Kicking Butts: 10 Rules to Quit Smoking

Over 50 years ago the Surgeon General, a man named Luther Terry, broke new ground when he introduced a landmark report called Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States. This wasn't the first time a government official had declared smoking to be bad, but the report had far-reaching implications for the tobacco industry leading directly to controls on advertising and package messaging.

While we're all contemplating this New Year and what we want to achieve, some of you will be trying to kick "the habit." By all accounts it isn't easy, so here are a few tips, tricks and guides that will help you towards a weed-free future.

1. if you've told a bunch of people it makes you more determined to stick to it. Tell the world! Make a big deal out of quitting. People close to you will support you and go out of their way to help you quit. As extra motivation, if you've told a bunch of people it makes you more determined to stick to it.
2. Put the money you save into a piggy bank. Quitting will save you hundreds of dollars, making a huge difference to your disposable income. Use this cash to plan some treats along the way (See #8). Buy a road bike, a gym membership, or save for something spectacular like a trip to the Grand Canyon.
3. Talk to your health care provider. Yes there's gum and patches but did you know there are medications and a ton of expertise that can help?
4. Gut check your routines. Habitual, planned smoke breaks are some of the hardest to do without. That 10am smoke, the one with the first coffee of the day? Break up the routines you used to have and come up with mini rewards to get past them.
5. Exercise. Within hours of your last cigarette your heart rate, blood pressure and carbon monoxide levels all start to normalize. 24 hours after, your risk of heart attack (70% higher for smokers) starts to decrease. You're not going to feel much of this right away but you'll be in a much better position to exercise and you WILL feel the benefits of that. DISCLAIMER — Everyone can exercise, but take the advice of your physician as to how much, particularly if you've smoked for a number of years.
6. Stop drinking. One of the biggest triggers to lighting up? Alcohol. If you're really serious about living a long and happy life, swear off drinking... at least for the first year or so. This is one of the toughest associations to break, so put that temptation beyond reach right from the start.
7. Clean the house. If you smoked in your home, clean it. If your partner smokes, this is a great way to get them involved in giving up or moving their habit outside. By quitting smoking you'll need to clean less often and everything is going to smell much better.
8. Goal / Reward. You're doing a wonderful thing for yourself and those who rely on you but it's not easy. Give yourself a regular, planned incentive with each milestone you hit. Thrift Books is a very inexpensive book store; take the money you'd spend on a pack and buy a couple of bestsellers every 2 weeks instead. Reading is just one way to replace smoking — Find a new healthy habit and invest in that as a reward.
9. Get back up. "It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times." "It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times." - W. C. Fields This killer quote attributed to the inimitable W. C. Fields makes me laugh every time because it's so true. I hope you can give up, cold turkey forever today, but statistically that's hard to do. If you fall down, get back up again — don't waste the amount of time you were successful, get back in the saddle again immediately.
10. Study up. You're not alone there is TONS of help out there. Online resources include www.quit.com and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and we've got the best guides and how-to books that have been published, including: Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, The Tao of Quitting Smoking, Quit and Stay Quit, Keep Quit! and the ever popular Quitting Smoking for Dummies.

Good luck and Happy New Year

Read more by Hugo Munday