Quitting smoking is a big change. People will congratulate you. You have the right to be proud. But later at times, you may miss smoking. Use these tips to plan ahead to resist temptation.
Prepare to Be Tempted
- If you feel the urge to smoke, distract yourself for about five minutes. Drink water. Call a friend, walk around the room, or try deep breathing. Usually, the urge to smoke will pass.
- Don’t trust yourself to have “just one cigarette.” Many ex-smokers get hooked again that way.
- Remind yourself why you quit. Tell yourself you can stay quit.
- Avoid people or places that can trigger you to smoke. Ask others not to smoke in your home or car.
- Spend time in places where you can’t smoke— a museum, a library, a store, or a gym.
- Take your nonsmoking life one day at a time. Mark each day on your calendar.
- HALT your desire. Keep yourself from feeling too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Deal with your real needs. Eat, talk, or sleep.
- Put aside cigarette money and reward yourself.
If You Slip
You may slip and smoke again. Many ex-smokers slip on the way to success. If you do, it’s not the end of your quit process. Think about what triggered you to smoke. Then think of ways to prevent future slips. Ask yourself what you can learn from the slip. Decide how you will handle this trigger better in the future. Then get back on track—right away!
Don’t Give Up
Keep telling yourself you’re no longer a smoker. Don’t lose hope. Most people have tried to quit several times before being successful. Try to stay focused on your plan to be smoke-free. Keep in mind all the benefits of staying quit. Millions of people have given up smoking. You can too.
Low-Dose CT Lung Cancer Screening
If you a smoker or former smoker between the ages of 55 and 80, several Steward Health Care Hospitals offer low-dose CT lung cancer screening. Lung cancer screening looks for signs of the disease before there are any symptoms in patients who are at high risk. Low-dose CT lung cancer screening uses state-of-the-art computed tomography to take pictures of the lungs to detect potentially treatable lung cancers.
Patients who meet the following criteria are eligible for an annual low-dose CT scan to screen for lung cancer:
- Age 55 to 80 years old
- A 30 “pack year” or greater history of smoking (a “pack year” is calculated from multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years a person has smoked − a pack is 20 cigarettes)
- Currently, smoke or have quit in the past 15 years
- No symptoms of lung cancer such as cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain
- Able and willing to tolerate treatment if lung cancer is discovered
Low-dose CT lung cancer screening does require an order from a physician. Please contact your primary care physician to find out if low-dose CT lung cancer screening is right for you.
To find a doctor or schedule an appointment, visit Steward DoctorFinder™.
*Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov
