Ten tips to quit smoking

Butt it out!

The task of quitting smoking is a process, not an event, and with planning, practice and persistence, you can free yourself from your addiction. CAMH has ten tips to help you butt it out!

CAMH's 10 Tips to Help Reduce Your Risk

1. Make your car, home and office completely smoke free.  Write down the pros and cons of smoking for your health, your family, your social life, your finances and your mental health.

2. Smoke only ½ the cigarette or change to a brand that you do not like. 

3. Delay the time between each cigarette.  Only smoke the cigarettes you "must have" and see if you can drop the rest.

4. Chew gum, sugar free candies or have a low fat low sugar snack when having a craving.

5. Identify your triggers; find out which activities you link with smoking such as dealing with boredom, hunger, drinking alcohol or coffee. Avoid these triggers and others such as smoking environments.

6. Change your routines (go for a walk after meals instead of having a cigarette).

7. Drink lots of non-alcoholic fluids, especially water

8. Implement other coping strategies to deal with stress like deep breathing.  Try keeping a smoke diary and write down everytime you get a craving and how you are feeling at that particular time.

9. Enlist support from friends, family, or join CAMH's Nicotine Dependence Clinic.

10. Identify a professional who can provide counselling either by phone or in person. Call the Smokers Helpline at 1-877-513-5333 for added support.

Remember, even if you smoke a cigarette, don't give up completely, and in the event that the plan fails, ask yourself what you learnt about your self and what you need to do to successfully quit!

To join the Nicotine Dependence Clinic at CAMH call (416) 535-8501 ext. 6128 to book an assessment or ext. 6019 for more information.  For more information on smoking please call CAMH's R. Samuel McLaughlin Information Centre at 1-800-463-6273.  In Toronto, call (416) 595-6111 or visit our new location in Toronto at 219 Dufferin St. If you are an expectant mother and want to quit smoking but are concerned that quitting smoking abruptly might cause stress to a developing baby, CAMH has the answer to your questions in the Pregnets toolkit available online at www.Pregnets.org .

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is a Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre and a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

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Media please contact: Sylvia Hagopian, Media Relations Coordinator, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, (416) 595-6015.

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