Steps to Take to Quit Smoking

By Roland Larrabee, M.D.

Quitting smoking helps your circulation, your stamina, your skin, and your general health. Your risk for coronary heart disease, a common cause of death and disability, is halved after only a year without smoking. Quitting smoking also reduces the likelihood of your getting respiratory problems and lung cancer.

Studies have shown that your smoke affects others as well as yourself. Children of parents who smoke around the house are more prone to respiratory infections than children from nonsmoking homes. This is referred to as “passive smoking.”

Smoking is an addictive habit. Most former smokers make several attempts to quit before they are finally successful. So, never say, "I can't." Just keep trying. Mark Twain was quoted as saying “it’s easy to quit smoking, I’ve done it a thousand times.”

Set a date for when you will stop smoking. Don't buy cigarettes to carry you beyond your last day. Tell your family and friends you plan to quit, and ask for their support and encouragement. Ask them not to offer you cigarettes, even if you get irritable and short-tempered.

If you keep cigarettes around, sooner or later you'll break down and smoke one, then another, then another, and so on. Throw them away. Make it less easy to start again.

Try chewing gums as a substitute for cigarettes.

Think of yourself and identify yourself as a nonsmoker (for example, in restaurants). Stay away from "smokers' havens," such as bars. Avoid spending time with smokers. You can't tell others not to smoke, but you don't have to sit with them while they do. Old habits die hard and one of your old smoking buddies is sure to offer you a cigarette. Plan on walking away from cigarette smoke. Spend time with nonsmokers and sit in the nonsmoking section of restaurants.

Most relapses occur within the first 3 months after quitting. Many people try 5 or more times before they successfully quit. Avoid drinking alcohol, because it lowers your chances of success. Don't be distracted by weight gain, which is usually less than 10 pounds. Learn new ways to improve your mood and overcome depression.

As you become more fit, you will not want the nicotine effects in your body. Regular exercise will also help keep you from gaining weight when you quit smoking.

You may not know what to do with your hands for a while. Pick up a book or a magazine. Try knitting, needlework, pottery, drawing, making a plastic model, or doing a jigsaw puzzle. Join special interest groups that keep you involved in your hobby. Take on new activities that don't include smoking. Join an exercise group and work out regularly. Sign up for an evening class or a join a study group at your place of worship. Go on more outings with your family or friends. Learn ways to relax and manage stress.

Some people do better in groups, or with a set of instructions to follow. That's fine, too. Remember, the aim is to quit smoking. It doesn't matter how you do it.

Nicotine is the drug that is in tobacco. You can use nicotine patches or gum, available without a prescription at your local pharmacy, to quit smoking. It is a two-step process. First you learn to live without smoking, but not without nicotine. Then, as you graduate to patches with less nicotine, or chew less of the nicotine gum, you wean yourself off the nicotine.

Your health care provider can prescribe nicotine substitutes that can almost double your chances of quitting for good. They are:

• Zyban (bupropion HCL)
• nicotine inhaler
• nicotine lozenge
• nicotine nasal spray
• nicotine patch