Quit Tips for Smokers

• Throw out all cigarettes by breaking them in half and wetting them down. Clean out all ashtrays in your home, office, or car and throw them away. Discard matches; hide lighters.
• When the urge to smoke hits, take a deep breath. Hold it for ten seconds, then release it slowly. Taking deep, rhythmic breaths is similar to smoking, but you inhale clean air, not poisonous gases.
• Exercise to help relieve tension. Climb stairs rather than take the elevator, park the car a block or two from your destination and walk the rest of the way. At home, practice touching your toes, jog in place, do jumping jacks.
• When tempted to reach for a cigarette, think of a negative image about smoking. Select your worst memory connected with the habit—the time when you burned a hole in your suit or when you were left completely breathless after running for a bus that pulled away. Imagine this experience for 15 seconds whenever an urge occurs.
• Reward yourself with oral substitutes in the same way you may have used cigarettes. Good examples: sugarless gum, lemon drops, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, apple slices, carrot sticks, unbuttered popcorn.
• Eat three meals. This maintains constant blood sugar levels, thus preventing urges to smoke. Avoid sugar-laden foods and spicy items that can trigger a desire for cigarettes.
• Scramble up your day and change habits connected with smoking. Drive a different route to work; eat lunch in a new place; leave the “scene of an urge.” At home avoid your “smoking chair” after dinner, reach for gum rather than a cigarette when answering the phone.
• Cleanse your body of nicotine. Drink liquids—lots of them. Water (6 – 8 glasses), herbal teas, fruit juices, and caffeine-free soft drinks all are beneficial. Coffee, caffeinated soft drinks and alcohol increase your urge to smoke, so avoid them.
• Keep your hands—and mind—busy. Work on a crossword puzzle, knit a sweater, balance your checkbook, fix something around the house, shampoo the dog.
• Spend your day with friends who don’t smoke. Visit places where smoking is prohibited; a library, theater, department store, or museum. Travel in the “no smoking” car of your train.
• Get rid of smoker’s breath by brushing your teeth several times.
• Go public with your plans to quit. Ask friends to help keep you from back sliding. Ask family and co-workers who smoke not to do so around you.
• Pat yourself on the back. Quitting smoking is hard and you deserve credit for your efforts.
• Treat your body and soul with kindness: indulge in a bath, massage, nap. Listen to your favorite music. Realize you don’t need a cigarette to have a good time.