How to Stop Smoking the Easy Way

This smoke contains more than 2,000 harmful chemicals, including ammonia, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide and acetone.

Quitting smoking is not as easy as making the decision to quit. Addiction is serious, so stopping is uncomfortable at first. You'll need to reinforce your decision by thinking about the dramatic benefits to your lungs and heart; your improved physical appearance, smell and ability to taste food; and the money you'll be saving.

Things You'll Need

• Journal Nicotine replacement aids (optional)

Instructions

Start to Stop! How to Quit Smoking

1. 

   Write down your reasons for quitting in your journal. Be specific about your personal reasons. You could start with "I fear emphysema or lung cancer" and add details: not wanting your children to smoke, wrinkle prevention, the annoyance of winter cigarette breaks at work, your partner's distaste for your kisses, cutting the household budget and stinky clothes and hair.

2. 

   Monitor and record your habit. Count your daily cigarette intake, noting the times the urge to smoke is weakest and strongest. Study your own behavior and record what you discover: "It is easy for me not to smoke in the morning; it is difficult for me not to smoke when I am stressed/after I eat/with wine."

3. Set attainable goals. Quitting cold turkey is not for everyone. If you set unattainable or unrealistic goals (e.g. "I'll stop tomorrow"), failure is probable, and that undermines self-confidence. An attainable goal for a pack-a-day smoker might be to smoke one or two cigarettes per day for three days or to delay the first cigarette as long as possible.

4. 

   Find alternative activities. It's ineffective to stop a bad habit without having an alternative. Your focus and energy need outlets if you hope to fight cravings. Get a new hobby, preferably one that's physically active. If possible, get a gym membership.

5. 

   Detox. Drink a lot of water (a minimum of 2 liters per day) and cranberry juice. Eat healthier food and enjoy being able to taste it.

6. Use aids, if needed. For some people, chewing on carrot sticks is enough to control a craving; for others, nicotine-replacement products work well. Patches, gum and nicotine inhalers can curb cravings, but they should not be relied on exclusively. The goal is to change your behavior, not to substitute one addiction for another.

7. 

   Change your habits. Drop the smokers' lounge routine. Avoid alcohol until you're ready to sip that wine without smoking. Give smoker friends a raincheck until you're confident you can withstand social pressures.

8. Think positive. Repeat daily, "I am a non-smoker," in the present tense. If you relapse, don't be too hard on yourself. Keep trying.

9. 

   Plan to zero. If you've cut down your smoking, you're halfway there. Mark zero day on your calendar. Later you'll remember the day before zero as the last day you ever smoked.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that what works for one person might not work for you. Compare a list of reasons you smoke with reasons you want to quit.

• Cutting nicotine intake has uncomfortable side effects, such as headaches, shakiness and irritability. These are temporary.

Resources

• Allen Carr's World Famous Book
• Nicotine Withdrawal and Recovery Symptoms
• Nicotine Replacement Therapy, info from LungsUSA.com