Are you one of the 12 million French women and men addicted to cigarettes and would like to quit? You are not alone! According to data from Public Health France, 59.3% of daily smokers say they want to quit, 26.4% say they plan to quit in the next 6 months and 30.3% have made an attempt to quit. stoppage of at least one week in the last 12 months. To optimize your chances of really getting rid of cigarettes, Faredj Cherikh, psychiatrist and head of the addictology department at the Nice University Hospital, gives 5 tips.
#1 Understand the mechanisms of addiction
“I can stop whenever I want!” What cigarette addict has never uttered this sentence… before coming up against the difficulties of withdrawal? Because yes, quitting smoking is complex. To achieve this, it is better to know your enemy: “Nicotine is one of the most addictive products. Because it is an extraordinary molecule: it can soothe when you are stressed and stimulate when you are tired. It is in particular for this double effect that the cigarette break at work is is imposed as an institution”explains Dr. Cherikh.
“There is then a habituation effect which will lead to increasing the doses in order to be able to feel the same pleasure”
The specialist details the mechanisms of nicotine: “It acts at the level of the reward circuits, by secreting the neuromediator found in all addictions: dopamine. By passing from one synapse to another, it creates this side of pleasure which makes the patient feel calm or excited. hypothalamic brain. So that each time we are stressed or tired, the brain will need to reproduce these effects. There is then an habituation effect which will lead to increasing the doses in order to be able to feel the same pleasure .”
#2 Take stock of your consumption
5, 10, 15 cigarettes a day… Self-assessment can be useful for embarking on a reduction in consumption or quitting. “For this, the best known tool is the Fagerström test”specifies Dr. Cherikh, qualifying, however. “The number of cigarettes remains an important piece of data: beyond ten a day, fellow pulmonologists can affirm that it is toxic for the lungs, the heart… But it is not the only one to assess its dependence. For us, addictologists, there is another key criterion: it is the loss of control. When the cigarette pleasure turns into a need, an irrepressible desire, which leads us to smoke the packet, it is a signal.
#3 Take the time to assess your motivation
Going into quitting smoking is a process that requires patience and determination. And one does not go without the other, warns the head of the addiction service of the CHU of Nice. “Many people say: “I want to quit but now is not the time”, etc. Or: “Tomorrow, I will stop”. And then every day becomes a tomorrow. This shows that they are still in the grip of a sort of ambivalence in relation to themselves. When you get past that stage, that’s where the motivation comes in. When there is no more “more” After “I want to stop”there we begin to give ourselves all the means to succeed”poses Dr. Cherikh, who advises to clearly identify the springs of his will.
“Finding your most personal motivation for this stop and not doing it because you are being forced to act”
“Winning in lifestyle to get back to such a sport? Give yourself every chance of having a child? You have to find your most personal motivation for this stop and not do it because we are being forced to act. Yes, the Tobacco is a risk factor in many pathologies. Science knows all the harmful effects on the healing process, the vascularization of cancerous diseases, the risk of heart attack. But only a deeply personal will can be the starting point for weaning “analyzes the psychiatrist.
#4 Get help from health professionals
Patch, chewing gum, sophrology, hypnosis, electronic cigarette… “There is a wide range of tools to quit. But the fact of being guided, accompanied, gives a much better chance of achieving it”, warns Dr. Cherikh. And for that, you don’t necessarily need to go to the office of an addictologist.
“Any carer is able to provide this advice. Only the most complex cases are referred to the addictologist. We encourage all health professionals to play this support role. The nursing staff, the midwives can renew cigarette substitutes, prescribe patches [des gommes, des inhalateurs vendus en pharmacie] since they are 100% refunded. It’s an incredible chance to try to stop”. Tobacconists are also available on the Tobacco info service application, at 3989 or via the Tobacco info service website messaging system.
“There is no pre-established protocol for quitting”
Being accompanied is also the assurance of having the most suitable coaching for your needs. “There is no pre-established protocol for quitting, no ready-made instructions to follow to the letter. But many nuances in relation to personality, insists Dr. Cherikh. Moreover, if you can’t stop at all, the fact of reducing can already limit the damage. This is what is called in addictology the principle of risk reduction. It’s already a start, and then we’ll see.”
#5 Accept relapse
Among the 12 million daily smokers identified by Public Health France, “30.3% have attempted to quit for at least a week in the last 12 months”. And it’s not the end of the world, enlightens Dr. Cherikh: “Relapse is almost obligatory, it is part of the process. You can completely relapse and then succeed in quitting. You have to be aware of it from the start”he warns.
“Weaning is never an emergency, a good preparation yes”
“The longer and more thoughtful the preparation for quitting, the better the result. People who start quitting quickly enough relapse quickly enough. Quitting is never an emergency, good preparation yes. Through various motivational interviews with a health professional, to go through all the stages and strengthen your motivation at each of them”reassures the specialist.
#6 Avoid replacing this addiction with another
“People often transfer addiction to tobacco to something else. Weight gain is common because the addiction is diverted to sugar, which is also addictogenic. And to stop this weight gain, people’s first instinct is to …to take up smoking again”, asks Dr. Cherikh. The specialist warns against any excessive behavior that would compensate for quitting smoking, such as excessive sports or systematic purchases to congratulate yourself on the savings made.
“There can be a reward system but it must not be systematic. Because it will promote the addictological reward system so we create excitement and this can create another form of addiction. This does not mean not to say that we cannot set a few objectives and afford something when they are achieved”concludes the psychiatrist.