Quit Smoking Guide

First off, I would like to congratulate you. Since you are reading this you have taken your first vital step in quitting smoking. And taking that decision is very important and took a lot of courage. But wanting to stop the habit is just the start. There are really only four steps you will need to take to kick the habit each with sub-steps of their own. Only 4 steps you may say, that sounds easy. Well it isn’t but with some hard work and dedication you will be successful.

So what are these steps? Well you have to decide to quit. Deciding isn’t the same as wanting, and trust me; this is the most important point in the whole project. Next you have to get yourself ready to kick the tobacco. After that comes the actual process of quitting. Lastly are the things you will need to do once you have quit.

So how do you make the decision? First thing you should do is sit down and think of think of the reasons you want to quit smoking and write them down. Then read them aloud to yourself a few times. And be sure to keep this list so you can refer to it later. This will help you visualize your goal. Tell your family, friends, and co-workers about your decision. Having their support will be a great help, plus will it will re-enforce your decision.

Next you need to get yourself prepared to quit. Put the list of the reasons you want to quit someplace where you will see it all the time, like the refrigerator door. You could also take a copy of it to work with you. Take up a hobby, this will be a great way to take your mind off the weed when you actually quit. And be sure you instil in your own mind that this is going to be a tough task that needs to be taken seriously. And now that you have taken the decision and are ready don’t procrastinate. Start quitting NOW.

Now for the actual quitting process. The hardest part is actually the simplest, just STOP SMOKING. That’s right quit right now. Don’t try and cut down, or switch to low tar and nicotine smokes, it does not work period. Now I know how that sounds and you are correct, it isn’t that simple, but it really is. The actual action of quitting is not hard it is the anxiety and withdrawal symptoms which are difficult. But there are ways to alleviate these. Eat healthy snack foods such as raw vegetables or fruit when you feel the urge to smoke. Or take a walk, or listen to some music. Reading also another great way to take your mind off the craving. Also re-read the list you wrote during the decision stage.

If you feel you need help there are medical aids such as the patch as well as hypnotism, plus some excellent books you can read to give you more ammunition against the smoking habit. Don’t feel bad if you need help, everybody needs help sometimes.

Now that you have quit you will need to keep it up. Cigarettes are a strong habit and you will need to keep that habit at bay. I mentioned taking up a hobby in the decision phase. That will really help you keep off of the weed. Take up exercising. I find that first thing in the morning is the perfect time for a quick work-out. I always really wanted that first smoke in the morning and doing a bit of exercise instead put the smokes right out of my mind. And realize how much better you feel now, how much better food tastes, how wonderful all the scents you couldn’t smell before are.

In closing I would like to congratulate you on wanting to quit smoking and wish you the best of health and happiness.

Stan Johnson got fed up with smoking a few years ago. He now wants to help others do the same. Visit his site at: Quit Smoking Secrets

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Many people would easily dismiss smoking as a normal, difficult to avoid/control and even inescapable part of teenage life, but it doesn’t mean that we should ignore it. Studies show that the earlier a young person begins to smoke, the more likely he will become an adult smoker and the longer he is to stay hooked. Adolescent tobacco users are more prone to using alcohol and illegal drugs than are non-users. On top of all that are the glaring health hazards of smoking. As caring parents, helping our children quit smoking is still the best thing to do.

Fortunately, parents like us aren’t absolutely without help. Most communities have professionals, agencies and organizations that are committed to running useful campaigns against smoking. Schools and local governments are usually cooperative at initiating programs that educate students on the perils of smoking. Churches, pastoral counselors and social workers can likewise be called on to provide some help. If we’re feeling up to it, we can also go as far as asking the government (Congress) to pass laws that further restrict the tobacco industry (by imposing even higher taxes on it and enforcing prohibition of minors’ purchasing and use of tobacco products). These are some of the things we can bring into play to combat the pervasive influence of advertising and peer pressure on adolescent smoking.

For more practical tips on handling your predicament, consider the following:

1. Try to avoid using strong-arm tactics. Nagging, begging, ridiculing, threatening and giving condescending lectures, as you may have probably noticed, rarely meet with success, and usually become further cause for your child to want to smoke more.

2. Find out why your teen is smoking. Often, smoking is only the tip of an iceberga symptom of a deeper problem, such as the need for attention, the need for belongingness or acceptance by a peer group, unhealthy self-esteem, need for independence, etc. Being a teenager alone can be quite a strain! Nurture a healthy and consistent communication line with him to help him address his concerns. If unequivocally necessary (i.e., if his inability to cope with his issues reaches the extent that he is failing to function normally), ask for a professional’s help.

3. Be compassionate. Try to understand that quitting smoking isn’t a cinch; some people find it harder to achieve than others. Show your interest in your child’s situation in a non-intimidating manner. Communicate your concern lovingly to him and involve him in a mother-child or family effort to address his problem. Let him make suggestionsthis will show him how much you value his contributions to solving the problem. Negotiate/work out ways with him to explore and effectively execute the changes that must be made to stop his destructive habit.

