Thanks, as a doctor in a public tertiary care hospital, it's very appropriate to answer this question, and if you smoke, then patiently reading this answer will definitely help.

Why is it so hard to quit smoking?

I'm sure many "smokers" have tried to quit and most of them have failed, and I don't blame you because it's really hard to quit.

Why is it so hard to quit smoking?Because it's not just a bad habit, it's technically a disease called tobacco dependence.Since it is a disease, there are certain diagnostic criteria, smokers can first see if they meet the following 6 diagnoses, if you meet 3 or more, then you are tobacco dependent [1].

:: Strong cravings for cigarettes

● Smoking behaviors that are difficult for you to control

●Withdrawal symptoms when stopping smoking

● Smoking is increasing

:: Reducing or even giving up other hobbies because of smoking

:: Persistence in smoking despite the dangers of smoking

Is it really hard to quit smoking?

I'm sure most of you fit at least three of them, so what led to your dependence on tobacco? That would be the famous "Two major habits of smoking"：Physiological Habits of the Brain, Habits of the Smoking Action

Physiological habits of the brain

Talking about the brain's physiological habits may seem strange to many people, but when it comes to its other name, "physiological addiction", it will be clear to everyone, and the main substance that causes this addiction is nicotine.

Why is smoking addictive?Because nicotine sends a "bonus" to our brain, and that "bonus" is dopamine.。Dopamine is a neurochemical transmitter that tends to produce a sense of satisfaction in humans and animals when its levels riseThe first thing you need to do is to get rid of the dopamine in your body. The nicotine in the cigarette can precisely stimulate dopamine secretion, activate the brain's reward mechanism, so you will feel satisfied, when the body of dopamine is metabolized, there will be the so-called withdrawal symptoms, some people began to speak of discomfort, so they can only continue to smoke, thus again stimulating the body's secretion of dopamine, which is also the "physiological addiction This is also the principle of "physiological addiction".

Reward and punishment mechanisms for dopamine

Smoking Habits

For people who smoke for many years, many actions have formed a habit, even similar to a conditioned reflex. For example, when you are busy, you light up a cigarette, when you play cards, or even after eating, it is difficult to break the habit.

Why do we need to quit smoking?

Although it is difficult to quit smoking, we still have to quit smoking, why? Because the dangers of smoking are so great that they are not covered by the phrase "Smoking is bad for your health" on the cigarette packet.

Smoking is harmful in three main ways: to yourself, to your family, and to your children.The reason why I'm going to talk about this in detail is because the only way to be motivated enough to quit smoking is to understand the dangers of smoking.

Smoking is very harmful to the body

Harmful effects of smoking on oneself

The greatest harm from smoking comes from the respiratory system, and as a thoracic surgeon, I can tell you unequivocally thatRoughly 85-90% of lung cancers are strongly associated with smoking. An article published inThe article in the British Journal of Cancer describes in detail the relationship between lung cancer and smoking, as shown below.

It is clear from the graph above that smokers have a significantly higher risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers, and the risk continues to increase with age.In the case of 75-year-olds, the risk of not smoking is just under 0.5%, while the risk of smoking is as high as 16%。

In addition to being linked to lung cancer, the radiation from cigarettes should not be underestimated.Po-210 in cigarettes is very damaging to the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, and the worst part is that they can adhere to the alveoli, and such damage is long term。

Harmful effects of smoking on the family

A classic quote from many smokers is, "I know smoking is bad for my health, but it's my own health and I don't care." This statement is dead wrong.First-hand smoke hurts you, second-hand smoke hurts your family。

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of non-smoking women with lung cancer.Many lung cancer patients are non-smokers but inhale the second-hand smoke of their family members for years, so quitting smoking is not really a matter of your own, but also the health of your family members.。

Smoking is harmful to the respiratory tract

Smoking harms children

Many smokers consciously quit smoking for six months during the preparatory period, which shows that many people have realized that smoking affects the fetus.

Both first-hand and second-hand smoke can lead to miscarriage, preterm labor, cleft lip/palate and other congenital malformationsEven if the child is born successfully, because the baby's systems are still in a period of growth and development.Smoke can have serious neurological and respiratory effects., such children tend to be more prone to airway inflammation, mental cognitive disorders, etc.

How to quit smoking more scientifically?

