You may not realize it, but smoking affects your social life as well as your physical well being. How often have you avoided going places because they were non-smoking, or ducked out of a party at the height of the action to satisfy your nicotine cravings?

When you quit smoking, you can also increase your confidence, meet new people, and join new activities. An improved social life is just one more reason to quit smoking!

Gain confidence.

Smokers become addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes and tobacco. Cigarettes, cigars, and pipes all emit smoke that holds thousands of other chemicals, in addition to the nicotine. When a persons body becomes addicted to nicotine, the chemical temporarily creates pleasant physical and mental effects, which keeps the smoker coming back time and again.

When you successfully quit smoking, you overcome this physical and mental addiction. Overcoming such a powerful addiction is no easy task. Once youve accomplished it, youll have more confidence to face other difficult tasks in your life, armed with the knowledge that you have succeeded at one of the most challenging hurdles many people encounter. If you can quit smoking, what is there that you cant accomplish?

Meet others trying to quit.

Hopefully your family and friends will be supportive of your efforts to quit smoking. However, non one can truly empathize with you except someone that is going through the same trials and tribulations. Join an online or local community that offers support to people who are quitting smoking.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers phone counseling at 1-800-QUIT-NOW. WhyQuit offers discussion groups for both first-time quitters and ones that have tried before. WhyQuit focuses on abrupt nicotine cessation (as opposed to smoking cessation with a gradual decrease in nicotine intake).

Many forums are geared toward quitting with the aid of a specific medication. However, forums that are more general include:

American Lung Associations Freedom from Smoking offers modules to walk a quitter through the process and associated message boards.

The Quit Smoking Companys message boards are visually sparse, but offer visitors many opportunities for discussion with others trying to quit.

Quit Smoking Support has been helping smokers quit for over nine years through peer-to-peer support and encouragement.

To meet people in your local area and have a face-to-face discussion on quitting smoking, visit Nicotine Anonymous, Smart Recovery, or check with your insurance and health providers. Get more support for your efforts, and make new friends!

Learn new activities.

Many experts recommend taking up new activities to fill up your time and keep you from thinking about smoking. As your health improves, you can join a local gym, recreational sports league, or take fitness classes.

To keep their hands busy and away from cigarettes, some people take up hobbies like knitting, crocheting, or doing puzzles. What will you do with your new energy and time? The possibilities are endless!

Get out of the house.

When first quitting, smokers are often urged to spend a lot of time in public places where smoking is prohibited, such as libraries, malls, theatres, or museums. Revel in the fact that you can stay inside as long as you likeno need to run outside and satisfy a nicotine craving!

Make a point to meet friends and families for dinner at non-smoking restaurants that you may have avoided in the past. As the amount of time since your last cigarette increases, your sense of taste will improve and you can enjoy the food more.

Enjoy your financial freedom.

A big part of quitting smoking is giving yourself rewards when you reach an important goal, whether its going a day without smoking or six months. How can you reward yourself?

Tally up all of the money that you would be spending on cigarettes and think of ways to spend it. You can save up for a big trip or larger purchase, or spend it on weekly social activities like dining out, going to the theatre, or taking hobby or fitness classes. Use your extra money to improve your social life and reward yourself for resisting the temptation to buy another pack of cigarettes.

When someone quits smoking, their physical, mental, and emotional well-being all improve dramatically. Quitting smoking can take your social life to new heights since youll have time and money for new hobbies, and will be able to venture out in public without fear of finding someplace to smoke your next cigarette. Once youve quit smoking, your social life will be on fire!