The fight against smoking addiction, which is among the causes of many fatal diseases, involves a long-term process. Many people who want to get rid of smoking addiction try to quit by reducing smoking. However, according to experts, reducing smoking is not an effective method to quit. Stating that smoking addiction is a brain disease rather than a matter of willpower, experts underline that electronic cigarettes, which are preferred on the grounds that they are harmless, are as harmful as normal cigarettes.

Every year, the World Health Organization commemorates May 31 as World No Tobacco Day and aims to raise awareness about the harms of smoking.

Specialist Clinical Psychologist Ahmet Yılmaz from Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital said that smoking addiction is treatable just like other addictions.

Smoking addiction can be treated just like other addictions

Stating that many different methods are applied in the treatment of smoking addiction, they aim to change the behavior of the person and successful results are achieved, Ahmet Yılmaz said:

"Smoking addiction is a treatable condition like other addictions. Many techniques are used as treatment methods. We use structured psychotherapies at the beginning of these. Feelings and thoughts about smoking and situations to prevent relapse are addressed in therapy and we try to change the behavior of the person. Motivational interviewing stands out as the most important technique in these therapies. In addition, additional treatments such as drug therapy and dTMU can be used when necessary."

Electronic cigarettes are as harmful as regular cigarettes

Stating that electronic cigarettes are as harmful as normal cigarettes, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Ahmet Yılmaz said, "Although electronic cigarettes, which have been increasing in the society in recent years, seem harmless, we can say that the liquid in it is almost as harmful to human health. In the researches conducted, it has been determined that electronic cigarettes cause the same ailments as normal cigarettes. The way to quit smoking is not to use electronic cigarettes. Quitting by reducing smoking is also not an effective method. It is necessary to quit completely. For those who have difficulty, I recommend that they apply to treatment centers and quit."

Smoking addiction is not a matter of willpower, it is a brain disease

Expert Clinical Psychologist Ahmet Yılmaz, who recommends that people who try to quit smoking and start smoking again after a few quits should get professional help in this regard, continued his words as follows:

"Smoking addiction has become a brain disease rather than a matter of willpower. Even if the person does not want to smoke, the brain reward system wants to take nicotine. This is because the nicotine in cigarette smoke reaches the brain quickly, within seconds, and causes the release of certain hormones in the brain. Some of these hormones are hormones that create a sense of pleasure and happiness in people. When people seek this feeling of pleasure, they become addicted to nicotine and therefore to cigarettes. In this case, the person feels the need to smoke intermittently. Since smoking is a form of addiction, the addiction must be treated in order to quit smoking. There are two types of addiction in smokers. One of them is nicotine addiction and the other is some behavioral characteristics and habits related to smoking. Therefore, psychotherapies and additional treatments for smoking addiction are very important."