Cheers! You took the first and important step towards the journey to quit smoking for a good and healthier life. By deciding to quit smoking, you have given the best gift of health and life to yourself. You don’t have to wait much before good things to transpire you!

When nicotine reaches your brain within ten seconds after having the first drag of a cigarette, a pleasure chemical called dopamine is released. When you’re between cigarettes, the level of dopamine drops, causing you to feel anxious and restless, which may be eased by having another puff. But don’t hide the truth from yourself:

You don’t need tobacco. Your life will be better without it!

Prepare for a Bumpy Road, Ahead!

In the process of quitting, mood changes are common. You might be irritable, uncomfortable, restless, frustrated, or feel sick, down, or blue. This happens because your body needs time to adjust to the lack of stimulation from nicotine. These are the signs that your body shows while you're recovering from quitting. For a few people, this can last for 2 to 4 weeks. But if you are determined to quit, you will feel better soon.

After quitting, ex-smokers usually gain more calories than they can burn off because they tend to eat more than usual. One can gain a little weight, usually 5-10 pounds or 2 to 5 kilograms. This happens because the metabolism temporarily slows down after stopping smoking. This weight gain often reverses itself after about six months because the metabolism of ex-smokers returns to normal (i.e., higher-level) at some point.

Even with extra weight, you will feel healthier and look better as smoking causes body odor, bad breath, and yellowed skin. Most of the ex-smokers can avoid the weight gain or even lose weight altogether by adapting to a healthy lifestyle and diet after they quit. You’ll even notice having more energy and stamina to do things, thus, increasing the activity level, thereby burning off extra calories.

Replace Smoking with Healthy Lifestyles

You can have the urge to smoke at any time throughout the day. Replacing those urges with other activities can help you stay smoke-free. Making little changes will remove cigarettes from the support role they currently play in your day-to-day life. Quitting will be easier after you make some of these small tweaks in your daily schedule.

When you have an urge to smoke, replace it with a few of the following alternative activities to take your mind off wanting to light up every day!

Crave smoking first thing in the morning?

Jump right into the shower

Floss and Brush your teeth

Go for a morning walk in fresh air instead of smoky air

Go to the gym and work out

Rub rich, creamy hand moisturizer and rub, rub, rub! It helps keep your fingers occupied and reminds one how great it is to no longer smell like tobacco

Clean your clothes to get rid of the cigarette smell, which can stay for a long time.

Can’t drive without smoking?

Remove your ashtray and lighter from your car

Listen to an audiobook

Crank up the radio or music and sing at the top of your lungs; it works great while driving.

Need a cigarette when feeling stressed, angry, or sad?

Avoid staying alone but spend time volunteering somewhere in your community.

Call friends and family; they would love to hear from you!

Dance to music like no one is watching

Practice relaxing by deep breathing, meditation, yoga to cope with the stress

Love to smoke while you are alone or on the phone?

Take up a new hobby or interest.

Pull out your camera and click some pictures.

Try doing things that make you use your hands, like crossword puzzles, needlework, gardening, or household chores. You can go bike riding, take the dog for a walk, give yourself a manicure, or write letters. While your desire for a cigarette becomes intense, go wash your hands or do the dishes.

Window shop at the mall. It is also a great place to walk.

Take a day trip.

It is difficult to smoke when you’re swimming, jogging, or playing tennis or handball.

Directions to Transit to No Smoking Zone

Switch Cigarettes Brands

In the initial days, you can start by switching the cigarette brand you don’t like. This will grow a lack of taste for smoking.

Gradually, switch brands with lower nicotine and tar levels, allowing your body to progressively adjust with the withdrawal.

The “5-minute timeout” rule

Every time you crave a cigarette, wait for 5 minutes, then question yourself, “Do I actually want to smoke?” This approach will help you to cope with your impulses.

If you happen to light the cigarette, look in the mirror for a few minutes before taking the drag. Maybe you decide that you don’t need it.

If you smoke, do not empty your ashtrays

Keep all your cigarette butts in a large glass jar to remind yourself of the junk you’ve made by continuing to smoke. This will also remind you of how many cigarettes you have smoked each day, and it can be very disturbing to see and smell the stale cigarette butts.

List out your Motivators

Make a list of reasons for being smoke-free. Keep the list in a spot where you will see it frequently, like on a wall, on your desk, or a place where you used to keep cigarettes. Whenever you get the urge to smoke, take a look at the list to remember why you want to stop. This will be your best defense against your temptation to smoke.

It’s all in the Little Things

Take one day at a time. Once you wake up in the morning, take a vow that you won’t smoke that day.

Increase your awareness when going for a cigarette (the automatic reach) by using the opposite hand or keeping cigarettes in a less familiar spot (e.g., a different pocket).

Write in the smoke diary when you smoked each cigarette and how you felt when you wanted that cigarette.

Read blogs or articles about people who quit, which will inspire you to quit. It can be a big booster to hear about those who have been on the same path as you.

Place visual prompts like posters of “quit smoking now” or “be tobacco-free,” throughout your space. This will motivate you to continue your quitting journey during difficult times.

When you have a craving, add mindfulness to the 4Ds: delay acting on a thought of the cigarette, deep breaths, drink water, do something else – do some mindfulness!

When you have the uncontrollable urge to smoke, you have an inner dialogue to remind yourself how tobacco harms you.

Remember, any smoking after your Quit Date usually leads to a return to regular smoking, which does the job of quitting again all the more difficult. That “just one” cigarette can undo all your hard work and lead you to a relapse!

It is Just a Slip, Not a Dead-End!

To save yourself from a relapse, be careful for at least one year after you quit. A number of triggers can tempt you to return to smoking, like negative moods (sadness or anger), feeling stressed out, being around other people who are smoking, or even wanting to “reward” yourself with a smoke after a hard-working day.

Smoking to deal with stress never solves the problem that caused you to return to smoking in the first place and only gives you one more reason to feel bad. Stress is part and parcel of life; it will always be present in some form or another.

Rationalizing these thoughts and feelings by telling yourself: “It’s OK just to have one cigarette!” or “I badly have to smoke to cope with stress.” or “I will quit when the stress becomes less!” is inevitably going to make you weaker. So, don't put off quitting smoking until later, when the stress or other reason for your lapse goes away.

Instead, view your smoking lapse as a slip or mistake and not as a failure. Refrain from telling yourself negative messages, such as, “It is of no use, I cannot quit. It's better if I just give up because I smoked!” or “I smoked due to my weakness or lack of willpower.” or “I’m very old to quit smoking—it’s very late for me anyway.” Your return to smoking is not a matter of lacking willpower—it’s a matter of lacking preparation for coping with smoking triggers and situations. That’s a problem that can be fixed!

Conclusion

All is not lost because you lapsed. Don't beat yourself up by feeling guilty or like a failure for smoking. These feelings will just make you want to smoke more. Don’t analyze your past attempts at quitting as failures. Thinking back can help you move forward!

After an unsuccessful attempt, quitting again as soon as possible is easier than waiting till you are completely addicted to nicotine yet again. The longer you have been a non-smoker, the easier it gets; however, it takes a lot of time before you will never want a cigarette again.

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When are you quitting? And with what technique are you starting your smoke-free journey with?