Smocking Cessation

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Top hospitals and clinics offering smoking cessation treatment in Mumbai

Smoking is a harmful addiction. It accounts for the death of more than 7 million people across the globe, annually. It is also responsible for several types of cancers, cardiovascular ailments and lung diseases. Yes, it is difficult to quit smoking but with a little help from doctors and a little guidance and counselling from trained professionals, you can give up the habit soon. While doctors can help you control your nicotine withdrawal symptoms with the help of nicotine replacement therapy, a counsellor can help you strengthen your resolve to quit smoking. Here are the top hospitals and clinics offering smoking cessation treatment in Mumbai.

Tata Memorial Centre: One of the most renowned hospitals and cancer research institutes in the country, the Tata Memorial Centre has been providing subsidized to free treatment to patients suffering from various types of cancers. Tata Memorial was among the first few hospitals in the country that began the tobacco controlling program in Mumbai. The hospital was enlisted by the Indian government as one of the many national centres in the country where Indian tobacco cessation clinics were established.

Address: Dr. E Borges Road, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400012

Phone: [phone]

Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and medical research institute: A private institution, the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital is known for providing a wide range of smoking and tobacco treatment services. Apart from helping patients through their tobacco and smoking cessation journey, the hospital also provides diagnosis and management of smoking related ailments. Furthermore, the hospital has a specialized team comprising of physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists to help you with cessation.

Address: Rao Saheb, Achutrao Patwardhan Marg, Four Bungalows, Andheri West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400053

Phone: [phone]

P.D. Hinduja Hospital: Another reputed hospital with a dedicated clinic for tobacco cessation, the P.D. Hinduja hospital also offers smoking cessation treatment in Mumbai. The clinic functions on the principle that smoking can be treated like any other ailment. It provides medications to prevent tobacco urges along with strategies to deal with them. It is one of the best centres in Mumbai where you can get nicotine replacement therapy. The clinic also boasts of having a trained respirologist and psychologist on its team.

Address: 3rd Floor Wing 3, Room no.: 3307, Veer Savarkar Marg, Mahim, Mumbai-400 016

Phone: [phone]

Smt. Motiben B. Dalvi Hospital: Run by the People’s Medical Relief Society, the Smt. Motiben B. Dalvi Hospital and medical research centre is one of the most economic institutions in Mumbai, where cancer patients receive chemotherapy at the most subsidized rates. It is also one of the few clinics in Mumbai where you can join a quit smoking program. One of the biggest benefits of seeking tobacco treatment is this hospital is that visiting doctors from A-list hospitals in the city, help you with the cessation program.

Address: Building No. 38, Hughes Rd, Opposite Westside, Gamdevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400007

Phone: [phone]

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Quit doing these 5 things when you quit tobacco

As every tobacco user knows, quitting tobacco is tough. Not everyone can wake up one day and say “I am going to stop smoking from today” and stick to the plan. When you go cold turkey or even enrol in a tobacco cessation program, you find that your mind and body are in constant struggle to keep the pledge you made to quit. Many are not successful because they let a few obstacles get in the way. So if you too are thinking of quitting tobacco, remember to also quit doing these things.

Quit neglecting yourself: When you embark on the path of quitting tobacco, you should start taking extra care of yourself so that you can battle the withdrawal symptoms. You must try and ensure that all your physical and mental needs are taken care of. Remember to eat a balanced diet, get more rest, keep yourself hydrated and exercise daily. Taking care of your heath, especially during the early stages of smoking cessation can help minimize the discomforts felt due to nicotine withdrawal.

Quit hesitating to ask for help: It has been statistically proven that people who rely on a healthy support system or a support group to stop smoking have had a much higher success rate in the long-term. Look up online support forums and surround yourself with like-minded people who are going through the same thing as you; people who understand exactly what you are going through.

Quit being impatient: Tobacco cessation is not an event, it is a process and it takes time. Many quitters have this misconception that they can quit smoking within a month. While that sounds perfect, it doesn’t work that way. It takes time to let go of a habit you’ve cultivated over years. Breaking this old association and replacing it with newer, healthier habits will naturally take some time.

Quit thinking that it is okay to smoke just one last cigarette: This is a rabbit hole you don’t want to fall in. There is no such thing as ‘one last cigarette’, when it comes to smoking cessation. Remember cigarettes come in packets. Even if you think you can buy just one stick, before you know it, you are buying one packet. You have to train your mind to let go off that dependence on the stick for good, otherwise you will relapse and all the hard work you put in will be for nothing.

