Cigarettes: here’s how to say “stop smoking”

A lot of willpower and motivation, but also psychological and medical help to safeguard health from damage caused by the beloved “blondes”.

There are those who decide it overnight. Those who think about it for months. And who has tried many times, without ever succeeding. We are talking about cigarette smoking, or rather, how to say goodbye to this bad habit.

In fact, millions of Italians cannot do without cigarettes. In recent years, however, those who decide to say “stop smoking” can also find the right help in pharmacies and specialized centers.

“I’ve decided, I’m going to quit smoking.” And now?

Alongside a strong motivation, the first real weapon against smoking, there is now a series of useful methods to help put into practice good intentions, among which you can choose with the help of your trusted pharmacist or family doctor.

They range from nicotine replacement products (in the form of transdermal patches, chewing gum or sprays), which release limited and controlled amounts of nicotine that will help reduce cravings and overcome the withdrawal phase, to real drugs based on an antidepressant, buproprion, for which a prescription is required.

As for homeopathic remedies, you can turn to preparations based on Plantago major and Avena sativa that have sedative and antidepressant properties, while for those who prefer phytotherapy, valerian, St. John’s wort and passionflower are the most suitable herbs to combat withdrawal.

And remaining in the field of alternative medicine, hypnosis and acupuncture are increasingly widespread, even among the most skeptical.

Finally, the much-discussed electronic cigarette is on the market which, although it is still of dubious effectiveness, has nevertheless been a considerable success because, while completely eliminating nicotine, it allows you not to say goodbye to that gestures so loved by smokers.

A help … group

Anti-smoking centres have been playing an increasingly important role in the fight against cigarettes in recent years.

These are clinics – private and public – where multidisciplinary teams of experts, composed among others of psychologists, oncologists and pulmonologists, indicate the most suitable path for everyone to embark on the long road of tobacco cessation, based not only on the state of health, but also on the degree of addiction to nicotine and the level of motivation.

Individual and group meetings with the psychologist allow you to gain the right self-confidence and find the support you need.

And then, the most suitable drug therapy will be identified so as not to waste precious time with ineffective “do it yourself” methods.