20 Quick Tips to Help you Quit Smoking
1. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can quit. Think about some of the most difficult things you have done in your life and realize that you have the guts and determination to quit smoking. It's up to you.
2 After reading this list, sit down and write your own list, customized to your personality and way of doing things. Create you own plan for quitting.
3. Write down why you want to quit (the benefits of quitting): live longer, feel better, for your family, save money, smell better, find a mate more easily, etc. You know what's bad about smoking and you know what you'll get by quitting. Put it on paper and read it daily.
4. 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.
5. Set a quit date. Decide what day you will extinguish your cigarettes forever. Write it down. Plan for it. Prepare your mind for the "first day of the rest of your life". You might even hold a small ceremony when you smoke you last cigarette, or on the morning of the quit date.
6. Talk with your doctor about quitting. Support and guidance from a physician is a proven way to better your chances to quit.
7. 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.
8. 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 and go to step 9.
9. Visualize your way to becoming a non-smoker. While doing your deep breathing in step 8, you can close your eyes and begin to imagine yourself as a non-smoker. See yourself enjoying your exercise in step 7. See yourself turning down a cigarette that someone offers you. See yourself throwing all your cigarettes away, and winning a gold medal for doing so. Develop your own creative visualizations. Visualization works.
10. Cut back on cigarettes gradually (if you cut back gradually, be sure to set a quit date on which you WILL quit). Ways to cut back gradually include: plan how many cigarettes you will smoke each day until your quit date, making the number you smoke smaller each day; buy only one pack at a time; change brands so you don't enjoy smoking as much; give your cigarettes to someone else, so that you have to ask for them each time you want to smoke.
11. Quit smoking "cold turkey". Many smokers find that the only way they can truly quit once and for all is to just quit abruptly without trying to slowly taper off. Find the method that works best for you: gradually quitting or cold turkey. If one-way doesn't work do the other.
12. 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."
13. Have your teeth cleaned. Enjoy the way your teeth look and feel and plan to keep them that way.
14. After you quit, plan to celebrate the milestones in your journey to becoming a non-smoker. After two weeks of being smoke-free, see a movie. After a month, go to a fancy restaurant (be sure to sit in the non-smoking section). After three months, go for a long weekend to a favorite get-away. After six months, buy yourself something frivolous. After a year, have a party for yourself. Invite your family and friends to your "birthday" party and celebrate your new chance at a long, healthy life.
15 Drink lots of water. Water is good for you anyway, and most people don't get enough. It will help flush the nicotine and other chemicals out of your body, plus it can help reduce cravings by fulfilling the "oral desires" that you may have.
16. Learn what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, arrival at work, entering a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers or if that's impossible, plan alternative ways to deal with the triggers.
17. Find something to hold in your hand and mouth, to replace cigarettes. Consider drinking straws or you might try an artificial cigarette called E-Z Quit found here: http://www.quitsmoking.com/ezquit.htm
18. Write yourself an inspirational song or poem about quitting, cigarettes, and what it means to you to quit. Read it daily.
19. Keep a picture of your family or someone very important to you with you at all times. On a piece of paper, write the words†I’m quitting for myself and for you (or "them")". Tape your written message to the picture. Whenever you have the urge to smoke, look at the picture and read the message.
20. Whenever you have a craving for a cigarette, instead of lighting up, write down your feelings or whatever is on your mind. Keep this "journal" with you at all times.
Good luck in your efforts to quit smoking. It's worth it!
Quit Smoking Centres Inside Pubs! Its True!
Many countries in the world are aiming to go 90% smoke free within the next four years. Most of the western countries have already gone the smoke free way. They have begun their initiatives already in order to make their country and the people free from the banes of smoking. The bars and restaurants in the US and the UK have been made smoke free and smoking is allowed only in those pubs and restaurants that serve packed food.
Almost all the first world countries and a lot of second world countries have come forward to make their countries and thereby a portion of this world free from the banes of smoking. England is especially making great efforts in an attempt to make the whole country safe for the coming generations. The efforts can be seen in the attempts that a pub in England made.
A pub in a place called Hartlepool took a very unique step with the objective of anti smoking. The staff working in the pub always wanted to quit smoking. But it became impossible owing to the excessively smoking customers who visited the pub every night. With the growing number of smokers in the pub and new regulations for smoking coming in the pub came up with a very impressive and unique idea to make the people give up on the puff.
As against the other pubs in the country this pub did not put up a "no smoking" board on its entrance. Instead it did a much nobler job. The pub opened a centre within its interiors that counseled people on no smoking. Different isn't it? Well, people also welcomed this step very warmly. Almost all the customers of the club visited this centre in order to quit smoking. It also became a kind of get together place for the customers, especially the ladies. They came to the centre and shared their time together with a very noble cause. It is not as if the centre is just there for the sake of it. It has in fact affected a lot of people in giving up smoking. There are a quite a few customers of the pub who have successfully given up on this fateful habit.
Though the step is unique and also can go a long way in the objective of quit smoking, yet it cannot be assured that the step would prove to be helpful in all the pubs of the world. In certain areas nothing works better than the no smoking tag. People go to places like the pubs with the sole objective of boozing, smoking and "hanging out". So the concepts like quit smoking centres don't go down very well with the customers. But whether the concept works or not there is no denying the fact that the step is a very noble one.
