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10 Tips for Quitting Smoking


I recently celebrated my one-year anniversary of quitting smoking. Well, of finally quitting … like most smokers, I had tried to quit many times and failed. But this quit stuck, and I’d like to share the top 10 things that made this quit successful when the others failed.

1. Commit Thyself Fully. In the quits that failed, I was only half into it. I told myself I wanted to quit, but I always felt in the back of my mind that I’d fail. I didn’t write anything down, I didn’t tell everybody (maybe my wife, but just her). This time, I wrote it down. I wrote down a plan. I blogged about it. I made a vow to my daughter. I told family and friends I was quitting. I went online and joined a quit forum. I had rewards. Many of these will be in the following tips, but the point is that I fully committed, and there was no turning back. I didn’t make it easy for myself to fail.

2. Make a Plan. You can’t just up and say, “I’m gonna quit today.” You have to prepare yourself. Plan it out. Have a system of rewards, a support system, a person to call if you’re in trouble. Write down what you’ll do when you get an urge. Print it out. Post it up on your wall, at home and at work. If you wait until you get the urge to figure out what you’re going to do, you’ve already lost. You have to be ready when those urges come.

3. Know Your Motivation. When the urge comes, your mind will rationalize. “What’s the harm?” And you’ll forget why you’re doing this. Know why you’re doing this BEFORE that urge comes. Is it for your kids? For your wife? For you health? So you can run? Because the girl you like doesn’t like smokers? Have a very good reason or reasons for quitting. List them out. Print them out. Put it on a wall. And remind yourself of those reasons every day, every urge.

4. Not One Puff, Ever (N.O.P.E.). The mind is a tricky thing. It will tell you that one cigarette won’t hurt. And it’s hard to argue with that logic, especially when you’re in the middle of an urge. And those urges are super hard to argue with. Don’t give in. Tell yourself, before the urges come, that you will not smoke a single puff, ever again. Because the truth is, that one puff WILL hurt. One puff leads to a second, and a third, and soon you’re not quitting, you’re smoking. Don’t fool yourself. A single puff will almost always lead to a recession. DO NOT TAKE A SINGLE PUFF!

5. Join a Forum. One of the things that helped the most in this quit was an online forum for quitters (quitsmoking.about.com) … you don’t feel so alone when you’re miserable. Misery loves company, after all. Go online, introduce yourself, get to know the others who are going through the exact same thing, post about your crappy experience, and read about others who are even worse than you. Best rule: Post Before You Smoke. If you set this rule and stick to it, you will make it through your urge. Others will talk you through it. And they’ll celebrate with you when you make it through your first day, day 2, 3, and 4, week 1 and beyond. It’s great fun.

6. Reward Yourself. Set up a plan for your rewards. Definitely reward yourself after the first day, and the second, and the third. You can do the fourth if you want, but definitely after Week 1 and Week2. And month 1, and month 2. And 6 months and a year. Make them good rewards, that you’ll look forward to: CDs, books, DVDs, T-shirts, shoes, a massage, a bike, a dinner out at your favorite restaurant, a hotel stay … whatever you can afford. Even better: take whatever you would have spent on smoking each day, and put it in a jar. This is your Rewards Jar. Go crazy! Celebrate your every success! You deserve it.

7. Delay. If you have an urge, wait. Do the following things: take 10 deep breaths. Drink water. Eat a snack (at first it was candy and gum, then I switched to healthier stuff like carrots and frozen grapes and pretzels). Call your support person. Post on your smoking cessation forum. Exercise. DO WHATEVER IT TAKES, BUT DELAY, DELAY, DELAY. You will make it through it, and the urge will go away. When it does, celebrate! Take it one urge at a time, and you can do it.

8. Replace Negative Habits with Positive Ones. What do you do when you’re stressed? If you currently react to stress with a cigarette, you’ll need to find something else to do. Deep breathing, self massage of my neck and shoulders, and exercise have worked wonders for me. Other habits, such as what you do first thing in the morning, or what you do in the car, or wherever you usually smoke, should be replaced with better, more positive ones. Running has been my best positive habit, altho I have a few others that replaced smoking.

9. Make it Through Hell Week, then Heck Week, and You’re Golden. The hardest part of quitting is the first two days. If you can get past that, you’ve passed the nicotine withdrawal stage, and the rest is mostly mental. But all of the first week is hell. Which is why it’s called Hell Week. After that, it begins to get easier. Second week is Heck Week, and is still difficult, but not nearly as hellish as the first. After that, it was smooth sailing for me. I just had to deal with an occasional strong urge, but the rest of the urges were light, and I felt confident I could make it through anything.

