Posts Tagged ‘why quit smoking’

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.

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Why Quit Smoking?

November 16th, 2009

The most important reason why you should quit smoking is to save your health and quite possibly your life. The fact is about half of all smokers who refuse to stop smoking cigarettes will end up dying from a smoking-related disease.

Why it is Hard to Quit Smoking

Another reason why you should quit smoking is to finally get treatment for nicotine addiction. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Over time, the body becomes both physiologically addicted to nicotine and psychologically addicted to nicotine. Nicotine addiction is the reason why you want to continue smoking cigarettes even though you are aware of the terrible things that smoking does to your body. The severe addiction is why it is hard to quit smoking.

Why You Should Quit Smoking

As for the diseases, lung cancer is just the beginning. Smoking cigarettes also causes cancer of the mouth, voice box (larynx), throat (pharynx), esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, stomach, and some leukemias.

If you don’t quit cigarette smoking you are twice as likely to be a victim of a heart attack compared to nonsmokers and also suffer from factors, such as a narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the leg and arm muscles, which can cause strokes.

Although there is no easy way to stop smoking there are a multitude of reasons why to quit smoking than just the obvious — risk of cancer, heart attack and stroke. Smoking cigarettes also causes premature wrinkling of the skin, nasty smelling breath, clothes and hair that reek of cigarette smoke, and yellow fingernails and hair.

Based on data collected in the late 1990s, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because they didn’t quit cigarette smoking.

For women, there are a few distinctive risks of continuing smoking. When women smoke they have a greater risk of suffering a heart attack or a stroke. Also, women who smoke are more likely to have a miscarriage or deliver babies at a lower birth rate, and those consequences can be alarming: low birth-weight babies are more likely to die or to be impaired.

So the question shouldn’t be why quit smoking – it should be how do I quit smoking now?

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Tips for Quitting Smoking

November 16th, 2009

There are many products and tips to assist you in your endeavor to stop smoking cigarettes. Nicotine replacement treatments, herbal products, programs like Nicotine Anonymous, and exercise and diet are all known methods for quitting smoking. You should try to find the treatment or treatments that work for you. And don’t forget – You Can Quit Smoking.

Here are some tips for quitting smoking:

Using the Patch, Gum or Nicotine Nasal Spray

Nicotine replacement treatments are one on of the most recognizable of the quit smoking programs. The treatments include: nicotine gum, the transdermal patch, nicotine nasal spray and an inhaler. While each has been shown to improve a smoker’s chance of quitting smoking, they have failed many smokers too.

To increase your chances of quitting with NRTs, wean yourself off of nicotine as much as you can on your own and then use the lowest dosage NRT possible. While using the NRT, replace your bad habits with good ones; you can take up walking in the evening and drinking herbal tea before bedtime. For help with this, come up with a plan (see below) so that you can combat the urge for nicotine when you’re finished with the NRTs.

Using Herbs to Quit Smoking

Herbal smoking cessation products offer an all natural alternative to the quit smoking programs. The herbs create a similar effect on the brain as nicotine but they are non-addictive and safe for your body. They also ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms from nicotine addiction.

Natural smoking cessation products use a variety of herbs to help combat your addiction to nicotine. Lobelia herb, also known as Indian tobacco, is one such herb. It produces effects similar to nicotine on the central nervous system and acts as an overall relaxant.

Begin an Exercise Regimen

As you withdraw from the nicotine exercise can help ease the tension you will begin to feel. Walking also sets free the “feel good” hormone, endorphins, which help capture that cigarette high that you experienced when smoking. Walking is of course the easiest way to start exercising. To move on from there, challenge yourself by joining a gym, taking up swimming, biking or yoga.

Believe it or not quitting smoking cigarettes is tiring business. You should plan to get more rest so you will have the strength to combat your addiction. You will recover your energy and start to feel much better in as little as a week’s time. Also, try drinking more water. Many people already carry a water bottle with them when they exercise or keep one nearby their desk at work. Do that and keep one in the car in case you begin to experience cravings.

Try these tips for quitting smoking and remember everyone is different. What worked for one person may not work for you, so keep trying. Check out our top recommended stop smoking product.

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