Trying to quit smoking but having a hard time kicking the habit?
Addiction specialist, Bernard Antoine, helps smokers by teaching them to let go of common beliefs and misconceptions about smoking and quitting.
Here are five common misconceptions, adapted from the Sunday Times article with Antoine, about smoking for quitters who need some extra motivation.
1: Quitting smoking requires willpower
You shouldn’t stop smoking to please someone else or to save money, but because of a real desire to free yourself from smoking dependency. It is not a question of willpower or good intentions but of genuine reasons and motivation.
2: Quitting smoking means gaining weight
Weight gain is not inevitable and certain people don’t put on any weight at all. On average, female quitters will gain 2.8kg and men will gain 3.2kg. To avoid frustration and compensating with food, Antonie advised quitters to adopt a strategy based on their desire to quit.
3: Quitting smoking will make me moody and irritable with family and friends
After quitting smoking, mood-related problems such as irritability and depression can arise in the first three weeks, but this emotional state doesn’t last.
4: You should wait for the ‘right time’ to quit smoking
The right time is whenever you decide it is. You need to learn to live without cigarettes in all the situations that usually push you to smoke.
5: E-cigarettes can help you stop smoking progressively
The problem with e-cigarettes is that smokers don’t break the reflexes linked to the habit. You just become a continuous vaper, as e-cigarettes never go out.
