Whenever you approach a tobacco consumer to stop smoking or chewing, the very first and obvious reaction is “Why?”; “I can quit any time I want to.”; “Why are you worried? I will quit when I feel the need”; “I’m not interested.”; “You must smoke with me to feel how relieving it feels.” You experience immediate resistance to the thought of quitting despite knowing the fact that deep down the tobacco addict is feeling guilty and wants to quit the habit.
Ever wondered why there is so much of resistance to quit smoking or chewing? In this blog we are going to explore many such situations which makes a smoker or a chewer hesitant to quitting the habit.
- Fear of Withdrawals: many smokers and chewers have tried quitting before and relapsed again and again. This is because they have experienced numerous withdrawals ranging from acidity, headache, vomiting, loss of sleep, tingling sensations, irritation, mood swings, restlessness, etc. and have failed to cope and manage it, thereby causing loss of confidence and relapse. They do not want to suffer and experience the pain again. This fear of experiencing the withdrawals makes them very much hesitant to quitting their habit.
- Loss of confidence from being unable to quit, develops a belief that they can never quit. Hence they do not wish to quit smoking and chewing and keep continuing the habit
- Many a times some associated illnesses develop from tobacco consumption and these illnesses are eminently visible on quitting tobacco. Again the tobacco consumers start believing that these problems arise from not consuming tobacco and they keep continuing smoking and chewing.
- There’s lack of proper support from the family, friends and colleagues. Constant nagging causes irritation and abets resistance to quitting
- Inadequate professional support and lack of experienced cessation experts also results in hesitation in quitting because the tobacco addict does not how to quit and where to reach out for professional assistance to receive the right help in quitting.
- Many young smokers and chewers do not want to let go off the instant pleasure and kick they experience from smoking and chewing tobacco. Hence they never think about quitting.
So when you try to approach a person to quit their habit, do not directly jump to pushing them to quit. Instead provide assurance and support that quitting is possible and all the challenges can be resolved with proper guidance and support. Tell them the following:
- Quitting can be tough but not impossible.
- It is ok if they have failed in their quit attempts and relapsed.
- Bust the myths and misconceptions around smoking and tobacco consumption.
- Withdrawals can be managed with expert’s help and lot of remedies.
- It is important to stay firm and committed to one’s thought about quitting.
- Assure them that their performance, lifestyle and routine will not be impacted and that their quality of life will be ameliorated after quitting smoking and tobacco.
Small right actions will result in positive and healthy transformation!!
Every human is unique, keeping this fact intact, at ICanCaRe we have designed a digital solution to quitting tobacco which is both scientific and medically validated. It helps to customize the quit plan as per the person’s needs to make the quit journey more systematic, simple and evident of the healthy transformation. At ICanCaRe, the success rate of quitting smoking and chewing tobacco is 92%. To quit the habit or to help someone quit the habit, call the helpline 011-430-77695 or visit www.icancare.in/quittobacco for assistance.