4/12/2013

Smoking is such an awful habit and such a strong addiction, but there are organizations out there that provide stop smoking help and ongoing tips to quit smoking. These organizations are usually government sponsored and can be found in many countries around the world.



In the UK for example there is a national service that provides stop smoking help.



The NHS Stop Smoking Services, which was established in 1999 across the UK, provides support for motivated smokers who wish to quit.



The services clients are offered include pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapy in a group or individual setting.



More than half of these clients are able to stop smoking for at least four weeks and around 15% do so for at least a year.



Unfortunately these figures suggest, quitters' rates of relapse back to smoking are high, with around 75% of those abstinent at 4 weeks after their quit date, re-starting smoking within the year.



The primary reason smokers in this stop smoking help program start smoking again is that they run out of medication.



Once in the program and after some measure of success, the extended use of anti smoking drugs is preferred over the use of proactive telephone counseling, in order to prevent a relapse. The use of proactive telephone counseling is not favored because it is often seen as intrusive by the participant.



For those smokers who have been able to quit, the use of 'diversion therapy' as a relapse prevention intervention for abstinent smokers can provide some success. This therapy is aimed at engaging former smokers in activities designed to take their minds off smoking and provide them with feelings of well-being and importance. Activities may involve the use of a leisure center or getting involved with community services.



For those smokers who have been able to quit, yet have the urge to start up again, or those smokers who have had one or two relapses, the preferred method of getting back on the rails was by way of behavioral counseling.



This counseling is usually provided on an individual or group basis and these smokers receive stop smoking help to identify situations and triggers that might lead to smoking lapses. They are then taught strategies to help overcome the associated urge for a cigarette and steps that can be taken to prevent future relapses.



Often a relapse is a spontaneous, unplanned thought process or phenomenon which is triggered by external factors such as holidays, bereavement and unexpected personal or financial difficulties. The counseling program helps provide strategies to deal with these situations.



For those smokers who have quit but have had a relapse, there is often an open door policy of returning to the support group services at any time. As a last resort, to reenter the stop smoking help program from the beginning again as a new case is always an option. Unfortunately for the individual that does this, it can often create of feeling of embarrassment or failure, which is just another barrier that needs to be overcome.



The illnesses of smokers, cost both the smoker and the government so much money that many sources of stop smoking help are now available. Usually the government supports hospitals to treat the many illnesses that smokers develop, so it is the government who has teamed up with those in the medical services to provide preventative measures.



Preventative measures are much less expensive than caring for patients after they are afflicted by problems caused by smoking, hence the need for the stop smoking help programs.
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