Nov
16
Posted by Admin
Smokers tend to think of quitting as a huge, insurmountable obstacle. It's more realistic—and more useful—to think of it as a gradual, step-by-step process. Here's how to plan your course and what to expect along the way, along with some suggested activities to help you cope.
1. Think about cutting down/quitting
Talk to others about smoking. Observe how nonsmokers react to smokers. Observe negative aspects of smoking. Smoke in front of a mirror to see exactly what goes on when you smoke.
2. Seek more information about quitting.
Ask ex-smokers how they did it. Tell a friend you're exploring healthier alternatives to smoking. When you feel an urge to smoke, wait a minute before lighting up; experience the urge fully and think of other ways to respond to it. Reward yourself for becoming more aware of your smoking patterns.
3. Modify your smoking risk (switch brands, cut down, etc.).
Start a smoking journal and record when you smoke more or less than usual. Try stress-reduction techniques. Adopt a healthful new activity that's incompatible with smoking (swimming, dancing, etc.). Switch to a lower tar brand. Reward yourself for each risk modification.
4. Decide to quit (no date set).
Keep track of the number of cigarettes you smoke each day. Stop buying cartons; buy only one pack at a time. Identify your top cigarette triggers. Brush your teeth several times a day. List the reasons you want to quit. Switch brands every week, each brand being lower in tar than the last. Postpone every third cigarette. Ask family and friends for ways they can help you quit.
5. Set a quitting date.
Sign a stop-smoking contract. Sit in the nonsmoking sections of restaurants and airplanes. Prepare at least three responses to your top 10 cigarette triggers. Switch brands after every pack. Postpone every other cigarette. Cut back on alcoholic beverages. Set up a health bank. (Deposit a certain amount of money each week that you'll get back after you stay smokeless for a specified period of time. Or quit with a group; whoever remains smokeless after a specified period divides the kitty.)
6. Refrain from smoking for 24 hours.
Schedule healthful activities (walks, bike rides, fishing, etc.). Have your teeth cleaned. Send your favorite clothes to the cleaners. Discard all your ashtrays. Pamper yourself as much as possible.
7. Complete your first week as a nonsmoker.
Treat yourself to daily rewards (massages, hot baths, etc.). Avoid smoking and drinking areas. Notice how much better your food tastes. Continue to work on your cigarette triggers.
8. Complete your first month.
Begin a regular exercise program. Add one new stress-reduction technique to your activities each week.
9. Complete your first trimester.
Gently increase your exercise level. Treat yourself to a weekend getaway. Volunteer to help a smoker quit. If you've been using a nicotine replacement, begin to cut back.
10. Complete your first year.
Throw a party to celebrate!
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The 10 Stages of Quitting
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Nov
15
Posted by Admin
Quit Smoking
The most important step to take is the first step, admitting you have an addiction. When asked why you smoke, you might have said, "I just like to smoke!" or "It's my choice to smoke". The tobacco companies have promoted the idea that smoking is a matter of personal choice. As I see it, there really isn't as much choice as they have suggested to their customers. Ask yourself, and be totally honest: Am I addicted to tobacco? Am I truly making a freely made choice when I smoke?You might consider that you need to have a cigarette. Studies have shown that nicotine addiction is as hard to break as heroin or cocaine addiction. In Nicotine Anonymous' 12 Step program, which sprang from the venerable Alcoholics Anonymous program, the first step is admitting to yourself, "I'm powerless over tobacco." Making this admission may seem trivial to you, but for many it is a very significant part of completing the journey to becoming a non-smoker.By telling smokers that smoking is a personal choice, the tobacco industry has helped to keep its customers in denial about the true extent of their addiction. If smoking is a choice, then what's the rush to quit? The tobacco companies have used this spin to help keep millions of customers buying their deadly products.If you can make it for just five minutes without giving in, the urge to smoke be controllable or disappear. In this way, you'll be able to stay smoke free for life.
Quitting with help
When quitting, people who are the most successful at living life typically get help, and plenty of it,For example, they might read up on how to prevent illness, and go to the doctor when sick. In business, a businessperson will get a lawyer to write the contracts, a marketing firm to do the marketing, an ad agency to create the ads, an accountant to do the accounting – and so on. The fact is that people who are successful in life get help. Real men ask directions!,Sadly, eighty percent of smokers who quit do so without being in any program – and studies show that 95% of these self-reliant quitters fail, and go right back to smoking. It's the same rate of recidivism as with heroin. With a 95% chance of failure without a program, you may wish to consider getting some help this time around. For those who have repeatedly failed at quitting in the past, it's comforting to learn that most smokers in fact fail several times before stopping successfully. Your past failures are not a lesson that you are unable to quit. Instead, they are part of the normal journey toward becoming a nonsmoker. I certainly failed — 11 times. Every time I failed, I lost a little more faith that I could really quit. So each time I quit, it got harder and harder to motivate myself to set a date. I had begun to feel it was hopeless.
My mission here is to restore your faith in yourself. You CAN quit. Even if you've failed several times in the past, understand that this is normal. You're not alone. Other top of the line, physician-endorsed methods: nicotine replacement and Zyban. The nicotine patch or gum are now available over-the-counter at any pharmacy. The anti-depressant Zyban and nicotine inhaler require a prescription. Talk to a live human being free. You need to get your resolve up, and try again. YOU CAN DO IT!
A Note About Tobacco Ads
Many teens, if asked, would say that tobacco ads have no influence over them. However, new studies tell us that advertising plays a greater role than even peer pressure in getting teens to smoke. And one recent study shows that the three most heavily advertised brands are the same three brands most often smoked by teens — Camels, Marlboros and Newport. It's no accident. Cigarette ads clearly influence our teens. Tobacco ads may not influence your conscious mind — but they do influence the unconscious mind.
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Quit Smoking
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