Tips For Giving Up Smoking

Giving up smoking can be a long and difficult process, but there are some tips and helpful treatments, which can make the process easier. If you’re hoping to give up, here are some tips, which may be useful:

• Change your routine: many people get used to smoking at certain times of the days and it becomes part of their normal daily routine. If you’re planning to quit, change your routine around, so that you get out of the habit of smoking at certain times.
• Keep busy: many smokers admit to lighting up because they are bored or they have spare time; if you’re giving up, try to keep busy, so that you’re not thinking about smoking. If you’re doing other things, you’re less likely to crave cigarettes and it’ll be easier to quit. 
• Try to avoid smokers: obviously, it’s not possible to avoid smokers for the rest of your life, but in the first few days, it may be easier if you avoid your friends or family members that smoke, as this will make it easier for you to stay smoke-free. Once you get more confident and you are sure that you will be able to resist the temptation to smoke when you see others smoking, you can then start to be more sociable with your friends that smoke.
• Do some research: sometimes, smokers are unaware of the risks associated with smoking and doing some research will enable you to find out more about how smoking affects your body, your health and those around you. If you’re aware of the facts, this may give you an extra incentive to give up for good. 
• Try to avoid old hangouts: if you’re used to going to the pub for an after work drink, you enjoy a night out on a Friday or you usually have a cigarette with your colleagues on your lunch break, try to avoid these places while you are giving up; avoiding drinking is also a really good idea if you tend to smoke more when you have a drink.
• Be positive: if you try and quit thinking that you’re not going to be able to do it, the likelihood is that you won’t be able to give up; however, if you feel positive and you stay upbeat, you’ll be more likely to be successful. 
• Make changes to your daily diet: some people find that they smoke more when they eat certain foods, so try changing your diet slightly to make it easier to resist cravings. Cigarettes tend to taste less pleasant with certain foods, including vegetables and some cheeses, so try and include more of these foods in your meals to make smoking less appealing. 
• Keep a record: keep a daily record to remind you how well you are doing, how many days you’ve not smoker for and how much money you have saved. Tick off every day on a calendar and celebrate important milestones.
• Work out how much money you would have spent on cigarettes and treat yourself to something you’ve been saving up for.
• Remember why you want to give up: some smokers find it useful to write a list of reasons why they want to give up; when you feel like you want to smoke, you can look at the list and this will remind you why you’re giving up and how you will benefit. 
• Conquer your cravings: it’s a good idea to keep a diary to identify when you have cravings and then you can try to pre-empt triggers and find ways of ignoring them; some people choose to do something else for a few minutes until the craving subsides, while others will have a snack or a drink instead. It’s a good idea to have some strategies ready and waiting, so that you can use them straightaway when you feel cravings coming on.
• Ask for help: it can be tricky giving up, let alone trying to quit alone, so don’t be afraid to make use of the services and therapies available to you. Your GP can provide you with treatments, in addition to advice about local stop smoking services and support groups.

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