Some Hints and Tips on how you can create a smoke-free home and car

• Set a date to make your home and car smoke-free
• Discuss your plans to go smoke-free with your family and friends and ask for their support
• Be positive and remind yourself why you have made the effort to keep your home smoke-free
• Put up a no smoking sign on your door and in your car as a reminder that they are smoke-free zones. Make some signs with your kids.
• Ask visitors/passengers to smoke outside.
• Make sure cigarettes are out of sight
• Remove ashtrays from the home (and car) – put them at the backdoor or outside for when you want a smoke.
• Leave an umbrella by the door for those rainy days.
• If you’re going on a longer car journey then plan where and when to stop on the journey to allow for smoking breaks. It will help you feel more positive knowing when the stop is.
• Make a list of other things you can do to distract yourself when you feel like having a smoke.
• Some NRT products such as gum, lozenges or inhalators can help to reduce cravings if you can’t get outside for a smoke and are finding it difficult to go without a cigarette.

Try some of these tips from the REFRESH parents

‘If I don’t have an ashtray then I don’t have somewhere to smoke so it’s quite good that I just threw it away.’

‘I’ve shut the back door.  When everybody else is home somebody else looks after the kids and I go right out the back by the greenhouse so it means most of the smoke is properly exhaled not just before we get to the back door, so just little changes like that.’

‘Trying to cut my fags down to like one an hour rather than like every time I have a cup of tea which is like 2 or 3 times an hour.  And basically cut my caffeine level as well.’

‘Change a little bit of what my normal routine would be. You know maybe after I’ve had my dinner maybe I could play a game with my kids or something, rather than going to have a fag.’

If you have any hints and tips on how people can create a smoke-free home and car let us know by sending your ideas to enquiries@ashscotland.org.uk We will add your ideas to the page and your suggestions will help families create a healthier environment for children and other family members (including the pets).