Posts Tagged ‘stop smoking herbs’

What to Expect When You Stop Smoking

December 20th, 2009

Tobacco contains nicotine, which is easily as addictive as heroin or crack cocaine. Most tobacco products also contain other chemical additives which have been shown to cause health problems as well. When you decide to stop smoking and cease loading nicotine into your system, your body will experience some very real withdrawal symptoms. If you have smoked for quite some time, both your body and mind are conditioned to expect the input of nicotine and the pleasurable routines with which it is associated.

Physical and Emotional Side Effects of Smoking Cessation

For those addicted to nicotine, the drug works by signaling the brain to increase the level of adrenaline in the bloodstream. The adrenaline then tells the body to go into a survival mode known as ‘fight or flight’. This dumps fatty sugars into the bloodstream and fools the brain into thinking you are not hungry.

Once nicotine is no longer coming into your system, you may also feel a lock of concentration. Plus you may feel irritable, shaky, angry, and you could possibly have trouble sleeping. Additionally, you may notice that your breath is nasty and you may experience nausea or constipation. All of these symptoms, both physical and emotional, are normal and you can deal with them. Stop smoking herbs relieve the mental and physical side effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Mental Challenges Associated With Quitting Nicotine

At some point in the process of giving up smoking, you may question why you ever decided to stop smoking at all! Don’t be alarmed, though. This is completely normal. Just don’t give in to the urge to smoke. Eat a carrot or some celery instead. Above all, try not to take your irritability, nervousness, depression or anger out on those you love. If you must explode, do so in a safe place – hit a pillow, not your spouse.

There Is Light At The End Of This Tunnel – And It Isn’t a Lit Cigarette!

As you walk the road to kicking the nicotine habit for good, remember to take good care of your body while you are going through the withdrawal process. You will find that, one day, you’ll wake up and not reach for a cigarette at all. Before you know it weeks and months will have passed and, at some point, you won’t even be able to remember the exact date you quit. When you’ve reached this stage, consider yourself an absolute victor. You’ve won!

Quit Smoking Benefits

December 3rd, 2009

The quit smoking benefits happen almost immediately. The food that you eat will begin to taste better, your sense of smell will return to normal and you will gradually be able to exercise or do normal chores such as taking out the trash without loss of breath and wheezing.

Besides the physical, psychological, and health benefits of quitting smoking, you will also reap the financial benefits. Just multiply the amount you spend on smoking per day by 365. Add to that the higher costs of health and life insurance because you were a smoker.

To better help you to stop smoking cigarettes there are a number of free quit smoking programs to get you healthy and smoke-free. These programs educate you on smoking cessation medications and also products such as stop smoking herbs.

Health Benefits of Quit Smoking

The health benefits of quitting smoking continue for the rest of your life. Here is an example of what you can expect when you quit smoking cigarettes:

  • 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.
  • 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
  • Two weeks to three months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
  • One to nine months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.
  • One year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s
  • Five years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
  • 10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.
  • 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.

Benefits of Quit Smoking

Another quit smoking benefit is that you will become more socially accepted by not having to smoke outside of the place where you work, or out on the porch of a friend’s home. You will also prevent your second hand smoke from harming those around you. Check out our recommended product to start you on the road to freedom from nicotine today.

Stop Smoking Shot – Does it Really Work?

November 24th, 2009

You should do a lot of research before you decide on using a stop smoking shot. A shot to stop smoking typically includes the drugs atropine and scopolamine – both dangerous substances. Both belong to a group of medications known as anticholinergics, which block a chemical that is responsible for certain nervous-system activities.

These substances in the stop smoking shot are usually used with anesthesia during surgery. Scopolamine is a common component in prescribed motion-sickness medication. Doctors use atropine, a well known eye-dilating chemical, during eye examinations.

How the Stop Smoking Shot Works

The stop smoking shots works to eliminate nicotine addiction by blocking the nicotine receptors in the brain. The stop smoking shots can also relieve the physical withdrawal symptoms. There are a few different stop smoking shots on the market and you should discuss them with your doctor before choosing to use one – and remember the stop smoking shot procedure must only be done by a doctor.

