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Kick Smoking NOW in 10 Easy Steps
Discover How to Permanently Stop Smoking Quickly, Easily and Painlessly TODAY
By Planning, Preparing and Taking the Right Action
Copyright First Published in 2012 by www.Lulu.com
2nd Edition 2017
Copyright © 2017 by Jackie Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of Jackie Hill
ISBN: 978-1-291-22233-3
Acknowledgement
A big thank you to all the people I’ve worked with who are now set free from the bondage of
smoking. Without them I could not have written this book.
Introduction
Most people who smoke tobacco find it extremely difficult to stop, and my guess is that
because you’ve picked up this book, you are one of these people. Despite being bombarded
with all the health risks attached to smoking and the enormous amount of help that is
available to people who want to stop smoking, why is it still so difficult for many people to
stop? There are numerous websites on the internet, some with graphic pictures and life stories
of people who have suffered smoking related illnesses, of amputations, artificial voice boxes,
and tarred lungs. There are endless lists of health and therapeutic services aimed at helping
individuals to stop smoking, there is hypnotherapy, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming),
acupuncture, herbalists, homeopathic remedies, reflexology, aromatherapy to name just a
few, and then of course there is NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy), electronic cigarettes
and prescription drugs such as Chamtix and Zyban. Even the National Health Service are
offering advice kits you can get through the post and of course there are the National Stop
Smoking days. We all know smoking is bad for you, and we all know, albeit deep down,
there are no benefits to smoking whatsoever, even the people who manufacture it and sell it
to you, the tobacco companies, state a health warning on the packet. So why is there still so
much confusion and myths around smoking and even more importantly WHY is it so
difficult to stop?
Well I believe in this book you will find the answer to that question, and you’ll also find out
HOW to stop smoking. Over the years I’ve helped many people stop smoking, and in treating
and listening to them, I have discovered the many snares, snags, and struggles that they
encounter when tackling their smoking addiction. And addiction it is. Scientists have
confirmed that nicotine is the fastest addictive drug there is (quicker than heroin) yet I have
found that generally speaking there are a large proportion of smokers who do not accept this
and deny the addictive quality of cigarettes and tobacco. Maybe it’s because of all the
negative connotations and stigma that gets attached to the word “addiction”. Often when we
suggest that someone is addicted to a drug, it conjures up images of “drug addicts” “junkies”
and generally most people do not want to see themselves in those terms. So for those reasons,
it may be that those people would prefer not to believe that nicotine is addictive, and
subsequently believe they are not drug addicts. However, this perspective then presents them
with a problem. As they then are left to believe that smoking is purely habitual, in which case
they should be able to stop smoking relatively easy through their own willpower. So they
embark on a well-intentioned decision to just stop, and rely on their self-control to see them
through. Guess what? This usually ends in failure.
When willpower fails them, as is often the case, the usual pattern then becomes one of self-
blame and inadequacy. Feelings of failure, feeling useless, weak, and guilt all become
common-place. Add to those feelings, the sense of social un-acceptance (after all smoking
was okay and even fashionable at one point until recently), and now that no one is unaware of
the serious health risks, it comes as no surprise to find that many people who smoke feel
uncomfortable, even desperate to kick the habit, and cannot understand that despite strong
efforts, they just cannot stop smoking, or if they do, it’s often for a short while before they
start smoking again. This course of action becomes soul destroying.
Then there are also those people who accept nicotine is addictive and in doing so they may
believe that being the case there is little point in fighting the drug, as it will win in the end
anyway. There is almost this surrender to the power of the drug, believing that to try to stop
will just lead to failure anyway so they might as well carry on smoking, and overcome their
feelings of weakness by kidding themselves that they enjoy it. Trying to conquer it feels like
it is just too hard, simply impossible and so it’s best to resign oneself to being a lifelong
smoker and make the most of it.
Then there are those who fall between the devil and the deep blue sea. Confused, not
knowing what to believe or which way to turn for help and not understanding why everything
they try seems to fail them.
Lets face it, the fact is that smoking is BIG business, and offers huge revenues for the
tobacco industry, and smoking paraphernalia manufacturers (pipes, lighters, matches and so
on), whose financial interests lay in getting you hooked in the first place, AS WELL as the
financial gain there is to be made from the “we have the cure” brigade, which includes drug
companies selling you their NRT products (nicotine gum, patches and pills), and
prescription drugs to GP surgeries, and of course, E-Cigarettes after all they’re not cheap
are they? Plus there are countless therapies, and so on, to help you get unhooked! No wonder
it’s confusing and full of pitfalls, or should I say snares, snags and struggles. After all, who
do you trust!
I believe that there is no ‘ONE’ easy way or single way to stop smoking. The only person
who knows how to stop is YOU. It’s you and no one else, who holds the key to unlocking
the cell door to your nicotine addiction and it’s only you that can set yourself free from the
cycle of enslavement. There are many experts out there in the world who claim they have
found the way to stop smoking, some claim it is easy, some claim you can do it in just a few
days or even hours. I am not disputing their claims, as lets face it, it worked for them and so
can possibly work for others, and for many it does. What they have found is THEIR way,
and so within each therapy, each theory there will be little gold nuggets of truth that will
apply to you. The extent of how much truth applies to you, depends on your own
psychological make-up, life experiences and your perspective on how you see the world.
The reason why I believe there is no single cure for smoking, and why a lot of different
therapies and methods may work for just a while, is because they have treated the issue of
smoking from a perspective of only dealing with the physical withdrawal of nicotine and
mental dependency of habit, (a conditional response to situations). People become
emotionally attached to smoking and it is this issue that needs to be dealt with if they wish to
become permanent non-smokers.
When I work with people who smoke I believe it is vitally important to access the underlying
cause of their emotional dependency on smoking and deal with it. This I believe is the root of
the problem. To just treat the physical symptoms of withdrawal, and change habits, is a bit
like weeding the garden but leaving the root of the weed in the ground only to spout up again
in a few weeks or months time.
As human beings every single one of us is a unique individual. We all have a unique DNA
structure, we are all genetically different, we all have a different experience of upbringing,
and we all have developed different coping mechanisms and as smokers we all smoked for
different reasons, and subsequently our motives for stopping smoking are different in each
and every one of us. Yes, there may be similarities, but at the end of the day, no one is in
your skin, or knows your thoughts, your beliefs, experiences your feelings other than you.
Therefore, it seems illogical to believe there is a number 1, 100% cure for all out there – a
one size fits all.
In writing this book, it is may aim to encourage you to seek the 100% cure from your
addition to smoking from the inside – from your own mind. This is how I work with
individuals, guiding and enabling them to unlock the hidden depths of their owns minds to
find the answers as to why they feel dependant on tobacco products and what keeps them
longing for cigarettes even when the physical withdrawal symptoms are long gone.
It is my hope that this book will help you start that process of seeking answers from within,
and will enlighten you as to what you need to do to quit smoking for good. Take from this
book those nuggets of gold that hold truth for you. My aim is to help you dispel the confusion
and myths around smoking and avoid making those all too common mistakes. The objective
is to learn to trust your own mind, so that you can be guided as to where the pitfalls lie for
you, and by following the guidelines in this book, you have the tools and the knowledge to
overcome victoriously. In following the solutions I’ve suggested I guarantee you will get the
results you want… the question is are you prepared to do them?
How to Use This Book This book contains 10 easy steps, and within each step there is a list of things to avoid and
solutions. The best approach is to start reading at the beginning and work through each step.
As you go through highlight the areas that really speak to you and apply the solutions.
Afterwards you can easily access them to refresh your mind. If you become aware of any
underlying issues during this process such as low self-esteem or unsettling emotions, don’t
suffer in silence, seek professional advice from a counsellor or therapist to help you deal with
them.
Step 1 – Are YOU Ready to Make a Commitment to Stop Smoking?
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and
creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely
commits oneself, then providence moves too.” ~ W. H. Murray, from The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951)
To start out on any journey you must have a destination in mind – unless of course, you are
an explorer, in which case your journey is one of unpredictability, uncertainty and discovery.
However, if you were planning to travel to a designated destination then it would make sense
to prepare for the journey properly, so that you could arrive safely and without wasting time
or fuel. You would find out beforehand, information about your destination so that you had
realistic expectations as to what to expect when you get there, and you would work out a
route and itinerary of your journey and how long it would take you to get there. It is likely
you would have a map and maybe a GPS, you may even have a compass, and you would
have appropriate vehicle to travel in if your journey was some distance away. You would
make sure you had enough energy (fuel for your vehicle, and food and water for yourself)
and you would calculate the shortest and easiest route (unless you wanted to sight see). It is
likely you would take with you some tools just in case you encountered obstacles or
experienced difficulties, and you would probably tell friends and relatives when and where
you were going.
Why is then that many people decide to quit smoking totally unprepared and then frustrated
and disappointed to find that they fail to reach their destination?
Commitment and good preparation are keys to achieving success whatever your goal. Having
a clear goal in mind, with realistic expectations, and the steps to get there are vital. It is futile
to attempt any personal journey to a desired designation without having a bullet proof plan
with a contingency element in case of emergencies.
In this chapter I will unpack with you what exactly it means to make a commitment to stop
smoking - it’s important not to skip this section as it will remain the foundation stone of your
journey as a non-smoker.
What is a Commitment?
Often people get this confused with making a decision. A simple way of how to explain this
is the classic New Year resolution. Let’s say a person has the desire to stop smoking, and
may initially express determination, and because they decide to choose the New Year
tradition, there is a definitive cut-off point from the old behaviour.
All good stuff you may think. However, without commitment and goal setting, it’s all a waste
of time. Zig Ziglar puts it this way “New Year resolutions are nothing more than
confessions”. And he is right. If you are serious about stopping smoking, then don’t stop at
just making a decision and rely on willpower to see you through - this is just wishful
thinking. Instead make a commitment to yourself, through thick or thin that you will see this
through whatever the difficulties you face. In failing to make a commitment to yourself to
stop smoking, you are in effect doomed to failure.
A commitment means a promise, a personal vow, to yourself that you ARE a non-smoker, no
matter how difficult or hard the journey is, you intend to arrive at your destination. As long as
you have the commitment to stop smoking no matter what, you will be able to access power
you already have to achieve that purpose. That power is within your mind which has infinite
resources for you to tap into. It is the same power that turns dreams into reality. By making a
commitment to yourself to stop smoking once and for all, your inner strength and resources
will serve you, your innate wisdom and intuition will help and support you, and your energy
will flow and direct you along the way.
If you listen to your emotions or thoughts you will fail. Becoming a successful permanent
non-smoker is not about feelings or what you think. It is about being committed NOT to
listen to what your thoughts tell you or about how you feel. It’s about CHOICE. When
tempted CHOOSE to stand on your COMMITMENT.
Commitment is about deciding to use the power of your mind and not relying on your
feelings and thoughts. Thoughts of “I can’t” or “it’s too hard” and feelings of needing a
cigarette if indulged will pull you back into the smoking trap. Stand firm, be clear about what
it is you want and you will have the power to overcome.
Commitment is persistence with a purpose - it does 3 things.
It ALWAYS ignites action - you simply cannot be committed to quitting smoking without
taking action.
It means PERSEVERENCE - even when things get tough.
It DEMANDS results… not excuses!
I promise you that if you truly commit to stop smoking and follow through with persistent
action you’ll find you’ll get the results you want.
Commitment is being Single-Minded
Cutting back on the number of cigarettes you smoke is just being double-
minded.
Now that you’ve made a decision and are committed to stop smoking, then stop altogether,
it’s all or nothing. It doesn’t work by gradually cutting down. Health professionals may
advise you to quit smoking by gradually cutting down the cigarettes you smoke each day as a
step towards stopping altogether. In my opinion this approach is full of pitfalls, as you will
still be addicted to nicotine, and whilst you are still smoking it you will be running your life
schedule around when you can have the next cigarette, and worse still is that you are in
danger of subconsciously using cigarettes as a reward, particularly if you experience an off
day and your emotions are affected.
Let me explain what I mean in a little more detail, if you feel you can cut down on smoking,
the message you are giving your mind is that you are in control of smoking (when in fact the
reverse is still true) and you will likely reward your “self-control” by having a cigarette.
When you do this you are entering a vicious circle of self-deception. When it comes to
quitting smoking you simply can’t “have your cake and eat it too” as this will only compound
the problem even more as you will have discovered yet another way to justify smoking to
yourself.
You will also be telling your subconscious mind that you are not really serious about
stopping smoking altogether. Our minds like clear instructions, not hidden and confused
messages, if you want to give your mind the message that you want to live the life of a non-
smoker, then don’t confuse it. A double-minded person receives nothing!
Remember your thoughts and feelings cannot be trusted; they will always deceive you into
smoking. Stand firm on your commitment to win and stop smoking altogether!
Don’t Be Deceived! Dispel these Common Myths about Tobacco that Waver your Commitment.
Accept that nicotine is the fastest addictive drug there is.
A lot of people believe that nicotine is not that addictive, yet there is enough evidence around
to suggest that nicotine is the fastest addictive drug there is, even faster than heroin. You can
become addicted to nicotine by having just one cigarette. Think back to when you first started
smoking and how you initially reacted – did you cough, splutter or may be even felt sick and
dizzy. This is your body’s reaction to poison. Your body was telling you NOT to take
anymore, loud and clear. Nobody enjoys feeling sick, nauseous or dizzy, or being choked.
Ask yourself why you ignored those reactions and continue to smoke? Most people become
“hooked” on cigarettes without even realising it - so do not underestimate the power of
nicotine.
Because societies (and tobacco companies) have attributed social benefits to tobacco
products, most people start smoking to ‘fit in’ to a social group or to acquire those so-called
benefits. In their mistaken belief that smoking would bring about certain qualities in their life,
such as social acceptance, or to ease stress, they created a psychological addiction to nicotine.
They have successfully taught your subconscious mind to believe that smoking hold these
benefits for you. That is why any logical argument fails when trying to convince someone to
stop smoking, because deep down they believe the contrary.
Accept that nicotine is addictive, and that way you will stand firm on your commitment when
your ‘feelings’ tempt you into thinking you can be in control of it.
Smoking “light” brands or menthol flavour cigarettes will not reduce your
nicotine intake!
Don’t be disillusioned. These cigarettes deliver the same amount of nicotine and tar as
ordinary cigarettes because you will smoke as many of these cigarettes as you “need” to meet
the nicotine level that your subconscious mind requires. Don’t take my word for this, I
suggest you test this for yourself by watching someone that smokes these cigarettes, you will
see that they will inhale more frequently and more deeply. Smokeless tobacco products are
the same; they all contain nicotine, and cancer causing chemicals such as formaldehyde, lead,
hydrocarbons and calcium. And remember, cigars and pipes increase the likelihood of
cancers to the lip, tongue and mouth, and the average cigar has as much nicotine as 4
cigarettes. So don’t fall for this trick!
Using nicotine therapy replacement products (NRT)
In using nicotine replacement therapy products (NRT), such as nicotine tablets, gum or
patches, all you are doing is maintaining (and maybe increasing if you are sneaking in the
odd cigarette) the nicotine levels in your body and consequently you are still addicted to
nicotine. And lets face it you are only delaying the inevitable as you will have to stop using
them eventually. You may be eliminating the damage by not having the cancer causing
chemicals that are in cigarettes, but you will still be addicted to nicotine which is a poisonous
alkaloid that forms the base of many insecticides, and one of the most poisonous substances
known to man. Do you realise that just drop of pure nicotine on your tongue would kill you
within a few minutes? Furthermore in my opinion, these products have not been on the
market long enough for any research to be established on any long-term effects, and I know
of several people who are still using these products several years after they stopped smoking
cigarettes. This simply cannot be healthy. These people may have given up cigarettes but they
still are addicted. Remember, once it was okay to chew tobacco rather than smoke it, until it
was discovered there was a link between this and mouth and throat cancers. Smoking is not
just a habit, it is an addiction and there is no substitute for nicotine.
A Commitment Must Come from the Heart
Because of the internal dichotomy the smoker suffers, it comes of no surprise that many
resolve to stop smoking due to pressure from others. Their reasons are usually due to pressure
from work, GP and/or pressure from family and loved ones. When this happens the person
usually feels guilty and ashamed and consequently this triggers them to quit smoking.
Because their motive stems from pleasing others, it can be extra hard for them to tap into the
benefits of stopping smoking for themselves.
If you are quitting smoking to ‘please’ others, be aware that you may develop feelings of
resentment towards the person or people who want you to stop. Whilst you might understand
and accept the reasons why they want you to stop, unless you are totally committed about
why you want to stop and the benefits you’ll receive for YOURSELF… then you run the
risk of failing.
