Struggling to Quit Smoking? Try These Tips

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If your New Year’s resolution was to quit smoking, it’s probably time to consider ways to improve your chances of success.

For starters, list your reasons for wanting to quit, suggest experts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Want to improve your health? Save money? Smell and taste food better?

Those are common reasons smokers cite for wanting to kick the habit — something that nearly 70 percent of adult smokers say they want to do, according to the FDA.

Reviewing your reasons for wanting to quit can help you when you get the urge to smoke.

Also, don’t be too hard on yourself. Quitting smoking can be difficult so you might have to try a few times before you’re successful. Research has shown that trying but failing to quit can lead to more attempts in the future, and that it often takes multiple attempts to finally quit smoking.

The agency also notes that there are a number of FDA-approved products that can help you quit smoking.

These include nicotine replacement therapy products. They provide controlled amounts of nicotine, to reduce smoking withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Two types are available by prescription — a nicotine nasal spray and a nicotine inhaler. Three types can be bought over-the-counter — nicotine gum, skin patches and lozenges.

Their effectiveness can vary, but these products can double your chances of successfully quitting smoking, according to the FDA.

There are also FDA-approved prescription drug products without nicotine that can help you quit smoking. Just be sure to read and carefully follow the directions for prescribed smoking-cessation products and talk to your doctor if you have questions.

Anyone younger than 18 who wants to quit smoking should talk to a health care professional about whether they should use smoking-cessation products, according to the FDA.

More information

The American Cancer Society offers a guide to quitting smoking.

Source: HealthDay

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