Focus the mind to quit smoking

With the with the onset of the Smoking Ban, it is estimated that over 2 million people in England, Wales %26 Scotland will have tried to quit smoking in the second half of 2007. However, even if all of these people managed to give up and stay off cigarettes, that still leaves an estimated 8 million smokers in Britain today.

To give up smoking is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, with hundreds of thousands trying to quit each year. But the sad fact is that a significant proportion of these people will lapse before the year is out and return to their smoking habit. There are withdrawal symptoms that will be experienced when trying to give up smoking – many people suffer from mouth ulcers, develop a chesty cough and even suffer from disturbed sleep. However as well as these physical symptoms there are also mental side effects that need to be faced – irritability, restlessness and anxiety and it is perhaps these side effects that contribute more to people succumbing to the craving for nicotine more than the physical withdrawal symptoms.

Therefore preparing yourself mentally to quit before you even stub out that last cigarette could be the key to success. Take time to sit down and write a list of all the reasons why you want to quit and then put it somewhere really obvious to refer back to it in a moment of weakness. Decide on a day to quit and make a note – only buy enough cigarettes to last you until that time – “emergency supplies” stashed away will call out to you once you’ve stopped and could be your downfall. Tell your family and friends and ask them to support you, maybe even find yourself a friend who wants to stop as well.

The night before you are due to quit, throw away all your smoking “equipment” – ashtrays, lighters, spare cigarettes – they’ve got to go if you are to succeed. However, perhaps most important of all is to accept the fact that it won’t be easy to give up. If you kid yourself that giving up smoking is going to be a walk in the park then you will be unpleasantly surprised throughout the first few days and you may not have the willpower to see it through. But, if you’re feeling really strong you could try some reverse psychology and view the cravings as a good thing – it’s a sign that your body is starting to recover.

Once you’ve taken the plunge and decided to give up smoking, the key to success is to take small steps. Take each day one at a time and tell yourself you just aren’t smoking for today; it will seem far less daunting than never smoking EVER AGAIN.

Nicotine replacement therapy could work if you’ve been a heavy smoker, but if you don’t want to go that route then distract yourself; drinking water flushes out toxins but also gives you something to do with your hands. Alternatively, go and do something else - ring a friend or go for a walk. Finally, sit those cravings out – the average craving only lasts three minutes and then the urge should disappear.

Once you’ve got this far, you’re almost there and you just need a few techniques to keep you on the straight and narrow. By spotting your trigger points, you can learn to avoid them; so for example if you always had a cigarette with a glass of wine, have a handful of nuts instead so that you have something else to focus on. If you do have a lapse, keep your resolve – it’s only one and you don’t have to have another.

Smoking was a habit, so help to break it by taking up a new habit (but this time, choose a healthy one!) If you think you would benefit from some help as you give up, take advantage of the support that’s out there. There are plenty of support groups for people wishing to give up smoking - both online and offline, and anyone serious about giving up can find details of support groups from their local GP surgery. Additionally, many high street chemists offer help and advice for those wishing to stop smoking. Boots, for example operate their Change One Thing programme, which has an action plan containing advice from experts, to hold your hand every step of the way.

Before you know it, you will start to see the positives – your clothes will no longer smell, your skin may have fewer wrinkles, your smile will be brighter once the cigarette stains start to fade and your heart will be much healthily. So, take a deep breath (if you can!) and declare yourself a non-smoker in 2008.

So you’re thinking it’s time to quit smoking?  Maybe it’s the first time, maybe the 20th time.

I quit smoking almost 8 years ago.  I never thought I would be a non-smoker.  Briefly, my story is that I went from smoking 2 packs a day when I started, to 2 cigarettes a day.  But…..I HAD to have those 2 a day.  I was addicted.  I hated being addicted, especially since I’d quit alcohol and lost lots of weight.  I looked forward to my 2 cigarettes.  I had one around 6:00 pm and the other right before bed.  It was a routine I had for years.

