World No Tobacco Day: Effective ways to resist tobacco cravings

Consumption of tobacco is not only injurious to the lungs but it can hamper the functioning of the entire body while making you prone to plenty of health ailments. 4000 hazardous chemicals are found in tobacco out of which 72 compounds are carcinogens that cause cancer. Ingesting tobacco reduces the capacity of the lungs, and decreases your immunity while significantly contributing to increasing the risks of cancer at multiple positions including lung cancer, oral cancers, oesophagal cancers, pancreatic cancers and bladder cancers. World No Tobacco Day is celebrated on the 31st of every May to increase the consciousness about the harmful effects of tobacco consumption and to encourage people to restrict this life-threatening habit. Every year, the world witnesses around 80 lakh deaths due to tobacco.

Tobacco is a habit that converts into an addiction which is quite challenging to give up. When you give a halt to the consumption of tobacco, then a strong urge or craving happens that can induce the individual to slip back again to tobacco for momentary relief. 

Here’s how you can cope with the resistance of tobacco cravings.

Remember the risks

Whenever you get the urge to smoke, think of all the sweet outcomes or health benefits you would be getting after quitting. Make yourself remember the health benefits you will be gaining if you control yourself at this moment including slow pulse rate, low heart rate, good quality of sleep and decreased risk of heart attacks. Link that one puff to life-threatening conditions like cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer, and diabetes to resist the urge of smoking. Keeping such points in your mind can assist in making up your mind.

Make yourself remember the reasons for quitting

Make yourself remember your goals and the reasons behind why you quit in the first place. Keep replaying the reasons in your head to keep yourself focussed and to stay strong. Ask yourself important questions about quitting and make sure to prioritise those over anything. This is one of the best ways to keep yourself on track.

Munch and munch

Beat the craving for tobacco consumption by munching on snacks or keeping healthy ingredients in the mouth like clove, cardamom or chewing gum. Fruits and vegetables, popcorns, ginseng tea, guava tea and beans are effective to curb tobacco cravings. Moreover, you can distract yourself by following healthy habits like deep breathing, exercises, meditation or walking.

Avoid staying in an environment that supports smoking

Understand what is triggering you and once you find out, ensure that to keep yourself away from those at the time of urges. For most people, peer pressure or staying in a group of friends that smokes, tobacco, tea shops, or smoking zones is the topmost reason for urges or relapses. Completely cut down such surroundings from your life in the initial weeks and decrease the consumption of other addictive substances like alcohol.

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