25 Tips To Help You Stop Smoking

Get and fold a sheet of paper into half, then write down on its left side all the things that you like about smoking. On the right side of the page, make a list of all the things you dislike about smoking. After you have come up with your list, see how the negative side of smoking outweighs the positive side.

No matter how long and discouraging your list may be, try to be as thorough as possible in making your list. After every entry, list an option or two for overcoming that particular challenge. For instance, you can write “nicotine is addictive.” Below that, write “find an alternative for nicotine.”

Whenever you feel the urge to light up a stick, try looking at this list and think twice. This list will remind you how the habit damages your health.

Give yourself a deadline. Once you have decided to quit smoking, set a particular date when you are going to smoke your last cigarette stick and resolve not to smoke again after that. Come up with a “quit date contract” and sign it in front of a witness, who can either be a friend or a family member who supports your resolution.
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Based on studies, people who decide to quit when they are depressed are more likely to fail than those who quit when they are in a good mood.

Make sure that you always have a pack of healthy food in your pocket so its easy to replace the urge to smoke with eating something healthy.

This may sound a bit off, but according to studies, one of the best ways to quit smoking is by imagining oneself playing tennis. British researchers found out that people who do this are better able to ignore their urges to smoke.

Hang a signboard in your home that says “This is a Non-smoking Zone.” This sign will encourage you to stop smoking.

Too much caffeine can trigger cravings for cigarettes.

When you quit smoking, try to think of how much money you spend for a pack of cigarettes a day and put that certain amount inside a glass jar. After some time, check how much you have already saved and allocate that amount to something you can now afford because of you overcoming smoking.

If you promised yourself that you would never smoke again but you find yourself going back to your old habit, don’t get discouraged. Some smokers take 5 to 10 times of trying before finally overcoming the habit.

Don’t bottle up your emotions but rather, express and deal with them. Learning to cope with your emotions will make it less likely for you to resort to cigarettes when emotions rise.

Think of things in the past that you had thought you could not overcome but you successfully overcame. When you remind yourself of these challenges, you will gain more confidence to stick with your resolution. It will give you the assurance that no matter how difficult, you will be able to quit smoking too.

If you have old routines that you easily associate with smoking, change those routines. For example, if you are the type who smokes during breakfast, try sitting in a different chair for breakfast; or if you are the type who smokes when you arrive too early for work, try walking to work so that you don’t arrive so early.

A recent study showed that when a smoker takes one milliliter of Avena Sative oat extract four times a day, his craving for cigarette decreases and the number of cigarette sticks he smokes every day also significantly decreases.

According to naturopathic surgeon Ather Ali, a certain type of acupuncture has the ability to curb cigarette cravings effectively through planting needles on the ears.

When you feel the urge to smoke, suck on a cinnamon-flavored toothpick.

For every cigarette stick that you crave, try to eat four nuts in a shell. By using your hand and your mouth you get the same physical and oral sensations that smoking gives.

Some smokers have specific schedules when smoking. If you are the type who smokes at breakfast, midmorning or after every meal, try to replace your smoking habit with drinking a cup of herbal tea instead.

Some people tend to smoke during breaks at work because they know nothing else to do than smoke. To divert your attention, try playing solitaire on your computer (or phone).

Remember that a quit date is a quit date. Once you have decided to quit, throw out all your smoking paraphernalia, matches, lighters, leftover cigarettes, ashtrays and all the other things that will remind you of your old vice away.

A great way to divert your attention from the craving is to do something to entertain your mind. So create a “to-do” list with activities you can do when that craving strikes. Activities can include things such as: read a book, do the dishes, paint, doodle, etc.

If you come up with this list every week, you will be able to monitor if there are specific times of the day or specific activities that increase your craving for cigarettes. Once you know what they are, you will be able to get rid of them.

Stop buying cartons of cigarettes. Just buy a pack at a time and bring with you just a stick or two every time you go somewhere. Do this until you realize that you can actually live without those sticks in your pocket.

Make a long list of all the reasons why you want to quit smoking. Make sure that you write it down on a piece of paper that you can keep near you all the time, like an index card. When you are tempted to smoke, just get your index card and remind yourself of the reasons why you are quitting in the first place.