How can I quit smoking when everyone around me smokes?

Smokers who wish to quite the habit of smoking but are surrounded by friends and family who smoke may ask themselves the above question. As if quitting smoking is not hard enough, quitting smoking surrounded by people who smoke can be quite challenging. It not only requires you to be disciplined but also strong and determined for you may feel weak about yourself when you give in and start smoking again.

Whenever you make a vow not to smoke again, you find yourself smoking again because of the influence the other smokers have on you. Not only that, you find yourself close to the very same habit that you are trying very hard to quit; therefore making it easy to swing back to smoking. Those you have told you are quitting may stop believing you if you repetitively try to break your old habit but fail each attempt.

Ways to quit smoking when everyone around you smokes

To be successful, you require follow some simple but effective ways to quit smoking when everyone around you smokes.

1. Make a pact not to smoke with you
If you live with people who smoke but you are willing to quit you may talk about the situation together and make a pact. The pact could be not to smoke while with you or even in the house. You can make some rules that you can all follow to support you in your non-smoking quest.

2. Move out
When a pact does not work, moving out could be the best solution. You want to improve your lifestyle and to do so might require making some sacrifices for your life is worth it.

3. Avoid those who smoke
It may seem a bit difficult to avoid the people who smoke but it can be done. You can avoid them for certain duration until you are sure you won't relapse. How To Stop Smoking Naturally

4. Non-Smoking medication
Talk to your doctor about any effective non-smoking medication and get a prescription. The medicines are used to help curb the craving to light up. With the right prescription, you may not feel any craving even if you go out drinking with people who smoke.

5. Do not buy any smokes
The more you think about a cigarette, the more you want to have one. Since you won't have any cigarettes, you will not light up any time any where as you would if you had some. Asking for cigarettes from your friends or strangers will annoy them and gets old quickly.

6. Nicotine Anonymous
You may try visiting any of the groups that help persons quit smoking. This may not only help you in quitting but also you will not feel like a loner. You can access good group support as well as make brand new friends whom you share the desire to quit smoking.

7. Chew lots of gum
Ensure you have gum in your pocket. Chew as much as possible to distract yourself from thinking about smoking when you're with your friends or family members who smoke. You may not feel the desire to ask for a cigarette since chewing gum is an addiction displacement activity. Electronic Cigarette Side Effects

How Hard is it to Quit Smoking?

Nicotine is the drug that is contained in cigarettes and it's physically addictive. Once a smoker starts smoking he becomes hooked and therefore it becomes hard to stop. Nicotine enters the blood system and is taken to the brain where it's hooked to receptors. A chemical known as dopamine is released giving the smoker a euphoric sensation.

Nicotine gives a relaxing and calming effect that make a smoker want to smoke more and more. As one continues to smoke his/her body becomes tolerant to the drug. The level of nicotine drops so fast in the blood system and therefore the urge to smoke comes every now and then. One finds that they have to smoke more and more cigarettes to achieve the same calming effect.

The psychological-behavioral aspect of smoking may be as challenging as the physical aspect. Smokers attach smoking to life events and therefore making it harder to quit. Habits that have been associated with smoking can trigger the desire of smoking. One may also feel awkward not smoking in areas where they used to smoke. Some of these behaviors are;Drinking coffee or alcoholSeeing somebody else light a cigaretteDrivingTalking on the phoneRelaxing around the hose.

The desire to smoke can also be triggered by negative emotions. Some smokers cope with negative emotions by smoking. They find cigarettes calming and comforting during such times. Whenever these feelings recur as they try to quit the desire to smoke arises. Some of these emotions include: Anxiety, Stress, Sadness, Loneliness, Excitement and Fear

Genetics have also been linked to the behavior of smoking. They influence differently the urge of smoking on different people. This explains why some people find it hard to quit.
A smoker trying to quit experiences withdrawal symptoms making him or her want to resume smoking. Some of these symptoms include: Hostility, Anxiety, Depression, Headaches, Fatigue, Trouble sleeping, Decreased heart rate, Flu like aches and discomfort Cough and chest tightness
Not knowing what to do with their hands, most people trying to quit smoking are tempted to pick up a cigar. They enjoy puffing on cigarettes. Holding a cigar and lighting them up becomes a continuous habit to a smoker and therefore quitting this habit becomes very difficult.

Smokers who choose to cut back slowly on cigarettes are not able to quit cigarettes entirely. Nicotine still gets to the blood system even after smoking fewer cigarettes than they are used to. The minute they get depressed or get negative feelings they will still have the urge to smoke and therefore making the quitting process fruitless.

Lack of loyalty to the quitting procedure that one has adopted can make it difficult for a smoker to quit smoking entirely. Smoking while on nicotine patches doubles the level of nicotine in the system. As soon as this levels are down the urge of smoking will be higher than before.

Adopting the wrong method to help a smoker in quitting could also lead to the smoker not quitting cigarettes entirely. Methods like hypnosis are not entirely helpful to all smokers willing to quit. This method works differently for different people. Therefor seeking a suitable method to help a smoker quit is highly important. More on Quit Smoking Products