By Yoon Ja-young
Last Friday was World No Tobacco Day. It was designated by the World Health Organization to create smoke free societies. Many smokers usually try quitting smoking on special occasions such as New Year’s Day, but this often ends in failure. Prof. Choi Hyun-rim at Kyunghee University Medical Center says that one should keep in mind the“4Ds,” or “Delay, Deep breathing, Drink water, and Distract,” to succeed in this extremely difficult task.
According to statistics released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the smoking rate of the country’s male adults stood at 48.3 percent in 2010, and for females it was 6.3 percent. The ratio of smokers among male adults fell somewhat steeply from 66.3 percent in 1998 to 45 percent in 2007, but it has been static since then — though many people try to quit smoking each year, most of them end up smoking again.
Doctors say only 3 to 5 percent of those who try to kick the habit on their own will succeed. The success rate goes up to 15.1 percent when one participates in quit smoking consulting programs, and even further to 32 percent when accompanied by medicinal treatment.
They mostly fail because of the addiction to nicotine, which explains 30 percent of the failure. They might get nicotine patches or other medicinal treatment for three months. Stress is another reason why people light up again. People should therefore search for other means of relieving stress, such as exercise and other physical activities, instead of trying to alleviate stress with cigarettes. One should also know the certain circumstances in which one feels a desire to smoke, such as when drinking a cup of coffee, drinking with colleagues, or meeting someone who smokes. They had better avoid such circumstances for three months.
“Generally, people experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, loss of concentration, headache, sweating, drowsiness and fast heart rate within two hours after their last cigarette,” Prof. Choi said. “The symptoms reach a peak after three days, to slowly subside but continue for up to four more weeks,” he said.
When faced with withdrawal symptoms, it is recommended that one take a rest, inhale fresh air, and take light exercise. Drinking plenty of water, taking deep breaths, or taking a shower or a bath with warm water can help. If they still have a strong urge to smoke, they should try other activities to distract themselves.
“Even a month after quitting smoking, one can smoke again for diverse reasons. Hence, people should actively avoid circumstances where they are tempted to smoke, and recommend others around them to quit as well. It is also good to think about the health benefits they can gain after successfully stopping,” he added.
Following are the 4Ds to suppress the urge to smoke.
You will lose the urge after only a few minutes. Say to yourself that you will suppress it for just three minutes.
Breathe deeply a few times. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.
Take a sip of water slowly and keep it in your mouth briefly before swallowing it.
Find some other activities that you can concentrate on.
Advice: Prof. Choi Hyun-rim at Kyunghee University Medical Center