Choose a Smoke-free Lifestyle :: Emotional and Mental Health

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Choose a Smoke-free Lifestyle

Smoking kills. If you smoke, you need to stop. It's that simple. According to the Canadian Lung Association smoking directly kills about 45,000 Canadians each year-more than the total combined number of annual deaths from AIDS, car accidents, suicides, murders, fires, and accidental poisonings.

With over 4,000 dangerous chemicals found in tobacco smoke, you're not only hurting yourself but those around you too. Second-hand smoke is the number two cause of lung cancer-coming right behind the number one cause: smoking.

The Lung Association (lung.ca) has tools to help you quit. Here's a look at some helpful tips to get you into a quitting mood. Visit the Lung Association website for additional advice, tips, and tools to make 2009 your non-smoking year!

1. Set a date to quit
Setting a date to quit makes quitting a tangible reality and allows you time to mentally prepare for the task ahead. You should choose a date away from known stressful events. Take the date seriously and circle it on all your calendars. Even write it on each pack of cigarettes you already have.

2. Throw away your tobacco triggers
Avoid triggering cravings by throwing away all your reminders of tobacco, including cigarettes, lighters, ashtrays, and anything else that is related to smoking.

3. Change the daily routine
Tobacco use is a part of your daily routine so you need to change it up. Simple changes engage your brain differently and may help you avoid cravings. Try taking a different route to work or taking your coffee breaks with non-smokers.

4. Start a money jar
Tally up the money you'll save by quitting. Start a money jar and fill it with the money you are no longer spending on tobacco. A pack-a-day smoker invests about $300 per month in their addiction, or $3,600 a year.

5. Change your eating habits
Keep your kitchen well stocked with fruits and vegetables so that you have something to reach for when you get a craving. Try eating baby carrots instead of lighting up. Keep a bowl of grapes in the fridge, washed and ready to eat. Put apples in the living room. When you read or watch TV, you'll have an apple to reach for in place of a cigarette.

Source: alive #January 09 Newsletter

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