Quit worrying about the future: In the early stages of quitting, you will find yourself thinking about the smoking all the time. This is because of nicotine withdrawal. New quitters find it devastating to think about never using tobacco again. If you leave these thoughts unchecked, you could easily relapse. Instead of panicking about what the tobacco cessation program can do to you in the near future, think about how it can help you in the long-term. Take one day at a time and learn to control your mind.

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Tobacco cessation clinics in India

The use and abuse of tobacco is a serious issue in India. Our country is the second largest producer and consumer of this nicotine-rich substance that causes several terminal illnesses and deaths every year. It is because of this, that the World Health Organization in association with the Ministry of Health in India began an initiative known as ‘Tobacco Cessation Clinics’ also known as ‘Tobacco Cessation Centres’. People who are battling tobacco addiction can seek tobacco treatment in India in one of the 18 centres across the country. Here is a list of a few tobacco cessation centres where you can seek treatment.

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences: Situated in Bengaluru, Karnataka, The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) is a renowned medical institution which serves as the prime centre of mental health and neuroscience education in India. The institution operates on an autonomous basis under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and is one of the primary centres, which offer treatment for tobacco addiction.

Tata Memorial Hospital: Mumbai’s famous Tata Memorial Hospital is an institution in itself, known for providing subsidized to free aid to patients suffering from various cancers. The institution is dedicated to the research and study of cancer and has a wing called the ‘Cancer Research Institute’. Tata Memorial Hospitals was one of the fore-runners in the government’s plan to set up Tobacco cessation clinics in India.  It is the hospital’s role of helping cancer patients that caused it to be recognized as a leading centre for tobacco treatment in India.

Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital & Research Centre: JNCHRC is a private sector cancer care hospital located in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh which is also one of the leading cancer research facilities in India. The hospital was also recognized as a centre for tobacco treatment and has a dedicated facility on the premises where people coping with tobacco and smoking addiction can seek treatment. It is one of the largest tobacco treatment centres in Madhya Pradesh.

Adyar Cancer Institute: Operated by the Women’s Indian Association (WIA), the Adyar Cancer institute based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu is a non-profit institution that focuses on cancer research and treatment. The hospital has a separate wing that focuses on smoking cessation treatment and helps rehabilitate tobacco users from their addiction. Because of its dedication towards cancer treatment, the institute was recognized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as a “Centre of Excellence”.

Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute:

Listed among the Top 25 Regional Cancer Centres in India the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute is located in Kolkata, West Bengal. This cancer care hospital is also presided over by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and was chosen as one of the 18 centres for smoking cessation treatment in India. The hospital has done excellent work in helping smoking and tobacco addicts get over their addiction while also educating them about the ill-effects of using tobacco.

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How to cope with momentary tobacco cravings

People who use tobacco can relate to the fact that the craving can occur at any time. It could be the first thing they need in the morning and the last thing they use every night before bed. The craving can occur with specific meals like breakfast and tea-time and specific triggers such as a place like a designated smoking zone in the office premises. People who have recently signed up for tobacco cessation programs find it even more difficult to cope with cravings when they occur in the moment. So, we’ve prepared a list of things you can do to cope with momentary tobacco cravings.

Keep yourself busy: The easiest thing to do when you crave tobacco is to keep yourself occupied. Manipulate your mind to think about something else. Pick up a book or a magazine and start reading, crawl into your personal space with calming music, play a game on your cell phone or solve the crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

Look for an oral substitute: Whether it is the refrigerator at home or the drawer in your office, keep it stocked with some edible items that you can pop into your mouth the moment a craving hits. Reach out for a stick of gum, or some healthy cookies instead of that cigarette. Scientific research claims that it takes just about 10-15 minutes for a craving to pass. Oral substitutes come in handy in the process of tobacco cessation.

Keep your hands busy: When you find yourself itching for a cigarette, divert your attention to keeping your hands busy. Play with a stress ball or use a pencil to mimic the act of smoking. What you need is need is a tactile stimulus which can keep your hands busy and eventually make you forget about the urge to use tobacco.

Drink some water: The surest way to keep up with your plan of smoking cessation is to hydrate your body as much as is possible. Drinking a tall glass of water every time you crave tobacco can not only keep you hydrated and leave you feeling full, but also help the craving to pass quickly and effectively. Keeping your body hydrated can also minimize your nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Try some relaxation techniques: When you start craving cigarettes, you also tend to get hyper if you don’t have access to them. At such a time, you should try activities that can calm you down. You could try cancelling external sounds by putting on meditative music. A warm bath, a book or some deep breathing exercises can also do wonders.

Do some activity: If you are not the kind of person who finds solace in calming activities, you could go to the other end and get active. Take off for a nice brisk walk in the park close by, do some push-ups, jumps or yoga stretches as part of your tobacco cessation plan.

