There are actions you can take while planning and implementing a quit smoking program which will increase the probability of your attempt being successful.
First of all you need to have a strong desire to quit. Develop or fortify that desire by reviewing information and facts related to the dangers of smoking and think about the effects that continuing the habit will have on you as well as on your loved ones who stand to suffer not only because of your ill health and possible premature death, but also the because of the harmful effects of exposure to secondhand smoke on their health.
Create short notes of the reasons you want to stop smoking such as the desire to live longer, to feel better, to look better, to protect your family from the harmful effects of secondhand smoking and to save money effects of secondhand smoking on their health and to save money. Keep handwritten notes or place them on a digital drive such as a computer hard drive and read them at least once a day.
Next, develop a quit plan and set a date you plan to quit smoking for good. Record your plan in writing or digitally, realizing you might have to adjust the quit date depending on your progress and circumstances.
Notify your family and friends of your decision to quit smoking and solicit their support. Explain to them that you may become irritable or even irrational at times as you experience some of the withdrawal associated with quitting smoking.
Recognize and document what your smoking triggers are and develop a strategy for eliminating them, such as removing all ashtrays and cigarettes from the house and washing or steam cleaning all fabrics such as clothing, linen and draperies which contained third-hand smoke. It might also be necessary to shampoo the carpeting to get rid of recently coined third-hand smoke, which health experts feel is medically harmful, particularly to children and infants.
Consult your doctor about quitting, especially if you plan to use nonprescription or prescription smoking cessation aids, so as to increase the safety of your smoking cessation attempt and to increase the changes of it being successful.
Do your research on any smoking cessation aid(s) you plan to use, to determine both their effectiveness and safety. You might consider visiting the website of the Food and Drug Administration as well as seeking the opinion of your healthcare provider.
If your doctor agrees, begin exercising three of four times per week once or twice per day as a starting point. Engage in anaerobic exercise such as walking is the best type to begin with. It helps to relieve stress, eliminate toxins from the body produced by smoking and promotes healing of the damage caused by prolonged cigarette smoking.
Once you actually begin your endeavor to quit smoking cutback on your smoking daily according to a set goal including the rate at which you will decrease the number of cigarettes per day smoked, unless you consider cold turkey to be the best approach for you.
Drink plenty of water to help flush the nicotine and other harmful chemicals in tobacco that have accumulated in your body from chronic tobacco use.
Change brands of cigarettes periodically while weaning yourself from cigarettes because the flavor and chemical differences between brands tend to make smoking less automatic and less enjoyable, thus, making you more aware of the fact that smoking is a habit.
Curb your cravings for nicotine with chewing gum, mints, toothpicks, flower seeds nicotine replacement aids, prescription drugs prescribed by your doctor, or other methods that seem to work. Remember however, nicotine replacement products are not intended for long-term use and that prolonged use of them more or less [serves as a substitute of/replaces] one nicotine habit with another.
Make a concerted effort to find another smoker who is also attempting to quit smoking and support one another by discussing the positive strides you are making.
Write down or record via computer how your smoking cessation plan is going. Acknowledge your successes and failures and document any adjustments you make or plan to make because of obstacles encountered or anticipated.
Recognize and document the health rewards you experience from quitting smoking such as an improvement of shortness of breath and lowering of blood pressure. It is not a bad idea to monitor your blood pressure with a home monitor prior to, during and after quitting smoking. Oftentimes review the positive data, particularly if you are tempted to resume smoking or you are hampered in your efforts to taper your cigarette smoking.
Monitor the amount of nicotine in your body and the lowering of the level as you quit smoking by using a quantitative nicotine test kit, and correlate the declining levels with differences in the way you feel, such as improved exercise tolerance and decreased coughing.
Reward yourself during and after you have successfully quit smoking in a way that is most encouraging to you and most likely to motivate you to not to resume smoking. The reward could be something as extravagant as going on a Caribbean cruise or something as low-key as buying yourself a new pair of house shoes. Recognizing anniversary dates of your release from the bondage of tobacco, and continuing to reward yourself at those times can also provide significant incentive to not resume smoking.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purpose only and is not intended to be a substitute for consulting a healthcare professional. The author encourages Internet users to be careful when using medical information obtained from the Internet and to consult a physician if you are unsure about your medical condition or have any concerns about your health.