How to Remain a Non-Smoker
81Top tips for avoiding smoking - Remind yourself of the benefits of quitting smoking
How to not smoke - tips and advice
If you're reading this article you are possibly struggling to quit smoking or have already stopped smoking for a while and are trying to not start smoking again. Nicotine craving, addiction and management can be very difficult. Whether you quit smoking cold turkey or quit smoking with hypnosis you may still be struggling to remain a non-smoker. While quitting smoking is extremely difficult remaining a non-smoker after quitting is also quite challenging. After I quit for my first time I went back to smoking after six months. This time around I have made it past the six-month barrier. Here's I'll share my tips for remaining a non-smoker after quitting.
Remind yourself of how much healthier you are
As a non-smoker you're greatly lowered your chances for lung cancer, many other types of cancer, heart problems, stroke and a huge list of health problems. Your body is gradually returning to the normal healthy state of a non-smoker. So what if you've put on a few pounds. Remind yourself: Wouldn't you rather be a little overweight and healthy than a skinny smoker and dead?
Remind yourself of nicotine addiction withdrawal
If you have successfully stopped smoking and would like to light up a cigarette think briefly of all the times you tried to quit and failed. Can you remember the horrible feeling of nicotine addiction withdrawal? It is awful! Personally, I made hundreds of attempts to quit smoking before I finally succeeded. Here just think of all those attempts and how disappointed you felt when you went back to smoking. Remembering that horrible feeling a disappointment and not having to go through nicotine addiction withdrawal should prevent you from lighting up a cigarette.
Remember the other smoker might be struggling to quit too
The first time I quit smoking then went back to the habit I always looked at other smokers and really wanted a cigarette. I'd say to myself, "Man, that looks nice!" But, now I have a completely different way of looking at somebody who is smoking and have no desire to light one up myself. I say to myself, "He or she might be struggling to quit too." By reminding myself that the other person smoking now might also be tying to quit has helped enormously to stay away from cigarettes.
Remember it's easy to avoid smoking now before you go back to smoking
If you've stopped smoking for several months you've released yourself from the physical addiction and if you feel like smoking now the desire is purely mental and not physical. At this point preventing yourself from smoking is easy. After one minute the feeling of desiring a smoke should pass and you'll continue on with your day. BUT, if you smoke just that ONE, the effort to avoid lighting up that next cigarette will increase one-thousand fold.
Remember the money you've saved from not smoking
By not smoking you've saved yourself a ton of money. If you're tempted to light up a cigarette try this exercise. Take out a calculator and calculate how much money you were wasting per month on cigarettes. Now consider how much your're saving per month. Multiply that number by 12 for one year. You'll see that by not smoking you're saving yourself thousands of dollars per year. This number should keep you from lighting up a cigarette.
Remember the guilt you felt when you smoked
Do you remember the guilt you felt when you were a smoker? You probably felt guilty about the fact that you were slowly damaging your health and shorting your lifespan, which would surely sadden your family members and friends. By not smoking you've relieved yourself of this guilt. By reminding yourself of this guilty feeling you associated with smoking cigarettes and how you no longer feel this guilt you'll probably avoid lighting up a cigarette.
Remember your goals in life
We all have different goals in life. You may want to see you kids grow up, travel to certain places and reach certain financial goals. By smoking you knew that the chances of doing certain activities later in life and reaching specific goals were lowered. But, by not smoking now you realize that you have a much higher chance of reaching these goals. Everyday remind yourself that by not smoking you are much more likely to reach your long-term goals in life and become a happier person!
I hope this quick list of tips for remaining a non-smoker has helped you. If I left anything out I'd love to hear from you below in the comments section!
Tips for how to remain a non-smoker
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Hello nms - thanks very much for your kind comment. I'm happy to help anybody who is struggling to remain a non-smoker! -dawei888 :-)
Hi,
Great hub!
I've been a non smoker for 28 years now. I think I can safely say I wouldn't be sitting here typing this if I'd carried on...that's how serious I believe it was for me. The bottom line is you have to have a huge reason to give up and you have to really want to give up. If you have those two things in place, it's really very easy!
I knew it was killing me and I couldn't play football...I had my reasons and that gave me the absolute desire to quit!
Asd for the money, well, for the first couple of years of quitting, I put my £1.25 a day in a jar and treated myself on the anniversary of having quit.
To close, I'm now 51 and can still play squash at a decent club level and run around a 5-a-side court once a week. If I'd carried on smoking...no chance, if I would have even still been alive :>)
I hope this helps someone else to stop!
