Stop Smoking Program
When you first started to smoke, it took time and effort to learn how. Does it make sense to you that you had learned to be a smoker, and you must now learn to be a non-smoker? There was a famous scientist named Pavlov. He did an experiment with dogs that you might be familiar with. He learned that whenever he put food in front of a dog, the dog would salivate. Then he began ringing a bell before feeding the dog. At first when he rang the bell, the dog did not salivate. After he repeated this procedure many times, the dog would salivate when the bell rang rather than when the food was delivered. The dog had become conditioned. Whenever it heard the bell, it expected food and salivated.
Smokers are likewise conditioned. They too have a bell, in fact, many bells, which send a message to the brain signaling that it’s time for a cigarette. For example, smokers may feel the urge to light up after a cup of coffee or after a meal. Typical bells that can set off the desire to smoke are watching T.V., talking on the phone, driving a car, drinking alcoholic beverages, waking in the morning, and being bored etc. If you could turn off all those bells in your head, quitting would be no problem. The desire for a cigarette would be gone forever. This is the basis of the plan. It is designed to turn off the cigarette bells. You learned how to turn the bells on and now you must learn to turn them off. The reason many stop smoking programs do not work is because they do not turn off these bells. Many people can quit for short periods of time by sheer power, but to make it permanent you have to learn how to make the bells stop ringing.
First, there is an important thing that you must do. Prove that you are stronger than the will to smoke and crush your cigarettes. Experience has proven that if you are not willing to take this important step, you will not be willing to follow the rest of the program. If you have completed the first step, then you can move forward to the following 15 steps.
1. Pray. You must begin each day with a short, personal prayer to ask God for help and strength in your commitment to this plan.
2. Avoid temptation. You must immediately get rid of all smoking material. When you get home don’t just throw the rest of your cigarettes away. Destroy them. Get rid of matches, cigarette lighters and ashtrays. Check pockets and don’t forget to clean out your car. A smoker’s bell can be triggered by any of these items. If I were standing here ringing a bell and you could not stop me, it would eventually drive you crazy. At first the bell would be easy to ignore but over a period of time your defenses would break down. To succeed you must learn how to turn off the bells, not how to ignore them. You may have previously attempted to quit smoking and remember the agony of going cold turkey, and are tempted to keep a pack of cigarettes hidden as a safeguard “just in case.” Don’t make this mistake. Don’t compare this experience in trying to quit with part efforts. In the past, you did not turn off the bells.
3. Prepare. There are three ways to prepare. The first way to prepare is to gain knowledge of how the system works and what you must do, and that is what you are Stop Smoking Program doing right now. The second way to prepare is to have all necessary materials you need to fulfill all the fifteen steps every day for a week. It is not enough just to know what to do. You must have necessary equipment. The third way to prepare is to review these fifteen steps at the start of each day and recommit yourself.
4. Brush teeth. This step may seem silly or inconvenient, but each step is important. Remember, we are not asking you to do this for the rest of your life, but for the next seven days. As we have already told you, many bells cause you to have the urge for a cigarette. This step will stop the first bell of the day. The minute you wake up you must hop out of bed. You must brush your teeth and rinse your mouth with a strong (cinnamon) flavored mouthwash. The purpose of this step is to drastically change the taste in your mouth. Perhaps you have been conditioned to want a cigarette in the morning when you have that “morning mouth” taste. By changing the taste in your mouth, that first bell will not go off. Even if you are not used to having a cigarette when you first wake up, this step must not be missed. It will help you get past that first cigarette urge, regardless of when it usually occurs. The mouthwash leaves a taste in your mouth, which lingers for a long time and helps keep the bell from ringing.
5. Breakfast. For the next seven days, you will need a good healthy breakfast. You have been polluting your body by smoking, and now you need to help your body eliminate these poisons with as much “good stuff” as possible to give you added energy. Start your day with a good breakfast made up of whole grain and some fresh fruit. You can eat anything else you want, but these are the basics. Good nutrition will not only help clean out the pollution, but also it will fuel your body for the day.
