Tips for Success

Congratulations for deciding to stop smoking. It's one of the best things you can do for your health. Smoking is a powerful addiction, but you can beat it! You are much more likely to succeed in quitting when you know what obstacles you may face and plan how to handle them. Use these tips for success to help you get through the difficult times.

(Refer to your ZYBAN^®Net booklet that you received with your Zyban^® prescription for more detailed ways to create a plan to stop smoking that will work for you.)

Ready!

Ask yourself why you want to quit now, and plan ways to cope with expected problems while quitting.

Tips

• Picture yourself as a non-smoker – think about what life will be like when you no longer have an urge to smoke.
• For some people, talking to family, including children, as well as friends and co-workers can make quitting easier. Tell them you’ve resolved to quit now and may need their help and understanding from time to time.
• Recruit the help of a successful ex-smoker.
• Make a list of people whom you can contact to help you through different situations. Suggest ways they can help.

Set!

Set your quit date, and make a plan to prepare yourself and others around you. Your quit date should be 7 to 14 days after you’ve started taking Zyban^®.

Tips

• Pick a date that has special meaning for you (a birthday, an anniversary, a holiday).
• In the days before your stop date, you may want to change your routines as they can often trigger cravings.
• Get rid of anything you use for smoking (ashtrays, lighters).
• Start drinking lots of water to help wash the nicotine out of your body.

Stop!

Plan for your first few days as a non-smoker to help you stay on track.

Tips

• Make absolutely sure that you have NO cigarettes, lighters or ashtrays. DON’T keep anything hidden for an “emergency” or a “rainy day.”
• Keep busy. Plan your activities.
• Keep your hands active.
• Don’t sit in your favourite chair – to avoid reminders of where you often smoked.
• Eat in a different room than usual or at a different table.
• Stay in non-smoking areas as much as possible.
• If you get an urge to smoke, wait 2 minutes. The craving is likely to pass.
• Have gum or toothpicks on hand to put in your mouth when a craving strikes.
• Change the way you think about smoking.
• Focus on not smoking one day at a time.
• Review your progress often and congratulate yourself.
• Remind yourself:
  • Just one cigarette can undo all your hard work.
  • Success depends on good planning, not just willpower.
  • You are choosing not to smoke – that puts you in control.
  • As each day goes by your addiction gets weaker.
• Get plenty of rest and eat healthy.