== Steps ==
how to quit smoking – # Realize that tobacco creates a habit on a variable reinforcement schedule. Sometimes it gets you high. People smoke long after they have any expectation of getting high. At some point, you can combine it with coffee and alcohol, and it still does not work, but you’ve done it a hundred thousand or more times by then, and so they are ”all habit smokes”. Sometimes it actually hurts to smoke, and yet people keep doing it. how to quit smoking
# Find a strong inner determination to stop smoking. Consider making a [[Accomplish More With Your Master List|list]] of the reasons you’re thinking about quitting to shore up your determination. Specific, current, emotion-based reasons are better than factual, future-based reasons. For instance, “It’s [[Deal With an Embarrassing Moment|embarrassing]] to ride the elevator at work smelling like a giant cigarette” is more motivating than “I don’t want to get [[Lower Your Chances of Getting Cancer|cancer]] when I’m 40, 50 or 60.” how to quit smoking
#*Get some facts. Look up smoking on the internet and find out the history behind it, and what happens to smokers later on in life. You’ll learn about the profit motives behind the industry as well as some medically gruesome reasons to quit. Also, get the facts about any quit-smoking product or technique you’re considering, as research shows that some are more effective than others. Your local consumer or community health organization might have comparison charts for you to check out. how to quit smoking
# Be positive and confident that you can successfully quit. You have spent time and energy planning how you will deal with the task ahead by following our tips for giving up smoking. Believe you can and you will do it if you persevere. Use goal accomplishment techniques and regular milestone rewards to stay focused and committed. how to quit smoking
#*Always start your new life with a sense of excitement and enjoyment.
#*Give yourself rewards for milestones (1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, etc.). For example, if you smoked three packs a week at $4 per pack, after 6 months you would have saved $288, probably even more. Reward yourself with that money. how to quit smoking
# Choose a specific quit date. Instead of trying to quit each year on your birthday or for your [[Accomplish Your New Year's Resolutions|New Year's Resolution]], try quitting on a Monday! And not just next Monday – but every Monday. That gives you 52 chances in a year instead of just one chance––making it more likely that you’ll succeed. [[Participate in the Healthy Monday Campaign|The Healthy Monday Campaign]], a non-profit national public health campaign associated with the Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, encourages people to quit smoking and take other healthy actions on Mondays. how to quit smoking
#*Between your decision to quit smoking and your “quit date”, do not smoke the same brand. how to quit smoking
The difference in flavors and chemicals will make smoking less enjoyable, but not intolerable. Switching brands also helps to ‘de-automate’ smoking, which can help you become more conscious of your [[Break a Habit|habit]] and increase your chances for success. how to quit smoking
#*Remove all tobacco products, like lighters and matches from your home and office. Also, don’t even keep a pack of [[Limit Smoking Cigarettes|cigarettes]] at your home, because it will make it easier to start smoking again. how to quit smoking
#*That last step will not help people who have bummed a few thousand smokes in their life. In that case, refuse to open a pack. Keep it on you for at least a month, and maybe a year, until delaying yourself, distracting yourself, and denying that urge to open your pack is strong. how to quit smoking
# Find a medication or a [[Find a Doctor|doctor]] to help you quit smoking. Nicotine replacement therapy is one option. Nicotine patches release a steady stream of nicotine into your bloodstream through your [[Check for Skin Cancer|skin]], and nicotine gum delivers nicotine through the lining in your mouth. Other forms of nicotine replacement therapy include nicotine sprays and inhalers that also work by delivering nicotine to your body. Alternatively, ask your [[Read a Doctor's Prescription|doctor]] about prescription medications to help you quit. how to quit smoking
# Survive the first week. Use a cigarette substitute like mints, [[Eat Sunflower Seeds|sunflower seeds]], toothpicks, and coffee stirrers to help you get used to not smoking. When you were smoking, your mind and body became accustomed to the physical act of smoking, holding the cigarette in your hand, and putting it to your [[Heal Sore Lips|lips]]; using harmless substitutes eases the psychological transition to not smoking. how to quit smoking
#*Get out and about. Doing things to distract you from smoking is a good idea. Play a sport, go to the movies, walk along the beach, catch up with smoke-free friends for a gaming session, etc.
#*You might be able to stop the cravings by doing twenty push-ups or brushing your teeth whenever you experience a craving.
#*Replace smoking by drinking water heavily; be careful not to drink too much or it will make your stomach look like a balloon for a few weeks. You may need to stay close to a bathroom. how to quit smoking
#*Have a low-calorie mint instead of a dirty, stinky cigarette.
# Try abstaining from smoking for a month. Keep telling yourself you will go back to smoking after that month. Then, when the month ends, decide on whether you really want to go back. The answer should be “no!”