The only person who can stop you from smoking is you, and it has to be your desire and your
belief that enables you to succeed. Remember it is okay not to commit to something - these
are YOUR desires and YOUR commitments - no one else’s. Never commit to something
because you think you ‘should’ or it’s what’s expected. It doesn’t matter what other people
think. Take a look deep inside what is truly in YOUR heart and ask yourself ‘What do YOU
really want. Only when you are clear on this are you ready to commit.
Commitment to Stopping Smoking is NOT a One-Off Event - It is a Process
Give Yourself Plenty of Time
It is important to view commitment as an ongoing process. Every day, and maybe even
several times a day during the early days of a quit programme, it is important to renew your
commitment afresh.
Any commitment, for example, marriage, will not last long if we didn’t frequently re-commit
ourselves on a regular basis. Quitting smoking is the same. Each day give yourself time to
refresh your mind as to why you want to stop smoking and focus on the benefits you are
receiving.
Generally life is becoming more and more busy and full of things we have to do. Despite
labour saving devices and fast technology, the modern culture is to cram more and more into
your day, leaving little or no time to think, or consolidate what you are learning about
yourself. Because of this people are becoming more and more reliant on ‘expert’ advice,
seeking the answer to life’s problems from sources outside of themselves, such as quick fixes
and self-help remedies. In doing this we are in danger of losing the knowledge and insight we
already have inside ourselves – our own minds. It is said that our minds contain infinite
knowledge and that we rarely tap into it. Scientists reckon the average person uses about 5%
of their brain. Imagine for a moment if you could increase that to just 10% how much your
life would change. No-one knows you more than you know yourself, but most of that
knowledge and answers lay hidden from you in your subconscious mind.
The good news is that your subconscious mind wants to bring this information into your
conscious mind, in other words into your awareness so that you can ultimately improve your
life by understanding yourself on a deeper level and why you do the things you do. But you
have to make time for yourself to allow your mind to help you. Cramming your life full to the
brim with external busyness and expert opinion is not enough. There may be grains of truth in
what they say, after all it worked for them, but unless you spend time seeking your own mind
to see if those answers fit for you, then you are missing out on the vast amount of knowledge
you already have.
The way to do this is to make sure you allow some time every day, ideally an hour if you can,
where you can be uninterrupted, during which time you can reflect and meditate on your
relationship with smoking and let your own mind communicate with you. Don’t hurry or rush
this time for you will be amazed at what you will discover about yourself – you are worth it!
Commitment is About Taking the Right Action
Pick a firm start date.
Quite often people will say they will stop smoking tomorrow, or next week, without putting
any planning or thought into it. Impulsive decisions and vague ideas without any planning
and goal setting do not usually bring about success. Therefore be specific, choose a date in
the near future as possible, preferably within 3 to 7 days, for the sooner you get started the
better as we can all be prone to putting things off. This will give you time to get used to the
idea, and let your brain know you mean business this time and are serious that you will never
smoke again. Realise too that the sooner you start the quicker you will reap the benefits from
not smoking, for you are beginning a new exciting phase in your life. After all there are
absolutely no advantages from smoking and you’re giving up smoking related sickness and
premature death caused by smoking. Make sure that you choose a date whereby you can
block out a period of time from your normal routine, perhaps over a weekend or a specified
time away from your workplace so that you can be away from those stressors that are
associated with smoking. Pick a time when you can be free to give time to yourself
especially during those first few days. If you have a busy period coming up and know that
you usually smoke more during these periods wait until that period ends before you set a start
date. Why make it more difficult for yourself?
A Word or Two about Will-Power
Relying on will power alone is one of the biggest mistakes, if not THE BIGGEST mistake
people make when stopping smoking. It might work at first, but soon fizzles out, and has very
poor results as a long-term strategy in smoking cessation. Using will power requires
enormous strength, tremendous effort and creates an internal fight within our mind that is
almost impossible to win. Statistics show that only 6% success rate in stopping smoking
based on willpower alone.
Think of your brain as being like an iceberg. Imagine for a moment that the part of the
iceberg that you see, that which is above the water, represents your conscious mind. This is
the part of the mind which is easily accessible to us – it’s where we store our awareness, and
intellect. It is rational, logical and concise. Now imagine the part of the iceberg that is under
the water, the bit you can’t see, as representing your subconscious or unconscious mind. This
is the part of the mind where our imagination, creativity, and emotions live. The visible part
of the iceberg is much, much smaller than the hidden part, and because we can see it we
know to a large extent that it is there. The larger part that is under the ocean is hidden from
us, and is far more powerful than the top half (remember it was this part of the iceberg that
sunk the Titanic). In the same way, the subconscious mind is far more powerful than the
conscious mind. It is often our emotions, reactions, instincts and fears that lurk beneath the
surface that trip us up, or make life more difficult for us in achieving our goals.
When someone uses will power alone to stop smoking they are using the conscious part of
their mind – their awareness, intellect and what they think they know and understand about
their habit, and they are ignoring the fears, beliefs, and emotions that lay lurking in their
subconscious. Any change at a conscious level triggers resistance in the subconscious, as it
prefers consistency and feels safe with set habits and patterns of behaviour. Change into the
unknown triggers feelings of insecurity and danger and consequently the subconscious mind
fights against change. To explain it another way, have you ever thought you should do
something healthy like go for a walk, and yet didn’t feel like it. This is a simple example of
how your mind is split over a specific issue, on one level you know what you should do, but
another part of you is resisting it. It’s exactly the same when you know the health risks of
smoking, yet continue to smoke.
In taking the will power approach to stopping smoking you are starting an internal conflict
between the conscious and the subconscious, in which the conscious will ultimately be the
loser. It is widely accepted that around 90% of our thoughts are subconscious, and no matter
how hard you try to control your thoughts and feelings the conscious mind will never control
the subconscious. In fact the harder you struggle the deeper the habit becomes. This
monumental struggle eventually causes fatigue and weariness and consequently the
subconscious wins. This is why stopping smoking is so hard for many people, and probably
the number one reason why many people start smoking again after a period of time. They are
simply putting in too much EFFORT.
The good news is that it is possible to harness the power within the subconscious mind to
help you stop smoking. You do this through renewing your mind by changing thoughts,
emotions and beliefs that hold you to smoking. With a different mindset you’ll find quitting
smoking is effort-less…
Recording the journey.
Commit to recording your journey and make notes of your progress, as otherwise you could
miss out on discovering important answers on what psychologically holds you to smoking. It
is impossible to hold everything in your head, so writing it down will enable you to gain
insight and self-awareness with regard to your habits, and the reasons why certain triggers are
difficult for you to resist. Get yourself a notebook, or if you prefer a voice recorder, to record
your daily thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are associated with smoking as you follow
each step outlined in this book. You will have a record of your journey in becoming a non
smoker, and a means by which you can revisit and reflect on the changes you have made.
Don’t underestimate the power of recording your journey, as by the very action of recording
or writing something down, your thoughts become tangible and deeper feelings emerge,
which all helps you make sense of things than you were previously unaware. As you use the
journal, don’t forget to date each entry. You will find that by keeping a journal you’ll have a
valuable tool not only to help you understand yourself better, but also to record the unique
road you have travelled in reaching your goal as a non-smoker – something great to look back
on in the future to remind yourself of your achievement!
Capture the moment when those inspirational thoughts and ideas come into
your mind.
Often things come to us when we least expect it. It could be on waking first thing in the
morning, or whilst walking with the dog, or even waking us up in the middle of the night.
These little gems of revelation or “light bulb” moments as I call them, can easily be lost
forever if we don’t capture them as they happen. Be prepared for this, and keep your
notebook with you at all times. This will enable you to jot down those smoking-related
thoughts and feelings that pop in your head suddenly. You will find that the more you are
focused on your goal, and delve into your mind asking deep questions, your subconscious
mind will be triggered into action and will communicate to you through thoughts and images,
some of which may make sense, others may not, but all are there to enlighten you and bring
you into self-awareness. By writing them down as soon as they happen, you will not forget
them. Later, you can add them to your journal.
Step 2 – Are You Prepared to Quit Smoking? - Creating your Action Plan
“We become what we think about all day long”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Let’s imagine for a moment that you’ve been given the job of organising a friends’ surprise
birthday party, or given a complicated task to complete at work. I’m assuming you’d be
thinking about making an action plan to do that, may be you would write it down, or maybe
you would form a structure of how you would complete those tasks in your head. Depending
on how big and how complicated the task is, would depend on the amount of planning
involved. The obvious logical thing then, is to do the same with any major lifestyle change,
isn’t it? I am always amazed when people make decisions that involve major lifestyle
changes that they seldom do any planning or if they do very little and in a totally unorganised
way.
Writing out an action plan to assist in stopping smoking isn’t a difficult task to do, and it
serves to remind you of the things you have chosen to do instead of smoking cigarettes or
tobacco. It doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be just a simple list of days, like a calendar,
with intended actions alongside each day. It will help to keep you focused and organised,
providing a structure for your new regime and behaviour.
Setting goals and having an action plan
The secret of successfully attaining your goal or desired outcome, whether it is to stop
smoking or anything else, is to set goals. An action plan without goal setting is at best
haphazard and reliant on chance, and at worse doomed to complete failure.
A simple technique is to sit down quietly with a piece of paper and write down your goal – to
be a non-smoker. Now ask yourself ask yourself how will you possibly achieve your goal,
and allow your mind to focus on the question. Write down any answers that come into your
mind without censoring them. Do this same exercise for 2-3 days. Now look at your answers
and list them in order of priority. Follow this formula to structure your action plan.
Plan Your Quit Day.
Assuming you have made a commitment to quit smoking and come up with a date which is
your Quit Day, it is extremely important to plan ahead what you will do on that day.
Some people start out with great intentions of not smoking, but without a concrete plan of
what they intend to do with their first day they find themselves giving up before the day is
out. To avoid this happening to you, it is crucial that you think about what you will do during
those first few days and write them down in your journal. Maybe you could plan to go away
for a few days, maybe even go to a health centre, or bed and breakfast somewhere. Or
perhaps you would prefer being at home, in which case you may like to get in some DVDs or
new music, or a good book. Whatever you decide make sure you are able to avoid those
situations that trigger your smoking habit.
Be Emotionally Prepared!
Quite often people will make the mistake of equating stopping smoking with deprivation and
misery! It is true you will be depriving your body of the drug nicotine and consequently may
feel a little “deprived” but you don’t have to be miserable. Choose to do something nice and
pleasurable to crowd out those feelings.
Did you know our minds are programmed for pleasure? Think about it for a few moments.
Most of us avoid pain and seek pleasure. If we have a headache, we take a painkiller to take
the pain away. We do not deliberately seek out painful experiences, and build up protective
defence mechanisms to shore up those vulnerable areas in our life to help us feel safe and
secure.
In seeking pleasure your subconscious mind is telling you to smoke, as it will relieve (only
until your next cigarette) those painful withdrawal symptoms. Understand that your mind is
controlled by a drug – nicotine. To deal with this you must make a choice. A choice in line
with your commitment to stop smoking is to replace the ‘pleasure’ of smoking with another
pleasure. This is particularly important during those early days of abstinence when the power
of nicotine is at its strongest.
Your mind will naturally seek ‘pleasure’ and most people who act on will-power alone will
either give in to the nicotine at this point, or indulge in another unhealthy choice such as
overeating especially high sugar, high fat foods such as chocolate, biscuits, cake or other so
called ‘goodies’ to take away the pain of the craving, and to satisfy the sense of not feeling
deprived. Because you have decided to commit to quit smoking and have drawn up an action
plan you will be mentally and physically prepared for this battle. With following the
following advice you will be able to stand on your commitment and make a positive, healthy
choice.
It makes perfect sense to draw up a pleasure list in your journal before Quit Day. Ask
yourself this question:
“What things would I possibly enjoy doing?”
When you have completed say, at least twenty things, write them down and plan to do as
many of these things as you can in those first few days of quitting. It might be that you have a
particular hobby or interest, or maybe you’d always like to take up a particular hobby but
never got round to it, now’s the time! For example you might like to visit a spa, have a sauna,
go to the cinema, or have a trip to the hairdressers or beauty salon, or maybe you would enjoy
visiting a friend or relative you haven’t seen for a while or join an art class or learn a new
language or skill. Be specific, by writing down exactly what you will do, when you will do it
and how you will do it. Don’t hurry this – spend as much time as you can.
Be Energized!
By being inactive, it will take longer for your body to get rid of all those toxins created by
smoking that are making your circulation sluggish and your mood low. If you are not careful,
you may find these feelings will spiral downwards and beat down your resolve.
Make a commitment to taking more exercise. Perhaps join a gym and book in your first
session in during those first few days. By taking regular exercise you’ll not only improve
your circulation but it will also do wonders for your energy levels and general health. If the
thought of physical exercise feels daunting or you may feel you’ll have difficulty, take it
slowly at first, and remember that it will get easier as your lung functions more effectively
and you have more energy from not smoking. Commit yourself by writing in your diary or on
a calendar at least 2 days a week planned exercise i.e. gym or swimming session. In doing
this you can also record your progress. See a doctor beforehand though, if you haven’t
exercised for a while.
Have a Clear Out…
What I’m talking about here is all that smoking paraphernalia. Keeping ashtrays, lighters,
even cigarettes or tobacco after you’ve had that final cigarette means only one thing - that
you are not serious about your decision to stop smoking. If you find yourself reluctant to let
go of any of these things, ask yourself an honest question; are you serious about stopping
smoking. Are you hanging on to them “just in case?” If your answer is yes, ask yourself what
it is you are really anxious about, and wait for your answer.
Don’t put yourself under unnecessary pressure. Throw out all ashtrays, lighters, matches,
throw out any cigarettes, tobacco etc, if you smoke a pipe – get rid of it. Don’t give them
away, as you are encouraging others to smoke. Ideally destroy them in some way or put them
in a bin that you can’t go back to and rummage. Remove all temptation and remember you
will never need them again. Keep in mind your commitment.
Tell Everyone…
Keeping your decision to stop smoking a secret gives you an "opt out" clause. It means that
you do not trust yourself to be successful. In fact it is likely you are afraid of failure and
putting up a defence mechanism that will protect you from everyone else knowing that you
failed. In reality you are giving permission to your mind that it will be okay to fail, and if you
do fail, then you will not have to deal with the embarrassment and humility of everyone
knowing. It will be your own private hell of where you can torment yourself with feelings of
guilt, uselessness, and inadequacy. By making this mistake you believe that you will fail.
Even if you don’t feel confident of your success, take a stand against this fear and tell your
friends, relatives, and colleagues that they will never see you smoking again after the date
you have set. Don’t just tell them you are going to quit smoking. Say these exact words “you
will never see me smoking again on and after (insert the date you’ve chosen)” In doing
this you’re not just burning your bridges, but you are reinforcing the idea in your mind every
time you repeat it. This will strengthen your resolve to quit for good and that you mean what
you say.
Get Everything In You Need for Those First Few Days.
Not being prepared makes us vulnerable to temptation. There is simply no point planning
what you are going to do that first week you have stopped smoking, if you don’t also draw up
a shopping list and bought in all that you need. In having all that you need available to you,
you will find it hard to find excuses to deter you from carrying out the things you plan doing.
So make sure you find time to buy in those treats and other items you need. These might
consist of healthy snacks, bottled water, vitamin supplements, favourite treats, new fitness or
exercise clothing and trainers, DVDs, CDs, or items needed for a new hobby or existing
interest.
Air out Your Environment…
There is nothing worse than sitting in a house that is full of the stale smell of smoke, or
wearing clothes that stink of cigarettes, when you are quitting smoking - these are reminders
of your old life as a smoker, and an invitation to crave for nicotine.
To avoid putting yourself under this unnecessary strain, sort out your clothes, bedding and
linens and give them a good wash, taking them to dry cleaners if necessary to get rid of the
stale smell of smoke. Have a good spring clean by thoroughly cleaning your home. Vacuum
all carpets, upholstery and curtains - a good tip is to sprinkle baking soda or a carpet
deodorizer into the carpets beforehand, but remember to allow an hour or so to pass before
vacuuming to allow the odour to be absorbed. You might want to consider shampooing the
carpets or having them cleaned professionally, and have upholstery cleaned as well. Wash all
walls and floors with mild cleaner, or a mixture of half water, half distilled white vinegar
with a few drops of essential oil such as tea tree, lemon or orange. If badly stained you might
even like to give them a fresh coat of paint. Remember to change any filters in ventilation or
heating systems as these can be a trap for stale odours to keep circulating, and don’t forget to
clean light bulbs as they will have a coating of cigarette smoke on them, which when turned
on, will emit stale smoke smell.