10. If You Fall, Get Up. And Learn From Your Mistakes. Yes, we all fail. That does not mean we are failures, or that we can never succeed. If you fall, it’s not the end of the world. Get up, brush yourself off, and try again. I failed numerous times before succeeding. But you know what? Each of those failures taught me something. Well, sometimes I repeated the same mistakes several times, but eventually I learned. Figure out what your obstacles to success are, and plan to overcome them in your next quit. And don’t wait a few months until your next quit. Give yourself a few days to plan and prepare, commit fully to it, and go for it!

BONUS TIP #11: THINK POSITIVE. This is the most important tip of all. I saved it for last. If you have a positive, can-do attitude, as corny as it may sound, you will succeed. Trust me. It works. Tell yourself that you can do it, and you will. Tell yourself that you can’t do it, and you definitely won’t. When things get rough, think positive! You CAN make it through the urge. You CAN make it through Hell Week. And you can. I did. So have millions of others. We are no better than you. (In my case, worse.)

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Brilliant comments (38)

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Renee Says:

July 28th, 2007, 23:31 pm

I have my hopes up for this to work… thank you very much for the tips and I will stay positive about it. I just have a question. Do you think it would work if I say that I’m quitting after my pack is done? Because that’s what I’m planning on doing.

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Leo Says:

July 29th, 2007, 16:54 pm

@Renee … I think that’s fine, but the key is to make sure you’re fully committed. I know that when I was smoking, I would tell myself, “I’m quitting after this pack” and then last a few hours before caving in.

You need to fully commit yourself by following all the steps above … tell everyone about it, join a quit forum, form a plan with rewards and strategies, figure out what your replacements will be (what will you do when you’re stressed, etc.).

If you do all of that, you will have good chances for success. Good luck!

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Smoker Says:

September 2nd, 2007, 1:39 am

I am on my way to quit smoking, and started a blog about it today. Do drop by, I can use some encouraging comments in the days to come (I’m still smoking btw.)

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grier Says:

December 1st, 2007, 3:27 am

Thanks for that - I just fell off the non smoking wagon after about 4 months and although I intended to get back on it anway, your blog was/is a encouraging and nice thing to read.

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henry Says:

January 23rd, 2008, 15:42 pm

i love you.

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henry Says:

January 23rd, 2008, 15:42 pm

i hate you.

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henry Says:

January 23rd, 2008, 15:43 pm

smoking kills, man.

i would know. i’m dead.

i’m coming to kill you tonight.

see you then, my love.

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Stomach Exercises Says:

February 28th, 2008, 11:56 am

These are great tips. Realise why you dont need it, you know there is nothing good in smoking and just quit. Its worked for a dear friend of mine, He told me that he was finally able to quit is when he truely believed there no good in smoking and a lot of bad.

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Personal Power Says:

April 12th, 2008, 1:57 am

There is an easier way to quit smoking.

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anita marlin Says:

April 23rd, 2008, 0:13 am

help me

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Jeannie Says:

June 23rd, 2008, 16:36 pm

Hi,

I really love your blog, I just started reading it ,actually, and came across this post. I also was a smoker for 7 years, and now smoke-free fro 1 and 1/2 years. I also had many, many failed attempts at quitting.

My secret was to just quit cold-turkey. Although in your article you had a reward system, etc, (and I’m sure it works for some people) I didn’t have any of that. Honestly, I was tired of myself not being able to do what I said I was going to do. I was the opposite from you. I used to tell everyone that I’m going to quit, and because I failed every time, people would not take me seriously after a while. I got sick of the way people thought of me, and what I was putting myself through. My last successful attempt, I told no one that I was quitting. I just went ahead and did it. It may have been to prove them wrong, and prove myself wrong. I didn’t want myself to become lower than a chemical, an addiction.

It was difficult at times and it sometimes still is. But I don’t ever want to fall back into that bad habit. There are no health benefits watsoever.

In the end, I think it’s will power. It’s all up to the person and if the person really wants to quit. You can achieve anything you put your mind to….it’s easy as that.

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Prabu Says:

July 1st, 2008, 16:39 pm

Leo,
Love ya.
I’ve decided to quit smoking and have already messaged loved ones asking their support while the going gets tough.
Will keep you posted!

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Arsya Says:

July 14th, 2008, 2:15 am

I love to read this blog,but its hard to convince my self to stop smoking! But, i always try! Never give up!