First of all, quitting smoking is definitely not a one-day thing, it needs to be treated as a long-term task, after all, almost everyone has shouted to quit smoking, but very few people really stick to it.

Secondly we need to have a strong belief backing us up that quitting smoking is not just for our own health but also for the health of our family as well as our children.

Again, it's important to understand that smoking is a gradual thing, and some of our friends who are heavy smokersIt's not possible to say no to smoking and not smoke a single one, smoking less and less at longer and longer intervals is a milestone victory.

After understanding this then start to quit smoking, since the addiction is divided into the physical habits of the brain and the habit of smoking action, then quit smoking is also divided into get rid of brain dependence and get rid of habit dependence.

How to get rid of brain dependency?

As mentioned earlier brain dependence refers to physiological dependence, and the substance of dependence is primarily nicotine.When quitting smoking, the level of nicotine drops rapidly in the body, and this is when the discomfort is manifested, also known as withdrawal symptoms.

The most serious withdrawal symptoms are often the first two weeks of quitting, especially the first three days, without nicotine, you will feel the loss of the "source of happiness", then you will be at the bottom of the quitting valley, no spirit, no interest and even emotional irritability, many people tend to relapse at this time.

The most important thing to do during this period is to keep your hands and mouth busy, once you are idle this pain will be magnified infinitely.For example, some surgeons are heavy smokers themselves, but once they put on their surgical gowns, they often do not smoke for 6.7 hours, because when they are busy, the effects of smoking are minimized, and when they are not busy, all kinds of discomforts are manifested!.. The busy mouth can be kept busy with the help of chewing gum, which besides keeping the mouth busy, also acts as a breath freshener.

If the above methods do not work, there is also a class of nicotine substitutes, such as nicotine stickers, nicotine gum, etc., some people have to say that the use of these things is not equal to the use of "harmful" things? In fact, this is not the case.Nicotine is one of the less toxic components of tobacco, it is neither a carcinogen nor a co-carcinogen, but it is the cause of tobacco addiction.[2], so if you really can't quit completely you can go to a regular hospital to seek nicotine replacement.

After 3 days you don't feel so tough, after 3 weeks the dependence on nicotine drops considerably, and after 3 months congratulations, you are basically free of brain dependence, and next you are in the second stage of quitting smoking - quitting habit dependence.

How do you get rid of habitual dependence?

The most important thing you can do to get rid of your habit is to change your lifestyle and stay away from people who might make you relapse, such as telling your friends that you are quitting smoking and not to smoke in front of you, or telling your family to put away their cigarettes and lighters and not to let themselves see them.

Next, take up a new hobby or habit:For example, if the reward mechanism of nicotine on the brain is not there anymore, you can cultivate the exercise reward mechanism, such as jogging, playing ball and so on, because exercise also produces physical and mental pleasure, as long as you stick to it not only can reduce people's dependence on nicotine, but also re-establish a new reward mechanism.【3】

As long as you adhere to six months without smoking, then congratulations, that you have basically won, later in life as long as you insist on good, continue to maintain the probability of success will be able to quit smoking, when you do not smoke for six months, your lung function will also be slowly recovered, you will find that quitting smoking to bring you the benefits are obvious.

I'm Dr. Lion, a thoracic cardiothoracic surgeon in a public tertiary care hospital, thanks for reading, if you agree with me help me out by clicking follow or like!

[1]. China Clinical Smoking Cessation Guidelines (2015 Edition) Health Care for the Middle Aged. 2015,(10)

[2]. Meta-analysis of short-term smoking cessation effect of nicotine patch Chinese Drugs and Clinics 2016,16(07),1020-1021 DOI:10.11655/zgywylc2016.07.038

[3] A systematic analysis of exercise intervention for smoking cessation: means, pathways and effects Chinese Drugs and Clinics 2016,16(07),1020-1021 DOI:10.11655/zgywylc2016.07.038

Do you get up in the middle of the night in the 8 hours after you've gone to sleep because you're having a cigarette attack and then go back to sleep?

Have you asked yourself if your body really needs it?

The answer is: you don't get up in the middle of the night to smoke, and your body doesn't need it!

To this day I have quit smoking for over 1 year, having been a smoker for over 5 years, I read a book called "This Book Will Help You Quit Smoking" by a decades old smoker who described it in his own words as : "I've never met anyone who smoked more than I did", and who smoked over 100 cigarettes a day, and then quit anyway.

