Switch
Brands
- Switch to a brand you find
distasteful.
- Change to a brand that is low in tar
and nicotine a couple of weeks before your target date. This will
help change your smoking behavior. However, do not smoke more
cigarettes, inhale them more often or more deeply, or place your
fingertips over the holes in the filters. These actions will
increase your nicotine intake, and the idea is to get your body used
to functioning without nicotine.
Cut
Down the Number of Cigarettes You Smoke
- Smoke only half of each cigarette.
- Each day, postpone the lighting of
your first cigarette 1 hour.
- Decide you'll only smoke during odd or
even hours of the day.
- Decide beforehand how many cigarettes
you'll smoke during the day. For each additional cigarette, give a
dollar to your favorite charity.
- Change your eating habits to help you
cut down. For example, drink milk, which many people consider
incompatible with smoking. End meals or snacks with something that
won't lead to a cigarette.
- Reach for a glass of juice instead of
a cigarette for a "pick-me-up."
- Remember: Cutting down can help you
quit, but it's not a substitute for quitting. If you're down to
about seven cigarettes a day, it's time to set your target date to
quit and get ready to stick to it.
Don't
Smoke "Automatically"
- Smoke only those cigarettes you really
want. Catch yourself before you light up a cigarette out of pure
habit.
- Don't empty your ashtrays. This will
remind you of how many cigarettes you've smoked each day, and the
sight and the smell of stale cigarettes butts will be very
unpleasant.
- Make yourself aware of each cigarette
by using the opposite hand or putting cigarettes in an unfamiliar
location or a different pocket to break the automatic reach.
- If you light up many times during the
day without even thinking about it, try to look into a mirror each
time you put a match to your cigarette-you may decide you don't need
it.
Make
Smoking Inconvenient
- Stop buying cigarettes by the carton.
Wait until one pack is empty before you buy another.
- Stop carrying cigarettes with you at
home or at work. Make them difficult to get.
Make
Smoking Unpleasant
- Smoke only under circumstances that
aren't especially pleasurable for you. If you like to smoke with
others, smoke alone. Turn your chair to an empty corner and focus
only on the cigarette you are smoking and all its many negative
effects.
- Collect all your cigarette butts in
one large glass container as a visual reminder of the filth made by
smoking.
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