How to stop smoking

Make the decision to quit smoking. Think of your health and benefits that come along with it. Here is how you can accomplish it. Don't let obstacles stand in your way.

How to quit smoking

Only you can stop doing a bad habit. You have to be willing to put the work in and face the challenge of overcoming it. It is possible to quit smoking. You should do it for yourself and for those around you as well. Think of your health and all the benefits that come along with kicking this bad habit.

Now most people would ask, why should I quit? Or how can I go about quitting? Here are the reasons:

Remember, there is no safe level of tobacco use. Smoking even just one cigarette per day over a lifetime can cause smoking-related cancers and premature death. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of health problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the benefit. Some immediate benefits of quitting include:

Lower heart rate and blood pressure

Less carbon monoxide in the blood (carbon monoxide reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen)

Better circulation and less coughing and wheezing

Benefits to quitting and reduced risks are:

Quitting smoking cuts cardiovascular risks. Just 1 year after quitting, your risk for a heart attack drops sharply

Within 2 to 5 years after quitting, your risk for stroke may reduce to about that of a nonsmoker’s

If you quit, your risks for cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and bladder drop by half within 5 years

Ten years after you quit, your risk for dying from lung cancer drops by half

Isn’t it worth quitting? Do you wonder how you can go about it? Here is how:

How to quit smoking or smokeless:

The US surgeon general has said, “smoking cessation (stop smoking) represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives.” Quitting is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help. To learn about available tools, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345

Deciding to quit smoking and making a plan:

Smokers often say, “don’t tell me why to quit, tell me how.” There’s no right way to quit, but there are some requirements for quitting with success

Make the decision to quit smoking:

The decision to quit smoking is one that only you can make. Others may want you to quit, but the real commitment must come from you

Think about why you want to quit: are you worried that you could get a smoking-related disease? Do you really believe that the benefits of quitting outweigh the benefits of continuing to smoke? Do you know someone who has had health problems because of smoking? Are you ready to make a serious try at quitting?

Write down your reasons so you can look at them every time you want to smoke

If you’re ready to quit, setting a date and deciding on a plan will help move you to the next step

Set a date and make a quit smoking plan:

What’s important about picking a quit day: once you’ve decided to quit, you’re ready to pick a quit date. This is a key step. Pick a day within the next month as your quit day. Picking a date too far away gives you time to change your mind. Still, you need to give yourself enough time to prepare. You might choose a date with a special meaning like a birthday or anniversary, or the day of the great American smoke out. Or you might want to just pick a random date. Circle the date on your calendar. Make a strong, personal commitment to quit on that day

How do you plan to quit: there are many ways to quit, and some work better than others. Nicotine replacement therapy, prescription drugs and other methods are available. Learn more about ways to quit so you can find the method that best suites you. It’s also a good idea to talk to your doctor or dentist, and get their advice and support. Support is another key part of your plan. Stop-smoking programs, telephone quit lines, Nicotine Anonymous meetings, self-help materials such as books and pamphlets, and smoking counselors can be a great help. Also tell your family, friends and co-workers that you’re quitting. They can give you help and encouragement, which increases your chances of quitting for good

Do quit smoking programs really work? As you make your quit plan, you may wonder about success rates of many different methods available. Success rates are hard to figure out for many reasons. First, not all programs define success in the same way. Does success mean that a person isn’t smoking at the end of the program? After 3 months? 6 months? 1 year? Does smoking fewer cigarettes (rather than stopping completely) count as success? If a method you’re considering claims a certain success rate, ask for more details on how success is defined and what kind of follow up is done to confirm the rate. It’s important to remember that quitting is hard. Quit smoking programs in general seem to have fairly low success rates, but they can still be worthwhile. Only about 4-7% of people are able to quit smoking on any given attempt without medicines or other help. Finding a program that fits your needs can make a difference

What can I do to increase my chances of quitting? Counseling and other types of emotional support can boost success rates higher than medicines alone. There’s also early evidence that combining certain medicines may work better than using a single drug. Behavioral and supportive therapies may increase success rates even further. They also help the person stay smoke-free. Check the package insert of any product you are using to see if the manufacture provides free telephone-based counseling

Prepare for your quit day:

Here are some steps to help you get ready for your quit day:

Pick the date and mark it on your calendar

Tell friends and family about the quit day

Get rid of all cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car and at work

Stock up on oral substitutes-sugarless gum, carrot sticks, hard candy, cinnamon sticks, coffee stirrers, straws and/or toothpicks

Decide on a plan. Will you use NRT or other medicines? Will you attend a stop-smoking class? If so, sign up now

Practice saying, “no thank you, I don’t smoke”

Set up a support system. This could be a group program or a friend or family member who has successfully quit and is willing to help you

Ask family and friends who still smoke not to smoke around you, not to leave cigarettes out where you can see them

If you are using bupropion or varenicline, take your dose each day leading up to your quit day

Think about your past attempts to quit. Try to figure out what worked and what didn’t

Prepare for your quit day:

Successful quitting is a matter of planning and commitment, not luck. Decide on your own plan

On your quit day:

Overtime, smoking becomes a strong habit. Daily events, like waking up in the morning, finishing a meal, drinking coffee or taking a break at work, often trigger your urge to smoke. Breaking the link between the trigger and smoking will help you stop

On your quit day go down this list:

Do not smoke. This means not at all-not even one puff

Stay busy-try walking, short bursts of exercise or other activities and hobbies

Drink lots of water and juices

Start using nicotine replacement if that’s your choice

Attend a stop-smoking class or follow your self-help plan

Avoid situations where the urge to smoke is strong

Avoid people who are smoking

Drink less alcohol or avoid it completely

Think about how you can change your routine. Use a different route to go to work. Drink tea instead of coffee. Eat breakfast in a different place or eat different food

Be prepared to feel the urge to smoke. It will pass whether you smoke or not. Use the 4 D’s to help fight the urge:

Delay for 10 minutes. Repeat if needed

Deep breath. Close your eyes, slowly breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Picture your lungs filling with fresh, clean air

Drink water slowly, sip by sip

Do something else. Some activities trigger cravings. Get up and move around.

The 4 D’s will allow you to move beyond the strong urge to smoke

Getting help with the mental part of tobacco addiction:

Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes pleasant feelings and distracts the user from unpleasant feelings. Over time, a person becomes physically dependent on and emotionally addicted to nicotine. This physical dependence causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when you are trying to quit smoking or other forms of tobacco. There are mental and emotional effects, too. Nicotine actually affects brain chemistry and emotions

What you might feel when you quit tobacco:

Depression

Sadness or grief

A sense of loss

Frustration

Impatience

Anger

Anxiety

Irritability

Trouble concentrating

Restlessness or boredom

What you can do:

There are many tools to help quit smoking or other forms of tobacco for good. In most cases, tobacco users are aware of the annoying physical symptoms and think about things like nicotine replacement therapies and medicines to help with them. But they may not be ready for the mental effect, which can be a bigger challenge

The emotional and mental dependence (addiction) make it hard to stay away from nicotine after you quit. To quit and to stay quit, tobacco users must deal with both the physical and mental dependence. Fortunately, there are counseling services, self-help materials and support services available to help you get through this time. And just like the physical symptoms, the emotional changes getter better over time

You can prepare yourself for the mental effects of tobacco withdrawal

Quit tobacco programs:

Telephone-based help to stop using tobacco:

All 50 states and the district of Columbia offer some type of free, telephone-based program that links callers with trained counselors. These specialists help plan a quit method that fits each person’s unique pattern of tobacco use. People who use telephone counseling have twice the success rate in quitting smoking as those who don’t get this type of help. Research has shown that telephone counseling also helps people who are trying to quit smokeless tobacco

Counselors may suggest a combination of methods including medicines, local classes, self-help brochures and/or a network of family and friends. Help from a counselor can keep quitters from making many common mistakes

Telephone counseling is also easier to use than some other support programs. It doesn’t require driving, transportation, or child care and its available nights and weekends

The effectiveness of phone-based services has led to the development of many web-based aids and mobile apps. These offer another easy-to-use support resource to people trying to quit

Support groups for quitters:

Support groups for quitters can be helpful too. One long-standing peer help program is Nicotine Anonymous. This group holds regular meetings and applies the 12-step program of alcoholics anonymous to tobacco addiction. This includes attending meetings and following the program. People new to NICA may choose a sponsor to help them through the steps and when they are tempted to use tobacco. NICA meetings are free, but donations are collected to help cover expenses. NICA also has phone meetings and web meetings and offers online support

