Three Effective Techniques for Women to Quit Smoking




Smoking is bad in general, but if talking about women, smoking brings even more harm to them than to men. The President and CEO of the Society doe Women’s Health Research, Phyllis Greenberger, says, “Smoking is the absolute worst thing you can do to your body”.

Studies show that women’s bodies are more sensitive to carcinogens in cigarettes, so they are three times as likely as men to develop a severe form of lung cancer by smoking. It also starts affecting their bodies in an earlier age.

Many women know that they would do better without the habit, but only few of them succeed quitting. Statistics shows while two thirds of all female smokers are ready to stop smoking, only five percent of them give it up successfully. The reason is that they have stronger addiction than men, so while quitting, they experience stronger withdrawal symptoms.

There are a great number of tricks which might help to quit smoking, but we would like to introduce the newest really effective ways which helped women to kick the habit and stay quit.

1.    Walk away from smoking. Just like starting smoking transfers a lifestyle to a different stage, quitting should do the same: if you want to quit, some habits should change. Many people start smoking because somebody offers them a cigarette at some point of time. They keep smoking while socializing with their smoking friends. But quitting could change many things too: fill up your life with things that make you avoid smoking: find an active hobby like biking, skiing, exercising, knitting, etc.; go to smoke-free restaurants; spend more time with non-smokers: go on a break with non-smoking colleges, hang out with your children, nieces or nephews, volunteer for a job that requires frequent communication with non-smokers.

In the beginning it might feel like a stretch: a person is trying to do anything possible to avoid smoking. But with time these activities become a part of your life, while smoking fades away and disappears completely.

2.    Do it with a group. Many women feel stronger or more confident when they do something together with the people alike: they go on a walk in a park, exercise in a gym and shop together with their friends. While quitting smoking a person might come across a feeling of facing the problem all alone. This does not have to be this way: if there is no friend who would decide to quit too, there are always groups of people who are ready to help.

Many facilities arrange classes where people can work together on their problems: the “students” meet each other, tell about their problems, learn about different means and ways to quit smoking, and work together as a team to give up the cigarettes and stay quit. For more information on the groups like this in the local area, call 1-800-QUITNOW.

3.    Use creative visualization. Women have better and brighter imagination, so this technique might really work for them. The idea was described in “Creative Visualization”, a book written by Shakti Gawain. It offers smokers to start their day with a short scene: imagine a huge cigarette wearing boxing gloves and beating you up. Later, imagine that you can try fighting back. Eventually you’ll grow bigger and will be able to beat the cigarette to death.

While some people might not believe that this works, studies show that visualization really helps in quitting smoking. It helps to reduce anxiety and stress connected with withdrawal symptoms, the quitting people feel more confident and ready to stop the habit.

Nicole Turner

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Posted on May 7, 2010 
Filed Under How to Quit Smoking, Smoking and Women, Stop Smoking, Stop Smoking News

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