Countdown to Quitting
Are you ready for the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, Thursday, Nov. 20? If you feel emotionally and mentally prepared to quit – and you’re quitting for yourself, and not to please someone else – you’ll be taking a giant step toward healthy living.
Experts from Cleveland Clinic’s Tobacco Treatment Center say there is no one “right way” to stop smoking or chewing – whatever works for you is “right”! But before you crumble up your last cigarette pack, they advise you to plan ahead.
Here are 10 suggestions to help you kick the tobacco habit successfully:
1 Pick a date to stop smoking (how does Nov. 20, 2008, strike you?) and then stick to it!
2 Make a list of your reasons for quitting and read it every day, before and after you quit. Consider health reasons as well as social reasons.
3 Write down when you smoke, why you smoke and what you are doing when you smoke to learn your “triggers."
4 Make a list of the activities you can do instead when you face one of your smoking triggers.
5 Experiment by going without “a smoke” in certain situations – for example, after lunch or after dinner – before you quit for good.
6 Visualize yourself as a non-smoker. See yourself climbing stairs effortlessly or jogging easily. Notice lines disappearing from your skin.
7 Share your plans to quit with friends and family, and invite those who smoke to join you. Quitting together is easier!
8 Ask your healthcare provider about smoking cessation aids. They really help some people “over the hump.” Choices include nicotine replacement gum, patches, inhalers, sublingual (under-the-tongue) tablets, lozenges or nasal spray, and prescription medications.
9 Sign up for a smoking cessation support group or program.
10 If you have a chance, log onto www.clevelandclinic.org/webchat at noon on Friday, Nov. 14, to chat online with the director of our Tobacco Treatment Center. Learn why you’re hooked, how to quit for good, and which medications and techniques can help.
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Tobacco Treatment Center
