Want to give up smoking? We can help!

25/05/2020

Healthy lungs are key to living a healthy life. It’s up to you to protect them, so say no to tobacco. Because you do know it kills, right? Then why keep smoking?

We know that giving up is hard, so we want make it easier for you. We are taking part once again in the annual Smoke-Free Week, which has been adapted this year to accommodate the current lockdown measures.

First, check out the webinar in Spanish called Tabaco y COVID19: ¿amistades peligrosas? (Tobacco and COVID-19: a dangerous friendship?) to help get your mind in the game.

Giving up smoking is not so tough if you’ve got a clear objective and know what steps you need to take to get there. You are starting to feel a bit more convinced about giving up, aren’t you? Well, keep reading!

Antoni Baena, professor at the UOC Faculty of Health Sciences, suggests following these top tips in the days prior to giving up.

  • Don’t have cigarettes on or around you.
  • Smoke your first cigarette the day before quitting after breakfast. If you already do this, have this cigarette 10 minutes later than normal (use a clock for this).
  • Don’t accept cigarettes if they are offered to you. And of course, don’t try to bum them off anyone.
  • Make smoking more difficult: put your tobacco and lighter away and clean the ash tray after every cigarette. Don’t keep tobacco within reach.
  • Limit the areas where you allow yourself to smoke: never smoke in bed or when children or non-smokers are present.
  • Choose a set place for smoking in your home. It should be an uncomfortable place or somewhere you don’t normally smoke (the kitchen, the balcony, etc.). Whatever you do, don’t smoke in your favourite spot.
  • Allow yourself a maximum number of cigarettes and don’t break your own rule.
  • Don’t smoke right after lunch.
  • Throw your remaining tobacco away and hide your lighters and ash trays (or fill them with sugar-free sweets) the night before your chosen day to give up.
  • Figure out what gives you the urge to smoke, including times and places, and avoid them at all costs.
  • Break any “emotional” ties you have with tobacco. Change brands each time you finish a pack (a different brand every time). This will help you to start disliking it.

Now, pay close attention. Here are the nine golden rules you have to follow if you want to successfully give up smoking:

  1. Set a date to smoke your last cigarette.
  2. Your routine is different now; make sure smoking has no place in it.
  3. Don’t look for excuses to give up smoking, but rather reasons to do so.
  4. Never smoke another cigarette.
  5. Think positive thoughts, like “I’m happy I’m giving up smoking”.
  6. Watch what you eat.
  7. Face each day as it comes; avoid “never again”-type challenges.
  8. Find the best treatment for you.
  9. Enjoy your new smoke-free life.

Download the full version here and read through it at your own pace. A smoke-free life starts with the determination to give up smoking.

You’ll find all this and much more in the smoke-free primary care programme, which Baena had a hand in creating.

To wrap up, we suggest taking this test to discover what your motivation for becoming an ex-smoker is!

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