Stop Smoking With A Calculator

Have you tried to stop smoking without cutting back first, only to smoke again a day or even minutes later? Some experts will tell you that cold-turkey is the only way to quit smoking. What do you do if you simply can't quit this way? You must pick a method to quit smoking that works with your habit--with your personality.

In all the methods you have used to end your smoking habit, did you try cutting back gradually, over a period of days or weeks? Cutting back in this way allows you to wean your body of nicotine's addictive effects. Plus you will take charge of your addiction by smoking in a definitive manner.

Use the following steps to create a gradual stop smoking schedule for yourself:

Step 1. Determine how many cigarettes you normally smoke every day.Step 2. Decide how many smokes you will reduce from your daily allowance. I recommend the quantity to use is 2 per day. I will call this the Daily Reduction Number.Step 3. Divide your number from step 1 by your Daily Reduction Number from step 2. For example, if you smoke 30 cigarettes each day, divided by 2, you get the number 15. This is how many days you will need to eliminate your smoking.Step 4. Take some paper and on the left-hand side write down the number of days you calculated in step 3 above. For example, if your result was 25, write Day 25. Now below that write Day 24, Day 23, and so forth until you reach Day 1.Step 5. From the bottom of the list (Day 1) write your Daily Reduction Number from step 2 above (in this example, 2).  On the line for Day 2, add the Daily Reduction Number to your number on Day 1. In our example, you would write 4 on Day 2.  On Day 3 you add the Daily Reduction Number to the result on Day 2.  Continue this process until you add up to the top of your list of Days. You are only that number of days away from being smoke free!

Once you make these calculations you are now ready to gradually cut back on your cigarette consumption.  Take your "quit plan" with you wherever you go.  You may want to rubber band it to your cigarette pack.

Begin the plan by using the quantity of cigarettes on the first date of your plan. Whenever you smoke a cigarette, make a mark next to the day you are currently on.  When the number of marks equals the number of cigarettes allotted for that day, you are finished smoking until the following day.  Space out your smoking accordingly!

To dramatically improve the success of this plan, try the following.  Like most anything of value it takes some effort. Each day, group together all the cigarettes you will be smoking that day.  By visually keeping track of the number of cigarettes you have left for the day, you can better understand how to pace your smoking.  One more thing: if you get to the end of the day and have cigarettes left over, don't tack them on to the next day’s allocation of cigarettes.  Just pat yourself on the back for smoking less than your allotment.

Use the following formula to calculate your smoking reduction plan:

(Average Number of Cigarettes Smoked Each Day) ____ / ____ (Daily Reduction Number) = ____ days(for example 40 cigarettes / 2 less cigarettes each day = 20 days)

The plan I have outlined above is only one alternative of the weaning process. If need be, alter the plan to match your own smoking habits, number of cigarettes smoked, number of days required to quit smoking, etc.

Quitting smoking gradually can be a highly effective way to end your smoking addiction. By weaning yourself from nicotine's addictive effects, and taking charge of your habit, you make stopping much more do-able. Start cutting back today!