4. Most smokers, specially beginners, believe they can easily unhook themselves from the smoking habit whenever they want, yet studies reveal many of them never do. You can share to him these and a myriad other facts why smoking is nasty (the internet can help you find many of these informations), again using a non-intimidating, non-haughty tone. If your child knows someone who has successfully quit smoking, invite that person to talk to your child so that the latter can hear firsthand from one who has actually been through the experience of quitting. Support groups with which he can relate to can also help.

5. Parents who are smokers should try to quit. If they have already quit, they must speak to their child about their own experience in a way that the latter can connect to them.

6. Be supportive all the way, especially when your child decides to quit. Quitting smoking entails a host of undesirable but temporary effects called withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, depression, headaches and difficulty sleeping, which are all signs that his body is adjusting and recovering its healthy equilibrium. This withdrawal period is when parents critically need all the courage, patience and ingenuity they can muster at providing the most peaceful and supportive atmosphere for their child throughout his most difficult days.

Walk with him through this stage by:

a. using prayer consistently and reading the Bible (Though this is a clich

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There are numerous ways that people use to stop smoking. People do actually succeed in stopping smoking but the same method of stopping does not work for everyone and sometimes the same method may finally work only after a second or third attempt at it is tried.

The most popular methods used to quit smoking and not in any particular order are:

1) Willpower
2) Cutting down
3) Hypnosis
4) Patches, Gum, Lozenges
5) False Cigarette
6) Zyban
7) Acupuncture
Shock event

There is no doubt that each of these methods have been successful in helping someone to stop smoking. They work in slightly different ways to each other and I will attempt to describe each method and in my opinion the pros and cons of each

1) Willpower
This is probably the most used method for stopping smoking and one that does work. Actually a certain amount of willpower will be required no matter what method of quitting smoking you use. Unfortunately willpower kind of suggests a fight and suggests that if you are strong minded you will succeed and that if you fail you are weak minded. The description willpower is not helpful as far as stopping smoking is concerned because of the perceived battle that the word suggests. A better word would be ‘decision’. Just make your decision and then that can be that. But make it a final decision and not some half-hearted attempt and then you can quit successfully.

2) Cutting down
This involves willpower with the idea of feedback that you are succeeding plus knowing that you are gradually weaning yourself off any perceived chemical dependency of cigarettes. In theory it sounds great because if each day you smoke one less cigarette you know you are getting closer to stopping. Unfortunately in order to know how many cigarettes you are smoking you have to count them and then know at any particular moment of the day how many you have had and how many more you can have. This method means that you have to think about smoking much more than if you were smoking freely. If something is on your mind more often, then it can make it harder to stop it. If you really want to succeed with using the cutting down method, don’t get into counting each cigarette.

A better tactic is to decide to leave out certain cigarettes such as the one at 10:30 or the one after lunch. This way you don’t have to count how many you are smoking and yet you know you are cutting down.

3) Hypnosis
This method still requires ‘willpower’ or even better the ‘decision’ from the smoker that they want to stop. Hypnosis does not take away the choice of the person to smoke but rather it supports the decision to stop. It is like getting some extra help to support your decision to stop. Importantly it uses suggestions that are aimed at the stronger part of the mind, the subconscious mind, to let get of this old outdate and no longer useful response to life.

4) Patches, Gum and Lozenges
These methods still give you nicotine. The idea is that it helps with any withdrawal symptoms you may ordinarily put down to stopping smoking. It is an odd sort of logic in that patches, gum and lozenges still give you nicotine as a way of helping you to stop taking nicotine via cigarettes. Also as long as you chew gum, suck lozenges or have to wear a patch it constantly reminds you of smoking. A constant reminder is not a useful method to use to help stop doing something.

5) False Cigarette
This is a substitute for the action and behaviour of smoking but without the intake of all the chemicals involved. It helps those who would ordinarily miss doing something with the hands, or those who would feel less confident with having nothing in their hands. The down side is that although you are no longer inhaling all those poisons you are still keeping the habit and behaviour of smoking going.

6) Zyban
This is a prescribed drug that was found to help smokers deal with any perceived chemical withdrawal symptoms. The idea is that if the physical side of smoking is being aided by zyban than all you have to do is to deal with the action or routine of smoking. As soon as you have stopped the routine and discovered you are okay and life can carry on then you can, under your doctor’s direction, come off zyban. Once again a method that may work for some but there may be side effects of using zyban which need consideration before using this method.

7) Acupuncture
This is the ancient Chinese treatment that inserts needles in certain acupuncture points on the body. The acupuncture points are not random but are definite and accurate places on the body. The idea with acupuncture is to enable the free flow of energy known as chi (pronounced ‘chee’) to flow along the meridian lines in the body. Blocks in the energy flow can cause or relate to issues whether physical, mental or emotional. For some people, acupuncture treatment has succeeded in helping them to stop smoking.

Shock event
For many people a shock of some sort will cause them to finally quit smoking. The shock may be the discovery of some smoking related illness such as cancer or it may be the loss of a friend or relative. Either way it brings home to the smoker their own mortality and what part they play in staying well and healthy. No one really chooses to be unhealthy. The shock event can work for many people and help them to stop smoking. Where the shock event fails is when, over time, the shock fades and feels more distant and the ex-smoker once again feels comfortable with smoking.

The overriding asset and best resource in using any of the above methods is the decision to stop smoking. So just make your decision to stop smoking and then stick to it.

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