So how does one quit smoking?

The first point is that quitting smoking is not one thing that works in the short term, it takes time to fade, to set a time period, and I used to be: cut down on the number of cigarettes I smoked in a week, from a pack a day, to half a pack, to 3, to 1, and finally, I just habitually went to the place where I smoked but I wouldn't actively go out and get out my cigarettes because I wasn't going to actively buy them.

The second point is to try not to spend time with people who smoke, because out of sight, out of mind.

Third point, insist on going to see the news, videos, cases of cancer caused by smoking every day, put yourself in the situation to feel it, I think you probably won't go to smoke.

Point 4, try yourself now that you have lung cancer, think about it, your family is going to leave you, and your wife is going to sleep in someone else's arms, and your children are going to be discriminated against.

You always ask yourself, "Does my body really need it?"

After graduation, I have been a heavy smoker. In the morning, I don't wash my face, I don't rinse my mouth, I smoke a cigarette first, at least one pack of "Hongtashan" every day, and if I play Go, I smoke even more. Once in a while, see some shopping malls, airports began to ban smoking, only to feel that smoking is not their own a person's business, in public places may cause harm to others, but also realize that smoking is not fashion, not a tool for socializing, communication, to others smoke, not necessarily a sign of goodwill. Calculate the economic account, if you do not smoke, a year can save a computer money, according to the static calculation, 20 years can save 100,000 yuan, do not count do not know, a calculated shock. Quit smoking, you do not have to smoke cigarettes thrown away. At the same time and two other friends agreed to quit smoking at the same time. A few years later, the other two friends and smoke up, I am completely quit, but those two friends than I mixed much better, a rich, a government official, I, and did not save money on cigarettes. This shows that people who quit smoking are the ones who don't get ahead. (Laughs)

I then succeeded in quitting smoking, and it's been five years since from when I started. In 5 years, haven't smoked a single cigarette. I started smoking in 7o years, and smoked until 2014, 2 a 3 packs a day, play some small cards at night, to 4 a 5 packs, a few fingers are bright yellow, a little cough that year. To the hospital inspection, said the cigarette smoking more, through fluoroscopy, lungs have a shadow, from that day onwards, began to quit smoking, smoking up to 44 years long, must have the perseverance, what good cigarettes do not want to be cheap, what a good friend to let you smoke, you have to refuse. Determined not to smoke, it is possible to quit.

There is no good way to quit smoking and there are no good aids or medications!

I have quit smoking several times before and after, each time is to try a variety of methods, the decreasing method is to smoke ten today, tomorrow eight, until finally do not smoke; diversion method, is to divert attention, want to smoke when eating something, or holding a thing, etc., and ultimately failed! There are also side effects, eating fat, lack of concentration, love snacks, haha is to add new problems!

The last time I quit successfully though, I just didn't want to smoke! It was when my wife was pregnant, and it was painful to have to run outside in the cold to have a cigarette, so I quit!

To quit smoking, you have to be thinking from the heart and for no other reason or it will be hard to succeed!

First share a colleague's real story will know the difficulty of quitting smoking, woke up more than three o'clock in the evening, can not sleep, want to smoke a cigarette, no how to do this, get up in the village of the village of the Ministry of sitting until 6 o'clock only to smoke that cigarette, which fully explains the formation of smoking habits produce dependence, the formation of the heart addiction, the heart addiction is difficult to get rid of. Quit smoking is also a test of a person, perseverance, ability to withstand and the ability to perform, how to say: first of all, quit smoking is not smoking, to withstand the series of adverse reactions brought about by the non-smoking, relying on their own strong perseverance to overcome, quit smoking is their own thing, some of the old smokers in the after the disease, the doctor said that do not let the smoke, and then after the consequences of smoking, as long as you are willing to overcome, and then the difficult thing, there will be a turnaround. The best way to quit smoking is to rely on yourself, keep your determination, let yourself be strong, inspire your own willpower, the rest is a floating cloud, there is nothing difficult in the world, only willing to climb.

I've been smoking for thirty years and I'm an elementary school teacher.

I've been quit for almost 50 days and I personally think the best way to quit smoking is the decreasing method of quitting!

