Ten New Year's tips to end the smoking habit

Sometimes, they make the same resolution every year because people can't stick to it. If you're trying to give up smoking - make this resolution stick by using these easy tips.

1. Resolve to stop smoking: Make a promise to yourself, your family and your friends. If everyone knows, they will be able to encourage you not to give up.

2. Ring in a new routine: Eliminate smoking triggers by changing everyday habits - get up earlier, take a different route to work, hang out in new (smoke-free) places.

3. Remove yourself from the situation: Don't drop your friends but cut down on the time you spend with people who smoke or ask your friends not to smoke around you.

4. Out with the old: Get rid of all the reminders of smoking - like your ashtrays, lighters and any cigarettes you have hidden in your house and car.

5. In with the new: Make quitting part of an overall lifestyle change that includes eating healthier foods and becoming more physically active.

6. Help yourself: Find a nicotine replacement therapy that suits your needs and lifestyle to increase your chances of quitting successfully - smokers have been shown to be twice as likely to stop smoking using NRT than with willpower alone1-3

7. Mark each milestone: Set realistic goals for yourself (daily, weekly or monthly) and note your progress on a calendar.

8. Cleanse your body and belongings: Visit your dentist to get any tobacco stains removed from your teeth. Clean or replace curtains and other fabrics that smell of cigarette smoke.

9. Bank on success: Save up the money you would have spent on cigarettes and reward yourself with a weekend away or a night out.

10. Rally support: At your New Year's celebration, seek out others who have resolved to quit smoking and create a support group or join an existing one, like the Nicorette KickButt support programme.

References:
1. Garvey AJ et al. Effects of nicotine gum dose by level of nicotine dependence. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2000;2:53-63.
2. Sachs DPL et al. Effectiveness of a 16-hour transdermal nicotine patch in a medical practice setting, without intensive group counselling. Archives of Internal Medicine 1993; 153:1881-90.
3. U.S Department of Health and Human Services Clinical practice guideline. Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 Update. Public Health Service, May 2008.