Everyone understands the bad effects of smoking on health. But for smokers, it can be difficult to quit. Here are a few steps that can help you quit. 

1. YOU have to decide and convince yourself to quit. If you are really motivated to quit, then you will find these tips very helpful.
2. Set a date.   Decide a date to quit. This can be an important date like your or your spouse’s birthday, your child’s birthday, your wedding anniversary, the start of Ramadan, Eid day, or any other important day. BUT this date has to be within two weeks of your resolve to quit. 
3. Announcement.   Announce this to your family, friends, and colleagues.  Let them know that you will be irritable or cranky or short-tempered during this time. So, ask them to be patient with you. Ask your local shopkeeper or cigarette vendor NOT to give you cigarettes. Ask your friends or colleagues NOT to smoke in your presence anymore or offer to smoke.
4. Identify reminders of smoking in your life and remove from your home, office, car, or any place, each and everything from your reach or vision, like an ashtray, lighter, matchbox, or anything that makes you smoke. 
5. Identify the triggers of smoking, like tea, coffee, lunch, or sumptuous meals. Avoid the company of smokers during these triggering events and try to stay with people whose company stops you from smoking. 
6. NEVER keep a pack of cigarettes with you. If you are really hooked on smoking then keep only ONE cigarette in your pocket. 
7. Don’t ask anyone to bring you one cigarette. Instead, try to go yourself to fetch a cigarette if you cannot resist smoking. 
8. Defer your urge to smoke.  Whenever you feel the urge to smoke, get yourself busy with any other activity. Defer this urge to a few minutes later, like your tea time or lunchtime or after prayers or after calling someone or after replying to an email, or after attending to an important task in the office or at home. The urge will pass in five minutes and your next urge may not surface for the next one to two hours. 
9. Stay more in the company or vicinity of those people where you cannot smoke. Like your parents, teacher, meeting rooms, bosses, or your young children. You may also go to the library or mosque or cinema house. 
10. In about a week’s time, you will notice that your daily consumption of cigarettes has come down.  Pat yourself on the back for a good performance and achievement.
11. The D-DAY has arrived.  Announce again and make a strong resolve NEVER to smoke again. 
12. DO NOT TAKE EVEN A SINGLE PUFF AFTER THAT. This is the usual start of relapse. Even a single puff is a sufficient trigger to restart smoking. 
13. Two weeks have passed. NOW is the time for your family and friends to present you with a gift as a token of appreciation.  And another token after three months of quitting. 
14. If you feel any withdrawal symptoms, consult your doctor for proper medical advice. Do not listen to the advice of laypeople. 
15. Don’t blame yourself if you start smoking again. Go through all these steps again and make a stronger mental note NOT to smoke again. Identify the trigger and keep away from that, even if the trigger is your close friend.

     

HAPPY QUITTING