Lifeline Stop Smoking Shot

The Lifeline Stop Smoking Clinics carry the stop smoking shot. The cost of treatment at the Lifeline Stop Smoking Clinic is $418, which includes office visit and testing to make sure it is safe for you to receive a stop smoking shot.

Side Effects of the Stop Smoking Shot

Some of the side effects of the stop smoking shot include blurry vision, confusion, dry mouth, dizziness, and difficulty urinating. After you receive your stop smoking shot, you must take pills containing atropine and wear a scopolamine patch for two weeks. High doses of these anticholinergic drugs can cause coma, heart attack, hallucinations, and stroke. Are the stop smoking shot side effects risk worth the reward?

Stop Smoking Shot Alternatives

Alternatives to the stop smoking shot include all-natural stop smoking herbs that utilize a combination of herbs to create a similar effect on the brain as nicotine but they are non-addictive and safe for your body. Stop smoking herbs also ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms from nicotine addiction. Most herbal stop smoking products use Lobelia, which mimics the action of nicotine on the brain but is not habit forming. Additional stop smoking herbs ease the side effects of nicotine withdrawal such as anxiety, irritability, fatigue and stress.

Top Five Tips to Quit Smoking

November 17th, 2009

While you are contemplating ways to quit smoking, remember that you are not alone and then realize why it’s so hard for you to quit smoking – there is a physiological basis and a psychological basis to your addiction.

While there is no wonder cure to stop smoking cigarettes, here are the top five tips to quit smoking:

Prepare Yourself to Quit

Be sure that you make a stop smoking plan customized to your personal needs. If you usually smoke while sitting in front of the TV, for example, then plan other activities to occupy yourself when you would usually be watching TV. Set a date and tell your family and friends that you plan to quit. Understand the challenges that you will face on that date and beyond, get rid of all tobacco related items from you home, car, and work place prior to your quit date.

Research Methods for Quitting

Investigate methods such as nicotine replacement therapy (nicotine patches, lozenges, inhalers, nasal spray and gum) and non-nicotine medications that come in pill form to see which smoking cessation methods may be right for you. Look into alternate treatments for nicotine addiction such as natural treatments that utilize stop smoking herbs.

Learn to Manage your Cravings

Some methods to keep your mind off of cigarettes include getting active by exercising, distracting yourself with crossword puzzles or other things that make you focus on something else, chewing gum, nibbling on carrots, learning to relax find a calm space where your are comfortable, and avoiding situations that trigger the cigarette craving (such as a bar).

Get Support for Quitting Smoking

Find a local support group. You can find a Nicotine Anonymous group near you, call a telephone help line like 1-800-QUIT-NOW, take a smoke-free workshop or call the American Cancer Society near you for a list of resources.

Prepare to Relapse

If you do relapse, understand that it is normal in the process of trying to kick your nicotine addiction. You should examine what happened right before you started smoking again, identify the triggers or trouble spots that confronted you, and make a new stop-smoking plan that removes them.

These top five tips to quit smoking are not the only solutions. You may find other alternatives that will help you to stop smoking for good. Keep trying. Check out our Editor’s Choice stop smoking product.

6 Ways to Stop Smoking

November 17th, 2009

While there is no easy way to stop smoking, the following methods will help you beat your nicotine addiction. Many people like you think they should quit smoking cigarettes but find it too difficult. The reason for this is because there is a physiological basis of nicotine addictions (physical) as well as a psychological basis of nicotine addiction.

Following is a list of the easiest ways to stop smoking. Use one or more of these methods to cure your nicotine addiction.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Nicotine replacement therapy consists of products such as nicotine patches, gum, inhalers and nasal sprays. These stop smoking aids deliver a dose of nicotine with the aim of helping you gradually kick the habit of smoking while you progressively use less nicotine. While using nicotine replacement therapy is an easy way to stop smoking cigarettes, it is common to form an addiction to the nicotine substitute so you have to be careful while using them.

