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How To Quit Smoking?
Posted on
Wed, 2 Jul 2014
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 2 Jul 2014
Answered on
Wed, 23 Jul 2014
Last reviewed on
Question : How to quit smoking ? What is the recommended alternative ?
Brief Answer:
Described below
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.
One way to quit smoking is to decide a date and stop smoking from that date. You will experience some withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms and the severity can differ among people. These last for around 15 days.
You will need to deal with them symptomatically. For example if you have headache, then you take ibuprofen 200 mg.
Recommended alternative should be tried, if your will power is not strong enough. The alternative that can be used is nicotine patch, gum, sprays, lozenges.
There are some medicines available that can aid in smoking cessation but you will need to take them under medical supervision.
Hope it helps.
Dr Vaishalee
Described below
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.
One way to quit smoking is to decide a date and stop smoking from that date. You will experience some withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms and the severity can differ among people. These last for around 15 days.
You will need to deal with them symptomatically. For example if you have headache, then you take ibuprofen 200 mg.
Recommended alternative should be tried, if your will power is not strong enough. The alternative that can be used is nicotine patch, gum, sprays, lozenges.
There are some medicines available that can aid in smoking cessation but you will need to take them under medical supervision.
Hope it helps.
Dr Vaishalee
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I tried with the sudden stop, but it never worked for me. Can you please prescribe a nicotine gum and its usage so that I can try that. Unfortunately it is a low will power case :-(
regards,
XXXX
regards,
XXXX
Brief Answer:
May be you can try stopping for sometime
Detailed Answer:
Hi again,
If it is hard for you to stop for prolonged periods, there is another way of quitting.
You quit for a specific period maybe one day, two days or even a few hours initially over the weekend. Once you develop the self confidence, you can increase the interval. This method works in most cases.
Nicorette Chewing gum: Smokers of >20 cigarettes/day: Initial: Chew 4 mg gum when the urge to smoke occurs; reduce to 2 mg gum when possible.
Smokers of ≤20 cigarettes/day: Start with 2 mg gum.
Maximum dose that can be taken: ≤15 pieces of either strengths/day.
It may be taken with or without food. Chew gum until the taste becomes strong, then rest it between the gums & the cheek. When the taste fades, start chewing it again. Repeat the chewing routine for 30 min.
Alternatively e-cigarettes are available and can be tried before trying nicotine gums.
Hope it helps.
Dr Vaishalee
May be you can try stopping for sometime
Detailed Answer:
Hi again,
If it is hard for you to stop for prolonged periods, there is another way of quitting.
You quit for a specific period maybe one day, two days or even a few hours initially over the weekend. Once you develop the self confidence, you can increase the interval. This method works in most cases.
Nicorette Chewing gum: Smokers of >20 cigarettes/day: Initial: Chew 4 mg gum when the urge to smoke occurs; reduce to 2 mg gum when possible.
Smokers of ≤20 cigarettes/day: Start with 2 mg gum.
Maximum dose that can be taken: ≤15 pieces of either strengths/day.
It may be taken with or without food. Chew gum until the taste becomes strong, then rest it between the gums & the cheek. When the taste fades, start chewing it again. Repeat the chewing routine for 30 min.
Alternatively e-cigarettes are available and can be tried before trying nicotine gums.
Hope it helps.
Dr Vaishalee
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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