Clean out your car, and perhaps even treat it to a valet. And clear out and clean your office or
workspace.
Reward yourself regularly.
Human beings need to have a reason, a pay-off as to why we do things; for example you
would not expect to go to work and not get paid would you? Most societies have customs that
celebrate success and mark achievement with reward. Examples might be of when you passed
your driving test, or coming of age; wedding anniversaries or graduations – they are all
marked by reward and celebration. Why not do the same with stopping smoking? It will take
the drudgery out of each day and will mark the milestones accomplished as well as help keep
you motivated. Without rewards, there is a danger that your resolve will fizzle out like a
firework. As I mentioned earlier, most of us prefer pleasure to pain, and by not regularly
celebrating your success and rewarding yourself, your new life as a non-smoker can appear
mundane and boring, which in turn can be the very triggers as to why you smoked in the first
place. In celebrating your success regularly you will be reinforcing to your belief system that
you can achieve anything that you put your mind to.
It is important to celebrate regularly by rewarding yourself, so with some of the money
you’ve saved by not smoking, go for a splurge and splash out and treat yourself. You can
even write out a reward system by which you give yourself small rewards and big rewards.
For example, for those first few days you might consider giving yourself a small treat at the
end of each day – some ideas for this might be a relaxing bath with scents and candles, or
eating some chocolate, or doing your favourite sport. A bigger reward might be buying a CD,
book or film. It marks your success and gives you a sense of real achievement, and boosts
your self-esteem at the same time.
Be Proud of Yourself…
Stopping smoking is something to be proud of. Christine Lahti is quoted as saying “I’m more
proud of quitting smoking than of anything else I’ve done in my life, including winning an
Oscar”. Be proud of your achievement and let yourself glow in the praise others give you. It
will have the power of reinforcing positive self esteem and create a warm feeling inside you.
To help you, create a Monthly Chart or Calendar whereby you can record your progress, and
place it where it can easily be seen. By doing this you will have an instant visual reminder of
your success. You may decide to do two – one for your workspace and the other at home,
either in the kitchen or living room.
Step 3 – Uncover Your Relationship with Smoking
“A cigarette is a pipe with a fire at one end and a fool at the other” - Author Unknown
A lot of people have little or no self-awareness when it comes to understanding why they
smoke, and have little or no idea of the links between smoking and their behaviour, feelings
and core beliefs about themselves. In order to understand these things, it is important to ask
of yourself important questions, some of which may have their roots in the past. The answers
to these questions will help you make connections with why you find it difficult to deal with
certain events and rituals that trigger the desire to smoke.
This chapter focuses on asking the right questions to build up a picture of your smoking
profile. The more knowledge you have about something, the easier it is to change it. From
following these suggestions you can avoid falling into the trap of vulnerability. Make no
mistake, the desire to smoke will attack your weakest areas, and therefore it is vital for you to
know where those areas lie if you are to stand any chance of conquering it. To be forewarned
is to be forearmed.
Be Totally Honest with Yourself
Lying or minimising the truth to oneself usually means self-denial. The truth can sometimes
be painful, especially when it comes to admitting how many cigarettes you really smoke a
day, there can also be some shame and guilt attached with it. It is these unpleasant feelings
that make us feel uncomfortable, and because humans avoid pain and seek pleasure it is not
surprising we might minimise or deny those feelings and come up with answers that make us
feel better. If you are serious about wanting to quit smoking, there is absolutely no point in
denying or minimising the truth.
Be honest with yourself, and work out how many cigarettes you smoke over a typical week.
Identify those days that you smoke more; perhaps you smoke more during the working day,
or maybe more at weekends, or perhaps you smoke more in the evenings. In your mind run
through a typical day and count up how many times you smoke during the day and at what
times. When you’ve done this start a new page in your journal and write down “I smoke -----
(insert whatever the number is) cigarettes a day.
Remember the truth will set you free…
Accept the Pain of Smoking
As I stated earlier, no one likes feeling uncomfortable, and we all would prefer to feel better
about ourselves. It is not uncommon to have feelings of self-disgust, inadequacy, failure and
guilt attached to smoking, and no one wants to dwell on these feelings. However, if allowed,
you can use these feelings to be a powerful motivator and driver to help you maintain focus
and determination which will fuel your commitment to stop smoking. Remember after
awareness comes either acceptance or denial and you cannot change what you don’t own and
take responsibility for.
Explore your feelings about yourself as smoker. As you read back over what you’ve written
write down feelings as they come to you. Ask yourself this question “I am a smoker, and I
feel……………….” Write it down in your journal, followed by all the feelings that you
become aware of listing them underneath. Feelings are more powerful than thoughts and
they can be uncomfortable and even painful. Be honest with yourself, even if you think some
of the feelings you have don’t make sense, still write them down. Because you feel those
things, they hold a truth for you and it is important for you to understand that truth.
Learn to Think Effectively
I have found that rarely do people who want to stop smoking, ask themselves questions.
Quite often they will say what they think the answer is, but the question is asked of them in a
vague way.
In general most people I’ve met do not spend enough time “thinking”. I am not talking here
about the hundreds of thoughts that pop into your head during the course of a day; instead
what I mean is focused thinking. Dwelling on intrusive thoughts that pop into your head is
not thinking. Responding to what someone said or did, or reacting to a situation is not
thinking. Reactions are conditioned responses to situations and are triggered by what we feel
and believe is happening which has its roots in an experience we’ve had in the past. Worrying
about something or a situation is not “thinking” either. It has been said that over 50% of most
people thoughts are worries, and they are usually about things that will never happen, or have
already happened! I am suggesting here that you practise the art of focussed thinking, and
make it a habit to get into. You’ll be surprised how your life will change as a result.
Why not put this to the test? Settle down to some quiet time, where you will have no
interruptions, and write in your journal this question “What are possibly all the reasons
why I started smoking?” and wait. Allow your mind to focus on the question and wait for
the answer. At first you will probably find other thoughts totally unrelated to the question
come into your mind, that’s okay, just notice them and let them go (as if looking at snapshots
in a photo album). With practising focused thinking every day you will find those intrusive
random thoughts will get less and less.
When answers to your question come into your mind, write them down. Do not question the
answers just keep focusing on the original question. When the answers stop coming into your
mind, have a look at them. Some of them may feel more real to you than others, but don’t
discard any of them as they may make sense later on. You will find that over the next few
days other answers to the same question will pop into your mind. Think of your mind as a
coffee percolator and just let the answers drip though jotting them down as soon as they do
and adding them to your list.
Ask Yourself the Right Questions in the Right Way.
Another pitfall is not asking the right questions, in the right way. Imagine for a moment you
are on Google and you want to find the answer to a question, or you want to search for
something. The more specific your question the more refined and definitive your answer is. If
your spelling is wrong or your question is vague, or your search has a wide scope, google will
present you with a lot of irrelevant information, which will take you a lot of time to plough
through, or what happens in my case, I just end up dismissing my search.
This is the same when we ask ourselves a question. Consider for a moment your mind is a
head top computer. Be specific, and be accurate. For example write down this question
exactly as it is in your journal. “What are all the possible reasons why I want to stop
smoking?” In this question, (as in the question from the previous exercise) you are asking
your mind to give you ‘all the possible’ reasons, these will include things that you will not
already know about, you are not restricting the vast volume of knowledge and experience
hidden in your subconscious, and secondly by putting down the question mark, you are
stating clearly that this is a question and not a statement. Your head top computer knows
exactly what it has to do.
Like any computer, you have to wait patiently for your answers; they will come, just allow
your mind to seek them out for you. Let your mind do the work; resist the temptation to do it
yourself by thinking and rationalising. Stop trying to find the answers, instead just let them
come into your mind – make sure you write them down immediately in your journal
underneath the question whether they make sense to you or not.
Learning from Previous Experiences
This is a common mistake for many people, and is a key factor in what makes some people
successful at achieving their goals and others who don’t. Realise that successful people make
mistakes too. No one gets it right first time, and many make several attempts before they do.
The secret is that those people who achieve success see their “failures” as lessons and learn
from them. Thomas Edison, we all know invented the light bulb. But what a lot of people
don’t realise is that it took 10,000 attempts. His success rate was 0.01%. Yet we don’t write
him off as a failure as he got there in the end. That one win, crosses out all those “failed
attempts”. Edison considered each one of those attempts as ‘successfully discovering another
way of how not to invent the light bulb’.
Make a list of all the times you tried to stop smoking before. Just as before, give yourself
time to do this exercise, and just let the answers come into your mind... Once you have
written your list write down the following 3 questions: “What are the probable reasons why I
started smoking again?” “How long did I stop smoking?” and “What did I learn from the
experience?” Remember to always write all the answers that spring into your mind without
dismissing any. If you haven’t quit smoking before, then think about what the reasons might
be why you haven’t.
Remember the only real definition of failing is one that gives up attempting to quit smoking
altogether, forever.
Make connections between smoking and other events.
The human mind, as does the mind of animals, associates particular behaviours and physical
responses to specific events, and when one of those events happen, our minds remind us of
that association and we carry out the particular behaviour or manifest the physical response
that we have attached to that event, often without even thinking about it. This is called
“conditioning”. Much research has been done on this the most commonly known is that of
Pavlov’s dogs. During his research on the digestion of dogs, Ivan Pavlov noticed that he
could stimulate them to salivate in response to him sounding a bell. The bell subsequently
triggered the dogs’ digestive process as they came to expect food whenever they heard the
bell. In the same way the habits formulated around smoking are often conditioned responses,
and it is important that these are unlearned and new patterns of behaviour and associations
are formed.
As humans, we all have subconsciously developed specific habits and rituals. If you always
have a cigarette with a cup of coffee, or have a cigarette before you have a shower, you have
conditioned your mind to link these two events together. Likewise, if you smoke more when
you are bored, or are with a particular person, you have again created a link with smoking to
these feelings, or specific people. When you stop smoking, you are not fulfilling those
associations you have linked to it. Your mind will subsequently remind you of that fact and it
is likely you will be presented with a pang or craving at the same time as this reminder
awakens the nicotine monster.
The way to break a habit is to replace it with a new one. And that takes a little time. New
habits will gradually form as you carry out repeated behaviours allowing your subconscious
mind to link the new behaviour with the event. The more you do this, the stronger the links
become. The first step though is to find out exactly what your smoking habits are. Think
through a typical day and record the times you smoke, who with? When? Where? What time?
Doing what? And how many? For example it might be that you always smoke 2 cigarettes
after a meal, or maybe you always smoke more when you are doing a specific task. Take
plenty of time over this. We are all creatures of habit.
After this think about what new behaviours or habits you can create and start doing them
instead.
Stop Pleasing Others.
People who constantly seek approval from others or who want to please others usually end up
failing in the end. To stop smoking because your family want you to or because it’s expected
of you at work only puts on pressure. To successfully stop smoking you have to have the
right mindset and a personal commitment to yourself. In other words YOU have to personally
benefit and want to change.
Ask yourself this question “What are possibly my views on smoking?” Write down what
YOU think about smoking. Remember this is about your own views and not someone else’s
perspective. It may be that you believe smoking tobacco is better than smoking cigarettes, or
maybe you believe that smoking is okay and it is because of pressure from family members
or society influencing you to think you ought to give up. It’s okay. If you are not ready – then
you are not ready. At least you will understand why.
Be clear About the Benefits You Gain by Not Smoking as well as the Losses
You Will Experience by Not Smoking.
This is the balance sheet. It is crucial for you to be absolutely clear of what you expect to gain
from not smoking and of those things that’ll you miss in your life as a non-smoker. Turn to a
clean page in your journal and draw a line down the centre dividing the page into two. At the
top of the first column write the title “Gains”, and at the top of the second column write
“Losses”. In the first column list all the things you feel you would benefit from being a non-
smoker, and in the second column write down all the things you feel you would miss from
not smoking. Again spend time on this exercise and see if you can come up with around 10-
20 reasons. An example of a loss might be that you would miss the feeling of pleasure that
smoking gives you; and another example where you might benefit would be that you’d enjoy
the flavours of your meals as your taste buds burst back into life.
Spend a few moments reflecting on your list, and notice your thoughts and feelings. Was it
easy? What list was the most difficult? How many did you write on each list? Are you
surprised by the results? Write down your answers in your journal.
If you’ve got lots more gains than losses, you are in a good place to be. Accentuate those
benefits by reminding yourself often – these are the reasons why you are going to become
a non-smoker. Have a closer look at the losses and see what you could replace them with.
See if you can reduce the list further, and add to your benefits.
If the reverse is true, and you can see little benefit from being a non-smoker, then perhaps the
time is not right for you at this moment. More work is needed on focussing on changing those
losses into gains. If there are lots of fears around letting go of nicotine maybe you need to
seek professional help in working on other areas of your life. At least by doing the exercises
you have learned a lot about yourself and subsequently achieved enlightenment on your
smoking.
Reflect back over your journal.
You should now have a complete smoking history and profile that is uniquely your own. By
doing these exercises you have answered some fundamental questions which are important if
you are to maintain success permanently as a non-smoker. Therein you will find the answer
to whether you really want to stop smoking, you will have identified habits in your life which
will need to change, you will have clarity about the reasons why you want to stop, and the
benefits you will look forward to in doing so. You’ll also know where the weaker areas to
your resolve lies and in doing so learn how to be prepared appropriately for the time ahead.
Step 4– Getting into the Right Mind-Set
“I tried to stop smoking cigarettes by telling myself I just didn’t want to smoke, but I didn’t
believe myself”
– Barbara Kelly
To be successful it is important to focus your mind on being a non-smoker. Imagine for a
moment you are a runner in race. Before you start the race you will need to know what the
finishing line looks like and the direction to run, you would also need to have some idea what
it will feel like once you are there, otherwise you’ll find you will feel little motivation to
continue, particularly when you are breaking through the pain barrier and you are faced with
obstacles that get in the way. You keep your eyes firmly on the finish line, knowing that if
you look to the right or to the left your pace will slacken and your competitors will gain
valuable time. If you look away from the finish line as you are running, you risk stumbling
and not being able to complete the race. Just like the runner remains focussed and
determined, you need mind strategies to enable you to attain your goal to be a person who
does not smoke.
In this section you will find exercises where you will be using your imagination to train your
mind to achieve results. Your imagination is seated in your subconscious mind and is a
powerful resource you can draw from when quitting smoking. In doing these exercises you
are in the gestation stage, the period before birth to the new non-smoking you, where you’re
mind will start to take on the new concepts that although at the moment are tiny seeds, they
will grow rapidly as you are nurtured by the benefits you’ll reap as non-smoker. By diligently
carrying out these exercises you’ll discover how your mind will serve you by assisting you to
achieve your desired goal, which is to stop smoking and to accept yourself as someone who
no longer has the desire or need to smoke.
Keep practicing the exercises. Just like a runner has to be physically fit to win the race, you
need to exercise your mind so it becomes strong and fit to win your race. Carry out each
exercise just as I’ve explained it to you. Make sure you record your experiences in your
journal. Here you go then…
The importance of Visualisation to get Results
To set out for a destination without knowing what it looks like or what to expect when you
get there, is not only scary but also foolish,
Unless of course, you’re an explorer setting out on discovering new worlds, or a scientist
wanting to break through to new frontiers. But as an explorer you expect to take risks and the
future is uncertain.
If your ultimate destination is to be a permanent non-smoker for the rest of your life, then it
makes sense to eliminate risk of relapse by knowing what perils and problems lay ahead, and
having a strategy in place ready to deal with them. It also makes sense to have some idea
what the life of a non-smoker feels like. Most people I’ve come across started smoking in
their early teens, and a significant amount started in their late teens. These people have never
experienced what it is like to live as an adult with responsibilities and so on, as a non-smoker.
It is a completely new feeling and experience for them. And can be quite frightening.
Particularly if they have created a series of coping strategies that all have smoking related to
them.
The good news is that your subconscious mind wants what’s best for you, and it has
significantly more power than your weak will. It will enable you to get what you want to
achieve, but it needs to know exactly what it is you want. To expect it to know what living
the life of a non-smoker will feel like is difficult as your mind will have no experience of it to
draw from and words that will describe it will mean nothing. Visualisation is the key to
unlocking this mystery, and to use visualisation is to use our imagination. This is one of the
reasons why we have such an incredible imagination. Used correctly your imagination you
can bring about your dreams.
Some people make the mistake of believing they have no imagination so cannot visualise.
This is totally false. Every one of us has an imagination. We think in pictures. We remember
the past in images. And with each image we attach emotions. For example, you may have
difficulty remembering a name, but you will rarely forget a face.
