A friend of yours wants to quit smoking and has decided to "go cold turkey."

Question

After reading this module, explain to your friend why "going cold turkey" may not be the best solution, and describe three different ways he or she might taper off smoking as well as ways to deal with the nicotine craving during withdrawal and the positive experiences surrounding the ritual of smoking.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer will include that whatever approach is taken, quitting smoking is not easy. It is especially difficult to try quitting alone, without any support. Many people find that using nicotine patches or gum and/or other medications, such as bupropion, helps them suppress their cravings during the withdrawal period. The best chance of success comes when the smoker combines the desire to quit with both medication and some sort of counseling. Some smokers try to quit cold turkey, whereas others try to taper down gradually. Although going cold turkey has its advocates, gradually quitting works better for more people. Going cold turkey makes quitting an all-or-nothing proposition. Smokers who smoke even one cigarette after "quitting forever" tend to feel they've failed. Many figure they might just as well resume smoking. Those who quit gradually accept that success may take many attempts, spread over several months. Either way, you will have a better chance of success if you decide to quit now rather than at some time in the future and don't delay your quit date too often. The best way to
taper off is scheduled gradual reduction. There are many ways in which smoking can be gradually reduced. For example, the smoker can (1) delay having a first cigarette in the morning and then try to delay a little longer each day; (2) gradually reduce the total number of cigarettes smoked each day; or (3) quit completely, but for just 1 week, then quit again, a week at a time, for as many times as necessary to make it stick. Deliberately scheduling and then gradually stretching the length of time between cigarettes is a key part of this program. Scheduled smoking apparently helps people learn to cope with the urge to smoke. It is also worth noting that smoking is more than a nicotine delivery system for most smokers. The entire ritual of smoking is itself a positive experience. Just holding a cigarette, dangling it between the lips, or even seeing a favorite smoking chair can give a smoker pleasure. For this reason, behavioral self-management techniques can be very useful for breaking habits such as smoking. In recent years, e-cigarettes have become popular as a way to simulate smoking either with or without delivering any nicotine. Anyone trying to quit should be prepared to make several attempts before succeeding.