Avoid smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health. The benefits start almost immediately, and build over time to reduce your risk of many serious diseases caused by smoking. With some preparation and support, you can power through cravings and withdrawal symptoms to become smoke-free for life.
Contents
Why avoid Smoking?
Smoking puts your entire body at risk and causes damage in many ways:
- Increased risk of lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other major illnesses
- Reduced lung function, making physical activity more difficult
- Higher levels of stress hormones compared to non-smokers
On the positive side, quitting smoking has huge benefits:
- Improved sense of taste and smell
- Easier breathing and ability to exercise
- Reduced stress levels
- Thousands of dollars saved each year
- Protecting loved ones from secondhand smoke
So while quitting is very challenging, it’s more than worth the effort you put in. Focus on all the great things in your future as a non-smoker!
How to avoid Smoking
Quitting smoking begins with preparing yourself mentally, identifying your unique triggers, and lining up support systems to help you through the tough times.
Choose Your Motivation
To quit successfully, you need a powerful personal reason that’s stronger than the desire to smoke. Protecting your family, improving your health, having more energy and money – whatever reason resonates most will help drive you.
Make a Quit Plan
Write down all aspects of your smoking patterns – when you smoke, what you do while smoking, what emotions and environments trigger you. Avoid those triggers at first so you can get through initial cravings more easily.
Line up support systems like quit-smoking apps and hotlines so you can talk through challenging moments. Ask friends and family to encourage you when temptations arise.
And stock up on oral substitutes like gum, lollipops, straws, or toothpicks to keep your mouth busy.
Pick a Quit Date
Choose your quit date 1-2 weeks out so you have time to prepare, but don’t wait too long and risk losing motivation. Mark it in your calendar and commit to making that the day you stop smoking for good.
Inform friends and family of your quit date so they can support you. Get rid of all cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, office, and car beforehand so you remove smoking cues.
Understand Withdrawal Timeline
When you stop smoking, your body will undergo both physical and mental withdrawals as it adjusts to being nicotine-free. These symptoms usually peak within the first 1-2 weeks and then diminish:
- Cravings, often strongest right after quitting
- Irritability, anxiety, depressed mood
- Restlessness and trouble concentrating
- Increased appetite initially
Knowing that the symptoms are temporary can help you power through. Each one is a sign your body is healing from smoking!
How to Resist Cravings
Cravings can feel overpowering at first. But staying committed to your decision and proactively managing cravings is key to becoming smoke-free for life.
Try Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Nicotine patches, gum, lozenges and prescription medications like Chantix provide controlled doses of nicotine or smoking cessation support. While not guaranteed, these therapies improve your chances of quitting successfully.
Avoid Triggers
Stay away from people, places, activities and emotions that trigger your desire to smoke. If drinking coffee makes you reach for a cigarette, switch your drink for a few weeks. If talking on the phone is a smoking cue, keep your hands busy doodling instead.
Delay the Craving
When a craving hits, tell yourself you must wait at least 10 minutes before considering a cigarette. The intensity typically passes within 5-10 minutes. Delaying makes the urge more manageable.
Do Something Else
Distract yourself with exercise, listening to music, calling a friend…anything that disrupts the craving and redirects your mind. Even simple stretches or breathing deeply can help an urge subside.
Manage Stress Without Smoking
Many smokers use cigarettes for stress relief. Now you’ll need to relearn healthy ways to take personal time and deal with stress without smoking.
Experiment with new hobbies, relax in a soothing environment, meditate, or chat with supportive friends when you need an outlet. Over time your stress levels will become lower than when you were a smoker.
What If You Start Smoking Again?
It’s completely normal for someone quitting smoking to relapse at some point. If it happens, don’t let a single cigarette turn into going back to regular smoking. Remove yourself from the tempting situation right away.
Analyze what caused the momentary lapse and make adjustments so that trigger doesn’t defeat you next time. Remember that quitting smoking often takes multiple attempts before it finally sticks long-term.
13 Best Tips for avoid Smoking
Follow this roadmap to empower yourself to avoid smoking for good:
- Clarify your personal motivations – make them tangible by keeping a list handy for inspiration.
- Admit you need help to quit – whether it’s a doctor, friend, or support group.
- Identify your unique smoking triggers – people, places, activities or emotions.
- Avoid triggers at first to minimize temptation while quitting.
- Pick a firm quit date and inform friends/family to rally their support.
- Stock up on oral substitutes like gum, straws and toothpicks.
- Try nicotine replacement therapy like patches or gum to manage cravings.
- Delay acting on cravings by 10+ minutes until urgency passes.
- Do breathing exercises when you get a craving.
- Call a support person when you need encouragement.
- Remove smoking accessories like ashtrays from your surroundings.
- Remind yourself constantly of why you are quitting and the new benefits non-smokers have.
- Reward small milestones like a smoke-free week with fun activities.
Stick to this game plan, take quitting one day at a time, and you’ll be well on your way to a smoke-free life full of health and happiness!
FAQS
How can we avoid smoke?
There are a few effective ways to avoid smoke exposure:
– Avoid going to smokers’ homes or cars where secondhand smoke will be present
– When in public areas like restaurants, request seating in the non-smoking sections
– If your office allows smoking, request moving to a non-smoking area
– Avoid going to locations that permit smoking indoors, like certain bars or nightclubs
– If smoking areas are not well-ventilated, toxins can spread so avoid lingering nearby
Support measures prohibiting public and workplace smoking when possible
What is the most effective way to quit smoking?
The most effective ways to quit combine both nicotine replacement therapy to address withdrawal along with behavioral counseling to teach healthy coping strategies. Options that work well together include:
– Nicotine patches + gum/lozenges + counseling
– Prescription meds like Chantix + counseling
– Counseling provides accountability, coping mechanisms for triggers, and encouragement
On their own, any of these can certainly help in the quitting process. But combining pharmacological and behavioral treatment is considered the gold standard.
Why people should stop smoking?
There are numerous health, social and personal reasons why quitting smoking is highly recommended:
– Greatly reduces risk of lung cancer, strokes, heart disease and other illness
– Eliminates exposure of loved ones and coworkers to dangerous secondhand smoke
– Improves lung capacity and overall energy levels
– Enhances physical endurance for activities and exercise
– Restores dulled sense of taste and smell back to full strength
– Saves an average of $3,000 per year otherwise spent on cigarettes
Why should smoking be avoided?
Smoking carries significant health risks and should be avoided primarily because:
– It is the cause of multiple types of cancer and respiratory diseases
– Contains over 7,000 toxic chemicals that damage nearly every organ
– Shortens overall life expectancy by an average of at least 10 years
– Increases the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes
– Causes fertility issues and pregnancy complications
– Produces secondhand smoke that harms nonsmokers
– Is highly addictive, making quitting extremely challenging
The cumulative damage from direct and secondhand smoke exposure makes smoking uniquely hazardous to both smokers and nonsmokers alike. This makes avoiding smoking initiation, or quitting as early as possible, vitally important steps for public health.
