Nicotine addiction is powerful, and smoking cessation involves a lot of work for most people. It is not easy to do, but if you decided, you can do that right, minimizing the potential psychological and physical discomfort. Be confident that you can quit smoking successfully, and the good news is that thousands of people do just that every year. They've found their way out of the prison of nicotine addiction. And most of them thought, just as you do, that they couldn't quit.
- Involving family, friends, and specialists
- Bet a friend you can quit on your target date. Put your cigarette money aside for every day, and forfeit it if you smoke. But if you do smoke, DON'T GIVE UP. Simply strengthen your resolve and try again.
- Ask your spouse or a friend to quit with you.
- Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit. Ask them to be completely supportive and non-judgmental. Let them know ahead of time that you will probably be irritable and even irrational while you withdraw from your smoking habit.
- Find another smoker who is trying to quit, and help each other with positive words and by lending an ear when quitting becomes difficult. Visit this Bulletin Board and this Chat Room
to find a "quit buddy." - Talk with your doctor about quitting. Support and guidance from a physician is a proven way to better your chances to quit.
- Switch brands
- Switch to a brand you find distasteful.
- Change to a brand that's low in tar and nicotine a couple of weeks before your target date. This will help change your smoking behavior. However, DO NOT smoke more cigarettes, inhale them more often or more deeply, or place your fingertips over the holes in the filters. All of these will increase your nicotine intake, and the idea is to get your body used to functioning without nicotine.
- Cut down the number of cigarettes you smoke
- Smoke only half of each cigarette.
- Each day, postpone lighting your first cigarette 1 hour.
- Decide you'll smoke only during odd or even hours of the day.
- Decide beforehand how many cigarettes you'll smoke during the day. For each additional cigarette, give a dollar to your favorite charity.
- Change your eating habits to help you cut down. For example, drink milk, which many people consider incompatible with smoking. End meals or snacks with something that won't lead to a cigarette.
- Reach for a glass of juice instead of a cigarette for a "pick-me-up." Or keep tasty and healthy snacks to replace the urge of cigarette.
- Go to public places and restaurants where smoking is prohibited or restricted.
- Remember: Cutting down can help you quit, but it's not a substitute for quitting. If you're down to about seven cigarettes a day, it's time to set your target date and get ready to stick to it.
- Don't Smoke "Automatically"
- Smoke only those cigarettes you really want. Catch yourself before you light up a cigarette out of pure habit.
- Don't empty your ashtrays. This will remind you of how many cigarettes you've smoked each day, and the sight and smell of stale butts will be very unpleasant.
- Make yourself aware of each cigarette by using the opposite hand or putting cigarettes in an unfamiliar location or a different pocket to break the automatic reach.
- If you light up many times during the day without even thinking about it, try to look in a mirror each time you put a match to your cigarette - you may decide you don't need it.
- Make smoking inconvenient
- Stop buying cigarettes by the carton. Wait until one pack is empty before you buy another.
- Stop carrying cigarettes with you at home and at work. Make them difficult to get to.
- If you regularly smoke at home, in your office near computer, or in living room watching TV, make an elaborate cleaning and deodorizing effort and make a rule you never smoke there again. If you used to smoke in the car, stop it, empty your ashtray and clean your car. If you still need a cigarette, smoke outdoors.
- Make smoking unpleasant
- Smoke only under circumstances that aren't especially pleasurable for you. If you like to smoke with others, smoke alone. Turn your chair toward an empty corner and focus only on the cigarette you are smoking and its many negative effects.
- Collect all you cigarette butts in one large glass container as a visual reminder of the filth smoking represents.
- Begin intense exercise program
- Begin an exercise program. Exercise is simply incompatible with smoking. Exercise relieves stress and helps your body recover from years of damage from cigarettes. If necessary, start slow, with a short walk once or twice per day. Build up to 30 to 40 minutes of rigorous activity, 3 or 4 times per week. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
- Do some deep breathing each day for 3 to 5 minutes. Breathe in through your nose very slowly, hold the breath for a few seconds, and exhale very slowly through your mouth. Try doing your breathing with your eyes closed.
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