Changing the Way you Think about Cigarettes to Help You Stop Smoking

In a workshop during the time of 9-11, one woman had quit and her husband continued to smoke. She said, "Every time I see his pack of cigarettes, I just think that this is 20 little terrorists trying to kill me."It is important to change the way you think about smoking and cigarettes. Often smokers feel deprived when they quit or that they are losing a best friend. Instead of deprivation or loss, start thinking of what you are gaining, such as better health, smell better, food tastes better, becoming a better role model for you children, providing a healthier environment for your family.For another woman, every time a craving came up, she said to herself, "Oh, that's something I used to do but I don't need cigarettes anymore." As she said this, she imagined the glowing cherry of the cigarette on he sleeve and she brushed it away.Stop thinking of what you are giving up, but how much better your life is without cigarettes being in control.

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 syndrome and diabetes. I read an interesting article about arsenic in drinking water increasing the same risks and I wonder since arsenic is in cigarettes, if this isn't the causation mechanism in smoking?
There are two schools of thought about making multiple changes at once and I believe that either approach would work depending on the individual. The first approach is to make only one change at a time. Stop smoking and after you stabilize, set up a weight loss program. The idea is instead of making huge sweeping changes all at once, change in small incremental steps because small steps are easier to maintain.
The second approach is that it is hard enough to maintain any change that it is better to do it all at once because each change will reinforce the other. Since stopping smoking can cause weight gain, wouldn't it make sense to work on that issue at the same time, to avoid any weight gain?
To avoid weight gain after quitting, those that are aware of the reasons of weight gain and that have a plan to avoid the traps, are more likely to be successful at minimizing weight gain and be successful at quitting than those with no plan. The combination use of bupropion (zyban) and nicotine replacement products for the first 6 months after quitting can also minimize weight gain. Those who gain the most weight are at a high risk of relapse because the common thought is that-"I'll go back to smoking, lose the weight and then quit again." Unfortunately, as we all know, once the weight is on, it's very difficult to take it off and the individual who relapsed never gets around to quitting again.

Helping a Closet smoker to Quit Smoking

Whenever Steve took the trash out, his wife would comment that he smelled like smoke. Steve always said the smell was from a neighbor that smoked that he ran into outside.
Gail was in sales and before going into a client’s office, she would spray, spritz, wash and cover up any sign or smell that she smoked.
After Richard's heart surgery, his wife found a pack of cigarettes in his bathrobe. She thought he had quit.
Like Steve, Gail and Richard, I was a closet smoker. After my cancer experience, even smokers would bug me about my smoking.
“Why are you smoking, you’ve had cancer?”
I wanted to scream at them to leave me alone, after all, how did they know that they DIDN’T have cancer but just didn’t have a diagnosis yet? So after another failed quit attempt, I hide my smoking from everyone even other smokers. At work, I would take any opportunity to run errands, so I could smoke.
It was at an all day picnic for the 4th of July when I couldn’t stand it anymore and pulled out a cigarette and lit up. I could hear the disappointment in my friend’s voice when she said,
“But you were doing so well.”
Not really, she just didn’t know I was smoking. People don’t notice when you don’t smoke, they only notice when you do smoke.
Closet smokers hide their behavior because they do not want their friends and family to nag them about their smoking. They don’t want to hear the disappointment, the anguish, the frustration in their loved ones voice. Closet smokers feel a range of emotions from failure, shame and guilt to indignation and self-righteousness. What you don't want to do is escalate the situation. If confronted, the closet smoker will likely tell you to "BUTT OUT!"
The problem is that when a closet smoker wants to quit, it’s hard to ask for help for something that you’ve hidden from everyone. But that doesn't mean that they don't want to quit but they don't feel comfortable talking to you about it.
The best way to help a closet smoker to quit if you find out they are smoking, is to NOT make a big deal out of it and make them wrong, or blame them for being a failure. Most likely they have tried to quit before and there is nothing you can say that they haven't already told themselves. The last thing you want to do is make them feel guilty or shame. The best thing to do is just tell them that what a great job they did do with their last quitting attempt and this is just another step to becoming a former smoker and when they are ready to try again, you will help in anyway.