Quitting smoking for good is perhaps the best personal health decision you’ll ever make. Smoking is entirely destructive, wreaking havoc both inside and outside the body, contributing to air pollution, and generally creating a burden on the public healthcare system. Yet, big tobacco spends billions of dollars every year to make sure their products stay in your face and regulations remain lax.
Cessation is a journey. It won’t happen overnight, and it will take some discipline and effort on your part. It’s not easy to ditch a nicotine habit, but it can be done. You can join the ranks of millions who have already quit, and start down a path toward a happier, healthier future. Ready? Let’s look at seven self-help tips to quit smoking.
1. Find The Reason and Remember It
The first step to quitting is to find your reason. It’s different for everyone, just like the decision to start is different for everyone. Whatever your motivation is, lock onto it and hold it close. Remember it when things get tough. Remind yourself daily why you want to leave this destructive habit behind.
Maybe you’re already developing health complications and you want to quit before smoking kills you. Maybe someone you loved died from cancer due to a life-long smoking habit. Or, maybe you’ve just grown more conscious about the impact smoking has on you, your loved ones, and society at large. Maybe you’re just tired of the smell!
Any reason is a good reason to quit. Find yours and hold onto it.
2. Cold-Turkey Isn’t For Everyone: And That’s Ok
You’ll hear all about how Greg from accounting gave up smoking without any help. While that’s very impressive, Greg, it’s important to remember that not everyone can quit cold-turkey, and that’s ok. Quitting cold-turkey is the toughest route to cessation, and it’s not for everyone. Withdrawal can cause serious side-effects that can disrupt your daily life, and sometimes, those symptoms are simply too much to handle all at once.
If you’re not comfortable quitting cold-turkey, don’t beat yourself up; your journey will still be just as impressive as Greg’s because you’ve taken back control of your health and your life. Plus, there are tons of viable alternatives (like tobaccoless products from Black Buffalo) to help you along the way. Why not use them?
3. Support Is Your Greatest Weapon
In the fight to leave behind cigarettes for good, the support of friends, family members, and support groups is your greatest weapon. Why? Because no one can do everything on their own, and sometimes the push you need comes from an outside source.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your friends and family. Or, if that makes you uncomfortable, you can always join a support group. There are hundreds in your city most likely, and even more online. You won’t have to go to any meetings if you choose the online option, but you can still engage in thoughtful and motivating conversations with like-minded people, and that could make a huge difference in your cessation efforts.
4. Remember Your Value
It’s important to remember during your journey that you deserve to be happy and healthy. Just because you made the decision to smoke to begin with doesn’t mean you deserve illness, unhappiness, or any of the other ill effects that smoking has to offer. When the journey gets tough, remember why you started, where you want to be, and why you want to be there.
You are a valuable person with hopes, dreams, and the will to carry on, and you can make this journey. It will be hard, you will stumble, but don’t give up!
5. Avoid Triggers (Yes, Your Smoker Friends, Too)
Your old smoker’s lifestyle likely involved hanging out with fellow smokers and enjoying smoke-friendly gathering places. The bad news is that you’ll need to avoid these and any other triggers that make you want to pick up a cigarette; the good news is that avoiding them will make your cessation journey ten times easier.
6. Clean Your Surroundings
The smell of cigarette smoke can linger for years if you don’t properly clean surfaces, upholstery, fabrics, etc. Your car, home, and clothing can all be deodorized with a thorough cleaning. What does this do? It helps remove traces of your smoking habit from your life and helps prevent cravings from smelling smoke.
7. Embrace Your New Lifestyle
You did it, you’re a non-smoker now! Take some time to congratulate yourself for a successful cessation journey, and fully embrace your new smoke-free lifestyle. You might be amazed at the amazing opportunities that become available to you now that you’re a non-smoker.
Plus, your general health will be in better shape, and you’ll be able to enjoy many more years of happiness and health. Here’s to a brighter future without cigarettes!