In fact one of the ways of remembering names is to associate an image to remind you. If you
find you are struggling to visualise an image, just imagine what it would look and feel like if
you could, and you’ll find that magically there is a way round the problem.
The subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality. This is a law of
the mind. Its how stage hypnosis works, in suggesting for example your arm is a piece of
wood, your subconscious mind believes this and you find you cannot bend your arm. This
obviously is totally irrational on a conscious level, as your arm can never be a piece of wood.
But if your subconscious believes it, then it uses the knowledge it has about wood and
becomes totally inflexible. It is exactly these irrational unreal beliefs that underlie a phobia,
and also how we develop mistaken self-limiting beliefs that hold us back in life. By
harnessing the power of this law, you can make this principle work for you, by visualising or
picturing your desired goal, your imagination is taking you there as though it is real. For that
moment your subconscious is accepting the new you. It now has a picture, a destination to
aim for.
Logically speaking, if you are making the mistake of not visualising yourself and your new
life as a non-smoker, how on earth do you expect your mind to help you bring about that
realisation in your life? If you are not picturing your desired goal to be a non-smoker, then
you really do have a battle on your hands, as you are completely on your own, and reliant on
willpower alone which will inevitably fail you. Remember a picture tells a thousand words.
Learn How to Visualise.
The power of visualisation does not just mean imagining yourself as a non-smoker and
leaving it at that - it lays in the emotions of the event. Emotions create beliefs, and your
visualisation or picture has to feel real, and charged with positive feel-good emotions. To
help achieve that feel-good factor use all your five senses - sight, sound, feeling, taste and
smell when visualising.
The easiest way to access your imagination is to find some quiet place where there are no
interruptions. Turn off your mobile phone, and either sit comfortably in a chair or if you
prefer lay down. Loosen any tight clothing and take of your glasses if you wear them. Lay or
sit with your legs uncrossed and your hands lying loosely by your side. Close your eyes, and
take a few deep breaths. Focus on breathing in deeply, hold it for a count of 8 then breath out,
and do this about 3 three times. Now imagine yourself as a non-smoker and visualise how
happy and healthy you look. The simplest way is to see yourself as though you were looking
at a photo of yourself. If the photo is in black and white change it to colour. Likewise if the
photo is small and unfocussed, change it to a large photo with clarity. Notice your expression,
and your appearance; notice what you are wearing and how it feels to look at your future self,
take notice of all the detail in the picture.
In order for us to realise our goals, we have to have some idea what they look like and how it
will feel. Visualisation is a powerful tool in which we “make” our goals become more
tangible and achievable, instead of being vague, unrealistic and impossible.
Repeat this exercise again, only this time instead of just looking at the photo, step into it as
though you are there, and not just an onlooker. Imagine you have been successful at
achieving your goal. Notice how good it feels. How proud you are of yourself now that you
are free of this addiction. Where in your body do you feel those emotions? Allow yourself to
be free and enjoy what you are experiencing, feel excited and exhilarated by the emotions and
the vision of being the new you. Spend a few minutes just enjoying all the joy of being a non-
smoker and feeling really good about yourself, and how proud you feel. Afterwards don’t
forget to write down in your journal your experience of your visualisation, and record all your
thoughts and feelings during the exercise.
When we feel emotions during our visualisation, we create energy. This energy has power
and is communicated to the world around us as well as creating a positive energy inside of us.
For example; if you meet someone who is feeling excited and happy about a new prospect in
their life, you can pick up on their energy straight away, without them having to verbally
communicate to you. You just feel their energy; likewise if someone is negative about
something in their life, maybe they feel resentful and angry, then you will pick up on their
energy and what they are feeling. You will also notice too that the energy or atmosphere they
have created will have an impact on your own emotions.
If you are creating positive visualisations about being a non-smoker and really experiencing
all the feel-good emotions that you can, at the same time, you are manifesting positive
energy, and the good news is that it is this same energy that is sent out into the universe, and
you will become a magnet and attract positive energy and good things back to you.
How to Enhance Visualisation
Through visualisation you are changing the programme in your head top computer to
embrace the new you. You can enhance your visualisation by changing the image into a
running video. In this way you are programming your mind to accept new behaviours in a
sequence and link or associate them to the new you - a person that does not need nor want
tobacco in their life.
The easiest way to do this is to change the photo you had in your mind in the previous
exercise into a video. Remember this is a video of you living as a non-smoker. You now
move with greater ease and confidence, your head held high. Again notice how you look and
what you are doing. Notice how fresh and clean you look. How you stand. Create sounds to
your video and notice how you feel as you watch yourself – this new you. Afterwards write
down the thoughts and feelings you experienced during this exercise in your journal.
Now, play the video in your mind again, only this time, you are not going to watch yourself,
instead step into the film as though you are really there – the main actor. Look around you
and see the scene you are in, notice the objects and colours, listen to the sounds around you.
May be someone you know offers you a cigarette, and you say “no thank you”. Notice how
you feel as you reply back with confidence. Notice where you feel those emotions in your
body. Hold on to those good feelings of success and being in control for a while and play
other scenarios whereby you are in complete control of yourself. Afterwards write down your
experience in your journal.
Once is not enough
Repeat, repeat, repeat and again I say repeat. A common mistake many people make is the
belief that they only need to visualise once, or maybe a couple of times and that’s it. It is by
daily visualisation you will retain focus and your mind will become more accepting of the
new you and in doing so, will start the work changing the way you think and feel to fit the
new picture of yourself. Your mind has to be consistent with the beliefs and picture it has of
you. As a smoker your mind had a set of distorted and mistaken beliefs about smoking which
is inconsistent with the new you, now that you are a non-smoker, and by using your
imagination every day this way, you will be renewing your mind and replacing those old
unwanted beliefs with new positive beliefs. By consistently practising you will gradually
achieve the results you seek.
Being Aware of those Hidden Obstacles that Stand in your Way.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. How often have you looked back on a situation and said to
yourself ‘if only I’d done this or not done that’? The advantage of knowing what lays ahead
can help us make the right decisions formed on having the knowledge of the outcome. Well
we are a long way from inventing a time machine that will enable us to do that; however
there is something that you can do for yourself that will help you uncover the likely events or
situations that will crop up and where you could easily make a wrong choice.
Close your eyes and create an image in your mind, projecting yourself say, 6 months or a
year ahead in time and see yourself as still smoking. Now, as before step into that image as
though you are there, 6 or 12 months into the future and still smoking. Notice how you feel
having tried and failed. Whilst experiencing these emotions, ask yourself this question:
“I’d be a non-smoker now if only I’d…”
Just allow your mind to come up with the answers. Hold the question in your thoughts, and
let the answers just flow into your mind. There may be one or two, or there may be several.
Just keep focused on the question and acknowledge the answers as they come into your mind,
without questioning or dismissing them. Once they stop coming, and you have no more
answers, quietly thank your subconscious mind for helping you. Step out of the image, and
come back to normal awareness. You may feel quite low at this point because of the emotions
you have experienced, but that is quite normal. Pick up your journal and write down the
question, followed by all the answers you received. This is an extremely helpful exercise as
you will have discovered the stumbling blocks that will get in the way of you succeeding.
Your subconscious mind knows more about you than you’ll ever know, and knows the likely
events that will trip you up. With this insight you can put into place the things you need to do,
and make sure you don’t fall into the traps shown to you, so you can be focused on your goal
with an assurance that YOU WILL succeed.
Now do this exercise again, but with a different outcome and question. Step into your photo
again of you in 6 or 12 months time, but this time as a non-smoker. Capture the good feelings
of success and well-being. You can feel really proud of yourself having achieved such a
major goal in your life. Whilst you are enjoying these feelings and still in your image, ask
yourself this question:
“I succeeded because I …”
Whilst in that image just allow the answers come into your mind, without questioning or
dismissing. There may be several answers or just one, just stay there until they stop coming.
Then thank your mind for these answers and congratulate yourself. Feel again those warm
positive emotions and then step out of the image back to normal awareness, and write down
in your journal both the question and the answers you received from that experience. These
two exercises is the basis of your goal-setting steps towards your desired outcome – to
become a non-smoker, and you can write them in your action plan as reminders.
The Power of Affirmations.
We all make affirmations every day, often without knowing it, and for many people, most of
them are negative. It is my belief that most of the snags or problems that people face when
stopping smoking comes from their own sense of inferiority and insecurity. In westernised
cultures we are consumed with adverts from a material society that we are in danger of falling
into the trap of only feeling truly complete and fulfilled if we have the “must haves” that
consumerism tells us we should have, and where media, and materialism define status and
success. Without these outward symbols then we can falsely deem ourselves failures. A
common negative phrase I come across in treating my clients is a belief that they’re “not
good enough”, or that they believe they are ‘unlovable’, or ‘not worth it’. With these types of
beliefs in place, it is hard to be confident about outcome when dealing with a nicotine
addiction as people are constantly affirming their self-limiting, negative mistaken beliefs.
To be successful in stopping smoking, or anything else for that matter, it is important to
maintain motivation and change those inner negative beliefs you may have about yourself
which may take time, but by no means impossible to achieve. For example, if feeling a failure
is a core belief you have about yourself then it will be difficult for you to feel successful if
you continue to believe you are a failure. The good news is that you can change the picture or
belief you have of yourself.
We form negative beliefs in childhood, through believing someone else’s mistaken
perspective about ourselves. As adults we rarely question those mistaken beliefs and accept
them as the truth, still seeing them from a child’s perspective. Our minds like consistency,
and consequently seek out opportunities, events, even words to reinforce and affirm the
mistaken belief and so it goes on. We can use the same approach to change these beliefs from
negative “I can’t” to the positive “I can” by repeating positive affirmations.
A positive affirmation then is simply to state exactly what you desire yourself to be. To
affirm is to maintain this positive statement in spite of what you feel and what is happening
around you.
Affirmations then are a powerful tool that you can use in your stop smoking programme.
Affirmations are what will turn your intention into a reality. It is important to state your
positive affirmations for at least a period of 30 days, without missing a day. If you miss a
day, then you must start at day 1 again and continue for 30 days without a break.
Let me explain why this is important. Research by NASA concludes that it takes between 25
to 30 days to create a new neuro-pathway in the brain. Their studies consisted of giving
astronauts concave lenses to wear continuously for 30 days, which meant they would
experience everything upside-down. The neuro-scientists intention was to find out what
effects this disorientation would have on the astronauts on a long term basis as part of their
preparation for working in space. Imagine for a moment how this would feel, living in a
world where everything appears upside down but in actual reality is not. It makes me feel
dizzy just thinking about it, especially trying to get round the hand-eye co-ordination, such as
picking up a cup, or catching a ball! Amazingly the results showed that after 30 days every
single one of the astronauts’ brains had started to flip things the right side up even though
they were wearing concave glasses all the time. Interested by this phenomenon, the
neuroscientists conducted another study with another group where they had ½ the group take
the glasses off for one day (around the 15th day) and then had them resume wearing them
again after 24 hours, until the end of the designated 30 day period. At the end of the study,
the brains of the astronauts who had taken the glasses off for 24 hours within the 30 day
period did not re-wire, they were still struggling in an upside-down world, whilst the group
who had kept the glasses on for the entire period could manage the new behaviours.
It would seem then, to conclude from these studies that it takes around 30 consecutive days of
practicing a new habit or a new thought process to settle in the subconscious part of our
minds, and that if for some reason there is a break and you miss a day, then you have to start
all over again from day 1. This may then be an indication as to why most New Year
Resolutions fail, simply because by the 2nd week motivation has dropped and the new habit
therefore has simply not reached the subconscious mind.
So here’s how you do positive affirmations. Start by standing in front of a mirror, look
yourself in the eyes, and say out loud to yourself “I am a non-smoker” “I am successful” “I
am in control now” “I have chosen life over death” “I have chosen good health” “I no longer
need or want to smoke”. Say these affirmations slowly and deliberately. Always affirm in the
present time, never using future tense. Another tip is to include an action verb, such as “I am
clearing my body of toxins”. Again during these affirmations it’s important to feel positive
and attach good emotions, such as “I am celebrating my success”. Like visualisation,
affirmations should always connect with positive feel-good emotions, said with meaning. It’s
simply no good to stand in front of the mirror saying “I am in control” in a voice detached
from emotion. Remember you are changing your belief system and need to be convincing, so
say your affirmations from a place of vibrant energy and passion. You’ll be surprised how the
simple act of doing this will change how you feel about yourself and your sense of intention
and motivation will increase as the energy of positive emotion is released throughout your
body.
Ideally do these affirmations twice daily, perhaps first thing in the morning and just before
you go to bed at night. You may feel silly at first in doing this but don’t underestimate these
statements, because they are powerful affirmations, and remember practised regularly for at
least 30 days without a break, they have an impact on your subconscious mind that will
amaze you. You are renewing your mind to accept these truths, and as a result you will find
your subconscious mind will serve you, and help you achieve your goal.
Dealing with the Loss of Smoking.
Sounds silly doesn’t it? But expect to feel a sense of loss of smoking. As human beings we
like to be in our comfort zone, and are generally resistant to change. Again this is because our
minds like patterns and consistency. We respond well to structure and routine in our lives,
and when we have this, we feel we are organised, in control, and safe. However, when we
experience change, we can become stressed, anxious and insecure. Making a lifestyle change
from smoking to becoming a non-smoker does have its losses and fears. If you started
smoking when you were very young, or a teenager, you will have never experienced life as a
non-smoking adult. If you always turn to cigarettes as a habit, such as when you are bored,
stressed, or even just needing a break from doing a task, as an ex-smoker there presents a gap,
a void and an experience of loss when you are presented with those same situations of feeling
bored etc.
This feeling of loss can be quite frightening if you are not prepared for it. One way of
preparing your mind to let go of those feelings is to turn to your journal and find your list of
Gains and Losses. Focus on the list of losses, and use your imagination to create a picture of a
large blackboard. On the blackboard imagine yourself seeing that list of losses written up
there. Look at each word carefully; making sure all the losses you listed in your journal are
there on the blackboard and any new ones that you have uncovered. Now, imagine that you
have an eraser in your hands, and go over to the blackboard and wipe out the first word on the
list. Notice how this feels when you are doing this. Gradually work down the list until all the
words have been erased. Stand back and look at the empty blackboard, and enjoy the good
feelings of having let go of each and every one of those losses. They have gone forever…
Now, look at the words written in your Gains list. Imagine again you can see the same
blackboard that the losses were written on which is now blank. This time walk over to the
blackboard and write up each gain. As you do so, experience the good feelings you get and
allow yourself some time to enjoy it. When you’ve completed writing each gain, stand back
and look at the list, and feel again those good feelings. Repeat these exercises as often as you
feel the need to.
Have a Definite Strategy Ready for Those Difficult Situations
A common mistake that people make is, not being prepared in advance for those inevitable
difficult situations or occasions. By only having a vague idea of how you will manage those
times you risk feeling overwhelmed and unprepared and as a result may succumb to an old
habit without even thinking. Rehearsing the new behaviour is key here to success. This way
you are mentally prepared for difficult situations and don’t have to rely on thinking on your
feet to get you out of a muddle.
Go back to your journal and look at your smoking-related habits. Create a new movie or
series of pictures in your mind of those occasions and situations that are habitual to you. See
yourself being offered cigarettes and refusing, maybe saying the words “no thank you” or
“not for me thanks”. See yourself walking past the tobacconists or cigarette counter in the
supermarket; see yourself drinking a cup of coffee without smoking and so on……Go
through all your habits in your mind, but without you smoking. When you have quite a few
pictures, enter those images as though you were there and find out how it feels to say no; or
to walk past the tobacconist. These images are known as mind rehearsals, which are
preparing your mind to accept and expect the new behaviours you will be doing in the next
few weeks.
Recognise when Professional Help is needed to overcome a Problem.
It may be that some self-limiting beliefs are just too difficult to deal with without expert help.
In which case, if you find some of the previous exercises difficult to do, or feel their root
cause is too painful to cope with on your own, then it may be helpful to see a counsellor, or
therapist. Get professional help to deal with any self-limiting mistaken beliefs you have about
yourself. If by stopping smoking you find you are triggering off underlying issues such as
low self-esteem, and not feeling “good enough” or needing approval. Maybe these issues
have been around for a while. In which case perhaps now is the time to seek professional help
from a therapist that specialises in these issues, and get them dealt with once and for all. After
which you’ll be free to move on in your life.
NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) can be helpful in dealing with a persistent belief
patterns, and hypnotherapy is one of the most effective methods of changing habits and
behaviour. Both these therapies do not require the use of drugs or chemicals. Hypnosis is a
method by which the mind is brought to the state of total relaxation so that it becomes open to
suggestion. It cuts out all those extraneous thoughts that get in the way that cause us to resist
and digress. Hypnotherapy creates a calm altered state in the mind using breathing and
visualization techniques, and whilst relaxed the therapist puts new positive ideas across to
you to discourage smoking. They could be ideas about the benefits of quitting, or about the
health hazards of not quitting. But the outcome is that the old patterns of thinking are
disrupted with newer, better suggestions.
Step 5 – Coping with Withdrawal Symptoms
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain” – Dolly Parton
Withdrawal symptoms, even in mild form are inevitable. The severity and frequency of the
symptoms will vary from person to person, however despite the speed that nicotine can create
addiction, physical withdrawal from the drug does not last too long, usually around 4-7 days.
The best thing is to accept that you will experience discomfort of some sort during those first
few days. Maybe you will have feelings of loss, deprivation, and emptiness. It is important to
remember however, that these feelings are temporary just as are any physical cravings or
pangs that you experience. They are part of the physical addiction, and as such they will not
last and will soon be gone. Having a cigarette will not make them go away, as you will suffer
them again when you next “need a fix”. Using will power alone to deal with these symptoms
only creates additional pain, frustration and tension, so remember to remind yourself that you
do not have to fight these feelings, you can choose to acknowledge them for what they are
and draw from the mind-set exercises and affirmations you’ve learnt in the previous chapters
to overcome them.
Follow the solutions in this section to help you to conquer withdrawal pangs and cravings and
keep you on track.
Dealing with Cravings
Energy flows where your mind goes. Whatever you focus your mind on, so will your body
follow. If you allow your mind to focus on your craving or physical pang, then your resolve
will weaken and the power of the craving will increase. Most people when they experience a
craving they try to push the feeling away and ignore it. The trick here is not to ignore the
pang or graving, but to just notice it, then let it go, and deliberately focus your attention on to
something else. Say to yourself – okay, that’s the nicotine monster wanting a fix, then move
the focus of your attention to your visualisation of being a non-smoker, reminding yourself
that you are a non-smoker and focus on the benefits you receive living your new life.
If you try to fight the craving by refusing to notice it, you will only be suppressing it, to
return again with a vengeance. Understand that your brain likes consistency and patterns, and
when you change a habit your mind will remind you of what it was that you usually did in
that situation until a new pattern or habit is established. This may be a specific behaviour, like
having a cup of coffee, when your brain will remind you that you always used to have a
cigarette at the same time, or it may be an emotion, perhaps if you are feeling bored, or need
a break from a task, your mind will make the connection that you always used to have a
cigarette, and so consequently remind you to have one. If you do not acknowledge this
reminder, by noticing the craving or thought, then your mind will keep pressing the button
until you do.
Our brain does not like unresolved questions. To give an example of what I mean – have you
ever tried to remember something that was on the tip of your tongue. Isn’t it aggravating?
Often in discussions at dinner I’ve tried to remember a specific name or song title, or artist,
and although I know the answer, I just can’t bring it to mind. The harder I try the more
elusive it feels and it nags at me until, usually, when I’ve relaxed and moved on to another
topic, the name suddenly pops into my head maybe hours later or even the next day. At last
I’ve remembered. All that time in between, my brain was searching for the answer – simply
because it was unresolved, and once it found the answer I had equilibrium again.
This is the same with intrusive thoughts about smoking. Acknowledge them for what they
are, affirm your resolve then move onto something else.
You Don’t Have to Give in to Cravings
Although stopping smoking may be really hard at times, it is not too hard and certainly not
impossible. If you start to believe it is too hard then you are on a slippery slope. If you find
yourself struggling make a choice not to give in. Say out loud to yourself “I am in control”
attaching all the good emotions that go with that affirmation. Cravings are likely to be the
most difficult thing you will have to cope with, but you do not have to give in to them, for
they will pass. Understand that they will go away whether you have a cigarette or not. All
cravings are caused by smoking itself and by giving in to them you are just repeating the
vicious cycle! Notice the craving and say to yourself that it will pass; it is just the nicotine
trying to get control of you again.
Napoleon Hill said “what your mind conceives and believes it will achieve” As you
consistently repeat the visualisations of you as a non-smoker and as you consistently repeat
the positive self-affirmations, your mind is in the process of bringing about those statements
as a reality. Your mind will take you through the process of conceiving, believing and
achieving your goal for you, with little effort on your part - if you let it. All you have to do is
tap into your inner reservoir of infinite strength and resources. Remember too you can apply
this process to discover and set goals for other things in your life you may want to achieve.
Every one of us has an enormous amount of unrealised potential.
Stop Blaming Bad Days on Smoking
Every one of us has good and bad days, whether we are smokers or non-smokers. Its life and
we cannot change that. However, by being prepared in advance by anticipating difficulties
means that you are better able to cope with a bad day without resorting to tobacco. The best
way of preventing relapse is by being pro-active, and it is far better to be pro-active than re-
active. Consider what the challenges are to your new non-smoking self and plan for them.
When faced with circumstances or situations is to better to be prepared for them in advance.
By anticipating events ahead of time, you can plan accordingly and put in place alternative
behaviours, instead of just reacting to situations by resorting to old habits and old ways. Each
morning get in to the habit of mentally running through the day, anticipate events that could
be problematic, and rehearse in your mind how you will deal with them.
Another tip is to include in your morning visualisation exercise, a vision or “imaginary movie
or video” of how you want your day to be. In this way you are creating a positive attitude
aligned with expectation and purpose that will carry you through those ‘sticky’ moments.
Don’t forget to get in touch with your “feel-good” emotions during the visualisation.
Drink Plenty of Water
Did you realise that most people suffer dehydration. For example our brain is 70% water, so
it is important to top it up frequently! Water flushes out the poisons from your system and
dramatically improves your blood through cleansing and oxygenating as well as bringing lots
of other health benefits such as having more energy. In drinking a large glass of water, you
will find it will take your mind off smoking for a few moments, and by putting something in
your mouth you will lessen the craving. In addition you’ll have a full feeling in your
stomach, to help fill that feeling of emptiness that nicotine leaves. Additionally, by drinking
lots of water you will speed up the rate nicotine is eliminated from your body. So drink as
much water a day as you can.
Apply the following visualisation at the same time as you drink water; it will assist your body
to get rid of the toxins faster. Remember our minds and bodies are in constant
communication. With each sip, imagine you are drinking in pure clean fresh water, and
visualise it pouring down your throat, making a cleansing path as it travels down into your
stomach, imagine feeling that cleansing purity taking place. In the same way imagine the
water cleansing and getting rid of all the debris, and poison that is clogging up your system,
your stomach and your gut. Follow the water with your minds eye, ‘seeing’ it cleanse and
clear out your system, flushing out toxins and softening hardened deposits of gunge and
poison, clearing the way, cleansing and healing. You’ll be amazed how effective this is.
Avoid Smokers
Breathing in nicotine from someone else’s cigarettes can be a major switch to trigger a
craving particularly in the early stages of withdrawal. It is therefore best to avoid the
company of smokers until all symptoms of withdrawal have passed. Watch out for friends,
and family members who smoke. For those first few weeks or months, you may have to
distance yourself from them until you get to the stage whereby you no longer have a desire to
smoke. If your spouse or partner smokes, or maybe a flat-mate or lodger, you will have to
agree rules that they smoke outside, or away from you. This should not be a problem as long
as you explain why you are asking them to do this, and that you need their support. Likewise,
explain to family or specific friends why you need to create some space for a short a while, so
that they understand your reasons, and can support you in your decision and not take your
distance personally.
If you find yourself struggling with this, ask yourself what it is that you are really missing.
Take in Plenty of Clean Air
Our five physical senses can all trigger cravings, even the sense of smell. Tobacco smoke
leaves a specific stale smell in the air that penetrates clothing, hair and skin. If there is a
lingering smell of stale smoke, open the windows and let in fresh air and sunlight, unless of
course the weather is bad, in which case ventilate the room with a fan. Create a fresh
fragrance in the air, by using scented candles or burn aromatherapy oils, and treat yourself to
a new perfume or after-shave and enjoy the scent it gives off. Nice fragrances give us a feel-
good factor and according to research with smokers, smelling strong perfumes can curb
desire to smoke and helpful in dealing with cravings.
If the weather is nice, get outside in the garden or go for a walk, taking in plenty of long deep
breaths as you do so. You’ll soon find the craving will pass.
Keep in Front of You the Benefits of Being a Non-Smoker.
It is important to frequently remind yourself of the personal benefits you stand to gain
through stopping smoking, otherwise you risk losing focus and may be tempted to ‘talk
yourself into’ the old ways. To combat this, memorise the list of benefits as a non-smoker
you made in your journal. This will help remind yourself of your reasons for stopping
smoking. Throughout the day mentally visit the list, and get in the habit of doing so
especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Breathe Deeply
If you are in the habit of shallow breathing, then get out of it, by learning to take slow deep
breaths. When we shallow breathe our heart and lungs have to work harder to get the oxygen
circulating, this extra work causes our body to be stressed, even when we feel we are not
mentally stressed. Just by doing this, our minds then respond to the body’s’ signals and
searches for something to be stressed about. Many smokers have got into the habit of
smoking when they are stressed, and subsequently, when they feel “stress” they reach for a
cigarette.
A similar thing happens when we are mentally stressed, we automatically start to breath
shallow and quickly, and our body is triggered into what is known as the stress response – to
fight or flight. When this happens our bodies release the natural chemicals of cortisone,
insulin and adrenaline which fire up our blood sugar levels and increase our heart beat. This
is great if we need to fight or run from danger as this extra energy is needed, but most of the
time this is not the case. In the case of smoking, nicotine cravings bring about stress, which
then causes this reaction in the body, therefore heightening the need the smoke.
The way to deal with this is to get into the habit of regularly taking deep breaths throughout
the day. This is the easiest method there is of calming your emotions. By taking deep, slow
breaths, you are increasing the oxygen level in your bloodstream which slows your heart beat
down, and stops you going into “stress mode”. Because the effect of this is relaxing, this will
reduce the smoking craving significantly.
Be Present in Each Moment.
By not being present in the moment you fall into danger of listening to that inner voice that
wants to lead you away from your resolve. An effective way of dealing with cravings and to
silence that voice, is to use all your senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell and become
aware of what’s around you. Really tune into to your surroundings and become fully present
in the moment. Focus on colours, shapes, lighting, textures, temperature, sounds, smells and
if possible taste. Keep focusing and concentrating on these things until the craving subsides.
Use Positive Affirmation to Avoid Temptation
Positive affirmations help your mind to accept and believe the new you and should be said
daily to help renew your mind. However, they can also be very useful to use during those
occasions when you feel tempted to surrender to a craving. Say positive statements such as “I
am in control now “, and “I am free from smoking”; “I am successful” and “I can achieve
anything I put my mind to” and keep repeating them to yourself until the craving goes away.
Take Regular Breaks
Let’s be honest here, as a smoker you took regular breaks from whatever you were doing to
have a cigarette. During the first few weeks as a non-smoker you may find that your
concentration levels start to flag. The best thing to do is to have a short break every 30
minutes or so, and to accept this as part of the withdrawal process and to affirm to yourself
that it will gradually improve as time goes on. In the meantime, be patient take frequent
breaks from your task, you could do a few stretching exercises, and some deep breathing or if
appropriate go for a short walk.
Avoid Places or Situations Associated with Smoking
You know the places I mean, those regular haunts where you always smoked more than
usual. Avoid situations that increase your desire to smoke if you can. Be extra vigilant during
specific occasions such as parties, Christmas or birthday celebrations for it is during these
times we can be more prone to letting our guard down.
Avoid Alcohol
For many people smoking and alcohol go together. This is not a good combination, for as
well as being a habitual behaviour that will need to be broken, the alcohol is a depressant and
smoking is a stimulant. If you know yourself to be one of these people, consider seeking
specialist help with a therapist, or counsellor who will be able to help you identify the
underlying reason as to why you feel the need for these props.
The best thing is to avoid drinking alcohol as this will lower your ability to resist smoking.
This is particularly important during those first few weeks, and may be longer.
Have Some Sugarless Gum Handy…
If you feel you need something in your mouth, get in a supply of sugarless gum or sugar-free
sweets, or make sure you have a supply of raw vegetables such as carrots and celery sticks at
hand in your fridge.
Keep Your Mouth Fresh…
Your teeth are likely to be discoloured and possibly diseased, as smoking is a major cause of
gum disease and bad breath. Buy a new toothbrush and mouthwash and maybe book an
appointment to see your dental hygienist. By following this tip, you’ll be affirming your
commitment to the new you and the new life that lies ahead of you as a non smoker.
Step 6 – Deal with Denial and Fear
“A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one
unsatisfied. What more can one want” – Oscar Wilde
Denial is a common problem among smokers. Denial about effects on health, life expectancy,
believing that smoking is pleasurable, a stress releaser, and a relaxant are just a few. As
human beings we can often fall in the trap of denial, as a way of dealing with painful things.
As I mentioned earlier in this book, you and I prefer to seek pleasure and not pain, so if we
can find a means to avoid pain, or knowing painful truths then our minds will do this for us.
Denial of the effects smoking has on health is a common area; as most smokers avoid
thinking about their death, or illness as a direct result of smoking, and feel uncomfortable
when loved ones point this out to them.
Denial can also be linked to fear. A fear is a worry about the future – a feeling of what might
happen. Sometimes our fears are never manifested, but nonetheless this knowledge doesn’t
stop us from worrying at the very least to feeling completely overwhelmed by fear at its
worse.
A fear can also be interpreted as a negative affirmation. For example it’s not uncommon to
experience that the very thing you feared ends up happening. Again this is a result of how we
can ‘attract’ things to us just by thinking and focusing on them. So be careful about how
much time you spend “worrying” or fearing things!
A lot of smokers own to having fears about stopping smoking. Particularly fear of loss; such
as loss of friends, loss of fun and pleasure, loss of a coping mechanism when they feel
stressed, anxious or even bored. Some other fears that are common are; fear of gaining
weight, fear of withdrawal symptoms, and fear of failure or success. Some of these fears have
their roots in the past, such as self-doubt, negativity, and low self-esteem and stem from self-
limiting beliefs.
Because of the addictive quality of nicotine, smokers are easily deceived to believe what they
want to believe, for example the belief that smoking relaxes you, when in fact it is the
nicotine that creates the feeling of stress in the first place, in order for you to keep feeding the
habit. It is important to understand your fears and where they come from, so get your fears
out in the open and take action to deal with them, and make sure you get reliable facts about
smoking, so you are not deceived.
Someone once said the only way to deal with a fear is to take action and face it. If you do it
can be your biggest area of personal growth, for there is nothing like the feeling of
conquering a fear.
Denying the health risks of smoking
Many smokers have created an illusion that they are fully aware of the health risks related to
smoking, but if they were truly fully aware then they would not be smoking at all – they
would be so frightened they would stop. Usually there is the mistaken belief that ‘bad things
happen to others but not me’, which basically means they are burying their heads in the sand!
The truth is that by continuing to smoke you are playing Russian roulette with your life as the
stake. Who knows which cigarette it will be that will trigger off a cancer cell or emphysema.
It could be your next cigarette.
There is plenty of information around about how smoking affects your health. There are
health warnings on tobacco products, and enough evidence to show that smoking is a
contributory cause of heart disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma, arteriosclerosis,
angina, stroke, thrombosis, cancer, diabetes to name just a few. Most smokers refuse to
believe these statistics because they want to continue smoking and minimise and manipulate
the facts to justify their behaviour.
The fact is, if you accept this reality, then your mind faces a dilemma. If you really believe
that smoking is harmful, then your mind will help you stop. But while you continue to kid
yourself that it will never happen to you, your mind does not fully accept the real danger in
smoking. Remember we are what we believe.
When it is too late, and you are suffering from a serious smoking related condition or illness,
and the truth sinks in. It is highly likely you will regret that you did not stop before it was too
late.
Get the real facts and stop justifying the illusion that it will not happen to you before it is too
late to do anything about it. Once your mind accepts and believes the truth that smoking is a
poison that is killing you, then it will reject those mistaken beliefs once and for all.
Get rid of negativity
This is about describing your glass as always being half full and not half empty or better still
seeing your glass as full and overflowing! It is a matter of choice. Negative thoughts rob us of
our inspiration and creativity – the belief that we can achieve anything we put our minds to.
So it is important to get rid of negative thoughts as soon as they pop into your head. You can
do this easily, by saying out loud one or more of the positive affirmations you wrote down
earlier. If you focus on negative thoughts then you are likely to lose sight of your goal –
remember you become what you think about. If you are someone that has a lot of negative
thoughts, then it is best to steer clear of negative people as you will find you will feed your
negativity from them. Like the physical positive and negative energies repel each other, it is
exactly the same with positive and negative thoughts – some people describe this as spiritual
energy. When we behave positively, we send out positive signals or energy, and others
respond to them positively. The same happens when we are feeling negative; we send out
negative signals and negative energy.
