Smokefree Stories

15 Top Tips to Stop Smoking

1. Get professional help… Ring Rotherham Stop Smoking Service for information and advice (01709 302444). Pregnant women seeking help in stopping smoking can call the pregnancy Quitline on 0800 169 9169. Specialist helplines are also available in Asian languages. Your doctor, pharmacist, or health visitor should also give advice and they should tell you if there are special services for smokers in your area.
   
   
2. Prepare mentally… You are not alone! 70% of British smokers would like to quit and about three million try each year. More than 11 million people in Britain have quit and are now ex-smokers. However, it can be tough and you will need lots of willpower to break the hold of nicotine – a powerful and addictive drug. An important part of this is to know what you would gain and what you would lose from stopping smoking. One ex-60-a-day smoker (Allen Carr, author of best-selling The Easy Way to Stop Smoking) says:
   " there is absolutely nothing to give up… there is no genuine pleasure or crutch in smoking. It is just an illusion, like banging your head against a wall to make it pleasant when you stop."
   
   
3. Demolish smoking myths… Soon after smoking a cigarette the body and brain start to want more nicotine and many people begin to feel increasingly uncomfortable until they have the next cigarette. Smoking feels pleasurable, but much of the pleasure of smoking is relief of withdrawal from nicotine. There are times that many people feel distracted or unable to enjoy themselves because they are not able to smoke. This is nicotine withdrawal in action. If you see it this way, cigarettes are not a familiar friend but more like a greedy parasite demanding constant attention.
   
   
4. Understand what to expect… Most people find the first few days difficult and for some it can be a long struggle, but things will typically start to get better after the third or fourth day. Nicotine withdrawal may make you restless, irritable, frustrated, sleepless, or accident prone - but these things will pass and you will quickly start to feel the benefits. See the ASH fact sheet on Stopping smoking: benefits and aids to quitting.
   
   
5. Make a list of reasons why you want to stop smoking… It means different things to different people, but if you know what you want from stopping, it could help you through the most difficult moments
   
   
6. Consider the money… Main brand cigarettes now cost almost £5.00 for a packet of 20. A 20 a day smoker spends nearly £2000 per year on cigarettes, thats £20,000 in 10 years!
   
   
7. Set a date… Some people make a New Year’s Day resolution, others pick their birthday, and you can join in with others on No Smoking Day - the second Wednesday of every March - when up to a million smokers have a go. Any day will do, but choosing a date will help mental preparation.
   
   
8. Involve friends or family… If you live with someone else who smokes, it will be much easier to quit if you do it together. One common mistake is not to take the effort to quit smoking seriously enough. Really putting your whole commitment behind it will help you have the right frame of mind to face the challenge.
   
   
9. Deal with nicotine withdrawal…Nicotine is a powerful addictive drug (see ASH fact sheet on nicotine) and you can roughly double the chances of successfully quitting smoking by using nicotine replacement therapies such as patches, lozenges, inhalers, and/or gum. Rotherham NHS Stop Smoking Service’s team of specialists and advisors can offer advice on which form of therapy would be suitable for you.
   
   
10. Other treatments may help… Hypnosis, acupuncture or other treatments may help some people but there isn't much formal evidence supporting their effectiveness. Our advice is to use with caution, but even if they help mental preparation, then they have some value. Herbal cigarettes are pointless - you get all the tar, but nothing to help you deal with nicotine withdrawal. Quit has a good guide to treatments.
    
    
11. Find a (temporary) substitute habit… Smoking also involves having something to do with the hands or mouth. Non-smokers manage without this, so it will not be necessary in the long term. But if this is part of the smoking habit, you may need to deal with it. It might be an idea to use chewing gum, drink more water, fruit juice or tea, or to chew or eat something (but see weight gain below!).
    
    
12. Deal with any weight-gain worries… Yes it is true: many people do gain weight when they quit smoking. Nicotine changes the appetite and body's energy use (metabolism). Even if you do gain weight it will be worth it if you quit, but if you want to avoid weight-gain then you can prepare. For example, you can change your diet or avoid alcohol, or take more exercise. You may find QUIT’s guide Quit smoking without putting on weight helpful.
    
    
13. Avoid temptation… In the difficult first few days you can change your routine to avoid situations where you would usually smoke. For example, it might be worth avoiding the pub on the first Friday night after you quit.
    
    
14. If you can’t stop immediately, consider cutting down with NRT… Simply cutting down without setting a target to stop completely rarely works as consumption tends to rise again over time.
    
    
15. Watch out for relapse… You will need to be on your guard especially in the first few days and weeks. "I'll have just one, it can't harm" is the top of a long and slippery slope.