Stop Smoking Now!

So you want to stop smoking

Maybe you’re stressed, or bored, or lonely. But it’s OK, your friend is there. He’s always been there for you. He distracts you if you get bored. He fixes you a nice relaxing cocktail if you feel stressed or tense.

But now you suspect he’s slipping poison into your cocktail, and he’s slipping money out of your wallet. The fact is he’s been feeding you a pack of lies.

Saying goodbye to friends can be difficult, even friends who are trying to kill you and rob you. But it is possible. Millions of people just like you have done it, have stopped smoking, and you can too.

Following these 10 easy tips to assist you in becoming a healthy non-smoker for life!

• Tip 1: Take a moment, breath deeply in, and out, and ask yourself why you want to stop smoking

For some people it is health risks of smoking. After all smoking is not only a proven killer, it is also able to kill in many varied ways: lung cancer, stomach cancer, mouth or throat cancer, emphysema. You name it and there’s a good chance cigarettes can give it to you.

For some people it is the risk to your children or other loved ones. By smoking, you are not just poisoning yourself, you are sharing your second hand poison with them also. Second hand smoke can be as deadly as first hand smoke.

For some it is the effect on your breath of stale cigarette smoke, for others the aging effect on your skin.

For some it is the stench of smoke on their clothes. Perhaps they see people wrinkle their nose as they walk past.

It may be the effect on your breathing.

Everyone has different reasons to stop smoking. What are yours? Think about it and write them down.

• Tip 2: Ask yourself why you want to stop smoking NOW

So you want to stop smoking. Why do you want to stop smoking now? Has there been some event in your life? Maybe a health scare?

• Tip 3: Make a decision to quit.

You know why you are becoming a non-smoker, and you know the time is right to become a non-smoker now.

Make a decision: from now on you are a healthy non-smoker for life!

• Tip 4: Share the good news

Congratulations! You have made a decision to quit and become a healthy non-smoker for life. Don’t keep it to yourself, tell your friends, tell your relatives.

The more people you tell, the more likely you are to stick to being a healthy non-smoker for life!

• Tip 5: Get to know your enemy

Knowledge is power. There are excellent resources on-line that discuss in detail the contents of cigarettes and the effects of smoking.

Of course cigarettes contain carcinogens, cancer causing chemicals, but there are more common day-to-day poisons as well. Cyanide and arsenic are two of the better-known poisons that are in cigarettes. But did you know they put formaldehyde in there as well. That’s the stuff they keep dead bodies in at the morgue; remember dissecting frogs in biology class? And urea, that’s urine to you and me, yes your once-upon-a-time friend pisses in those cigarettes before he hands them out.

Honestly, the more you read about cigarettes and the effects of smoking the worse it gets and you will wonder why you ever let a cigarette near you, and you will probably feel a little nauseous if you smell tobacco smoke again.

Tip 6: Acknowledge what smoking did for you and realize how many ways you can still get those same benefits

Let’s face it, smoking did something for you. That’s why you once considered cigarettes your friend. But you don’t need to sacrifice your health; all the benefits that smoking gave you, you can get being a healthy non-smoker.

Ask yourself honestly what smoking used to do for you. Did it make you feel relaxed? Or feel like Joe Cool? Or make you feel like one of the gang? Now use your creative imagination to come up with some other ways of getting those benefits, for example if smoking used to help you relax, you could learn self-hypnosis to easily get the same effect. Use those new healthy behaviors and you will keep the benefits.

• Tip 7: Ask for help if you need it

If you feel it would be beneficial to see a doctor do so. If you think a hypnotist will help you, go see one. You are not alone!

• Tip 8: Ask yourself: how will my life be different now that I am a healthy non-smoker for life?

Yes you're healthier now as a non-smoker for life. Your body is already beginning to repair itself. Your risk of serious disease is already diminishing. Your lungs are healthier; you’re able to take more exercise, run for the bus without losing your breath.

And you life is different in so many other ways. Imagine you are walking past the news-stand. You reach the next block and realize you have no cravings at all. They are gone and you are free. How does this feel?

Imagine helping a friend of yours to become a non-smoker. What are you saying to them to help and encourage them? How good does it feel to know you have helped them to become a healthy non-smoker for life?

• Tip 9: Arm yourself to more easily handle cravings

Smoking is addictive. Your once-upon-a-time friends at the tobacco companies have seen to that. They have carefully laced your cocktail with chemically addictive additives to better keep a hold of your mind and wallet, but the cravings can be handled once you are prepared.

There are a number of ways you can prepare yourself to more easily handle any cravings. Mind-energy techniques such as self-hypnosis or EFT can reduce cravings to zero and are well worth learning. Some people swear by gum or the patch.

The nicotine will be gone from your system in around 72 hours, and from that point on your brain chemistry begins to return to normal. During that time, try not to drink coffee or fruit juice (the acidity tends to increase the nicotine craving). If you drink, drink in moderation.

• Tip 10: Acknowledge and reward yourself for becoming a healthy non-smoker for life

You have taken a major step into a brighter, healthier future. Acknowledge that and thank yourself for what you have done.

Reward yourself by treating yourself to something you really want. Get your once-upon-a-time friends at the tobacco company to pay for it; how much money were you wasting on each pack of lies that you bought? How many did you buy? How much money were you wasting on poison? Now it is truly yours to spend as you want.

Bonus Tip: What to do if your once-upon-a-time friend comes whispering in your ear.

OK so you’ve kicked your once-upon-a-time friend out. You’ve done your research and you know exactly what he was doing to you all that time, poisoning you and robbing you. You’ve got over those three days of cravings. You’re free.

Don’t be surprised if your once-upon-a-time friend comes whispering inside your head.

He may use a superior tone:

“Who do you think you’re kidding? You’re not strong enough, you’ll come crawling back to me”

Or maybe he’ll try the whiney approach:

“Just one. What harm is there in just one?”

And you know it’s a pack of lies, but…

Wait a minute! This is your head! You get to say who speaks and what they say! Take a moment, invite your whiney once-upon-a-time friend to speak. Listen to that voice, and notice where it is coming from. Now move it, some people find moving it down to the ground by your left foot works. As you move it down you will find it becomes even more whiney “neh-neh-neh just one more neh-neh-neh” almost like the buzzing of an insect crawling round the floor.

And taking a moment to listen to that whiney buzz, wondering how your once-upon-a-time friend ever thought he could fool you again with his pack of lies, lift up your left foot and squish that whiney insect.

We’re not done yet. Think back to someone in your life who you know or knew. Someone you admired and respected. Perhaps a teacher, a friend, a mentor. As you remember them, imagine what they would be saying to you now, how proud they would be of you as a healthy non-smoker for life. Hear their voice, hear their words, and realize you have won and you are a healthy non-smoker for life!