# Try a novel approach if you’re unsure of the cold turkey approach. Do not force yourself to quit! Instead, observe yourself and the habit of smoking for a week normally as you usually do. Play with the cigarette you hold in your hands and notice how it looks, feels and smells. This will make you aware of yourself in spite of the habit, and will help when finally you take control over yourself, because you cannot stop doing something you are not even aware of. how to quit smoking
In most of the cases, the person is aware of buying a cigarette pack, lighting it and puffing out the smoke and stubbing the butt in the end, but is unconscious of his or her sensations while they are happening during the process. Usually smokers use smoking to relax or to enjoy the time to think and ponder over something while still feeling the emotion of being in control or doing something engaging with their hands. how to quit smoking
how to quit smoking
#*Avoid being over-aware. Just take a normal casual approach and write it down or make mental notes. Even better, imagine the whole scenario of “how you will light the next one”. This way your mind will now have all the necessary sequences required to accept the habit and process your response in future.
#*Because of this focus, you may begin to feel the sour taste in your taste buds, or diminishing sense of smell, or anything else that may pop up that may entice you to leave it. how to quit smoking
# Get back on track if you slip up. Don’t get discouraged if you “slip” and smoke while trying to quit. [[Forgive Yourself After Hurting Someone|Forgive yourself]] and try again. The key is to not give up, no matter how hard it feels.
#*Pinpoint times, locations, and [[Deal With Stress|stresses]] that trigger an urge to smoke. Think of activities you can occupy yourself with as an alternative.
#*Tell your friends and family that you’re trying to quit. Find support in those you love the most.
#*When you feel a [[Stop Craving|craving]] coming on, take several slow, deep breaths until the feeling subsides.
# For those who believe that no time is like the present, why not quit at the end of your pack? For every smoke you take, break one and throw it in your toilet. Make it your last pack with a little ceremony, always trying to keep one, perhaps as a souvenir.
# Throw all of the cigarettes out and stop buying and them and think of living a long life then thinking of dying. Don’t hang out with the friends who smoke or don’t go near the people who do.
# Tell your friends and your family that you don’t want to smoke and you don’t want to see tobacco anywhere near you. Your family and your friends will try to help you out with that.
== Warnings ==
*Don’t go crazy! You promised yourself you wouldn’t smoke and you need to develop some self control. Some smokers who try to quit end up sucking the nicotine out of their fingernails. You need to look at yourself with a cigarette in your hand. You will never look good no matter how charming you are.
*If you are considering using a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product like nicotine patches, nicotine gum, or nicotine sprays or inhalers, be warned that they are also addictive, and people sometimes have difficulty getting off of the NRT product after quitting. Sprays and inhalers are particularly addictive, because they deliver the nicotine very quickly. Of the NRTs, patches are the least addictive.
*Taking any smoking cessation drugs can be dangerous, always seek help from a doctor before taking such drugs.
== Tips ==
*Try a simple auto-suggestion: “I do not smoke. I cannot smoke. I will not smoke”, and while you are saying it, think of something else to do.
*When you quit smoking, and one way or another, food will taste better, sleep will be easier, exercise will not hurt, and if you have been smoking for less than twenty years, then you will be able to make your fingers tingle by hyperventilating, you will have more time to concentrate, and your concentration will be more rewarding, because more oxygen will get to your brain. how to quit smoking
*Most smokers are extremely addicted to the “hand to mouth” motion that the brain associates with pleasure or comfort or stress-relief. Unfortunately, that “hand to mouth” action is not replicated by most nicotine replacement products. A cigarette substitute such as a plastic straw, or a plastic cigarette can be used for as long as needed without the high cost or bad side effects of nicotine replacement programs. A plastic substitute can be used absolutely anywhere and everywhere.
*If you really want to quit, but are finding it difficult, [[Hypnotize Yourself Using the Best Me Technique|self-hypnosis]] or a hypnotherapist may be able to help. They can help you to override the ‘programming’ in your mind that has formed the habitual desire for a cigarette. For hypnotherapy to work, you have to want to stop smoking; otherwise your habit may come creeping back over time.
*Consider whether you also have a psychological addiction to smoking. how to quit smoking
Most people who have smoked for very long do. If you have ever quit for three days or more, and then gone back to smoking, you are most likely psychologically dependent. Explore psychological/behavioral smoking cessation programs designed to eliminate triggers and urges to smoke. how to quit smoking
*Don’t be discouraged if you gain a few pounds––exercise can curb the urge to smoke. And what’s a few pounds in the scheme of things? You are saving your skin, teeth, and recreating your future by quitting. how to quit smoking
*Reduce your caffeine intake. When you cease smoking your body processes caffeine twice as efficiently, resulting in sleepless nights unless your intake is reduced. how to quit smoking
*Go online and look up former smokers who haven’t touched a cigarette in years. There are people who haven’t smoked in 50 years or more! You might find inspiration or an online pen pal to help you along the way. You can be one of those people who go from an active smoker to a pink-lunged success! how to quit smoking
*Remember it is the cigarettes you smoked that cause cravings, not those you have abstained from.
*Don’t quit quitting. If you cave-in to your addiction, don’t throw in the towel. Fall-back, re-group, and attack the problem again! Few people are successful the first time through! Even the second or third or more may fail. But YOU will WIN in the end! how to quit smoking
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