I got sick 8 years ago.  The kind of sickness you can’t smoke (most of the time no matter how sick you are you’ll smoke, I did anyway).  But for 4 days I couldn’t smoke and I wasn’t very nice to be around @ work.  My supervisor really upset me and I went home that 5th day and promised myself a cigarette, sick or not, because “I deserved it.”  I was looking forward to it.

I got home and picked up the pack of cigarettes that had been sitting on my desk for days and took out a cigarette and picked up my lighter and headed outside.  I was getting giddy.  Oh, I get to smoke again!  I took a puff.  Horrible!  Well that’s because I hadn’t had a cigarette in 5 days.  I took another puff.  Still nasty but I’d keep trying.  After around 4 puffs I was feeling nauseaus.  Darn!  I wanted to finish the cigarette so badly……..it was only half-smoked but I put it out.  I told myself there was always tomorrow (even though the question “could this be my last cigarette?” popped into my head).  No tomorrow I’ll think about it.

Long story short…I never picked up another cigarette after that day.  Every time the thoughts would come about smoking like “you’re not smoking anymore?  “what about your cigarette before you go …….” NO!  I wouldn’t finish the thoughts.  I would just gently lift my thoughts into a peaceful place.  It sound sorta hokey but that’s exactly what I did.  I then went out doing my errands “pretending” I had already had my late afternoon cigarette.  I stayed calm too.  That’s key!

I’ve been a non-smoker now for almost 8 years and I can’t tell you how great it is not to be beholden to cigarettes anymore.  I still like the smell of a cigarette sometimes but I never think about them or want to go back to smoking.  I smoked for 28 years and I’ll never go back again. 

So my 3 tips to quit smoking that worked for me are:

Stay calm, meditate if you can.  It’s important to keep the mind calm and serene so the thoughts don’t start to take over;

“Trick” yourself–do whatever you would have done AFTER the cigarette.  For me I used to practice singing after my cigarette.  So since I wasn’t smoking I sang and “tricked” myself into thinking I had already smoked.

Don’t let your mind finish all the negative thoughts that WILL come.  The mind will try possibly 100 times in one day to get you to smoke.  Remember, this is something you WANT to do (quit smoking) It will be worth it.

This may sound a little “out there” for some people but this is what worked for me.  I’m very non-traditional and couldn’t have done it any other way.  And boy am I grateful to not be smoking.  I have a freedom that just can’t be described! 

While you want to stop, you might not know what happens to your body when you quit smoking. In addition to nicotine, cigarettes contain many chemicals that affect your health in very damaging ways. It might be difficult to believe, but healing begins within 20 minutes when you quit smoking.

Within the first 20 minutes of quitting, your healing process begins. Your blood pressure decreases, your pulse rate drops, and the body temperature of your hands and feet increases. These benefits will continue to improve your health for years.

After eight hours of quitting smoking, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal and the oxygen level in your blood increases to normal.

At 24 hours, your chance of a heart attack decreases.

At 48 hours, your nerve endings begin regrowth and your ability to smell and taste improves.

And the benefits of quitting smoking are just beginning.

Between two weeks and thee months of stopping, your circulation improves, walking becomes easier, and your lung function increases.

Your worst nicotine withdrawal symptoms subside within the first month. After that, you learn how to decipher and reprogram the psychological urges to smoke that you’ve all built up over the years.

Starting as early as a month after you quit smoking, and continuing for the next several months, you may notice significant improvements in coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath.

At one year smoke-free, your excess risk of coronary heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker.

Once you put a year between you and the last cigarette you smoke, congratulate yourself! Be grateful for the freedom you have created for yourself. The benefits of the positive choices you’ve made will continue to grow as you move forward from here.

For all of the work it takes to shed your addiction to nicotine, the incredible feelings of freedom and control you’ll be rewarded with when you quit smoking are just the beginning of the benefits headed your way.

At two years smoke-free, your chance of achieving long-term success with quitting tobacco increases significantly. Smoking relapse rates drop off sharply after two years.

At five years after quitting tobacco, your stroke risk is reduced to that of people who have never smoked.

At 10 years smoke-free, your risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers and your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases. Your risk of ulcers also decreases.

