This Help Desk story is the result of a reader’s question about where to get help in his effort to quit smoking: “I’m 69 and a longtime smoker. I want to quit but it’s very hard, especially dealing with financial stress and general world events. What’s the best way to quit? Are there any programs or mental practices that can help me finally break this addiction?” If you have a question you’d like Globe writers to address, submit it online here or e-mail christine.morris@globe.com .
Chris Salamanis, 50, didn’t know whether she could ever quit smoking. For 15 years, Salamanis said she was a “two-pack-a-day kind of girl.” But after a night out where she smoked 60 cigarettes, Salamanis woke up with a terrible “cigarette hangover.” She quit cold turkey.
“I think I actually smoked myself sick,” Salamanis said. “The next morning it was so bad, and [from] that point forward even the smell made me nauseous.”
That was 25 years ago, and the Watertown resident hasn’t had a puff since. She is now a smoking cessation counselor who chairs the Massachusetts leadership board of the American Lung Association.
Approximately 70 percent of adult smokers in the United States want to quit, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in 2015. Self-control is sometimes no match for the addictive powers of nicotine. While quitting can be extremely difficult, especially for longtime smokers, it is not impossible.
Here are some tips from experts to help smokers quit:
Get help. If you want to quit but can’t, then you probably can’t do it on your own. Seek advice from experts by talking to a medical professional; a national hotline — 1-800-QUIT-NOW — will connect you to specialists who can walk you through the options, based on your situation. Some people can go cold turkey, like Salamanis; others will find nicotine replacement therapy or medications helpful, while still others need to attend smoking cessation counseling programs.
“It reminds the individual their rationale for wanting to quit in the first place,” Tan said. “Having those reasons that constantly remind them of why they are doing this is a very strong motivating factor.”
“If you don’t tell anyone or have any support, I think it’s easy to fall back,” Salamanis said. “I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, I’m the easiest person in the world to rationalize with.”
“People do need to think about mental and social aspects of smoking,” Sadreameli said. “Oftentimes, planning for that can make it easier.”
“In my practice, I try to build people up if they try to quit but fail,” Sadreameli said. “I’m always trying to flip it to the positive and empower them.”
“I would echo the advice that e-cigarettes should not be the first line for someone trying to quit smoking,” Tan said. “But for someone who is really having a difficult time and has tried everything – up to 30 attempts – I think that an e-cigarette would be safer than continuing to smoke.”
Additional resources:
■ Call the Smokers’ Helpline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW for free support and advice to help you quit.
■ Make Smoking History — Quit Now
■ Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Quit Smoking
Alex Gailey can be reached at alexandra.gailey@globe.com.