20 Quick Tips to Help You Quit Smoking

1. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can quit. Think about 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 benefits of quitting): 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 yes 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.

11. Quit smoking "cold turkey". Many smokers find that the only way they can truly quit once and for all is to just quit abruptly without trying to slowly taper off. Find the method that works best for you: gradually quitting or cold turkey. If one way doesn't work do the other.

12. Find another smoker who is trying to quit, and help each other with positive words and by lending an ear when quitting becomes difficult. Visit this Bulletin Board and this Chat Room
to find a "quit buddy."

13. Have your teeth cleaned. Enjoy the way your teeth look and feel and plan to keep them that way.

14. After you quit, plan to celebrate the milestones in your journey to becoming a non-smoker. After two weeks of being smoke-free, see a movie. After a month, go to a fancy restaurant
(be sure to sit in the non-smoking section). After three months, go for a long weekend to a favorite get-away. After six months, buy yourself something frivolous. After a year, have a party for yourself. Invite your family and friends to your "birthday" party and celebrate your new chance at a long, healthy life.

15. Drink lots of water. Water is good for you anyway, and most people don't get enough. It will help flush the nicotine and other chemicals out of your body, plus it can help reduce cravings by fulfilling the "oral desires" that you may have.

16. Learn what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, arrival at work, entering a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers or if that's impossible, plan alternative ways to deal with the triggers.

17. Find something to hold in your hand and mouth, to replace cigarettes.

18. Write yourself an inspirational song or poem about quitting, cigarettes, and what it means to you to quit. Read it daily.

19. Keep a picture of your family or someone very important to you with you at all times. On a piece of paper, write the words "I'm quitting for myself and for you (or "them")". Tape your
written message to the picture. Whenever you have the urge to smoke, look at the picture and read the message.

20. Whenever you have a craving for a cigarette, instead of lighting up, write down your feelings or whatever is on your mind. Keep this "journal" with you at all times.

Quit Smoking - How Much Can I Save?

While the financial aspects of smoking shouldn't be the only reason that you should consider quiting, you probably aren't aware how much this habit is actually costing you. That's because when people talk about the cost of smoking, rarely do they go beyond the price of the cigarettes. A pack a day at a cost of $4.00 comes to just under $1,500 a year and it's left at that. While this is a large number that should get your attention, in reality it's just the tip of the iceberg.

There are a large number of hidden costs associated with smoking. These are costs that are rarely examined when people talk about how much their smoking habit costs. Some come in the form of higher payments due to the risks associated with smoking while others come from a decrease in an assets worth due to smoking.
The following are some of the additional costs associated with smoking beyond that packs you purchase to show how much you really can save if you kick the habit:

• life insurance Since statistics show that smokers die at a younger age than non smokers, the cost for life insurance is much more than for those who don't smoke - sometime more than double the premium. This can mean thousands of dollars a year more in life insurance premium payments.
• Health care While smokers pay more for their health insurance, they don't get any extra benefit over non smokers for doing so. Since smokers usually have more medical problems and more frequent visits to the doctor, they pay more each year for health care than non smokers.
• Dental care Smokers have more dental problems than non smokers. More trips to the dentist results in more money spend than non smokers. In addition, smokers often have to pay more for special toothpastes to keep teeth from yellowing and breath fresheners to hide the smell of the cigarettes.
• Earn Less Money There have been a number of studies which have found that smokers earn between 4% to 11% less money than their non smoking counterparts. In fact, you may be denied employment because you smoke. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) National Workrights Institute estimates that there are more than 6,000 companies in the US that refuse to hire smokers
  

Understand the real costs of smoking