Sunday, November 30, 2008

Ways to Quit Smoking

Smoking is a habit most people would like to quit, some will never ever try, some will try and fail and some will try and succeed. To succeed you need a variety of things in your amour because let's face it; there is no magic formula it is absolutely all down to you.

Before you can stop-smoking, you need to mentally prepare yourself. Many people who try to stop-smoking fail because they have not been mentally prepared for the challenge that lies ahead. Cigarette smoking is one of the most addictive substances there are. It does nothing to add to your life. It had a foul odor, stinks up the house and your clothes, yellow your teeth and causes wrinkles around your mouth. On top of that, it is very unhealthy. It weakens your immune system and leads to diseases such as cancer. It is one of the leading causes of heart disease, diseases of the circulatory system and lung cancer.

There are many ways how one can quit smoking:

Use Patches: One of the best ways to quit smoking quick is by using patches. Patches have helped many people in solving their bad smoking habit but the percentage of success is not that high. Whatever it is, you must understand that patches are only tools that will aid you in helping you to stop smoking while the rest is up to you.

Use Herbs: There are a variety of different companies that sell stop smoking herbs for the specific purpose of helping people quit smoking. Recommended as one of the best ways to quit smoking on the market today, you can purchase these herbal cigarettes in a variety of different flavors.

They are made with different herbs that have different effects on the bodies of those who are trying to quit smoking. For instance, you can purchase calming herbs that help you deal with the stress of quitting, or you can purchase herbs that help with your irritability, depression or moodiness. If you are planning to try one of these quit smoking products, you should sample a variety of different herbs in order to find the one that works best for your needs.

Think About The Wonderful Benefit Of Quitting Smoking: Remember the effects of smoking. Clinical studies have proven that with Tobacco causes people to become sick, disabled and die. More than 500,000 deaths in the U.S are caused from smoking-connected illnesses. Smokers ease their life by a common of 10 to 25 years. Think about the benefit; you desire will become even stronger to kick your bad habit of smoking.

Laser Therapy: This is probably the most expensive quick smoking techniques and the result usually can really help you to quit smoking. What make this laser therapy treatment so great is because it will help in taking care of the physical aspects of the smoking addiction. But do not expect you can stop smoking permanently if you still have the urge to smoke after treatment. As mention earlier, determination is the key to success.

Though quitting can be very hard, a lifestyle free of smoke is worth it. You'll breathe more easily, be able to exercise more than before, have more energy to use, and you will not reek from the stench of cigarettes. Committing to a program to stop smoking is better for your health and will help you to live a longer and better.

Thus there are many such ways through which one can quit smoking. But all these treatment fails if the person didn’t focus. Staying focus is also the key to quit smoking quick. Whatever method you choose to apply, if you are not focus or determine enough, you can never achieve your goal. If you spend a lot of money in any treatment and you think that will be enough for you not to light those cigarette, you better think again. Any situation that you are going to face will be overcome easily if you able to stay focus and have strong desire.

 

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Reasons To Consider Hypnosis to Quit Smoking

Hypnosis To Quit Smoking Video

Okay, you've tried it all: the gum, the patches, the pills.  You've even tried going cold turkey.  But you failed.  You want to quit; you're convinced you must quit, not only for the health reasons but for social and financial reasons as well. Yet you are ambivalent about your chances for success.

Psychological and Behavioral Therapy

Hypnotherapy to quit smoking helps the smoker change the way they think about smoking. Hypnosis helps change the way we think about smoking not only on the conscious level, but on the subconscious level as well. One study shows the individuals using several sessions of hypnotherapy had a 66% success rate at giving up cigarettes.

How It Works

Nicotine works on the cholinergic pathways of the brain.  It gives your body a wake-up call, it re-energizes you and gives you the ability to focus and increases reaction time. These characteristics are essential to your livelihood.  Hypnotherapy helps you quit smoking by substituting healthy thoughts and behaviors that will allow you to be alert, focused and energized without the need of chemicals.

The nicotine in cigarettes promotes the release of dopamine to the reward pathways of your brain. Dopamine encourages the brain to repeat pleasurable activities.  In other words, it ignites the addiction.  Nicotine makes you feel happy and calm, and the dopamine released from brain as a result of the nicotine, tells the brain: "Hey let's do that again."  Hypnotherapy assists with quitting smoking by providing healthy non-chemically induced ways to release dopamine into the reward pathways.

Nicotine also triggers the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate that stimulates learning and memory.  Glutamate strengthens the connections between sets of neurons. The release of glutamate aids in your addiction to nicotine by strengthening the memory of the good feelings achieved from smoking.  Hypnotherapy to quit smoking breaks the connections and helps build new connections to healthy activities.

A study by University of Washington researcher, Dr. Joseph Barber, found that stop smoking hypnotherapy had been particularly effective.  Dr. Barber found that for a single session of hypnotherapy to quit smoking 25% of the participants remained non-smokers after a 6-12 month period.  Of the participants who had multiple sessions of hypnotherapy to quit smoking, 66% were non-smokers after a 6-12 month period.

