Even if you still smoke, decreasing the number of cigarettes will benefit your health. For each cigarette you cut back, you do not inhale the tar, nicotine and other carcinogens it contains. According to the British Medical Journal, every cigarette that you forgo adds 11 minutes to your life.
Step 1
Exercise to reduce nicotine cravings. A 2009 study at the University of Exeter "reveals for the first time, that changes in brain activity, triggered by physical exercise, may help reduce cigarette cravings." When you feel a craving for a cigarette, take a walk for five to 10 minutes.
Step 2
Check with your doctor about medications that might help you to reduce your smoking. One of the newer prescriptions to help you reduce your nicotine cravings is called Chantix. It targets dopamine neurotransmitters in your brain, which reduces the pleasure you get, when smoking. You can still smoke and take Chantix.
Step 3
Have some nicotine gum handy when you feel like taking a smoke break. This can be a potent tool in your quest for cutting back. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, If you are a light smoker choose the 2mg gum, and if you are a heavy smoker--more than 25 cigarettes a day--opt for the 4mg gum. You can chew a piece every one to two hours, and you can use the product safely for up to three months.
Step 4
Create a smoking journal, and every time that you have an overwhelming desire to smoke, note what activity you were engaging in and the severity of the nicotine cravings. Write down if you smoked, used a nicotine replacement product or other tool to help you not smoke at that time.
Step 5
Check out smoking-cessation programs to learn additional information about decreasing your smoking. There are a number of free resources, such as the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association.
