To aid in smoking cessation, remove yourself from your circle of friends who smoke. Don't worry; this is just a temporary measure, but you really do need to do this. Constant exposure to cigarette smoke, plus the social aspect of smoking together, will automatically squash your hopes for success.
Talk to your doctor about prescription medicines. If you want to ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms, consider prescription medications. There are certain medications that affect the chemical balance in your brain and can help reduce cravings. There are also drugs that can reduce bothersome withdrawal symptoms, like inability to concentrate or depression.
Keep a cold glass or bottle of ice water nearby at all times. When you get a craving for a cigarette, take a sip of water--even if this means you hardly put the bottle down at first. This gives you something to do with your hands and mouth, and it can be a useful way to prevent snacking, too.
Clean your house and car when you quit smoking. Don't spend time in any environment where you look at the surroundings and equate them with smoking. Dispose of butts and ashtrays and clean anything with the smell of cigarettes. Your fresh environment should reflect a healthier, cleaner you, and some rigorous housecleaning might just let you power through a craving.
Stay away from alcohol or other things that trigger an urge to smoke. Alcohol and coffee are a known trigger for smoking, so stay away from them if possible. Also, smokers tend to light up after eating, so find something else to do, such as washing the dishes or cleaning your teeth.
Looking at a picture of smoker's lungs may be all you need to stop smoking. When a person smokes, their lungs turn black after a while and they could end up with lung cancer. As harsh as it may seem, viewing the picture may set off a signal in your brain to quit.
If you want to stop smoking, don't do it. Quitting smoking are two words that imply losing something, making it a grieving process. Instead, psychologically embrace tobacco freedom. Don't think about how you would make anyone else happy, but what would make you happy if you were free from cigarettes. What could you do with that money and time?
Make a list of healthy things you can do to relieve stress, anxiety or frustration. For many people, smoking is a way to relieve stress. Your list can help you find a better, healthier way http://whyquit.com/ of coping with negative feelings so that you won't be as tempted to smoke when you're having a bad day.
To fully prepare yourself with the struggles of quitting, know exactly what to expect before you start. Know how soon you can expect symptoms of nicotine withdrawal to kick in, and know all of the possible symptoms you could experience. This will also help you to anticipate your strongest cravings and most likely pitfalls.
Choose the date that you will quit and write it on the calendar. After you've done this, tell your friends and family. Choosing your quit date makes your goal more specific and real so that you're more likely to take action towards it. It's harder to change your mind once you've made a commitment, and other people can help support you if they know about your quit date.
If an activity becomes difficult and makes you crave a cigarette, try to step away from it. There are some activities that might just naturally make you crave a cigarette. These might include drinking a cup of coffee or hanging out in a bar with friends. If you're not strong enough to handles these activities without a cigarette, realize it and just walk away.
To make quitting smoking seem more straightforward, put the negatives of your smoking habit into numbers. For example, figure out how often you smoke, how many cigarettes you smoke a day and how much it costs you to smoke that much on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. Every time you cut back a little, you'll know exactly how much you've progressed.
Consider nicotine replacement therapy options to minimize the agony of nicotine withdrawal when giving up cigarettes. You can minimize or even avoid your withdrawal with use of nicotine gum, patches or lozenges, giving you the window of opportunity to put down cigarettes for good. Gradually eliminating nicotine from your regimen will serve as the best way to quit smoking.
Think of the health implications of quitting smoking. Once you stop, your blood pressure levels are reduced within 20 minutes. After 24 hours, the carbon monoxide levels in your body revert to normal. After about a month, the chance of having a heart attack or stroke decreases, and your lungs will start to function at a better level. All of this is the perfect reason to quit.
In order to quit, you must believe that you can do it. While the physical cravings and withdrawal symptoms of smoking are difficult, your brain is the most important item in your fight. You must be able to work past your cravings and that fight is all mental. Believe that you can do it and you will see success.
Look for a support group in your area or on the internet. Many people find it helpful to discuss their cravings and get support from others who have been through the experience of quitting smoking. Once you have quit, you can offer support starter kit to people in the earlier stages, reinforcing your own positive choice.
Find confidence and believe in yourself. Think about previous accomplishments in your life that had nothing to do with smoking. How much time was there between the day you identified your goal and actually started seeing progress? How did you motivate yourself? How did you plan things out? Apply what worked for you then here and now.
Now you can say "no", that is if you truly want to stop smoking. The advice from this article has helped you learn to say no, not to anyone in particular but to your brain and to a substance that only causes you harm, smoke, so say no the next time you get the urge to smoke.