Hypnotherapy is a powerful method to help you become a successful non-smoker.  Whether you choose a single session or multiple sessions, hypnotherapy will contribute to your success. Used alone or in tandem with nicotine replacement medications, hypnotherapy increases you chances for success.

For more information about ways to quit smoking visit Ways To Quit Smoking

Taking A Look At The Many Quit Smoking Methods

Finding the right method to quit smoking will result in different formulas for different people. Personality, lifestyle and level of addiction all play a role in determining how best to quit. Many attempts at quitting smoking fail or are aborted because a technique inappropriate to the smoker is being attempted. This article will help you examine some important factors to consider while trying to find the right quit smoking methods that are effective for you.

Regardless of the quit smoking methods used, in order to stop smoking the desire to quit has to be present. It will not be enough to say they want to quit smoking, without a firm personal commitment to put an end to the smoking, none of the quit smoking methods will result in success.

Trying Out Various Quit Smoking Methods

Once you start looking you are likely to find that there is indeed a vast range of quit smoking methods so if one seems like a poor fit for you go ahead and try an alternative method.

Some quit smoking methods such as going ‘cold turkey,’ rely solely on the discipline of the individual. Other methods such as nicotine gum and nicotine patches rely on less-dangerous substitutes for cigarettes that the individual can be gradually weaned off of. As the sociological and cultural drive to eliminate smoking gains steam, there are constantly new methods of quitting smoking being developed.

The most important thing to remember is to not give up hope. In your search you are bound to come upon at least one of the quit smoking methods that is just right for you.

Newer & More Efficient Quit Smoking Methods

Hypnotism is relatively recent addition to the growing arsenal of quit smoking methods. While it may sound like a scam, there are some studies that prove the effectiveness of hypnotism in dealing with behavioral problems. Hypnotism works best with individuals who are not prejudiced against the method, so if you are unwilling to view hypnotism as a legitimate technique, this method will likely not work for you.

Laser therapy is one of the newer quit smoking methods. Laser therapy works similar to acupuncture, using a low-wattage laser to help alleviate the physical withdrawal symptoms that accompany quitting smoking. Laser therapy is not used to actually quit smoking, but simply to mitigate the symptoms that may arise, so it is often used in conjunction with other therapies, and with individuals who have encountered frustration in the past with other quit smoking methods.

Friday, November 28, 2008

How To Quit Smoking With Hypnotherapy: Get The Facts Behind It

Stop Smoking

Most people who started smoking do not realize how addictive it can be. Most smokers only realize how addictive smoking is only when they want to quit. One way to help you quit smoking successfully is to learn how to quit smoking with hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy simply refers to the hypnosis process that you will be going through. By going under hypnosis, a hypnotherapist is reprogramming your brain so that you think like a non smoker. The idea is to fight the craving you feel every time you want a cigarette so that you will want to quit.

Another way you can learn about how to quit smoking with hypnotherapy is to ask around. Talk to others who have gone under hypnotherapy and asked how the experience has worked for them. That will give you a good idea about the hypnosis process.

More Information About Hypnotherapy
If you like more information on how to quit smoking with hypnotherapy, pick up a book on the subject or search online. Searching online will reveal testimonies from people who have already gone through the program. Such claims are not back up so take them with a pinch of salt.

As most of the online posting are anonymous for the most part, and you really don’t know who is posting them or if the information is accurate. However, from what you read online, it can give you some idea of how hypnosis is used to quit smoking.

When you are ready, visit a hypnotherapist. You will be hypnotized and the therapist will then speak directly to your subconscious. The hypnotherapist will work with you to reprogram your subconscious to accept the fact that you no longer want to smoke. If the treatment is successful, you will find yourself wanting less of cigarettes.

When you quit smoking, it would be your turn to share with others how to quit smoking using hypnotherapy. Hypnosis can only work if you are willing to go fully with it.

Is A Stop Smoking Support Group Right For Me?

It is a good idea to understand the kinds of people that you should expect to be involved in your group when you decide to get involved in a quit smoking support forum. In any true counseling setting there will be trained professionals so be certain that the stop smoking support group you are getting involved in has a healthy mix of all the right kinds of people. Your stop smoking support group needs to be a very controlled environment and experience along with training are crucial to everyone's success. When you are trying to quit smoking you are trying to quit one of the most addictive habits in the world so your stop smoking support group needs to be populated with the right kind of people that can help.

Any good stop smoking support group will be led by trained counselors that everyone can rely on. In most cases these counselors are also former smokers and that just adds that level of experience that is so vital to any successful program. But on top of being former smokers they are also trained counselors that know how to deal with any given situation that may come up while the group is trying to quit smoking. It is extremely important that your group be under the supervision of trained people because without these trained people your chances of success greatly diminish.

Everyone Partner Up

In almost every stop smoking support group there are former smokers who are not trained counselors but are people that are donating their time and experience to help other people try and quit. While these people are not trained counselors they are very vital to the success of your program as their experience can help them to know the times when you many be weakest and they will know what to say. Many times people joining the program to quit will be teamed up with a former smoker as a kind of support mechanism. When the person trying to quit feels weak they call their former smoker and talk about what is going on. This is where experience becomes invaluable.

