More dangerous, perhaps, are the unexpected strong desires to smoke that happen sometimes months, or even years after you've quit. To get through these without relapse, try the following:

• Review your reasons for quitting and think of all the benefits to your health, your finances, and your family. 

• Remind yourself that there is no such thing as just one cigarette -- or even one puff. 

• Ride out the desire to smoke. It will go away, but do not fool yourself into thinking you can have just one. 

• Avoid alcohol. Drinking lowers your chance of success. 

• If you are worried about gaining weight, put some energy into eating a healthy diet and staying active with exercise.

What if you do smoke? The difference between a slip and a relapse is within your control. A slip is a one-time mistake that is quickly corrected, whereas a relapse is going back to smoking. You can use the slip as an excuse to go back to smoking, or you can look at what went wrong and renew your commitment to staying away from smoking for good.

Even if you do relapse, try not to get too discouraged. Very few people are able to quit for good on the first try. In fact, it takes most people many attempts before quitting for good. What’s important is figuring out what helped you when you tried to quit and what worked against you. You can then use this information to make a stronger attempt at quitting the next time.

Some Special Concerns

Weight Gain

Many smokers do gain some weight when they quit. Even without special attempts at diet and exercise, however, the gain is usually less than 10 pounds. Women tend to gain slightly more weight than men. There is some evidence that smokers will gain weight after they quit even if they do not eat more.

For some, a concern about weight gain can lead to a decision not to quit. But the weight gain that follows quitting smoking is usually very small. It is much more dangerous to continue smoking than it is to gain a small amount of weight.

You are more likely to be quit smoking successfully if you deal with the smoking first, and then later take steps to reduce your weight. While you are quitting, try to focus on ways to help you stay healthy, rather than on your weight. Stressing about your weight may make it harder to quit. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and limit the fat. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and get enough sleep and regular physical activity.

Walking is a great way to be physically active and increase your chances of staying quit. Walking can help you by:

• reducing stress 

• burning calories and toning muscles 

• giving you something to do instead of thinking about smoking

No special equipment or clothing is needed for walking, other than a pair of comfortable shoes. And you can do it pretty much anytime or anywhere. Try the following:

• walk around a shopping mall 

• get off the bus one stop before you usually do 

• find a buddy to walk with during lunch time at work 

• take the stairs instead of the elevator 

• walk with a friend, family member, or neighbor after dinner 

• push your baby in a stroller

Set a goal of 30 minutes of physical activity 5 or more times a week. If you don’t already exercise regularly, please check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.

Stress

Smokers often mention stress as one of the reasons for going back to smoking. Stress is a part of everyone's lives, smokers and non-smokers alike. The difference is that smokers have come to use nicotine to help cope with stress and unpleasant emotions. When quitting, you have to learn new ways of handling stress. Nicotine replacement can help to some extent, but for long-term success other strategies are needed.

As mentioned above, physical activity is a good stress-reducer. It can also help with the short-term sense of depression that some smokers have when they quit. There are also stress-management classes and self-help books. Check your community newspaper, library, or bookstore.

Spiritual practices such as prayer and meditation have been used with much success to deal with other addictions and are a key part of 12-step recovery programs. These same principles can be applied to quitting smoking and can help with stress reduction.

Taking Care of Yourself

It is important for your health care provider to know of any present or past tobacco use so he or she can be sure that you will get the preventive health care you need. It is well known that tobacco use puts you at risk for certain health-related illnesses, so part of your health care should focus on related screening and preventive measures to help you stay as healthy as possible. For example, you will want to be certain that you regularly check the inside of your mouth for any changes and have an oral exam by your doctor or dentist if you have any changes or problems. The American Cancer Society recommends that periodic check-ups should include oral cavity (mouth) exams. By doing this tobacco users may be able to prevent, or detect early, oral changes, leukoplakia (white patches on the mouth membranes), and oral cancer.

You should also be aware of any change in cough, a new cough, coughing up blood, hoarseness, trouble breathing, wheezing, headaches, chest pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, general tiredness, and repeated respiratory infections. Any of these could be signs of lung cancer or a number of other lung conditions and should be reported to your doctor. While these can be signs of a problem, many lung cancers do not cause any noticeable symptoms until they are advanced and have spread to other parts of the body.

Remember that tobacco users have an increased risk for other cancers as well, depending on the way they use tobacco. You can become familiar with the types of cancer you may be at risk for by reading the American Cancer Society document that discusses the way you use tobacco (see "Additional Resources"). Other risk factors for these cancers may be more important than your use of tobacco, but you should be aware of the additional risks that might apply to your situation.

If you have any health concerns that may be related to your tobacco use, please see your health care provider as soon as possible. Taking care of yourself and getting treatment for small problems will give you the best chance for successful treatment. The best way, though, to take care of yourself and decrease your risk for life-threatening lung problems is to quit using tobacco.

1. Make the decision to quit.
2. Set a quit date, and choose a quit plan.
3. Manage withdrawal.
4. Stay quit (maintain success).

Would you like more information on the latest nicotine-replacement products and cessation strategies? To learn how quickly your body benefits when you stop? Get this information and more in our complete Guide to Quitting Smoking.

Even more resources and help are listed on our Kick the Habit page.