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Choose smokin’ over smoke

Being fit and healthy is smokin’ hot so if you are a smoker and want to quit, here are some top tips that can help you.

The most important thing is that you want to stop, which is awesome. With lots of help and tips, you can really improve your chances of quitting for good!

Here are top tips for quitting from ASH New Zealand:

A smoker’s mind and body has become accustomed to regular doses of nicotine. When people stop smoking, they go through a short period of readjustment where they experience withdrawal symptoms.

As long as you do not have even one puff on a cigarette after your quit date, these symptoms will gradually get easier to cope with and most will disappear within four weeks.

  1. Make it happen! Dreaming about quitting, telling yourself you’ll quit soon, postponing your quit day or constantly telling others you’ll be quitting sometime soon isn’t quitting! You can do this. Set a quit date and stick to it.
  2. Quitting is all good. If you’ve tried before (or even a few times before) and you haven’t found the right quit method for you, try again. With each quit attempt you’ve learned a lot about tobacco and you. That knowledge gives you power over your tobacco use.
  3. Get real about nicotine: If you smoke on a daily basis, you’re almost certainly addicted to nicotine, the drug in tobacco smoke. Once you’ve stopped smoking, don’t kid yourself that you can have ‘just one quick puff’ or ‘just the one cigarette’. If you’re addicted, tobacco is an all or nothing proposition. Nicotine in tobacco smoke is one of the most powerfully addictive substances there is.
  4. Get help. Call the Quitline on 0800 778 778, or if your prefer face-to-face support talk to Aukati Kai Paipa quit coaches, your GP, nurse or pharmacist for advice on how to stop.
  5. Write down the reasons you want to stop. This can include saving money, being healthier, or for the sake of your family. Keep this list somewhere handy to use as a reminder if you are ever tempted to have a cigarette.
  6. Plan for tricky moments and keep notes on your smoking for a day or two. Write down all the times and places you smoke, with a note on how much you needed each cigarette. This will help you Prepare to quit.
  7. Get rid of lighters, ashtrays and matches and make sure you don’t have any cigarettes stashed around.
  8. Every smokefree day is a great day! Everyday without a cigarette is a big step toward becoming smokefree! As each day passes, the times that you think about smoking will grow shorter in duration, become less intense and less frequent.
  9. Do something to replace your addiction. Exercise! Get walking or running or biking to replace old tobacco habits. You’ll have more available oxygen for activity now your blood stream isn’t full of carbon monoxide from smoking. Exercise releases feel good chemicals in the brains that will help get you over an urge to smoke.
  10. Never have another puff. Stick to this one rule for success… never have another puff.

Visit the Smokefree Schools website for further information on quit smoking support.

Reference: http://www.ash.org.nz/ash-top-tips-for-quitting/