Aside from those trying to quit smoking there are other types of people needed to make any stop smoking support group successful. Make sure your group has all of the necessary people in order to try and increase your chances of success in your quest to quit smoking.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Best Aids to Quit Smoking

Smoking cessation is a serious thing, even more serious than you have thought. That is why you should seek and get all of the quit smoking aid that you can in order to quit smoking completely.

Here is a brief "Quit Smoking Aid Guide" to introduce you some of the most popular and accessible quit smoking aids.

The first quit smoking aid in our list is may be the one that you expect less  your own will and determination. It might sound silly but it is turn. If you are not strong enough to cope with the smoking cessation stress and if you are not determined to quit smoking forever, than no quit smoking aid can help you.

Assuming that the decision and the determination are there, let’s see what other quit smoking aids are available.

Nicotine Replacement Quit Smoking Aids

Cigarettes, similar to other drugs, contain addictive substance  nicotine. Nicotine is the reason you get addicted to cigarettes and it is one of the main reasons for quitting being so hard. A nicotine replacement therapy works on the principle of replacing cigarette nicotine with nicotine from other sources. After your body continues to receive its daily nicotine doses, you have less cassation symptoms and this leaves you more stress-free time to cope with the behavioral side of the problem.

There are various forms of nicotine replacement products. For example, the nicotine gum is a very popular quit smoking aid product. You do not need a prescription for a nicotine gum and all you need to do it to chew a gum any time your desire for a cigarette struck you.

The nicotine patch is another quit smoking aid based on the NTR (nicotine replacement therapy). The patches are usually transparent and invisible if put under clothes. They should be placed over clean skin anywhere between your neck and waist. There are various patches available  some should stay for 12-16 hours, others should be changed at every 24 hours.

Laser Quit Smoking Aids

Laser therapies are also a well-known and successful way to quitting smoking. The therapy employs ancient Chinese acupuncture techniques  specific points of your body are stimulated with low-level (also called cold) lasers. This results in increased endorphin production thus reduced cravings and post-smoking symptoms. Laser treatments give very good results especially if they are combined with a correct behavior therapy.

Quitting Smoking Aids

Most people are reluctant to use any form of chemical substances to help them in quitting smoking. There are also people whose medical condition does not allow the use of nicotine replacement products (people with heart problems, diabetes, stomach problems, pregnant or breast-feeding women, etc). The good news is that there is a quit smoking aid for those people as well. There are many herbal products available that will reduce the cigarette cravings and the cessation symptoms. Many people prefer acupuncture than laser therapy as well.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

41 Tips to Quit Smoking

1. It's not as hard as you think. Once you begin to be honest with yourself and to look at the facts about smoking, it will become a pleasure to remove this addiction from your life.

2. Square off with your smoking habit. Look at it and size it up. Ask yourself exactly what it is doing for you; then ask yourself what it is not doing for you. You can begin with your hair and work your way down to the tips of your toes. It is a medical fact that smoking affects every organ in the human body in a harmful way.

3. Look at quitting cigarettes as giving yourself a gift, a very big gift. You are giving yourself a better quality of life and, very possibly, a longer life. You are giving yourself a healthier body. You are giving yourself more self-esteem. Wrap all this in a package and look at it for the gift it really is, then "Go for it!"

4. Set a date. Make a commitment. Give it a try. Remember, it is alright if you don't succeed at first. Just keep trying. The only way you can lose is by ceasing to try.

5. Don't look at it as if you are giving up something. This makes it seem too much like a loss. What you are really doing is tossing something out of your life that has done you harm and doesn't belong here anymore. You are throwing away pure garbage. No longer are you going to allow your lungs to be a resting place for nicotine and tars.

6. Always keep a positive attitude. After all, this is one of the most positive things you've ever done. Stay away from negative people and worrisome situations.

7. Quit for yourself. Even though your family and loved ones will benefit tremendously from your quitting, it is you that will benefit most.

8. Treat giving up smoking with the respect it rightly deserves. Become willing to go to any lengths to remove it from your life. If you are not willing, try praying for the willingness. This usually works.

9. Look up the word 'nicotine' in your dictionary and write down the definition in big letters: "A poisonous alkaloid used as an insecticide.' Put it where you can see it.

10. Don't say "I'll take my chances' and continue to smoke. They are not ours to take. We didn't give ourselves life and we don't have the right to "take our chances" on giving it away.

11. Don't fool yourself by saying you have too many pressures in your life right now to give up cigarettes. If you are smoking, this in itself is a very great pressure. Every day is a gamble and your life is at stake. By getting nicotine out of your life, other things will become easier to handle. You will feel better about yourself and you will have more energy. You will have accomplished something more meaningful than all the money and material objects you could ever acquire. You will have given yourself what no one else could give you. You will no longer have the pressures of being a smoker.

