Making a plan is an important first step to quitting smoking. Here are some tips to help you make your plan:
- Set a date when you plan to quit. Mark the date on your calendar.
- Get rid of all cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, in your car and at work.
- Do not let people smoke in your home.
- Think about the other times you tried to quit. Try to remember what worked for you and what did not.
- Once you quit, do not smoke-not even a puff!
- Answer these questions before you try to quit. You may want to talk about your answers with your health care providers (like your doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, psychologist or smoking cessation counselor).
- Why do you want to quit?
- When you tried to quit in the past, what helped and what did not?
- What will be the hardest situations for you after you quit? How will you plan to handle them?
- Who can help you when you are craving cigarettes? Your family? Friends? Health care providers?
- What pleasures do you get from smoking? What ways can you still get pleasure if you quit?
Content adapted from the Surgeon General's You Can Quit Smoking. Available at wwww.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco/consquits.htm
