Health Articles

Just the mere fact that you are reading this is proof you want to quit smoking and break free of your nicotine habit. As an ex-smoker myself, I can tell you truthfully the trials involved in quitting are not easy but it can be done and the rewards are awesome! Let me help you get started toward your goal with a few simple steps.

Step 1

The absolute most important part of acquiring your goal to be smoke free is your motivation and drive to quit. You have to be ready to meet your obstacles head on and stay focused on your quest. You are the only one who can say you are ready. No one else can say it for you or force it on you. If you have tried and failed in the past take heart, you may be the best candidate! Studies have shown that people who have tried to quit and failed are the ones who eventually succeed!

Step 2

Recognize and be ready for the fact that you are going to go through some pretty uncomfortable nicotine withdrawals. You are going to have overwhelming cravings to smoke. You may experience insomnia, tiredness, sore throat, coughing and a variety of other symptoms. Remember, withdrawal is short term. There are proven nicotine replacement aids that can ease your symptoms and help you get though this temporary phase. The aids come in the form of prescription drugs, gum, lozenges, patches or sprays. I preferred the sprays when I quit but each smoker is different. Research and find the one that suits your lifestyle the best.

Step 3

Name and recognize your triggers. Triggers are the things or moments you associate with smoking. They are the things and moments that will make you want to reach for a cigarette out of habit. For instance, perhaps you always enjoyed a cigarette with your morning paper or right after each meal. Acknowledge what your triggers are and try to rearrange your routine. Perhaps you could take a stroll after each meal. You will not be able to avoid all your triggers so when you do encounter one just recognize it for what it is and realize it will pass.

Step 4

Ask for help. To quit smoking successfully you need the support of those around you. Let your loved ones and fellow workers know that you are trying to quit. Ask them to bear with you if you experience any crankiness during your withdrawal phase. If any of them are smokers, request they try to refrain from smoking while you are around them. Seek out a support group. There is nothing better than having someone who has gone through the same thing to guide you along. If you are not particularly a people person, try one of the online groups. You are not in this alone and perhaps you can help someone else along the way! Establishing a support system is one of the more important steps.

So to start your journey with the method to quit smoking in four simple steps, admit you are ready, find a nicotine replacement aid, recognize your triggers and ask for help. The road this journey will take you on may be a little hilly but keep driving forward. Once you reach the end, you will be rewarded with a smoke free life. It is awesome and I know you can do it!
Yes, You CAN do it!

Here are some stop smoking tips that will help you quit nicotine easily and permanently:

Tip #1: Stop relying on old, outdated methods that rely mainly on willpower!

You’re ready and dedicated to quit smoking. You’re willing to do whatever it takes right? This type of commitment is to be admired but the bad news is… It’s not going to be enough!

In our culture struggle is seen as a natural and even admirable process of getting what we want. But when it comes to quitting smoking, relying on will power and determination only makes things worse for most people. You probably know what I’m talking about. Have you tried numerous stop smoking programs and products only to fail time and time again? It’s not your fault! You’re just following instructions… instructions that are, unfortunately, outdated and just don’t work!

Tip #2: You have to truly want a life without smoking more that the cigarettes themselves!

This may sound obvious, but the fact remains that some people just aren’t ready to quit. Try to imagine how much healthier and happier you and your family would be if you could kick the habit.

Tip #3: Find a proven method that fine tunes your mind without the need for will power!

In spite of the all the ineffective methods for stopping smoking, there are in fact a few effective ones… ones that DO NOT rely on pure will power or artificial aids.

One such method is called Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and it is without a doubt the easiest and fastest way to quit smoking permanently. NLP fine tunes your subconscious so the desire to light up disappears. There is no will power involved outside of actually following through with the instructions.

Stop Smoking Naturally and Effectively

If you have been looking online for methods to give up smoking, you must have surely stumbled upon the talk about natural ways to stop smoking. You must have also found out that there are various ways to stop smoking naturally. They have different principles and the products they use are different too, but one thing is common among them. They all use completely natural ingredients. There are no synthetic substances used. This is what makes them safe to use. But, are they effective?

We must understand how smoking affects our system if we are to understand that. Tobacco smoking is an addiction and it works in much the same way as other addictions such as the narcotic drugs work. When nicotine enters the body, it triggers the release of the hormone dopamine, which causes a feeling of euphoria. People who smoke do so because of this feeling. As the person continues smoking, the feeling becomes stronger and then it becomes more difficult to wear the person off the habit.
Now, the methods to stop smoking naturally work because they address this root problem, i.e. the problem of nicotine causing the euphoric feeling in the body. Actually, the natural quit smoking methods, such as the various herbal remedies that you will find on the Internet, work in three ways:

Replacement

The ingredients present in these natural remedies to stop smoking can replace the feeling that nicotine produces. For example, lobelia produces a similar effect as nicotine. But because it is not nicotine, it does not produce any of the harm that nicotine or the other ingredients of the cigarette produce in the body. One way to stop smoking naturally is to replace nicotine cigarettes with lobelia cigarettes.

