The 2 types of psychological treatments for tobacco addiction

Perhaps whoever is reading this article is trying to quit their addiction to tobacco or trying to help someone who wants to quit smoking. It is normal that this is the case, since smoking is one of the most frequent and most harmful addictions.

Be that as it may, in this article you will find the most important information about the main types of tobacco addiction treatments.

• Related article: "The 14 most important types of addictions"

The harmful effects of tobacco use

Tobacco is estimated to contain approximately 2,550 components, which increase exponentially when the cigarette is lit, with two that are the most representative: tar and nicotine. The latter is the one that really has the addictive power of tobacco, in addition to producing harmful effects at the cardiovascular level.

Tobacco addiction reaches such a 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 that has a rate of 15% and cannabis of 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 discussed below.

First of all, they are cardiovascular diseases. Various studies estimate that 1 in 5 deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases are due to tobacco use.

These data have been found due to the relationship between nicotine consumption and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, causing an increase in heart rate and pressure arterial.

With regard to cancer, it is known and widely researched that tobacco plays an important role in its appearance and, specifically, it is lung cancer that usually develops with the greatest frequency. It has been estimated that 4 out of 5 cancer deaths from habitual tobacco use are from lung cancer.

Aging of the skin is another of the most common consequences caused by tobacco addiction. Researchers discovered, by analyzing several subjects, that habitual and prolonged consumption of tobacco produces the "cigarette skin", characterized by being pale, grayish and wrinkled. In another study, tobacco addiction during youth was associated with premature appearance of wrinkles on the skin.

Tobacco use too is related to sexual dysfunction, since it has a harmful effect on the smaller arteries, which hinders the erection process. It should be noted that recent research found that there was an improvement in sexual response in men when they gave up tobacco addiction and this could be due to increased parasympathetic activity of their organism.

Other data caused by smoking that should be highlighted are the following:

• It is estimated to cause 80% of deaths from respiratory diseases, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
• Tobacco addiction has been found in research to be associated with developing ulcers and having more ballots for catching a cold.
• Studies agree on the relationship found between habitual tobacco consumption and having a lower bone mass density.

• You may be interested in: "The Effects of Tobacco on the Brain"

Main types of psychological treatment for smoking

There is research that concluded that If a person with tobacco addiction manages to quit for at least 16 years, their life expectancy could become 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 a disease cardiovascular disease, but this does not occur with the reduction of the risk of developing lung cancer in those who have a long history as smokers.

In the social sphere, smoking was once seen socially in a positive way; Instead, the opposite is beginning to occur today.

In a recent study it was found that 90% of the participating subjects would prefer to have relationships with no smokers and, among the reasons, were the smell of tobacco, not being able to stand the smoke or bad breath that the habit could cause of smoking.

Therefore, it is important to take advantage of the most effective techniques and treatments for tobacco addiction, which we will see next.

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Multicomponent treatment for tobacco addiction

This treatment to stop smoking can be applied both individually and in groups and is carried out during 6 or 7 sessions. These sessions last approximately 1 hour and with a frequency of one session a week.

The most important technique used in this treatment is known as RGINA (Gradual Reduction of Ingestion of Nicotine and Tar), and it consists of the following objectives:

• Make an assessment of the baseline, which consists of knowing the number of daily cigarettes that you usually consume.
• Gradually reduce the amount of tar and nicotine consumed by changing weekly to another brand that he is not used to smoking, so that his sense of reward when it comes to smoking goes away reducing.

Instructions are also given for fill out a self-registration sheet every day noting the number of cigarettes you consume to be able to see in a represented way the gradual reduction of cigarettes smoked.

This method what you are looking for is gradually reduce cigarette use until you reach a certain goal (p. (g., consume half of what you used to do previously) and, when you are ready, completely eradicate the habit of smoking.

This is a good option for people who have a fairly prominent tobacco addiction, so they it would be almost impossible to quit suddenly, since the withdrawal syndrome would cause them a tremendous discomfort.

