So for around 5 years, I was a smoker. I smoked between 15–20 per day. I’m far from proud, but it’s happened, and now I’m over it. I’ve been a non-smoker for a little over a year, and you can too. 5 years may not sound a lot, but I can absolutely promise you, that no matter how long you’ve been smoking, it’s all the same. You can have 1 cigarette, or 1 million, it’s the same.

First of all, I should preface this, by saying that I read “Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking” to help me quit, and I really recommend you do too — but I also know that smokers can be stubborn and reading a whole book can be a little daunting, especially if you’re still on the fence about quitting.

What I’m going to do here, is simply outline some of the things I learnt from it, and a few little tips of my own, and hopefully it’ll help you.

There’s never a convenient time to stop.

At the time I quit smoking, I was working in a bar, the only breaks we’d really get were a couple minute smoke breaks. I was sure I couldn’t quit, because it’s what made my day go quicker. But actually, the best thing you can do is quit when it’s most “inconvenient” to you. I actually found that not smoking at work made the day go so much quicker, because I wasn’t just counting down the minutes until my next cigarette. I knew I wasn’t going for one, so I just knuckled down, and got through the day. Just stop now, there’s never been or ever will be a better time.

Don’t fight your vices.

I knew that when I drank coffee or alcohol, I’d want a cigarette. A lot of people have these associations, and always worry that they’ll never be able to have a coffee or something stronger without craving a cigarette. Personally, the day I quit, I woke up, had a coffee instantly, went to work, then later that evening, went out and had some drinks with friends. I tried to throw myself into every situation that’d usually make me crave a cigarette, and it worked. What you need to realise, is that if you don’t have a cigarette when you crave one, literally nothing will happen. Nothing. When you really feel like eating some cake, but there’s no cake around you, and no way to get it, you just forget about it, and nothing bad happens. It’s the same here.

Do something.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by cravings, just do something. Anything. You’d never imagine just how much time you waste smoking, and how much you can achieve when you’re not sitting around waiting for the next smoke. Take whatever you usually do, and do it more. Take up a new hobby that you always thought you didn’t have time for. I mean, you can certainly afford an extra hobby if you quit, smoking is expensive.

Taste it.

If you’re still smoking, really just sit and taste it. I really was obsessed with the notion that I was smoking because I loved it. I didn’t. I thought I did. Just really sit back, swirl it around your mouth, and really try and taste it. Not great right?

Nothing bad will happen.

Literally nothing. If you don’t have a cigarette ever again, nothing will happen at all. Life will still go on, days will pass. The difference is, you may get a little longer to enjoy your life. If you’re worried about cravings, just remember, a craving is just a feeling. A feeling that will pass, and it’ll pass quicker than you’d think. If you feel the need to smoke, just sit in that feeling, don’t ignore it, really think about it. Think about why you want it, why it could possibly make you happier, why you think it’d benefit you in any way.

Don’t count the days.

I see a ton of people online, tracking the days that they’ve not been smoking. Personally, I’d recommend not doing this. Yes, it can be there as a reminder that you’re making progress, but it can also have the opposite effect, and simply remind you of smoking itself. I think it’s much more useful to try and completely not think about it on a day to day basis. I’m over a year in, I have no idea what the date was, or how long exactly I’ve been a non-smoker for, and day to day, it doesn't even enter my mind that it even exists..Why would it if you don’t smoke?

This may or may not be helpful, but I just wanted to throw it out there, and if I can help 1 person quit, then I’ve done my job.

Remember, you don’t like smoking, you just think you do.