ICanCaRe 7D Intervention to Quit Tobacco

7Ds of Quitting Tobacco

Ready to Quit tobacco? Tobacco Cessation is a bumpy ride for the users who want to quit tobacco. One needs to be well equipped and prepare themselves for the withdrawal symptoms, which is manageable if you do it with full consciousness as it makes the journey easy and interesting.

Withdrawal symptoms can be present in various ways – it can vary from mild to intense. It may be in the form of physical discomfort, that may look like an illness or it can be just feeling of depression, sadness and continuous thoughts and urges of tobacco. Tobacco has been your companion and has taken over your life for many years and now you need to break apart from this habit. Managing the discomforts that comes early on can make you win over tobacco for a life time. It is better to manage with a tailored plan to keep yourself on track.

The 7Ds of Tobacco Cessation

Most of the urges can be controlled by this ICanCaRe Seven Ds which I am going to describe. You can find more details on other blogs.

Understand these seven Ds and memorize them and respond to your cravings or urges in a healthy way. Believe me these Seven Ds are the mantras of tobacco Cessation.

The Seven Ds are

    1. Drink Water
    2. Deep Breathing Exercise
    3. Delay
    4. Distract
    5. Diet
    6. Discuss
    7. Drug

1.Drink Water

Proper hydration is most important during tobacco cessation.  Dryness of the mouth is a fairly common for all as part of withdrawal symptoms. During cravings just take 2 glasses of water/juice etc, surprisingly enough the cravings disappear. You feel at ease both physically and mentally. It also helps flush toxins from your body.

2.Deep Breathing Exercise

This quickly takes care of the stress, irritability and sleeplessness that comes with tobacco cessation both smoking and chewing. Follow the instruction given below:

  • Close your eyes, keep your back straight, palms to the front and deep breath.
  • Long inhale slowly fill your lungs with air, hold for 2 seconds.
  • Exhale slowly and completely, hold for 2 seconds.
  • Repeat this for 10 times. Be mindful of your breath. You will feel the calmness and relaxation.

Managing stress is the most critical thing to do during the quit journey. Mostly people use tobacco to relieve stress and sometimes quitting itself creates stress of its own. Stress causes strong urges to smoke or chew tobacco. DBE helps to destress on the spot and is a simple doable way to attain that.

3.Delay

Delay till the urges pass away. Cravings are difficult, but they usually pass fairly quickly.

Most urges last only for 3-5 minutes!

When you first quit, it may seem the craving is unending lasting for the full day, but the truth is that the urges are really short in duration. They are more during the initial few days of stopping tobacco, but with practice to learn to deal with them rather than tobacco, they will fade away.

4.Distract

Distract yourself! Think of anything but tobacco. You can do many things during these 5 minutes. But remember to avoid triggers do something different than what you did before. You can do yoga, exercise, cook, solve a puzzle etc. Distraction breaks the continuous thought process which would pull you back into tobacco. Controlling the mind and action to keep the thoughts at bay is important move ahead.

5.Discuss

Discuss with your buddy or with your quit coach. This will relieve you. Self-appreciate your resolve to quit, discuss and surely you can tide over the urges.

6.DIET

Indian tobacco use consists of chewing or smoking. There is tendency to have something in the mouth or in between the lips and fingers. Further there may be increase in appetite when one quits tobacco. Be careful to choose healthy alternatives – salad, peanuts, sprouts and so many. But please avoid fat and carbs, which would lead to increase in weight. As an alternate to chewing, I usually suggest roasted chia seeds.

7.Drug

In India tobacco use is associated with many of our routine. One of the most common is bowel movements. Some use tobacco for dental pain, some smoke to suppress cough. These have to be addressed and taken care either by some home remedies, maintaining hydration or it may require certain medications. Addressing these issues with understanding and scientific approach with reasoning will help control a majority of craving and withdrawal symptoms.

A good quit plan addresses both the short-term challenge of stopping use of tobacco and the long-term challenge of preventing relapse.

Planning for what you expect while quitting and re-planning as you move ahead in your journey will make you achieve your goals. The ICanCaRe Tobacco Wellness specialists and Quit Coach hand hold you during your journey, intervene and guide as required. The program is available online and you can connect with us through our app (https://app.icancare.in) or contact 011-430-77695 or visit https://www.icancare.in/quittobacco.

The above seven Ds are the mantras for smoking cessation. They help in most cases but need to be complemented by specific medicine, nicotine receptor agonist meant to control the withdrawal and reward phenomenon of tobacco. The bottom-line is that it is possible to quit and specialized help is available – earlier you quit better for you.

Published by

Dr. Pawan Gupta

Dr. Pawan Gupta is a trusted Senior Surgical Oncologist, social activist, and author, engaged in creating awareness and changing the way cancer is perceived in society. He is a renowned transformational speaker on cancer chronic diseases and lifestyle specifically tobacco. Thousands have benefitted from his workshops, seminars, camps, and training programs. He has been featured in Buzz Creator and on many channels on TV. He is the Founder of ICanCaRe, an Innovative enterprise for Cancer Care and Rehabilitation. Working extensively in Tobacco Cessation data-driven protocol-based intervention through a network of Specialists and experts on ICanCaRe APP, Virtual Clinics, and ICanCaRe National Quitline. National Convenor for Tobacco Cessation courses for the first time in India introduced under Gujarat University His populist campaigns “WIN OVER CANCER”, “SAVE the Youth – Win over tobacco”, “Chota Daana”, “Catch them Early”, and “My Hygiene My Responsibility” has gained him wide accolades. In his mission to win over cancer, he has a unique methodological approach to quitting tobacco. The book WIN OVER TOBACCO – MADE EASY is a step-by-step guide for tobacco addicts to overcome their cravings. The Book had more than 10000 Downloads within 30 Days of being made available. He received the prestigious ICD International Award in 2007, Vivekananda Sister Margarette Award 2017 and Delhi NGO leadership Award 2017, AIECS award 2018, Asia Africa Leadership in Social Innovation 2019, MICC Innovation Award 2019, Rashtriya Prabasi Odia Paribar Award 2019. Professionally he has conducted more than 11000 cancer surgeries and was a pioneer in establishing and modernizing surgical oncology in some of the major hospitals in Delhi NCR. He did his graduation and post-graduation from SCB Medical College, Cuttack. He enhanced his surgical skills M.Ch and Fellowship in Surgical Oncology from Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI), Ahmedabad. He has held several positions during his career in various hospitals. Dr. Pawan has published 30 papers in National and International journals and is actively involved in several research projects. He is an active member of the Telemedicine Society of India, India Association of Surgical Oncology, Association of Surgeons of India, and Foundation for Head and Neck Oncology. He is seen as a mentor of strayed souls, and a soothing balm to those tormented by cancer.

12 thoughts on “ICanCaRe 7D Intervention to Quit Tobacco”

    1. Thanks a lot.for promoting the campaign #SAVEtheyouth
      Yes I simplify the complex problem for you to amplify amongst your contact.

  1. A well researched, intricately detailed article which is like a must read for everyone. It is specifically addressing the crucial issue of how we can help our loved ones quit tobacco.

  2. Nice practical advice. Once a person has made up his mind and heart to lave tobacco these 7 D would come to his/her rescue.

  3. It is a intricately detailed article which is self explanatory and hence a must read. It will be a motivational eye opener for tobacco users .

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