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emmaj7100 Says:

August 17th, 2008, 22:23 pm

I quit smoking few years back and now I am just really craving but i will not give in. For all the people out there who wants to quit, I just have to say that you have to have a plan. I was preparing myself for a month or so, and I was slowly cutting down. I also set the date when I want to quit. Before I quit, I stopped smoking in my car ( where i would smoke the most), and then I didn’t smoke after 6pm, or I wouldn’t go on my 15 minute break just to smoke and things like that. So I did prepare myself big time that I am going to quit, but when the day finally arrived I was ready. It was still hard but I was ready. I hope this helps.

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Cardiovascular Activities Says:

September 12th, 2008, 9:59 am

Nice post!

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hairyhamhock Says:

September 18th, 2008, 2:05 am

i recently quite smoking and i feel amazing. anytime i have a craving i just tell my self ” i am stronger than my urge!” cigarettes have no control over me. it was an insanely scary decision but also the easiest one i ever made.

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Alex Says:

October 1st, 2008, 22:18 pm

I just now passed 24 hours without a cigarette. It gets a bit hairy near the end of the day… what I’ve learned to help the cravings: M&M’s. Eat a couple M&Ms everytime you get a craving and it helps you get your mind off it….

Just don’t get addicted :)

This is my 3rd time quitting :(

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Flat Stomach Exercises Says:

November 9th, 2008, 17:50 pm

Nice one Leo.

I quit five years ago and found it really helpful to up my fitness regime.

Haven’t smoked a single cig since!

O

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hailey Says:

November 17th, 2008, 15:05 pm

i hate smoking but it tast sooooo good

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X Says:

November 24th, 2008, 3:31 am

Giving up was mostly an ego thing for me. I did not want to admit that I was not strong enough to quit, so every time a craving hit me I withstood out of pride.

PS: Your comment system deletes comments when you forget to enter a mail address.

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Karen Says:

November 25th, 2008, 13:28 pm

Quiting is by far the hardest thing that i have ever done, i am 29 and a mother of 4 and have smoked for 10 years, I find myself sick all of the time.

I just decided to quit, the cravings are just about unbearable sometimes. It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet, but i keep telling myself this is worth it for my kids and myself.

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Minda Bistari Says:

November 28th, 2008, 17:16 pm

I 100% agreed your tips especially tip no 1. I’m heavy smoker since age 13. Now I’m 47 years old. Last 10 years I tried to stop smoking but not fully stop because I still smoke when my friend offer. That situation run about 3 years before ! start heavy smoker again. But last 3 years, I totally stop and I promise & 100% committed with my decision to stop smoking at all. Now I’m not a smoker. I hate someone smoke & I dont respect to smoker.

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Mala Says:

December 7th, 2008, 20:30 pm

Hey there - just had a look at your post, and was wondering what you think of slef hypnosis as an aide to quitting? As a long term smoker, with minimal willpower, I’ve been following the blog at http://www.discoversefhypnosis.com, and it looks like it might be a tool for those of us who are pushovers when it comes to the next puff?

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esteff Says:

December 29th, 2008, 19:50 pm

I am quitting smoking. I have quit for the past 2 weeks and after a few days I picked it up again. I am trying again when I finish this pack, but something that has helped me is my weekly meetings with Nicotine Anonymous http://www.nicotine-anonymous.org/
I am not a big online forum person, I need the person to person contact. I have to say that it has been enormously helpful. I keep telling myself that my time to quit it now and I will do it. I think that your tips are great too! Thank you.

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sani Says:

February 5th, 2009, 11:22 am

i have be a smoker since i 14 years old..with the information i hope i can stop from smoking
thanks a lot for everything

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Jana Says:

February 17th, 2009, 16:03 pm

@Karen

I am also 29 and a mother of 4..we should talk! I have tried to quit twice before and it was miserable so I caved. I don’t smoke in my car or in the house because it reeks (yeah but I want the inside of me smelling like that..) so I always go outside. Recently it has been very cold at night and my husband and I both found it utterly ridiculous that we would go outside and freeze our buns off to smoke that cigarette. I realized I am an absolute slave to this drug and I am done. I find that being COMMITTED 100% is the most important for me. I am confident in my ability to quit and am eager to prove to myself just how strong I can be. I have been a smoker for 12 years so I know it will be tough, but I agree with using a reward system and being prepared. We plan on going out to a nice dinner with our “cigarette money” for every milestone. Thanks for the blog and keep up the good work!

