Want to Quit ???

A program for one and all

If you are a heavy smoker you might say "But it's going to be tougher on me". Sure! But you've more to gain, and hence more reason to succeed than others. On the other hand if you are a light smoker you may think you don't need a program like this because, after all, you can give up any time. Don't be fooled. If you know a family member or a friend or workmate who also wants to quit why not become "quit partners'. Plan t start the program together. Plan to talk about how you are going and plan rewards together. Plan to help each other through the risky times and encourage each other to stick with it. If you've tried quitting before and failed what you were probably missing was the method. Our method of quitting will do the trick. So whether you smoke one or a hundred cigarettes a day, this program is for you.

  Tips and Tricks to Help You Quit

  How your body and emotions handlle quitting

Tips and Tricks to Help You Quit

• Phone a friend
• Wash your hair
• Avoid food/drinks you associate with smoking for examples-if you usually have coffee and cigarette, have tea instead
• Spend more time with non-smokers
• Brush your teeth
• Go for a walk
• Get support from friends and family
• Say to yourself every morning, "Today I will be smoke free!
• Phone Helpline
• If you feel stressed at work, and you usually go for a cigarette to calm yourself down, go out and walk around the block instead. That way you still have that time-out .
• Go for a swim
• Chew gum
• Seek new activities.
• Go on a picnic
• Do some sketching and painting.
• Take a few deep breaths
• Learn a stress management technique like yoga, tai-chi, meditation, deep breathing
• Go shopping/window shopping.
• Take action to prevent stressful situations from arising.
• Do a crossword
• Gardening
• Listen to music
• Look at an old photo album
• Go out for dinner remembers to ask for a smoke free area. There are also smoke free restaurants around.
• Phone a friend for a game of tennis, badminton, etc.
• Make a list of the luxuries you would like. Buy them as rewards for yourself for quitting.
• Try to help someone else quit.
• Have your teeth cleaned at the dentist
• Organize a weekly group of meeting of friends who are quitting.
• Make your working/home environment as pleasant as possible.
• Buy a language cassette and learn another language. Treat yourself to a night in a luxury hotel with the money you would have spent on cigarettes.
• Go bushwalking/hiking.
• Doodle on a notebook.

There are lots more things that you can do. Plan ahead, so that when you want a cigarette, you can easily think of something else to do instead.

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How your body and emotions handlle quitting

When you stop smoking you may experience a number of changes - some that feel good and some that don't. Some will affect your body, others will affect your emotions.

What happens to your Body:

• Within 2 hours of smoking there is no more nicotine in your bloodstream
• When you smoke, the nicotine makes your heart beats faster and makes your blood vessels constrict - this puts an extra workload on your heart.
• When you smoke, the carbon-monooxide in the smoke bonds to your red blood cells, taking up the spaces where oxygen needs to bond. This makes you tired and short of breath. When you stop smoking, the carbon monoxide is removed from your body in 12 to 24 hours. You may feel light-headed or dizzy for a little while because your brain is getting a better oxygen supply.
• Smoking dulls your sense of taste and smell and within a few days these should be back to normal.
• Small microscopic hair like structures called cilia, which normally "sweep" clean the lungs, are paralysed by cigarette smoke. Within days of stop smoking, the cilia will start ot recover and begin "sweeping" out the phlegm which has built up 8in your lungs. You might feel  like you have a cold, and the coughing might be unpleasant, but it means your lungs are clearing themseles out - and that's good news.
• Within a few weks your lungs will be working much better and you should notice a difference. Some peoople say that they feel like they can really breathe again. Within a few months, the cilia should be functioning normally again.
• When you smoke the blood suppply to your limbs is restricted. Within a couple of months of stopping, this should improve. YOu may even notice tingling sensations of the blood supply returning in your hands and feet!
• Some people experience an increase in their appetite for a while, as nicotine tends to supress the feeling of hunger. If you are worried about eating more and gaining weight, plan ahead.
• Because tobacco has  a laxative effect, some people may suffer constipation for a short while until their body adjusts.
• You may notice any of a whole range of physical symptoms for a shor time after you give up, this is normal.

Emotional Changes

If you have been smoking for some time, cigarettes will have become part of your lifestyle. You've probably turned to them when you were stressed or anxious. They gave you something to do when you were bored, when you had coffee or drinks with friends, when you watched TV, read the paper or were on the phone.

it is reasonable to expect then, that you might be a bit irritable or depressed if you're not prepared for the adjustments you have to make when you quit. The support and encouragement of family and friends can realy help here. When they know how hard you are trying a few bad moods won't seem such a big deal.

It is important to keep in mind when you are in the process of quittin that anyphysical or emotional hickups are short-lived. Before you know it, you feel better tthan you have in a long, long time. Your sense of achievement   and well being will far outweigh the 'black ' days.

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