Common Smoking Triggers

"Trigger-Busters" to Try

Sight

• Someone else lighting up
• Cigarette pack
• Cigarette smoke in a room
• Magazine ad for cigarettes

• If cigarette ads are a cue to smoke, read magazines that don't allow tobacco ads, or reach for sugarless gum instead.
• If you associate the view from your porch with smoking and relaxing, sit somewhere else.

Sound

• Alarm clock going off
• Particular music or song
• Talking on the phone
• Hearing someone exhale
• Talking about smoking

• When the alarm goes off, take a few sips of water instead of reaching for a cigarette, then get up and brush your teeth.
• Listen to some new music that you don't associate with smoking.

Smell and Taste

• Cigarette smoke
• Chocolate
• Coffee
• Alcoholic beverages

• Switch from coffee to tea for a while.
• Go out of your way to smell new things that you don't associate with smoking - flowers, a new perfume or fresh air.
• Eat different or unusual foods that you don't normally associate with smoking.
• Stay away from alcohol for a few weeks.

Touch

• The feel of a cigarette is comforting.
• People smoke when their hands have nothing to do.

• Hold a pencil, straw or a smooth stone in your hand so there's no room for a cigarette.
• Put your hands to work! Try gardening, drawing, writing, or take a pottery class.

Emotional Triggers

• Excitement
• Stress
• Tiredness

• Accept the emotion and let it pass naturally.
• Try your other "trigger-busters" for hard-to-handle situations.