Although smoking is the most important known cause of many diseases that threaten human life such as cancer, heart attack, COPD, and circulatory disorders, the fact that it is still used by millions of people makes it a social problem rather than an individual one.
>For this reason, considering both the loss of workforce caused by diseases directly related to smoking and the money spent for the treatment of these diseases, many countries have developed policies to prevent the consumption of cigarettes.
In our country, too, the recent With the laws passed in recent years, measures are being taken to protect young people from the harms of smoking. However, despite all these laws, the most important thing is to raise awareness and educate the society about the harms of smoking. When planning the training to be provided, the first thing we need to investigate is to find out why people start smoking. There may be many reasons for this, but the most well-known are; Reducing stress, wanting to be part of a group, weight control and smoking being a stimulant.
In addition, it is well known that smoking causes many changes in human biochemistry.
Nicotine and adrenaline; Once a person inhales cigarette smoke into their lungs, nicotine enters the blood within about 10 seconds and begins to affect the brain. The body's first response is the secretion of adrenaline. Accordingly, the pulse accelerates and rapid and shallow breathing occurs. Additionally, adrenaline causes excessive glucose release into the blood.
Nicotine and insulin; Nicotine inhibits the release of insulin from the pancreas. This temporarily causes blood sugar to rise slightly and suppresses the person's feeling of hunger.
Nicotine and Dopamine; Studies have shown that nicotine increases dopamine levels in the brain. This makes people feel better and temporarily happy.
Every time a cigarette is smoked, the person feels better due to these hormonal changes and smokes again to continue this happiness. The real reason for cigarette addiction is these temporary happiness experiences. When people quit smoking, the absence of these hormonal changes that the body is used to causes people to experience withdrawal symptoms. It causes symptoms (anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, headache, fatigue, appetite changes).
Many methods are used all over the world to help those who want to quit smoking. These include medication, psychotherapy, hypnosis, nicotine patches and acupuncture. The mechanism of action of acupuncture, one of the most frequently used methods among these methods, can be explained entirely by the body's better adaptation to the biochemical changes described above.
It has been proven that acupuncture increases the release of adrenaline and dopamine in the brain, thus increasing the levels of these hormones in the brain. It is believed that performing acupuncture in the early stages of smoking cessation increases the release of these neurotransmitters into the blood, thus making withdrawal symptoms less felt.
Two main methods are used for acupuncture treatment. The first of these is ear acupuncture, which is widely used especially in France. In this method, specially produced needles are inserted into the acupuncture points in each person's ear. These needles stay in place for about a week. At the end of a week, they are removed and new ones are installed. Another method is to insert temporary needles into acupuncture points on the body. These methods can be used separately or together.
The first 24 hours of acupuncture treatment are very important in quitting smoking. During this period, the symptoms of nicotine addiction in the body are felt very intensely. For this reason, people receiving treatment must stay through the first 24 hours without smoking. If this is achieved, it will be easier to quit smoking as the problems associated with nicotine deficiency will be felt less with acupuncture treatment in the following days. The second stage that must be completed after the first 24 hours is the first two weeks. This is the second important stage in quitting smoking with acupuncture. During this period, symptoms of nicotine addiction are felt, although not for the first 24 hours. However, now that a certain stage has been achieved in the treatment, people will feel better. If you go through the first two weeks of treatment without smoking, you will most likely quit smoking.
During this four-week period, people should be careful. There are some issues that need to be addressed.
1. More exercise should definitely be done. Long walks, in particular, are a great opportunity to suggest to yourself why you should not smoke. Exercise is very beneficial in reducing your stress and helping you relax.
2. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. These support your blood sugar and help the body neutralize nicotinic acid and eliminate it from the body.
3. Carrots, carrot juice, celery, green salads and citrus fruits (oranges, tangerines) support the body's alkalinity and reduce the desire to smoke.
4. Stay away from junk food (nuts, chips, etc.), sugar and coffee as much as possible. These affect blood sugar levels and increase blood acidity. Thus, it causes an increase in the symptoms of quitting smoking.
5. Drinking lobelia tea and green tea sips during the day during the detox period is extremely beneficial in reducing the complaints caused by nicotine deficiency. Lobelye plant is traditionally used to remove poison from snake bites from the body.
6. You should drink at least two liters of water every day. However, you should consume this water not by pouring a glass of water directly on your head and drinking it sip by sip throughout the day. It has been determined that keeping the body dry increases the desire for nicotine.
7. It has been determined that deep breathing exercises increase body oxygen and calm people.
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