Thinking of stopping smoking? Where do you begin? What are some strategies that would suit your lifestyle? What are some useful tips to know? We've gathered all the info you'll need to plan ahead and stop smoking successfully.
Why quit?
Focusing on why you want to stop smoking can help motivate and keep you on track. Some common reasons are to save some money, improve your health, start a family or to have more time with friends and family. What are your reasons to stop smoking?
Know your triggers and plan for them
Recognising your triggers
Ever noticed how certain things trigger your smoking? There
may be specific situations which make you crave a cigarette. Once you have
worked out what your triggers are, you can use strategies to avoid or overcome
them.
Smoking and drinking
Some people crave alcohol when they are smoking, and crave
cigarettes when they are drinking. Why is this? What can you do about it?
Slip ups
Slip-ups are a common part of quitting for most people.
Treat it as a sign that you need to revise your stop smoking strategy. Try not to
waste your energy on self-blame.
Stop smoking methods - how to quit?
Research suggests most people who stop smoking find the best success by using a combination of:
- stop smoking medication, such as nicotine patches and gum or prescribed stop smoking tablets, to help manage physical cravings, and
- a stop smoking counselling service such as Quitline (13 7848), to help manage emotional or habitual triggers to smoke. You don't have to be ready to quit to call Quitline. Quitline counsellors can help you build and sustain your motivation to quit, and help you work out which quitting method might be best for you. Or they can simply answer general questions you may have about quitting. It's free to call on 13 7848 Monday to Friday, 8am - 8pm. You can also request a callback.
It's also a good idea to:
- Chat with your GP. They can help you work out which stop smoking method to try and give you a script for cheaper stop smoking medication.
- Use our Build Your Quit Plan tool. Take a step by step approach to building your stop smoking plan. Walk through each of the stages to get a full picture of what it takes to quit, learn why you smoke in the first place, and then develop a method that is specific to you and your lifestyle. Click here to go to tool.
Changing your habits to conquer smoking
An important part of stopping smoking is about changing the habits that lead you to smoking. Watch one of our Quitline counsellors talk about ways to break your smoking habits.
Managing your physical and mental health
Feeling stressed or anxious is a normal response to challenging circumstances. There are healthy ways to ease anxiety without reaching for a cigarette.
Relaxation exercises
Quitline counsellors share their tips on healthy ways to
ease stress and anxiety without reaching for a cigarette.
Mindfulness/distraction
Practical tips on how to distract yourself and create new
routines to stop smoking, from people who've done it!
Managing stress
We all get stressed and have different ways of
dealing with it. If you smoke, it's tempting to have a cigarette when things
are tough. Try these strategies next time you're stressed out and craving a
smoke.
Stories from people who have stopped smoking
For more stories, head to our Stories Hub.