Need to Quit Casual Smoking for Questionland Seattle

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Need to Quit Casual Smoking

In years past I was a regular smoking but now I find myself reaching for a pack only after I have been out to drinks and/or dinner. Lately I have found myself smoking more and I really need to quit. I don't have a physical craving but the psychological addiction is a killer. Any advice on tactics or treatments for kicking a casual habit?

Dan Williams asked in Health & Fitness over 2 years ago | Report

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I was a casual smoker too and this is what I did:

1. Stop hanging out with smokers, at least for awhile. You need to stay away from temptation.

2. When I would get a craving I would do something else for 10 or 15 minutes and by then the craving would have passed. I usually would go for a walk and that helped get my mind off of it.

3. I chewed a lot of gum - not nicorette, just regular gum.

If you have a particular brand you like, buy a pack of shitty cigarettes and plan on that being your last pack. It helps break the desire if you can barely take a drag on that Newport (or whatever).

My friend who was a heavy smoker saved all her cigarettes the month before she quit. She put them all in a big jar and added some water when she quit - then whenever she would get a craving she would open the jar and take a big sniff. It smelled disgusting and she said it helped her finally quit.

asteria answered in Health & Fitness over 2 years ago | Report

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Wildcraft mullein and roll that up instead. Aside from having medicinal properties, this herb will lift you off the psychological addiction.

money answered in Health & Fitness over 2 years ago | Report

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Nicole John

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My Top 10 Steps To Help You Quit Smoking
1.Some of the most difficult things you have done in your life and
realize that you have the guts and determination to quit
smoking. It's up to you.

2. After reading this list, sit down and write your own list,
customized to your personality and way of doing things. Create
you own plan for quitting.

3. Write down why you want to quit (the stop smoking benefits
):
live longer, feel better, for your family, save money, smell
better, find a mate more easily, etc. You know what's bad about
smoking and you know what you'll get by quitting. Put it on
paper and read it daily.

4. Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit.
Ask them to be completely supportive and non-judgmental. Let
them know ahead of time that you will probably be irritable and
even irrational while you withdraw from your smoking habit.

5. Set a quit date. Decide what day you will extinguish your
cigarettes forever. Write it down. Plan for it. Prepare your
mind for the "first day of the rest of your life". You might
even hold a small ceremony when you smoke you last cigarette, or
on the morning of the quit date.

6. Talk with your doctor about quitting. Support and guidance
from a physician is a proven way to better your chances to quit.

7. Begin an exercise program. Exercise is simply incompatible
with smoking. Exercise relieves stress and helps your body
recover from years of damage from cigarettes. If necessary,
start slow, with a short walk once or twice per day. Build up to
30 to 40 minutes of rigorous activity, 3 or 4 times per week.
Consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.

8. Do some deep breathing each day for 3 to 5 minutes. Breathe
in through your nose very slowly, hold the breath for a few
seconds, and exhale very slowly through your mouth. Try doing
your breathing with your eyes closed and go to step 9.

9. Visualize your way to becoming a non-smoker. While doing your
deep breathing in step 8, you can close your eyes and begin to
imagine yourself as a non-smoker. See yourself enjoying your
exercise in step 7. See yourself turning down a cigarette that
someone offers you. See yourself throwing all your cigarettes
away, and winning a gold medal for doing so. Develop your own
creative visualizations. Visualization works.

10. Cut back on cigarettes gradually (if you cut back gradually,
be sure to set a quit date on which you WILL quit). Ways to cut
back gradually include: plan how many cigarettes you will smoke
each day until your quit date, making the number you smoke
smaller each day; buy only one pack at a time; change brands so
you don't enjoy smoking as much; give your cigarettes to someone
else, so that you have to ask for them each time you want to
smoke.
Good Luck!
__________
HeraSky

Nicole John answered in Health & Fitness over 2 years ago | Report

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I was exactly this type of smoker and these are the steps I took:

1. I announced to everyone that I was quitting. That way all of my friends could make a choice to limit their smoking around me and keep me honest in my goal to quit smoking.

2. Took myself out of situations where I would be tempted to smoke. Don't go outside the bar to carry on the conversation with the smokers.

3. Joined the gym. Exercise is amazing for warding off the physical temptation. Your body is flooded with natural feel-good endorphins. And, you know, keeps you in shape.

But most importantly you have to really want to. For a long time I knew I should but I enjoyed the act. I got to a point where the gross feeling of having smoked far outweighed any enjoyment I got out of the act of smoking.

Daniel Wood answered in Health & Fitness over 2 years ago | Report

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