Today is World No Tobacco Day. The 2021 theme is Commit to Quit. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ”Over 70 per cent of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide lack access to the tools they need to quit successfully. This gap in access to cessation services is only further exacerbated in the last year as the health workforce has been mobilized to handle the Coronavirus pandemic”.
The World Health Organisation has dedicated 31 May 2021 as World No Tobacco day and this day is quite significant in the backdrop of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Ways to help you quit:
There is no single and easy way to quit tobacco. Some of the following tips could help you in kicking this habit:
- Make a quit plan and stick to it. Doesn’t matter if you fail a couple of times. Keep trying and don’t give up.
- Change your diet. There are certain foods which make cigarette taste better like meat, alcohol, tea, coffee, aerated beverages. Avoid these and instead choose fruits, vegetables, cheese, water. Change your routine so that you do not crave any tobacco.
3. Speak to family and friends for support — family, friends, doctor, counsellor Nicotine-replacement therapy like chewing-gum or skin-patches can be very helpful to tide over your withdrawal symptoms.
4. Stressful situations can cause the use of tobacco – try to avoid stressful situations. Although, it is not always possible, you can combat the habit by avoiding them.
5. Exercise, even a 5-minute walk or stretch, reports have shown that it helps curb the craving.
6. Try to be around your non-smoker friends and avoid your smoker companions for a while.
7. Get rid if the scent. Clean your house, your surroundings, clothes and belongings so that you do not get the familiar scent of cigarette smoke which will remind you of smoking.
