Many people struggle with addiction to nicotine. If you are ready to quit the habit, this article has some great tips to help you get started. You can beat your addiction to cigarettes and learn to live a healthier lifestyle. Read on to learn what you can do to improve your chances of success.
If you want to quit smoking, the word for you is “No”. Every time you’re tempted you have to disallow yourself the ability to say “Yes” to a cigarette. If your only answer is “No” you’ll find that you can’t cave in to a craving. No cigarettes, no “Maybe”, leads to no smoking!
Using some type of nicotine replacement is a good way to slowly ease your addiction to smoking when you’re trying to quit. Nicotine replacements come in many forms, including lozenges, gum, and patches that can be worn on the body. These products give your body a small dose of nicotine, which eases cravings for using tobacco products.
Quit smoking on a daily basis. Don’t think about quitting forever; instead focus on today. If you take things in a shorter time frame, it is often easier to cope with the stress. You can always have more goals that go well into the future as soon as you get comfortable with the commitment to quit.
Have a plan for effective stress management to counteract the effects of nicotine withdrawal. You could try going to the gym during a craving or starting a new hobby. Try to avoid idle time, and instead, find pleasant distractions. Reading, crafting or visiting friends all work well.
You may want to smoke an alternative brand of cigarettes when you are considering quitting the habit. Switch to a brand that you don’t like or a cigarette that you don’t like the taste of. Cut back on the number of cigarettes you smoke in a day or inhale them differently. This will get you started on your way to stop smoking.
Take the time to really sit down and think about how quitting smoking will improve your life. This is especially effective if you already have serious health conditions that smoking can exacerbate, like asthma or diabetes. If your family has a predisposition for cancer, then it can also be very powerful for you to acknowledge that quitting now could actually save your life.
Consider any therapy that can replace nicotine. Smoking itself is kind of disgusting and easy to give up, but the nicotine withdrawal usually proves the nail in the coffin of a quit attempt. Do whatever you can to deal with the withdrawal, from medicine prescriptions to alternatives like the patch, gum or even throat lozenges.
Rid your home of anything cigarette related. Once you decide to quit smoking, get rid of any evidence. Throw away ashtrays, lighters, matches etc. Wash your clothes and clean the house from top to bottom. The last thing you need is a scent of cigarettes that might lure you back in to the habit.
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.
Many smokers have certain triggers that create the sudden need for a cigarette, such as feeling stressed, ending a meal, or being at a certain location. When you are trying to quit, avoid these triggers if you can. If you can’t avoid them, come up with some way to distract yourself from the need to smoke.
Prepare to say goodbye. Smoking is not a habit, it is a relationship. You will grieve the loss of an old friend. So you need to be prepared to go through the six stages of grieving a loss and parting ways with your smoker self. Think back to how you have said goodbye to things in the past and apply the successful tricks you used then.
Consider nicotine replacement therapy to prevent feelings of agitation when you quit smoking. Applying a nicotine patch or chewing special gums can prevent some of the symptoms associated with nicotine withdrawal while still allowing you to chisel away at your habit of smoking cigarettes. Then, once you have kicked your cigarette habit, you can begin to wean yourself from the nicotine.
For help after you quit smoking, you should keep around items that can be used to replace a cigarette. Stock up on items such as toothpicks, lollipops, sunflower seeds, and coffee stirrers. All these items can help when dealing with cravings. Instead of a cigarette, replace it with something that is harmless.
Even though quitting tobacco can be a challenge, you can do it if you are willing to apply these tips to your situation. The suggestions you have read will give you a wonderful beginning to developing your personal plan. You deserve to be free from the devastating effects of nicotine dependency.
