The Five-Day Plan is the program organized this week in Nice by the Ligue Vie et Santé association. Its purpose: to help people quit smoking. The active and interactive withdrawal method is based on human behavior. A real way out for determined “patients.”
It is 5:30 PM on Wednesday when the session begins. For the third day of the Five-Day Plan, participants are required to share their experience dubbed “24 Hours without Tobacco,” and to assimilate all the recommendations. All motivated and eager to break free from nicotine, they try their best to apply the rules set out at the first meeting: do breathing exercises as soon as the urge to smoke returns, make a strong resolution, and follow a “water-vegetables-fruits” diet.
A strict diet to be followed only on the first day of quitting smoking. The debate’s moderator, Annie Tosetti, attests to this. And as evidence, this woman is a former smoker and knows what she’s talking about: “In an environment disrupted on a dietary level, tobacco almost seems like a detail.”
But during the debate, some admit their weaknesses. Some calmly, others less comfortably: “I cracked today. I smoked two cigarettes in 24 hours,” “I’m ashamed: I took a puff at lunch. I felt guilty afterward, but I think I made a significant effort overall. I’m really surprised to achieve such a result in just three days”… These “breaks in abstinence” are not dramatic, according to Marc Klinklamer, the president of the association, who still makes it a point to clarify: “The important thing is to learn a lesson for the next 24 hours.”
Keys to Success:
However, to avoid such “slips,” smokers have “tools” at their disposal, as explained by Marc Klinklamer from the beginning of the journey: “We give you tools, and it’s up to you to use them. We only ask you to work on yourselves, because our method is precisely based on willpower.” The message captivated the audience. In the room, all spectators are attentive. Some even take notes. On the agenda: manipulate an elastic band instead of picking up a lighter, spin Chinese balls in hands instead of looking for a pack of cigarettes, and do sports to “oxygenate” the lungs…
For Jean-Louis, a seasoned smoker, a chewing gum also does the trick. As for Denise, addicted to nicotine for 40 years, she decided to focus on the positive aspects and learn to love herself more. Annie Tosetti preferred to spend vacations only with non-smokers: “It’s easier to resist temptation when you don’t have smokers around us. That’s why I highly recommend it to everyone to feel good.”
What a Pleasure!
And to feel good about oneself, Annie does not lack solutions. “During the withdrawal period, you can sometimes be demotivated. So why not treat yourself by setting aside the money needed to buy cigarettes? In a month, you will have accumulated a certain amount. Enough to bring a smile to your face!” The audience is charmed. More shopping, more errands, more gifts for the holidays… Ideas are buzzing. And the price of cigarette packs only strengthens the resolve of smokers determined to quit. One of them has already calculated how much such behavior will earn him each month. The result delights him: “150 euros in the piggy bank at the end of the month, that’s for sure, it’s not nothing!”
Attention Danger!
But behind this reward, the president of Ligue Vie et Santé, prefers to warn against “deviations”: “When you decide to get out of tobacco dependence, it’s not to enter into another compulsion like alcohol. It is necessary to compensate for the lack of nicotine with healthy hobbies.” Marc Klinklamer does not stop at this prevention. Watching all the people present, he continues: “A patient must be constantly vigilant. The risks of smoking again are always present several years later. He must therefore be careful, even during parties.”
A moment among friends, and a second is enough to find oneself with a cigarette in hand. But it is already too late. In the room, faces are serious. Everyone understands: in this case, all the work of the five-day plan is reduced to nothing. Patience is then required. The Ligue Vie et Santé association will return to Nice next year and to Le Cannet-Rocheville this summer.
