(StatePoint)
It’s at the top of many New Year’s resolution lists -- quitting smoking. In fact, 15 million people try to quit smoking cigarettes yearly. Only 5 percent succeed when they use no support or go cold turkey. Moreover, the average smoker will attempt to quit up to nine times before successfully quitting. Luckily there are new tips and tools that can help smokers kick the habit this year. In an effort to empower the more than 45 million current U.S. smokers to call it quits, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare has launched Quit.com, a free, total quit-smoking online resource with tools to help smokers quit their cigarette addictions and stay smoke-free. Every smoker is different; therefore every smoker’s approach to quitting may need to be different. Quit.com houses personalized tools in a central location to help smokers navigate quitting smoking, no matter where they may be in their quit journey. Here are some tips from the experts at Quit.com to help smokers quit their nicotine addiction in the New Year:
• Preparing to Quit: First pick your quit date. By having a day you’re working toward, you’ll be able to prepare mentally and physically to quit. Do your research on how to be prepared before getting started.
• Ready to Quit: Support your quit by reducing your body’s physical cravings so they don’t get in the way of your willpower. Consider using a nicotine replacement product that fits your lifestyle, such as a gum, lozenge or patch.
• Currently Quitting: Celebrate every little win and stay focused on the positive benefits of quitting and why you decided to quit in the first place. If you get a strong craving, change things up to throw your urge to smoke.
• Post-Quit: Surround yourself with inspiration to stay smoke-free -- your family, your pet, your health and your finances -- and remember you have everything to gain by quitting.
More tips on quitting smoking can be found at www.Quit.com. The new website is built in four levels with specific tools depending on where smokers are in the quitting process -- preparing to quit, ready to quit, currently quitting or post-quit and looking for resources to remain a nonsmoker. “Quitting smoking is tough and requires focus and effort, but that’s only half the equation. Part of the addiction is behavioral -- a learned habit over time -- but the other part is neurobiology, a chemical dependency to nicotine,” explains Saul Shiffman, Ph.D., an addiction and dependence expert, researcher in behavior change and relapse at the University of Pittsburgh, and paid-consultant to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. “Using a combination of behavioral resources, education and quit smoking medicines can improve chances of success!” Quit.com also offers tools to help battle mental aspects of quitting smoking, such as identifying and tracking triggers and making a list of reasons you want to quit, along with resources to help fight the physical addiction, such as a quit guide to find the right nicotine replacement to provide relief from cravings. The key to successfully kicking the habit is to empower and encourage smokers to try quitting and give them tools to help them succeed.