It starts with the determination to want to quit smoking. I got the idea in mid April 2021 that I wanted to quit smoking. The next day I started to reduce the number of cigarettes I smoked, this process lasted for almost a month, from 40 cigarettes a day to less than 5 cigarettes a day, I smoked for another week under 5 cigarettes, and from May 26th I was in a state of total abstinence, not a single cigarette, and I have been doing it ever since.

Secondly, we must have the perseverance to quit smoking. Starting from May 26, I have not cigarettes but chewing gum in my pocket every day, and whenever I want to smoke, I put a piece of chewing gum in my mouth.

Once again, we need to "disgust" ourselves more. I myself in the quitting of smoking over the Internet to find more about the harm caused by smoking articles, read the articles, the determination to quit smoking will be strengthened. If you look for more articles about the benefits of quitting smoking, the more you read, the more you will want to quit!

Spend more time with coworkers who smoke, and when you are offered cigarettes, tell your coworkers that they quit, and never touch a cigarette, depending on personal fortitude!

"You can quit smoking for good if you believe in it.

I am a successful quitter, I quit smoking in 2003, I will share with you my quitting experience.

I. My Smoking History

1, sorry, my smoking history is relatively long, on the high school began to sneak smoking, parents know, noisy me, but still did not change, at that time in the school to smoke, a class, a few of us boys to the back of the room to smoke, the class bell rings, the cigarette thrown, to the water pipe to gargle for fear that the teacher smelled smoke, then smoking purely for the sake of dashing, fun.

2, at that time smoking cigarettes are also very cheap, I remember the main cool table, far away and black cigars, about one or two cents a box, and then a little more upscale, colorful butterflies, Ximei, and so on, and later before quitting smoking is to smoke Hongtashan, Shaha, Timon, Mango, imports of Liangyou, and so on.

3, in order to smoke, often steal my father's cigarettes, my father is a school teacher, smoking addiction, buy cigarettes a buy is a few, I have no cigarettes, my father's cigarettes a box of boxes out, on the seal slowly unlocked, from the inside to take 2,3, and then glued on, the cigarette box rubbed, and then sealed, generally do not pay attention to it, can not be seen.

4, smoking really no good, I remember when I went to school, once at the movies, I smoked, put my hand down when I put it right next to a soldier's coat, lit up the smoke, when the military coat cotton quality is good, the more the bigger, when the soldiers found that, very angry, I also rushed to say humble, and finally, when the soldiers young man big belly, said to me that it's all right, I go back to the army can be replaced with a new one, can you smoke in the future to be aware of.

5, later, big married, cigarettes did not quit, then their hearts also know that smoking is not good, but has been comforting themselves, still young, good health, not many great people also smoke, also live a lot of years? I smoke to 30, 40 years old and then quit is not too late.

6, since smoking, slowly addicted to cigarettes, remember during the school year, the night on the night study, midnight, a few of us did not smoke, looking around for selling cigarettes, did not find, when the store closes early, no way, on the ground to find cigarettes, peeled off the smoke poured on the paper, rolled a homemade cigarettes to smoke. Smoke more, and then, every fall season I coughed for a while, but also always have phlegm.

Second, quitting smoking must be a matter of determination

1, in fact, I later also quit twice, and sugar, and electronic cigarettes, are not much time, in the friends of the temptation to return to smoking, not completely successful. What prompted me to really make up my mind to quit smoking was still what my doctor said to me.

2, it was in the fall of the year, because of coughing chest a little pain, to the hospital to find a doctor to check, the doctor took a film, said to me, your chest may have a little shadow, you are not smoking ah? I said I smoked ah, at least one pack a day, listen to the doctor so asked, then I was afraid of the heart, I have always heard that smoking can cause lung cancer, is not I also got. The doctor didn't say anything at that time. After carefully checking all the items, the doctor seriously said to me, "Quit smoking, now your lungs are fine, and no problems have been found, but if you still continue to smoke, it may be hard to say when it comes to quitting, and the sooner you quit, the better".

3. Back home, I learned the hard way and began to make up my mind to quit smoking, and I must quit smoking. My lover also encouraged me, I think for myself, for the sake of the family, for the sake of the children, I also have to make up my mind, resolute, completely quit smoking, never touch cigarettes again.

