How to Quit Smoking for Teens

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that about 17.2 percent of high school students were smokers in 2009. If you are a teen smoker, you may have started because you wanted to fit in with peers and look cool. You may now feel like you are stuck with this habit for life. Quitting smoking is extremely difficult because of the addictive properties of nicotine, but there are some methods you can use to quit smoking and improve your health and decrease your risk of cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious diseases.

Instructions

• 1

  Tell your family and friends about your decision to quit. You need a supportive environment around you, so make them aware of your resolve to become smoke-free. You may have friends who were former smokers who can give you tips.

• 2

  Throw away all your lighters, cigarettes and ashtrays. Make sure you have nothing around to remind you of smoking. You need these items to be out of sight, so that you don't get the urge to smoke.

• 3

  Spend time with friends who do not smoke. This can be difficult if you care about your smoker friends, but you don't need the temptation of being around smokers. At the very least, ask smokers not to smoke around you.

• 4

  Exercise. Keeping active can take your mind off smoking. The Mayo Clinic states that exercising is a great form of stress relief, and quitting smoking is stressful. You need to alleviate stress, so try going on walks each day for around 20 to 30 minutes. Ask friends to join you.

• 5

  Write down your reasons for quitting. Point out the positives. For example, you can write down how much more money you will have to spend on clothes, music and other things you like now that you are no longer smoking. Also note the health advantages, such as less risk of cancer, emphysema and heart disease. You should even note that you will have fresher breath and whiter teeth, along with less wrinkling as you age.

• 6

  Buy substitutes for the cigarettes. You may have become used to having something in your mouth. To give you the same oral gratification, buy things like hard candy or sugarless gum to keep your mouth busy doing something rather than smoking.