If you recently quit smoking, you've joined the growing ranks of ex-smokers. Congratulations! However, if your "quit date" was within the last year, be careful not to start smoking again. Most people - between 60 percent and 90 percent - relapse within the first three months of quitting. Relapse rates drop sharply after two years, but never to zero. Fortunately, you can develop your own strategy to remain tobacco free for life. You'll need to use your own coping skills - with extra caution at times.

Keep your coping skills fresh

Think about the coping skills that have worked for you so far. If you relapsed, don't forget why. It's common to relapse during the first few attempts at quitting. Remember all of the coping methods you've tried. Work these into your life as a non-smoker.

Behavioral coping skills: (Things you do to avoid smoking)

• Avoid places where people smoke.
• Practice stress management (e.g. meditation, exercise, deep breathing).
• Develop interests and hobbies that keep your hands busy and your mind off of smoking.

Mental coping skills: (Things you tell yourself to help you stay tobacco-free)

• Remember why you quit. Change these reasons to "reasons to stay tobacco-free."
• Remind yourself how much your health has improved since quitting.
• Repeat the "not even one" rule - tell yourself that you are not allowed to have even one cigarette.

Plan ahead

Beware of situations that may take you by surprise. People smoke at weddings, parties and while on vacation. Plan ahead and develop a strategy for dealing with these temptations. A behavioral strategy may be to talk to smokers you know and ask them not to light up around you at the wedding. A mental strategy may be to write your "reasons to stay tobacco free" on a note card and take it with you to the wedding.

Additional tips:

• Be aware of your moods, especially during times of stress. Difficult circumstances can tempt you to smoke again. Find ways to deal with your emotions without smoking. Use exercise, humor or other healthful distractions. Develop these habits during the good times, and use them three-fold during the bad periods.

• New mothers. If you just had a baby, you may have quit smoking when you became pregnant. Now that your baby is here, you may have cravings to smoke again. Keep seeking support. Join a new mother's support group in your area. Find supportive friends and family members who will remind you that your baby's health (as well as your own) is still at stake. Remember that secondhand smoke is harmful, putting your baby at risk for asthma and severe ear infections.

• Recent heart attack or stroke. While hospitalized, you weren't allowed to smoke. You may have had smoking cessation counseling and used a nicotine patch. Don't lose the motivation to stay smoke free after you're discharged. Keep seeking the support you need.

• Drinking alcohol. Alcohol increases the urge to smoke, especially if you are someone who used to hold a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. If so, it's best not to drink, or to at least cut down.

• Weight gain. Some people are concerned about gaining weight after quitting. The average weight gain is five to 10 pounds, which you can avoid or lose by eating a balanced diet and exercising.

External Sources Smoking-Cessation.org Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services TrytoStop.org

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.