The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steps to take to stop smoking or vaping this year
From The Philadelphia Inquirer:
If you added “quit smoking” to your New Year’s resolution list, the first step in achieving this goal is to see the change as a process, or series of steps, rather than as a switch that gets flipped.
First, it’s important to recognize that in order to change the smoking/vaping behavior for the long term, the underlying compulsion to inhale nicotine needs to be controlled. This impulse originates in the survival instinct parts of the brain, where nicotine acts like an imposter safety signal. It’s why using nicotine products can help to “relax” us, and why the idea of quitting is often experienced as anxiety, threat, grief or even hopelessness. Too many people try to force themselves to stop thoughts of smoking or vaping, only to eventually exhaust themselves and give in… or give up.
Read the full story in The Philadelphia Inquirer.