If you are having any symptoms or have any questions, please call 811 to speak with a registered nurse 24 hours a day.

How do you feel about quitting smoking?

Put a check mark next to the statement below that best describes how you feel about quitting smoking:

____ I like to smoke, and I’m not planning to quit.

____ I like lots of things about smoking, but I would like to quit.

____ I’m ready to quit smoking now.

If you answered, “I like to smoke, and I’m not planning to quit,” ask yourself why so many other people have quit smoking. Ask yourself how quitting could help improve your health. Do you have problems with breathing, your heart or high blood pressure? Does cancer run in your family? Quitting smoking can lower your chance of having these problems.

If you answered, “I like lots of things about smoking, but I would like to quit,” you are like most smokers. Now ask yourself how you will be better off after you quit smoking. You might come up with some of the following answers:

• My health will improve. In what way? _______________________________________________
• I’ll save money. How much? __________________________________________________________
• My house and car will be cleaner. Why is this important to you?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

• My family and friends will be glad. Why? ____________________________________________
• I’ll feel better about myself. In what way? ____________________________________________
• Another reason is: ______________________________________________________________________

The more reasons you have to quit smoking, the more likely you are to follow through on your plan to quit. If you answered, “I’m ready to quit smoking now,” your healthcare practitioner wants to help you succeed. The following are some suggestions to help you understand why you smoke. If you know why you smoke, you can make an effective plan for quitting.

What are your smoking triggers?

Start by listing some of the times when you most want a cigarette. These are your smoking “triggers.” Triggers are events that set off your desire to smoke a cigarette. Complete the phrase, “I want a cigarette…”:

• When I see someone else smoking.
• When I spend time with family member or friends who smoke.
• When I see cigarettes in an ashtray.
• When I am cleaning the house.
• When the telephone rings.
• When I am relaxing.
• When I drink a cup of coffee.
• When I have an alcoholic drink.
• During or after meals.
• When I am driving a car.
• After leaving work.
• When I am watching TV.

For each trigger that applies to you, think of something you could do that would make you less likely to smoke. For example, instead of smoking after a meal, you could get right up and brush your teeth.

Do you use cigarettes to relieve uncomfortable feelings?

Smokers often use cigarettes to help them cope with certain uncomfortable feelings. Think about whether you do this.

You may have smoked cigarettes when you felt the following emotions:

• Angry
• Mistreated
• Disappointed
• Hurt
• Resentful
• Frightened
• Ashamed
• Frustrated
• Lonely
• Embarrassed
• Abandoned
• Depressed
• Guilty
• Anxious or stressed
• Sorry for yourself
• Bored
• Abused
• Worried

If you know that you use cigarettes to help you cope with stressful or difficult times, you will be better able to get through those times without smoking. Deep breathing, relaxation exercises and guided imagery have helped many smokers quit.

Contact your healthcare provider for more information about these techniques.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Tobacco Free Nova Scotia
By Calling 811
https://tobaccofree.novascotia.ca/

Health PEI
https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/health-pei/quit-smoking

Sources

Assessing Nicotine Dependence by TA Rustin, M.D. (08/01/00, http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000801/579.html)