I read a very interesting thing on the American Cancer Society website about quitting smoking and how you measure success.
Many people look at the success rates of a particular quitting smoking program before they decide whether or not to try it. But the ACS points out a few problems with that. For one thing: not all programs define success in the same way. Some may measure a “success” as a person not smoking for six months, while another may call reaching the one year mark a “success”.
So before you even start, you need to figure out how YOU are going to measure success. Is quitting smoking an all-or-nothing proposition for you? Would you accept a three month stop as a success? Six months? A year? Would you consider cutting back on smoking — but not stopping entirely — a kind of success?
Setting your goals (or your measuring stick for success) before you start can help you pick a program for quitting smoking.
The other important thing to keep in mind about measuring success is that only one person’s success matters: yours. Your success or failure is entirely under your control. If you are truly determined to quit smoking for a certain period of time or reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke, then you will find a way to succeed.
A large part of this depends on your motivation. Why are you quitting smoking? It may help to have a specific list of motivators to help you keep going. “I want to be healthy” is good, but “I want to reduce my lung cancer risk” is better because it’s more specific. “I want to feel better” is good, but “I want to have enough energy to dance at my daughter’s wedding” is MUCH better. It’s a specific event that you are really looking forward to, and will serve as a much better motivator than a nebulous “more energy” or “good health”.
Want to increase your chances of success? Try combining therapies. Studies have shown that using medications and taking advantage of support groups and trying therapy can each individually improve your chances of successfully quitting smoking. Trying more than one can improve your chances of success even more.
But it all comes back to you. You have to be willing to make the change. You have to be willing to try the different treatment options. You have to be ready to quit, and ready to succeed.