Is it possible to just wake up one day and say, ‘I hate smoking’, and kick cigarettes out of your life in a snap? It probably feels like a pipe dream for many struggling quitters.
There have been some situations where smokers suddenly hated (and successfully quit) smoking for various reasons. Some of them occurred due to health complications, or perhaps losing a loved one to smoking, while others had many positive external influences surrounding them.
In today’s post, we’ll look at the possibility of how a person can quickly stop smoking for good.
The Viability of ‘Sudden’ Loss of Nicotine Addiction
The difficulty of managing nicotine addiction leaves many motivated smokers at the mercy of strong withdrawals and cravings. It seems absurd to claim that motivation or a certain condition can instantly change your habits in a single day, but it is possible.
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Here are some situations that make it possible for a motivated smoker to quickly stop smoking for good.
A Possibility of Lung Cancer
When you feel sick of cigarettes and suddenly don’t crave them after decades of consuming a 20s pack, your behaviour change might be bittersweet news – you might have lung cancer.
According to a study, many smokers who felt sick while smoking and instantly stopped after they heavily consumed tobacco for years were at a high risk of having lung cancer. After a lung checkup, many of these ex-smokers received the bad news.
While it’s great that you’ve quickly stopped smoking, it’s best to go and get a checkup.
Minor Brain Damage
If there was a way to recalibrate your dopamine levels drastically, it would be easy to shake off any addiction in a day. One such extreme path is brain damage.
Brain damage can happen because your blood vessels constrict and block blood flow to the brain or because it suffered blunt force trauma.
Some survivors who suffered minimal issues after a stroke or physical trauma to the brain report massive changes in their behaviour – not wanting cigarettes all of a sudden being one of them.
Researchers investigating the matter discovered that the survivors suffered damage to the insula, a part of the brain that might be greatly involved in habit formation and addiction.
While damaging the insula for the sake of quickly stopping smoking is out of the question, researchers are looking for a safe way to temporarily turn off this section of the brain to aid with rehabilitation programmes.
Influenced By Others
Is it possible to stop smoking instantly without developing cancer or suffering brain damage? Thankfully yes – this time with the help of the people around us.
As a social species, people are heavily influenced by those they care about, work with, and idolise. If the same people have created a supportive environment that encourages quitting smoking, some smokers might just consider stopping.
In some cases, a person’s inner circle that strongly disapproves of smoking can motivate a person to quit abruptly. For example, it could be having a parent lose their battle with a smoking-related disease, or becoming a new parent yourself.
But, depending on the influence of others alone to stop smoking overnight isn’t a sustainable practice. Even if you’re feeling completely motivated, it’s much better to continue through a reliable process.
How to Achieve Sustainable Smoking Cessation
It’s amazing to hear stories of suddenly quitting smoking without any withdrawals, but at best, luck plays a big role in these situations (except for people who quit because of lung cancer or brain damage).
If you really want to end cigarettes for good, here are the steps we recommend that you take.
Consult a GP: GPs can provide personalised advice and support and create customised smoking cessation plans that have helped many ex-smokers succeed. They can also prescribe quitting tools to handle withdrawals and improve your chances of quitting.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) Products: NRT involves the use of lozenges, gum, and patches to cushion the impact of withdrawal during your early weeks of quitting. While effective, it doesn’t always work for everyone.
Pharmacy Nicotine Vaping Products (NVPs): NVPs from pharmacies are a second-line solution after NRT products. Unlike their illegal counterparts, NVP products sold in pharmacies are made under stringent pharmaceutical standards on the manufacturing process and ingredients, are toxicologically assessed for inhalation, are locally insured, and are specifically designed to help you stop smoking.
Furthermore, they’re much better than NRT lozenges and other tools – the latest Cochrane Review found high-certainty evidence that NVPs are more effective than NRT in helping people stop smoking
Creating a Supportive Environment: As mentioned, a supportive environment with people who understand your goals and provide encouragement throughout your quitting journey makes it easier to quit and learn to socialise without the need for a ciggy.
Joining a Smoking Cessation Group: Aside from having a supportive environment, smokers can also join a smoking cessation group for additional support and guidance. Having an empathetic and caring community significantly increases your chances of quitting the habit.
Summary
Quickly stopping smoking is more of a luck-based approach to quitting, meaning it isn’t sustainable.
While many fortunate smokers who have survived lung cancers and brain injuries were able to shake off smoking easily, it doesn’t mean they have a viable solution to the problem.
Still, having the help of a supportive environment, experts, and community is much more sustainable and practical than a quit-smoking-quick approach to kicking ciggies out of your life.
We know you’re reading this because you want a quick way to stop smoking. We hope that you’re not too disappointed knowing that the long way is still the best way. What you probably want is a quitting method that really works – we can help.
Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around!
If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to bulk-billing Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good, including using responsible vaping products where appropriate.
Click here to book your bulk-billed telehealth consultation with an Australian healthcare professional and quit smoking today.