Desperate To Give Up Smoking? The Ultimate Tips To Get You There

If you're ready to quit smoking but you have no idea where to even start this article is for you. Learn how to kick the bad habit once and for all.

                          

Quitting any habit is a very difficult task to see through to the very end, especially smoking. The internet is buzzing with so many different tips and tricks to help you, it’s hard to know which ones to follow. But there’s no need to panic, after scouring the internet and filtering out the good information from the bad this article has complied all the necessary information for you.

Mental Preparation

The first step to quitting is preparation. Make sure that you are mentally ready for this big step in your life because it will greatly affect your emotions, as well as your  body. There’s no evidence that cigarettes help level your mood so know that when your body is screaming for a cigarette the feeling will pass.

Have A Plan

Instead of going cold turkey, which doesn’t work for a majority of people, create a schedule that you’ll follow which outlines how you’ll slowly decrease the number of cigarettes that you smoke. Also allocate a day in the future that you want to be completely smoke free. It will make it more likely that you will quit if you set yourself achievable goals.

Get Focused

Give yourself a reason to quit. There will be some days that are just terrible on your road to becoming a non-smoker and on these days it will be tempting to slip back into old habits.

So compose a list of all the reasons why you should quit. Maybe it’s for your health, or for the sake of a loved one. Whatever your reasons are write them down and keep them somewhere you can see them often. Maybe on your fridge door or on the mirror in your bedroom.

Arm Yourself With Information

Know all the negative effects of smoking and all the benefits of quitting. On average people who smoke lose up to 16 years of their lifespan. Also children can develop bronchitis, pneumonia and meningitis when exposed to second-hand smoke.

Non-smokers are less likely to develop cancer, heart and lung disease while second-hand smoke increases children’s and adult’s chances of getting lung cancer by 24% and heart disease by 25%. Black lungs aside, here are the effects on your body you might not already know.

For a more positive spin, you could save hundreds of pounds that you would normally spend on cigarettes and will feel healthier and more energetic the longer you quit for.

Manage Your Cravings

When you stop smoking your body will go through withdrawal which often results in cravings, irritableness and even fatigue. There are a number of ways to tackle your cravings and different people find that different methods work best for them.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NTR) is one of the more popular methods. Instead of smoking you can chew on nicotine gum, wear nicotine patches or use nasal spray. Unlike cigarettes NTRs do not contain tar, poisons or carbon monoxide so they are less harmful to your body. NTRs are also easy to purchase as you can buy them from pharmacies and other shops without a prescription from your doctor or GP.

For certain people taking up exercise helps them with the withdrawal symptoms. Even just a short half hour walk could really help. In fact keeping busy in general can help keep you mind of cigarettes and cravings. 

There are certain kinds of drinks that you should try and stay away from because they can affect your cravings. For example alcohol, fizzy drinks, coffee and tea are all drinks that you should avoid, at least in the beginning of your recovery. Instead stick more to juice and water to help quit.

Take The Good With The Bad

You’ll have good days and bad days and often you’ll think about just giving up trying to quit but you should try and stay positive. Remind yourself constantly why you want to do this and all the benefits you will gain from it. Others have done it before and it is not impossible for you. Believe that you can do this, and you’ll be more likely to succeed.

Quitting smoking is never easy and for many people it’s easy to give up but now you are aware of the tips of how to get through this tough time. Good luck!

Have you recently stopped smoking? What worked for you? Share your experiences and help others quit today.

Chioma is passionate writer and spends a lot of her time writing articles and blog posts. She is also a big fan of fantasy TV shows, reading and eating chocolate.