Is it ok for me to use stop-smoking aids?
June 6th, 2010
Probably seems quite strange to most of you, but i’m 17, have been smoking since i was 14 and I really want to quit, mainly because i can’t afford it. I enjoy maybe 2 cigarettes per day, the other 12-20, i just "need". I made it about 18 hrs my first attempt, and about 14 hours today.. (I’m writing this because i now feel better, but pretty guilty) It also doesn’t help that my parents both smoke in the house, right in front of me, and my mom always offers me smokes when i’m out.. Like i said i really want to quit but I crave them like no tomorrow, and temptation always beats me.. do I have any hope? could i even benefit from these products given my situation? thanks!
There’s always hope. And yes, you could benefit from these products. And the sooner you quit, the better off you’ll be.
Don’t be discouraged because you couldn’t quit on your first attempt – I have friends who have been trying to stop smoking for years and still haven’t quite managed it. The good news is, each time you quit and fail brings you one step closer to quitting and succeeding. So never give up!
Truthfully, you’re going to have a hard time of it if you live at home and both of your parents smoke, and even enable you by giving you cigarettes. Once you put your mind to quitting smoking, tell them. Let them laugh or mock you in the worst case scenario, but hopefully best case scenario they’ll be as supportive as they can. But be aware that if you try to quit, they might react negatively or angrily for many reasons which really don’t have anything to do with you smoking, but is more a reflection of THEIR smoking and their possible inability to quit. If you can, try to make it a family effort to stop smoking. That way you can all be supportive, or even make a kind of competition out of it. That’s what my parents did when they decided to quit when I was young.
Like I said, there’s plenty of hope for you. My suggestion is to go to your doctor. For one thing, a checkup is never a bad idea. But s/he may help you figure out the best way for you to go about quitting given your family life, your day-to-day habits, and your age. There are many ways to go about quitting, and there are also one or two prescription drugs that have been shown to be very effective in helping to stop smoking. You may want to discuss this with your doctor because it could very drastically reduce your cravings.
Good luck!!! I’m cheering for ya
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Posted in Stop smoking aids
There’s always hope. And yes, you could benefit from these products. And the sooner you quit, the better off you’ll be.
Don’t be discouraged because you couldn’t quit on your first attempt – I have friends who have been trying to stop smoking for years and still haven’t quite managed it. The good news is, each time you quit and fail brings you one step closer to quitting and succeeding. So never give up!
Truthfully, you’re going to have a hard time of it if you live at home and both of your parents smoke, and even enable you by giving you cigarettes. Once you put your mind to quitting smoking, tell them. Let them laugh or mock you in the worst case scenario, but hopefully best case scenario they’ll be as supportive as they can. But be aware that if you try to quit, they might react negatively or angrily for many reasons which really don’t have anything to do with you smoking, but is more a reflection of THEIR smoking and their possible inability to quit. If you can, try to make it a family effort to stop smoking. That way you can all be supportive, or even make a kind of competition out of it. That’s what my parents did when they decided to quit when I was young.
Like I said, there’s plenty of hope for you. My suggestion is to go to your doctor. For one thing, a checkup is never a bad idea. But s/he may help you figure out the best way for you to go about quitting given your family life, your day-to-day habits, and your age. There are many ways to go about quitting, and there are also one or two prescription drugs that have been shown to be very effective in helping to stop smoking. You may want to discuss this with your doctor because it could very drastically reduce your cravings.
Good luck!!! I’m cheering for ya
References :
I’m an M.D.
Yes, you’re an ideal candidate. Talk to your doctor about Chantix, it’s twice as effective as any other stop-smoking med. (You can get the patches/lozenges/gum without a prescription, but they aren’t nearly as effective — if you do go that route, the lozenges are best, followed by the gum.) Joining a stop smoking group has also been shown to be effective in helping people quit and will increase the chance that the Chantix will work for you.
References :