Key Steps to Quitting Tobacco

By Renay Seifried

County Health Nurse

August 27, 2004

There are four steps that can be used by anyone wanting to quit smoking or chewing tobacco.

Step One: Get Ready. In this step, you need to track your use patterns and assess your addiction. When do you feel the urge to use tobacco? How often do you use tobacco in a day? Are there times in a day when you use tobacco more or less? Once you have done this, you also need to determine how ready you are to quit and review your reasons for quitting.

Step Two: Plan to Quit. Now you need to select a quit plan. Are you going to quit "Cold Turkey", will you gradually reduce the amount of tobacco you use, or do you have another method? You will also need to select a quit date and get support from your family, friends, co-workers, etc. Don’t keep your decision to quit a secret. If you get support you will be more successful in quitting.

Step Three: Deal with Withdrawal. You need to drink plenty of liquids and stay active. You may also decide to use nicotine replacements or other medications to help with the cravings. Relaxation techniques have also proven to help fight off those urges.

Step Four: Stay off Cigarettes or Chewing Tobacco. Anticipate tough situations where you might feel the urge to use tobacco again and plan ahead on how to deal with those situations. You can either avoid them altogether, alter your habits to cope better with the urge, use alternatives such as gum or sunflower seeds, or you can plan activities to keep busy and take your mind off the urge.

If you would like more information on how to quit, or would like to receive a Quit Kit full of ideas and helpful tools for quitting please call the Kiowa County Nursing Service at 438-5782.