Tuesday 8 March 2011

National No Smoking Day

National No Smoking Day in the UK is 9 March 2011 this year. I would advise anyone who hasn’t planned to quit on this day to sort out a plan before quitting. Why? Because just like New Year’s resolutions they rarely have a successful outcome.

If you really want to quit, the best thing you can do on National No Smoking Day is to plan how you are going to quit. If you know someone who wants to quit, they might find this article useful, so please pass on the link.

Planning is important but be careful what advice you accept. In my opinion, the only real advice you can accept is from someone who smoked and has quit successfully. Do not take the advice of companies selling quit smoking products or medical facilities where the people who have set it up have never smoked and – quite frankly – do not know what they are talking about. My book ‘Stop Smoking: Diary Of A Quitter’ would be a useful start to any would be quitter, especially for those people who have tried quitting many times but fail after a few weeks (For many people there is no ‘easy way’).
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  1. Your reason to quit has to be solid.
  2. Look at what Nicotine Replacement Therapy is best for you and see if it is free via your GP or smoking cessation service.
  3. DO NOT keep a diary of when you smoke; it won’t help you. When you first start to quit smoking the nature of your habit is the least of your worries. The first thing you have to do is break the addiction.
  4. DO NOT ask your medical professional for advice on how to quit smoking unless they have had first hand experience of quitting smoking.
  5. Join a support group, either online or locally. No one is better qualified to help you than someone who is going through the same experience as you.
  6. Buy my book: ‘Stop Smoking: Diary Of A Quitter’ for some amazing advice, support and some humorous distractions while you suffer your nicotine withdrawal pangs.
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Even if you only decide that you want to quit on 9 March 2011 it is a step in the right direction. Right now cigarettes are only permitted to continue to exist because of the tax revenue they bring in. As soon as that revenue drops below a certain level, the death knell of the tobacco industry will be heard. Perhaps if you quit smoking now, you will still be alive to see the day it happens.