Don’t let a stumble destroy all your hard work. The best advice for staying stopped is not to smoke at all after quitting; however things don’t always go exactly how we plan. If you do have a cigarette, see it as a slip, it doesn’t have to mean that you’re a smoker again. Don’t feel a failure, if you do, you may start smoking again.

What you can do!

• Get back on the non-smoking track straight away. If you’re determined to stop smoking, you CAN and WILL succeed.

• Remind yourself of the reasons why you want to quit. Put them in a place where you can see them in moments where you may be tempted to smoke

• If you have any cigarettes left, throw them away-you don’t need them!

• Ask yourself what caused the slip up. Could you have done anything differently to prevent the slip up? How could you handle the situation or event differently in the future? Are you using your stop smoking products as recommended?

• Get some support and words of encouragement from Yorkshire Smokefree 0800 612 0011 (free from landlines), 0330 660 1166 (free from mobiles).

• Congratulate yourself for what you have achieved so far! Plan a treat for getting through the next 7 days not smoking.

If you feel that you can’t salvage your quit attempt despite following the advice above, don’t be too hard on yourself. For most people it takes more than one quit attempt to go on and quit for good.

• Think of all the positives, how long you managed to quit for, the benefits you felt as a non-smoker. Identify what went well during quitting, and what you would do differently next time.
  
  
• If your home was completely smoke free whilst you were quitting, keep it that way. Smoke outside and ask any other smokers who live with you or visit your home to do the same. This will help when you quit again as well as protecting others from the harms of second hand smoke.
  
  
• If you feel embarrassed that you’re back smoking, don’t be. See it as a stepping stone to your end goal of being a non-smoker.

If you used our service before, please contact us again when you feel ready to quit. If you haven’t used Yorkshire Smokefree before, why not give us a try? Call us on 0800 612 0011 (free from landlines), 0330 660 1166 (free from mobiles).