The Quitting Process

Whether you have been smoking for 40 years or 4 months, whether you smoke 2 packs a day or 2 cigarettes a day … quitting will be worth it. 

Quitting smoking is a process that involves a number of steps or stages.  Figuring out what stage you are in will help to determine how ready you are to quit.  The good news? … if you are reading this now you are already at least in the second stage!

The first stage ‘Precontemplation’ is filled with people who either don’t know of the risks associated with smoking, or they are just not willing to hear it.  There are not considering quitting at all.

The second stage ‘Contemplation’ is made up of people (maybe like you) who are thinking of quitting, but haven’t quite made up their minds.  They know that there are reasons why they want to quit, but they also know there are reasons why they don’t want to quit.

When someone in the second stage decides that it is definitely time for them to quit, they move into the third stage, the ‘Preparation’ stage and set a quit date.  These people are making plans on how they will quit, and perhaps even starting to cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoke daily.

The next stage, ‘Action’ happens when a smoker’s quit day is here.  They have made a promise to themselves to not have another cigarette and they are working to keep that promise.

The last stage is the ‘Maintenance’ stage and happens when someone has been smoke free for about 6 months.  They are finding it easier to live life as a non-smoker and are reminding themselves of how far they have come.

One of the most important things to remember about all the different “Stages of Change” is that ‘Relapse’ can and most likely will occur as a smoker can slide from action or maintenance to a previous stage such as contemplation or precontemplation.  It is important to look at what you learned from a relapse so that the same situation can be avoided in the future.