A simple behavioral approach to stop smoking

Of course, no approach seems to work for everyone, but the following is the most effective approach I have encountered … if followed as stated.

Smoke all you want.  There is no need to try to quit smoking.

When you do smoke, before you light up, hold the cigarette in front of you…look at it as you are speaking…and say …out loud…”I am going to smoke this cigarette.”  Then smoke it.

Do not simply think…. “I am going to smoke this cigarette” …,and you must hold the cigarette in front of you and look at it.

The idea is that you are killing the reflexive action and forcing a conscious decision.   People who have been successful find themselves putting more cigarettes back in the pack and not smoking .  

John F Dean wrote:The idea is that you are killing the reflexive action and forcing a conscious decision.  

A friend of my mother's quit smoking after having a lung infection. Several years later, she returned to work as a teaching assistant (she'd been a full teacher before children, but the rules had changed). One day as the children headed out for recess after a couple of tough hours, she said to the teacher she was working with, "I'm ready for a coffee and a smoke." The teacher looked at her and said, "I didn't know you smoked."

So yes, there's is a *lot* of reflexive action in any addiction! I can believe that forcing a conscious decision is a key part of successful resistance!

When I was counseling folks, I learned that smokers seemed to enjoy 5 to 7 cigarettes a day. The rest simply found their way into the smoker’s mouth without providing enjoyment. The pattern was always the same for most of the cigarettes enjoyed: 1st thing in morning, after each meal, before bed.   I suspect 100% of the smokers held these in common.  The remaining were wild cards ,..like a smoke after a tough job. Those were the smokes enjoyed.  

All the other cigarettes were reflex.  Incidentally, I saw this approach work on a 4 pack a day person. When she got down to 5 cigarettes, she figured she might as well stop completely.