Smoking and how to quit it - Essay Example

First and First and 19 July How to Quit Smoking Quitting smoking can be difficult for a lot of people because cigarettes contain an addictive substance called nicotine. A 1989 report from the U.S. Surgeon General stated that cigarette smoking was a major cause of stroke and was the third leading cause of death in the United States (“Cigarettes and Other Nicotine Products”). In spite of these warnings, currently 29 percent of the adult American population is addicted to smoking. This means that nicotine can be considered the most heavily used addictive drug in the United States.

To quit smoking, there are three steps to help break the chain of addiction: making the right preparations to quit, finding appropriate support, and learning new behaviors and skill sets. Part of quitting smoking successfully is to make the right preparations so you don’t have a relapse. The first action to quitting smoking is to set a quit date. This date should be long enough to give yourself time to mentally prepare yourself about quitting smoking, but should also be within a short period of time so you don’t keep procrastinating.

The next thing you can do is change the environment that you live in. This is a big part of quitting smoking because our surroundings can remind us about when we used to smoke. Another thing to do is to remember previous times when you tried to quit and thing about what worked well and what did not (“5 Easy Steps to Quitting”). The final thing you can do in preparing to quit smoking can be not feel tempted to take another puff ever again, because this will bring back memories. The next step to quitting smoking is to find friends and family who will encourage you in your decision to quit.

Studies have shown that you have a higher chance of success if you receive help (“5 Easy Steps to Quitting”). This can be done by informing your colleagues, friends, or family members about your choice and that you will need their support. They can help by not smoking near you or not encouraging you to go out for a smoke. Additionally, you can contact your local healthcare provider and ask things such as nicotine patches to help you quit successfully. Also, you can enter into group counseling.

This can be very beneficial because you can talk about the struggles that you are going through with a bunch of people who understand you completely. The final step to successfully quitting smoking is to learn new behaviors and skills. This may involve resisting your urge to smoke by going outside for some fresh air (“5 Easy Steps to Quitting”). Another way may be to change your daily routine completely such as driving a different way to work, drinking water instead of coffee, or eating lunch in a different place that you would normally do.

The key is to take your mind off things by doing something relaxing such as going on a run or reading your favorite book. Keeping healthy is a good way to quit smoking because it will make you feel better and remove the need to take cigarettes in order to keep your body weight down. Above all, life should be fun so the need for cigarettes can no longer be there. In conclusion, we can say that quitting smoking can be very difficult for most people. However, with the right preparation, appropriate support, and new behaviors, quitting smoking can become a reality.

Research shows that the process to quit smoking should be slow but steady because withdrawal symptoms are not as common in those who quit slowly compared to those who quit immediately (“Cigarettes and Other Nicotine Products”). The more that time passes by, the less the urge is to return to smoking. Works Cited “5 Easy Steps to Quitting.” Cigarette.com, 2010. Web. 19 Jul. 2011. “Cigarettes and Other Nicotine Products.” About.com, 2011. Web. 19 Jul. 2011.