Just like the concept of the quit smoking drugs that help people to give up smoking easily. If you are thinking of going the quit smoking way you can go for the famous quit smoking drug Pfizer Chantix. Chantix is available online for the convenience of the all those who are keen on giving up smoking but have not been able to for some or the other reason. So all you people get ready to say goodbye to your smoking habit. You can order Chantix and start your quitting process. All the best!
Acupuncture Quit Smoking Stop
Jane was sitting comfortable in her armchair enjoying her after-diner cigarette. While checking the mail, she spotted an email - "Stop smoking now!" Although it was one of those irritating spam emails, it somehow caught her attention. She has been smoking for a few years and there were some signs that her body was not responding very well to this abuse. "May be it is time to stop smoking..." Jane thought. "But I am not a strong-will person, moreover I am allergic to many medicines... how can I stop smoking?"
She made some quick internet searches and within a few minutes she was carefully reading an acupuncture quit smoking - stop fact sheet revealing a possible way of smoking escape.
If you are in Jane's shoes, here is some interesting information about acupuncture and how it can help you quit smoking.
Acupuncture is an ancient technique for inserting and manipulating thin needles into specific points of the body. The aim is to restore health and well-being. It is one of the Chinese medicine methods widely used nowadays.
Acupuncture quit smoking stop techniques are suitable for people who are unable to take any kind of stop smoking products due to allergies or medical conditions. The only option for them is to try to quit smoking using the cold turkey way, or in other words depending on their determination and will only. It may sound fair enough for a non-smoker, but most smokers find this way very hard and often unsuccessful.
Acupuncture can help such people as acupuncture quit smoking stop treatment results into reduced cravings and fewer withdrawal symptoms. With these benefits, the chances of successful smoking cessation are much higher. Moreover, in an acupuncture quit smoking stop program is combined with a correct behavioral therapy, the results are almost guaranteed.
If you are eager to try it, than the first thing you should do is to ask your doctor for an acupuncturist who has experience in similar treatment. It is important that you find a good acupuncturist because of the better results and some simple facts - as acupuncture includes inserting needles into your skin it is of utmost importance that you go to a high-standard place with guaranteed hygiene and acupuncture supplies.
The next steps are more than clear. Go to the clinic to have your initial exam and attend the sessions. An acupuncture quit smoking stop program may be over after a single session but in some cases, the sessions might be more.
"Ah, that sounds good for me!" Jane picked up the phone and arranged a meeting with her doctor for a chat about the best acupuncture quit smoking stop clinics in her town...
How to Quit Smoking Cigarettes
Smoking cigarettes is a habit that is hard to get over with for most people. Just like any other form of addiction, smoking cigarettes causes your body to develop a dependency on a particular chemical, in this case nicotine. Nicotine patches can help you get rid of smoking cigarettes but it doesn't get rid of your dependency on nicotine and that's why it doesn't work for many people as it still essentially the same.
So what do you need to do? Easy! All you need to do is what rehabilitation centers have been doing for years - get rid of your dependency on nicotine. But how?
Believe it or not, the human body is capable of healing itself and putting itself back to normal operation. All it needs is time to heal. In other words, you need to give it a rest but unless you isolate yourself, doing that is not easy - but it can be done!
Start with motivation.
Find a reason for you to quit smoking. It can be your children, your partner, your parents, your friends or yourself. Think of how you smell when you smoke. Think of the future of your loved ones if your health begins to deteriorate. Think of how they will feel. Think of the example you're setting for your kids. Think of the second hand smoke that your loved ones are inhaling. These begins to motivate you.
The next step is deciding...
After finding the right motivation or motivations (you can have more than one), tell yourself that you WILL stop smoking. This is a very important step if you really want to quit the nasty habit of inhaling smoke and nicotine into your body. Telling yourself that you will stop smoking reinforces your motivations and tells your brain that you don't want it anymore.
Then do it.
After you've motivated yourself and after you have decided to stop smoking, the next thing to do in the list is to actually do it. Throw away your cigarettes. Don't even take "one last puff" as that will defeat the purpose of doing it. Get rid of your cigarette lighters and matches. Throw away your ashtrays and clean your house to rid it of the smell of cigarettes. Then have a good hygiene. Take a bath, brush your teeth and gargle mouthwash. Visiting your dentist is also great. If your dentist is a smoker then find another one.
Lastly, maintain it.
This is the hardest part. A surge of emotion can lead you to do all that I've mentioned before but maintaining it would be the toughest. As your emotions begin to fade, you will find yourself going back to the bad habit primarily because your body has not been given enough time to heal itself yet. Usually, it takes a month or two for it to totally heal. Sometimes even more. This makes maintenance very important.
Some of the stuff you can do to maintain your decision and actions is to reward yourself. Buy yourself some icecream. Go to the park, watch a movie with your family. Face the mirror and tell yourself how you like much better now. Smile in the mirror – a simple smile reinforces your actions. Keep on rewarding yourself but NEVER reward yourself with smoking, even with a single puff or with anything related to it. I've seen people in the maintenance period fail simply because they "smoked just one puff" to reward themselves. That one puff tells your brain that smoking is good because you considered it as a reward and the cycle starts all over again.
There is an audio book that will guide you through these steps and remind you of what you need to do. It's not expensive so I recommend buying it as it will help you a lot. Think of it as taking the extra mile that makes you a winner.
There you go. If you follow these simple steps then you will soon find yourself healthier and wealthier because you chose not to smoke and took action.