You can find if there’s a NICA group near you at 1-877-879-6422 or www.nicotine-anonymous.org. But this is only one of many types of support programs

Often your American Cancer Society or local health department will sponsor quit classes, too

Some workplaces, hospitals and wellness centers have quit-tobacco programs, groups or classes. They may be led by professionals and focus on information and education, or they may be run by volunteers. Some programs may be set up like classes, while others focus on sharing by members of the group. Some groups are set up for just a few weeks, and others go on indefinitely. There are lots of options and different types of groups better for different people. Find one that works for you

For people who can’t go to support group meetings, there are online support systems as well as phone and web-based support

Check with your employer, health insurance company, or local hospital to find a support group that fits your needs. Or call your American Cancer society at 1-800-227-2345 to find out what support services might be available where you live

What to look for in a tobacco cessation program:

Tobacco cessation or quit programs are designed to help tobacco users recognize and cope with problems that come up while quitting. The programs should also provide support and encouragement in staying quit. This helps the ex-tobacco user avoid many of the common pitfalls of quitting

Studies have shown that the best programs include either one-on-one or group counseling. There's a strong link between how often and how long counseling lasts (its intensity) and the success rate-overall, the more intense the program, the greater the chance of success

Intensity may be increased by having more or longer sessions or by increasing the number of weeks over which the sessions are given. So, when looking for a program, try to find one that has the following:

Each session last at least 15-30 minutes

There are at least 4 sessions

The program last at least 2 weeks (longer is usually better)

Make sure the leader of the group is trained in smoking cessation:

Not all programs are honest, so be careful. Think twice about any program that:

Promise instant, easy success with little to no effort on your part

Use injections or pills, especially “secret” ingredients

Advertise 100% success rate with no ill effects

Charge a very high fee

Won't give you the references and phone numbers of people who used the program

Support of family and friends:

Many former tobacco users say a support network of family and friends was very important during their quit attempt. Other people, such as your co-workers and your family doctor, may offer support and encouragement. Tell your friends about your plans to quit. Try to spend time with non-tobacco users and ex-tobacco users who support your efforts to quit. Talk with them about what you need- for instance, patience as you go through cravings, taking your late-night or early-morning phone calls, and plans for doing things in places where it’s harder to use tobacco. Find out who you can count on each friend or family member to do

Other ways to quit smoking:

No one should smoke cigarettes and every effort should be made to get smokers off all forms of tobacco and to prevent everyone-especially youth-from starting to use any tobacco product. Smokers are strongly advised to use proven cessation methods, such as prescription medications and counseling, to quit smoking. You may hear or read about other tools or methods to quit smoking besides nicotine replacement therapy or prescription drugs whether they can help people quit smoking, that is the “if” part

Cold turkey and gradual withdrawal:

There's no right way to quit. A lot of smokers quit cold turkey-they stop completely, all at once, with no medicines or nicotine replacement. Some may start by smoking fewer cigarettes for a few weeks before they quit

Another way is gradual withdrawal-cutting down on the number of cigarettes you smoke a little bit each day. This way, you slowly reduce the amount of nicotine in your body. You might cut out cigarette smoke with a cup of coffee or you might decide to smoke only a certain time of the day. It makes sense to cut down before your quite date in order to reduce withdrawal symptoms, but this can be hard to do

Filters:

Reduce tar and nicotine in cigarettes do not help people quit smoking

Smoking deterrents:

Other methods have been used to help stop smoking, such as over-the-counter products that change the taste of tobacco, stop-smoking diets that curb nicotine cravings and combinations of vitamins. At this time there’s no scientific evidence that any of these work

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes):

E-cigarettes and similar devices are not approved by the FDA for use as smoking cessation aids. This is because there’s just not enough research or evidence yet

Some people who smoke choose to try e-cigarettes to help them stop smoking. Stopping smoking clearly has well-documented health benefits. But smokers who switch to e-cigarettes still expose themselves to potentially serious ongoing health risks. It's important to stop using all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, as soon as possible both to reduce health risk and to avoid staying addicted to nicotine

