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| About Nicotine Addiction | Life After Cigarettes | One Smoke-Free Day at a Time | No More Cigarettes - No More Pounds
 
 
It's been said that if you keep away from cigarettes for 3 months, the worst is over. If you're smoke-free for 6 months, the battle is virtually won. There's always the possibility of a relapse, but turning your back on the cravings becomes easier with the passage of time.
  Keeping away from temptation
 
Throw out all your ashtrays or keep them out of sight.
Clean out your closets and clean your clothes to rid them of all tobacco odors.
Air out all rooms so they smell clean and fresh.
Stay away from coffee or alcohol until you are sure you can drink them without smoking.
For a while at least, do not patronize bars or other smoke-filled areas.
Ask friends who smoke not to offer you any cigarettes.
  Hone your techniques
 
Never let your behavior modification techniques get rusty. You must always be able to call them into play when the urge strikes.
Deep breathing can replace cigarettes as your best friend in times of stress.
Follow a regular exercise program. It doesn't matter if you go to an exercise class or exercise alone, as long as you do it consistently.
Continue to drink a lot of water and eat a well-balanced diet.
  Appreciate your new health
 
You'll start feeling better almost immediately. Your smoker's cough will begin to disappear. Your lungs will be cleaner.
Your heart and blood pressure will improve. You'll have more stamina and lung power and you'll be able to exert yourself for longer periods of time.
Keep thinking about how much healthier you feel without cigarettes.
In order to stifle the urge to smoke, compare how wonderful you feel now with how you felt before.
  If you slip
 
It's no big deal if you slip. You aren't a failure. You've only made a mistake.
It doesn't mean you're going to become a full-fledged smoker again, as long as you immediately go back to your cigarette-free life.
Turn your slip into a learning experience by analyzing what caused you to smoke and deciding how to handle the situation in the future.
Shift Your Perspective
 


You're a non-smoker now, so never think of yourself in terms of cigarettes.

You no longer "have" to smoke when you finish a meal.

You no longer "have" to smoke when you talk on the phone.

Think of yourself as being freer than you ever have been since before you started smoking.

Never even consider a return to smoking as an option in your life.



























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