GIVING UP SMOKING

What If I Fail or Failed Giving Up Smoking?

StopSmokingCoach — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:35:50 +0000

Some of you might have tried giving up smoking before and failed. Then there are some of you who are hesitant to try because you are afraid to fail to give up smoking. Here’s what you don’t know though and is the fact that most people fail on their first try. From my knowledge there has never been a statistical study on the percentage of people who had success on their first try to quit smoking, but I have quit smoking myself and I have dealt with dozens of former smokers over the years and I only remember a couple of individuals who were able to quit on their first attempt.

I, like many others before was not able to quit cigarettes on my first try. In fact, it took me many attempts before I was finally able to quit for good. I haven’t smoked a single cigarette for over 3 years now. I can tell you from firsthand experience that just the attempt to quit really helps you give up smoking in the long run. There is a big difference between knowing what to expect and not knowing at all what you the challenges will be. For me, the failures served me well in the end and on my last try I was very relaxed about the whole process of quitting smoking.

The first time you stop smoking, the urge to smoke catches you by surprise, because it is much stronger than you ever expected it to be. I remember on the first day of my first attempt to stop smoking, I was so nervous about not being able to smoke that I could not relax not even for a minute. Needless to say, I failed miserably on my first attempt and I believe I lasted about 5 hours without a smoke. I tried again after couple of months, but I found it very surprising that I wasn’t as nervous as the first time. I thought I’d be even more stressed, but knowing what to expect really kept me composed and relaxed. I had failed again on my second try, but I lasted a little over 24 hours without a single cigarette.

I found myself more and more used to the idea of giving up smoking and at every attempt I lasted a little more than the previous without having to smoke. I can’t even remember after how many attempts, but at some point I just because extremely confident about my ability to go without smokes. I told myself that if I could go without smoking for 3 days, then I probably would have gone past the most difficult part of the whole quitting process. I was right. I was able to last for 36 hours without a cigarette and by then the urge to smoke was not as intense as the first and the second day. I knew I had succeeded to give up smoking and it had happened after multiple tries.

Do not concern yourself over having failed to quit smoking or to fail to quit smoking on your first try. Every attempt you make, you are one step closer to kicking the habit for good and it is not a failure by any measure. So go on and give your second and third try, you will quit smoking in time but you have to continue trying. If you feel that you need some additional help to quit smoking successfully, then click here to quit once and for all.

Giving Up Smoking One Step At A Time

StopSmokingCoach — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:24:02 +0000

Why is it so hard to stop smoking?

Smoking brings about changes both in your mind and in your body. The physical changes are brought upon by the nicotine addiction. The changes in your mind are brought upon the act of smoking over a long period of time. Combine these two and you have a smoking habit.

Smokers enjoy accompanying cigarettes with numerous other activities. Generally, smokers like to enjoy a cup of coffee with cigarette, as well as alcoholic beverages, and phone calls seem to go hand-in-hand with cigarette smoking as well. Other activities that may not be as enjoyable, but often done with a lit cigarette are; driving, when bored, when stressed, when scared, when concerned, and while socializing with other smokers.

Why you should stop smoking right now

Stinky breath – your breath smells worse than poop.

Stained teeth – brushing and whitening can only help so much.

Cough – quite simply it hurts.

Increased blood pressure – check your family history.

Second and third hand smoking – it sounds terrible, but you are slowly killing the people around.

Cost of smoking – cigarettes tax will continually increase with time.

Decreased lung capacity – you will make a habit of catching breath.

Toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke – just to name one, rat poison.

Cancer – many cancers are associated with the smoking of cigarettes.

Advanced aging – seriously, this is not a myth, smoking cigarettes increases wrinkles.

Heart disease – you do not want to know the waiting list for a heart transplant patients.

Children – you don’t have to smoke in front of them to bring about harm to them due to your smoking habit.

Preparing to give up smoking

First, you have to get ready. Speak your family and friends about your undertaking. Learn as much as you can about how to cope with the stress that comes from the urge to smoke. Stop smoking aids such as nicotine gums and nicotine patch are optional. Relapse can occur and in fact, most suffer from it at least once. Doesn’t matter that you fail, the key is to keep trying until you are successful.

Additional steps giving up smoking

Although you should try to quit smoking as soon as you can, it is better to prepare your mind for the tough road ahead and give yourself a few weeks of time before giving up smoking. Keep a quit smoking diary if you can, there you can write about your motivation for quitting smoking, write down when you smoke the most, and write down the time of the day when you feel the biggest urge. Continue to make note in the diary and use it as a motivational tool.

Be sure to throw out all your cigarettes, ashtrays, lighters, matches. It would be wise of you to get rid of anything that reminds you of smoking a cigarette.