Spend a few moments thinking about the positive and negative people who are in your life
and make a list of each in your diary. Stay away from negative people if you can during those
early days of quitting smoking as they will sabotage your positive attitude with negative
comments.
Here is an exercise you can do in your journal to help you reframe some of the negative
beliefs you may have. Separate a page in your journal into two columns, head one column
with the words ‘My Strengths” and the other column “My Weaknesses”. Write down what
you believe to be your strengths and weaknesses, and then ask a close relative or friend who
knows you well if they agree and if they have anything to add. You may find from doing this
exercise that some of your strengths and weaknesses are the same thing. For instance the
quality of tenacity can be seen a strength, and the word stubborn as a weakness, yet they are
more or less the same thing. Re-frame as many of your negative words under your weakness
column into positive language, and in doing so move them over to your positive list. This
should drastically reduce the number in the weakness column, and then affirm out loud each
positive strength as follows: “I am …… (Insert the first word in your positive column),
and so on with each word in the “strength” list. Notice that by simply changing the language,
you gain more positive energy. Enjoy that energy and realise how easy it is to change the way
you think and feel about yourself.
Get the Truth about Smoking
Get the right facts about smoking; don’t rely on what you think you know. There are a lot of
myths about smoking, and one of the biggest is that smoking eases stress and anxiety by
giving you a sense of relief, of pleasure and consequently helping you feel more relaxed. This
is a deception and illusion, the truth is that smoking actually created those unwanted feelings
of depression, irritability, and anxiety in the first place; the “pleasure” that you feel when you
smoke is what non-smokers feel all the time. All you are doing is satisfying an addictive need
or craving brought about by the nicotine. Be absolutely clear smoking damages your physical
and mental health.
Stop Believing Smoking is Enjoyable
Most smokers believe that they enjoy smoking and it is the fear of losing this pleasure that
stops them from quitting. What they don’t realise is that the warm, relaxing pleasurable
feelings they experience when they smoke does not actually come from the cigarette, but
comes from their own beliefs about smoking. Historically, smoking has been marketed in
such a way, that it has brainwashed smokers to believe that poison filled cigarettes have some
beneficial qualities (remember the advertising portraying smoking as being seductive, sexy,
fun, relaxing and confident). This is a lie, and purely a sales tactic to get you hooked into a
massive money making industry that has no interest in your health.
Our subconscious minds do not know the difference between pretence and reality, and can be
easily influenced by the power of suggestion. It is from these suggestions that beliefs are
formed, these beliefs shape our perspective on how we ‘see’ ourselves and the world around
us. Be absolutely clear there are no benefits whatsoever from smoking. Any beliefs that you
have that there are benefits are a complete deception. It is YOU who generate the
pleasurable-relaxed feelings you experience when you smoke and it is YOU who have
associated them in your mind with the act of smoking. This is why every time you desire a
cigarette; these false beliefs trigger the release of chemical secretions in your brain and
nervous system which causes you to experience that ‘enjoyable’ feeling when you smoke. It
is reasonable to assume that it is the cigarette that causes those feelings, but it is important to
understand that it is your intention to smoke that causes the release of chemicals from the
brain and NOT what’s in the cigarette.
One of the snares that ex-smokers fall into is that they fear they will never ever experience
those warm pleasurable relaxed feelings again, and consequently they become double-
minded. One part of them wants to quit and never wants to have another cigarette in their life
again, and yet there is this other part, that fears a life without those enjoyable feelings, and
long for a cigarette. Hence an internal struggle ensues which if not checked can ruin the
resolve of the new non-smoker.
The good news is that because it is a deception that smoking creates pleasurable feelings, and
that it is your false belief that has created that illusion, you don’t have to continue with this
internal conflict anymore. You can choose to change your belief. You can choose to believe
the truth. You can release those false beliefs that you’ve been holding on to, by seeing them
for what they are, and stop negatively affirming your thoughts along the lines of ‘I’ll never
have fun socializing with friends again’ ; ‘I’ll never enjoy tea breaks again’ and so on, and
replace them with positive affirmations. Remember this false ‘pleasure’ from desiring
cigarettes is killing you and will not feel so enjoyable when you are on your death bed
suffering the pain of a smoking related illness.
Stop using language that is Inconsistent with Being a Non-Smoker
Our feelings are implicitly expressed in our language and the words we use. Words have an
incredibly powerful effect on our subconscious mind, so avoid phrases like “giving up
smoking” when you talk to people – the only thing you’ve given up is a smoking related
death or disease. Instead when someone offers you a cigarette, use the phrase “no thanks, I’ve
kicked that habit”. When you describe yourself to others, avoid using words such as “ex-
smoker” or “non-smoker” as these indicate you are giving a label to yourself denoting
smoking as being an important part of your identity. Notice that the person who has never
smoked doesn’t go round describing themselves as a “non-smoker”.
Unfortunately, over time most people have learnt to think and use words in the negative
sense. Often when I ask a new client what is it they want out of life, they usually present me
with a list of “don’t wants”. This is one of the reasons why most resolutions and ideas start of
like fantastic fireworks lighting up the sky only to fizzle out and die, ending up in a pile of
ashes.
Think about your language and words, and in your journal list down the phrases you have
used to tell people that you are no longer a smoker. Notice how many negative words you
use, and alongside create a new list formed of positive sentences you can use. Avoid negative
words such as ‘don’t” “trying” and “but”.
Accept that Smoking Causes Stress
It is a complete myth that smoking helps with anxiety and stress. In fact the reverse is true, as
smoking actually destroys your nervous system and increases stress, depression, anxiety, and
panic attacks. Research has shown that smoking can actually cause these things in the first
place, and the stress that you feel is about the need to have another cigarette. Smoking is all
about watching the clock, watching time pass until you can have the next cigarette. The
‘stress’ that is relieved when smoking a cigarette is the relief from withdrawal pangs –
nothing more.
The good news is that there are lots of things you can do to manage stress, and to help with
depression. Here are a few examples:
Do deep breathing exercises. The very act of slow deep breathing stops
our bodies from going into the “stress response” and consequently slows
down our heart rate, helping us feel relaxed.
Join a yoga class – there are many benefits which bring about calmness
and well being and there is a yoga posture called pranayama (art of yoga
breathing) which particularly benefits people who have smoked.
Listen to Hypnotherapy CDs on relaxation and managing stress.
Learn NLP anti-anxiety techniques such as SWISH to help deal with
stress.
Book an appointment for Shiatsu - a Japanese method of healing and
deep relaxation which helps release stress.
Book a massage, or have aromatherapy. These ease the tension in the
body as well as having therapeutic qualities aiding relaxation of the
mind.
Stop Believing that Smoking Relieves Boredom
This is another common myth people believe in which is totally irrational. There are plenty of
things you can do other than smoke that will relieve boredom. Do not be deceived into
thinking that smoking is the only way. The reality is that those nicotine monsters inside you
want to be satisfied – nothing else, in fact smoking can actually make you feel bored as it
depletes you of energy to do anything else and can lead to procrastination – putting off what
needs to be done. If you are doing nothing and feeling bored, you are inviting thoughts to
come into your head telling you to smoke. Deal with the boredom, find something to do,
telephone a friend, go out, occupy yourself and the feeling will pass.
Don’t Let your Fears Get Out of Perspective
Most smokers fear the withdrawal from nicotine and panic about how they will cope. Some
people find life extremely difficult those first few days, and others may experience little or no
symptoms. But in reality – what can be the worst thing that can happen? Following an action
plan that deals with withdrawal symptoms will enable you to cope with physical, mental and
emotional stress especially during those early days. You will also be culturing new habits that
deal with stress, such as learning relaxation techniques, taking up exercise and embarking on
new hobbies, through which you will gradually grow more confident.
Some people fear failure (or even success) as it will change their life and the way they
perceive themselves in an unfamiliar way. If you are one of those people, think about seeking
specialist help maybe from a counsellor or hypnotherapist, and NLP practitioner who can
help you deal with these issues. It will be money well spent for if you do have these inner
beliefs, once they are dealt with, you will find that you will be empowered in all areas of your
life where you want to achieve, not just in quitting smoking.
Fear of gaining weight
Be careful as this is just another excuse for not quitting. It is true that healthy bodies weigh
more than oxygen depleted bodies, so a small weight gain may occur when giving up
smoking. However, this is insignificant when you compare it with all the health benefits that
you’ll gain from not smoking. And let’s face it, you would have to have a massive weight
gain to come anywhere near the same health risks that you had as a smoker.
But if you think you are someone that turns to fast high calorie snacks to replace that feeling
of “emptiness” then there are ways to get past this fear if you are serious about stopping
smoking. The first thing is to know is, are you really hungry when you turn to those snacks?
This is important as there is a difference between the feeling of hunger and the feeling of
appetite. Let me explain. True hunger is based on your body’s need for food in order to give
energy. Usually the signs our bodies give us when we are physically hungry are a rumbling
stomach, tiredness and maybe a feeling of irritability. Appetite however, is emotionally and
habitually based. For example, eating at certain times of the day, or maybe eating when you
feel bored, frustrated or stressed is down to appetite and not physical hunger. Sometimes
these habits become so entrenched we don’t realise we are doing it and absentmindedly reach
for the biscuit tin.
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself next time you are tempted to turn to food.
1. Am I really hungry or is it something else I’m feeling?
2. When did I last eat?
3. Do I really need a snack?
Now if you still feel hungry, do the following: go for a quick walk (5 minutes will do maybe
round the garden), wash your face and hands, and do some stretching exercises.
If you still feel hungry then have a healthy snack or meal, whichever is appropriate. Make
sure you eat slowly and take several deep breaths before eating, and during your meal. By
deep breathing you are eating in a relaxed way. If we eat when we are stressed our digestion
system turns itself off, as our body goes into the stress response of ‘fight or flight’, and
consequently our bodies release cortisone, insulin and adrenaline to prepare us. These
chemicals contribute to weight gain, as they raise blood sugar levels, and contain steroids.
And as your body has turned off digestion (your body cannot fight or flight AND digest at the
same time) your meal is sitting in your stomach giving you little nutrition value, and over
time, can cause IBS and other digestion problems.
If you feel that it is through emotion or habit that you want to eat then ask yourself what it is
that you are feeling – and do something about that. For example if you are feeling bored, then
find something else to do other than eat, if you feel empty – ask yourself what it is that is
causing that empty feeling – where else do you feel an emptiness in your life? You might be
surprised by the answer; again if you feel the emotions you are accessing overwhelming, seek
professional help through a therapist or counsellor. Avoid burying these emotions – they will
pop up again and again. Burying painful emotions are a bit like burying a man alive….they
constantly scratch to get to the surface!
Stop Believing Smoking Helps With Concentration.
The statement ‘Smoking helps with concentration’ holds absolutely no truth whatsoever.
When you are concentrating, you are focusing your attention on to a particular task or
programme, and it becomes difficult to think of anything else. It is during these moments
when it is easy to light up a cigarette automatically, without even realising it. In reality it is a
known fact that smoking clogs up your circulation with poisons which stops oxygen getting
to your brain, thereby reducing your capacity to concentrate!
Many ex-smokers claim that once they had got through the withdrawal symptoms of stopping
smoking, their concentration improved immensely, and described their life as a smoker as
looking at the world through a thick heavy fog. As a non-smoker they find they are able to
focus with clarity and precision.
Stop Trying to Block Out All Thoughts About Smoking.
Eliminate the word ‘try’ from your thinking. If you try to do something, the message you are
sending to your brain is “I am going to attempt something which I might fail at doing”. The
fact is the more you focus on trying the more likely you are to fail. This is because your mind
will register the possibility of failure and your subconscious will imagine it, (remember your
mind ‘thinks’ in pictures) and the effect will be that you have programmed your subconscious
to accept and determine failure. This is why willpower fails. Willpower is based on trying.
Think about this request:
Don’t think about pink elephants walking across the ceiling.
If you have read the above statement, you will have had to think about pink elephants
walking across the ceiling. The complete opposite of what I asked you to do. This is because
our minds have to think of the statement first in order to negate it. This is a law of the mind.
So if we tell our minds we are going to block something out, i.e. not think about it. Then our
minds have to have an image about it first before it can negate it. So by telling yourself that
you are not going to think about smoking means that you are telling yourself to think up an
image of smoking, then scrubbing the image out. In other words you are doing exactly what
you don’t want to do, that is create an image, a thought about smoking.
It’s a bit like telling a child they can’t have something, before they’ve even thought about
having it. All you have done is planted the seed of curiosity so the child thinks about it, and
consequently desires it.
Instead of trying to block out thoughts of smoking, choose to accept them. Accept you will
have thoughts of smoking, as your mind will remind you of associated behaviours and events,
and just allow those thoughts to happen and look at them just as though they were snapshots
in a photo album. Don’t resist, just look at the thought then move on and think of a positive
thought, such as one of your positive affirmations, such as “I am in control now” and let your
mind then focus on the emotions attached to that affirmation. Remember the harder you try to
stop thinking about smoking, the more thoughts you will have about smoking.
Dealing with Feeling Deprived
You’ve embarked on the journey of becoming someone who does not smoke, as a result of
your decision of not wanting to smoke anymore. It is nothing more than that. If you are
struggling with cravings, or thoughts of smoking, accept them for what they are just natural
occurrences in the process of withdrawal. Recognise that all you are depriving yourself of is
poison and ill-heath. Focus on the freedom of being released from an addictive drug, freedom
to make choices that do not evolve round smoking, freedom to grow in self-value and worth.
Step 7 – Establish Your Support Network
“If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action” -
Douglas Adams
It is true that only you can stop yourself from smoking, but by building up a good support
network, you don’t have to feel isolated and alone, and in reality everyone needs a support
system. Even if you are a ‘loner’ it is still good to have at least one person you can turn to,
and also to be accountable to. It is good to share your struggles and successes with people
who love and care for you, and gain strength from their support. Sometimes being left to your
own devices can bring about those triggers of boredom and stress, which can break down
your resolve. In surrounding yourself with a good support network you are more likely to win
the battle and remain a non-smoker. You will find that others will be delighted to help you
succeed and celebrating your success is more enjoyable in company!
Don’t Be a Lone Wolf.
A good idea is to write out a list of people who you think might be supportive to you. There
is no shame in seeking help and support from people, so as you think about each person you
know, think also about the ways in which they can be supporting of you. For example, a
phone call to someone who has already kicked the smoking ‘habit’ and would understand
what you are going through might be helpful when you are struggling to stay focused. When
you are feeling low, contacting a friend will often stop you spiralling down further. Lean on
people who are close to you and who care about you, they can be an enormous support to you
during difficult times.
Don’t rule out getting support from ex-smokers. People who have successfully broken the
addiction to nicotine can emotionally relate to your struggle, and will be on your side as they
will want you to succeed too.
Ask for Help
Nicotine affects our emotions and moods. Explain to close family or friends how important it
is to you that you succeed in stopping smoking, and explain that any changes in your mood,
irritability, and bad temper are only a temporary consequence of withdrawing from nicotine.
Ideally ask them in advance to take this in consideration and ask for their support when you
are going through these emotions. Tell them it is not personal, it is the nicotine fighting to
keep its hold on you and ask for their understanding and patience until the nicotine is out of
your system. Get them to focus on the new you that will be the outcome.
Spend more time with people who care about you, as they will want the best for you and will
help you get it. However, even though they have your best interest at heart, you must tell
them what they can do to help - they are not mind-readers!
Be Assertive When Around Other Smokers
If you have to mix with smokers particularly during those first few weeks of stopping
smoking, be sure to ask them to help you by not offering you cigarettes, and if possible and
appropriate, not to smoke in front of you. Why put yourself through breathing in their smoke,
or being tempted by being offered a cigarette when you don’t have to? By being assertive,
and enlisting their help, you are making a public affirmation that you are not going to
succumb to smoking.
However, be careful, as some smokers may feel threatened by your strength and resolve and
might try to jeopardise it because they feel weak themselves. Don’t allow other people’s guilt
affect your life and above all don’t allow them the opportunity to tempt you.
Buddy-Up with a Stop-Smoking Partner
If you have a friend or someone else who you know (and like) who wants to stop smoking,
then it might be worth considering stopping smoking together. This idea may not be for
everyone, but if you are someone who is competitive this will help keeping your motivation
going. You’ll also benefit from having the support of someone else who is going through
similar experiences who can empathise and encourage you. Watch out though, if they
succumb back to smoking…. it doesn’t mean you have to as well.
