- 1). Use PowerPoint or other graphics presentation software. Plan to include mostly text, but add powerful images depicting the negative effects of smoking as well.
- 2). Start by listing reasons smokers should quit. Mention the money wasted on cigarettes, as well as the time wasted on smoking. Explain how positive thinking can help smokers during this difficult process.
- 3). Prepare smokers to deal with set-backs by explaining the withdrawal symptoms they are likely to experience. Remind them how difficult it is to quit smoking, and that most people who are successful say it took them more than one try.
- 4). Identify the most common approaches: changing to a brand with a lower tar content, reducing the amount of smoking time each day, delaying smoking after the first urge, chewing gum or reaching for a piece of candy rather than a cigarette, keeping ashtrays full as a reminder of the amount of cigarettes smoked in a given day, smoking in front of the mirror, and collecting dirty cigarettes butts in a container to appreciate that smoking is a dirty habit.
- 5). Describe how the first day of quitting looks. Tell smokers to discard all cigarettes and ashtrays, wash their clothes and bed linens to remove the smell of smoke, announce to friends and family members that it's their first day without cigarettes, and plan a schedule that does not allow for any free time.
- 6). Explain next how to deal with temptations. Tell smokers to stock up on their favorite beverages and healthy snacks. They may also exercise or practice deep breathing and relaxation techniques. Emphasize how they must respond to their inner voice suggesting that they delay the process of quitting or have just one more cigarette for old time's sake.
- 7). End the chart with a section explaining how smokers deal with success. For example, remind them to count calories once they begin the process of quitting as many smokers end up eating more once they limit their intake of cigarettes.
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