At 15 years smoke-free, your risk of coronary heart disease is similar to that of people who have never smoked, and your risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked.

It may be difficult to imagine yourself as an ex-smoker with 15 years of freedom from the habit. It is possible, and it starts with a first step of making the commitment to quit, and then taking action. From there, it’s just a day-by-day process.

Now that you’ve seen what happens to your body when you quit smoking, you’ll want to stop as quickly as possible. Don’t let smoking waste any more of your life.

Quit Smoking Benefit

Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Smoking is a practice where a substance, most commonly tobacco, is burned and the smoke tasted or inhaled. Smoking not only harms your health but it hurts the health of those around you. Exposure to secondhand smoke (also called environmental tobacco smoke or passive smoking) includes exhaled smoke as well as smoke from burning cigarettes. Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. It is also responsible for many other cancers and health problems. These include lung disease, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke and cataracts. Women who smoke have a greater chance of certain pregnancy problems or having a baby die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug use. Tobacco smoking is today by far the most popular form of smoking. Nicotine is a drug found naturally in tobacco. It is highly addictive as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Over time, a person becomes physically and emotionally addicted to, or dependent on, nicotine. Quitting smoking is not easy, but you can do it. When you quit smoking, the benefits begin within minutes of your last cigarette. Some powerful reasults for quit smoking.You will know you can succeed at difficult taks and take more control of your life. Quitting helps you believe in yourself. Quitting smoking has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages. Benefits apply to people with and without smoking-related disease. The excess risk of developing heart disease as a result of smoking may be reduced by as much as half in the year or two after quitting. Women who stop smoking before pregnancy or during the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low birth-weight baby to that of women who never smoked. The health benefits of quitting smoking are far greater than any risks from the small weight gain or any emotional or psychological problems that may follow quitting. Women who quit at age 35 increase their life expectancy by 6 to 8 years. It is never too late to gain benefits from quitting. When you quit smoking 3 - 9 months Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as lung functions are increased by up to 10%. Quitting at age 45 increases life expectancy by 6 or 7 years. Quitting at age 55 increases life expectancy by 3 to 6 years. Quitting at age 65 increases life expectancy by 1.4 to 4 years.

Comparing Programs The best way to compare programs would be to find out for each One the percentage of people who successfully quit smoking out of all who attempted. That sounds easy enough. But, in practice, this is very difficult. First, many organizations and companies do not know the success rates of their programs. Others who know their rates may be reluctant to make them public. It might be felt that low success rates will discourage smokers. This can be a problem when the creators of honest programs have to compete with the claims of dishonest competitors. Each program should be able to quote you a success rate. If one doesn’t, be wary. Unless you’re asking about a new program that is in the process of being evaluated, we would probably recommend that you avoid the program or technique. Cold Turkey Versus Tapering Research indicates there are two basic ways to stop smoking-either immediately (cold turkey) or gradually (tapering). The different programs you’ll be reading about use one of these two approaches. So you’ll have to decide not only what program to use but also how quickly you want to stop. There are pros and cons to each approach. If you stop cold turkey, you’re done smoking. All of your energy goes into maintenance remaining a nonsmoker. But you may experience more symptoms of withdrawal. And cold turkey can be terrifying. To be a smoker one minute and not be allowed to have a cigarette the next can cause a panicky reaction. But many smokers (as well as many experts in the field) feel it’s really the only way to succeed. On the other hand, tapering appears to be easier. You’re not stopping all at once, so withdrawal symptoms can be minimized. However, it may be harder to get rid of that last cigarette. In addition, some critics feel that tapering makes it much easier to slide back into old smoking habits. To begin, you may want to first decide if you prefer to stop cold turkey or gradually. Then, pick a program that incorporates the chosen approach. Or you may want to select the program that most appeals to you and then follow whatever approach it uses. Additional Factors To Consider Now let’s discuss some of the additional factors that you’ll want to take into account when selecting the best program for you. When asking about success rates, you’ll also want to consider issues such as timing, methods of follow-up and counting, and type of participants. Timing Even when program success rates are quoted, companies often neglect to tell you when these rates were determined. What is most important for you to know? The long-term success rate of a program. After all, what good is a program if it helps most days of completion? Unfortunately, this information may not be available for many programs. Follow-Up You should know how success rates were determined. The rates may be inflated. Why? Often, this information is obtained by interviews, and some people may be too embarrassed to admit that they’ve gone back to smoking again. Also, as far as statistics are concerned, you should learn how the program dealt with participants who could not be found or who dropped out of the program. Participants who didn’t return phone calls or who quit the program probably went back to smoking. Statistics that ignore these people will probably offer inflated and inaccurate success rates. The Participants Wouldn’t you like to know something about who participated in the program? Were they heavy or light smokers? How motivated were they? Were they like you? In other words, would their results give you an idea ofhow successful you might be? Success rates may give you a glimpse of a program’s value, but you should also ask, “Compared to what?” In the best studies, smokers are divided randomly among two or more different programs and then followed closely to determine their success. Success rates are most useful when they can be compared between similar groups. So where does this leave you? There is no easy answer to the question, “Is this program effective?” It is important for you to learn about the programs that interest you, find out if they make sense to you, and determine whether or not they have the endorsement of respected organizations in your community. Finally, you have to be comfortable with whatever program or technique you select. This factor, although vague, is probably the most critical . One for your success.

