How To Quit Smoking When Everyone Around You Smokes
If you have made the decision to quit smoking cigarettes, you’ve already taken the most difficult step. Quitting smoking improves the quality and length of life. Once you decide to quit, you may find yourself faltering occasionally. This will typically happen when you are near others who smoke. You can move beyond this obstacle if you know what to expect.
Quitting takes a strong, lifetime commitment. If you want to be steadfast in your vow to quit, take a firm stand on your opinions. A successful quitter makes a plan and defends it. Begin your plan by acknowledging that you might be alone in your fight. The rest of the world may not share your view, and they may try to tempt you into changing it. Once you prepare yourself for the solitude, you can build your resolve. Take a look at the withdraw symptoms and how to handle them.
DID YOU KNOW
Quitting smoking saves money. A pack-a-day smoker, who pays $2 per pack, can expect to save more than $700 per year. It appears that the price of cigarettes will continue to rise in coming years, as will the financial rewards of quitting.
Before you attempt to quit, speak to all the smokers in your life. Search for support and give yourself an excess of solid reasons why quitting is important. If you give them clear facts, you may convince them to quit as well. Try to find other quitters and make a pact together. Having an ally will help you feel less alone. Ask your spouse, family, and friends to respect your decision by not smoking around you. When that’s impossible, find a place you can escape to when they smoke. Distract yourself with a hobby during these moments.
After asking for support, discuss changing your social calendar. Instead of going to a smoke filled bar, find a restaurant or pub that prohibits smoking. Avoid doing activities that are linked to the habit. If you smoked over morning coffee with a friend, plan to meet for lunch at the park instead. In the workplace, ask to be moved to a smoke-free area. Place an air filter in your work area. Put one in your home as well, and do a thorough cleaning of furniture and carpets.
If you can’t avoid being near smokers, consider buying smokeless cigarettes. They are harmless and can slowly ease you into quitting. Try chewing gum to curb your cravings. Practice deep breathing when you get the impulse to light up. If you get a strong urge, put it off for five minutes at a time. Visualize the benefits of being a non smoker. Each time you decide not to smoke, reward yourself. Quitting smoking is challenging when you do it alone, but it isn’t impossible.