Smoking – Tips on How to Quit

Smoking – Tips on How to Quit

Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do to improve your life and health. Any attempt to quit smoking will make you stronger. It’s never too late to reap the benefits, some of which happen within the first few days. With the right combination of practice, determination and support, you will be able to stop smoking for good!

TIPS ON QUITTING

Notice when and why you smoke. Try to find the things in your daily life that you often do while smoking (such as drinking your morning cup of coffee or driving a car).

Change your smoking routines: Keep your cigarettes in a different place. Smoke with your other hand. Don’t do anything else when smoking. Think about how you feel when you smoke.

Smoke only in certain places, such as outdoors.

Like it or not, if you are a daily smoker and reading this list then in all likelihood you are a true drug addict in every sense of the word, addicted to a most amazing chemical called nicotine. Canada’s cigarette pack addiction warning label reads, “Warning: cigarettes are highly addictive. Studies have shown that tobacco can be harder to quit than heroin or cocaine.” There is no U.S. addiction warning label.

Nicotine physically alters and desensitizes the brain. It causes eleven different brain regions to grow millions of extra acetylcholine receptors. Successful quitting is allowing time for re-sensitization, time for reconditioning subconscious nicotine feeding cues, and time to move beyond years of conscious smoking rationalizations and minimizations. 

Reward yourself. Do nice things or give yourself something, like a cd or clothes.

If you fall back, don’t give up. Find out in what situation it happened and try to find out with what (alternative) behaviour you can react in the future. If you manage to come through the same situation next time, you have become stronger.

Know the dangers of smoking.  It doesn’t take long before you begin to feel the negative effects of smoking.  However, the dangers of smoking are not always clear and immediate.  Read more on quit smoking tip.

Build self confidence.  Having the self confidence that you can successfully quit smoking plays a major role in quitting.

Prior to your quit date, start reducing your cigarette use, including decreasing the number and strength of the cigarettes. However, DON’T do this simply to make your diary “look good!” Get rid of all of your cigarettes just prior to the quit date and clean out anything that smells like smoke, such as clothes and furniture.

You should know what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, drinking in a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers while you are trying to quit or if that’s  not possible, decide how you will deal with the triggers.

Decide what you will do when you experience cravings. As we’ve discussed deep breathing, a short walk and keeping you self busy will help to take your mind off the cravings. Perhaps you can think of other ways. Write them down. Remember these cravings will only last for 3-5 minutes at a time.