I am not one who usually gives out tips because stopping smoking is a very personal thing and is very different from one person to another. The problem also is that every person has different reasons for smoking. That is why one tip can't be for everyone. Here are some things I think a person should do before stopping smoking. By the way, I have now been an ex-smoker for over 6 years without any relapses...yeah!

1)You have to know what kind of smoker you are. This does not cost a thing and is not difficult to do. You sit down and write the cigarettes you could do without. Which ones are the most important to you. We all have smoked cigarettes where half way we stop and wonder why we are smoking because we are not enjoying smoking it! Write down, for a couple of weeks, your top 5 of the day. After a couple of weeks, try smoking only those 5 cigarettes. You try gradually to dwindle down to those 5 cigarettes.

2)If you have been able to dwindle down to those 5 cigarettes, or not, you don't allow yourself to smoke when in those situations: talking on the phone, sitting down, smoking inside and most important smoking when doing an activity. You have to get up and go outside, you can never smoke inside a restaurant or a house, without a glass of water/book/magazine/chatting with someome. You can only smoke your cigarette while doing absolutely nothing! Smoking is a very social activity and you will notice that you smoke more when you are with people or talking on the phone.

3)You have to find physical activities to do. Have you noticed that when you work out you need cigarettes and junk food less? You need to find things to do for when you will have stopped smoking because you need to find a focus when an urge to smoke comes on. If you sit idly and whine that you want to smoke, you will probably have a relapse. You need to find something you love doing. I love going to the gym with my ipod. I have been a non-smoker for many years but what keeps me a non-smoker is that I love exercicing. Being occupied with an activity is a winning trick.

4)The title talks about healthy tips but I have one tip that is the patch. I had been able to dwindle down to about 5 cigarettes per day but I was not able to cut down on the weekends when I was going out with friends to restaurants and bars. We still had the right to smoke in restaurants and bars 6 years ago and I had difficulty taking the last step. I started out with the medium intensity patch. I did that for about 6 weeks. I started out with the medium patch and went on to the mild intensity patch every day and then half the day and then skipping a day and finally with no patch.

I am not saying that those tricks are full proof because no one is exempt from a relapse. I will never say that I will never smoke again because I don't know what the future holds for me but I don't want to start smoking again. I can't stand the smell! The trick is to always take it one hour at a time at first and then one day at a time. Never be too self assured because it is a life long struggle!

Learn more about this author, Cristy Hebert.
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