Prescription Stop Smoking Drugs

Often referred to “stop smoking drugs”, these prescription medications are designed to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Stop smoking drugs such as Chantix and Zyban work to “undo” the part of your brain that has become rewired by nicotine. While this sounds great, quitting is not guaranteed. In a recent study only 44% participants quit while using Chantix as opposed to 30% who quit by using Zyban. Learn more about the benefits, costs, and side effects of stop smoking drugs.

Herbal Stop Smoking Products

Herbal stop smoking products offer an all natural alternative to nicotine replacement therapy and prescription stop smoking drugs. Some herbs create an effect on the brain that is similar to nicotine but are non-addictive, while other stop smoking herbs help the body to deal with the other symptoms of quitting, such as irritability and the “quitters flu”.

Cutting Down Gradually

Another way to stop smoking is by gradually lowering the amount of cigarettes smoked each day – for example cut down from 10 to 7 cigarettes a day or less. You can also delay having a cigarette after a meal or when ever else you feel like smoking. One very important thing to do is make certain that your final quit date is no more than two weeks after your start.

Stop Smoking Plan

While a few lucky smokers can quit smoking cigarettes by going cold turkey, most people require a more complicated way to stop smoking. A solid stop smoking plan will include a quit date, the help of your family and friends, the understanding of the challenges that you will face on that date and beyond, getting rid of all tobacco related items from your home, car, and work place, and speaking to a doctor about treatment for nicotine addiction.

Other Ways to Stop Smoking

There are several other ways to stop smoking that don’t involve nicotine replacement therapy or prescribed medication. These include hypnosis, acupuncture, behavioral therapy, and nicotine vaccination.

Finding the easiest ways to stop smoking can be a personal choice. You may react differently to these methods than someone else. Do your research and you may find the answer that solves your nicotine addiction.

Stop Smoking Aids

November 17th, 2009

Because of the adverse effect and numerous failed attempts in using generic stop smoking aids, one often feels like continuing to smoke is easier than leading a healthy life. It seems convenient now, but, in the long run, there would be irreversible effects to one’s health that would leave anyone in regret. Fortunately, there are many stop smoking aids available to help you stop smoking.

Latest Stop Smoking Aids

There has been a lot of press coverage on the latest “pill form” of stop smoking aids such as Zyban, Wellbutrin and Chantix. These stop smoking drugs are available by prescription, do not contain nicotine, and help people to stop smoking.

Using Chantix to stop smoking provides you with mild effects reminiscent of nicotine and eases symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Chantix also neutralizes the effects of nicotine if a person smokes while using this drug – which means that the nicotine “high” or “rush” becomes less pleasurable and inviting.

Using Zyban to stop smoking and Wellbutrin to stop smoking is much different. These latest stop smoking aids are anti-depressant drugs called bupropion. They sometimes help smokers become less interested in smoking cigarettes by alleviating the discomfort that is associated with nicotine addiction.

Natural Stop Smoking Aids

Natural stop smoking aids use a combination of herbs to create a similar effect on the brain as nicotine but they are non-addictive and safe for your body. Natural stop smoking aids also ease the withdrawal symptoms from nicotine addiction. Most natural stop smoking aids use lobelia, which mimics the effects of nicotine on your body but is not addictive. Other ingredients in these natural stop smoking aids help the body deal with the side effects of stopping including “quitters flu,” fatigue and stress.

Stop Smoking Aids for Optimal Breathing

Inhalers and sprays are examples of natural stop smoking aids that are being made available to those who do not want to use the generic means. These sprays and inhalers enable users to clear nasal and throat passages that seem to be clogged when they are trying to stop smoking.

Chewable and Attachable Stop Smoking Aids

Those whose smoking addiction is linked to an oral fixation can opt to use gum as a stop smoking aid. The more natural ones would be most helpful since they won’t have nicotine. This helps the quitter to avoid becoming addicted to the gum instead of a nicotine stick.

The Best Stop Smoking Aids

The start of smoking came with a conscious decision. Quitting is a larger decision. It should be supported by the best stop smoking aids as supposed to just going cold turkey. The latter would need superhuman effort at times and often ends in relapse. So for best results, find a stop smoking program or herbal stop smoking aid to help arm you as you battle your addiction and seek to win a healthier life.

