Quitting Smoking Coping in Different Stages

Quitting Smoking Coping in Different Stages

Quitting smoking is the most appropriate action in terms of taking health precautions. The first step is to get acquainted with the steps that everyone who smokes goes through during the smoking cessation process.

More than 1.3 million people are cigarette addicts, according to the latest report on world smoking trends published by the World Health Organization. For this reason, health intervention has become the standard of precautionary measures to stop smoking.

Data from the World Health Organization show that more than 8 million people die from smoking every year. This figure makes smoking a leading cause of preventable deaths and diseases worldwide. For this reason, health intervention is very important to ensure that people quit smoking.

In order for such an intervention to be effective, it must be able to cope with physical and psychological addiction to smoking, break the automaticism associated with smoking behavior and ease the impact of each individual's social environment on his consumption.

To do this, the first step is to get to know the stages that everyone who smokes goes through during the quitting process.

Quitting smoking: Stages

Woman who cuts the cigarette in half

When we talk about quitting smoking, we need to stick to the model known as the transteoric behavior change model. This model was created in 1977 by psychologists Prochaska and DiClemente to understand and support the process of changing certain behaviors.

In this process , which consists of 6 stages with very obvious features, it is necessary to take into account that a person does not necessarily have to go through all stages. In addition, the possibility of relapse is not forgotten and is considered not as a failure, but as an opportunity to develop and increase the chances of success with a new initiative.

In most cases, the final change happens after repeatedly passing through each stage in the model.

In this respect, the mission of health professionals is to identify at what stage the change is in the smoker and to adjust their interventions to motivate the person to progress in the process. They can then examine each of the stages in the process of smoking cessation more deeply.

Pre-intention stage

At this stage, although the person knows that smoking is not a healthy habit, he is still not aware of the problem that he has created. Therefore, they cannot define the need to quit smoking .

Usually, people at this stage are those who go to get counseling for another reason. They can also do this because they are oppressed by their families.

At this point, the aim of the professional is to make the patient aware of the problem and understand the importance of quitting smoking. To do this, it is appropriate to evaluate to what extent they know the risks of smoking, inform them accordingly and underline what benefits they will see when they quit smoking.

Deep thinking phase

During this stage, the patient is aware that he has a problem and should quit smoking. But although they seem to want to do it before 6 months, they have mixed feelings about it or they don't know how to achieve their goals.

In other words, even though they are aware of the problem, they have doubts about their ability to solve this problem.

At this point, the healthcare professional should assist him with the dilemma he is experiencing in order for the smoker to progress through the smoking cessation process. To do this, it is essential to analyze and talk about the following aspects:

The importance of quitting smoking

Self- confidence of the smoker to achieve this goal. During this phase, it is very important to support his self-efficacy by helping the patient remember his other achievements.

Risks associated with smoking and the reason why a person wants to continue smoking

The benefits of quitting smoking and the difficulties to achieve this

Stop smoking: Preparation phase

Woman cutting the cigarette bundle with scissors

The preparatory phase begins when the person decides to want to quit smoking solidly. The person is convinced that he wants to quit and tends to make a serious attempt in less than a month. At this point, the professional should:

He should congratulate the patient and underline that quitting smoking is probably the best decision he has made for the health of both him and the people around him.

To set a date when the patient will not smoke after that day (D-Day). If the patient chose to reduce slowly, the process should start in advance. Thus, when the specified date comes, it can completely stop smoking.

He should encourage the patient to explain this decision to all his friends and family . The more people know, the better.

They should inform about possible difficulties that may arise (appetite, irritability, anxiety , anger, fatigue, change in sleep patterns, increased appetite, constipation, headache, difficulty concentrating, and negative impact of the social environment, etc.) and talk about the benefits and strategies to reduce them.

At this stage, the priority is to prepare the patient to stop smoking . At this point, it is essential to make them think positively. They also need to understand that they can stop smoking, as they have the strategies to successfully face any troubles.

Action stage

At this point, the patient has already stopped smoking, and his main purpose is to avoid relapse. To do this, the healthcare professional should assess the patient's difficulties and strengthen the strategies that will be useful in effectively reducing them.

Besides, it is important to remember that the withdrawal syndrome begins to disappear from day 7 .

The doctor will talk about the feeling of emptiness that occurs around the 10th day. It will also warn you about the false sense of security that occurs between 15 - 3o days after quitting smoking.

Continuity: 6 months without smoking

Stop smoking cigarettes sign

The continuation phase begins when the person does not smoke for 6 months. However, they will not be considered to be smokers before this period reaches 12 months. At this stage, the healthcare professional should reassess possible challenges and strengthen the strategies needed to deal with them.

It may also be helpful to help the patient remember why he quit smoking . They should also review the current benefits and future prospects.

Similarly, it may be necessary to help the patient remember the disadvantages associated with smoking.

Quitting smoking: relapse

If the patient smokes again after quitting smoking, relapse is mentioned. At this point, it is crucial that the healthcare professional empathizes, supports, avoids any punitive behavior, and shows that the patient has an opportunity to learn and try again, as the state of relapse will now be more likely to succeed.