Stop Smoking Academy

Have you finally attached the ‘ex’ to the tag of smoker and become an ex-smoker? You have accomplished a rather rare achievement. You must have weathered the withdrawals, the psychological temptations, all the anxiety, mood swings, as also the millions of rationalizations why only one cigarette will not harm you. Of course, you know that you haven’t yet succeeded completely, after all, as they say, today is the beginning of the rest of your life, and you are trying your best to make it a smoke-free life. How can you overcome the constant temptations to smoke?

Though there is no simple answer to this question, there are many suggestions that may make your temptations more avoidable or at least more manageable to avoid.

Avoid anybody who seeks to entice you to smoke. For some strange reason, once in a while you may encounter a friend or family member who will behave as though your smoking cessation is a big joke, and who will either make it a point to light up in your presence or irritatingly wave a pack of cigarettes right under your nose, stopping just short of lighting one for you. She or he will give excuses that just one for old times’ sake won’t hurt and that you have already proven you can quit any time. Avoid such people as much as you can. Obviously, you can’t skip Thanksgiving dinner to avoid any such people you know, but it would be a good idea to have a buffer between you and that person. In case a friend does this to you, perhaps you will need to re-think your friendship with this person. Of course, the longer you have been smoke-free, the easier it gets to handle such temptations, and finally at some point you can just laugh in the person’s face and carry on with whatever you are doing. Until you reach that stage, however, it is best to avoid the person.

Avoid situations and places that tempt you to smoke. Your favorite watering hole down the block may have a lovely ambience, but if it the cigarette smoke inside is so thick that you need a knife to cut through, it may not be favorable to your effort to remain smoke-free. Find a new haunt that you may start liking even more than your old one! You will also find new friends, and pretty soon you will stop associating watching the game on Monday night with smoking. Once you reach that point, even a visit to the old watering hole will bring only a small temptation that you may be able to resist much more easily. Though locations may be easy to avoid, situations are more difficult. If your workplace allows people to smoke on the premises or on the job, you have to employ all of your willpower to overcome the temptations you face with smoking co-workers. In case this situation cannot be avoided, ensure that you come prepared with hard candy, sunflower seeds, peanuts or pistachios in the shell, or some sugarless gum.

Don’t even think of rationalizations such as “one cigarette won’t kill me.” It probably won’t kill you, but the slippery slope of rationalization will take you further away from a smoke-free life. In the same way that you would not tempt to an alcoholic to have just one last drink for old times’ sake or for the road, you should not rationalize that only one cigarette for yourself is a good idea. It will make refusing the second and third cigarette just that much harder. Another more weird rationalization is that smoking, but not buying cigarettes is not the same as being a smoker. Whether you buy or bum, if you put the cigarettes in your mouth and light them, you are definitely a smoker.

As you have already seen, it is difficult to quit, and it is difficult to remain smoke-free for life. Though it may be hard, it is completely doable, and if you continue on the strength of your convictions, you can make it through even the rough times. Should you, against the odds, bend to temptation, remind yourself immediately that a slip or lapse in judgment does not mean you have permanently fallen off the wagon. As a matter of fact, it is a good time to go over the reasons why you quit smoking in the first place, revisit the benefits of smoking cessation, and reward yourself for success!