Join a Support Group
Stop smoking support groups can be of a great help, particularly if you find one that provides
information about smoking and has trained counsellors present. The idea is that as part of a
group you will be with like-minded others where there are opportunities to share withdrawal
experiences some of which will be similar to your own. These groups as well as providing
support, also offer accountability, for it is much harder to give in when tempted if you know
you will have to face the group. Group members share weaknesses and strengths, learn new
skills and work together to help each other, and some groups offer a mentoring provision.
You can find out what support groups are run in your area from GP surgeries, smoking help-
lines and the internet.
There are also many internet forums on quitting smoking whereby you can connect with other
people for support. Visit my Face book page at www.facebook.com/wanttostopsmoking for
advice and support.
Get Support from Other Groups You Already Belong To.
It may be that you already belong to groups that will offer some help. For instance if you
attend a church, or have a faith, you could seek ministry and prayer from that group, and
receive support from other members. Write out a list of all the groups and organisations you
belong to and ask members for their support. The more people you tell and the more support
you get, the more resources you will have to call on.
Voice Your Feelings
If you are someone who keeps your feelings locked up inside you, you could run the risk of
feeling more resentful and may feel overwhelmed with emotion. Try to voice your feelings to
others to enlist their understanding and help. Make sure you tell people around you when you
feel irritable or depressed as this can act as a safety valve. Also others by being aware of what
you are going through can be more accepting of your behaviour and will be able to support
you more effectively.
Get Fund-Raising
Why not raise funds for your favourite charity? Not only will you be helping others, but this
is a great way to get other people involved in helping you achieve your goal. The more
people who are involved, the more likely you are to keep motivated. Just think of all the
people you will help by succeeding your goal. Not only will you feel good about your
personal success, but you’ll also feel good about helping others.
Step 8 - Your Health Matters
“Get me well so I can get on television and tell people to stop smoking” - Nat King Cole
Respect your body, and your body will reward you with good health. What you eat and drink
affects your emotions, your mood patterns and your level of concentration. In feeling under
par – you will be inviting cravings and run the risk the jeopardising attaining your goal as a
non-smoker. In reviewing your diet and taking up more physical exercise you will also help
your body recover from the poisons you have been inhaling, and enjoy the health benefits of
your new lifestyle, you’ll have more energy and have a general sense of well-being.
Avoid Using Food as a Way of Coping with Temptation
It is not unusual for ex-smokers to have urges to eat high calorie foods, particularly within
those first few weeks after quitting. It may be because they have got used to having
something in their mouth or hands at certain times in the day and in certain situations. Or
maybe it’s because there is a feeling that something is missing, and it is particularly stronger
at those times and situations when they used to smoke. Some of this additional eating may be
linked to feelings, such as sadness, frustration, tiredness or stress, when in the past these
emotions triggered a craving.
As stated throughout this book, the best way to avoid pitfalls is to anticipate them and plan
ahead. Get into the habit of planning and preparing balanced meals. Through smoking your
body has been depleted of proteins, vitamins and minerals that are vital to maintaining a
healthy body. By eating healthy balanced meals you will be replenishing your body of these
elements and as a result you will feel more energised and have a sense of well-being. Your
intake of protein will help repair the damage that has occurred through smoking to your
tissues and cells. Additionally you will be ensuring a constant supply of serotonin and
dopamine, important for ensuring the “feel-good factor”. And by eating plenty of fresh fruit
and vegetables you’ll replenish the body of minerals and vitamins depleted by smoking and
as a result feel generally healthier.
Consider seeing a nutritionist for advice. Remember that you have been pumping poison into
your body for some time (may be as much as 20 years or so) and in following advice from a
nutritionist you will be assisting your body in the healing process. As well as giving you a
balanced diet plan that will help with any physical symptoms from withdrawing from
nicotine, he or she will be able to advise you on the wide range of supplements and de-tox
products that are available. Also by doing this you are programming your subconscious to
support your decision to respect your body and what you are putting into it.
Cut Down on Coffee.
A common mistake people make when quitting smoking is to increase their level of caffeine.
This can have a number of effects. Firstly if coffee and cigarettes go hand in hand for you,
then you may need to think about changing your beverage, at least for a while, until your
mind has adapted to a new habit of not drinking and smoking at the same time.
Secondly, caffeine is a stimulant and if you over stimulate your system, you may find you
become more jittery and anxious, which again in turn could trigger a craving. As an
alternative it might be an idea to cut down on the amount of caffeine you have during the day
and try herbal or fruit teas or other caffeine free drinks instead. If you usually drink a lot of
coffee, I would suggest that you don’t cut it out altogether, as you will then have to cope with
dealing with two addictions at once – caffeine and nicotine, which would not be a good idea!
Remember that caffeine stimulates your brain, and as most smokers suffer from sleep
deprivation, it is best to avoid drinking coffee or tea after 5pm, particularly in the early days.
Dealing with Sleep Difficulties
It is not unusual for smokers to suffer from sleep deprivation as nicotine is a stimulant and as
such keeps you alert. As you withdraw from nicotine it may take a little for your body to
adjust, and consequently in those first few weeks of stopping smoking be prepared that your
sleep might be more disturbed than it was before. Lack of a good nights sleep can undermine
your resolve, so it is best to remedy this as quickly as possible and if necessary get help from
your doctor.
There are a number of things you can do to help you get a good nights’ sleep. Firstly it is
particularly important to establish a regular routine, as our bodies and mind like specific
patterns and rhythms, so aim to go to bed and get up at the same time each day even at
weekends. Sticking to a schedule helps reinforce your body's sleep-wake cycle and can help
you fall asleep more easily at night. It is important that you eliminate day time naps and sleep
primarily at night. If you must have a day time sleep limit this to about half an hour and make
it during the middle of the afternoon. If you’re someone who has trouble waking up in the
morning, leave the window curtains open and let the sunlight help awaken you. For those of
you on shift work, when you sleep in the day, close your curtains so that sunlight doesn't
interrupt your sleep.
It is important to get into the habit of going to bed feeling relaxed. You can wind down from
the day, by listening to calm and soothing music, or a hypnotic CD, maybe have a warm bath
or read a book. Get into the habit of doing the same things each night, as this tells your body
it's time to wind down. Create a bedroom that's ideal for sleeping, cool, dark, quiet and
comfortable. Adjust the lighting, temperature, humidity and noise level to your preferences. If
necessary use blackout curtains, eye covers, earplugs, extra blankets, a fan or other devices to
create an environment that suits your needs.
Don't eat or drink large amounts before bedtime. Preferably eat a light dinner at least two
hours before going to bed. If you're prone to heartburn, avoid spicy or fatty foods, which can
make heartburn flare and prevent a restful sleep. Also, limit how much you drink before bed
and avoid caffeine or alcohol (alcohol is known to disrupt sleep). Although your body doesn’t
store caffeine it does take several hours to eliminate the stimulant, so don’t drink caffeine for
about 8 hours before going to bed. If you must drink something try an herbal remedy or tea or
hot milk, but remember too much liquid can cause you to wake up repeatedly during the night
for trips to the toilet.
Regular physical activity such as aerobic exercise during the day can help you have a more
restful sleep, and help you get to sleep quicker. However avoid exercising right before going
to bed, as this may make getting to sleep more difficult.
If you don't fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes, remember you are still resting, so don’t
agonize over it as stress will only prevent sleep. If you can’t sleep, get up and do something
else, and go back to bed when you're tired.
Continue to Deep Breathe
As a smoker you inhaled deeply, however, it is not uncommon for ex-smokers to forget to
continue deep breathing, and as stated earlier, shallow breathing promotes tension and
triggers the body to go into “stress response”, releasing chemicals for the body to prepare to
flight or fight, and consequently making the heart beat faster and blood sugar to increase.
Deep breathing is a key relaxation skill to learn in those first few weeks of becoming a non-
smoker
To combat this get into the habit of doing deep breathing exercises regularly. As a smoker
you will have clogged the cilia in your lungs with tar (these are minute hair-like structures).
In doing deep breathing exercises regularly you will be encouraging the cleansing of this
area. Follow this simple exercise, by either lying down or sitting up straight. To deep breathe
correctly it is important to use your belly muscles. Take a deep breath and let your stomach
go out as far as possible as you inhale. In doing this you will fill your lungs more completely.
Put a hand on your abdomen and, as you inhale deeply, feel your stomach expand as though it
were being filled like a balloon. Now let the air out and feel your stomach return to its normal
position. As you do this exercise, take a brief pause at the end of each exhalation until you
feel ready to take the next deep breath. Closing your eyes during deep breathing and focusing
on a restful place can help you achieve even greater relaxation, and a feeling of calmness.
Aim to do this several times a day.
Dealing with Digestion Problems.
People can easily fall into the trap of believing that they were healthier as a smoker,
particularly when experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms that affect the digestive
system. It is not uncommon for new non-smokers to experience symptoms such as nausea,
vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, and stomach pains. This is because your body has had to
adjust its metabolism (the rate your body burns up food and converts to energy). As a smoker,
your metabolism was artificially raised, and now has to make the adjustment back to what is
normal and healthy for your body. Bearing in mind you may have been a smoker for many
years, so it is not unreasonable to expect your body to take a few weeks or maybe months to
recover fully.
When experiencing these symptoms, understand that it is simply the fact that your body is
recovering and healing from being poisoned. You could try eating light foods, and avoiding
anything spicy for a while. If you are constipated you can help your body by eating plenty of
roughage. Or you may wish to take a colon-cleansing supplement from your local health food
store, or visit a homeopath. If symptoms are severe or prolonged visit your doctor for a check
up and advice.
Above all, maintain a positive attitude, and realise that with each day your body is recovering
from the damage caused by smoking and see these discomforts as temporary while your body
heals and adjusts.
Get Healthy
As a smoker you will have compromised your immune system in your gut, as the poisons
from smoking will have depleted the friendly bacteria that are essential to the immune system
working effectively. Just by stopping smoking you will have enhanced your immune
significantly within the first month of quitting. However, as your body needs time to recover
and heal, you may experience more coughs, colds, and general ill-health as your body
cleanses itself of all those harmful chemicals and poisons. To avoid falling into the snare of
believing you will feel better if you started smoking again, understand and recognise these
bouts of ill-health are just temporary and are necessary ‘side effects’ as your body is healing
and recovering from years of abuse. Just spend a few moments imagining and picturing your
body cleansing and healing, and create good positive feelings knowing that every time you
feel under par, it’s because toxins are in the process of leaving your body. See yourself
enjoying the process.
You can also help your body to replenish and restore friendly bacteria in your gut by eating
natural live yogurt daily or by visiting a nutritionist who may advise taking pro-biotic.
Keep Your Blood Sugar Level
Nicotine raises your blood-sugar every time you have a cigarette. In stopping smoking your
blood-sugar levels will naturally dip for a while until your body becomes used to not being
stimulated by nicotine. It is therefore important, particularly during those first couple of
weeks of stopping smoking, to keep your blood-sugar level to avoid feelings of lethargy,
weakness, de-energised and in some cases even a little light-headed, as these symptoms of
low blood-sugar can deceive you into thinking that you “need” a cigarette to make you feel
better.
You can easily maintain your blood sugar level by drinking or eating healthy in-between
meal snacks every hour throughout the day. Ideal snacks are nuts and fresh or dried fruit, fruit
juice and milk. It is also important never to skip meals, particularly breakfast as blood-sugar
levels drop overnight, and to eat plenty of protein as it metabolises slowly and is excellent for
maintaining blood-sugar levels and to help replenish and heal your body of depletion.
Get Daily Exercise
Smoking decreases lung capacity, physical exercise increases it. By getting fitter you will be
helping your circulation get back to normal, as through smoking it is likely to have become
sluggish and clogged up with chemicals. You will find that by increasing your fitness level,
you will also do wonders for your energy level and general sense of well-being. Exercise is
an excellent stress reliever too and can be useful in replacing your dependence on cigarettes
for stress relief.
Here are just some of the ways regular physical exercise can improve your life.
Reduces stress and anxiety
Increases stamina levels
Helps with weight maintenance
Creates general feelings of well-being and good health
Improves muscle tone and appearance
Improves sleep quality
Better performance at work, and mental alertness
Improves self-esteem
Helps create a positive attitude
Ideally, choose an exercise that you enjoy doing, such as walking, biking, swimming, or
going to the gym. For some people it might help to team up with a friend, this way you can
encourage each other to keep going. Aim to exercise for about 30 minutes at a time, maybe
three to four times per week. If you are haven’t exercised for a while, give yourself time to
work up to a regular exercise schedule, and always check with your doctor beforehand.
Step 9 – The Financial Cost of Smoking
“The best way to stop smoking is just to stop – no ifs, ands or butts” – Edith Zittler
Smoking is a big money industry. The average 20-30 cigarette a day smoker spends in their
lifetime is a staggering £100,000, at least. What’s more it isn’t just about money going down
the drain, being wasted, its money spent on damaging their health and the health of their
loved ones. I have often heard smokers moan about the price of a packet of cigarettes
(particularly after Budget Day), yet rarely do I find they work out the full financial cost of
their smoking addiction. For some people the cost of a weeks smoking is affordable, but
when it adds up to over a lifetime, most people have difficulty justifying the huge amount of
money they’ve wasted on smoking. With every smoker I work with, I always get them to
work out the amount of money they spend, and what they have spent on smoking. And don’t
forget it is not just about buying the cigarettes or tobacco products, there is also the cost
involved associated with smoking, such as higher insurance premiums (health and home
insurance), petrol to and from the tobacconist, and money spent on other smoking
paraphernalia such as lighters, matches, pipes, ashtrays and so on. Furthermore there is the
cost of lost wages through days off sick due to smoking related health problems, and the cost
of prescriptions. All in all, smoking is an expensive habit.
In stopping smoking you will reap huge financial rewards. In this chapter you will start by
working out how much you have spent on smoking and how much you will save, and then
start planning on how you will spend the money that you would otherwise waste on smoking.
Work Out How Much Smoking Costs…
Here’s an interesting exercise for you to do, to work out how much you spend on smoking.
Start by adding up the number of cigarettes you smoke during an average day, and how much
it costs you. Now multiply that cost by 7 and you will have the figure you spend on smoking
each week. Next multiply that figure by 52 and you will have the annual figure you spend on
smoking. Take a few moments to let this sink in. Now it gets a little more shocking. Take that
annual figure and multiply it by however many years you’ve been smoking. So for example if
you’ve been smoking 25 years; multiply your annual figure by 25. This is how much you
have spent on cigarettes or tobacco so far.
Now the average age someone lives is around lets say 75 years, although people are now
living a lot longer. Now multiply the amount you annually spend on cigarettes or tobacco by
the number of years you have until you reach the age of 75. Take a few moments to allow
your feelings about this to surface and write them down in your journal. Remember this is
just the money for cigarettes and tobacco and doesn’t include all the other smoking
paraphernalia you need.
You cannot do anything about the past and the money you’ve wasted, but you now know how
much you will spend in the next 12 months on smoking if you don’t quit now and you also
know how much you will spend in the future if you continue to smoke. Write these figures
down in your journal to remind you of the financial cost of smoking. Refer back to them
whenever you feel yourself wavering.
Benefit Now from the Money You Save from Not Smoking.
Now that you have a clear idea of the financial cost of smoking, you know how much money
you will now save by not smoking. The next step is to think about how this amount of money
will help you achieve other things you want in your life. Spend some time thinking about this
and writing down your ideas in your journal. It may be for a hobby, starting a business,
buying a home, furniture, new car, or a holiday. As well as thinking about a “big” thing, think
about some weekly or daily treats to reward yourself. In doing this you have other positive
tangible goals to aim for. Use visualisation, as before, as a way of communicating to your
mind what it is you want, and enjoy the positive emotions you experience when you visualise
having them in the present moment. If it’s a new car you are saving for or a family holiday,
visualise yourself having them now and experience all those emotions now in the present
moment. This will help you stay motivated and avoid giving into the temptation of buying
cigarettes.
Reward Yourself Regularly
Remember, there has to be a ‘pay off’ in our behaviours, and that we naturally seek pleasure
and avoid pain. By giving your self regular treats you are endorsing the sense of personal
achievement and enjoying success. Ideally get into the habit of planning in a positive treat
each week or if necessary each day, to reward yourself and celebrate your victories. Do
whatever you feel is right for you.
Tell everyone what you will do with the money you saved from not smoking. By telling
everyone what you are intentions are, it will reinforce your decision and add some
accountability.