Detoxification

If a person smokes, there are already a lot of toxins in the body. Cigarette smoke has more than 3,500 different chemicals. When these chemicals are inhaled, they can wreak havoc on the person’s body. Some of the ingredients present in natural stop smoking methods can detoxify the body. They eliminate these toxins from the body through various media, which lowers the health risk that the person faces.

Health Improvement

These herbal ingredients are so formulated that they can repair the parts of the body that have become worn out due to the smoking habit. Slowly, they can bring the body back to its normal constitution. Though this is a very difficult thing to do, the right natural smoking cessation products can do that.
It may be actually better to stop smoking naturally than to use conventional methods, because these natural therapies address more problems than just the mere symptomatic ones. They are better for long term health improvement, which is quite a difficult thing to achieve, especially when the person has been smoking since a long time.

Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises have several health benefits associated with them, but few people know that these are effective stop smoking methods. When a person practices these exercises, there is an overall improvement in health, including the immune system. Due to this, the person can resist the craving for nicotine in a better way and live healthier.

Acupuncture

This Chinese therapy is fast becoming one of the most popular stop smoking methods. The skin is pierced with very thin needles at some points which control the nervous system. The idea is to release endorphins which can reduce the person’s withdrawal when smoking is physically stopped. People who cannot give up smoking because they cannot overcome the withdrawal find that acupuncture really works at helping them quit the habit.

When you quit smoking and no matter how long you smoked, the few first days are always the hardest. It does get easier over time, but that first days is always rough. Not only are you mentally losing something you are used to doing many times each and every day, but your body is also losing. The things that your body is missing out on are the things that will help you get healthier. The smoke that makes you cough, the tar the lays on your teeth and lungs, even all of the thousands of toxins that every cigarette you smoked put in your body every time you did it.

Even one less cigarette a day will help with this, but if you really want to quit, doing this will take so long. Just like your home is your castle, so is your body and smoking cigarettes can make your body break down faster than it should. Aging happens to us fast enough and smoking cigarettes only increases the aging even more. It is really sad you take better care of your home, car, or boat better than your own body if you smoke. The longer you smoke and the more you smoke will make every part of your body inside and out look and feel older than it should. It is also not good for your family and friends as they can have the same thing happen to them from all the secondhand smoke that they inhale.

When your body is past this first whole day, it can start to clean itself of all those toxins. You might notice that you can start to see things clearer after a few days as you do not have to try to see it through that fog of smoke coming off that cigarette. Your mouth will seem cleaner as it does not have that taste from the smoke either. After the first few days, you may notice that your food taste better. If not smoking after a meal bothers you, try to walk off what you just ate and doing this you will realize that you have more energy.

Do not talk yourself into smoking a cigarette as your mind will try very hard to tell you that you need a smoke. You might notice that you get upset at your family faster than usual. Try to deal with this as soon as you can because when this happens you will talk yourself into smoking this cigarette saying that it will calm you down. It might, but this is only an excuse to start smoking again. You have to learn to fight the cravings one at a time and the more of them you overcome, the more you increase your chances of stying quit.

Smoking is considered to be a social habit.

These drinking and smoking events seems to have affected a lot of people who normally do not smoke, or who have recently cut the bad habit. Even non-smokers usually declare, “I only smoke when I drink”.
Not particularly helping the quitting situation, several bars in Columbus offer outside covered patios for smokers. Patios and smoking areas are convenient for smokers, but they do offer extra incentive to go outside, relax and light up.

For example, Dan Abramson, 23 years old, quit smoking a couple of years ago. He ended his habit “cold turkey,” with no outside help, a surprising deed. Quitting cold turkey doesn’t work for everyone. However, if a smoker chooses to use that method to quit, they should pick a date and stick to it, even if their friends aren’t quite as strong.
Cancer information
Quitting for good is not easy, especially when you are a frequent bar-goer. Simply smelling cigarette smoke and seeing people with cigarettes in their hands can be a trigger to smoke, let alone the cravings ex-smokers get after a few drinks of their beers.

Dan quitted smoking only because when he usually woke up with trouble breathing, feeling as if someone had piled 50 clinkers on his chest. He added that his apartment smelled cigarette smoke, and so did his clothes.

“I felt horrible, especially in the mornings, and I always had a bad taste in my mouth,” Abramson explained.

Abramson was a smoker more than four years. After trying to quit in the past, and failing, he said he knew he had to really motivate himself to quit smoking.

He said: “I tried to quit before, but it would only last a week at most because I had no real motivation to quit. Once the weekend came, and I was out and around my friends who smoked, I would go right back to it.”

Before quitting, Abramson and his friends used to joke that, “quitting smoking is easy, and I’ve done it a thousand times.” Abramson was a smoker dependent on smoking in social settings, such as at bars or with friends.

According to the American Lung Association, smokers who are addicted to smoking may be addicted for many different reasons. Smokers may have a physical addiction to nicotine. Another reason could be a psychical addiction to having something in their hands or mouth, or an addiction to a routine that includes smoking cigarettes at different times over the day.

If the negative health effects are not reason enough to quit, then the cost for the addiction should be.
L.Barbu