It is clearly not a good time to be a smoker, smoking is banned in most public places including restaurants, bars, the workplace, shopping centres, public transport and is increasingly seen as being anti social. Perhaps thirty or forty years ago the anti social aspect was part of the appeal but this was more to do with being rebellious in a James Dean kind of way. Spain was until recently one of the few places where spoking was allowed pretty much everywhere, in bank, offices, shopping malls etc. Now pop into any Marbella bank, office and most restaurants and bars and you will find a strict no smoking policy.

I quit smoking over seven years ago and was a smoker for over ten years. Since I stopped smoking I have often spoken with people wanting to stop smoking and gave them my personal experience. With that in mind I wrote this article to assist those wanting to stop to kick the habit. Stopping smoking was the best thing I ever did and would never go back.

Quitting smoking is perceived by most smokers as an almost impossible feat. The very thought of stopping scares most smokers, perhaps more than the threat of dying from smoking in the first place. Figure that one out!

My story

I had reached the point where I was quite keen to give up smoking; however it didn't seem like the right time for me. Sound familiar? I was working for a large corporate as an IT consultant, most of the time I was left to myself and had plenty of time on my hands. The office I worked in had a smoking room and I was part of the little gang that frequented this room throughout the day. I was part of the club. If I stopped smoking then I would instantly be out of the club and this would have a disastrous effect on my corporate social life and increase my levels of boredom. (Side note: I was pretty good at my job troubleshooting computer problems, my job involved dealing with problems when they arose and surfing the net in between smoking breaks)

The corridor leading to the smoking room wasn't far from my desk which meant that members of my smoking 'club' would walk past throughout the day. Basically if I stopped smoking then I would have to watch these people go in and out of the smoking room and this could be a further cause of frustration.  

Is it possible to enjoy life without smoking cigarettes?

This is common issue for smokers. Basically most things are associated with having a cigarette. Your morning coffee, socialising with friends that smoke, going to the pub, enjoying your holiday, chilling out…the list goes on. In my case I had a holiday planned with a friend of mine who also smoked. We were going away for a week to a beach resort in seven months time. Believe it or not stopping smoking at that time didn’t seem like a good idea as I couldn’t see how I could enjoy my holiday without having cigarettes. I actually contemplated holding off on stopping smoking until after the holiday. This demonstrates how crazy and addictive nicotine is.

Emotions and smoking

Smoking a cigarette is linked to every single emotion. If you have a happy moment, some good news perhaps the first thing you will do it spark up. If you are feeling depressed you spark up, somebody gives you tragic news you spark up, you are bored you light up, I guess you get the picture. Every single emotion is linked to smoking. 

Habit

This is probably the most difficult issue. We all have habits, routines, rituals. For a smoker having a cigarette punctuates these daily routines. You wake up, you spark up (this is normally the hard core smoker); you wake up, shower, dress, have a coffee and then spark up. You start your journey to work and smoke along the way if driving or while waiting for your bus. If you could smoke on the bus you would but you can’t. You get to work and have your cigarette breaks (see above). You finish work, smoke on the way home, have your dinner, a cigarette afterwards, you have a drink to relax and a cigarette seems appropriate etc etc. As I said smoking punctuates your daily events. For a person contemplating quitting smoking the thought of doing all these daily things without the cigarette as a companion doesn’t seem right or even seem possible.

Being in environments where people smoke or being with friends who smoke

Another of the perceived major hurdles is being in places where other people are smoking. You imagine watching these people ‘enjoying’ their cigarettes while you watch on in envy.  Some of your friends may tease you and even offer you cigarettes. This is something you have to face up to and most importantly feel really good about quitting. Don't avoid these places or situations.

How to stop smoking the easy way

Ok, here we go. We have looked at the common issues above and I will try to explain how to go through the process.

Firstly and probably most importantly you have to want to stop. This has to be your decision. If you think you are too weak or don't have enought will power don’t worry. I have seen friends and family stop smoking and some of them were hard core smokers with normal willpower. Once you have made the decision to stop you have to stick to it no matter what emotions you go through or whatever happens in your life, good or bad.

Clearing your body of nicotine

It seems to be generally accepted that it takes approximately three weeks for the nicotine to leave your system. That’s it. The rest is all in the mind and breaking old habits.

Feel good about stopping smoking

Embrace the fact that you have stopped, feel really good about it. Don’t mope around; don’t feel like you are missing out on anything. Once you have stopped forget about the ‘pit stops’ these pit stops are probably one of the biggest causes of relapses. Nicotine is an evil drug, even once it is out of your system if you have even a single cigarette it will reawaken your cravings. DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT A SINGLE CIGARETTE OR EVEN A PUFF. I cannot emphasise this enough.

Don’t change your routine at all (apart from the cigarettes that is), go out with your friends and sit with them while they smoke. Just feel good that you no longer smoke. Don’t put any time limits on it. Stopping smoking isn’t like climbing a mountain or passing an exam. You stop smoking the minute you decide to stop.

What happens if you have the urge to smoke?

The urge to have a smoke lasts fractions of a second. You will have an impulse that wants you to smoke. Let the moment pass think of something else and that’s it.

Remember the thing about emotions. Smoking is related to every single emotion, no exceptions. Once you quit you must disassociate having cigarettes with every event and emotion you used to associate cigarettes with.

Now the good stuff: The many benefits of stopping smoking

Aside from the fact that you are not poisoning yourself anymore and are reducing the risk of cancer you will experience an amazing amount of self confidence. Because stopping smoking is seen as being so difficult and an almost impossible task you will feel that you can achieve anything. This is a great feeling. You will also stop burning holes in your favourite clothes and your wallet, you will smell fresh, and you won’t have to stand outside in the rain outside your office building or restaurant. After a while you will hate the smell of cigarettes. You may put on some weight when you first stop as cigarettes are appetite suppressants. After a while your weight should regulate again. Mine did. I am glad I stopped smoking prior to moving to Marbella as at that time smoking was permitted everywhere. 

I don’t regret stopping smoking for a single minute. It is the best thing I ever did and I hope that this article will help others achieve the same. I found that reading the Allen Carr book, ‘The easy way to stop smoking ’ really helped me. The book is pretty inexpensive, has helped hundreds or thousands of smokers quit and is available from Amazon. If you would like to buy the book click on the image below to go directly to the page on Amazon.co.uk. Sadly the author, Allen Carr passed away in Marbella in 2006 from lung related cancer.

Note: The information above is intended to help people quit smoking. If you have any questions or concerns we would advise consulting a doctor or specialist.

Good luck, it will be worth it!

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