12. Don't use the excuse that you might gain weight to justify your continuing to smoke. Even if you do gain a little, the fact that you will be more active and will get more exercise should counteract any weight gain. Remember, overeating, not stopping smoking, causes weight gain.

13. Plan to do things that will keep your mind off smoking. Sometimes our minds can be our worst enemies. They will tell us that we need a cigarette for just about any reason that is handy at the time. By doing things like going to the movies in the non-smoking section, munching on corn or sucking on a lollipop, we can keep our minds occupied and get a break. Go to museums and other places where smoking isn't allowed. Swimming or any physical exercise is a good idea, too.

14. Quit smoking one day at a time and think only about the part of the day you are in. "I am not going to smoke before noon." "I am not going to smoke before three o'clock." Sometimes just do it one hour at a time. This is a lot easier than trying to quit forever.

15. Don't subject yourself to smoky situations. If you do come in contact with someone who is smoking, just say to yourself "He is having the cigarette I might be having"; then, be grateful you don't have to have it.

16. While you are quitting. Look at it as an investment. Once you have quit for one hour, you have invested this hour in becoming a healthier person. Now, invest one more hour. Continue to add to your investment hour by hour. It will grow and become more valuable as the hours go by. You will begin to see and feel the rewards from this investment more and more. Protect and guard it just as you would a treasure.

17. Start being kind to yourself, It is the beginning of a new way of life for you and you are the most important one there. Treat yourself with respect and love and, remember, you are no longer filling your system with poison every few minutes. Breathe the clean air and breathe it deeply. Smell the different and wonderful fragrances. Begin to spend time outdoors close to nature. Many new sensations await you.

18. Don't get too angry. If we are angry, our minds tell us we need a cigarette to cope. Until your mind learns that it doesn't need a cigarette to cope, try to avoid situations that might be setting you up. Avoid certain people that may bother you. If there is a lot of tension at work, try to get a few days off. If you can't get some time off, quit smoking on a long weekend. Avoid, as best you can, things like getting stuck in traffic. Use a lot of caution. Anger can be very destructive.

19. Don't get too hungry. It is amazing how our minds will tell us that everything's wrong when all we really need to do is eat.

20. Don't get too tired. If we are tired, it is easy to become irritated and when we get irritated our minds will tell us that a cigarette will help. Our overall resistance becomes weak and it is easy to say, "Oh well, I guess I'll smoke."

21. Don't get too lonely. It is good to know some people who are going through the same thing. By going to Nicotine Anonymous meetings you can get phone numbers of such people. Find a friend and quit together, the support will help you achieve your goals.

22. You can remember these four things by the word "HALT." Hungry, angry, lonely, tired. If you feel you need a cigarette, check to make sure you are not experiencing any of these.

23. Don't get too bored. It is hard to just sit and not smoke. Keep busy. Find things to do that you enjoy. Bike riding, hiking, swimming, exploring new places, trying new restaurants. This is the time to indulge yourself.

24. Have something to fidget with. We are accustomed to holding a cigarette; being without one might leave our hands at a loss. Get a small rubber ball or a yo-yo. Play dough is good also, or a piece of clay.

25. Have something handy to put in your mouth. Life Savers are good, or any slowly dissolving candy. Beef jerky and lollipops help, too. Avoid fattening foods like cookies. They don't last long and they fill you up. Experiment while you are still smoking to see what will relieve the craving. If Life Savers work, then stock up. Just a note of caution: don't use this type of substitute on a long-term basis.

26. If you always have a cigarette with a cup of coffee, stop drinking coffee before you quit smoking.

27. Don't drink alcohol while you are quitting. Once alcohol is in your system your defenses will diminish greatly.

28. Remember that the discomfort you experience in the first 2 weeks will definitely come to an end and you will never have to go through it again.

29. Frequently give yourself a pat on the back. What you are doing isn't easy by any means. It takes a lot of guts to try to quit smoking.

30. If you are feeling pain from withdrawal, let it become a lasting memory to serve as a reminder of exactly how strong the drug nicotine is and how hooked you really are.

31. Remember, every minute you were sucking on cigarettes they were sucking on you. They were sucking the very life out of you. Don't let them have any more.

32. Avoid the self-pity trap. If we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, our minds will tell us that we deserve a cigarette to make us feel better.

33. Remember, if you just keep trying, you will win. It is good against evil and the odds are stacked in your favor.

34. Before quitting, plan your activities for the first few days after you quit. This way you won't have to make too many decisions while you are withdrawing. At first, making decisions may be hard without a cigarette.

35. If you are not going to quit right away, then start cutting down. If you smoke 2 packs a day and you cut back 1 cigarette a day for a month, you will be down to just 10 cigarettes a day. Some people, however, have found cutting back to be almost as hard as quitting.

36. Drink lots of liquids to help flush the poison out of your system. Orange juice is good because smoking depletes the vitamin C content in our bodies. Quit Smoking pill will also help your body to detoxify naturally.

37. Remember, it is the first cigarette that gets you started. It takes only one. This is the one you don't have. You can always put off lighting that first one for a little while. Don't fool yourself and think you can start and stop at will. You can't. Many people have tried this and gone on to live the rest of their lives never to experience freedom from nicotine again.

