The Myths About Giving Up

Stopping smoking is not easy, and it can be made harder if you make the mistake of buying into any one of a range of theories which when it comes to the crunch just don’t hold any water. Take, for example, the issue of preparing to give up. People will tell you that it is easier to quit if you wean yourself onto menthol cigarettes. Is this actually true? No, it’s not. There’s still plenty of nicotine in there, and you’re more likely to go back to full-tar, smoke flavored cigarettes.

Then there is the idea that it will be easier to give up smoking if you only smoke at certain times – like after meals, just after getting up or after sex. The fact of the matter is that if you associate cigarettes with a certain time, you will always want to smoke then, and sooner or later you’ll be adding extra caveats – only with a cup of coffee, only when you’re nervous, right up until the point where you’re smoking cigarettes “only because I really wanted one”. Breaking the dependence is tough, and not made any easier by allowing exemptions.

Weaning yourself off cigarettes is not the best way of giving up. If you are going to break the chain, it is really best to break it cleanly and absolutely. If you fall off the wagon and “just have one”, make sure it is just one. Don’t rush out and buy a packet because you feel as though you might as well. Although it is best to not smoke at all, having one every once in a while is certainly better than getting back to being a smoke machine.