
" My child is sick. Anxious, stressed, I light a cigarette ”;
“I have an important job that I find it difficult to concentrate on. Tired, dejected, I take a cigarette break ”...
Once these most risky situations have been analyzed, the doctor analyzes the automatic thoughts that will inevitably lead the ex-smoker to relapse: "It will calm me down; You have to face it; It will stimulate me; It's just for a times...".
He helps his patient to identify situations and places associated with the urge to smoke, and teaches him to identify his behaviors in this context to better help him to remedy it. "There will be missteps, but each misstep gives the opportunity to analyze new automatic thoughts and allow improvement" adds the doctor who considers that quitting smoking is a fight that requires instead of a real strategy. "For some patients who are not ready to quit, cutting back on smoking may be seen as a first step towards total abstinence. This reduction in cigarette consumption allows the smoker to have control over his addictive behavior, which can be a driver of change ".
4 TIPS TO AVOID RELAPSE - Avoid places where people smoke. It is preferable to hang out with nonsmokers and moderate your alcohol consumption, as alcohol can make you want to smoke, diminish your self-control and therefore expose you to missteps and relapses.
- Avoid taking even a puff of a cigarette because this misstep leads most of the time to relapse. It is easier to refuse the first cigarette than the second. – Best Dietician for weight loss
- Practice a sport that requires breathing (such as running, for example) by gradually increasing the time you devote to it so that the desire to progress (and therefore to gain in breathing capacity!)
- Direct the money saved on cigarettes to another expense (one of your passions or one of your hobbies) because if you keep these savings for hypothetical expenses, they will remain available for tobacco.