38. Frequently remind yourself about the differences you have noticed in yourself. Things like: Your breath no longer smells like a dirty ashtray. Your teeth are beginning to lose their yellow color and look bright and clean. Your fingers aren't stained from tobacco. That sickly sounding smoker's cough is disappearing. Your senses of smell and taste are returning. Your complexion is beginning to Improve. Your general attitude about yourself is better because you are beginning to really care about yourself.

39. Give it away. Whenever you have a chance to give your experience, strength and hope to another smoker, use it. This act of giving will insure your chances for staying off nicotine and give strength to your program. There is much reward in helping someone else to gain freedom from this harmful substance.

40. Have a follow-up program. Don't assume it is over because you have made it through a couple of weeks. Nicotine is very cunning. Continue to attend Nicotine Anonymous meetings. If there are no meetings in your area, help to get one started. It is very simple. All you need are a place to meet and a few interested people.

41. When you want to smoke, read this list of tips.

Read My Experiences with Quit Smoking Aids

I had been smoking for thirty-six years until I was diagnosed with Emphysema, I had no choice I had to quit, My Story is about how I managed to go from more than a pack a day to an EX in less than 30 days

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Stages You Go Through When You Quit Smoking

Tips To Quit Smoking

The 5 Stages To Quit Smoking

Quitting Smoking is not going to be easy. Data have indicated that at least 4 to 5 tries are needed before a smoker can effectively quit smoking. If you are planning to quit, here are the 5 stages of quit smoking that you need to be aware of.

Stage 1
This is where a smoker has no intention about giving up. Smokers like these usually do not deem smoking dangerous.

Stage 2
During this stage, a smoker is aware of the risk of smoking but is not prepared to do anything yet. Usually, these are the ones who would likely to try to give up within the next six months.  People at this stage are likely to be exploring the various ways to quit.

Stage 3
Here, the smoker is keen to quit. Concrete steps are being taken and people at this stage usually set a deadline and get into support groups.

Stage 4

Smokers will arrive at this stage when not smoking becomes the norm. At this moment, smokers need time to handle their nicotine withdrawal and their new smoke free lifestyle.

Stage 5
This is where a smoker starts to feel less stress about the time between each urge to smoke. The desire to smoke can be managed. However, ex-smokers should be mindful that they can still return to their own habits if they are tempted.

Even if you have stopped smoking for several years, you can still pick it up again and that will send you all the way back to stage 2. Unless that is what you are prepared for, it would do you lot of good to stay away.

Knowing the stage you are at helps you to gauge your chances of giving up. However, do note that these stages are merely a rough guide to assess your dependence and attitude on tobacco. That said, smokers are more likely to quit when they know how much grip their smoking habit has on them. Remember by knowing where you are along your journey helps you to get to your final destination earlier.

Hopefully, this simple quit smoking guide has been useful for you. If you are looking for more information on how to quit smoking, do visit my site at http://www.tipstoquitsmoking.net.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Popular Misconceptions About Hypnosis

A highly misunderstood and unervalued self-help and relaxation subject is hypnotherapy. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons that hypnotherapy is misunderstood is that most people are only familiar with stage hypnosis. During all stage sessions, participants are pre-qualified, and only the most suggestible subjects are actually brought onto stage for the performance. 

Another common misconception is that people believe a hypnotist can force them to do odd things such as clucking like a chicken. The fact is that a hypnotherapist can't make you do anything that you don't want to do, or are incapable of doing. The subjects on stage performing outrageous acts are outgoing and uninhibited by nature, and that's why they're on stage in the first place.

Hypnosis is little more than guided relaxation. That's it. There's no magic to it, although it can be very effective for certain participants when used for self help (for example, hypnosis smoking cessation). The objective with hypnotherapy is to put a subject or yourself into a state of relaxation, where your guard is naturally lowered and you're more susceptible to suggestion. The hypnotist then implants simple affirmations or suggestions by simply speaking them, and in many cases, repeating similar suggestions. 

Another way to look at hypnosis is that it's positive self-talk or positive affirmations made when the mind is relaxed. So there's nothing mysterious about a hypnotherapist. Hypnosis is simply an approach to lead your body and mind into a relaxed state and clear your mind of distractions so that it can focus on the affirmations being said.

Some people are more suggestible than others and some people are naturally averse to hypnosis altogether. As a hypnosis subject, I'm a nightmare. After six months of failed attempts at being hypnotized, I finally recorded my own voice and hypnotized myself. About one out of five people will likely be resistant to hypnosis.

Smoking in particular is a good candidate for hypnotherapy because much of the addiction is psychological, and that is an area the self-hypnosis can help you address. Considering the expense of cigarettes, and the expense of typical cessation programs like nicotine gum, the patch, shots, and the like, the modest investment in a simple hypnotherapy quit smoking audio that you can listen to in the comfort of your home is appealing.

At the very least, hypnosis will help you lower stress levels, relax, and balance yourself. If you are a smoker, a hypnosis smoking cessation program might be just what the doctor ordered, and you can easily participate in one without worrying about clucking at odd hours of the day!

