Giving up smoking plan

  Planning can help you understand why you smoke and set up some quitting strategies

Planning can help you understand why you smoke and set up some quitting strategies. Having a plan can reduce the stress of quitting. Getting professsional help with your quitting will give you a much greater chance of long-term success.

There are four stages of planning:

1. Understand your nicotine addiction
2. Know why you smoke
3. Plan ways to deal with quitting
4. Set a date to quit

This article takes you through these stages and provides you with some helpful ’Do this’ activities.

It is worth spending time on planning!


1.Nicotine is the addictive drug in cigarettes

Nicotine affects the chemicals in your brain, and after a puff, you may feel good for a moment or two.

It produces different effects on the body at the same time. It may make you feel relaxed or more alert.

New smokers often feel dizzy and sick from tobacco smoke, but some get used to its effects. As they continue to smoke, smokers’ bodies learn to depend on nicotine to feel normal and they tend to smoke more and more.
These are all signs of nicotine addiction:

* You smoke your first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking up.
* You smoke more than 15 cigarettes per day.
* You have cravings and withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit.

When smokers stop, most get cravings. They can feel anxious, hungry and irritable, and they find it hard to focus on what they are doing.

Even after giving up smoking for long periods of time, most smokers who try to just have an occasional cigarette quickly return to regular smoking.


2.Know why you smoke

All smokers have their own smoking habits. These habits are often tied to certain moods, events, places or people. They may be quite strong bonds.

Some of the most common reasons why people smoke are:

* addiction: to satisfy the craving for nicotine or a cigarette
* emotions: feeling stressed, upset, angry, frustrated, bored or happy
* pleasure: to enjoy something even more or to reward yourself
* social pressure: feeling part of the crowd, bonding with other smokers
* habit: feeling like smoking while doing things or taking a break

Think about when, where and why you smoke.

Being in these situations after you have quit can sometimes trigger cravings. Knowing what makes you want to smoke can help you plan how to cope in trigger situations.

3.Plans to deal with quitting


Many people feel a little nervous about quitting. That’s normal, as smoking can be a big part of your day-to-day life and quitting isn’t easy.

Getting professional help with your quitting will give you a much greater chance of long-term success.

Some people see quitting as a private battle between themselves and cigarettes. But getting help is not a sign of weakness or a lack of will power - it’s a smart way to quit.


4.Set a date to quit

Unless there is a very good reason, make the date within two weeks from now.

Choose an easy date to stop, one when you will not be under much pressure, but will have plenty to occupy yourself.

If you are worried about how you will go with quitting, it may help you to practise quitting before you quit completely.

About the author:


http://www.quit.org.au

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