Quit Smoking: Brief Version

It's not too late to quit smoking.

Smoking causes serious health problems and disease. If you quit smoking now, you can:

• Stop hurting your lungs.
• Breathe more easily.
• Have more energy.
• Fight colds more easily.
• Protect your family from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Quitting will lower your chances of having:

• Heart disease.
• Lung cancer.
• Emphysema.

Here's how you can quit.

You can quit even if you have smoked for many years. It can be hard to stop. You may have to try many times before you are able to quit for good. Never say "I can't." Keep trying. Each time you can probably go longer without smoking.

There are things you can do to help yourself quit smoking:

Set a quit date.

Set a date when you will stop smoking. Don't buy cigarettes that will carry you past your quit date.

Throw your cigarettes and ashtrays away.

Don't make it easy to start smoking again. If you keep cigarettes and ashtrays in the house you are more likely to smoke.

Get support from family and friends.

Ask for their encouragement. Ask them not to offer you cigarettes. Ask them not to smoke in the house or around you. (This may help them to quit, too.)

Spend time with people who don't smoke.

Think of yourself as a nonsmoker. Don't go to places where there are a lot of smokers, such as bars. Sit in the nonsmoking section of restaurants.

Start an exercise program.

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

Keep yourself busy.

You may find you don't know what to do with your hands. You can:

• Read or draw.
• Fix things.
• Make a plastic model.
• Knit or do needlework.
• Do a puzzle.

You may also be used to having something in your mouth. You can:

• Chew gum.
• Eat carrots or celery.
• Drink more water.

Take on new activities.

• Learn a new craft or start a new hobby.
• Join an exercise group.
• Join a book club.
• Volunteer in your community.
• Learn ways to relax and manage stress.
• Take a class.
• Join a study group at your local place of worship.
• Go out with your family or friends.

Join a quit-smoking program.

It will be easier for you to quit if you have the support of a group.

Think about using medicine to help you quit.

Nicotine gum and patches can help you cut your craving for nicotine when you quit smoking. (Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that makes it hard to quit.) The idea is that you can slowly lower the amount of nicotine in your body until you are completely free of nicotine. This can help you avoid the hard time of going “cold turkey.” You can get nicotine gum or patches at your drug store without a prescription. Or your healthcare provider can prescribe a nicotine spray or inhaler or other medicine for you.

You can learn to live without cigarettes in your daily life. You can quit and quit for good, and feel much better for having quit.