Some people choose to use both cigarettes and e-cigarettes at the same time on an ongoing basis, whether they are trying to quit or not. This is known as “dual use.” The dual use of e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes can lead to significant health risks because smoking any amount of regular cigarettes is very harmful. People should not use both products at the same time and are strongly encouraged to completely stop using all tobacco products

Tobacco lozenges and pouches:

The FDA has ruled that lozenges, strips and sticks that contain tobacco and small pouches of tobacco that you hold in your mouth are types of oral tobacco products much like snuff and chew, and are not smoking cessation aids

There’s no evidence that these products can help a person quit smoking. And we know that oral tobacco products like snuff and chewing tobacco cause cancer

Other forms of nicotine not approved by the FDA:

Nicotine has been added to drinks, lollipops, straws and lip balms which are marketed as quit tools. None of these are approved by the FDA, and in fact some are illegal in the U.S. none have been shown to help quit smoking. They also pose a risk for children and pets if they are not well-labeled, carefully stored and disposed of safely

Hypnosis:

Methods vary a great deal, which makes it hard to study as a way to stop smoking. For the most part, reviews that looked at controlled studies of hypnosis to help people quit smoking have not found that it’s a quitting method that works. Still, some people say it helps. If you’d like to try it, ask your health care provider to recommend a good licensed therapist who does hypnotherapy

Acupuncture:

This method has been used to quit smoking, but there’s little evidence to show that it works. Acupuncture for smoking is usually done in certain parts of the ears

Magnet therapy:

Magnet therapy to quit smoking involves 2 small magnets that are put in a certain spot, opposite each other on either side of the ear. Magnetism holds them in place. There’s no scientific evidence to date to suggest that magnet therapy helps smokers stop. There are many on-line companies that sell these magnets, and they report various “success” rates. But there’s no clinical trial data to back up these claims

Cold laser therapy:

This is also called low level laser therapy, and is related to acupuncture. In this method, cold lasers are used instead of needles. Despite claims of success by some cold laser therapy providers, there’s no scientific evidence that shows this helps people stop smoking

Herbs and supplements:

There’s little scientific evidence to support the use of homeopathic acids and herbal supplements as a stop-smoking method. Because they are marketed as dietary supplements (not drugs), they don’t need FDA approval to be sold. This means that manufacturers don’t have to prove they work, or even that they’re safe

Be sure to look closely at the label of any product that claims it can help you stop smoking. No dietary supplement has been proven to help people quit smoking. Most of these supplements are combinations of herbs but not nicotine. They have no proven track record of helping people to stop smoking

Mind-body practices:

Some studies have looked at cessation programs using yoga, mindfulness and meditation to aid in quitting smoking. Results were not clearly in favor of these methods, but some did show lower cravings and less smoking. More research is needed and studies of these practices are still going on. Cognitive processing methods are also being studied

Staying tobacco-free after you quit:

Dealing with withdrawal:

Withdrawal from nicotine has 2 parts- the physical and the mental. The physical symptoms are annoying but not life-threatening. Still, if you’re not ready to resist them, they can tempt you to go back to smoking or chewing. Nicotine replacement and other medicines can help reduce many of these symptoms. Most people who us tobacco find that the mental part of quitting is the bigger challenge

If you’ve been using tobacco for any length of time, it has become linked with a lot of the things you do-waking up in the morning, eating, reading, watching tv and drinking coffee for example. It will take time to “un-link” tobacco from these activities. This is why, even if you’re using nicotine replacement therapy, you may still have strong urges to smoke or chew

Rationalizations are sneaky:

One way to overcome urges or cravings is to notice and identify rationalizations as they come up. A rationalization is a mistaken thought that seems to make sense at the time, but isn’t based on reality. If you choose to believe in such a thought even for a short time it can serve as a way to justify using tobacco. If you’ve tried to quit before, you might recognize many of these common rationalizations:

I’ll just do it once to get through this rough spot

Today isn’t a good day. I’ll quit tomorrow

It’s my only vice

How bad is smoking/chewing, really? Uncle Harry smoked/chewed all his life and he lived to be over 90

Air pollution is probably just as bad

You've got to die of something

Life is no fun without tobacco

You may be able to add more to the list. As you go through the first few days without tobacco, write down rationalizations as they come up and recognize them for what they are-messages that can trick you into going back to smoking/chewing. Look out for them, because they always show up when you’re trying to quit. After you write down the thoughts, let it go and move on. Be ready with a distraction, a plan of action and other ways to re-direct your thoughts

