Do you smoke out of habit? For example, you might associate your morning kopi with smoking, and it just doesn’t feel right if you skip the cigarette.

One way we can break our smoking habit is to replace it with something else. Let’s find out more!

How Do Habits Work?

A habit is a behaviour we do on autopilot and can be broken down into three parts.

  • Cue — the trigger that starts the habit.

  • Routine — the habit.

  • Reward — what we gain from the habit.

Here’s an example of a smoking habit:

  • Cue: You feel stressed out at work.

  • Routine: You go for a smoke break with your colleagues.

  • Reward: You chit-chat with your colleagues, have a good laugh, and feel less stressed.

To Stop Smoking, Change Your Habits

We can change our habits by breaking the cue-routine-reward cycle.

In the example above, the reward isn’t just the act of smoking, but also how you've spent time chit-chatting with your co-workers and sharing your thoughts and inside jokes.

Good news: you can still get this feel-good social reward without lighting up. Switch your smoke break for a tea break and a chat in the pantry, and socialise without smoking!

How to Shake Up Your Habits to Quit Smoking

Let’s look at other examples of how we can shake up our habits to increase our chances of successfully quitting smoking.

Bust Your Boredom

  • Cue: You feel bored waiting for the bus.

  • Routine: You walk away from the bus stop to light up.

  • Reward: You have something to do to take your mind off the boredom.

Smoking cigarettes doesn’t actually make you less bored — walking and doing something to keep yourself busy seems to be doing the trick instead.

So, switch to another routine that will keep you busy while you wait for the bus. You can play a smartphone game to kill time or carry a book, so you have something to keep your mind occupied.

Remake Mealtime

  • Cue: You finish your lunch.

  • Routine: You head out for a smoke.

  • Reward: Smoking.

Do you smoke after lunch, rain or shine? In this case, the reward might be the familiar act of smoking — you just don’t feel right if you don’t smoke after lunch.

An easy way to break this habit is to replace smoking with something enjoyable. Perhaps switch your post-lunch cigarette to drinking a cold unsweetened beverage or eat a slice of your favourite fruit.

Another way to break the habit is to change your routine. Try brushing your teeth immediately after lunch — you’ll feel all minty fresh, which might put you off smoking altogether.

Try coming up with your own habit-breaking strategies! Write down your habits, identify the cue, routine, and reward, then think of ways to either avoid the cue or replace the routine or reward.

Join the I Quit Programme and remain smoke-free for 28 days and you are 5 times more likely to quit smoking. You can nominate your loved ones as a supporter when you sign up for the programme. Validate your smoke-free status and redeem a HPB eVoucher* worth $50 at the 28th day milestone. Keep going and you'll also receive eVouchers* worth $30 and $20 at the 3rd month and 6th month milestone respectively!

*Terms and conditions apply.

Resources for Quitting

Sign up for I Quit Programme now! Call QuitLine at 1800 438 2000^ for support, and visit participating retail pharmacies for advice and products that can help you quit.

^Kindly note that airtime charges apply for mobile calls to 1800 service lines and calls are free of charge only if made from regular land lines.

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