Inevitably, the question arises among those who will stop smoking, and that is the search for what to replace cigarettes in moments of craving for smoking? If you listen to various supporters of a healthy lifestyle, then you can decide that if a person asks these and similar questions, it can mean that deep down he is not ready to give up smoking, doubt, or the need for it. , or about his own strength. . .
But at the same time it should not be forgotten that nicotine addiction in the form of cigarette smoking is not so much a physical as a mental addiction, an unhealthy craving.
It is clear that when a person is deprived of something that has firmly entered his life and is the reason to feel positive moments, then he begins to experience pronounced anxiety, which then transforms into the need to replace the deprived.
Besides, nature disgusts empty spaces, it must be filled with something. What will replace smoking in your case? What can replace a bad smoking habit?
Advantages and disadvantages. . .
Today, smokers have no problem answering the question of how to replace smoking with cigarettes. Everyone can find something for themselves, someone prefers so-called safe cigarettes: electronic or without nicotine; others prefer lollipops or sweet pills; for some they are chewing gum or seeds the way out.
But, unfortunately, all these substitutions have their drawbacks: lollipops spoil teeth and figure, chewing gums cause increased stomach secretion, and electronic cigarettes and nicotine-free cigarettes are not always effective for quitting.
How does it pay to replace cigarettes and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each "replacement"?
Cigarettes will replace lollipops
Many smokers who do not know how to replace cigarettes start consuming large amounts of lollipops, candies or tablets. This helps quite well in the fight against the desire to smoke, lozenges act on the receptors in the oral cavity and respiratory organs, somewhat replacing the cigarette.
Mint-flavored candies are especially effective - they reduce the desire to smoke, freshen the breath and contain less sugar. The popularity of candies as a substitute for cigarettes is well-founded: they do not cause addiction and really help to cope with the desire to smoke.
But if you replace every desire to smoke with sweets, then the number of calories, as well as sugar, will exceed all reasonable norms, and thus problems with excess weight and impaired carbohydrate metabolism.
Chewing gum versus cigarettes
Chewing gum can be divided into 2 large groups: ordinary and special, which contain nicotine. The first "works" on the same principle as sweets: replacing the usual smoking with another action - chewing.
But when choosing a chewing gum flavored with menthol or cinnamon, we must not forget that constant chewing causes increased secretion of gastric juice, which means that it increases the risk of developing gastritis and stomach ulcers. Nicotine chewing gum contains nicotine and, although it alleviates withdrawal symptoms, it does not cure the urge to smoke.
The electronic cigarette replaces the usual one
Today, the electronic cigarette is considered one of the most effective ways to fight nicotine addiction. Completely copying the look of the cigarette and the ritual of lighting, it helps in the fight against mental addiction and the habit of smoking, and due to the fact that the cigarette smoke does not enter the body, but steam, the damage to the body is minimized.
But, unfortunately, this drug is also not a smoking drug, inhaling the vapor cannot replace the feeling of smoking, and the electronic cigarette itself is ordinary. Today, doctors and scientists are debating the benefits and dangers of e-cigarettes, but it has already been experimentally proven: the e-cigarette replaces regular cigarettes for those who want to quit smoking on their own.
Nicotine-free cigarettes - convenient and safe?
Nicotine-free cigarettes look and work the same way as regular cigarettes, but their tobacco does not contain nicotine. Such cigarettes are a real alternative to the usual ones, but it is recommended to use them only during the period of quitting smoking. Indeed, when nicotine-free cigarette smoke is inhaled, carbon monoxide resins, benzopyrene and other components that are no less harmful to health also enter the body.
Other "substitutes" for cigarettes
You can replace cigarettes with seeds, drinking straws, wooden chewing sticks, or snacks instead of a smoke break. But each method, in addition to its advantages, has many disadvantages, and if it pays to change one problem into another, each smoker must decide for himself.
Is it worth changing one addiction to another?
When you quit smoking, you should not think about how to replace a cigarette, but make a "revision" of your incentives to quit smoking. And if the honest answer to the question "Why do I want to quit smoking" shows that the reason lies in anything and not their own aversiontowards smoking, then even with cigarette substitutes, quitting may not be effective.
If the pitcher finds something to replace the cigarette with, then you have to be prepared for the fact that there are no substitutes for safe ones, which means that there can be problems caused by taking the replacement.
Caramel or snacks - overweight, chewing gum - indigestion, vegetables and fruits are also not harmless, and even in quantities comparable to the number of cigarettes smoked per day.
It is not harmless to chew all kinds of sticks, from matches to tree branches. Matches are impregnated with a flammable compound, which, to put it mildly, is not useful for humans, and tree branches can have side effects and simply be unpleasant to the taste.
In any case, it is important to understand that you should not chase two rabbits at once, and the damage from excess sweets and one kilogram of excess weight is hardly greater than the damage from a day or two of smoking. And it is not necessary that for years after you stop smoking, you will lean on sweets - a week, two and that's it.
It's up to you! What do you want to get, a healthy life, albeit with fewer complications in the first phase, or years of smoking?