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What Triggers You To Smoke?
Many people smoke because something triggers them to light up. Here are examples of the most common triggers:

Emotional Triggers

  • Irritability
  • Anxiousness
  • Anger
  • Boredom
  • Depression
  • Guilt

Situational Triggers

  • Being with certain people
  • While driving
  • After a meal
  • With a cocktail
  • During a break
  • After completing a task
  • First thing in the morning
  • Last thing at night
  • While waiting

In order to figure out why you smoke, examine your triggers closely. After you learn to recognize your particular triggers, try to think of ways to respond to them other than by smoking.

For example, it is not likely that you will never feel angry again. But what if the next time you started to reach for a cigarette when you were angry you caught yourself? What if you went out for a short walk or started doing some exercise or relaxation breathing instead?

You can see how big of a role triggers play in causing you to want to smoke. By identifying your triggers, you can begin to take charge of why you smoke.