Great Advice For Anyone Looking To Quit Smoking

Great Advice For Anyone Looking To Quit Smoking

Smoking is unhealthy and can cause severe negative health consequences for you and everyone around them. If can cause heart attacks, emphysema, lung cancer, throat cancer and many other serious health issues. Furthermore, breathing second hand smoke has the same dangerous potential consequences. The dangers of smoking make it important to quit. This article provides several tips that may be able to help you quit successfully. Try to distract yourself when you are planning on smoking a cigarette. Force yourself to do something, whether it is go for a walk around the block or simply drinking an entire glass of water, before you are allowed to have a cigarette. You may find that delaying your next cigarette a little bit will reduce your cravings. If you still feel you need that cigarette, delaying it may mean you will be smoking at least one less on that particular day. Each new day is one step in the process of eliminating smoking from your life. Quitting isn't a binary thing; it evolves over a long period of time. Don't waste your time thinking about next year, next month or even next week. Do not spend your time worrying about tomorrow; focus on avoiding cigarettes one day at a time. Start up some type of exercise, in order to keep your mind busy, and stay away from cigarettes. You can also lower your stress levels by exercising. If you are out of shape or in poor health, you should begin slowly and gradually increase the pace and intensity. Check with your doctor before you actually begin any extensive exercise routines. Talk with your doctor if you are having difficulties kicking your smoking habit on your own. There are a number of prescription medicines that will make quitting easier, including, a few anti-depressant medications. Your doctor probably can also offer information about hot-lines, support groups and other resources that will increase the likelihood that you will be able to quit. Try to encourage friends and family to support your decision to stop smoking. Ask them to provide you with encouragement and not criticism. Let them know that you might be a bit grouchy at first, and that you might not be quite yourself. Kicking the smoking habit may be the most difficult thing you have ever done, and the support of friends and family is critical. To maintain your willpower, despite intense cravings and withdrawal symptoms, look for healthy outlets for your stress. You could try new hobbies, massage, or strenuous exercise during peak cravings. You should do your best to fill any free time with pleasurable and fulfilling activities. You can take this time to catch up on with old friends or reading, too. Avoid triggers you associate with smoking when you are trying to quit. For instance, if you enjoyed smoking in your vehicle or while reading a book, you must change this behavior while performing these tasks, so that you don't automatically pull out a cigarette out of habit. Look for a positive alternative to fill the time and distract your mind. Try to not smoke as much. This can help you begin to quit smoking. It is wise to hold off for at least 60 minutes prior to having the initial cigarette of each day. Perhaps smoke only half a cigarette instead of a whole one. You don't have to go through this alone. Ask for support and encouragement from your friends and family, letting them know you want to quit and letting them give you help. Also, try to reach out to a support group for advice and counseling. Simply talking with people who are going through the same thing will help spur you on to kick the habit. Find a method to remind yourself of your motivation at all times. This might mean keeping an inspirational quote or image at work or in your wallet to remember why you're quitting. Whichever method you chose, a visual reminder should help you to battle your tobacco and nicotine cravings. When you commit to quitting smoking, plan out appropriate rewards for every milestone you achieve. For instance, after your first smoke-free week you could go to a movie. If you can quit for a month, treat yourself to dinner at the most delicious restaurant in town. As you meet future milestones, you may wish to either increase your rewards or simply phase them out. Find support through different online forums and communities. Many websites exist solely to help people quit their tobacco habit for good. It may be helpful or even cathartic to share quitting frustrations and successes with others who understand your struggle. Other ex-smokers understand your challenges and the emotional problems that sometimes get in the way of quitting smoking. When you quit smoking you'll not only help your own health, but that of your loved ones as well. Consider the dangers of secondhand smoke and realize that you are putting your family at risk of falling victim to these dangers every day. This should certainly motivate you to stop. Your family members will spend less time exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke when you stop smoking. This means that not only will quitting make you healthier, it will make your loved ones healthier too. Try to plan out how you will cope with the stressful times. When faced with stress, many smokers light up as if on autopilot. If you make a plan and have strategies in place, you can better avoid smoking. Have a lot of ideas, in case your initial idea does not help. Let family and friends know that you plan to quit smoking. They'll be able to help you get through the tough times and be a reminder of why you're quitting. If you surround yourself with a strong support system, it will be a big help in your battle to quit. Such a system can greatly up your odds of success. You may want to avoid activities associated with smoking once you decide to quit. If you always had a cigarette with your morning coffee or at happy hour after work, try changing your routine. Having coffee while inside the car or staying away from the bar enables you to stop your cravings. Positive thinking and motivation can be a key part of quitting smoking. Just think of the number of ways your life can be improved if you can kick the habit. Think of everything that will improve, from your skin, to your hair, to your breath, to the smell of your car. Seeing the negatives of smoking can frighten people into quitting, but imagining all the positives can be just as helpful. Remind yourself of the bleak consequences smoking has on your health. In America, about 20% of all deaths are from smoking-related illnesses. You do not want to be a statistic. How will you deal with stressful times? It is common that those who smoke are accustomed to relieving stress by puffing on a cigarette. Have some good alternatives ready so that you can avoid the urge to light up. Having multiple ideas to fall back on in the event the first one does not help enough is an even better plan. The first seven days are the hardest when quitting smoking. The first two days without smoking is when the body rids itself completely of all the nicotine you've been consuming. From that point on, you will mostly suffer from psychological cravings. It is still difficult, but they will be much less menacing. The first week after you start quitting smoking is the most difficult. In fact, the first two days--approximately 48 hours--are the worst part of quitting, because you're detoxifying from nicotine. After this point, nicotine cravings will be primarily psychological in nature. While they are still very real and can be intense, it becomes easier to resist the urge to pick up a cigarette. Smoking is both unhealthy and dangerous. There are dangerous health risks tied to smoking with the major ones being lung cancer, emphysema and heart attacks. Second-hand smoke is also very dangerous, and could cause harm to your loved ones. Hopefully, you will be better able to stop smoking by following the advice in this article. Stop smoking this instant. Do not try to set up a date to quit for the future, make today the day! Quitting smoking has immediate health effects, and starts to reduce the risk of developing some deadly medical conditions right away. You will also be protecting your family from the dangers of secondhand smoke. These things should make quitting even more important to you.