Quit Smoking Time! 10 Things To Do First

Quit Smoking Time! 10 Things To Do First
By Sylvia Dickens

You’re serious. It’s quit smoking time. You will not let past failures interfere with your success. You are confident you can do this.

Here are 10 things you must do now as you move toward that big day when you will become a non-smoker. These are your preparation tasks. They will help you to quit smoking.

Time your habit for about a week prior to quitting. This will help you to establish exactly what situations you relate to smoking. You’ll find there are some ‘rituals’ that you have set up as part of your smoking habit. Before you finish your last cigarette, run a quick evaluation and determine what you can substitute for these rituals.

Ask yourself where were you when you got the urge; what were you doing, who were you with and what were you thinking about. Stress and worry are two big triggers for a smoker, as are fine dining and boredom.

Remove all temptation. Throw away any remaining cigarettes and ashtrays. If others in your household or your friends smoke, ask for their support in your decision. Encourage them to smoke out of your presence and not to offer you a cigarette.

Stay away from alcohol and spicy foods. These are two substances that trigger your smoking habit. Alcohol lowers your resistance. Spicy foods make cigarettes taste better.

Get involved in a hobby or something you enjoy that will keep your mind off cigarettes. If you do this prior to quitting, it will already be part of your daily activities and not something you feel you’re doing just so you don’t smoke.

Stock up on healthy snacks. Add celery, fresh fruit, fruit juices and bottles of water to your refrigerator. If you like gum, get the sugarless type. Keep some in your possession at all times. These will act as substitutes for putting a cigarette in your mouth. Make sure the substitute is something you like and enjoy, otherwise this could backfire.

Buy mouthwash. Rinsing your mouth with mouthwash on a regular basis clears away any remaining residue from your smoking days and gives your mouth a freshness you probably haven’t experienced in years. Notice how great that feels as a reminder of how much better it is than the taste of nicotine.

Get a watch. When you get the urge for a cigarette check the time to see how frequently you smoke. And when you do quit smoking, time the urges and use a delay tactic to prevent having a cigarette at that moment. Do this repeatedly during your stop smoking efforts and in time you will begin to see bigger gaps between urges.

Take note of smoking situations. Prepare to quit by considering all the places where you go or could go that includes smoking or is a smoking environment. Find ways to offset those high risk situations and how you will deal with them. By preparing, you will be ready the first time it happens.

Prepare for your first days as a non-smoker. You’ll feel odd without those cigarettes, especially at the very beginning. Times when you might notice this is on your vacation, the first time you’re home alone, in a car or waiting at the bus stop. Prepare for days when you will feel bored. When you quit smoking, time your day so you don’t have time to get bored.

Stay busy. We already discussed hobbies, but you can also use your first days for doing some of those household chores you’ve been putting off. Make a list of projects you haven’t completed because “you just haven’t had time” or they just didn’t seem all that important. Wait until you start your quit smoking program and then get busy on those projects. Clean the garage. Clear out the attic. Reorganize the work bench or office. Organize your bills, receipts and other important papers. Fix that fence or railing.

Do these 10 things before you actually quit smoking and when you actually stop, you will be prepared for whatever comes along to tempt you to light up. It’s quit smoking time!

There’s just one last thing you need to ensure your success. A good, reliable and proven program to quit smoking. Here’s one that will ease your transition. It was created by an ex-smoker who did his homework and sought help from the medical community in its development. It has a proven track record and he guarantees you will quit smoking without pills, patches, craving or weight gain. Read my review at http://www.book-titles.ca/StopSmoking.htm

Sylvia Dickens is an ex-smoker who has been smoke-free for 32 years. Today, she repeatedly gets a clean bill of health from her doctor, which she contributes to quitting smoking all those years ago. She understands the struggle and has routed out this terrific program that is guaranteed to work, no matter how long you’ve been smoking or how many times you’ve tried to quit. Learn more at http://www.book-titles.ca/StopSmoking.htm. Stop Smoking, Anxiety Relief, Dog Training, Music Instruction (piano, guitar) and Family Vacation Getaway ideas are just some of the topics covered on Sylvia’s site at http://www.book-titles.ca

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