Mom, you're going to die from smoking!" The more often my son was disgusted by the fact that he saw me smoking, the less I could justify smoking to myself. And that's why I stopped.
I smoked my last cigarette two months ago. Addiction expert Tobias Ritter is delighted with my move. He manages a special outpatient clinic for smoking addicts at the Ludwig Maximilian University Clinic in Munich. "When you stop smoking, many positive things happen in your life very quickly".
Very fast, very much…
Already after eight hours, the body is much better supplied with oxygen, explains Ritter. After just a day or two, many people said their sense of smell and taste "improved". After two weeks, the function of the lungs improves significantly, which is especially noticeable when playing sports. But as a smoker, I felt as fit as I am now, after quitting smoking.
"It may happen that you have more frequent coughing fits than you used to," says Ritter. "The reason for this is the lungs, which are starting to clean." And this "spring cleaning" lasts for about a month. after a month, the immune system was significantly strengthened."
If I manage to abstain for another month, I will be able to look forward to much better sleep, Ritter tells me. "Smokers experience a nicotine crisis during the night. Because of this, they do not wake up, but they sleep much more restlessly. After three months, sleep returns to normal".
The danger of the third cigarette
Before I decided on complete abstinence, I thought it was healthier to reduce the number of cigarettes. But in that case, I shouldn't smoke more than two cigarettes a day: already from the third, toxic smoke causes great harm to the body. "The risk to the cardiovascular system, that is, the risk of stroke or heart attack, does not increase significantly, regardless of whether you smoke 3 or 20 cigarettes," says Ritter. As for cancer, the matter is different. The danger increases with each individual cigarette.
"It's a good thing you stopped," Ritter keeps telling me. His joy is contagious – because my delight at quitting was relatively modest.
At the same time, every other smoker dies due to tobacco addiction. About 50 percent of them even before they reach their 70th birthday. "You would feel the effects of smoking at the age of 50 at the latest," says the expert. And suddenly I'm still very happy that I stopped - before the "disintegration" becomes visible.
High percentage of "returners"
But it was not easy at all. And I didn't need aids like nicotine patches, hypnosis or acupuncture to quit smoking. The fact that only my strong will was enough could have something to do with the fact that I started smoking relatively late - only at the age of 21. "That's another reason to be happy," says Ritter.
"Most smokers start between the ages of 12 and 16, while the brain is still maturing. Nicotine is an extremely active neurotransmitter, which decisively affects the development of neural connections in the brain." The consequence is an addiction that lasts a lifetime, and which is difficult to overcome with willpower alone, explains the expert.
Ritter somehow managed to make me feel both proud and - relieved. But then he tells me: "Out of 100 smokers who stop smoking like you, that is without help, 95 of them start smoking again within a year". Well...
Smoking illusion
One reason for the return to smoking waters could be the "smoking illusion", an evil psychological trick of nicotine. Psychological dependence is very strong, emphasizes Ritter. And that's why I naturally fell for that smoking illusion: for years I convinced myself that smoking calmed me down, reduced my stress and offered a short break.
"In reality, every cigarette increases the number of heart attacks and makes you more restless," says my interlocutor. The fact that I felt that smoking calmed me down is related to the fact that, after a long break without cigarettes, I had a withdrawal crisis and my body demanded new nicotine. "Cigarettes therefore take away the restlessness that you, as a non-smoker, would not feel at all".
Pavlov's reflex
The first dinner with friends, with music and wine, but no cigarettes, was quite comical. Something was missing and I felt somehow strange. Over the years, I have very successfully gotten used to the fact that smoking is an integral part of certain situations: with coffee, with wine, during a break.
"It works like Pavlov's dog: you give the dog something to eat and at the same time ring the bell. Sometimes it's enough to ring the bell and the dog is already drooling," explains Ritter.
And for smokers, that bell rings all the time - they smoke to relax and when someone wants to "activate". As a reward after work, after eating, while waiting for the bus or after sex. And so on. "Cigarettes are firmly integrated into the daily life of smokers, that's the problem".
I want to stop. But how?
It's not easy to quit. Tobias Ritter therefore first reassures his patients by asserting that failure is an integral part of the process. "When patients tell me that they have already tried five times to quit smoking, then I first give credit to those attempts. This suggests that this matter is very important to them".
It can be learned like riding a bike, he says. Falling is part and parcel, it's important to get back up and try again. In addition, it is important to signal to the brain that something has changed. "Sit in the morning on a different chair than usual. Drink tea instead of coffee. Place the plant in your workplace in a different place". That's how Pavlov's dog can be fooled in the smoker's head.
Intuitively, I did everything right! Instead of moving the furniture, I left my everyday life behind and traveled to my best friend's place for a few days. Meanwhile, I only rarely think about smoking. Maybe I'm one of those five percent who "survive" the first year after quitting smoking?
And if that doesn't happen, it doesn't automatically have to be a return to the old ways, says Tobias Ritter. "One cigarette is recklessness. It's only from the second that it's a return to smoking".
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