Quit smoking in winter: good or bad idea?

Winter upsets our habits: an opportunity to quit smoking?

Often when we decide to stop something, we first weigh the pros and cons. If you're a smoker, you may have already made such a list, but find more arguments for continuing than for quitting smoking. Then you have all the immediate risks in mind, and forget the benefits that take a little longer to appear. In the short term, you may think that smoking helps you fight stress, or you may be afraid of gaining weight by quitting. On the other hand, you think that your health will take longer to improve after quitting. However, some benefits, such as the return of the five senses, come rather quickly at the beginning of a smoking cessation! However, since we are more likely to focus on the negative than the positive, it can be difficult to notice.

When winter arrives, the cold tilts the scales somewhat to the other side: to go out to smoke, you now have to face the cold. Outside when you smoke, you shiver, are afraid of getting sick or slipping on a slab of ice. All of these possibilities make you reluctant to go outside to smoke. In fact, when it's cold, you may not enjoy smoking as much. The cold makes you overlook what you consider to be the positive effects of smoking, or even turn them into negative effects. Instead of helping you cope with stress or being a time to relax, smoking is seen as a chore in the winter, which you have to do because of your dependence. This can therefore motivate you to quit. It's as if the weather makes you aware of the more immediate dangers of smoking, and encourages you to stop the habit, at least for the time being.

Quitting smoking in winter can therefore be a good way to say goodbye to smoking for good. Why not give it a try? For many people, taking the first step is one of the most complicated steps in quitting smoking. Quitting when the weather encourages you to do it can help you quit in the long term. In fact, studies have shown that if you quit smoking for at least a month, you are five times more likely to quit for good. However, winter lasts a few months, which can increase your chances tenfold!

Quit Smoking for Better Winter Health

Winter comes with seasonal bacteria and viruses. Cold, flu, bronchitis and other ailments are then part of the game. Perhaps you are sensitive enough to these winter illnesses? If this is the case, do you know that it may be due to your cigarettes consumption? In fact, according to a scientific consensus, smoking causes a drop in immunoglobulin levels of smokers. These proteins act as antibodies, so lowering them weakens the immune system. This is why smokers tend to get sicker: their bodies are more sensitive to viruses and bacteria. This is especially noticeable in winter, when the cold weakens our immune and respiratory systems and makes viruses more resistant; these effects are then tenfold for smokers.

By quitting smoking, your immunoglobulin levels will gradually increase, restoring your immune system to its former strength. It should be noted, however, that this process can take up to a year. This may seem like a long time, but that's how long it takes for your body to relearn how to live without the toxins from cigarettes.

You'll find that after saying goodbye to smoking, you cough more than usual. This is normal, and it doesn't mean you're sick. During the first few weeks or months after your smoking cessation, you need to expel all the toxins that have accumulated in your body, especially in your respiratory system. To do this, you cough! If you feel the need, you can consult a specialist who will reassure you and verify that the symptoms are indeed related to your smoking cessation.

So you have to be a little patient, but it's for the best. After this adaptation time, you will see, you will be much more resistant!

New Year Celebrations to motivate you to quit smoking this winter

The beginning of winter also rhymes with New Year celebrations. On the occasion of the New Year, many decide to quit smoking. But why wait to say goodbye to cigarettes?

Quitting smoking at the start of winter to save money for New Year celebrations

If you quit now, you can set aside a nice amount of money to reinvest in your presents for example. And why not take the opportunity to make a gift to yourself? Kwit helps you become aware of the savings you've made by calculating for you the amount you've saved since you quit smoking.

Resist cravings during New Year celebrations

During this festive period, we tend to get together with friends and family. If your environment includes a number of smokers, the temptations can be great. To help you deal with this, we offer a few tips:

• Learn to say no when a cigarette is offered. This will help you resist when someone close to you offers to smoke with them between the main course and the desert.

• Prepare yourself psychologically. You will be better equipped to resist temptations.

• Develop strategies to manage your cravings. This could be talking to your table companion, singing a Christmas carol, or counting presents under the tree. Cravings usually pass in a few minutes, so keep your mind busy.

• Limit your alcohol consumption. Partying often leads to drinking and smoking. The brain, therefore, associates alcohol with smoking. It's therefore preferable to drink with moderation during your withdrawal period in order to limit the incentive to smoke.

If you would like some more detailed advice, this article should interest you!

Take stock of your year and decide to quit smoking for the new year

For many, the end of the year is the ideal moment to take stock of the year and to make new resolutions. What if you took the opportunity to quit smoking? Beginning a smoking cessation at this time means starting at the same time as many other smokers who, just like you, will want to take advantage of the New Year to make a fresh start and quit smoking. This is the perfect opportunity to support and help each other! You may already know such people.

A new year is also the perfect opportunity to make a list of all the reasons why you might want to quit smoking! Put them on paper and reread this list in difficult times.

Finally, by quitting smoking at the dawn of the new year, you give your body the time it needs to recover before next winter!

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