Table 1 Examples of weekly motivational email messages

Creating a smoke-free environment is important during your quit attempt. Make a decision not to smoke in your home and vehicle and ask others to do the same. If your entire home cannot go smoke-free, explore areas where you can restrict smoking. At work, avoid smoking areas during your breaks. Making your physical environment smoke-free can help reinforce your decision to quit smoking.

Support systems are important during any big change. Identify all of the positive supports in your life and tell them you are quitting smoking and need their support. Also identify any negative influences who may not want you to quit and figure out how you are going to deal with them during this time. Take advantage of other supports available to you, such as Smoker's Helpline, websites, your doctors or other healthcare providers. Surrounding yourself with positive and supportive people can help you quit and stay quit.

Slips and lapses are a part of the quitting process and can be common. Use any slip or lapse as a learning experience. Identify what happened, how you could have prevented the situation, and what you can do if you’re in the situation again. Use these experiences to re-assess your quit plan and then try quitting again. It is important that you realize your quit attempt is not over; refocus and restart immediately after your lapse. Remember, quitting smoking is a process not an event and may take several attempts before you get it right.

One of the benefits of quitting smoking is the amount of money you save. The price of a pack of cigarettes is about C$8; so, that means if you smoked about 15 cigarettes every day you would save about C$570 in 3 months (enough to purchase a new 32-inch flat-screen TV) or save C$2180 in 1 year (enough for a long vacation abroad). Therefore, take advantage of quitting smoking and reward yourself.

Your smoking may be associated with certain people, places, or things. These can act as triggers for you to want to smoke. Identify your personal triggers and think about how you will deal with them. For example, change your day-to-day routine or find alternative activities to smoking. Problem-solving ahead of time can help you deal with these situations when they arise and help you quit and stay quit.

There are many good reasons why people want to quit smoking. Sometimes it’s easy to forget why you wanted to quit in the first place. Write down your personal reasons for quitting and use them as reminders when things seem tough. Your reasons may change over time so review your list regularly. Reminding yourself of all the reasons you want to quit can help you stay focused on achieving your goal.