For smokers looking to kick the habit in 2013, the College of Pharmacy is offering a six-week smoking cessation clinic. The college also offers the following tips to quit.
• Determine your readiness. Write down all your personal reasons to quit and assess how important these are to you. Post these in a visible location.
• Set a quit date. Celebrate your quit day with a cleaning party to rid your home, car and personal space of all cigarettes and ashtrays.
• Find support. Don’t quit alone. Having a supportive “quit buddy” such as a co-worker, friend or spouse whom you can talk to in times of need is also helpful.
• Know what to expect. Most smokers try six to nine times before successfully quitting.
• Create a plan. Figure out what triggers your desire to smoke and what you will do to overcome each urge. Most urges last five minutes, so interventions can be small-suck on a mint, chew on a toothpick, play a game, take a short walk or call a friend.
• Change the routines, behavior patterns and habits associated with smoking that often trigger the desire to smoke. Eat meals at different times, invite new friends to dinner, learn a new hobby or drink tea instead of coffee.
• Reward yourself. You might put saved money from not buying cigarettes in a jar to buy something special: have lunch with your “quit buddy,” go to a movie or plan a vacation.
Source: College of Pharmacy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services