Use these ideas to help you stay committed to quitting:

Avoid temptation: stay away from people and places that tempt you to smoke/chew

Change your habits: switch to juices or water instead of alcohol or coffee. Choose food that don’t make you want to smoke/chew. Take a different route to work. Take a brisk walk instead of a tobacco break

Choose other things for your mouth: use substitutes you can put in your mouth like sugarless gum or hard candy, raw vegetables such as carrot sticks or sunflower seeds. Some people chew on a coffee stirrer or a straw

Get active: do something to reduce your stress. Exercise or do something that keeps your hands busy such as needlework or woodworking, which can help distract you from the urge to use tobacco. Clean out a closet, vacuum the floors, go for a walk or work in the yard

Breathe deeply: when you were smoking, you breathed deeply as you inhaled the smoke. When the urge strikes now, breathe deeply and picture your lungs filling with fresh, clean air. Remind yourself of your reasons for quitting and the benefits you’ll gain as an ex-smoker. Deep breathing may help you also remember that you’re cleaning the toxins from tobacco out of your body

Delay: if you feel that you’re about to light up, hold off. Tell yourself you must wait at least 10 minutes. Often this simple trick will allow you to move beyond the strong urge to smoke. This works for smokeless tobacco too, wait 10 minutes until the urge lessens

Reward yourself: what you’re doing isn’t easy and you deserve a reward. Put the money you would have spent on cigarettes or tobacco in a jar every day and then buy yourself a weekly treat. Buy a book or some new music, go out to eat, start a new hobby or join a gym or save the money for a major purchase

You can also reward yourself in ways that don’t cost money: visit a park or go to the library. Check local news listings for museums, community centers and colleges that have free classes, exhibits, films and other things to do

Stay tobacco free:

Maybe you’ve quit many times before. If so, you know that staying quit is the final, longest and most important stage of the process. You can use the same methods as you did to help you through withdrawal. Think ahead to those times when you may be tempted to smoke/chew and plan on how you’ll use other ways to cope with those situations

More dangerous, perhaps are the unexpected strong desires to smoke/chew that can sometimes happen months or even years after you’ve quit. Rationalizations can show up then too. To get through these without relapse, try these:

Remember your reasons for quitting and think of all the benefits to your health, your finances and your family

Ask your tobacco-using friends for support. Tell them to not share their cigarettes or tobacco with you no matter what

Remind yourself that there is no such thing as just one dip or one cigarette-or even just one puff

Ride out the desire to smoke or chew. It will go away, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you can have just one

Avoid alcohol. Drinking lowers your chance of success

If you’re worried about weight gain, put some energy into planning a healthy diet and finding ways to exercise and stay active

Keep getting the counseling and support that’s helped you so far

Recovering for slips:

What if you do smoke or chew? Here’s the difference between a slip and a relapse: a slip is a one-time mistake that’s quickly corrected. A relapse is going back to using tobacco. You can use the slip as an excuse to go back, or you can look at what went wrong and renew your commitment to staying away from cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco for good

Even if you do relapse, try not to get too discouraged. Very few people are able to quit for good on the first try. In fact, it takes most people several tries. What’s important is figuring out what helped you when you tried to quit and what worked against you. You can use this information to make a stronger attempt at quitting the next time

Weight gain after quitting smoking:

Many smokers do gain weight when they quit. But when nothing is done to try to prevent this, the average gain in most studies is less than 10 pounds

For some people, a concern about weight gain can lead to a decision not to quit. But the weight gain that follows quitting smoking is usually small. It’s much more dangerous to keep smoking than it is to gain a small amount of weight

You’re more likely to quit tobacco for good if you deal with the smoking then later take steps to lose weight. While you’re quitting, try to focus on ways to help you stay healthy, rather than on your weight. Stressing about your weight may make it harder to quit. Get regular physical activity. Try to follow a healthy eating pattern, which includes a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables and whole grains and which avoid or limits red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages and high processed foods. Be sure to drink plenty of water and get enough sleep

Try walking: walking is a great way to be physically active and increase your chances of not smoking. Walking can help you by: reducing stress, burning calories and toning muscles and giving you something to do instead of thinking about smoking

