How great will it be when you quit smoking? Can you visualize what it will be like?
Top athletes, entertainers, and businesspeople use visualization as a way of making their goals clear in their minds, which in turn strengthens their commitment to reach those goals. Similarly, many successful ex-smokers say that visualizing themselves as a non-smoker was one of the keys to reaching their goal.
For the next 5 or 10 minutes, close your eyes and visualize yourself in the future as a non-smoker.
- Imagine everything as if you are watching a movie…in vivid detail. Where are you? What are you doing? Who are you with? How do you feel?
- Visualize yourself without any cigarettes and without any desire for a cigarette…having fun with friends and family…solving a stressful problem…feeling stronger and healthier…feeling relaxed and confident.
When you’re finished with the visualization, write down what it feels like to be a non-smoker. Here are some ideas.
- I feel in total control;
- I am proud of myself;
- I have a lot of energy and feel strong;
- I can breathe deeply without coughing;
- I have extra money to save or spend.
Quit Smoking Resources
The following is a list of helplines and resources. New resources are continually available, and the contact information for some of these resources may change. For the most up-to-date information, do an internet search for “quit smoking programs.”
Provincial Smokers’ Helplines
- British Columbia (1.877.455.2233)
- Yukon (1.866.221.8393)
- Nunavut (1.866.877.3845)
- Northwest Territories (1.867.920.8826)
- Alberta (1.866.332-2322 and alberta.quitnet.com)
- Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia (1.877.513.5333)
- Prince Edward Island (1.888.818.6300)
- Quebec (1.866.527.7383)
Newfoundland, Labrador (1.800.363.5864)
Resources For Youths
- Quit4Life (www.quit4life.ca) is a Health Canada program for 12 to 18 year olds.
- Smoke-FX (www.smoke-fx.com) is Ontario-based and has many useful resources to aid in quitting smoking as well as an advocacy tool kit.
- Smoking Zine (www.smokingzine.org) is a University of Toronto smoking cessation program for teens.
Other Resources
- Inventory of Canadian Tobacco Cessation Programs and Resources (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/tobac-tabac/ictcpr-rrpcrt/index-eng.php). A listing of smoking cessation programs that are available nation-wide or province-wide.
- Health Canada (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca). Health Canada has numerous resources to help smokers quit. Search the “It’s your health” section of the Health Canada site or use the A-Z index to find out about the latest programs and information they offer.
- Canadian Cancer Society (www.cancer.ca or 1.888.939.3333)
- Canadian Lung Association (www.lung.ca)
- Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
- (www.heartandstroke.ca)
- National Clearinghouse on Tobacco and Health
- (www.ncth.ca/NCHweb.nsf)
- Non-smoker’s right association (www.nsra-adnf.ca)
- Physicians for a smoke-free Canada (www.smoke-free.ca)
- Conseil québécois sur le tabac et la santé (www.cqts.qc.ca)