Monday, November 17, 2008

What To Expect When You Quit Smoking

How To Quit Smoking

Quitting a life long addiction like smoking can both be a boon and a bane, especially to the person who is trying to kick the nicotine habit. Most people will state the benefits when they tell you what to expect what you quit smoking.

However, I think this has been over-emphasized. You need to know that your body can go through some negative consequences too. This is because the same way that your body had to acclimatize to the sudden introduction and consequent use of tobacco in your everyday routine, it now has to acclimatize to its sudden or gradual removal as well.

Here are a few of the negative physiological changes that you can expect when you quit smoking.

The Physical Banes Of Nicotine Rehabilitation

Your body actually starts the healing process within 20 minutes after you put out your last cigarette. The self-healing process will be more noticeable to a chain smoker who has smoked for a long time, especially if the smoker has never gone for more than a few minutes without a lighted cigarette in the mouth.

Unfortunately, the healing process is masked by the exhibition of the quit smoking withdrawal symptoms. The moment when the extreme craving sets in, and you do not give in to that pressure, your body shakes from the sudden dropping of the glucose levels in your blood. This also makes you either salivate a lot or feel unbearably hunger.

Increase of Appetite

In many cases, you may even experience both. Nicotine in your bloodstream usually affects the cells that help produce glucose in your body, actually suppressing them. This is the reason why some smokers would rather light up than eat, since nicotine (quite literally) robs the body of a healthy eating appetite. Once the nicotine is gone, the cells that produce glucose go on hyper speed production.

This is also precisely the reason why many people who has managed to kick the habit find themselves gaining weight a few months after being smoke-free. However, this is only a temporary phase. Given the right guidance, a person can finally achieve a glucose level plateau that can be managed.

Coughing

Fits of coughing and difficulty in breathing are also common signs of the withdrawal symptoms. We all know that smoking damages the lungs first and foremost. The moment you stop smoking though, the cells of your lungs start to repair the damaged soft tissues.

Unlike a bridge under construction, you really cannot close off a section of your lungs while it repairs itself. So yes, the fits of coughing and the difficulty in breathing will continue all throughout the nicotine rehabilitation.

You see, nicotine actually deadens the cilia of the lungs. Cilia are the hair-like fibers surrounding the entire respiratory organ. These are actually the first internal line of defense that our lungs rely on to ward away the toxins in the air we breathe.

Unfortunately, smoking is a continuous and deadly process of actually breathing in the toxic substance called nicotine. The fits of coughing are one of the visible signs of the body expelling the toxins we breathe in.

Naturally, since our lungs are already damaged, we find ourselves having great difficulty in breathing. This becomes especially hard during rehab since now the lungs are performing 2 tasks all at once. Breathing for you through damaged "equipment" and healing that "equipment" at the same time.

However, given a few months, those breaths will become deeper and your smelling buds will have developed again, enabling you to take the first deep, untainted breaths possible. Within a year, your risk of having a heart attack will be halved. And if you stay away from cigarettes for fifteen years, you risk of having heart disease will be equivalent to that of a non-smoker.

Now that you know what to expect what you quit smoking, you can be better prepared to enjoy a smoother quit smoking journey. Visit my Tips To Quit Smoking blog at http://www.tipstoquitsmoking.net for tricks that you can use to make your smoking cessation process more painless and effortless. Also be sure to download your free report on The Truth About Smoking while you are there.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Quit Smoking Plan

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Here are some extremely important steps to stop smoking. Follow them closely to ensure that you will be successful in quitting smoking.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 1.Set a quit date: This should be in the not-too-distant future. Try to set it during a time when you predict that you will be under relatively low stress, if possible. The first 72 hours will be the most difficult. The day you receive your pills is a great day to start!

2.Remove temptation: Throw away all cigarettes (including that emergency stash!) and clean your house and car so you can remove as much of the odor as you can.

3.Join a smoking cessation program: These come in many shapes and sizes. Find the one that’s right for you. The most important thing is that you are able to track your progress by documenting it and sharing it.

4.Find support: This can also come in many forms. If you choose to join a website, it will most likely have a support group. Perhaps you can also convince a friend to quit smoking with you, so you can go through it together. Remember: you can never have too much support. It’s also important that your smoker friends realize that you are trying to quit, so they can attempt to hide the temptation from you.

5.Start using Quit smoking Aids: Quit Smoking Aid is a great way to assist you through the process of quitting because it is formulated to alleviate the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal while cleansing the system of all smoking-related toxins.

6.Adjust your behavior: You can have all the resources at your disposal to quit smoking, but without the right behavior, none of them will work. You have to WANT to quit, and you have to be determined to follow through.

7.Find replacement activities (besides eating): Join a gym, start jogging, join a team. Many people argue that they don’t quit smoking because they don’t want to gain weight, but as long as you don’t replace the physical act of putting cigarette to mouth with putting food to mouth, you won’t have to worry about this. Becoming active will also make you feel better about your body and keep your mind off smoking.

