One of the helpful things to know about smoking and quitting, is that quitting does not happen overnight.

When researchers called Prochaska and Di Clemente talked to smokers, they discovered that smokers' thoughts about their smoking and quitting could be described as a number of stages.
 
Over the years, people helping others to change different behaviours to have a more healthy life, have found them useful.
 
Pre-contemplation
This is when you are happy as a smoker, and never think about quitting.

Contemplation
You start thinking about quitting, but are not ready to do anything about it yet. Maybe the TV ads start to make you worry a bit about what is happening to your body as a smoker. Perhaps your kids say they wish you wouldn't smoke. You find that there are less and less places that you can smoke.
 
You start thinking that maybe your life would be better if you didnt' smoke.

Preparation
You've now decided that you really want to quit. You start thinking about how you'll do it - and when. You might talk to your friends who've quit, and get tips from them. You ring the Quitline 13 7848 and ask for information and suggestions. You find out about any quitting aids - like Nicotine Replacement Therapy or Zyban, or other alternative therapies. You might even make a quit date - your first day with no cigarettes.

Action
This is where you are when you've finally taken the plunge and quit. This is when you're most confident that you can do it, and you'll probably get a real sense of achievement every day you go without cigarettes.
 
If you've been planning your quitting, you'll have some idea what might happen - what withdrawal might be like and how you'll feel emotionally. You might even have thought what to do when you to take your mind off it when feel the urge to smoke.
 
If you've just woken up one morning and decided that's it - you might be surprised at how you feel. If this is you, throw all your cigarettes away now - and get rid of the ashtrays! Tell your friends who've already quit what you've decided, so they can support you.
 
This stage can last for about 3 to 6 months. And in that time you can go through times when you feel you're really on top of things, and others when it's hard to stay on track.

Maintenance
You've been quit for quite a while now, and mostly life seems pretty good. You hardly ever think about smoking, and get the urge to smoke only rarely. Most of the time, it's easy not to smoke.
 
But every now and then, something out of the blue will make you really want to have a cigarette. These are often really stressful times like relationship or work problems, or even really happy times like parties.
 
And if you're not careful, you can think that just having one won't matter - you'll easily get back on track. But many quitters have told us that for them, one led to another, and before they knew it, they were back to their old smoking days.
 
Don't despair - if you need extra help and support, call the Quitline 13 7848

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