4, I put the lighter at home, cigarettes all thrown away, can not find these things at home, the eye does not see, the heart does not want to, the love of the people also bought melon seeds, peanuts, said the addiction to smoke up to eat these. In the unit, someone let the cigarette resolutely do not pick up, turn their heads and go. See someone smoking, do not also do not see, drink tea yourself.

5, quit smoking in the beginning of a week is the most difficult, the addiction to come up, anxious scratching, the heart has a kind of indescribable difficult, sometimes really want to come to a branch of the United States to smoke a little, but think of the doctor's words, think of their own under the guarantee, and I am firm confidence, grit your teeth and hold on. Finally, I held on, I succeeded, a month later, the heart of the desire for cigarettes gradually weakened, this time more melon seeds, drink tea.

6, six months later, I completely quit smoking, the heart does not want to smoke at all, the heart is much more comfortable, feel the sky is much clearer than before, and now smell the smell of smoke still feel a little nausea. After quitting smoking, my cough is gone, phlegm is gone, lungs are a lot easier, the whole person's mental outlook has also changed a lot, see friends can be proud to say: I'm sorry, I don't smoke.

Finally, tell friends who want to quit smoking, to succeed in quitting smoking really no good way, no matter what method, you must be determined, to have not reached the goal never retreat confidence, only then, you may completely quit, I hope that we all hurry up to take action, together with the declaration of war on cigarettes, but also a healthy body.

I am a smoker with a history of more than 20 years, and now I have successfully quit smoking for 20 years without ever thinking of relapsing.

To successfully quit smoking, the first thing you need to do is to have the right attitude; nowadays the consumption level is getting higher and higher, such as a little bit of class, I am afraid that the monthly expenditure on smoking needs to be a few hundred or a thousand dollars, but also to take into account the family, is not a high-paying level, it's a little difficult to take care of all the things. If you quit smoking because you don't have enough money, you will certainly be a little bored in your heart, forced to quit smoking is also called passive quitting, if the conditions have changed slightly you may be back to smoking. If we fully realize that smoking is harmful to our own bodies and damaging to the health of our families and others, and take smoking as a vice to quit, and firmly believe that others can quit, I will be able to quit, I think that quitting smoking is not a difficult task.

Quitting smoking reflects respect for life. Men should treat life well and quit smoking, which is a beautiful and good practice.

If you want to, love your family and children more, quit smoking . Unless your heart and your mind deny it, unless it is labeled as a bad habit.

Male smokers are encouraged to go outside, or to a dedicated smoking room, as men continue to have nightmares despite the lack of benefits.

I'm going through this in my life!

My husband has been a smoker for decades, and this is how he starts a good morning, waking up not for morning exercise but to clear phlegm, and looking for the sound, he knows where the person is. He himself knows the harm, when his father passed away, the same ward, the old man cut the trachea, installed a ventilator, hell on earth ah! It was horrible to see the old man suffering from trachea disease, because of the pumping of phlegm, the whole bed made a gurgling sound, and the man was thinner than a piece of firewood, and the misery was beyond description!

Mr. A sister of the family out of love for his brother, put forward a proposal assuming that you can quit smoking as a reward of 50,000 yuan as a fund of love, although the motivation is not small, but the perseverance is not able to support, three days after quitting smoking to me defeated!

There are countless successful quitters, and I know that the interpreter named Ride the Wind and Waves, Mr. Japanese Interpreter, he is a successful quitter.

He studied in Japan in his early years, and in those years the economy was lagging, so he decided to quit smoking for the sake of his family. And he did it wonderfully! Character and perseverance ultimately determine a person's degree of success. People are different.

Share methods, cut back, distract yourself, and develop a variety of hobbies.

It's a well-known fact that smoking is not good for anything. The smoke is so strong that I get headaches and coughs. Dozens of toxins in cigarettes cause a series of symptoms in the body, so I have no choice but to buy pharyngitis tablets to get some relief, and I really want to put a smoke machine on him. In the long run second hand smoke will become a disaster in my life!

I don't know if my family can put themselves in the shoes of their family members and children.

Quitting smoking requires great perseverance, and 99% of men are unable to overcome their demons. How many years of struggling to make a living in the clutches of the devil?

Finally, I hope that smokers treat their own lives well Search Baidu, Zhihu! Finding a way to quit smoking Although there are millions of ways to quit smoking, there is only one way to beat yourself. The old year is coming to an end and the new year is beginning. The first thing you need to do is to start over with a clean slate!