How To Stop Smoking

Controlling the urge to smoke cigarettes is one the greatest challenges that millions of people face around the globe. How hard is it to quit? Can one realistically put down the cigarettes within a matter of weeks? Can one avoid any future urges to smoke? These are the most common questions asked by those who are trying to kick this unhealthy habit. How to stop smoking is one of the most popular subjects covered by news media, magazines, and books. It is not unusual to see how to stop smoking topics being covered by these mediums daily.

Putting down the cigarettes for good is not that easy for some individuals. Many learn how to stop smoking, but they are unable to put these principles in action. Some are known to try drugs such as nicotine substitute products, patches, sprays, prescribed medications, and other drugs that are commonly found on store shelves prescription. Unfortunately, these items don’t provide the results that are expected by the users in the end. Let’s look at some of the most effective tips on how to stop smoking.

Alter Your Behavior

Being honest with yourself is the first step to taking in learning how to stop smoking. You will have a great chance of kicking this poor habit if you are willing to alter your behavior. Altering your behavior is one of the greatest keys that revolve around how to quit smoking. A poor attitude towards how to quit smoking is the primary reason why so many people are unable to quit. One must develop a spirit of strong desire and determination. A spirit of strong desire and dedication can help anyone overcome the urges to smoke a cigarette. Altering your behavior can help you see positive results within a matter of days.

Stop-Smoking

Change Your Environment

You cannot continue to remain in the same environment if you are serious about learning how to stop smoking. Hanging around avid smokers is detrimental to anyone who is seriously committed in learning how to stop smoking. You can easily be tempted to smoke a cigarette or two by simply being around people that enjoy smoking. Staying away from people who are not interested in learning how to smoke is one of the best moves you can make. Nightclubs, bars, and other social spots where smoking is allowed should be avoided when you are in the period of introducing your body to the concepts of learning how to stop smoking.

How to stop smoking is one of the most popular topics being discussed by various news media groups and publications today. Many individuals have the thoughts of quitting, but they are not familiar with the concepts that are related to how to stop smoking. It can be a long journey for some, but anyone can overcome this unhealthy habit if they have focus, willpower, and patience. Altering your behavior and changing your environment are two important keys that are related to the subject of how to stop smoking. Keeping these two keys in mind can help you become victorious in the end.

Why Stop Smoking

Many people that smoke want to give up. This is for a number of reasons.

Most of us realise that smoking is not healthy. It can cause a number of conditions such as cancers and blocked arteries, but it can also weaken the immune system and make the person more vulnerable to other illnesses as well. This is the main thing that is targeted at smokers, their health. However, unless we can see the health problems things are causing us, we tend not to take notice of them. We cannot see inside our bodies and it can take a very long time before we feel the effects of unhealthy behaviour and so this may not be a motivator. It is worth considering if you have children or plan on having them, that you will be likely to not only live longer but also be more able to do things with them, if you do not smoke.

There are other things about smoking which are not pleasant. The smell on the breath or clothing can be off putting. The staining on skin and teeth is also not pleasant as well.

The cost of smoking can be a big factor as the prices seem to be going up a lot and there are often tax rises as well. This money could be used for all sorts of things, saved up for a holiday, used to buy new clothes or nicer food. There are lots of possibilities.
Smoking is often used to reduce stress, but it actually makes stress worse in the long term. It is better to find an alternative way to wind down.

Smoking can also be unsociable and difficult. Now that you cannot smoke in public buildings, you have to go outside if you want one and it could be cold or raining. If you are having fun with someone in a bar, for example, you will have to leave them to go outside for a smoke. This is not much fun for either of you. Having to take smoking breaks at work could annoy people who do not smoke as they will have to continue working while you are outside.

