Monthly Archives: January 2012

Smoking starts off with experimentation then after some time it become a habit. But if you prolong this habit then it becomes an addiction, which is very hard to quit. However, it is not impossible to quit smoking. It needs a little bit of effort and determination to quit. Chain smokers often smoke 40 cigarettes in a day, they often light up another cigarette as soon as they finish smoking one cigarette and this continues for some time. Smokers often develop this characteristic and it becomes part of your personality which is not a good thing.

Image of a smoker in our society is not good. People think of a smoker as someone who is addictive to drugs. Almost every smoker knows the hazards of smoking but why don’t they stop it. This is simply because it’s not easy to quit. Here are few proven tips that if you follow them you can quit smoking for ever.

• Consider this as a project on which your life is dependent and take it very seriously otherwise you will not be able to quit smoking. Do some planning and set a date for quitting and start preparations for it. Slowly and gradually start to reduce cigarettes you smoke in a day. When you achieve that target at least 4^th by that date then stop smoking altogether. Some people might take longer to quit then others but eventually they will be successful in achieving their target.
• Start reducing cigarettes each day, set your target for every week. Reduce one cigarette every week. For example if you smoke 10 cigarettes in a day, smoke no more than 9 every day for a week, then from next week reduce that number to 8 and bring that down to 1 per day. After that set your target to 1 in 2 days and when you reach that target it will become very easy for you to quit smoking all together.
• There are few substitutes available for cigarettes like nicotine patches and gums. These work very well for quitting the habit of smoking. However, it doesn’t cure the craving for nicotine. Before trying this, you should take proper guidance and consult your doctor. This is one of the best proven ways to quit smoking.
• Physical activities also help a great deal. Swimming, running, walking, dancing and other outdoor sports help in increasing blood circulation and have similar effect on body’s metabolism as that of nicotine. Other activities like yoga and breathing exercises also help in reducing the stress and anxiety levels, developed because of withdrawal symptoms.

It is often seen that many people after quitting this habit, go back to cigarettes and in the process undoing all the hard work they put in for quitting. So it is very important that you change your environment also, stay away from those friends who smoke around you or if you cannot do that attest ask them not to smoke when they are with you.