Stop Smoking Checklist #4: 8 Ways to Maintain Your Nonsmoking Status

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8 Ways to Maintain Your Nonsmoking Status

1. Be particularly vigilant when unusual events occur, such as a wedding or a vacation.
2. Be particularly vigilant when stressful life events occur, such as relationship difficulties, financial hardship, or work issues.
3. Remind yourself regularly that continuing to not smoke is probably the most important gift you can give yourself.
4. Remind yourself regularly that not smoking is completely within your control.
5. NEVER lull yourself into thinking you can safely have a cigarette. You cannot!
6. If you slip and have one or more cigarettes, don't think "all is lost." Just return to complete abstinence immediately, and learn from your experience.
7. If you have gained weight since quitting, now is the time to do something about it. Here's a program that can get you back to a smaller size.
8. Each time you see a cigarette ad, remind yourself of why you quit. Remember, a powerful industry spends billions each year to get people like you "rehooked."

Adapted by permission from Stop Smoking Now! A Cleveland Clinic Guide, by Garland DeNelsky, PhD. For more, visit Cleveland Clinic Press.