Eighty-five percent of smokers either have tried to quit or would like to quit, but 75 to 90 percent return to smoking after any single attempt. Many are reluctant to even try because they fear failing. However, each time you try increases the chances that you will succeed. The average person takes three or four tries to quit before achieving sustained abstinence. You should think of each relapse not as a failure but as an opportunity to learn. In this way, the circumstances leading to relapse can be avoided or changed in the future.

Deciding to “tough it out” does not work well over the long term. Part of your abstinence program will be to change your patterns and thoughts associated with smoking. Start by getting rid of the cigarettes and ashtrays in your house. Make it inconvenient to respond to your urge to smoke.

It often helps to analyze when you smoke and what cues you to smoke and then to identify behaviors that you can use to replace smoking. For example, if you have the urge to smoke during telephone conversations, find something other than smoking to replace that behavior. Something as simple as doodling on a notepad that you keep by the phone might help.

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