How to Stay Smoke Free
Smoking is a very addictive habit that is hard to break. It takes 21 days to change a habit both good or bad. If you have been a smoker for many years you may be able to break your habit in 21 days, but you will probably always have cravings that come and go for the rest of your life. There are some things you can do to make sure once you quite smoking you stay smoke free.
Instructions
-
-
1
Save the money you would have been spending on cigarettes and take a vacation. After you have enough for your first vacation keep doing this. Knowing that if you start smoking again you will not be able to take another vacation may keep you from picking up another cigarette pack. Most people save $5 per day, totaling $1,825 per year. That is enough to take a decent vacation.
-
2
Join a support group. This is not a joke. There are support groups and you should have someone you can call whenever you get a craving to smoke again. Nicotine Anonymous is a great resource to have. They provide you with more than a support group. They even offer you a 12 step program. You would be able to find someone in your area that can partner up with you and keep you encouraged to stay smoke free. The link is provided for you at the end of this article.
-
-
3
Do some research on the ingredients in cigarette and the diseases people get from smoking them. If you do this research you will read about all the harmful chemicals you have been putting in to your body. You will also see stories of people with emphysema so bad they can't leave their house. Others with throat cancer who have to talk by putting their finger over a tube in their throat. Serious research on the effects of smoking can scare anyone away from going back to a cigarette.
-
4
Find your inspiration and post a picture of it on your refrigerator. If your inspiration is to be healthier put a picture of a fit human being on your fridge. If your inspiration is your children put their picture on the fridge. If your inspiration is the fact that you want to be obedient to your Father in heaven than put a picture of Jesus on your fridge. Whatever your motivation is you need a focal point. A little reminder that all of this hard work to quit and stay smoke free is worth it.
-
5
Find yourself an alternative hobby. When people feel stressed out or down in the dumps, they turn back to their cigarettes. If you replace that habit with a new hobby you will be giving yourself an alternative. One that is safer and healthier for you. It can be something as simple as putting together a large puzzle. Set up a table just for the puzzle. Whenever you get a craving to smoke go work on the puzzle until the craving passes. Whatever the new hobby is make sure it is easily accessible so that when you have a craving you can get busy immediately with your new hobby. If you have to wait, you may give in and take a drag of that cigarette.
-
6
Keep a diary. This will allow you to keep track of your progress. You can write down all the new things you have started since quitting. You can keep track of your teeth becoming whiter or you cough less in the mornings. Watch your health become restored. Keep track of all the cravings you have had and how you beat them. Let the journal be a testimony to your success and something you can use as inspiration. Maybe you can share it with someone else who is trying to quit smoking and help them to get to the level you have reached.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Don't even smoke socially. That will just lead you back in to smoking full time. It is not a good way to stay smoke free.
Stay away from smokers for awhile. The smell of the smoke may make you crave cigarettes again. It is also harder to say no to a cigarette when you are around people who want you to join them.
