YORK COUNTY, S.C. (CN NEWS) – There’s no better time to quit using nicotine than the present according to the Tobacco Free York County Coalition, which works to free tobacco users from addiction through advocacy and education.
Coalition Coordinator, Erin Paradiso, says quitting certainly is not easy and users can expect to have nicotine cravings within the first hour of stopping.
“It’s a chemical that your brain has become accustom to having, and the more that you use it, the more the tolerance is higher, so you’re going to need more of it and it’s going to take longer to get out of your system,” Paradiso said.
Quitting this substance can often lead to irritability, headaches, and appetite changes, all of which are symptoms officials say are caused by the body wanting nicotine.
The hard part is overcoming those urges, but the coalition says its possible especially with help from nicotine patches and gum that can provide a smaller dosage of nicotine to users struggling to quit cold turkey. Pair those tools with determination and experts say quitting is possible.
“Some of it is having that mindset that you want to quit. If you’re not ready to quit it’s probably not going to happen,” Paradiso said. “The other part of it is having a good support system, so if mom smokes and nobody else in the household does, it’s really good to have it kind of be a family goal so everyone’s on board.”
Coalition staff say quitting tobacco can drastically improve health while lowering the risk for cancer, and can also save money by eliminating the need to buy nicotine products.
Tobacco free urges all working to quit to call the South Carolina Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-784-8669 for help in stopping nicotine use, as well as access to resources like nicotine patches and gum.
