4. Quitting Smoking Gradually
This method involves quitting smoking gradually, either by gradually cutting down the number of cigarettes you smoke or by switching over to an approach that would produce less nicotine. Thus, there are the following two available options in gradual reduction method (GRM):
Self-control: This involves gradual cut back in the number of cigarettes you smoke. For instance, if you smoke 30 cigarettes a day, you would reduce them to 29 the first day, 28 the second day and so on. Once you are down to around 20 cigarettes a day, you might find it difficult to cut down any further.
Probably making the reduction in cigarette consumption more gradual would help you in this situation. You may adopt strategies like enhancing the time gaps between cigarettes you consume or smoking less of each cigarette.
This method is useful for pregnant women or people who are advised not to go for Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT). People who have tried various other methods but failed might also benefit from it. Even if they were not able to attain the goal of total cessation, GRM would drastically reduce their cigarette consumption.
Nicotine Fading: This involves switching over to a strategy that would yield less amounts of nicotine. This maybe done in various ways: Plastic filter system: A plastic cigarette holder with three or four different filters to trap nicotine is used. The drawback of this method is that people find use of a holder old-fashioned and may become too lazy to clean the holder after every 5 cigarettes.
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