Why Do You Smoke?

People smoke because the act of smoking is personally meaningful to them. When quitting it is useful to explore the reasons and benefits of smoking. Ask the following questions:
1. How will smoking help or change this situation?
2. What situations make you smoke more?
3. What emotion or feeling am I trying to avoid or deny?
4. If I were not to smoke now,what would I feel? How would I handle that feeling?
5. What would I do with the energy that is freed up from quitting smoking?
6. What do I get from not smoking?
The most important factor in quitting smoking is a genuine […]

Time Out

Everybody who smokes connects the act of smoking with some activity in their life, these are called triggers as they are the activities that trigger a person to smoke. A lot of people that I see tell me that one of the triggers for them to smoke is to have time out. Taking the time to smoke gives them a break from the activity that they are currently doing. The movement of bringing a cigarette to the mouth also gives a calming effect.

Deep breathing can give the same effect. Instead of taking time out to smoke a cigarette, take the time […]