All most people need for a walk is a pair of comfortable shoes and most people can walk pretty much anytime. You can use these ideas as starting points and come up with more of your own: walk around a shopping mall, get off the bus one stop before you usually do, find a buddy to walk with you during lunch time at work, take the stairs instead of elevator, walk with a friend, family member or neighbor after dinner, push your baby in a stroller or take your dog out for a walk

The American cancer society recommends getting 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week. Getting more is even better. But if you don’t already exercise regularly, check with your health care provider before you start

Managing stress after quitting tobacco:

Tobacco users often mention stress as one of the reasons for going back to using. Stress is part of life for people who use tobacco and for those who don’t. The difference is that people who use tobacco use nicotine to help cope with stress and unpleasant emotions. When quitting, you have to learn new ways to handle stress. Nicotine replacement can help for a while, but over the long term you’ll need other methods

As mentioned before, physical activity is a good stress-reducer. It can also help with short-term sense of depression or loss that people have when they quit. There are also stress management classes and self-help books. Check your community newspaper, library or bookstore

Spirituality can give you a sense of purpose and help you remember why you want to stay tobacco-free. Spiritual practices involve being part of something greater than yourself. For some, this includes things like religious practices, prayer or church work. For others, it may involve medications, music, being outside in nature, creative work or volunteering to help others

Managing stress after quitting tobacco:

Think about how you can deal with stress and not use tobacco. Look at the resources around you and plan on how you will handle the stressors that will come your way

Taking care of yourself:

It’s important for your health care provider to know if you use any type of tobacco now or have in the past, so that you’ll get the preventive health care you need it’s well known that using tobacco puts you at risk for certain health-related illnesses, so part of your health care should focus on related screening and preventive measures to help you stay as healthy as possible

For instance, regularly check the inside of your mouth for any changes. Have your doctor or dentist look at your mouth, tongue, gums and throat if you have any changes or problems. This way, you may find changes such as leukoplakia (white patches on the mouth tissues) early and maybe prevent oral cancer or find it at a stage that’s easier to treat

Smokers should also be aware of any of these things: change in cough, a new cough, coughing up blood, hoarseness, trouble breathing, wheezing, headaches, chest pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, general tiredness and frequent lunch or bronchial infections. Any of these could be signs of lung cancer or a number of other number of lung problems and should be reported to a health care provider right away

The American cancer society has guidelines on the use of low-dose computed tomography to screen for lung cancer in certain people at high risk. This includes people who are between the ages of 55 and 74, were formerly heavy smokers and are in a fairly good health. If this describes you, talk with your health care provider about lung cancer risk and the potential benefits and risk of lung cancer screening

Remember that tobacco users have a higher risk for many other cancers too. If you have any health concerns that may be related to your tobacco use, please see a health care provider as soon as possible. Take care of yourself and getting treatment for problems early on will give you the best chance for successful treatment. But the best way to take care of yourself and decrease your risk for life-threatening health problems is to quit using tobacco

Benefits of quitting smoking overtime:

It’s never too late to quit using tobacco. The sooner you quit, the more you can reduce your chances of getting cancer and other diseases

Within minutes of smoking your last cigarette, your body begins to recover, examples:

20 minutes after quitting: your heart rate and blood pressure drop

12 hours after quitting: the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal

2 weeks-3 months after quitting: your circulation improves and your lung function increases

1-9 months after quitting: coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs start to regain normal function in your lungs, increasing your ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce the risk of infection

1 year after quitting: the excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of someone who still smokes. Your heart attack risk drops dramatically

5 years after quitting: your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and bladder is cut in half. Cervical cancer risk falls to that of a non-smoker. Your stroke risk can fall to that of a non-smoker after 2-5 years

10 years after quitting: your risk of dying from lung cancer is about half that of a person who is still smoking. Your risk of cancer of the larynx and pancreas decreases

15 years after quitting: your risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker's

These are just a few of the benefits of quitting smoking for good. Quitting smoking lowers your risk of diabetes, lets blood vessels work better and helps your heart and lungs

Life expectancy for smokers is at least 10 years shorter than that of non-smokers. Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related diseases about 90%

Quitting while you’re younger will reduce your health risks more, but quitting at any age can give back years of life that would be lost by continuing to smoke

