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Ready to Quit?

< Ready to Quit Smoking?

Be a Smokeout Partner

With help from a friend ... quitting tobacco can be easier.
You know using tobacco causes cancers and other chronic conditions that can lead to premature death. Smokers know they should quit, but quitting is difficult. What can you do as a friend to help someone quit? Be a Smokeout Partner.

Most people who use tobacco regularly are addicted to nicotine, a drug found in all tobacco products, including light cigarettes and chewing tobacco. The support of friends and family during a quit attempt can mean a great deal. It is useful to remember that people smoke due to attitudes and behaviors that you cannot change. However, you can provide support and positive reinforcement for their efforts to quit.

Here are some suggestions to help your friend make it through this difficult time:

  • Be understanding. Quitting smoking may bring on a host of symptoms, such as irritability, aggressiveness, difficulty sleeping, occasional headaches, and gastrointestinal discomfort.

  • Ask your friend how you can be most helpful. The first three weeks are usually the most uncomfortable. Your friend may not want to be asked questions, such as "How are you feeling?" or "How are you doing?" This may remind your friend about smoking at a time when he or she is trying not to think about smoking.

  • Affirm and support your friend's concerns. "It sounds like you are ..."

  • Be positive. Believe in your friend's ability to become an ex-smoker! Offer congratulations. "You've done an amazing job so far — I'm really impressed! Hang in there."

  • Reward your friend's progress! Food tastes better when you're not smoking. Consider treating your friend to a meal at a nonsmoking restaurant.

  • Help your friend avoid temptation. Go to places where smoking isn't permitted, take walks together, or help your friend find something to hold instead of a cigarette, for example, a smooth stone or a string of beads.

  • Be approachable and show you care about your friend's well-being. "Go ahead! Yell at me when you're craving a cigarette!"

  • Continue to be a Smokeout Partner for at least three months. Many smokers relapse during that initial period.

  • Remember: Quitting is rough!

It takes most smokers several attempts before they finally succeed. Remember not to be critical. Nagging won't help. Congratulate your friend on every step forward. And congratulate yourself for being a real friend!

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< Ready to Quit Smoking?