Motivating Yourself to Drop Your Smoking Habit

The dangers of tobacco have been established for decades and yet 6.5 Trillion cigarettes are still sold globally every year. That means 18 billion cigarettes are smoked everyday and the saddest thing of all is that most of these are smokers from the poorest regions in the world.

Six million deaths a year—that’s the death toll attributed to cigarettes around the globe. Six hundred thousand individuals are non-smokers exposed to deadly secondhand smoke. According to studies, each cigarette you smoke depletes your lifespan by 5 to 11 minutes.

Aside from increased mortality rate, cigarettes are also the cause of premature aging, impotence, and general health decline. Not to mention, smokers these days often face social stigma, as the days when smokers were deemed “cool” are long over.

Indeed, there are a great number of reasons why you should drop your smoking habits. The problem lies in keeping yourself motivated after deciding to quit. Here are a few tips to help you along:

Be Around the Right People – Smokers who find it difficult to quit are often addicted to nicotine. For them, smoking is not just a bad habit but a true drug addition. If you are one, you need the help and support of family and friends who are preferably non-smokers. Select people who are nonjudgmental and who genuinely care about your well being to be your confidant when you need someone to talk to. When you fall off the wagon, the last thing you’ll need are judgment and ridicule.

Have a Visual Reminder – Therapists recommend that you select a date when you start going cold turkey and write down all your motivations for quitting smoking. You will need to look at this list to remind yourself about why you want to quit. Another great idea is to wear a custom wristband as a visual reminder that you are committed to quitting. It’s a convenient way to remember your commitment whenever you are itching to light a cigarette.

Managing Your Triggers and Cravings – For most smokers, lighting up a cigarette is often triggered by emotions such as stress and excitement or behavioral patterns such as drinking coffee and having one after meals. There are a variety of ways to manage these triggers such as talking to a friend when you feel the urge to light up. You can also try keeping your hand busy by taking up a new hobby when you’re craving a cigarette.

Make Smoking Inconvenient – If you prefer to quit slowly rather than going through the cold turkey route, you can make lighting up a cigarette so much more inconvenient for yourself. For example, instead of buying a whole carton, buy a pack and wait until the pack is empty before buying another. Another idea is to put the cigarettes in the most difficult places to access, making it hard and inconvenient to smoke.

Clean Up Your Clothes and Surroundings – Wash your clothes thoroughly and clean your house to get rid of the lingering smell of tobacco. Your sense of smell is powerful and could trigger you to crave cigarettes while you’re in your quitting phase.

Reward Yourself – Give yourself a treat as you hit your goals. Go for a massage or celebrate with a night out after being smoke-free for a week or a month.

It’s important to recognize that not all smokers are the same. While 90% of smokers tried quitting without medications or therapy, only 5% to 7% succeeded according to sources on WebMD. Fortunately, options such as behavioral therapy, nicotine replacement therapy, medications, and a combination of treatments are available for smokers.

In the end, it’s not important how you quit smoking. The most critical thing is that you quit the habit for your health and the health of the people you care about most.