Spring Cleaning

[Dr_Hurt]

Depending on where you live, spring is either just around the corner, or has already arrived. After the darker and colder days of winter, spring is annually greeted with its brighter and warmer days, as an opportunity to “shake the dust off” and do some spring cleaning. In addition to sprucing up your home, it can also be a good time to take care of yourself as well.

The longer hours of daylight and warmer temperatures naturally lend themselves to opportunities for outdoor activities including walking, sports and recreations of many kinds such as gardening, raking the yard, and working on outdoor projects. For many people, this time of year is an easier time to incorporate many of the activities that can help to make the change from using tobacco to being tobacco free.

Just as you might select a particular day in the spring to air out the house and wash the winter grime off the windows, you can pick a day to air out your lungs and begin your tobacco-free life. With both home and “self” cleaning, it is important to be prepared. To clean the house you might stock up on cleaning supplies, and develop a plan that prioritizes what you want to get done and in what order. Develop a similar plan for re-learning your life without cigarettes that includes stocking up on supplies (such as nicotine or non-nicotine medications), developing a plan (who will support you during your transition to becoming tobacco-free, how will you manage stress, and what will you use to replace the habit part of tobacco use), and selecting a quit date. Talk to your healthcare provider. Click here to get started on identifying your smoking triggers as part of your EX quit plan.

Develop a plan and get organized. You can do it!

Dr. Richard D. Hurt is an internationally recognized expert on tobacco dependence. A native of Murray, Kentucky, he joined Mayo Clinic in 1976 and is now a Professor of Medicine at its College of Medicine. In 1988, he founded the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and since then its staff has treated over 33,000 patients for tobacco dependence. Send your questions directly to Dr. Hurt at AskTheExpert@becomeanex.org