Read this fact sheet before you smoke your next cigarette. The health benefits to be gained from quitting, both instantaneously and in the long-term, are too great to be ignored, and so are the dangers of continuing to smoke.

The financial impact smoking has on individuals and on society as a whole continues to become more and more shocking as the actual price of cigarettes steadily rises along with the cost of health care. It’s estimated that nearly $80 billion is spent each year in the U.S. alone on health care costs that are incurred from treating smoking related conditions and diseases.

What You Need To Know Before You Light Up Your Next Cigarette

- Smoking cigarettes is the foremost preventable cause of all deaths.

- Quitting smoking provides immediate health benefits as well as more improvements over the long term. Minutes after smoking your last cigarette, your blood pressure and heart rate will both return to within their normal limits as your circulation also improves. 24 hours later your risk of having a heart attack decreases, and a few days after that, tissue within the lungs that isn’t permanently damaged will begin the process of trying to heal.

- After 15 years of being completely smoke-free, an ex-smoker has about the same chances of having a stroke as someone who has never smoked in their lifetime.

- Smoking drains energy levels by increasing carbon monoxide in the bloodstream.

- Smoking not only causes lung cancer but also cancer of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, pancreas, and bladder.

- Nicotine can cause many diseases and illnesses including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), depression, diabetes, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

- Beating a nicotine addiction can clear up chronic coughing, sinus congestion, and shortness of breath.

- Smoking during pregnancy seriously increases the risk of a stillbirth, as well as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and causes a decrease in birth weight.

Little Known Facts About Cigarettes

- One in every four men smoke, and one in every women continues to smoke despite the numerous and startling health warnings.

- Secondhand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is linked to 3,000 deaths each year in the United States.

- Smoking impairs fertility in both men and women.

- One cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals including formaldehyde, insecticide, acetone(which you may recognize as nail polish remover) and hydrazine(rocket fuel.)

- 8 out of 10 smokers first puffed a cigarette before reaching the age of 18.

- Studies have shown Nicotine to be even more potently addictive than the notorious narcotic heroin.

- Among the most popular methods for finally quitting are nicotine replacement therapy through the use of patches, gums, and lozenges, and prescription drugs like varenicline and buproprion.

- Every day, nearly 5,000 adolescents under 18 try smoking for the first time.

Brent Crouch is the owner of an internet marketing blog, BrentCrouch.com and StopSmokingEtc.com. He has dedicated this site to sharing advice on how to quit smoking and other stop smoking tips.

Like they say, it is easier said than done. Likewise, it is easy to admonish someone who smokes, or to ask him to quit the habit. Ask someone, who has quit smoking, how hard it had been for him/her. The reply you get will help you understand the almost super-human effort that goes into the entire process of quitting the habit.

