I want to stop smoking, how do I do it?

Hello Hermina Friends, Smoking has been the biggest problem not only in Indonesia but in the world for a long time because smoking is directly related to various health problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that cigarettes kill 8 million people per year worldwide. Data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in 2021 states that as many as 70.2 million adult Indonesians are active smokers with a total of 65.5% being men.

A cigarette contains more than 4,000 types of chemical compounds, 400 dangerous substances and 43 cancer-causing substances. The main substances we are familiar with are nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide, all of which are associated with the emergence of addiction and dangerous diseases. In the context of respiratory diseases, smoking is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

In fact, as many as 63.4% of adult smokers have thought and planned to stop smoking, but only 38.9% actually came to health services to consult about how to stop smoking, and only 5% managed to stop smoking. What actually makes it difficult for someone to stop smoking? There is a cycle called the nicotine addiction cycle, namely when someone smokes the nicotine is absorbed into the blood and passed to the brain, the receptors in the brain that receive nicotine then release dopamine, dopamine gives a feeling of comfort, when dopamine decreases the feeling of comfort disappears and the desire to back to smoking. This cycle will occur over and over again because when an addict does not smoke, nicotine withdrawal symptoms will appear such as: discomfort, difficulty concentrating and irritability. This feeling of discomfort encourages a person to continue smoking.

Every smoker must know that there are many benefits to quitting smoking, namely:

1. Within 20 minutes, blood pressure, pulse and peripheral blood flow will improve.
2. Within 12 hours, almost all the nicotine in the body has been metabolized and blood carbon monoxide levels return to normal.
3. Within 1-2 days, nicotine will begin to be eliminated by the body and the cardiovascular system will improve.
4. Within 2-6 weeks, airway ciliary function and lung function improve.
5. Within 1 year, the risk of coronary heart disease decreases by half.
6. Within 5 years, the risk of stroke decreased to the same as people who had never smoked.
7. Within 10 years, the risk of lung cancer is halved.

Although quitting smoking is difficult, it is not impossible. Here are tips to start quitting smoking:

1. Determine strong motivation and reasons to stop smoking, for example byQuitting smoking will protect your family (passive smokers) from the risk of lung cancer and other health problems.
2. Stop smoking immediately or reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day gradually.
3. Try to identify the times and places where smoking is most common and divert
the habit of smoking in that place with other activities, for example by chewing candy.
4. Control the desire to smoke by delaying smoking time. When the urge to smoke arises, try delaying it for 5 minutes before lighting your cigarette, the next day try delaying it for 10 minutes.
The longer the delay, the longer the urge to smoke will slowly disappear.
5. Exercise regularly.Ask for support from family and relatives. The support of family and relatives will greatly influence a person's success in quitting smoking.
6. Consult a doctor to help deal with nicotine addiction.
7. Quitting smoking is not only a matter of saving yourself, but also saving the people around you

Quitting smoking is not only a matter of saving yourself, but also saving the people around you.