Video on How to Change the Way you Think about Smoking

Think about when you have quit in the past, did you start romancing the thought of having "just one"? 

Why so many smokers relapse after having been quit for many months

This is an except from my book, "How to Win at Quitting Smoking": 

If you wanted to drop weight, you need to be willing to change your food intake and increase your physical activity. This takes a commitment, making a Plan and taking action. Slowly over time the pounds come off.

If after six months you went to a birthday party where your favorite chocolate fudge cake was being served and this

The ultimate way to increase your willpower to stop smoking forever

Zelda became fast friends with Mary another smoker when they both became members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).  CORE is a civil rights organization which helped organize the March on Washington and ended with Martin Luther King giving his famous "I have a dream" speech. 

After smoking for 30 years Zelda and Mary decided to quit together. While it was difficult, Mary was successful

Is nicotine addiction a disease?

Addiction Box by Dirk Hanson

This is an interesting article about whether addiction is a disease or not. The case can be made that individuals that are addicted to a substance (whether it's nicotine or something else) have a powerlessness over the ability to abstain from their nicotine (or other substance). In this post, the point is made that often addiction is a change in the nervous system

Turning the Fears of Quitting into Confidence of Becoming Smoke Free

Fear often holds a smoker back from even trying to quit. I remember being afraid of success, "If I quitting smoking, What will I do?" Smoking has become part of our identity, "Who am I, if I'm not a smoker?" Others have tried to quit so many times that there is a fear of another failure. The fear of gaining weight will stop some smokers, especially women, from ever trying to stop smoking. Other

Have an Emergency Plan to Avoid Relapsing Back into Smoking

There have been two recent plane crashes in the news. One ended with the survival of all the passengers and crew, the other in tragedy with all aboard lost. In a crisis situation, the pilot has only a few precious minutes to make life or death decisions. Pilots spend hours training for a crisis, hoping they will never have to use this training. In the two plane crashes, one pilot put his

Staying Quit Forever and Preventing Relapse

I always ask the participants in my stop smoking workshops, "What is the longest time you have been off cigarettes?" Their answer tells me quite a bit about how to help them be successful with their latest quit attempt. Here is what some of their answers mean:"I've never quit for more than a few days." This smoker is probably heavily addicted to nicotine and relapses because of the withdrawal

Joining the Ranks of Former Smokers

My job has got to be the most rewarding on earth. I just finished 3 workshops in Southern California and many smokers were successful at quitting. That means a few less people will die from heart disease, a few less from cancer, and a few less will be disabled from a stroke or from emphysema, living out the last years of their lives tied to an oxygen tank.I don't take credit for their quitting, I

Relapsing at Superbowl Parties When Trying to Quit Smoking

Superbowl is one of the biggest sports parties of the year and a time when many former smokers will relapse. A huge social event with plenty of food and drink, with cheering and socializing and a slippery slope for those who have quit smoking. A cigarette seems to fit into this party atmosphere and many will rationalize that one won't hurt. But most people underestimate the power of nicotine-

How to Talk to Smokers So They Will Listen To You

Think about when you bought your last car. Did the salesman sell you a car that you really didn't want? Or did you buy a car that you wanted and the salesman provided information and helped facilitate your buying decision? Who was in control? Salesman are taught how to overcome objections to the sale. Did your car salesman manipulate you into buying the car by overcoming all objections or did the

32nd Annual Great American Smokeout-Can you Quit for One Day?

It's easy to quit smoking, I've done it hundreds of times! Every time you snub out a butt, you have quit smokin. The trick to staying quit is to not light up another one. The American Cancer Society encourages smokers to try to live without their cigarettes for just one day. Sometimes that is all it takes for a smoker to realize that they can live without their smokes. But most smokers have quit

How Do You "Stick To It" When the Going Get Tough When Quitting Smoking?

Quitting smoking is one of the hardest things that many individuals will do in their lifetime. Why do some people seem to have what it takes to stop smoking and not relapse? Or the opposite side of the same coin, why do some smokers relapse? What is it the makes one quitter successful and the other slip comfortably back to smoking?When your reason(s) for wanting to be a non-smoker are more

The Key to Staying Quit Forever

In most of my workshops, everyone quits smoking but that figure is misleading because I think that nicotine addiction is over estimated as a problem to quitting but UNDER estimated as a problem when dealing with relapse. Many smokers come to my workshops saying I'm their "Last Resort", they have tried everything and nothing works. I know these individuals will be successful long term because they

Should Stop Smoking be an Inpatient Program like for Alcohol?

There are a couple of inpatient programs in the United States. The Mayo Clinic has a inpatient program that is a combination of medications, cognitive-behavior therapy and relapse prevention. Many people successfully quit in this environment. Yet the people that come to my workshops that have been through other inpatient programs, tell me that it is easier to quit in a protected environment

Different Skills Needed to Stop Smoking and then to Stay Quit

There are two different periods when a smoker quits. The initial quitting lasts 2 to 4 weeks. This is when the quitter is learning how to deal with the physical aspects of quitting and the habit cigarettes. There are now 7 FDA approved medications to handle the physical aspect of quitting and most individuals are able to get through this period by using one or a combination of these medications

Top 8 Reasons Why Medications Don't Work When Quitting Smoking

I've heard it over and over again--"I tried The Patch (or the gum or any other medication) and it didn't work". there are several reasons why the 7 FDA-approved medications don't work.1. Under dosed. The guidelines with the use of nicotine replacement products may not deliver sufficient nicotine. If a smoker is smoking two packs a day that is the equivalent to two-21mg patches. If they were only

Should you Quit Smoking at the Same Time as you Diet?

Both smoking and weight can cause health problems, so which do you tackle first? Many individuals will gain weight when they stop smoking (see previous post about 7 reasons for weight gain) but few will start smoking when they go on a weight loss program (unless they are a former smoker who has relapsed). We do know now that smoking changes insulin levels and increases the risk of metabolic

Using Cigars to Quit Smoking Cigarettes

Jim quit smoking cigarettes almost two years ago but he has started smoking mini-cigars that are the shape of a cigarette. Many men switch to cigars thinking that this is a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes because "you don't inhale" with cigars. Research has shown that when a cigarette smoker switches to cigars, that they do inhale, it is an automatic response, plus cigars, depending on

Dreaming About Smoking Even After Quitting

Yesterday was my 18th anniversary of going smoke free. I gave my first stop smoking workshop one month later. Even after all this time, I still dream that I smoke. It usually happens before a new workshop is scheduled to start and I'm in a panic because I need to quit right now, so that I can facilitate the class. Upon waking, it takes a minute or two to realize it was just a dream and for that

Planning Ahead to Quit Smoking

The average smoker smokes a pack a day and each of these 20 cigarette represents a different ritual. The first one in the morning might fit in with a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. The one that you light up to start your car. The one you grab to answer the phone. The two that you smoke after getting into a fight with your spouse. the unexpected extra half a pack from partying with