If you have asthma and you smoke, you’re putting your health doubly at risk. In addition to spiking your risk for lung cancer and heart disease, smoking can trigger asthma, worsen symptoms, and make it harder to recover from asthma episodes. Quitting smoking isn’t easy, especially if your friends smoke. And it may take some practice before you finally quit for good. In other words, you may quit for a while, then start again, quit, start, quit, start, quit. That’s OK, just as long as the end result is finally quitting.

Here are some ideas that may help:

• Set a specific quit date and stick to it. If possible, have a friend quit smoking with you.
• Think about all the reasons why you made the decision to quit, and write them down on a small piece of paper. Carry the list in your wallet or back pocket and read it whenever you feel tempted to light up.
• Announce to your friends that you’re quitting — it’s a lot harder to cheat if you know others are watching. Unfortunately, your friends may not be crazy about your decision, especially if they smoke. If they give you a hard time, create a cover story: Tell them you’re quitting on a bet. Or that your parents have offered to pay you if you quit for good. If certain friends continue to tease you, it might be best to avoid them for a while. Kicking the habit is hard enough without the added burden of peer pressure.
• When you feel the urge to smoke, drink a glass of water or chew gum instead. This won’t eliminate your urge for nicotine, but it can help distract you until the craving passes. Getting some exercise is also a great way to take your mind off cigarettes.
• Recognize your smoking habits. Then break them. For example, if you usually smoke in the parking lot after school, leave school through a different door to avoid the temptation. Avoid the smoking crowd at parties — especially if you’ve quit very recently. By altering your routine, you can stay away from the social situations that make you want to reach for a cigarette.
• Ask your doctor for help. He or she may prescribe medication or products like nicotine gum to help soothe your cravings.
• Reward your successes. After a few weeks, figure out how much money you saved instead of spending it on cigarettes.

Smoking isn’t exactly cheap. Do the math, then go out and spend that money on something you really want rather than throwing it away on a lifetime of sickness.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 6th, 2007 at 5:36 am and is filed under Teens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.