Top Tips on Quitting Smoking
OK…you want to quit smoking? You’ve finally realised that bad breath, lung cancer and wasting hundreds of pounds a year isn’t your thing?
Quitting smoking will be one of the best things you’ll ever do to improve your health, your wealth and your looks! So why wait – do it NOW!
Follow our Top Tips to help you quit the cigs…
What Type of Smoker Are You? Quiz
Firstly, you’ve got to ask yourself why you smoke? If you know what keeps you going back for one more cigarette, then you can work out the best ways to quit...
To have a go at this revealing quiz, just take a look at: www.iquitonline.com and click on the ‘I Quit Quiz’ Section.
Ready, Steady, Go!
For a better chance of quitting, you need to prepare yourself.
Simple things like writing down when you smoke in a ‘smoking diary’ can help you prepare. This is because if you know what times of the day you tend to smoke, you can then work out what you could do instead – it’s like having your very own emergency action plan!
For example, if you always fancy a cigarette at break times – you could buy a magazine to read to take your mind off the cravings, or if you always smoke after you’ve had your tea – you could occupy yourself by taking the dog for a walk instead (that’s if you’ve got a dog of course – if not, borrow one!).
For more tips and ideas, take a look at www.iquitonline.com under the ‘Strip Show’ Section. This section also helps explains some of the things that you will be thinking and feeling when you manage to quit!
Common Quitting Questions and Myths
Got some last minute questions? Then keep reading, to help you put your mind at rest.
Who else can help me quit smoking?
Try asking your School Nurse, Youth Worker, etc, to see if they can help you to quit (some have been trained so that they can run quit smoking groups).
If they haven’t been trained, take a look at the Help Someone to Quit Section, as this gives information about all the other places you can go for quit smoking support e.g. your doctor’s, the pharmacy, etc.
What is nicotine?
Nicotine is a substance in tobacco that makes smoking so addictive it is hard to give up. Nicotine is actually as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Just because tobacco is legal does not make it less dangerous than other drugs. In fact, more people become ill and die from using tobacco than from all other drugs combined.
Can I just cut down how many cigarettes I smoke, until I finally stop smoking altogether?
Cutting down may sound like a good idea, but NOBODY cuts down and stays cut down. Before too long, you’ll go back to smoking the same amount as before. Setting a quit date and stopping completely on that day has been shown to be much more effective than cutting down.
Is it better to smoke roll ups instead of normal cigarettes?
Roll ups contain less tobacco and are less tightly packed than normal cigarettes – this means they contain less carbon monoxide. But they have no filter and people tend to smoke them right down to the end, where a lot of the tar gathers, and they still contain the 4,000 nasty chemicals found in normal cigarettes.
Do cigarettes help you to relax?
No, this is a myth. Physically smoking actually increases your stress levels as smoking increases heart rate and raises blood pressure. A reason why smoking is related to stress relief is because normally when someone is smoking, they are taking a break from the thing that is stressing them out. Also, because people take deeper breaths when they smoke, more oxygen is going to the brain, which naturally de-stresses you. Taking regular physical activity is a much healthier way to reduce your stress levels.
I’m still young, surely smoking can’t affect my health yet?
Yes it can! Once you start smoking, you immediately put yourself at greater risk of illnesses like coughs and colds. The greatest risk you face is becoming addicted to nicotine and beginning a lifelong dependency on tobacco, as well as a far greater risk of serious disease later on in life.
Will I put on weight if I stop smoking?
Research shows that teenager’s weight
is not affected by smoking – or by quitting. However, some reasons why some
people may put on weight when they quit is because they might comfort eat during
cravings, and also once people stop smoking their sense of taste comes back,
so things taste a lot nicer.
If it’s your appearance that you are worried about, remember that smoking can
have unpleasant affects on your skin too, like wrinkles and dry skin, which
is not a good look!
You’re hopefully now all clued up and fully psyched for your next big achievement – Quitting Smoking!
Good Luck!!
And remember – when you have managed to quit, make sure you share your own tips on quitting smoking with other members, by sticking your ideas in the Your Tips Section. You never know, your words of advice might help another young person finally kick butt!
