A stop smoking clinic is like a one-stop shop that advises the smoker as to how to give up smoking. It is staffed by both counselors and therapists who specialize in understanding the mind of a smoker.
At the clinic, the smoker undergoes several counseling sessions, which are conducted on a one to one basis as well as in groups. The counseling session normally lasts an hour and is held twice or thrice a week. However, the interaction is not limited to counseling sessions alone. A smoker can consult or interact with the counselor at any point of time.
All smokers experience withdrawal symptoms like emotional distress or abnormal weight gain when they give up smoking. It is at this stage that counseling proves very useful. It provides the emotional support that the smoker desperately needs.
Some clinics put the smokers on nicotine replacement therapy to effectively control the withdrawal symptoms. Based on the smoker’s likes and dislikes they advise the use of nicotine patch, nicotine inhaler, nicotine gum or nicotine tablets.
Regular exercise is also a part of the program. The exercises make the smoker feel healthy and reduce the urge for a smoke. Some clinics also advise the smoker to pick up a new hobby or interest to keep him busy.
The clinics stay in touch with smokers even after they have finished the program. The idea is to provide continuous support so that the smoker does not go back to smoking again. The patients are mailed pamphlets providing useful information or asked to attend seminars. Many consider this phase of treatment more important than actual quitting. This is probably because many people tend to go back to smoking after few years.
Most of these clinics enjoy a high success rate. This is because they have trained counselors and mix therapy with counseling.
