You started smoking but you don't want to get addicted. You want to smoke once in a while, perhaps to look brilliant, to change a bit or even to give yourself a style. This is a tried and tested method. The goal is to develop self-control over smoking.
Steps
Step 1. Decide how many cigarettes you want to smoke in a month or a week (not a day)
For example, 8 a week is fine.
Step 2. Decide when you want to smoke
Every 2 days in a week or every 8 days in a month. Mark on the calendar which days you will be able to smoke and which are the "smoke-free" days.
Step 3. On a smoking day, take a cigarette and, if you want to smoke one more, light another
When you smoke two consecutive cigarettes you shouldn't feel the urge to smoke again. But if you still feel like it, smoke again. If you smoke three in a row, you will feel some sort of cigarette allergy.
Step 4. Think of yourself as a person with good self-control and remember the episodes in which your mind controlled your actions
Step 5. On a non-smoking day, think again about the commitment you have made and your ability to control your body
Tell yourself that you will not succumb to nicotine. Count how many days you have until the next smoking day and rejoice that you may be able to not smoke after the last permitted day of smoking.
Step 6. If necessary, update the smoking schedule
Make sure, however, that you do not smoke on the "smoke-free" day, while having no inhibitions on smoking on the fair day. Even if you go over your cigarette limit, that's okay. The important thing is not to smoke on the "wrong" day.
Step 7. Repeat steps 3-5
Advice
- Trust is the key. You have to remain independent of nicotine; that is, you must understand that smoking must be a conscious choice, not because you are addicted to it and need to take nicotine. Don't confuse the two.
- When you can't avoid smoking on a non-smoking day, try to satisfy your needs with something else you enjoy. Coffee, for example, is a great alternative to cigarettes; take some time to make yourself a nice cup of coffee and enjoy it fully. Another possible option could be to smoke a cigar, reminding you that it should never be inhaled! So don't inhale the smoke of a cigar, take your time to cut it, light it and smoke it too.
- Do not smoke in front of children or, if you are younger, it is considered offensive in some cultures to smoke in front of the elderly. Out of respect for children and the elderly, smoke where it is least intrusive.
- Mark the days to smoke and not to smoke on a calendar, watch it regularly to increase your resolve.
Warnings
- Nicotine permanently changes brain chemistry by blocking dopamine receptors, creating long-term addiction, even after quitting.
- Most occasional smokers become smokers for life after some time.
- Be aware that nicotine is known to be addictive and that by playing with your "willpower", you run the risk of becoming addicted.
- Smoking causes bad breath and its smell is absorbed by clothes (although many smokers do not realize this, because they have become accustomed to the smoke and the associated odor).
- These tips are aimed at people who currently smoke. If you don't smoke now you shouldn't start. Smoking is highly addictive and you have to be mentally very strong to quit or just to cut it down.
- Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States.
- Smoking is a well-known cause of lung cancer.
- It is not necessary to be addicted to suffer from lung problems or other forms of cancer.
- Nicotine is a dangerous addictive drug.
- Cigarette smoking is dangerous to health.