The urge to smoke that one last cigarette is always there with people who have already quit the habit. People who have quit active smoking for years report to have had those occasional urges to smoke. Unfortunately, many, who after having successfully quitted the habit, get back to smoking just because they could not hold back the temptation of smoking that occasional cigarette their friend offered. There is no point getting back to square one after what a smoker goes through to quit smoking in the first place. Those occasional urges need to be controlled strongly.

Thankfully, smokers can opt for a very simple and inexpensive way out of this dilemma. Water is said to help people get out of their craving for a smoke. The good news is that it is helping fresh quitters during the initial weeks. People who have been smoking for a long time get used to nicotine, a strong drug. When a person quits smoking or is in the gradual process of quitting, the body craves for nicotine it is used to having on an every day basis. Nicotine needs to be flushed out of the system, which water can do rather effectively. The more the water consumption, the more is the elimination of toxins. On an average, a person who has that urge to smoke should double his intake of water. What is thought more practical is a gradual reduction in the number of cigarettes a person smokes. That way the body gets used to the lesser intake of nicotine on an ongoing basis. Sudden quitting upsets the body and the resultant craving can create more withdrawal symptoms. Headaches are one of the common symptoms of withdrawal.

If you have quit smoking, but gave in to the urge, do not feel guilty. All you need to do is gulp down 3 or 4 glasses of water to flush out the toxins you introduced to the body. Make a fresh resolution not to give into the urge again. When the urge is on, remember not to give in to it. Instead, drink a few glasses of water reminding yourself not to add more toxins to your system.

About the Author: Tom Baldwin owns the site on that offers people many ways to quit smoking. If you wish quit smoking and have been struggling and making any head way, then visit Tom’s site for access to 3 and more easy ways to quit smoking online.

Getting over the symptoms of nicotine addiction can be a long process bit it can also carry a great many more advantageous consequences than one would immediately think of. Here we are going to attempt to set out what will happen to you from day one of quitting the smoking habit. After 15-25 minutes and during the 1st day: The process of healing commences around 20 minutes after your last cigarette and the person who has quit smoking may begin to experience sensations of feeling very ill at ease due to the withdrawal from nicotine affecting the brain. The person’s blood pressure will become lowered and this will then be accompanied by a slowing down of the pulse rate. The temperature of the body will begin to rise. After 14 to 21 days: The initial few weeks are very important as it is during this stage that you blood circulation will start to regain its customary rate and as a consequence of this your lungs will start to recover their typical functions. Respiratory complications like bronchitis and bronchial asthma will show signs of lessening or they may even vanish altogether. The sense of smell and taste will once more begin to work as well as they did before you started to smoke. During the initial nine months: It is usual to experience measurable betterments in coughing, congestion of the sinuses, tiredness and breathlessness. Further there is almost without fail substantial improvements in eating and slumbering habits.  During these stages thoughts of smoking will without doubt try to sneak into your mind and try to throw off your equilibrium if you are not readied for them. After 12 Months: The smokers extra risks of coronary thrombosis, heart attacks and diseased arteries is halved after just 12 months of quitting smoking. Once you have managed to keep away from smoking for a year you should discover that you are now from the majority of its side effects. In many respects your health will be conventional as an individual who as never even smoked at all. The Social benefits of quitting smoking: Once you manage to actually stop smoking the money that you were burning through your habit becomes readily available for spending elsewhere. This inevitably means that your family unit will all gain by you quitting smoking. By them not being subjected to your passive smoke they will also begin to experience health benefits and may also even start to look better as the act of smoking is known to have detrimental affects on appearance and skin tone. One you recognise and accept all the benefits of quitting smoking you really can not afford not to quit smoking today and change your life for the better.  Quitting the act of smoking tobacco is unquestionably one of the single best things that you are capable of doing, not just for you, and own health but also for the health and happiness of those you love.

If you are actually considering stopping smoking then you should take into account the possible side effects, both positive and negative that you are likely to suffer. The Positive Effects of Quitting Smoking: Within just a few days of stopping smoking, you will notice marked improvements to your health. The biggest factor behind this is due to the oxygen levels in your bloodstream increasing together with improved lung function and a general growth in your generalised fitness levels. You will almost certainly notice that your breathing is much improved and your lungs are functioning much freely than while you were still smoking. Your sense of smell and taste improve within hours of your last cigarette and take just a few days to return to their proper levels. The risk of a heart attack gets lower as each cigarette free day passes. Ceasing to smoke will also lower the risks of many problems with your circulation. If you have quit smoking your will also notice an increase in your stamina and within few weeks your stamina level will be normal. You will notice that you sleep much better than before and awaken fresh and revitalised. The Negative Effects of Quitting Smoking: Image via Wikipedia The negative side effects seem to come about as blood sugar levels start to fall. As you go through the procedure of quitting smoking your physical structure is forced adapt to the altered state of affairs. You can easily reduce the levels of this side effect by increasing your fluid intake, drinking a chilled glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice several times a day will help maintain your blood sugar levels. Smoking may likewise impair many of your body’s vital organs therefore it will take time to recover once you quit. Some studies have suggested that by quitting smoking there is a chance that you are a slightly greater risk of being diagnosed with Mesothelioma, the treatment for this disease may be expensive and can not be completed without funding. Another down side to quitting is that you may experience feelings of snappishness, tenseness, sickness, and giddiness. The good news though is that all of these symptoms are short lived. When you first quit you may find you have trouble getting to sleep, or you may wake up during the night more often. It is possible you may have problems concentrating and suffer from minor constipation as well as a tickly “smokers cough”. You may more susceptible to, common colds and ulcers. Obviously you will face the dreaded withdrawal symptoms, repeated urges to light a cigarette, inflated appetite, fidgetiness and depression. The best way to combat the majority of these effects is to take part in regular exercise; however it is always recommended that you consult with your own doctor before dramatically changing your lifestyle to achieve the best results. Summary Quitting the smoking habit is always going to be tough whatever method or system you choose. But the net results can be immense. You regain your health, you stop damaging your home, your family feel better, and you save a ton of money too!

If you want to learn how to quit smoking, you can find a wide variety of resources to help you achieve your goal. Whether it’s a hypnosis program, a nicotine patch or another technique, you can learn this without doing it yourself.

The fact is, once you learn some proper methods on how to quit smoking successfully, there is less of a chance that you will return to smoking in the future.

Start at your local pharmacy. A pharmacist can offer you plenty of advice on aids sold to help smokers quit and will happily provide you with advice on ways to stop smoking. Many over-the-counter solutions can help you through the tougher times to come.

A nicotine patch can be one method to help you butt out for life, and you can pick up these patches in most pharmacies without a prescription. Other aids, such as nicotine gum, might help you through cravings, but the success rate of nicotine gum alone isn’t high enough that you should only use that product.

Although you’ll undoubtedly experience some withdrawal symptoms when you quit smoking, your doctor can advise you on how to avoid others. The best ways to stop smoking involve a slow process, therefore some withdrawal symptoms can be reduced or even eliminated.

Weight gain and insomnia are two of the most common symptoms you may experience, but your doctor can give you alternatives on how to quit smoking without suffering from adverse effects.

There are many forums on the internet that provide support about how to quit smoking through your first weeks and for many years afterwards. A search on “smoking forums” or “stop smoking forums” can quickly have you linked with communities of individuals going through the same thing or people who share their own stop-smoking tips and hints.

The internet is also full of websites devoted to, how to stop smoking, with checklists of things you should do before you smoke your last cigarette. They’ll also provide you information on different methods to stop smoking. These internet sites have good advice and tips on what to do when you feel a craving coming on, such as drinking a glass of water or changing your daily routine to develop new habits.

When you decide to stop smoking, tell your friends and family about your goal. The more people that support you (and nag you, for that matter), the more likely you will be to stop. Quitting smoking is often a group effort, with loved ones playing an essential part in the process.

The best way to decide how to stop smoking is to gather much information about available resources to help you. Also, prepare yourself mentally and physically so you lessen the chance of relapsing.