It is of great help if the patient has a friend, partner or family member to lean on at all times and, above all, when their strength is weak when it comes to fighting tobacco addiction.

Session 1

Treatment is started by giving information on the advantages of gradually reducing tobacco consumption, continuing with the assignment of some guidelines on the completion of the self-registration sheet, where the patient must write down the frequency with which he usually smokes and at what times and places he usually does, so that both (psychologist and patient) can see the critical situations that lead to greater consumption.

It is also convenient to agree on a therapeutic contract in which the guidelines to be followed by the patient and the established objectives that he should be achieving on a weekly basis are set.

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Session 2

In this phase psychoeducation about tobacco is carried out and the problems its prolonged consumption could cause, accompanied by a brochure made by professionals that illustrates it. Afterwards, the self-registration completed last week would be analyzed to be able to observe the moments in which the desire to smoke increases.

It continues with tips to control those stimuli that make you want to smoke so that you learn to control it (p. (e.g. places where you feel like smoking the most, times of the day when you smoke most often, etc.).

In the group sessions, the reasons and disadvantages when trying to quit tobacco addiction will be discussed.

• Related article: "Psychoeducation in psychological therapy"

Session 3

In this phase It begins by helping the patient to solve possible problems that occurred last week when reducing cigarette consumption.

The self-registration is then analyzed, encouraging you to continue reducing your consumption gradually and, if necessary, If you feel ready, you should achieve a reduction in tobacco use to half of what you used to consume.

Also important Continue to jointly analyze the stimuli and situations that cause you 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, it begins with the resolution of difficulties that occurred in the previous week when continuing with a reduced consumption of tobacco. It continues with the analysis of the self-registration 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 been presented to you in the previous week with respect to their consumption habit, an analysis of the self-registration of tobacco consumption is carried out and, latest, the patient is entrusted with the goal of completely suppressing the habit of smoking from then on, working and reinforcing the previously learned strategies to control the situations and stimuli that increase the urge to smoke.

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Sessions 6 and 7

As in the other weeks, the sessions begin by helping the patient to discuss and solve the problems that may have arisen in order to maintain total abstinence from tobacco use.

Next, Withdrawal symptoms that have appeared are evaluated to help you manage strategies to keep them at bay as far as possible.

Training of skills that allow the patient to face up to risk situations that increase the urge to smoke is continued and, in addition, Behaviors are practiced that suppose an alternative to carry out in those moments in which he is tempted to resume the habit of smoking.

• Related article: "Drug withdrawal syndrome: its types and symptoms"

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (CBT) for tobacco addiction

CBT, as a treatment for tobacco addiction, has a high efficacy proven in several investigations and is characterized by the use of various techniques with the aim of treating various problems of different kinds that intervene in the maintenance of the habit of to smoke.

In the first sessions of this treatment, the main objective is to try to motivate the patient in his commitment to changing habits in order to quit smoking, and for this, strategies such as the contingency contract are used, which consists of in agreeing on the guidelines that should be followed with respect to smoking in order to achieve a reduction in the consumption. On the other hand, the advantages and disadvantages of smoking cessation are debated.

This treatment also uses the technique commonly known as RGINA, with 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 at the time to quit the habit, changing lifestyle habits for healthier ones such as regular physical exercise and training guidelines for self-management of the stress.

The CBT, After achieving the complete eradication of smoking, it focuses mainly on enhancing the patient's strategies to prevent relapse. For this, strategies are practiced to manage risk situations, training of strategies that allow rejecting tobacco consumption and search for social support, through close friends or, if necessary, support associations for people who are in the same situation.

The duration of CBT to quit tobacco addiction, in the most intensive formats, is made up of 1 weekly session of 60-90 minutes for 6-12 weeks. Afterwards, the subsequent follow-up sessions that are carried out to help the patient are very important. patient to maintain abstinence or, in case of relapse, to encourage him to resume a new attempt at abandonment.