Why Quit Smoking Or Chewing?

Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It…

This first step is all about deciding whether to accept the mission to stop smoking or chewing tobacco. If you’re viewing this site, you’ve probably already thought about some reasons why you want to quit tobacco. Maybe you want to…

Set a good example for your kids or your younger brother or sister.
Stop blowing your hard-earned money on cigarettes or snuff.
Stop smelling and tasting like an ashtray.
Ditch the yellow teeth and brown fingers look that isn’t so popular on the dating scene.
Stop wheezing, coughing, losing your breath, and feeling cranky when you don’t get your nicotine fix.
Quit worrying about whether you will develop lung cancer, heart disease, or other harmful effects of smoking or chewing.
Make yourself, your family, and your friends proud that you beat your nicotine addiction.

Make a list of all of your reasons for wanting to quit. The Need2Know section of this site has lots of good ideas. If you’re still having trouble brainstorming, find more ideas for wanting to quit smoking or chewing in the Quit Blogs others have posted on our site.

If you're 21 years old and have been smoking for about 5 years, quitting smoking right now can reduce your chance of getting lung cancer. In fact, your risk for lung cancer won't be much greater than the risk for a person who has never smoked. You can calculate your risk using this health risk assessor.

When thinking about your reasons, remember: The benefits you list have to be greater, more important, than the downsides of quitting smoking or chewing. And your pros and cons might change as you go through the quitting process.

Practice Makes Progress

One other thing you should think about: setbacks.

The fact is, few people quit for life after just one try. So while you’re making your list of reasons to stop smoking or chewing tobacco, also list situations that might tempt you to start again. What if one of your friends offers you a cigarette or snuff? What if you go to a party where everyone is smoking, and the craving for tobacco kicks in? Write down some ways that you can deal with these types of situations, including ways to say no to cigarettes or snuff. On this site, we’ll give you some tips and ideas.

The more effort you put into quitting smoking or chewing, and the more methods you use to help yourself, the better your chances for success. We’ll be honest with you and give you the information you need!

Giving up tobacco is a process, and a tough one. But with a clear plan and some practice, you can quit and stay quit.