25 Ways to stop smoking cigarettes and ways to quit
smoking for good can help you towards a healthier, smoke-free life.
Truth is, most smokers do
understand. They also understand the huge financial toll of smoking, with a
pack of 20 cigarettes costing $10 in
some areas (imagine: $3,650 spent a year on cigarettes by pack-a-day smokers —
often people of only modest resources).
Then why do millions
still smoke? In good part, because the nicotine in cigarettes is highly
addictive. In good part, because smoking provides psychological comfort to some
people. Perhaps most of all, because quitting smoking is so hard.
Researchers and
businesses have responded strongly to the last point. Never have there been so
many tools, systems, and programs available for quitting smoking. And with
every month that passes, there is more research showing the benefits of
quitting, and the drawbacks of not quitting.
So if you smoke,
consider again whether it is time, finally, to quit. If yes, you’ll need to
think through the best approach, perhaps working with your doctor or an expert.
But the following 25 tips will help you succeed.
1. Make an honest list
of all the things you like about smoking. Draw a line down the center of a
piece of paper and write them on one side; on the other side make a list of all
the things you dislike, such as how it can interfere with your health, work,
family, etc., suggests Daniel Z. Lieberman, M.D., director of the Clinical
Psychiatric Research Center at George Washington University Medical Center in
Washington, D.C. Think about the list over time, and make changes. If you are
brave enough, get feedback from family and friends about things they don’t like
about your use of cigarettes. When the negative side outweighs the positive
side, you are ready to quit.
2. Then make another
list of why quitting won’t be easy. Be thorough, even if the list
gets long and discouraging. Here’s the important part: Next to each entry, list
one or more options for overcoming that challenge. For instance, one item might
be: “Nicotine is an addictive drug.” Your option might be: “Try a nicotine
replacement alternative.” Another reason might be: “Smoking helps me deal with
stress.” Your option might be: “Take five-minute walks instead.” The more you
anticipate the challenges to quitting, and their solutions, the better your
chance of success.
3. Set a quit date and write a “quit
date contract” that includes your signature and that of a supportive witness.
4. Write all your
reasons for quitting on an index card and keep it near you at all
times. Here are some to get you started: “My daughter, my granddaughter, my
husband, my wife…”
You get the idea.
You get the idea.
5. As you’re getting
ready to quit, stop buying cartons of cigarettes. Instead, only buy a pack at a
time, and only carry two or three with you at a time (try putting them in an
Altoids tin). Eventually you’ll find that when you want a smoke, you won’t have
any immediately available. That will slowly wean you down to fewer cigarettes.
6. Keep a list of when
you smoke, what you’re doing at the time, and how bad the craving is for a week before
quitting to see if specific times of the day or activities increase your
cravings, suggests Gaylene Mooney, chair of the American Association for
Respiratory Care’s Subcommittee on Smoking and Tobacco-Related Issues. Then
arrange fun, unique things to do during those times, like some of the ones we
recommend here.
7. Prepare a list of
things to do when a craving hits. Suggestions include: take a walk, drink a glass
of water, kiss your partner or child, throw the ball for the dog, wash the car,
clean out a cupboard or closet, have sex, chew a piece of gum, wash your face,
brush your teeth, take a nap, get a cup of coffee or tea, practice your deep
breathing, light a candle. Make copies of the list and keep one with you at all
times so when the craving hits, you can whip out the list and quickly do
something from it.
8. When your quit date
arrives, throw out anything that reminds you of smoking. That includes all
smoking paraphernalia — leftover cigarettes, matches, lighters, ashtrays,
cigarette holders, even the lighter in your car.
9. Instead of a
cigarette break at work, play a game of solitaire on your computer. It takes about the
same time and is much more fun (although, like cigarettes, it can get
addictive). If your company prohibits games like that, find another five-minute
diversion: a phone call, a stroll, or eating a piece of fruit outdoors (but not
where smokers congregate).
10. Switch to a cup of
herbal tea whenever you usually have a cigarette. That might be at breakfast,
midmorning, or after meals. The act of brewing the tea and slowly sipping it as
it cools will provide the same stress relief as a hit of nicotine.
11. Switch your
cigarette habit for a nut habit — four nuts in their shell for every cigarette you
want to smoke. This way, you’re using your hands and your mouth, getting the
same physical and oral sensations you get from smoking.
12. Carry some
cinnamon-flavored toothpicks with you. Suck on one whenever a cig
craving hits.
13. Make an
appointment with an acupuncturist. There’s some evidence that auricular acupuncture
(i.e., needles in the ears) curbs cigarette cravings quite successfully, says Ather Ali , N.D. , a
naturopathic physician completing a National Institutes of Health-sponsored
postdoctoral research fellowship at the Yale-Griffin
Prevention Research
Center in Derby , Connecticut
14. Swing by the
health food store for some Avena sativa (oat) extract. One study found that,
taken at 1 milliliters four times daily, it helped habitual tobacco smokers
significantly decrease the number of cigarettes they smoked.
15. Think of difficult
things you have done in the past. Ask people who know you well to remind you of
challenges you have successfully overcome, says Dr. Lieberman. This will give
you the necessary self-confidence to stick with your pledge not to smoke.
16. To minimize
cravings, change your routine. Sit in a different chair at breakfast or take a
different route to work. If you usually have a drink and cigarette after work,
change that to a walk. If you’re used to a smoke with your morning coffee,
switch to tea, or stop at Starbucks for a cup of java — the chain is
smoke-free.
17. Tell your friends,
coworkers, boss, partner, kids, etc., how you feel about situations
instead of bottling up your emotions. If something makes you angry, express it
instead of smothering it with cigarette smoke. If you’re bored, admit to
yourself that you’re bored and find something energetic to do instead of
lighting up.
18. If you relapse,
just start again. You haven’t failed. Some people have to quit as many as
eight times before they are successful.
19. Put all the money
you’re saving on cigarettes in a large glass jar. You want to physically see how
much you’ve been spending. Earmark that money for something you’ve always
dreamed of doing, but never thought you could afford, be it a cruise to Alaska
20. Switch to decaf
until you’ve been cigarette-free for two months. Too much caffeine while quitting
can cause the jitters.
21. Create a
smoke-free zone. Don’t allow anyone to use tobacco in your home, car, or even while
sitting next to you in a restaurant. Make actual “No Smoking” signs and hang
them around your house and in your car.
22. Find a healthy
snack food you can keep with you and use in place of cigarettes to quench that urge for
oral gratification. For instance, try pistachio nuts, sunflower seeds,
sugarless lollipops or gum, carrot or celery sticks. The last ones are best if
you are concerned about weight gain.
23. Picture yourself
playing tennis. Or go play tennis. British researchers found volunteers trying to quit
smoking were better able to ignore their urges to smoke when they were told to
visualize a tennis match.
24. Quit when you’re
in a good mood. Studies find that you’re less likely to be a successful quitter if you
quit when you’re depressed or under a great deal of stress.
25. Post this list in
a visible location in your house. Whenever you’re tempted to light up, take a look
at all the ways smoking can damage your health:
- Increases risk of lung, bladder, pancreatic, mouth,
esophageal, and other cancers, including leukemia
- Reduces fertility
- Contributes to thin bones
- Affects mental capacity and memory
- Reduces levels of folate, low levels of which can
increase the risk of heart disease, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease
- Increases likelihood of impotence
- Affects ability to smell and taste
- Results in low-birth-weight, premature babies
- Increases risk of depression in adolescents
- Increases risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood
pressure
- Increases risk of diabetes
- Increases your child’s risk of obesity and diabetes
later in life if you smoked while pregnant
