Quit Day is what we call the day you stop smoking. For some, it can be a day of great importance, marked on the calendar and accompanied by solemn rituals. For others, Quit Day may be a circumstantial date, perhaps without planning, but rather as a consequence of being diagnosed with an illness, bad news, or a “spur-of-the-moment” decision. Both approaches are valid; what matters is making way for a new smoke-free life.

People who prepare in advance to stop smoking, and set a date on the calendar, can give Quit Day greater significance. In life we need rituals and special dates to break out of routine and to close some life stages and begin others. In the past, rites of passage into adulthood were celebrated; nowadays we celebrate New Year’s, birthdays, retirement, or funerals, to mention just a few. These acts help leave behind whatever one wants or needs to say goodbye to in each person’s life, and to think about what other things one wants to incorporate into the life of the future.

Quitting smoking is, without a doubt, a hugely important life change that, if you feel like it, you can ritualize with some kind of get-together, meal, celebration, or reward, as long as that activity doesn’t make you more likely to smoke.

For Quit Day, we recommend some strategies that will be useful to make this step a firm and solid one. These strategies will also be useful in the days or weeks after Quit Day, so you can reuse them at any point in the process:

Remove from your environment everything that reminds you of tobacco: ashtrays, lighters, full or empty packs, photos of you smoking, matches, rolling machines, promotional products… from your home, your car, or any other place. We also suggest washing your clothes, perhaps even using a new detergent with a different smell that helps you remember the change you’ve just begun. You can even take the opportunity to go to the dentist for a cleaning or oral check-up that gives you that feeling of cleanliness and serves as an anchor, a bodily reminder. A deep clean can act as a tobacco repellent for a few days, similar to how when you brush your teeth at night you avoid eating after that.
Set goals day by day. For example: The goal is not to smoke today; tomorrow we’ll see. The further out in time you place the goal (never smoke again), the further away the feeling of satisfaction and reward that comes with achieving it will be, and therefore motivation will be lower. In addition, short-term goals are much more realistic and easier to achieve. It’s important to accumulate successes. That is, if you manage not to smoke today, you will have a slight feeling of success, since you have met the purpose set in the morning. We encourage you to accumulate QuitNow milestones that unlock as the days without smoking go by, since they will fuel the experience of achievement which, in turn, will fuel motivation, consolidate your commitment to yourself to stay firm and abstinent, and reinforce your self-esteem. If you set yourself the goal of never smoking again in your life, and there is a relapse after 2 months, the feeling will be one of failure. On the other hand, if you’ve been able to experience several feelings of success and different daily achievements, that process can be evaluated positively, and therefore it will be easier to resume. If the process and relapse are defined merely as a failure, it will take more mental effort to pick it back up.
Create a résumé of positive feedback. In the previous point we talked about the importance of feelings of achievement. In emotional terms, situations experienced as achievements often generate feelings of joy, and the need associated with joy is being able to share it with other people. Satisfy this need, and share your achievements and milestones, both in the QuitNow community and outside it. Pay attention, and even write down in a notebook in résumé format (date and person), all the positive statements about you that you receive from the people in your environment or networks. It is important to gather personal validation during these first days, and there is usually a tendency to remember negative feedback more than positive feedback. We suggest that you write down, throughout the day, everything positive that people say about you, whether it is related to tobacco abstinence or has to do with any other aspect.
Establish new habits from the first day, a small routine that anchors abstinence to your life and your day-to-day and reminds you that your commitment to yourself is still valid: a brief shower outside your usual time slot, a different drink always at the same time, a different route to work, or carrying a meaningful object that works as an anchor (it is an association between an object and the purpose).
If you have built associations between smoking and other activities, times of day, drinks, or foods, we recommend introducing different activities at those times. For example, after meals, brush your teeth immediately and, if possible, go for a walk. Or, swap coffee or beer for another drink. Or, if you used to smoke at the bus stop, take the subway, etc.
Write a goodbye letter to tobacco, in which you address cigarettes directly, as if they were a person you are breaking up with. Describe the moments you lived through, the good and the bad, and the reasons why you’re quitting. Thank them for their companionship, if you think it’s appropriate. Let them know your reproaches, if you feel it’s fitting. Accept ambivalence; it’s a letter without censorship and without correction. You can talk about the relationship you have established with tobacco, as it may have become a central element of your life, present in important moments. It may also be good to refer to your own experiences related to tobacco, make explicit the need for change and for a break with cigarettes, and express the grief and expectations for the future. You may feel anger, sadness, ambivalence, joy, or fear—for example, fear of living through an ordeal or of not being able to do it (how am I going to be able to live without tobacco? What if I fail? What could happen if I keep smoking?). It’s natural to feel different emotions, and it would also be natural if you don’t feel anything in particular. Finally, the goal is to say goodbye to tobacco. You can reread this letter in difficult moments. Or burn it. Reading the letter in front of important people—family, friends, or group therapy peers, for example—often strengthens commitment.
Look for distractions for your mind: watch a movie, go for a walk, listen to music, draw, go to places where smoking is prohibited, etc.
Look for distractions for your body: breathing exercises, sports, a cold shower, etc. For your mouth: breadsticks, cinnamon sticks, carrot sticks, gum, toothpicks, water, etc. For your fingers: pencils, paper clips, stress balls, etc.
Do activities that give you pleasure: try to live as hedonistically as possible. Your own body can be a source of pleasure: you can play with temperatures and textures, get massages, or give more space to sexuality, and introduce tasty foods, etc. We recommend avoiding alcohol and caffeine. This suggestion has to do with the fact that when you quit smoking you may have the feeling that you’re losing something in the sphere of pleasure, although later we will explain that smoking is not pleasurable, but rather relieves withdrawal syndrome.

Many people have achieved it. You can too. Treat yourself to something. You can be proud and grateful to yourself.