Why Should I Quit Smoking If I Have Diabetes?
The Center for Disease Control states that smoking is one of the direct contributors to type 2 diabetes (it drastically lowers your glycemic control!).
If you have pre-diabetes, quitting smoking will help reduce your risk of developing diabetes.
If you have diabetes and do smoke, quitting will lower your risk for complications of diabetes, including heart and kidney disease, poor blood flow, blindness, and damaged nerves.
And if you have type 1 diabetes and smoke, quitting will make your diabetes easier to manage, give your lungs a well-deserved break, and empower you to make other healthy choices in your life.
It just works! Quitting smoking is good for… everyone, regardless of whether or not a person has diabetes.
Where Do I Start?
Remember, an important part of any healing routine is your support network.
Whether you find this in your friends, family, co-workers, or on an app-based community like One Drop, stick to the people that encourage you to be your healthiest self, and let your love for them carry you through the worst of the cravings and hard days.
You’ve got this!
To help you along, and so you don’t have to spend hours searching the app store, I’ve looked at some of the top apps created to help you quit smoking.
Below are the ones with both the highest-ranked reviews online, as well as the best looking interface and user-experience.
1. Quit Smoking Now
Choose this one if you like: free, research-driven information
What I like about Quit Smoking Now is that it's driven by your own data. As soon as I opened the app, I was prompted to enter how much I smoke and how much a pack of cigarettes costs in my area.
By inputting the national averages ($8 per pack, 20 cigarettes per pack, and 10 cigarettes per day), the app calculated a $1440 yearly savings, and allows me to create a wish list of things to buy as I save by nixing my bad habit!
The app recognizes milestones in its premium version.
You can keep a journal of how you’re feeling each time you say no to smoking, and log your cravings - all in the app!
The app also features content like “Dealing With Issues of Habit,” and “Nicotine Replacement Therapy.”
2. Smoke Free
Choose this one if you like: tips for cravings and triggers
This is a paid app, so I was initially hesitant to try it. But I quickly learned, it's well worth the payment!
You can share your progress over socials and calculate not only how much you're saving monetarily, but also how much of your health you're saving on an hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute basis.
The two most beneficial features I saw were the cravings and triggers tracking abilities. Not only does it help you to see a pattern to those cravings and triggers, but the app also gives you alternatives to dealing with those problem areas.
You can also add a personalized message for yourself (i.e. I’m doing this for me because I want to be around for a long time to take care of the people I love!) which can bed updated at anytime.
And personalized, in-app coaching is available based on when you started smoking, how long you’ve been smoking, and what your specific goals are.
3. MyQuit Coach by LiveStrong
Pick this one if you like: accountability partners, simplicity, and community
MyQuit is focused on motivational messages and community support. The community is not only supportive, but also offers real-time reinforcement. This is incredibly helpful when trying to get through a craving!
Easy-access buttons exist at the app’s home page to keep track of your standing.
A tap on the I smoked button counts a cigarette against your goal (right now, the app shows that I’m 6 cigarettes over my plan),
Tapping the I’m craving button offers a motivational fact (i.e. my skin will decay faster if I continue smoking as much as I do, or that within 48 hours of quitting, my sense of taste and smell will improve as the nerve endings in my nose and mouth heal)!
Did we miss any? Let us know if you've had luck with other smoking cessation apps!
