Help for Cravings and Tough Situations

(source: cancer.org)

What to Do Right Now to Create a Smoke-free Future

• For the first few days after you quit, spend as much free time as possible in places where smoking is prohibited - libraries, museums, theaters, churches.
• Drink a lot of water and fruit juice.
• Don't drink alcohol, coffee, and other beverages that you associate with smoking.
• Strike up a conversation instead of a match for a cigarette.
• If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, play with something else - a pencil, a paperclip, a marble.
• If you miss the feeling of having something in your mouth, try toothpicks, cinnamon sticks or celery.
• AVOID TEMPTATION by staying away from situations you associate with pleasurable smoking.
• FIND NEW HABITS and create a non-smoking environment around you.
• Anticipate future situations/crises that might make you want to smoke again, and remind yourself of your reasons to not give in.
• Take deep rhythmic breaths similar to smoking to relax.
• Remember your goal and the fact that the urge will eventually pass.
• Think positive thoughts and avoid negative ones.
• Brush your teeth.
• Do brief bursts of exercise (isometrics, pushups, deep knee bends, walk up a flight of stairs, or touch your toes).
• Call a supportive friend.
• Eat several small meals. This maintains constant blood sugar levels and helps prevent the urge to smoke. Avoid sugary or spicy foods that trigger a desire for cigarettes.
• Above all, reward yourself. Plan to do something fun for doing your best.

When You Get the "Crazies"

• Keep oral substitutes handy: carrots, pickles, apples, celery, raisins, gum.
• Take 10 deep breaths, hold the last one while lighting a match. Exhale slowly and blow out the match. Pretend it is a cigarette and put it out in an ashtray.
• Take a shower or bath if possible.
• Learn to relax quickly and deeply. Make yourself limp, visualize a soothing, pleasing situation, and get away from it all for a moment. Concentrate on that peaceful image and nothing else.
• Light incense or a candle, instead of a cigarette.
• Tell yourself "no." Say it out loud. Practice doing this a few times, and listen to yourself. Some other things you can say to yourself might be, "I’m too strong to give in to smoking," "I’m a nonsmoker now," or "I don’t want to let my friends and family down."
• Never allow yourself to think that "one won't hurt," because it will.