Health Matters

Smoking
Do you smoke?
Do you have a loved one who smokes?
Are you or your loved ones trying to quit smoking?
In this lesson, you’ll read 9 Tips for Quitting Smoking.

Pre-Reading
A. Discuss

Why is it so difficult for smokers to quit? Talk to your

classmates about people who have quit or tried to quit
smoking. What is the hardest part about quitting?

—— managing stress

—— being around other smokers

—— going to social events

—— gaining weight

—— managing cravings

B. Warm-Up Questions

1. Why do people start smoking?

2. What reasons do people have for quitting smoking?

3. Why do many smokers fail to quit even if they try many times?

4. What tips can you think of for quitting smoking?

5. What is secondhand smoke?

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Pre-Reading cont.
C. Vocabulary Preview

Match up as many words and meanings as you can.

Check this exercise again after seeing the words in context on page 3.

1. deadline a)  sensible, possible

2. realistic b)  to refuse to admit something

3. store c)  the last possible date or time to finish something

4. cut down d)  a rule

5. track e)  to keep a record of something

6. battle f)  to use or do less than before

7. deny g)  to keep in a certain place for later use

8. secondhand h)  to fight

9. craving i)  to not give in to a craving or desire to do or have something

10. policy j)  a strong desire to have something

11. resist the urge k)  from an indirect source

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Reading
Do you think these tips would help someone
become a nonsmoker? Can you come up with a tenth tip?

9 Tips for Quitting Smoking

1. Sign a contract. 6. Learn about secondhand smoke.

Set your own deadline. Choose a realistic date. Many smokers deny the seriousness of
Sign the contract and post it somewhere you will secondhand smoke. Take time to learn about the
see it daily. real dangers that smokers pose to their loved ones.

2. Make a list of reasons to quit. 7. Manage the cravings.

Write down the top five reasons you want to quit Learn about why your body has cravings for
and put the most important ones at the top. Are nicotine. Don’t worry too much about weight gain if
you quitting for yourself or your loved ones? you crave sugar. Most successful quitters only gain
3–5 pounds (about 1.4–2.3 kg). You can lose it later!
3. Put cigarettes out of sight.
8. Keep your hands busy.
Store your cigarettes in hard-to-reach places,
such as upstairs, downstairs, or in your vehicle. Pencils, puzzles, and squeeze toys can keep
your hands busy while you’re quitting. Teach
4. Track your savings. your fingers that they will no longer be holding
stinky cigarettes.
As you cut down, track how much money you are
saving. Make plans for how you will spend your
9. Have a smoke-free policy.
cigarette money when you are a nonsmoker.
Don’t blame your smoking on your social
5. F ind alternative stress relievers. circle. Have a smoke-free policy in your home

and your car. Enjoy coffee breaks or lunches
Many smokers say that the hardest part of
with nonsmokers until you are a nonsmoker.
quitting is battling stress. Instead of lighting up
Resist the urge to smoke at social get-togethers.
after a stressful day, try exercising, phoning a
friend, or watching a movie.

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Comprehension
Listen to your teacher read some “should” statements related to the
list on page 3. If the statement is true based on the text, write T beside
the sentence. If it is false, write F and correct the information. If it is not
mentioned, write NM.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Vocabulary Review
A. Odd One Out

Look at the group of words. Which word does not belong in the group?

1. a) track 2. a) fight 3. a) leave 4. a) likely 5. a) deadline

b) record b) battle b) store b) realistic b) term
c) deny c) war c) hold c) policy c) store
d) count d) crave d) stock d) practical d) end date

B. Butt Out

Get into two teams. Each team chooses one player Vocabulary Teacher Commands
to go to the board. The team captains each draw
• deadline • spell the word
a cigarette. The captains also draw six dots in the
• cut down • provide the part of speech
shape of an X that go through the cigarette they drew.
• track (in the context of the reading)
• deny • provide the number of syllables
The teacher will call out a word from the vocabulary
• store • pronounce it perfectly
box. The teacher will also call out a command from
• craving • give a synonym or antonym
the list to the right. The first person to raise a hand
• policy • give the definition
and give the correct answer goes up to the board
• resist
and draws one line on their team’s X. The first team
• urge
to connect six dots in the shape of an X wins!
• battle
• secondhand
• realistic

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Writing
Create your own list for curing a bad habit. You can use
smoking or any other bad habit, such as “Ten Tips to Stop
Sucking Your Thumb” or “Ten Tips to Quit Biting Your Fingernails.”

