The 2 Types Of Psychological Treatments For Tobacco Addiction
Perhaps whoever is reading this article is trying to kick their tobacco addiction or is trying to help someone who wants to quit smoking. This is normal, given that smoking is one of the most common and most harmful addictions.
Be that as it may, in this article you will find the most important information about the main types of treatments for tobacco addiction.
It is estimated that tobacco contains approximately 2,550 components, which increase exponentially when the cigarette is lit., there being two that are the most representative: tar and nicotine. The latter is what really has the addictive power of tobacco, in addition to producing harmful effects at the cardiovascular level.
Tobacco addiction reaches such magnitude that It is estimated to have an addiction rate of 32%, being much higher than that of other substances such as, for example, alcohol, which has a rate of 15% and cannabis, 10%. This allows us to deduce, in part, the reason for the extreme difficulty in successfully completing any of the different types of treatments to quit tobacco addiction.
Among the many problems caused by addiction are the following that will be explained below.
First of all, they are cardiovascular diseases. Various studies estimate that 1 in 5 deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases are due to tobacco consumption.
These data have been found due to the relationship between nicotine consumption and the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, causing an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.
With respect to cancer, it is known and widely researched that tobacco plays an important role in its appearance and, specifically, it is lung cancer that tends to develop most frequently. It has been estimated that 4 out of every 5 deaths due to cancer due to habitual tobacco consumption are due to lung cancer..
Skin aging is another of the most common consequences caused by tobacco addiction. Some researchers discovered, by analyzing several subjects, that Habitual and prolonged tobacco consumption produces “cigarette skin”, characterized by being pale, grayish and wrinkled. In another study, it was associated that tobacco addiction during youth triggered a premature appearance of wrinkles on the skin.
Tobacco consumption also is related to sexual dysfunction, since it has a harmful effect on the smallest arteries, which makes the erection process difficult. It should be noted that recent research discovered that there was an improvement in sexual response in men when they gave up tobacco addiction and this could be due to the increase in parasympathetic activity in their body.
Other data caused by the habit of smoking that should be highlighted are the following:
Main types of psychological treatment for smoking
There is research that concluded that If a person with a tobacco addiction manages to quit for a minimum of 16 years, their life expectancy could be comparable to that of a person who has never smoked..
Of course, this hope is not the same in all cases, since it has been found that quitting smoking reduces the chances of developing cardiovascular disease but this does not happen with the reduction in the risk of developing lung cancer in those who carry a long history of smoking.
In the social sphere, smoking was once socially seen in a positive way.; However, the opposite is currently beginning to occur.
In a recent study it was found that 90% of the participating subjects would prefer to maintain relationships with non-smokers and, among the reasons were the smell of tobacco, not being able to stand the smoke or the bad breath that smoking could cause.
Therefore, It is important to take advantage of the most effective techniques and treatments for tobacco addictionwhich we will see below.
Multicomponent treatment for tobacco addiction
This smoking cessation treatment can be applied both individually and in groups and is carried out during 6 or 7 sessions.. These sessions last approximately 1 hour and occur once a week.
The most important technique used in this treatment is known as RGINA (Gradual Reduction of Nicotine and Tar Ingestion), and this is made up of the following objectives:
Instructions are also given for fill out a self-registration sheet every day writing down the number of cigarettes consumed to be able to see in a representative way the gradual reduction in cigarettes smoked.
What this method is looking for is gradually reduce cigarette consumption until reaching a certain goal (e.g., consume half of what you used to do before) and, when you are ready, completely eradicate smoking.
This is a good option for people who have a fairly prominent tobacco addiction, so it would be almost impossible for them to quit smoking cold turkey, since the withdrawal syndrome would cause them tremendous discomfort.
It is very helpful if the patient has a friend, partner or family member to lean on at all times and, above all, when their strength fails when fighting tobacco addiction.