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Smoking cessation treatments that help you quit smoking

Quitting smoking isn’t an easy job. You may have promised yourself, a million times that you’d quit smoking when you’d achieve a certain milestone. Milestones like the first job, the first child or the first home also serve as motivators to quit the unhealthy habit. But when it comes to actually ditching the stick, you can’t wrap your head around it, because you’ve been dependant on it for years now. Earlier, the only way one could give up smoking was by standing by their decision and with the sheer power of will. But now-a-days there are several smoking cessation programs that one can rely on. You can seek aid from support groups and medical practitioners too. Read on to find out some effective programs that can help you to quit smoking.

Nicotine Replacement Therapies: Most people who want to quit smoking rely on Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs) which are meant to give your body the nicotine it craves in a much safer form as compared to cigarettes. NRTS work over a period of time, giving your body the chance to reduce the nicotine amount it consumes, until finally, all your nicotine cravings vanish. NRTs usually include nicotine patches, nicotine chewing gums and nicotine sprays, which are available at most pharmacies.

Prescription drugs: If you feel you would benefit with a doctor’s advice, you will find that smoking cessation medications can also be prescribed. Prescription drugs like Zyban and Chantix alter the chemicals in the brain and ease nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Some medications can also be used concurrently with NRTs to ease the severe withdrawal symptoms, but only if the doctor prescribes them.  You can also continue smoking with some prescription drugs when you begin the medication so that you can co-ordinate the chosen quit date.

Availability of alternate therapies: Most tobacco users develop mental and physical associations and habits with the use of cigarettes. Certain people, places and moods can form an associative behavioural pattern that may cause you to reach for the cigarette. Alternate therapies address these physical and mental associations and habits. The most popular forms of alternate therapies includes hypnosis therapy, where tobacco users listen to calming tapes that remind and reaffirm to them, that they are much better off without the nicotine in the body. Other smoking cessation therapies include medication and acupuncture. Some people can quit smoking using just these alternative therapies, whereas others combine them with medication and/or NRTs.

Aid from support groups:

If you think you need mental support in addition to the above mentioned therapies, you could join support groups like Narcotics Anonymous (NA). You can also seek counselling along with your

smoking cessation program

and therapeutic treatments.  Remember that smoking causes you to have shorter life-spans, causes you to age faster and dramatically increases cancer risks in your body.

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Smoking cessation – the benefits over a fixed time-line

It is never too late to quit tobacco. The sooner you give up the habit of smoking or chewing tobacco, the more your move towards a healthier lifestyle and reduce your chances of contracting tobacco related diseases like cancer and coronary diseases. Nicotine and tobacco are so harmful that even cigarette manufacturers are forced to put up a disclaimer of its ill-effects on the box. But like any addiction, it isn’t easy to give up smoking so easily. The ideal way to do so is to take it one-day at a time. Here’s a definitive time-line of smoking cessation and its benefits with every passing day, according to the American Cancer Society.

Your body begins its recovery process, the minute you smoke your last cigarette

Within 20 minutes to 12 hours: In the first 20 minutes after you quit smoking, your blood pressure and your heart rate begins to drop. If you go without a cigarette for the next 12 hours, the levels of carbon monoxide in your blood drop to normal.

Within 2 weeks and three months: If you’ve kept your body tobacco free for a period more than 15 days, up-to 90 days, you will find that the blood circulation in your body improves while your lung function also increases.

Within 30 days to nine months: Cigarette smokers often experience shortness of breath and incessant coughing. You will find a significant reduction in both within 30 days. Cilia, the tiny-hair structures which move the mucus out of your lungs begin regaining normal lung functions and increase their ability to clean your lungs thus reducing infection risks within 9 months.

Within 1 to 5 years: You reduce your risk for coronary heart disease by half as compared to those who smoke, while there is also a dramatic decline in your risk for heart attack. After a year, until the next four, your body also reduces risks of throat, mouth, oesophagus and bladder cancers by half. Risks of strokes and cervical cancer also reduce by half.

Within 10 to 15 years after quitting: It takes almost 10-15 years until you finally reduce the risk of lung cancer, by half, of those still smoking.  There is also a significant decrease in the risk for pancreatic and larynx cancer (voice-box cancer). In 15 years of smoking cessation, you become akin to a non-smoker who seldom has to battle coronary heart diseases.

Note that all the benefits listed above are as per the American Cancer Society which formulated several reports over a period of time on a group of subjects under observation through various time-lines. Reports such as the World Health Organization; Tobacco Control Report and the US Surgeon General's Report of 1990 and then again in 2010 were included in the study of smoking and tobacco cessation program by the American Cancer Society.