Ten Tips

1. 6.

2. 7.

3. 8.

4. 9.

5. 10.

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Listening Practice
Time to move! Designate each corner of the wall in your classroom
as one of the opinions below. (Tape a piece of paper to the corners.)

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

Then listen to your teacher read out the following statements.

Walk to the piece of paper that best describes your feeling
about each statement. Discuss each item when the movement stops.

1. Being addicted to cigarettes is worse than being addicted to alcohol.

2. Parents who smoke are poor role models for their children.

3. It should be illegal to smoke in your personal vehicle.

4. Quitting smoking “cold turkey” is the

best way to become a nonsmoker for life.

5. People who only smoke when they drink alcohol aren’t really “smokers.”

6. The government should place higher taxes on cigarettes.

Role-Play
DOCTOR’S ORDERS
In pairs, create a dialogue between a doctor and
a person who wants to quit smoking. The doctor
should use at least five “should” statements.
Perform your skit for your class!
Discussion
Some smokers argue that smoking is actually
good for you because it helps you maintain close
social ties with people. How do you feel about this
argument? Is there anything “healthy” about smoking?

Expressions
What does this expression mean?

I quit “cold turkey.”

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Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Int – High Int

In this lesson, students learn nine tips for quitting smoking. TIME: 1.5–2 hours
They discuss the reasons people have difficulty quitting
TAGS:  smoking, health, habits, tobacco
and write their own lists of tips for quitting another bad habit.

Pre-Reading Comprehension

A. DISCUSS Read these “should” statements out loud. Have students listen
and determine whether the statements are true (T), false (F), or
Discuss as a class. Answers will vary.
not mentioned (NM) in the reading. If the statement is false, have
students write the correct statement on the blank line.
B. WARM-UP QUESTIONS
1. People who are trying to quit smoking should keep
Discuss as a class. Answers will vary.
their cigarettes in their pockets or purses at all times.
(False – People who are quitting should place
C. VOCABULARY PREVIEW
their cigarettes in hard-to-reach places.)
1. c 3. g 5. e 7. b 9. j 11. i 2. Smokers should explain to their loved ones that secondhand
2. a 4. f 6. h 8. k 10. d smoke is not as hazardous as some people think.
(False – Smokers should learn the facts about
Reading secondhand smoke. This might make them want to quit.)
3. Smokers who want to quit should play with pencils and
Have students read the article out loud or to themselves. puzzles to try to keep their hands and fingers occupied. (True)
Review any difficult vocabulary. 4. Smokers who are trying to quit should drink more
coffee and take breaks with nonsmokers. (True)
5. People who want to quit smoking should reward
themselves daily for not having cigarettes. (Not mentioned)

(continued on the next page...)

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 Smoking
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Answer Key cont.

Vocabulary Review Writing

A. ODD ONE OUT Individual answers.

1. c 2. d 3. a 4. c 5. c
Listening Practice
B. BUTT OUT
Designate the corners of the room as Strongly Agree / Agree /
Here are some possible answers. Be sure to familiarize yourself
Disagree / Strongly Disagree. Have students listen and move
with the proper pronunciation of any words that you are unsure of.
around the room as you read the statements from page 6 aloud.
The “/” shows the syllable break. The main stress is in bold. It may
be difficult to find an antonym and a synonym for some words.
Role-Play
Word Part of Speech Synonym Antonym
Put students in pairs and have them come up with a short skit.
dead/line noun due date Invite students to present their skits in front of the class.

pol/i/cy noun rule Encourage students to use new vocabulary from the reading.

cut/ down verb decrease increase

Discussion
re/sist verb accept

track verb record Discuss as a class or in small groups. This can also
be used for a writing prompt for a homework journal.
urge noun need

de/ny verb refuse allow

Expressions
verb, noun
ba/ttle (gerund form fight
To quit “cold turkey” means to quit
in context)
suddenly and never go back to the bad habit.
store verb hold, keep

se/cond/
adjective firsthand
hand

cra/ving noun desire

re/a/lis/tic adjective likely unlikely

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