8.Take it one day at a time: Once the day comes that you have to give up the cigarettes, just keep in mind that with every minute that you go without cigarettes, your body is healing itself and you will begin the reap the many rewards of a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Read My Experience with Quit Smoking Aids

 

I had been smoking for thirty-six years until I was diagnosed with Emphysema, I had no choice I had to quit, My Story is about how I managed to go from more than a pack a day to an EX in less than 30 days

 

 

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Will a Stop Smoking Products Work for me?

Is a quit smoking pill the answer for people who are trying to give up their smoking habit? When a pill claims that it will help you to stop smoking you would expect that it will be effective, but the situation is rather more complicated than this. The reason for this is that there is no one quit smoking pill, but rather a variety of different pills some of which prove to be more effective than others. The way in which people try to give up smoking also has a bearing on the outcome so the result can not just be related to the particular pill they have used.

Before going further it is instructive to quote some statistics. Despite the fact that there are now fewer smokers than a few years ago, today some 45 million Americans are still hooked on tobacco. A British survey found that nearly half of the smokers they interviewed had tried to quit on one or two occasions in the previous year and 8% had succeeded at the time of the survey.

To succeed in giving up smoking you have to overcome two problems. Nicotine withdrawal is the largest of these and this is where pills can help. You also have to break the habits associated with cigarettes. Think about the times where you automatically reach for your cigarettes. Try to vary your routine so that you no longer receive the automatic messages that "this is where I always pull out a cigarette".

There are a number of different pills available to help people to quit. Many are based on herbal supplements which are available over the counter, and others are prescription drugs. All are designed to reduce the craving for nicotine that occurs when you first stop smoking cigarettes. Until recently Zyban was the drug that was commonly prescribed, but there were a number of side effects. Zyban has now been replaced by Chantix manufactured by Pfizer.

So is a quit smoking pill the answer for everyone? On its own, no. There is no pill that will force you to give up smoking cigarettes. The pills serve a useful service in reducing the nicotine craving and, in some cases, making your cigarettes taste foul, but you have to supply the other essential element which is a genuine desire to quit the tobacco habit. Without this clear intention on your part, you are bound to fail and join the ranks of those who continually make a half-hearted attempt to quit but give up after a few days or weeks. So if you really want to quit, make a clear decision and make it today.

The most important rule to remember when stopping smoking is this. Nobody is trying to make you do anything. Please don't think that this article is trying to preach to you about what you should do about your smoking habit, or patronize you by telling you things you already know. It is not trying to make you feel foolish by presenting facts and ideas about smoking, or trying to browbeat you into giving up.

If you decide to press that internal "quitting smoking button" then that is your decision. It is a choice that you must make willingly and be completely committed to. If you do decide to give up then you will do it for your own reasons and on your own terms.

"NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE OR HOW LONG YOU'VE SMOKED, QUITTING NOW WILL HELP YOU LIVE LONGER AND HEALTHIER."

Read My Quit Smoking Story
I had been smoking for thirty-six years until I was diagnosed with Emphysema, I had no choice I had to quit, My Story is about how I managed to go from more than a pack a day to an EX in less than 30 days

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Best Know Top 10 Tips To Quit Smoking

Best Know Top 10 Tips To Quit Smoking

Smoking cessation is an unpleasant experience for whichever side you look at it. You will have to cope with the cravings and all the withdrawal symptoms, you will have to beat up the smoking habit and change your lifestyle completely.

To help you get out of the smoking-swamp we have compiled a short list with tips to give up smoking.

Tip #1

Set up a stop date a few weeks in advance. This will give you enough time to prepare yourself for the upcoming changes. Moreover, this will allow you to start some medical treatment.

Tip #2

The second one of out top ten tips to give up smoking is simple but very important. On your stop smoking day, throw away all your cigarettes. This will not only prevent easy access to cigarettes but also will have a huge psychological impact on you.

Tip #3

Avoid places and situations that would prompt you to lighting up a cigarette. For example if you light up your first cigarette with your morning coffee, replace it with herbal tea; avoid going to pubs or night clubs during your first ex-smoker weeks.

Tip #4

Get stop smoking aids after consulting with your doctor. Nicotine patches or gums may help you a lot in the smoking cessation process and relieve the withdrawal symptoms.

Tip #5

Start saving the money that you used to spend on cigarettes. You will soon discover that you have put aside enough to buy something nice for yourself.

Tip #6

One more from the tips to give up smoking – regular sport activities. Start with long walks, buy a bike and cycle to your work or just for fun, rollerblade, or go swimming. Any physical activity is good and it is up to you to pick up the ones that most suit your personality. Sport will not only help improve your appearance but it will help your body detox and reduce both the cravings and the cessation symptoms.

Top #7

Change your eating habits, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, and drink a lot of liquids. A healthy diet with a) prevent you from gaining weight and b) reduce the withdrawal symptoms.

Tip #8

Ask your family and friends to be supportive. The first week after you put away the cigarettes you will be nervous and irritable so it is vital that they understand your behavior and help you.

