Support for giving up smoking

What is it?

If you have previously tried to give up smoking, you will likely have noticed that there are various obstacles causing you to regularly postpone your attempt or to have difficulty to sustain it after having found the courage to stop.

Support services for giving up smoking (provided by e.g. a stop smoking adviser) will give you some guidelines and tips that you can adjust to your personal circumstances. It is important to remember that giving up smoking does not rob you from a bit of freedom or from some time for yourself. It represents added value to your life, something that can make your life more pleasant, more flavoursome and calmer.

Support process

At Maria Middelares General Hospital, the psychologist/stop smoking advisor works at the request of your attending physician who takes care of the medical follow-up and support for your attempt to give up smoking.

If you do not have an attending physician at the hospital, then you can call on the pulmonologist (lung specialist) who has specialised in stop smoking support. They determine the quality of your lung function. In collaboration with you, the pulmonologist tries to determine the degree of nicotine dependency and looks for the aids that are most suitable for you.

The psychologist/stop smoking advisor mainly focuses on changing and maintaining behaviours. They also look at the use of aids with you. During the first and the follow-up consultations, your specific needs will be looked at to optimise and support the stop smoking process.

Growing up smoke-free

Passive smoking is the involuntary inhalation of tobacco smoke from the environment. The body absorbs these harmful substances through inhalation, the mouth or the skin.

Passive smoking can have an especially large impact on the health of children. The body and organs of babies, toddlers and children are smaller than those of adults. They are also still developing. It is therefore of the utmost importance to protect children against tobacco smoke.

Often, when a woman finds out that she is pregnant, this is also the moment she decides to stop smoking. Controlled and/or supported smoking cessation may be an option. An unborn baby benefits every moment of the pregnancy during which the exposure to tobacco smoke is reduced. It is preferable to be completely smoke-free. This also applies to the period of breastfeeding.

The best way to keep your children from using tobacco is by setting a ‘good example’.
Two birds with one stone: a healthier life for yourself and for your child.