Think your five-cup-a-week Starbucks latte habit is expensive? It’ll run you about $20 a week, but that’s nothing compared to a pack-a-day smoking habit, which can cost in the neighborhood of $40-$45 a week. If saving more than $2,000 a year isn’t enough reason to quit, the positive effects on your health definitely should be.
If you’re quitting (or know someone who is), the following tips will help:
1. Have a Good Reason
The first step is convincing yourself that you want to quit, but you need a good reason if you want to motivate yourself to give it up permanently. The more personal the reason, the better. Examples include saving money to help pay for your child’s college fund or preserving your health so you’ll be around long enough to watch him or her graduate from college!
2. Plan Your Quitting Strategy
Quitting smoking is hard, and like any challenging task, it helps to have a plan. And like any plan, it also helps to write it down. Your plan includes your reasons for quitting, your rewards, and what you’ll do to fight back when the urge to smoke hits.
3. Tell Everyone That You’re a Quitter
You might be tempted to keep your smoking cessation plans to yourself, but you’ll be more likely to succeed if you share your challenge with others. They’ll keep you motivated, ask for updates and encourage you along the way. And if you fail, they’ll also be there to help you get back on the right track.
4. Skip the Cold Turkey
Tossing our your cigarettes and quitting “cold turkey” – that is, without the help of nicotine replacement therapy – might seem like a good idea, but it’s not. Nicotine is a powerful drug, and using nicotine gum, lozenges, patches or prescription medication will dramatically increase your chances of kicking the habit permanently.
5. Join an Online Forum
Just as your friends and family members can help motivate you, fellow quitters online can also help. An online quitters’ forum is filled with people just like you – including former smokers who know exactly what you’re going through – who are there to help each other out and offer support during the good times and the not-so-good times.
Do you have any tips to help quit smoking?