Home > Multiple Steps for Quitting Smoking > Make Smoking Unappealing

Multiple Steps for Quitting Smoking: Make Smoking Unappealing

by Jenny

,
United Kingdom

I had my first cigarette when I was 13 and have been a regular smoker for the past 6 years. I quit about a month ago and I do not miss smoking one single bit! Here's how I did it: 1. Sign up for the gym. You have to sign up because then you know you paid good money for it and you will feel guilty if you don't go. Once you get on those treadmills and it feels like your lungs are about to collapse you will realise why you are going to put yourself through the agony of quitting! You are now prepared for quitting. 2. Get yourself to that stage when having a cigarette is actually unpleasant - try forcing yourself to have one when you have a really bad hangover. Savour the nasty taste and the horrible smell of your dirty hair and clothes from the night before. Once you have decided that you smell bad and your mouth tastes horrible you can decide not to smoke for the rest of the day. Have a shower and brush your teeth, and enjoy the fact that you smell good! 3. Once you have successfully NOT smoked for one day, allow yourself a cigarette, but again make it unappealing. Try drinking a glass of milk beforehand, or smoke while eating some chocolate. My (smoker) flatmate agrees with me that both of these are unpleasant, but obviously they might not work for all people, so experiment around to find out what makes smoking really gross for you! Don't worry if you find yourself having a fag despite the yucky taste... it took me about 3 days before I decided I was ready to quit completely. 4. Once you feel you are ready, just stop. It really is that easy. You just decide... and that's it! However, you don't just quit once. You quit every time the opportunity to have a cigarette arises. You quit every time you go to the pub, every time you're stressed, every time anyone around you smokes and you get that craving. Just remind yourself of how nasty that last fag tasted and suddenly they aren't that appealing anymore! 5. If you have problems quitting because you have to smoke when you drink alcohol, try eating some peanuts or crips instead. This is where all my other quitting attempts failed, but this time I also took a break from going out and getting drunk for a few weeks. Now I can drink myself stupid without wanting a fag, but I do get peanut cravings! That's about it but here are some more general tips from my quitting experience. Going to the gym loads helps, especially if the equipment has heart-rate monitors. I am only 19 and definitely not overweight but seeing my heart-rate go through the roof was scary enough to strengthen my will to stay off the fags. Another thing that helps is to annoy all the people you know who still smoke by lecturing them on the benefits of giving up! It sounds boring, but eating well also helps... and by this I don't just mean eating healthily! Go to a restaurant and enjoy the taste of a meal which isn't destroyed by that after-dinner smoke. In fact, pamper you other senses too and indulge in a bouquet of flowers (or, even better, get someone to buy them for you)! And finally, if you do get that twinge, keep some celery/carrots/apples/oranges handy and snack on those... it makes you feel healthy!