Reading nook

Complete course to quit smoking

The Science of Quitting Smoking

web.sections.reading_nook.course_author_name Bruno Monse

Quitting smoking is possible. This course guides you with brief, practical lessons to prepare for your quit day, get through the first days, manage withdrawal and cravings, and build a smoke-free life with healthy habits and enjoyable activities.

Module 1

Preparation and the first few days

In this module you will understand what addiction is and why we smoke, you will discover what you gain by quitting, you will prepare for Quit Day with practical strategies, you will learn to manage withdrawal, and you will finish by integrating the key points to stay smoke-free.

What is an addiction?

Discover what an addiction really is from a holistic perspective that includes biological, psychological and social components, and how understanding this will help you feel like an active part of the change.

Why do you smoke and why quit?

Explore the deeper reasons why you started smoking and why you now want to quit, learning to take personal stock and to move through grief in a healthy way.

What will you gain by giving up smoking?

Discover all the benefits you’ll gain by quitting smoking: from immediate health improvements to financial, social and environmental benefits that will motivate you throughout the process.

Preparation or cutting down

Learn how to prepare for Quit Day with consumption tracking strategies, techniques to make the act of smoking “uncomfortable”, and by managing your social and family environment.

Useful and positive strategies

Discover practical strategies for managing cravings to smoke, identify your high-risk situations, and learn when (and for what purpose) medication can help as part of a comprehensive approach.

Quit Day

Get your Quit Day underway: clear your surroundings, set daily goals, create new routines and prepare distractions for body and mind.

Withdrawal

Learn to manage withdrawal symptoms with specific strategies for each symptom and understand the “pink cloud” phenomenon that can appear after the first few days of quitting smoking.

Summary

Integrate what you’ve learnt and see what comes next: review the key points for quitting smoking, risks and strategies, and anticipate how to maintain abstinence in the next module.
Module 2

Consolidate abstinence and maintain the change

In this module you will consolidate your abstinence by differentiating detoxification from breaking the habit, dispelling myths through cognitive restructuring, building healthy habits and pleasures, redefining your identity without tobacco, recognising false control and preparing the next steps.

Detoxification and breaking the habit

Distinguish between detoxification and breaking the habit, and learn how to consolidate abstinence with new habits, associations and rewards.

Cognitive restructuring

Debunk myths about tobacco and activate control-oriented thoughts to reduce the risk of relapse.

Quit it or fill it?

Move from “giving up” tobacco to “filling” the space that smoking used to take up: build healthy habits and sources of pleasure that consolidate your new smoke-free life.

A new "me" is born

Redefine your identity beyond tobacco: design a new “you” that’s consistent with your smoke-free life, and let go of chronic labels that no longer feel relevant to you

False control

Spot the “false sense of control” and learn to safeguard your abstinence against this trap.

Summary

Recap the key points from the module and get ready for the next one: craving, practical strategies, and how to manage relapses.
Module 3

Craving and relapses

In this module you will understand craving and its causes, apply resources to cope with it, learn to approach relapses as part of the process, review your journey, and conclude with adjustments to keep moving forward.

Craving

Learn what craving is, the difference between desire and pleasure, and the neurological and psychological mechanisms that cause it so you can manage it better.

Resources for cravings

Find practical tools to manage craving: breathing, a rescue call, a change of context, and body-based resources to help you regain control.

Relapses

Learn to understand relapses as a relearning phase, not as failure, through metaphors that show how each attempt brings you closer to success.

Resources for relapses

Find resources to manage relapses: from resuming treatment to using subjective scales and staying persistent, remembering that every attempt counts.

Full review

Carry out a full review of your process, assessing which strategies worked, which did not, what you have achieved, what remains to be done, and what you have learnt in order to move forward with compassion and determination.

Summary

Learn tools to cope with cravings, how to deal with a relapse, and what to adjust to keep moving forward with your abstinence.