8 Tips to Quit Smoking

There is a global drive to reduce the amount of people smoking, with more and more countries banning smoking in public places and making smoking much more expensive.  The United Kingdom government increase the cost of cigarettes every year, making it a very expensive habit.  Many other countries are making smoking harder and more expensive, changing the packaging and ensuring they are not out on display.

This isn’t even accounting for the health impact of smoking.  Many countries are struggling with the health costs from smoking which is causing a massive burden on their health systems.  The National Health System (NHS) in England is spending tens of millions of pounds every year treating illnesses caused by smoking illnesses which in a lot of cases could have been prevented if the patient had stopped smoking.

In some cases it has got so bad that NHS trusts are refusing to provide certain treatments unless the patient quits smoking because it isn’t worth them spending the money on a treatment for someone who has no desire to heal themselves.  Their thought processes are that it is better to spend money healing someone who isn’t actively trying to kill themselves by smoking!

Because smoking is highly addictive, many people struggle to give up smoking and are finding that willpower isn’t enough for them.  They need some extra help in order to kick the habit and finally stop smoking.  So how can you stop smoking and become free from tobacco?

Here are eight of the best tips you can get to quit the habit.  These are going to help to boost your willpower and make it easier for you to stop having to smoke and save yourself a small fortune in the process!

1 Hypnosis For Stopping Smoking

A difficulty people have when stopping smoking is getting the willpower.  Their conscious mind says “I want to stop smoking” while their sub-conscious mind is shouting “Gimme a cigarette”.  Unfortunately in these conflicts, the sub-conscious wins most of the time!

This means that a lot of people are sabotaging their efforts to quit smoking by not having the willpower or the internal desire to stop smoking.

A good way to get this willpower and to align your inner self with your conscious mind is to use hypnosis.  Stop smoking sessions with a clinical hypnotist are very effective and have a high success rate.  They aren’t cheap, but they save you a lot of strife and stress and make stopping smoking so much easier.

If you can’t afford to see a hypnotherapist in person then there are many hypnosis cd’s on the market to help you stop smoking.  You could use one of those to help you quit.  Whilst hypnotherapy will usually work in a single session, you may need to listen to a hypnosis cd several times to get the same effect because it isn’t personalised for you.

If you find yourself struggling to kick the habit and need an extra boost then this could be an ideal way for you to finally stop.  Look up your local hypnotherapist in your Yellow Pages or look online to find one.

2  Avoid Temptation

Most smokers have habits to do with their smoking.  For example some smokers may find themselves smoking whilst they are out for a meal or in a bar or at a nightclub.  If you can spend some time identifying your smoking triggers, i.e. what makes you want to pick up a cigarette you are well on your way to finally stopping.

Once you have identified these triggers then you need to start to avoid them.  If you smoke when you go out with your friends, stop going out with your friends for the first few weeks of stopping smoking.  This will help you a lot because you are avoiding temptation.

Avoiding temptation means you are less likely not only to light up yourself but to accept the offer of a cigarette from a friend.  The people around you may not be totally supportive of your desire to kick the habit and after a few drinks you may find yourself falling off the wagon without even realising it.

3  Electronic Cigarettes

For some smokers it is the act of smoking that they miss when they quit.  They miss having something to do with their hands and you can often spot an ex smoker because they are the one in a bar fiddling with the drinks coasters, tapping their fingers and generally not sure what to do with their hands.

An electronic cigarette or fake cigarette can be a great solution for this because if allows you to perform the action of smoking without actually smoking.  Some of these cigarettes can have nicotine put in them, similar to nicotine gum or patches.  This can be helpful if you want to use a nicotine replacement therapy, but not everyone wants to do so.

4  Nicotine Substitutes

There are many nicotine substitutes on the market including gum and patches, but the trouble is they are often as expensive as smoking and still contains the toxic and addictive substances.

A lot of people find nicotine substitutes to be a great way to give up smoking because they can wean themselves off their addiction without going cold turkey.  For someone who would struggle just giving up then and there, this can be a life saver and it can help a lot in getting rid of the cravings.

You do have to be careful though that you don’t get addicted to using the patches and find you have substituted the nicotine patches for your cigarettes.  It does happen and you need to have a plan of how you are going to give up.

5  Find Your Motivation

Unless you have a reason for stopping smoking you may find that you struggle to give up.  Many people who fall off the wagon and start smoking again don’t have any motivation or desire to stop.  If you see a hypnotherapist, many of them will ask you why you want to stop smoking and if you tell them “My wife / husband wants me to do so” they’ll send you on your way, telling you to come back when you want to quit for yourself.

It will help you a lot to sit down and spend some time thinking about why you want to give up smoking.  Do you want to see your children grow up and be in good health?  Do you want to live a healthy life and be fit enough to enjoy it?  Find your motivation and you’ll find it much easier to stop smoking.

6  Commit 100% To Stopping Smoking

Unless you are totally committed to becoming a non smoker you may find yourself struggling to stop.  When you make the decision make a commitment to yourself and your loved ones that you will stop and get their support for it.  When you commit totally to something it is a lot easier for you to follow through and make it happen.

7  Reward Yourself

Because stopping smoking can be a hardship, having rewards will help with your commitment and your motivation.  If you take the money that you would have spent on cigarettes and save it in a jar you will soon have a fund that you can use to treat yourself.

Make a plan of what you are saving for – and make sure it is things you really, really want – and then start saving for them.  This is your opportunity to get something you really want and the more you want it, the more motivated you will be.

You could make a deal with yourself that if you stay on the wagon, you spend the money on you and if you fall off, you give it to charity.  That will motivate you even more!

8  Take It One Day At A Time

If you take your campaign for becoming a non smoker day by day you will find it much easier.  Just focus on getting through the end of the day without smoking.  Breaking the process down into smaller chunks like this will make it a lot easier for you to quit because it is an easy target – you just have to spend the day without smoking.  It sounds easy, doesn’t it?

These eight tips are going to help you finally stop smoking and enjoy a life without tobacco.  You might be surprised how much better your health and finances are once you have quit.  You’ll not only have more money in your pocket but you will have improved your health and will start to feel fantastic as you breathing improves, you ability to exercise improves and you find you start to smell better, without the stale smell of smoke hanging around you and your clothing.

Use these tips to help you kick the habit and enjoy your life as a non smoker.