Reasons To Stop Smoking

November 17th, 2009

Truthfully, in addition to nicotine addiction, stubbornness may be the primary reason why some people can’t stop smoking. For some smokers, a hacking cough or incessant cold may not be sufficient reasons to stop smoking. Most people don’t realize how fatal smoking can be until it hits close to home or actually kills someone they know. Even when this is the case, denial can still set in. However, for most people family serves as one of their most compelling reasons to stop smoking.

Pregnancy or Existing Children

In the case of some men, driving reasons to stop smoking can include a pregnant wife as well as existing young children. It is a well-known fact that second-hand smoking is worse than actually smoking the cigarette yourself. So, when the husband accompanies the wife during her pre-natal visits, the doctor often advises the man to try to stop smoking for the sake of their family’s future.

In the case of women who have smoked most of their lives, children also tend to be at the top of the list among their most convincing reasons to stop smoking as well. Since mothers can have the greatest affect on their children if they continue to smoke, most new mothers embark on the process of stopping their nasty habit without thinking twice about it. Visit our stop smoking tips article.

Impending or Current Illness

For the majority of single people, impending or current illness ranks high on list of reasons to stop smoking. But most of the time this can be a cause to relapse once they get a clean bill of health. However, for some, a higher awareness of overall health or wellness is reason enough to kick the nicotine habit. Plus, kissing someone who tastes like an ash tray can be a turn off for singles on the dating scene. So, for single people, pure vanity may serve as another one of the compelling reasons to stop smoking.

Reasons to Stop Smoking: Final Word

Whatever reason one should choose to stop smoking, kicking the nicotine habit is a rewarding decision that can help former smokers enjoy their lives for many years to come. Plus, getting rid of that awful smell and terrible aftertaste isn’t that bad either.

Our site is dedicated to helping you stop smoking, whatever the reason. Check out our articles on 6 Ways to Stop Smoking or Stop Smoking Aids.

Stop Smoking Plan

November 16th, 2009

Every year, millions of individuals try to stop smoking. Unfortunately, most of them fail. Why? While there are many reasons for failure, one of the most common problems is the failure to create a stop smoking plan. Without a solid plan, you severely limit your chances of quitting smoking once and for all.

Think about it—when you set a goal at work, you come up with a plan to accomplish it. It’s the same thing with trying to stop smoking. You have to create a stop smoking plan if you want to reach your ultimate goal. That way, you have benchmarks written down to guide you through each day of this challenge.

Dr. Oz Stop Smoking Plan

Since his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz’s stop smoking plan has become the most popular plan of its kind. His plan consists of a few basic principles.

    Take the Addiction Self Exam
    Print a Sheet with a Pledge for the Date You’ll Stop Smoking
    Walk for 30 Minutes a Day
    Talk to Your Doctor
    Be Ready for Your First Tobacco Free Day
    Avoid Relapse
    Relieve Anxiety Healthily
    Get Support

Free Stop Smoking Plan

Visit the American Cancer Society website for free information on making a stop smoking plan. Also read our articles about free stop smoking aids and free stop smoking programs. Groups like Nicotine Anonymous will help you make a stop smoking plan for free. Look at the church bulletin boards for other groups that could assist you with your stop smoking plan.

How to Make a Stop Smoking Plan

So, are you ready to create that plan to kick the habit once and for all? It’s not hard at all. Here’s what you need to do to make a stop smoking plan:

  • First, you have to decide to quit. This sounds simple enough, but you really need to be serious in your decision if you want to stick with it.
  • Then, you should set a date to quit smoking by. While you don’t want to set an unrealistic goal, you also don’t want to make it so far away that you talk yourself out of it by the time the day rolls around.
  • Plan for your first tobacco-free day. It’s going to be a rough one, but if you’re ready for the challenge, you’ll have an easier time getting through it.
  • Tell your friends and family about the goal. A little support can go a long way toward your quitting.
  • You also need to get rid of any smoking related materials. Ashtrays, old cigarette packs, lighters, and other paraphernalia can cause you to slip up. Get rid of the temptations!
  • Lastly, simply remember this is a long-term battle. Stay confident, and be ready to face those hard days head-on.

Make your stop smoking plan today!