Are there benefits of quitting that I’ll notice right away:

Kicking the tobacco habit offers some rewards that you’ll notice right away and some that will show up over time

Right away you’ll save the money you spent on tobacco! And here are just a few other benefits you may notice:

Food tastes better

Your sense of smell returns to normal

Your breath, hair and clothes smell better

Your teeth and fingernails stop yellowing

Ordinary activities leave you less out of breath

You can be in a smoke-free building without having to go outside to smoke

Quitting also helps stop the damaging effects of tobacco on how you look, including premature wrinkling of your skin, gum disease and tooth loss

Helping a smoker quit: Do’s and Don’ts:

General hints for friends and family:

Do respect that the quitter is in charge. This is their lifestyle change their challenge not yours

Do ask the person whether they want you to ask regularly how they’re doing. Ask how they’re feeling-not just whether they’ve stayed quit

Do let the person know that it’s okay to talk to you whenever they need to hear encouraging words

Do help the quitter get what they need, such as hard candy to suck on, straw to chew on and fresh veggies cut up and kept in the refrigerator

Do spend time doing things with the quitter to keep their mind off smoking-go to the movies, take a walk to get pasta craving or take a bike ride together

Do try to see it from the smoker’s point of view-a smoker’s habit may feel like an old friend that’s always been there when times were tough. It’s hard to give that up

Do make your home smoke free, meaning that no one can smoke in any part of the house

Do remove all lighters and ash trays from your home. Remove anything that reminds them of smoking

Do wash clothes that smell like smoke. Clean carpets and drapes. Use air fresheners to help get rid of the tobacco smells-and don’t forget the car too

Do help the quitter with a few chores, some child care, cooking-whatever will help lighten the stress of quitting

Do celebrate along the way. Quitting smoking is a big deal

Don’t doubt the smoker’s ability to quit. Your faith in them reminds them they can do it

Don’t judge, nag, preach, tease or scold. This may make the smoker feel worse about him or herself. You don’t want your loved one to turn to a cigarette to soothe hurt feelings

Don’t take the quitter’s grumpiness personally during their nicotine withdrawal. Tell them that you understand the symptoms are real and remind them that they won’t last forever. The symptoms usually get better in 2 weeks

Don’t offer advice. Just ask how you can help with the plan or program they are using

If your ex-smoker “slips”:

Don’t assume that they will start back smoking like before. A “slip” (taking a puff or smoking a cigarette or 2) is pretty common when a person is quitting

Do remind the quitter how long they went without a cigarette before the slip

Do help the quitter remember all the reasons they wanted to quit and help them forget about the slip as soon as possible

Do continue to offer support and encouragement. Remind them they’re still a “quitter”-not a smoker

If your quitter relapses:

Research shows that most people try to quit smoking several times before they succeed. If a relapse happens think of it as practice for the next time. Don’t give up your efforts to encourage and support your loved one. If the person you care about fails to quit or start smoking again:

Do praise them for trying to quit and for whatever length of time of not smoking

Do remind your loved one that they didn’t fail-they are learning how to quit and you’re going to be there for them the next time and as many times as it takes

Do encourage them to try again. Don’t say, “if you try again...” Say, when you try again... Studies show that most people who don’t succeed in quitting are ready to try again in the near future

Do encourage them to learn from the attempt. Things a person learns from a failed attempt to quit may help them quit for good next time. It takes time and skills to learn to be a non-smoker

Do say, “It’s normal to not succeed the first few times you try to quit. Most people understand this, and know that they have to try to quit again. You didn’t smoke for (length of time) this time. Now you know you can do that much. You can get even further next time.”

If you are a smoker:

Do smoke outside and always away from the quitter

Do keep your cigarettes, lighters and matches out of sight. They might be triggers for your loved one to smoke

Don't ever offer to quitter a smoke or any other form of tobacco, even as a joke

Do join your loved one in their effort to quit. It’s better for your health and might be easier to do with someone else who is trying to quit too

This was a long one, but it is also important. These are just examples of ways you can quit smoking. Do what is right for you, your loved ones and others around you. It might not be easy at first but you will succeed. With God on your side anything is possible and if you haven’t been born-again then now is the time. Especially when you are going through something as hard as this. Good luck!