Contents
Understand Your Smoking Habit
Reasons to Quit Smoking
How to Get Emotional Support Before Quitting Smoking
How to Get Medical Support Before Quitting Smoking
Alternative Methods for Quitting Smoking
How to Choose a Quit Date
How to Stay Quit
How to Deal with Regression
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How to Get Emotional Support Before Quitting Smoking
There’s no reason to endure the process of quitting smoking on your own. In fact, trying to do so may make quitting seem impossible. Before you quit, set up a structure of emotional support consisting of healthcare professionals, quitting programs, family, and friends.
Healthcare Professionals
Tell both your physician and any mental health professional that you see on a regular basis, such as a psychiatrist, that you’re planning to quit.
Talking to Your Doctor about Quitting
Ask your doctor the following questions:
- Considering the medications I’m currently on and my health history, what nicotine replacement methods and/or smoking cessation medication would you recommend for me?
- What should I expect withdrawal to be like, and how should I cope with it?
- If I need help while quitting, what should I do?
Talking to a Mental Health Professional about Quitting
A mental health professional such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor can help you get a grasp of what to expect and develop coping strategies you can use in the first weeks and months of quitting.
Smoking Cessation Programs
Many programs exist to help smokers quit. Smokers often find that joining a group program can help make the quitting process easier and ultimately more effective.
Group Programs
Group programs offer support and introduce you to people going through the same quitting process as you are. When choosing a program, look for one that offers the following:
- Intensity: Look for a program that meets for a few hours at a time, or for several weeks, or both. The more often a group meets, the more effective it will be.
- Counseling: Choose a program that includes group or individual counseling.
- Trained leaders: Make sure the person running the program is trained in smoking cessation.
- Reasonable (or no) cost: See that the program is free of charge or charges just a nominal fee ($20–50), which usually means it’s reputable.
- Part of a larger organization: Determine whether the program is affiliated with a larger nonprofit organization, which would indicate that it’s reliable.
Finding a Program
Smoking cessation programs are offered in nearly every region of the country. The most popular are offered by:
- American Cancer Society: www.cancer.org; 800.227.2345
- Nicotine Anonymous: www.nicotine-anonymous.org; 415.750.0328
Local hospitals or health clinics may also provide reputable programs. As you look into programs, be aware that some are scams. You should avoid any programs that:
- Offer pills or injections
- Charge a fee of more than $50
- Promise effortless and instantaneous results
- Don’t provide references from satisfied former clients
Family and Friends
Enlisting the support of family and friends is important when you’re trying to quit smoking. Be proactive about asking for the help of everyone with whom you regularly interact.
- Tell them you’re planning to quit.
- Warn them that you might be a little grouchy during withdrawal and ask them to be patient with you.
- Ask them to take your effort seriously and avoid offering you cigarettes or reminding you of your previous failed attempts to quit.
- Ask friends to agree not to smoke around you.
- Ask a friend or two to check up on you periodically to see how your effort to quit is going.
| Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
