Contents
Understand Your Smoking Habit
Reasons to Quit Smoking
How to Get Emotional Support Before Quitting Smoking
How to Get Medical Support Before Quitting Smoking
Alternative Methods for Quitting Smoking
How to Choose a Quit Date
How to Stay Quit
How to Deal with Regression
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Alternative Methods for Quitting Smoking
A number of nontraditional methods might help you quit smoking, especially if you use them in conjunction with NRT. The effectiveness of these methods hasn’t been confirmed in formal studies, and none of the methods has received FDA approval as a smoking cessation aid. So if you decide to try one of these approaches, first consult your doctor.
Popular Alternative Methods
The following alternative methods may provide some additional support to someone trying to quit smoking. However, the effectiveness of these treatments varies from person to person and, at best, should be used only in support of NRT or medication, not as a substitute.
- Hypnosis: Hypnosis can be performed in a group or one-on-one and in one session or a series of sessions. After hypnotizing you, a hypnotist will address your urge to smoke and suggest things to do instead of smoking.
- Acupuncture: An acupuncturist inserts needles into your skin, often around the ears, to cause the body to release endorphins. The procedure can be uncomfortable but is not painful. There is some slight evidence that it can help reduce cravings.
- Meditation: Some former smokers have used meditation as a way to combat the stress of quitting smoking. You can meditate in groups or on your own.
Alternative Methods to Avoid
Though some people use the following as aids in quitting smoking, none of these products will actually help you quit and therefore should be avoided:
- Herbal supplements: Manufacturers market these as dietary supplements, which lets them avoid having to prove their claims or guarantee their safety. No herbal supplement has been shown to affect smoking addiction, and some may even be unsafe.
- Lozenges and pouches: Some brands of tobacco lozenges or pouches containing tobacco, such as Arival®, Interval®, Revel®, and Exalt®, are explicitly intended not to help you quit smoking but to give you a nicotine fix in situations where you’re not allowed to smoke.
- Other ineffective products: Other products to avoid are stop-smoking diets, nicotine lollipops, nicotine lip balms, nicotine water, and nicotine wafers.
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