Breaking your Smoking Habit

One of the hardest things to do in life is to quit smoking. The habit of smoking itself is often cited by most people as being the hardest part. Try replacing your smoking habit with a much healthier habit to aid in quitting smoking for good. Also, it’s important to remember that it will take time to get use to your new healthy habit just as it took time for you to get use to smoking.

If you are determined to quit smoking, you have made an impressive start. However, if you have decided to quit on your own, you are doing even better. Sounds strange does it? You would be surprised at just how many people decide to quit smoking by being informed by their doctor, spouse, parent, sibling or friend that they will be quitting. In order to successfully quit smoking for good you need to decide for yourself to quit. If you have actually made this decision on your own, you are doing an amazing job. If you are letting someone push you into quitting you are just setting yourself up for headaches, hassles and complications that are easily avoided.

A developed pattern in the way one smokes is something every smoker has. If you start smoking a pack a day, this becomes one of your habits. Breaking your smoking habit wil be easier if you start out with small steps. Success wil come if you change your habits slowly. Instead of smoking your usual cigarette after a meal, try brushing your teeth. You may realize you like the fresh mouth over the cigarette tasting one and this soon becomes a healthy habit. Chew gum or suck on hard candy if you are not able to brush your teeth after a meal.

You might find yourself in circumstances that trigger cigarette cravings. Of course, it is best to try to avoid these situations but sometimes that is impossible. Try to have an alternative to smoking if you can. For example, if you smoke right after work, carpool with others that don’t smoke, take a different route home, stop at the store, or take the bus. Also if getting in your car triggers cravings, have it detailed to get the smoke smell out. Just try to do something different to help you forget your cravings and they will soon pass.

Often times you will find yourself in positions that will make breaking your smoking habit difficult. By having a way to deal with these unavoidable times, you will be one step closer to quitting. Two of the popular methods for this include nicotine gum and stop smoking sticks. The nicotine gum is beneficial in public places and can be discreet. The stop smoking sticks are basically pretend cigarettes that keep your hands busy. If you find these helpful, you may be smoking more just because your hands are bored. Give your hands something more productive to do and this may at least help some of your smoking issues.

Breaking your smoking habit is a difficult process. It is likely to take you anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months to be cigarette free. Try cutting back on how many cigarettes you smoke daily if quitting cold turkey seems impossible. But regardless which method you choose, it will take time and effort for it to work. It takes on average 2 weeks to get use to a new habit and just as long if not longer to quit a bad habit.