Quit Smoking Programme

GROUP THERAPY MEETINGS
THE FACTS ABOUT QUITTING
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  • It’s very hard to quit smoking.
  • It may take several attempts for you to permanently quit.
  • Quitting works best when you have lots of support and work with your health care team.
  • A combination of nicotine replacement therapy (e.g., gum, patch, lozenge) or other approved smoking cessation medications and counseling is the most effective way to quit.
  • Counseling helps you stick to your plan and overcome barriers to quitting. 

What are the advantages of counseling & psychotherapy?
  • Counseling addresses obstacles to quitting that Cessation Medications cannot. 
Several medications are available to help smokers quit. These consist primarily of various formulations of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT; e.g., gum or a patch) and the non-nicotine medication (bupropion). However, counseling is a more important component  of treatment than is any form of medication (Perkins et al. 2008). Although medications may attenuate the adverse symptoms of tobacco withdrawal and can decrease the severity of overall craving for cigarettes, medications otherwise are limited in their actions. They cannot increase a smoker’s motivation to quit, for example, which is critical to long-term cessation. They also do not reduce the rise in craving experienced when smokers encounter “cues” or “triggers” for smoking in their environments (Waters et al., 2004). Such craving may increase relapse risk when these cues are encountered after quitting. Counseling is required to increase quitting motivation and provide coping strategies for dealing with cue-elicited craving.
  • Counseling & therapy can enhance medication effects.
Counseling not only can help to reduce withdrawal and craving similar to what medications can do, but also can enhance the effects of medications. Many smokers do not know how to properly use medications and have unreasonable expectations for what to expect from the medications. Counseling is critical to filling these knowledge gaps in treatments that rely heavily on medication. Moreover, greater motivation to quit increases the therapeutic efficacy of medications, and so counseling to motivate smokers and help them effectively prepare for quitting can enhance the effects of medications on abstinence.
From 20 minutes to 20 years, the benefits of quitting smoking last a lifetime.
  • 20 minutes after quitting
Your blood pressure drops and the circulation in your hands and feet improves.
  • 12 hours after quitting
The carbon monoxide level in your blood returns to normal.
  • 2 days after quitting
Your taste and smell senses improve.
  • 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting
Your heart attack risk drops and your lung function improve.
  • 1 to 9 months after quitting
Your coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
  • 1 year after quitting
Your added risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
  • 5 to 15 years after quitting
Your risk of stroke is now equal to a non-smoker’s.
  • 10 years after quitting
If you are an average smoker (one pack a day) your lung cancer death rate drops by almost half.
Risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases.
  • 15 years after quitting
Your added risk of heart disease is the same as a non-smoker’s.
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Quitting Success Is Low Without Counseling & Psychotherapy
One of the reasons for the decline in smoking prevalence in recent decades is the change in society’s attitudes about smoking and awareness of its fatal effects on smokers as well as those around them, which has made many smokers want to quit. However, wanting to quit is not enough. Although most smokers try to quit on their own, even the best self-help quitting methods are minimally successful when compared to no treatment and are almost completely ineffective compared to simple advice to quit from a health professional (Lancaster & Stead, 2005).Quitting on one’s own is particularly difficult for smokers trying to cope with comorbid conditions that can be exacerbated when they attempt to quit. Thus, professional assistance is needed in order to significantly enhance the chances of any smoker successfully quitting.

One of the most common questions we face is 'why is willpower not enough?' The fact is, smoking is an addiction. And addiction is a disease. Most people are not aware of this. Thus, they erroneously believe that it is a simple "habit" that they can leave when they gather the "willpower". Can one overcome diabetes with willpower? Wouldn't one go to a diabetologist to have it treated, believing that it is a disease?
What is the 'Quit Smoking' Group Therapy Programme?
The programme is a structured, step by step cognitive behavioral approach to quitting and staying quit. It combines techniques from both behavioral and cognitive treatments to help people change maladaptive behaviors. For example, smokers often use smoking as a coping strategy to reduce feelings of stress. Counseling focuses on changing beliefs about the utility of smoking as a method of controlling stress and finding new ways to cope without smoking.


Is there a guarantee that I will not relapse after this treatment?
Nicotine dependence is a relapsing condition. However, every attempt to quit improves the chance of eventual success. The advantage of this approach is that relapse is not seen as failure that rather an opportunity to learn more effective relapse coping and prevention techniques. 
What are the kinds of issues that will be addressed by this Programme?
  • Understanding addiction to smoking
  • Learning about medication options to support a quit attempt
  • Preparing to quit
  • Setting a quit date
  • Handling withdrawal  and dealing with lapses
  • Addressing weight gain concerns
  • Coping with triggers
  • Relapse prevention
  • Long term maintenance
Can I participate in this Programme if I am trying other ways to quit?
This programme is particularly effective when combined with certain other treatments. Quit methods compatible with this approach are:
  • Medication
  • Hypnotherapy
  • Yoga
  • Meditation & Mindfulness


For details about the meetings and registration, please go through the  Programme brochure.
quit_smoking_programme_brochure.pdf
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