Cheers
Derek
Hi Derek - Wow - Thanks for your comment. Sounds like you've done very well staying committed to not starting smoking again. Your comment and experience is an inspiration for all of us. Cheers, dawei888 :-)
I've never been a smoker, but living in Las Vegas has brought me in contact with smokers. Some of the older hotels have A/C systems that don't work to good, thus the smell from your clothes can only reflect what smoking does to your insides.
Regards...
Hi rb11 - Hmm...very interesting comment! I think the smell on the clothes can only be the tip of the iceberg. It's incredible knowing everything we know about cigarettes now people still start the habit! Thanks, dawei888 :-)
I quit smoking a little over 3 years ago and I still think about it from time to time. I've talked to ex-smokers that haven't touched a cigarette more 20+ years and they say they still battle an occassional craving from time to time. It's a life-long battle but it's definitely worthwhile to stay smoke-free.
I quit smoking four years ago, and I have to say I couldn't have done it without reading "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr. The title may sound simple but this book helps more then you can imagine! I think you have a lot of the points covered in the article. The main point of the book is to free yourself from the slavery of the cravings. Also, that once you stop, you can never have another puff again.
Hi bsplinter & Molly T! Thanks very much for your comments. We're not alone in our struggle to stay away from cigarettes! Molly - I'll look up that book. Thanks! -dawei888:-)
I've never smoked and never had the desire to try so I'm thankful I don't have to try to stop. I think one of the things that put me off ever wanting to try was the smell on the clothes etc. - both my parents were smokers, my mum smoked cigarettes and my dad smoked cigars and a pipe. My mum decided to stop one day when I was younger and she did it overnight with the help of chewing gum. She did try a cigarette once a few years later but didn't enjoy it. My dad gave up a couple of years ago due to severe health problems but my sister is really struggling and is now smoking again so I'm going to forward your hub to her. Thanks for writing this for those who need the help and support:)
hello tigermadstanley - yeah, smoking is like a black hole that's easy to get sucked into and very hard to escape from. i wish your sister all the very best in her efforts to stop smoking! she's lucky to have such a nice sibling like yourself! david
im off the cigs nearly 7 months and i have a constant runny nose maybe im clearing my chest anyone else suffer from this...i used the patches for 3 weeks an never looked back best decision of my life.
thanks for this list. i stoped 6 days ago after having smoked more than a pack a day for 19 years. and this is my first attempt and i want it to be the last.
I had very tough time in the past 6 days and I am too scared of the possible future puff..your list provided the tips i needed. also I second the recommendation of Allen Carr's Easyway. I quit after reading that book. best luck to all of us and lets stay nicotine free forever.
thanks for this list. i stoped 6 days ago after having smoked more than a pack a day for 19 years. and this is my first attempt and i want it to be the last.
I had very tough time in the past 6 days and I am too scared of the possible future puff..your list provided the tips i needed. also I second the recommendation of Allen Carr's Easyway. I quit after reading that book. best luck to all of us and lets stay nicotine free forever.
yea this is some good advice. thanks
Thanks for this list of tips, some of them are really helpful. I'm entering my 4th month of smoking abstinence now but recently seeing other people smoke has started to tempt me to 'just have one', which I will not be allowing myself to do!
the last point is the most important. many smokers know that one of the reasons the actually smoke is because they have a crappy life NOW. what happens if some day you get all you ever wanted but cancer knocks your door because of all the bad habits we had. . . .?
the allen carr i stopped years. it is true once if you start again it is harder. i stumped my last cig yesterday so want to leave it be. disgusting pointless habit and ADDICTION X
I quit cigarettes cold turkey six months ago. For the past two weeks I have had very strong cravings for a cigarette and actually thought of caving in to this horrible habit. However, after reading your posts I was reminded of all that we have been through to get to this point - the horrible withdrawal - and then being reminded of all the good points for quitting. We should give ourselves a medal for being able to quit this addiction. So glad I read all your comments - thanks.
Hello,I have been quit now 5 weeks, cold turkey. What keeps me from lighting up is the thousands of chemicals in a cigarette. When I get the notion to light up, I tell myself I must soak my cigarette I want to smoke in a mixture of ammonia,ddt,formaldahyde, acetone,carbon monoxide before I can smoke it! That puts it right out of my mind.
I stopped 6 months ago and am really feeling the emotional triggers that led me to start right now.
Reading the blog helped. quitting again would be s---t
neede a place to look in to remind me.
I so want a cigarette right now, but the craving passed as I read your words. There is a pack on the counter beside me (girlfriend smokes), but I won't have one. Not tonight. I will sleep without. Maybe restless, maybe anxious, but I don't need one. I can suffer, but I know this is the height of my suffering... unless I smoke one. But if I smoke one, it will be the beginning again. I don't want to start over.
nms 2 years ago
the points u mentioned on non-smoking are absolute truth..... i rate 10/10...good hub..promote 'no-smoking'