Quit Day Tomorrow? CLEAN OUT SMOKING REMINDERS

If your quit date is set for tomorrow there are some last minute things to do in preparation. First clean up your house, Throw your ashtrays out and wherever you smoked remove all reminders that it was ever used for smoking. It is especially important to get your car clean. If you can, spend the money on getting your car detailed. Make sure that all smells of smoking are gone, ashtrays clean, and handy substitutes for doing something with your mouth are available. This might be playing with a straw, toothpick or gum. Some people have a nicotine inhaler there so that they can use it when the desire for a cigarette comes. Others might use a Nicotine Nasal Spray then. The inhaler has the look and feel or a cigarette which can be a comfort. I even have a friend that used a baby pacifier. It worked for him and you can't get better than that.
Whether tomorrow, next week or after you get your Cessation Medication set up and you quit at the end of January remember that it helps to have no reminders of smoking around you. Some people avoid going to bars with friends until after they have been quit for several months. It always feels good to enter a new beginning with a clean house and car so begin the new you in a clean place.

Learn From Other Quit Attempts, Journal about what you learned

Every time a person quits for a day, week, month or year, they learn alot about what helps them be successful and what is really hard for them about quitting. In your diary I would like you to think back on other times you quit and think about what led to the relapse. It might be helpful to include the following information: Where were you, and what was happening? Were you at a bar, or did you light up during a stressful parenting situation? Everything you can learn about quitting will help you, especially if you know what times are places are most difficult to get through. These times will give you clues to what your really vulnerable times are and you can prepare for them by having a strategy for alternatives to lighting a cigarette up.


I also think it helps to look back at the tactics you used when you successfully didn't light up, even when things got pretty hairy. These entries looking back at your successes can really be a wealth of useful ways to avoid cigarettes for when you quit. I want you to use these entries to build your confidence. You really have gotten through some difficult times without lighting up. This time you are prepared and you will be able to do what you want to do, QUIT!

Friends and Partners

I mentioned in the last blog that it was important to enlist help from co-workers, family and friends. The support from loved ones, and co-workers can be invaluable. A lot of people I have worked with are embarrassed to ask for help from others but I know how helpful these folks can be. First they are the ones near you and will possibly be there when you encounter a difficult craving. They will be in a position to help and most everyone wants to help. Your smoking friends, if they know you are trying to quit might be ambivalent because they don't want to lose their ties to you. Reassure them that you like being around them but you will need to be together in a non smoking time, like a movie or walking and chatting together. Some smoking friends I know decided to take a walk around the hallways at work instead of going out for a smoke. They all benefitted from one persons decision to quit. A reason that some give for not speaking to their friends and family about quitting say something like I have tried to quit so many times that it is a joke. Remember that it often takes 7-12 times of quitting before everything that you need to learn about how to be successful is achieved. That is why it helps to do the exercises that I have encouraged this week because you learn things that will help you be successful! Be confident, this is your time to quit, you know why you want to quit and how to quit, you will be able to quit. Tell them of your plans and ask for their support and help. Ask a friend or your partner that you know is an especially supportive and caring person to be your main support and turn to them when experiencing a difficult time. Have them on Speed Dial, or have them expecting your text when you need them.

Your partner, husband, boyfriend, or room mate is an important person to have by your side in quitting. His he a smoker too, if he is have you talked to him about quitting with you? It is very important to have him encouraging you and it really helps if he is quitting too. If he isn't quitting with you, can he commit to never smoking near you. Have the important conversation and tell him how important it is to your baby, children and you. Give him the scientific information about what second hand smoke does to your baby and also include how hard it is on you when you see him smoke and how hard it is for you not to also smoke. Make sure that if he is not going to quit that he won't smoke in the car or near you.

You have friends and family members who love you and your child. They will want to help you, so ask.