Why Quit Smoking?

We all know how hard it is to kick a habit you have had for the past year or years. Perhaps you’ve done it for so long that you have convinced yourself and others around you that you truly enjoy smoking. Do you really enjoy letting your hard earned money go up in smoke? Damaging your lungs? Limiting your social life?

While some people can easily turn cold turkey, there are individuals who might need a little push. Here is an easy trick, if you are buying a new car or home or even moving into a new apartment, try not smoking in it.

The idea is to limit the places where you are allowed to smoke. Let’s say for example, you are dining out with friends. Ask them if you can stay in the non smoking area. This way, you can avoid smoking while waiting for the food or even while ordering. It might take an extra effort for you to get your daily fix since you would have to stand up, excuse yourself from the group and smoke by yourself in the smoking area. And that’s really good, because you will realize how smoking makes you a social outcast.

The same is true at the work place. Bring a sandwich and stay at your desk instead of heading outside just to light up a cigarette. Do you know how silly folks look when they are shriving in cold or sweating in the summer heat just smoke?

Aside: I frequently visit a relative in a local nursing home. Almost every time I go there, I see a few elderly smokers in wheelchairs puffing away. I’ve even seen a couple residents who remove their oxygen in order to smoke. How dumb is it to continue smoking with damaged lungs?

If you aren’t sure that you can quit smoking in your car or home, consider the places you already don’t smoke in: libraries, museums, discount stores, churches, movie theaters, smoke-free restaurants, swimming pools, ski slopes, and hair dressers. Got the idea? Just start adding a few places to your non-smoking list.

If you are going to a friend’s apartment, your parents’ place, or the mall, avoid areas where smoking is allowed. You will soon notice that your cigarette consumption has gone down and that you may be ready to take the next step of slowly quitting smoking.

In addition to this, you may also find yourself able to go to more places than before. If in the past, you couldn’t handle visiting a sick friend in the hospital because you cannot go for 20 minutes without smoking, you would now see that an hour dinner with friends in a non smoking restaurant is really easy.

For many people quitting smoking is a step by step process. Give yourself some time and take a few baby steps, you might just do something life-altering.