Top #9

The funniest one of all tips to give up smoking but it really works – think of reward scheme. For example “if I do not smoke for a couple of weeks I will buy ...” You can promise yourself a big prize if you manage not to smoke for three months - something like a vacation or a trip to an exotic place.

Tip #10

Here is the last one of the top ten tips to give up smoking: be very patient and believe that you can do it. Your will and dedication will help you stop smoking more than any other therapy or medications. Smoking is 70% connected with your mind and only 30% with your body.

Read My Quit Smoking Story
I had been smoking for thirty-six years until I was diagnosed with Emphysema, I had no choice I had to quit, My Story is about how I managed to go from more than a pack a day to an EX in less than 30 days

 

 

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Stopping smoking in stages

Stopping smoking  can be hard. Not many people can tell themselves one day that they are going to give up smoking and manage it without a lot of assistance. But if you really want to, the good news is that you can - and there are a lot of people out there who want to help you. You will always be able to find a stop smoking program that suits you.

A lot of smokers have found that going 'cold turkey' simply doesn't work for them, even when using nicotine patches, gum, fake cigarettes etc etc.  If you are one of them and are really committed to stop smoking and have the time, then try the gradual way.

Begin by smoking your first cigarette of the day an hour after you get up in the morning rather than first thing. If you find you can't do this, then make your second cigarette at least an hour after your first one. Usually within a week or two your body will have become conditioned to accept this, and you will no longer crave that first cigarette, then you should start to make the  interval between cigarettes longer. Do this deliberately. If you really crave a cigarette, wait at least five minutes until you light up and after a week or two make it ten.

When you have got used to smoking less, stop smoking during the afternoon and then either the evening or the morning, whichever is most comfortable. Eventually, you should be able to live on one or two cigarettes a day without discomfort and from there it is only a hop and a skip to giving up altogether.

Whilst you are cutting down on your cigarette consumption, make it a bit uncomfortable to smoke. Start by not emptying ashtrays, you will be surprised at how much the smell of long dead cigarettes will put you off. Next do not allow yourself to smoke indoors.

Try to avoid those places where you regularly smoke and spend less time with those colleagues you regularly smoke with. Explain that you are giving up smoking and you may find that they will join you. Help and support is always good. You need to break the habit and to do so you may need to break other habits.If you use cigarettes as a reward system ( I will finish this and then I will have a cigarette) then you should give yourself a different reward. (I will finish this and then sit down and look at a magazine/t.v. for five minutes, go out into the garden) - whatever floats your boat.

Setting up a mutual support system with a friend who also wishes to quit can help. Phone each other every day to exchange experiences and be available if either of you need support so as not to break the rules regarding where in the system you are.

Finally, arrange a reward for the day you do finally quit smoking. Calculate how much cash you are saving and put this away weekly. You could use it to have a holiday, or buy a new wardrobe, or something else you really want. A goal that is not directly linked to cigarettes will help.

Its never going to be easy to quit smoking,if you need other help and its available, use it. giving up smoking can transform your life in many ways. Smoking is no longer a sociable thing to do, in fact it is decidedly anti-social.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

The best methods to stop smoking today

There are many ways to stop smoking today, these methods vary significantly from classical anti–nicotine treatments like a stop smoking drug, quit smoking hypnosis solutions and quit smoking medication. Smoking involves two separate problems: the psychological and the physical nicotine addiction. Once you've understood this you have a higher chance to stop smoking today. One of the most popular solutions against smoking is the use of nicotine replacements like gum or patches. These products can be easily found in any drug store, and doctors also recommend turning to counseling in order to quit smoking today. Nicotine replacing products have a moderate rate of success in a stop smoking today strategy so they are a good start. Another way to stop smoking today is replacing your cigarettes with other ones containing less nicotine, this first step is normally followed by reducing the number of cigarettes smoked a day. A quite new quit smoking aid is the quit smoking pill.

Another method to stop smoking today is to identify the triggers, what it is that makes you smoke. Once you know what favors your smoking habit, measures can be taken. The stop smoking today decision can work very well when you decided to quit smoking “Cold Turkey”. Also consider asking a non-smoker to help you like a family member or friend, they will give valuable support in your effort to stop smoking today. Another strategy to stop smoking today is that each time you feel like lighting a cigarette to think about the benefits of quitting and the health problems that smoking causes. Taking control over your live is not easy if you have an addiction, but trying is the best start. The most important thing is to redoubling efforts, never give up your plan and remember that it is only a matter of time until you finally escape from this deadly habit.


Finding the best method to stop smoking today comes sometimes naturally when there is enough positive determination. Many of those who stop smoking today do it because of severe health problems. To eliminate nicotine cravings you'll have to try as many remedies as possible until you succeed. Unfortunately most non-smokers think that trying to stop smoking today is just a problem of will power. Nicotine is extremly addictive and most people don't understand what happens to a smoker when he or she tries to quit. A winning formula against smoking would contain anti–nicotine treatment, psychological counseling, and educational information about the effects of smoking and a lot of positive thinking. So, stop smoking today!