"We’ve all heard it, and chances are we’ve probably uttered the infallible words: “ I’m a social smoker, I only smoke with a drink or with friends.” Post smoking ban, as huddled throngs stand outside bars, restaurants and clubs you can’t help but feel like the party is actually outside.

A survey led by The Co-operative Pharmacy polled 2,000 smokers and found that almost a quarter (24%) are in denial about their habit and would only class themselves as social smokers. But in reality over a third of these people smoke between 6-20 cigarettes a day, all of which sounds like a lot – but is easily doable in one wine-laced night. 

A big reason for social smoking is FOMO (that's Fear Of Missing Out - keep up!). Thirteen per cent of us hate being left alone when our friends went to smoke. Missing out on water-cooler conversations is key; 5% also felt like they were missing out on discussions with co-workers because they didn’t smoke - you’ve only got to remember that episode of Friends. But what kind of ‘friend’ would let your skin age prematurely, your breath tastes foul and decrease your life expectancy. A bad friend, that’s who. Which is why you’ve got us, your new friends, and our tried and tested tips for dealing with the temptation to social smoke.

5 tips on how to quit social smoking from John Dicey, Worldwide Director of Allen Carr’s Easyway

1/ The first crucial step to stopping social smoking is to be brutally honest with yourself. You need to accept you either are a smoker, or not – it’s impossible to be a ‘little bit’ of a smoker! Try counting up the number of cigarettes you would get through on a Friday or Saturday evening.

2/ The only way to control smoking is simply to stop. If you truly are a ‘social smoker,’ you should be able to take it or leave it – so leave it. The Allen Carr Easyway method is based upon the fact that people find it much easier than anticipated to break the habit and quit.

3/ Don’t lock yourself away – stopping smoking doesn’t mean trading in your social life! Cutting yourself off from friends will only make you miserable and more likely to succumb to ‘just one’ cigarette.

4/ Think hard about the situations in which you are most likely to light up. The chances are that what you really enjoy about a night out at the weekend or a catch-up with friends is the occasion itself, not the opportunity it offers for you to smoke. Once you’ve realized this, these moments will cease to be triggers, and you won’t miss cigarettes.

5/ Turn around the way you think about smoking, and about quitting – don’t see it as stopping something you enjoy. Instead, put a positive slant on it. Think about how great it is to be free of something negative. If you view it this way, you won’t need substitutes for smoking, like nicotine patches or stress balls."

By Katie Rosseinsky and Anita Bhagwandas 05 February 2014

Read more: http://www.womenshealthmag.co.uk/health/female-health/974/are-you-a-secret-social-smoker-5-reasons-to-stub-it-out-now#ixzz3EMcIzvb5