Smoking can raise your risk for heart attack or stroke, in addition to raising your blood pressure and cholesterol which can make it increasingly difficult to manage your diabetes.

If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you are a smoker, we know that you have a difficult road ahead of you–but we encourage you to make a plan to quit. Below, we’ve listed some tips that we think will help you in achieving your goal!

Step One: Make a pro-con list. Once you realize that the benefits outweigh the other reasons to continue smoking, we think you’ll gain some motivation! (Don’t forget to factor in how much money you’ll save if you quit!)

Step Two: Create a personalized plan to quit. My Diabetes Home was created with the mindset that everyone is different and has individual needs that must be met. By making your own personal quitting plan, we know that you’ll achieve your goal even faster! Some things that you might want to include in your plan are:

  • A quit date
  • A method that you think you’ll comply with
  • Throwing away your cigarettes, lighters, and ashtrays and remove temptation
  • Create a plan B if you run into a roadblock. How do you get back on track?

Step Three: Stay on track! Tell family and friends that you are planning to quit and that you would like their help in staying accountable. And remember to ask for help from someone you trust if you are struggling.

If you successfully have quit smoking, please share your tips! Help your fellow friends with diabetes begin a healthier lifestyle too!

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photo credit: ivoryelephantphotography via photopin cc

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