The Costs of Smoking

Smoking is very expensive. The type and brand that you smoke will determine how much you actually pay out. Have you ever actually calculated how much you have paid out for smoking. Think about how many cigarettes you smoke in a day. Then calculate how many that is in a week, month and year. Then think about how long you have been smoking for and how much that adds up to altogether. Imagine what you could do with all that money and how much it could add up to in the future if you continue to smoke especially as prices are likely to continue rising over the years.

There are other costs as well though. The health costs are probably the biggest. These costs are not only for you though, they affect your friends and family as well. They could have health problems because of the smoke that you are producing. Even if you are very careful around them, they will still suffer if you get unwell and die early. It is difficult to give up, but it is worth thinking of all of these costs when you are considering doing so.

Most people who smoke want to give up. They do it for a selection of reasons, but they know that they would be better off if they gave up. If this applies to you, then consider the costs of you smoking and think about how much better off you and your loved ones would be if you gave up. It is not something that is easy, but try to think about all the positives of achieving a life without cigarettes and how much easier things will be.

Imagine what you could do with the money, how much better your health will be and how much your whole life will improve. Write down the benefits and remind yourself of them every day and this will help you to be more determined to give up. Draw inspiration from those people who have already given up and are feeling the benefits. Use this information when you feel at your least determined to quit, use it to remind yourself of why you are doing it.

Why Giving Up Smoking is So Hard

Many people know that cigarettes contain an addictive substance called nicotine. This is something which causes cravings and so when you stop having a supply of it, your body makes you want more.

However, there is more to smoking than this. Although the drug has a big hold on the body, there are other things that people miss when they give up as well.

If their friends and family smoke, they may miss the fact that they can join in with them when doing it. If they smoke when they are stressed, then they need something to help reduce that stress instead. If they smoke when they are bored they need something else to do then. If they feel cool when smoking, they need a different way of feeling cool. If they smoke to stay slim, then they might worry about putting on weight when they stop. Smoking can also give a person something to do with their mouth and hands.

If you are thinking of giving up, then it can be worth having a think about when and why you smoke. When you are looking for aids to help you to give up, you need to think about not only replacing the nicotine but the other things that you associate with smoking. You may need to stay away other people that smoke for a while, for example, think of new stress relieving things to do and try other methods to stay slim.

It may seem a lot of effort, but if you prepare well before you give up smoking, then you are more likely to be successful in your efforts. If you just give up without thinking about how you might feel and what challenges you might face, then it could be that your attempt is nor successful. It is far better to work hard at it and be a success.

So take a bit of time to think about things and then you should be better off when you do give up. Think about both the nicotine replacement that you will be using as well as the habits that you will be changing. If you decide not to replace the nicotine you can still try the other methods to improve things.

Getting Family Support When Giving Up Smoking

It is very important to make sure that you get support from family when you are giving up smoking. This is especially true if you live with family, but even if you just see them regularly. They will need to understand that you will need their help.

If they smoke, this could be difficult. However, it can be a good idea to ask them if they can be considerate of you and not offer you a cigarette when they are smoking and that they support your decision even if they are not able to join you. It is also important for you to tell them that you understand how hard it is to make the decision to give up and that you are not judging them because they have decided to continue.

You are likely to get temperamental and feel down and you may even feel unwell when you give up smoking. It can be worth finding a list of withdrawal symptoms and sharing it with your family so that they understand what you are likely to go through.

They will be able to more understanding if you are not quite yourself and will hopefully be able to give you the support that you need.

You may just need someone to talk to and they could be the right people to be there for you. Often people smoke to relieve stress and you might need them to be there so that you can have someone to talk to about your stress, rather than resulting to smoking. You may find that the cravings are stressful enough and so you could be a lot more stressed than normal about all sorts of things and having someone there to just be able to tell how you feel can make a massive difference.

If you feel that there are certain family members that will not be supportive, then it could be worth avoiding them for a while. You will need to be around people that will be helpful to you.

Preparing the family can be as important as preparing yourself as they will need to be there for you and support you and they need to be aware of how you might be feeling.