Session 1
The treatment begins by giving information about the advantages of gradually reducing tobacco consumption, continuing with the recommendation of some guidelines on completing the self-recording sheet, where the patient must write down the frequency with which he usually smokes and at what times and places he usually does itso that both (psychologist and patient) can see the critical situations that lead to greater consumption.
It is also advisable to agree on a therapeutic contract that establishes the guidelines to be followed by the patient and the objectives that the patient should achieve on a weekly basis.
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Session 2
In this phase Psychoeducation is carried out about tobacco and the problems its prolonged consumption could cause, accompanied by a brochure made by professionals that illustrates it.. The self-registration completed last week would then be analyzed to observe the moments in which the desire to smoke increases.
It continues with tips to control those stimuli that cause the desire to smoke so that you learn to control it (e.g., places where you feel the urge to smoke most, times of day when you smoke most often, etc.).
In the group sessions, the reasons and drawbacks when trying to quit tobacco addiction will be discussed.
Related article: “Psychoeducation in psychological therapy”
Session 3
In this phase, we begin by helping the patient resolve possible problems that arose last week when it came to reducing cigarette consumption.
The self-registration is then analyzed, encouraging you to continue reducing consumption gradually and, if you feel ready, you should reduce your tobacco consumption to half of what you used to consume.
It is also important to continue analyzing together the stimuli and situations that cause a greater desire to smoke to help you acquire patterns and habits that can counteract that desire.
Session 4
In line with the previous session, we begin by resolving difficulties that occurred in the previous week when continuing with moderate tobacco consumption. It continues with the analysis of self-recording of consumption to proceed to continue helping the patient with situational and personal control when it comes to wanting to smoke more intensely.
Session 5
Following the same dynamic as the previous sessions, you begin by solving problems that have arisen in the previous week regarding your consumption habit, an analysis of the self-registration of tobacco consumption is carried out and, finally, The patient is given the goal of completely eliminating smoking from that moment on.working and reinforcing the strategies previously learned to control the situations and stimuli that increase the desire to smoke.
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Sessions 6 and 7
Like the other weeks, the sessions begin by helping the patient to discuss and resolve any problems that may have arisen to maintain total abstinence from tobacco consumption.
Next, Any withdrawal symptoms that have appeared are evaluated to help you manage strategies to keep them at bay. as far as possible.
Skills training continues that allows the patient to face risk situations that increase the desire to smoke and, in addition, Behaviors are practiced that represent an alternative to carry out in those moments when you are tempted to resume the habit of smoking..
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Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT) for tobacco addiction
CBT, as a treatment for tobacco addiction, has proven high efficacy in several investigations and is characterized by the use of several techniques with the aim of treating various problems of different kinds that are involved in maintaining the smoking habit.
In the first sessions of this treatment, the main objective is to try to motivate the patient in their commitment to changing habits. in order to quit smoking, and to do so, strategies are used such as the contingency contract, which consists of agreeing on the guidelines that must be followed with respect to smoking to achieve a reduction in consumption. On the other hand, the advantages and disadvantages of stopping tobacco use are debated.
This treatment also uses the technique commonly known as RGINAwith the aim of gradually reducing cigarette consumption.
Other strategies used in CBT are the control of stimuli related to habitual tobacco consumption, training in solving problems that occur when quitting the habit, changing lifestyle habits for healthier ones such as doing regular physical exercise. regular and training guidelines for stress self-management.
CBT, After completely eradicating smoking, it focuses mainly on enhancing the patient’s strategies to prevent relapses.. To achieve this, strategies are practiced to manage risk situations, training in strategies that allow one to reject tobacco consumption and the search for social support, through close people or, if necessary, support associations for people who are in the situation. same situation.
The duration of CBT to quit tobacco addiction, in the most intensive formats, consists of 1 weekly session of 60-90 minutes for 6-12 weeks. Afterwards, subsequent follow-up sessions are very important to help the patient maintain abstinence or, in case of relapse, to encourage him to resume a new quit attempt.