Step 10 – Avoiding Relapse
“I’d rather kiss a mad cow on the muzzle than a smoker on the mouth” - Paul Carvel
Be careful what you think about. In the same way as success with quitting smoking starts in
the mind, so does relapse. If you allow yourself to focus on unhealthy thoughts of smoking,
you’ll find it harder to shake them off. It’s important to understand from the start, before
embarking on any stop smoking programme that thoughts of relapse are inevitable and part of
the normal recovery process. It is vital then in order to be successful, you must be prepared
for these events so that you can maintain control and keep your resolve. When having those
sabotaging thoughts reset your thinking and distract yourself, even if it is just for a few
moments, it will enable you to not sabotage all your good progress.
If you do slip, remember it is not a crime. It’s not the end of the world. But just in case you
need it, this section consists of a plan of action for you to follow to get back on track as
quickly as possible.
Have a Relapse Prevention Plan
Be on your guard and watch out for relapse, for being forewarned is being forearmed. Look
up your smoking profile in your journal to remind yourself of why you stopped smoking and
how long you’ve smoked. Then write out this Relapse Prevention Inventory, (RPI) answering
the questions honestly.
– How long do I think it should be before I am completely free of smoking?
– How long have I been smoke-free?
– If I give up and go back to smoking will I want to quit again at some point in the
future?
– When will that be?
– Will it be too late?
– Will it be easier next time I try to stop smoking?
– Is it worth giving up being a non smoker?
Never Think You Can Get Away With Just One Cigarette
NEVER EVER test your resolve by "just having one". Remember smoking comes in packs
of 20 …and just having one cigarette has been the ruin of many. Don’t kid yourself you can
resist having another, as chances are you will be back enslaved to nicotine again before you
know it, and probably smoking more than you used to.
This is just one example how you can use your mind to cleverly manipulate yourself into
thinking you are control. When in fact what you are really doing is mentally planning a
relapse. See it for what it is; in testing yourself in this way you are giving yourself permission
to start smoking again. Don’t be fooled. Let the truth set you free.
Think instead about what it is you are really wanting. Maybe you are missing something else
in your life? Remind yourself by looking back in your journal and read what you wrote about
having that first cigarette. Remember that one cigarette got you hooked in the first place and
will do again. A lot of people test their willpower in this way, and think they are strong
enough to stop at just having one. But remember willpower has nothing to do with giving up
smoking. You may think that by having a few drags on a cigarette might remind you just how
unpleasant smoking is. Whatever you do, don’t test this; this is just a trick of the drug.
Instead, remind yourself again of that first experience and how unpleasant it was. Maybe you
coughed and choked, may be you felt sick. Smoking is never enjoyable and never the reason
why you smoked. It was all about an addiction. Remember too that one cigarette will cost you
£X amount (the figure you came up with during the last chapter) the amount of money
smoking will cost you if you continue. By having “just one cigarette” or a few puffs, you
will awaken the nicotine monster and you’ll also undermine all the renewal in your thinking
within your subconscious.
Be Prepared for the Unexpected
This can happen when a stressful situation or an event that catches you off guard, such as a
sudden shock, sudden news or being away from your usual environment. Sometimes, it is
about nicotine withdrawal, but there may be other reasons. It might be because of too much
alcohol during a social evening with friends, or perhaps you were anxious about a specific
situation or a future event, or perhaps you feel under pressure from work, or other areas in
your life. Maybe you feel lonely and fed-up. If you do relapse, whatever the reasons, think
carefully about why you succumbed to that cigarette, and write down in your journal what
caused you to take that first puff.
Think about what you could have done instead, and write that down in your journal. It’s
important you learn from this exercise. There is no such thing as failing, just lessons on
knowing what not to do. Did you realise that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb on his
10,000th attempt? This meant he had a success rate of 0.01% and on that basis he had more
failures than successes. Today we only remember the success; one win has wiped out all
those failed attempts. Be like Edison who persevered towards his goal and when he asked
about the failures he simply said he’d discovered another way of how to not invent the light
bulb.
Failing to Draw Support from Others
If this applies to you and was the reason you relapsed, then turn to your support list in your
journal and ask yourself whose support could you have drawn from? Are you using your
support network enough? Remember there is no shame or disgrace in asking for help. Think
of a time when a friend or loved one leant on you for your help – it is likely you were more
than happy to assist.
Don’t Be Hard On Yourself.
Accept the fact that as human beings none of us are perfect, and even with the best made
plans sometimes things do not go as we wish or intend. If you find yourself slipping, don’t go
back down that old road of blaming yourself and feeling a failure. Instead stop worrying and
get back your resolve. Remember, Sir Edmund Hilary did not climb Mount Everest without
slipping a few times, instead of giving up; he got up and started again. Remember relapses
are common and may be part of the process, as change rarely happens overnight. The
important thing is to learn from your mistakes and not feel guilty. What is done is done and it
is in the past. Move on and don’t lose hope, see the blip as temporary.
Get Back to Your Programme Immediately
Another big mistake people who have relapsed often make is thinking that they will quit
again at some future date. These people often find themselves still smoking several years on.
The secret is the sooner you stop smoking again the higher the probability you will be in
becoming successful long-term.
If you have succumbed, revisit all the reasons why you want to be a non-smoker and make a
decision to get back on track as quickly as possible and decide on a new start date. Shower,
wash your hair and put on clean clothes. In getting rid of the smell of smoke and the simple
act of cleansing, you will experience a positive feel-good factor – it’s an act of letting go and
starting again.
By doing this you are focusing on your end goal and taking action, instead of allowing
yourself to drift. Remember that all successful people have “slipped” more than once before
reaching their goal.
Never Give Up on Your Goal
Be wary of falling into the trap of “giving up” on your goal, and going down the road of re-
visiting all those negative self-limiting mistaken beliefs. The reality is that the nicotine
monster from that first puff is tricking your mind, because it wants and needs to be back in
control.
Rebuke this by standing in front of a mirror and say out loud positive affirmations such as “I
am in control” and “I am able to achieve anything I put my mind to”. See yourself still as
someone who does not smoke - just because you smoked a cigarette or two doesn't mean you
have reverted to being a smoker. This continues reinforcing your subconscious that you are
serious about stopping smoking.
Celebrate Your Success
Don’t fall into the trap of not regularly rewarding your victories. By denying yourself simple
rewards you may be in danger of feeling deprived and life seeming mundane and boring,
which in turn can trigger the old thoughts whereby you convince yourself life was more
exciting as a smoker. When you feel this happening reserve some special treats to pamper
yourself with during times when you need an extra boost. Be self-indulgent, and guilt-free.
Here are some ideas to get you going:
– An afternoon trip to the cinema
– A beauty treatment
– Visit to a museum or evening out at the theatre
– A spa bath
– A splurge on your favourite foods
Never Lose Sight of the Benefits of Being a Non-Smoker
Stop looking back on your old life as a smoker with nostalgia. It is easy for our minds to
minimise the discomfort and pain we once felt once we feel we are past danger. This is
because our minds prefer to dwell on pleasurable experiences rather than painful ones, and
consequently uncomfortable feelings get buried in our subconscious. When this happens we
can often think that things weren’t as bad as we once believed they were, and if we are not
careful when we feel low we can give too much attention to those “good old days” when
things weren’t really as bad as we first thought.
Don’t lose sight of just how bad you felt as a smoker, when you lived with the self-disgust of
dirty finger nails, yellow teeth, bad breath, bad cough, stinking of the stale smell of smoke,
and the mental torture of planning your life around when you could have that next cigarette.
Don’t minimise this period in your life. Just because things may not be going the way you
want in your life at the moment, may be because of relationship difficulties, problems at
work, stress or health issues, always remember these things occur whether you smoke or not.
By thinking that life was more enjoyable as a smoker is an illusion, and if you are doing this
you need to think about what it is that you are really feeling and what is there that you can do
to deal with that. Remember smoking is a symptom of something else happening inside. Find
out what it is that you are really wanting or missing in your life right now.
Remind yourself of the benefits and advantages there are by not smoking. Yes, you will still
have problems to deal with in life, but you will not be compounding them with the additional
problems that smoking brings. Put notes with positive affirmations around the house, or a
work, or in the car to remind you of how you want to feel today. These visual aids can be
handy way of keeping your thoughts focussed on your end goal.
Remind Yourself Frequently of the Devastating Health Effects of Smoking
As stated in the previous section, be careful you do not fall into the snare of minimising the
health risks from smoking. Periodically remind yourself of these risks. Try some aversion
therapy such as;
Carry around with you photo of someone you know who died from smoking. This
can be someone famous who you admired or a close friend or loved one. Look at the
photo to remind you of the tragic consequences that smoking has.
Picture yourself dying on a hospital bed from a smoking related illness, and your
loved ones all around you. What do you feel? What would you say to them? Renew
your commitment to yourself that you are not going to let that happen and resolve
never to have another cigarette.
Get some pictures of smoke damaged lungs or other smoking related conditions that
you can look at to remind you of the devastating effects of smoking.
The Devil Finds Work for Idle Hands.
Some people find they really miss having a cigarette in their hands or mouth, and as a result
their hands are restless. This restlessness can trigger of thoughts of smoking. If this is a
struggle for you find something to do to occupy your hands, such as a Rubik’s cube,
doodling, knitting, crocheting or may be write a letter or do another pastime to keep your
hands busy. Fill your mouth with low calorie treats such as vegetable sticks, pretzels, rice
cakes, or sugar free gum or lollipops.
Don’t become overly confident
Even months or a year after you’ve stopped smoking you may experience a sudden desire to
have a cigarette. You may even be tempted as you feel you will have smoking under control.
Be warned – if you do, before you realise it, you will be back smoking again, and probably
more heavily than you did before. Remember nicotine is the fasted addictive drug there is –
and it only takes one cigarette.
Being Patient
Give yourself time for your body to heal and your mind to get used to your new routine and
habits, no matter how long it takes, be patient. Protect your stop smoking programme – it is
the way towards a healthier and happier you, and above all enjoy your new life as a person
who is free from smoking. Take pleasure from the taste and smell of your food, and the clean
fresh smell of your clothes, home, car and workspace. Live your life relaxed and free. Be
happy!
Chapter 11 – Stages of Recovery
“One day I promised God that if he would give me my voice back I would never smoker
again. I got three octaves back after quitting” – Mariah Carey
Whilst stopping smoking is not considered easy, the good news is that your body will start to
reap the benefits almost immediately.
Just in case you need to remind yourself of these benefits, the following list may prove
useful:
Day One
Your blood pressure and pulse rate will be lower
The amount of nicotine and carbon monoxide in your body decreases
The level of blood oxygen will have increased
Your immune system will start to recover
Day 2
Sense of smell and taste are beginning to return
Days 3-7
Carbon monoxide is eliminated from your body
Lung bronchial tubes leading to alveoli (air sacs) are relaxing
Breathing is easier
Nicotine levels will have decreased significantly
Risk of heart attack or stroke is decreased
After 1 week
Nicotine will no longer be present in your body
Your lung capacity will have increased
Physical withdrawal symptoms will be less intense
Your circulation will have improved
You will feel more energised
Weeks 2-4
Mental and emotional withdrawal symptoms (concentration, anger, irritability,
insomnia and depression etc) should have lessened
Heartbeat rate and blood pressure should be stabilised
Skin tone will have improved
Months 1-9
General improvement in your health
Risk of suffering a smoking related illness is reduced significantly
Improved concentration
Cilia has re-grown in lungs, keeping your lungs clean and reducing risk of infections
Increased energy levels
Year 1 -5
Risk of coronary heart disease reduced to less than half that of a smoker
Risk of stroke is reduced to that of a non-smoker
Chapter 12 – Smoking Reality
“What a weird thing smoking is and I can't stop it. I feel cosy, have a sense of well-being
when I'm smoking, poisoning myself, killing myself slowly. Not so slowly maybe. I have
all kinds of pains I don't want to know about and I know that's what they're from. But
when I don't smoke I scarcely feel as if I'm living. I don't feel as if I'm living unless I'm
killing myself.” - Russell Hoban, Turtle Diary, 1975
Just in case you need reminding, here are some harsh facts about smoking.
According to the General Household Survey, in 2005, 24% of people in the UK over the age
of 16 smoked. On average 13 million adults smoke in the UK that is 1 in 4 women and 1 in 3
men. In the same year just over two thirds (68 per cent) of cigarette smokers in Great Britain
said that they wanted to give up, but 56 per cent said it would be difficult to go without
smoking for a whole day
Smoking kills around 120,000 people in the UK each year. Smoking causes around 30%
cancer deaths, 80% lung cancer deaths, 17% heart disease deaths, and 80% deaths from
bronchitis and emphysema. Around 250,000 people are admitted to hospital every year in the
UK, all suffering from diseases caused by smoking.
Consistently research has shown that non-smokers are put at risk by exposure to other
people’s smoke. This is generally known as passive smoking, or ETS (environmental tobacco
smoke). 85% of the smoke from cigarettes goes up directly into the atmosphere. It is
unfiltered and is inhaled. ETS has been classified in the US as a Class A Carcinogen, and is
the cause diseases associated with smoking as well as causing asthma and other chronic
respiratory diseases in children. The UK government’s Scientific Committee on Tobacco and
Health (SCOTH) concluded in 1998 that “ETS caused lung cancer and heart disease in adult
non-smokers”. It is estimated that exposure to ETS in the home causes around 11,000 deaths
in the UK each year from lung cancer, stroke and heart disease.
Even if you don’t believe these statistics, logic and common sense informs us that the
ingredients that constitute tobacco and cigarettes are lethal and subsequently carry no health
benefits whatsoever.
Here is a list of what goes in cigarettes:
Ammonia – used to speed nicotine to the brain
Sugars – to artificially raise blood sugar level
Addictives – as a tobacco preservative
Chemicals used in making rocket fuel – added to the paper to ensure continuation of
burning
Here’s a list of some of the chemicals that you inhale every time you smoke:
Nicotine – this is the base ingredient of many insecticides and one of the most
poisonous substances known.
Tar – this is a thick, brown, sticky substance this forms a lining in the lungs and
respiratory system.
Carbon monoxide – this is the gas of exhaust fumes. It binds itself to hemoglobin, and
blocks oxygen from getting into the bloodstream.
Formaldehyde – this is a carcinogenic, and is used to preserve dead bodies.
Methane – this is one of the major contributors to climate change.
Arsenic – a lethal poison
Cyanide – another lethal poison. It kills the enzymes that carry blood around the body.
Benzene – this used to make pesticides, dyes and rubber. It causes stomach and
digestion problems and increases the heart beat.
Acrolein – this is used in weed killers and pesticides. It damages the throat and nose.
Benzoapyrene – another carcinogenic found in oil. It causes skin diseases and
problems in development and fertility.
Toluene – used in paint and paint thinners. Effects are loss of memory, loss of
appetite and nausea.
PLUS other around another 60 chemicals…..too numerous to mention here.
The tobacco companies have known for a long time that nicotine is addictive, and that
smoking is known to cause cancer, yet they still are able to legally produce these substances.
The choice to smoke or not to smoke is yours. I hope this book is of great benefit to you,
through shedding light on the truth, and in empowering you with the knowledge, skill and
techniques on how to overcome and deal with those common hidden snarls, snares and
struggles that exist in your journey towards becoming a non-smoker for life. I wish you every
success, for your health and your future.
List of Therapies that you may find helpful.
Hypnotherapy: Very effective. According to 1992 New Scientist Magazine the published
results of an extensive clinical study showed the following results;
60% - single session hypnosis
24% - acupuncture
10% - NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy)
6% - Willpower alone.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP): This approach involves changing behaviour and
thinking to bring about positive changes. This approach works well when combined with
hypnotherapy.
Reflexology: Ancient healing art that releases blockages and restores energy flow,
encouraging the body to heal itself.
Aromatherapy: Improves physical and emotional well-being.
Homeopathy: stimulates the body to repair itself and restore natural balance.
Acupuncture: Holistic method of restoring the body’s nature, physical, emotional and
spiritual balance.
Herbalist: Ancient art of medicine from plants and plant extracts to improve health and well-
being.
About Jackie Hill
Jackie Hill has many years’ experience as a fully qualified integrative psychotherapist,
clinical hypnotherapist, and NLP practitioner. She has helped many smokers overcome
addiction to nicotine, and has worked with people with addictions to alcohol and drugs, as
well as working with individuals, families and relationship counselling. She ran a successful
private practice in Suffolk for several years, and now works from her London office. She has
also run for many years the residential ‘BreakAway’ stop smoking programme at her retreat
in France.
For more information about Jackie or her other self-help products please visit her two
websites – www.want-to-stop-smoking.com and www.jackiehillcounselling.com
You can contact Jackie by emailing [email protected]