You are now ready to consider the following question:
How and when do you want to quit smoking?
There are only two ways to effectively quit smoking, immediately (cold turkey), or gradually. When you quit gradually, you use various methods to taper off before you have that last cigarette. Neither way is better than the other for all people. Pick the one that you feel fits your temperament. Either way, a nicotine patch may prove to be a real benefit in giving up, especially if you are a heavy smoker.
Try this test to see which way is better for you.
CHOOSE THE METHOD TO QUIT THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU
Answer the questions by circling "yes", "no", or "not sure".
| 1 | Stopping smoking is one of the most important
things in the world for me right now. | Yes no not sure |
| 2 | I can handle a tough problem without a smoke. | Yes no not sure |
| 3 | I have to quit smoking and my reasons are good enough to do it now. | Yes no not sure |
| 4 | If I quit this minute, I know I can find a way to resist the craving to smoke, even if it is strong. | Yes no not sure |
If your answer to all of the above questions is yes, you may be a candidate to quit immediately. But before you do, read on to get the tools necessary to be successful. After reading the following, set a time to quit. If not right now, then tomorrow, but do it.
What about the doubts you may be feeling now?
Most smokers will get a sense of doubt when they read the questions above. You probably are not confident in your ability to follow through with resisting any future craving to smoke, or finding something to substitute for the feelings that smoking has given to you.
In order to have the confidence to quit, you :
- must find an alternative to handle the urge to smoke, when it hits, and
- must create ways to deal with the reasons that you smoked in the first place.
Together we will accomplish both these tasks so that when the day comes that you had planned to quit, you will be confident to do it.
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