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D-Rick Says:

February 25th, 2009, 15:05 pm

Thank you for your post! Hopefully the boost i needed! I am on day 5 and it has been hittin me harder than ever today!!!! I am also taking Chantix (the best thing in the world) but it doesn’t stop all cravings. The 10 breaths thing actually does work a little though. What doesn’t work is nicotine/tobacco free cig’s i just got a pack because like I said I am havin one of those lasting strong cravings that wont go away. Those cig’s..
1: Don’t help any part of any craving
2: taste like hell
3: are more expensive than the regular ones
4: you have to get them from a tobacco store (not helpful)

Good luck everyone!

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Steve Says:

March 8th, 2009, 10:20 am

I have been a smoker for 18 years, and i have tried to quit many times, but it has been really unsuccesful. (Yes I did start smoking when I was 10). Your tips have helped very much, because my girlfriend really hates cigarettes, and i do not want to risk that relationship. So I guess that is a strong reason to quit.

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Jazz Says:

March 10th, 2009, 19:18 pm

Thinking about tobacco factories (and its production) as about swindlers. They take away your money and give nothing instead.

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Scott Says:

May 1st, 2009, 13:08 pm

After a pack a day 15 year habit, I quit 25 years ago. The most successful way to quit is COLD TURKEY. Total commitment. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Nicotine is powerful and you need powerful motivation.

My motivation was that we were about to have our first child. I am so glad my children did not have to grow up with a smoker.

You have the strength to do it. Prepare yourself and commit yourself. Love yourself.

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beth Says:

May 5th, 2009, 9:58 am

I quit a 30 year habit cold turkey with relatively little anxiety with two Hypnosis sessions. The $100 cost was less that I would have spent on cigarettes in a month

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the dude Says:

May 20th, 2009, 18:27 pm

the addiction is mostly psychological. i had a health scare when i was only 27 after smoking for 10 years. i quit cold turkey there and then after leaving the doctor’s surgery - no advice, no forums, no rewards, no cutting down, no plan. i smoked roll-ups and on that day had half a packet of tobacco left. i still have it now in my desk drawer, untouched for years. people shouldn’t over-think quitting. if you really want to, you can do it cold-turkey. it only takes willpower, which absolutely everyone has. i did, though, suffer in the first few days immensely from my dependence on nicotine to stimulate my brain. i couldn’t concentrate, think or anything. i even crashed my car into a bollard because i couldn’t focus properly and misjudged the turn. it was worth it, however.

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Evan Varsamis Says:

May 24th, 2009, 16:49 pm

Well Awesome Post m8, I will try to quit smoking within the next months, when the time comes I am sure I am going to take a look @ this site again :)

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Chrissy R Says:

May 25th, 2009, 9:00 am

Hi Zen

I read ‘The Power of Less: Changing Behavior with Leo Babauta’ on the ‘Four Hour Working Week’ blog.

That brought back the memory of how I gave up smoking. It really click into your ideas of ’small starts - big results’. So much so that after ten years of being cigarette free I’ve actually written up what I did.

That approach proved to be very successful for quitting cigarettes. So I’ll be reviewing other habits to stop/start and use the ”The Power of Less’. I think in most other parts of my life, I make things too complex or focus on too many things at one time.

Thanks again

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Dawson Says:

May 28th, 2009, 13:53 pm

Read, read, read and educate yourself as to WHY you’re addicted to nicotine, WHY you experience withdrawl and WHY the mind & body make it so hard to quit. Three things helped my quit: Daily reading at http://www.whyquit.com, deep breathing (in the car, at work, before bed, in the morning) and a two-mile walk before work (30 minutes of my time on a trail near the house). Walking is low impact & extremely healthy (not to mention good breathing & good old fashioned quiet time to yourself). The website really made a difference for me. Hope this helps someone!

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fd Says:

June 3rd, 2009, 18:12 pm

Good post, I am 29 and have been smoking for 15 years, today is the 2nd day that I have not smoked a cigerette, I am sick and tired of being controlled by a drug, it pisses me off that a cigerette can control my body and mind to this degree. I refuse to ever smoke again. I have a 4 year old son and want to be around for him, the last thing I want is to be stuck in a hospital bed, dying of cancer while my son sits home asking mommy why he can’t see daddy, and if daddy is ever coming back home.

Do it for youself, do it for your family

Just do it

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free divorce papers Says:

June 7th, 2009, 1:52 am

My partner had his last puff the same minute he decided to quit. It has been 2 1/2 years he is smoke-free… and so is our house! He said he did it for the children. What a way to do it! Love your family, love yourself.

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Personal Development Says:

June 12th, 2009, 6:33 am

I did that by not buying it for myself. I used to take it from friends when I had high urge. Slowly the rate went down and now I no longer smoke

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