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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : May 2, 2014 3:18 PM IST
According to researchers, smokers may avoid treatment to quit smoking if they previously gained weight while trying to quit. Weight gain is a predictable occurrence for smokers who have recently quit. 'Perhaps we should not be surprised that smokers who gained weight previously are once bitten, twice shy. They are concerned about weight gain if they attempt to quit even though they may know the benefits of quitting,' explained Susan Veldheer, a project manager at Penn State College of Medicine.
Researchers surveyed 186 smokers who sought treatment to quit and 102 smokers who avoided treatment. All participants were asked about weight gain during past attempts to quit and their concern for gaining weight after quitting in the future. Overall, smokers who sought treatment to quit were equally concerned about gaining weight as the smokers who avoided treatment.
Of all the participants, 53 per cent had gained weight during a previous attempt to quit smoking. 'Clinicians should ask smokers if they had previously gained weight while trying to quit. If so, these smokers should be assured that strategies to maintain weight will be addressed in treatment,' said the study appeared in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.
Cold Turkey The oldest and most successful method is going 'cold turkey' that is quitting smoking without taking any substitute for nicotine. 75% people who've quit smoking claim to have done so without the aid of any aid or supplement. Coupled with therapy and intervention cold turkey is supposed to be the best way to quit. There are various websites and helplines which help people quit without the aid of any medicines. Most replacement therapies look to chemically substitute the nicotine hit of smoking but it just means switching from one addiction to another.
Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT) NRT looks to take care of nicotine craving by providing a substitute source without the harmful effects of tobacco. It works on the principle that though nicotine is the 'addictive' part of cigarettes the more dangerous ones are tar, carbon monoxide and other gases. There are various products under this Nicorette umbrella which look to aid cessation including chewing gums, lozenges, nasal sprays, patches and inhalers. Some electronic cigarettes also have nicotine filters.
Electronic cigarettes An electronic cigarette is a device that mimics the entire smoking process by producing a mist which has the same sensation (sometimes the same flavour too) of smoking. Some of them have nicotine and some of them don't. Click here to read more about e-cigarettes.
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