6. Grapefruit juice and vitamin C. Regardless of what you had for breakfast, you must end it with a glass of grapefruit juice. Some people don’t like grapefruit juice, but for a week you can handle it. You must drink it at the end of every meal. There is a reason for drinking grapefruit juice after each meal. Most smokers feel the need for a cigarette right after a meal. When you drink a glass of grapefruit juice you immediately place in your mouth an unfamiliar taste. You are not conditioned to smoke a cigarette after drinking grapefruit juice. Another benefit of the grapefruit juice is that it contains vitamin C. Many doctors believe that vitamin C is the most effective substance for cleaning nicotine out of the blood system. Every time you smoke a cigarette you raise the nicotine level in your blood. When the level goes down to a certain amount, a bell goes off because your body wants more nicotine. So you smoke a cigarette, replenish the nicotine supply and the bell stops ringing. This need for nicotine causes your bell to ring 10 to 20 percent of the time you feel a craving for a cigarette. The rest of the time it is caused by conditioned responses. Interestingly enough, the bell goes off only when the nicotine level in your blood is lowered, but stops ringing when the nicotine is completely gone from your system. Normally it takes two to four weeks after a person has stopped smoking for all the nicotine to leave the blood completely. High doses of vitamin C will rid the body of nicotine in just a few days to a week. For this reason, you will need to keep a high level of vitamin C in your body throughout this week. The grapefruit juice will give you a good start, but it is only the beginning. Take a vitamin C tablet after each meal. You will need three tablets a day for seven days. The suggest dosage is 500 milligrams. Stop Smoking Program
7. Brush your teeth after every meal. You will do your teeth a favor this week. You must brush your teeth after every meal followed by a strong mouthwash. You should buy an extra toothbrush and an extra bottle of mouthwash to keep with you at work or school. No matter where you are, for one week you must complete this step. The mouthwash is an extra step. Most people agree that this is one of the most effective ways to prevent a craving for a cigarette.
8. Keep healthy snacks. Some people worry that they will gain weight when they stop smoking. Many experience the need to have something in their mouth and hence snack excessively. The problem is not how much you eat, but what you eat; therefore, you can allow yourself to snack on healthy things like fruits and vegetables. To prepare for this step, you may need to buy some healthy snacks.
9. No coffee, tea, or alcohol. These three substances are probably the most powerful bell ringers of all. Without exception there must be no coffee, tea, or alcohol for this week. You will fail if you cannot comply with this step. Remember this will only take seven days.
10. Friendly support. Do not keep your efforts to quit smoking a secret. Tell all of your friends, family, neighbors, and acquaintances. The more people you tell the more commitment you will feel. You will find that most people will admire you and want to help. At first, your smoking friends will not believe that you can succeed. But, as the week comes to an end, many of them will want to speak with you about the system. Do you remember step 2? You must avoid temptation and being around others while they smoke is defiantly a temptation. The solution to the problems is not being around your smoking friends while they are smoking. When they are not smoking, you can explain to them the smoking plan, and ask them to help you avoid temptation.
11. Help others quit. Carry a copy of the 15 steps with you, so that you can explain the plan to others and help them quit.
12. Put “stop smoking” signs everywhere. Put signs in places that you will see them i.e. in your car, on the bathroom mirror, on the T.V., and other places that remind you to smoke.
13. Keep Busy. If you allow yourself to sit around, the bells will start ringing. You can prevent this from happening by staying busy throughout the week. Do anything to keep busy. If you need to, read a good book or take a brisk walk.
14. Emergency procedures. Despite using all these steps, there will be times when the bell will ring. It won’t happen often, but it will happen. Here are some emergency procedures to help you get through the tough times.
a. Deep breathing: Deep breathing does two things for you. First, it will stop the bell quickly because it causes five times more oxygen than normal to enter the brain. The brain will decide that it likes the oxygen more than Stop Smoking Program
nicotine and thus turns off the cigarette bell. Second, the breathing exercise also helps you clean out your lungs. As more oxygen is introduced into your blood, bad gases are forced out faster than normal. It does take quite a while to clean out our lungs, but deep breathing gets it off to a faster start. This may cause coughing, but that is the body’s natural way of cleaning out the pollution. When you first started smoking you coughed a lot. But, finally your body gave up. Now, as soon as you stop smoking, your body will start cleaning again. The result will be some coughing. There is one caution about deep breathing. You may feel a bit lightheaded, so perhaps you should avoid it while driving a car. Directions for deep breathing: Empty your lungs of all air. Start by exhaling all the air that you can. When you think it is all out, say the work “help” to get the very last bit out. Then slowly fill your lungs. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then let it out. Repeat this at least three times.
b. Grapefruit juice. Keep grapefruit juice handy wherever you go and always keep a pitcher in the refrigerator. All you need is a small drink to end the desire for a cigarette.
c. Mouthwash. Rinse your mouth with mouthwash if you feel the desire to light up. Get a small plastic bottle and carry the mouthwash with you wherever you go.
d. Pray. When you need extra help, don’t forget to pray.
15. Give thanks. When you reach the end of the day, make sure to say a prayer and thank God for his help.
Conclusion – These fifteen steps are a foolproof system, but the system may not work if you skip any of the steps or you fail to follow the plan for a complete week.