How to deal with the urge to smoke

You can no longer smoke when you are stressed. However, there are other means to deal with the stress that comes with quitting smoking. Exercise helps a lot, so go for a brisk walk or a light jog when the urge is unbearable. Drink a lot of water, it is important to keep yourself well hydrated during this stressful time. Hot bath is also proven to help curb the urge to smoke.

Final advice

It is very stressful to think that you’ll no longer be able to smoke another cigarette, but giving up smoking is not about losing control and it is the complete opposite. Until now, your life revolved around cigarettes. Your girlfriend/boyfriend, wife/husband, family and friends, they all complained about how much you stunk up their nose. Work hours seem to go on forever until you could have that one puff of smoke. You always felt uneasy when you were down to the last few cigarettes. You were enslaved to your smoking habit and it controlled your life.

Giving up smoking is much more than just breaking an addiction to improve your healthy. The whole world changes once you give up smoking and that should be enough to motivate you to at least try. Don’t be afraid to fail, because half the battle is won just by you trying. Even if you fail once, or even twice, you will eventually succeed.

Create Your Own Personal Stop Smoking Plan

Derek Kim — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:10:29 +0000

What I’m about to share with you can be helpful for anyone who’s trying to quit cigarettes, but if you are reading this, then chances are you have already tried quitting smoking and you have failed. Smokers will usually take the plunge without any preparation on their first try and when they fail, which they usually do on their first try, they will try to be more methodical about the whole quitting process on their next try.

One of the most important aspects of quitting smoking is the fact that everyone does it a little differently. To give you an example, two people can quit smoking using the cold turkey method, but the two can go about it drastically different. Smoker number one will set a quit date and buy himself enough packs of cigarettes to last him until his set date. Smoker number two will smoke his cigarettes as usual and he will quit on the day, hour, and the minute on which he feels the most confident to quit. Both have quit cold turkey, but the way they approached it is very different.

That’s where you come in to the picture. You have to understand that no matter how other former smokers have quit cigarettes and regardless of what the authority in quitting smoking informs you of (CDC for example), in the end, you have to experiment on what’s right for you. Over 90 percent of smokers who try to quit fail on their first try and the statistic for the second time quitter are not that great either. But the ones that are persistent, the ones that continue to try quit smoking and to try to experiment with how they should go about it are eventually successful.

To give up smoking successfully, you have to create your own personal stop smoking plan. You cannot depend only on what others have done to quit smoking, because you are a unique individual under unique circumstances that requires a stop smoking plan that works best for you. The best person to come up with this plan is you and you can do this by experimenting with the process of quitting smoking. If you speak to hundreds of former smokers like I have, you learn that the little difference, the little details can become crucial in quitting successfully.

Some former smokers will swear by their experience that it is easier to quit smoking the first thing in the morning (start the day smoke free), but I have also seen plenty people who say they needed that last drag during the day before they kissed goodbye their addiction for good. Here are some more examples. Some former smokers say they couldn’t stop smoking successfully until they changed their cigarette from regular flavor to light flavor. Some also claimed that it was helpful to smoke more than usual on the day they decided to quit. Reasons varied from “I was pretty sick of smoking”, to “I needed one last big shot of nicotine before I quit”.

No matter how unscientific, the fact remains that these little quirks can mean the difference between successfully giving up smoking, and failing miserably time after time. So don’t worry about the past failures and do your best to try to learn from them. Try to remember what helped you the most with the craving, the time of the day the craving was the worse, and all other details that might help you on your next try. You can also try going smoke free on different hours of the day and for different length of time. This will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect the next time you quit smoking and it could be important because lots of smokers go into a mini panic attacks on their first day of quitting smoking.

Don’t just depend on the generic guides that are written by medical professionals and other qualified sources. Meet your personal need with your knowledge and create your own personal stop smoking plan and you will give yourself the best chance to successfully quit smoking for good.

Cigarette News

StopSmokingCoach — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:02:05 +0000

WILL THIS BE THE END OF THE MENTHOL?
The FDA is discussing on the possibilities on eliminating menthol cigarettes to prevent teens from smoking. Some studies suggest that eliminating the menthol cigarette from the market will have major impact on underage smoking prevention. The counter argument to this has been that the ban will create a black market for menthol cigarettes because there are already a large percentage of smokers that smoke menthol.

THE LAND OF RISING SUN FACES A RISING CIGARETTE PRICE
Cigarette smokers in Japan are flocking to their local retailers to stock up on cigarettes before the unprecedented 100yen (about $1.20) price hike takes place. Considering the largest price hike was only 20yen so far, this is surely a shocker for many cigarette smokers in Japan.

CIGARETTE SMUGGLING – PROHIBITION ANYONE?
A New Jersey man was arrested for transporting 400 cartons of untaxed cigarettes with the intentions to sell them locally. The cigarettes were purchased in North Carolina and he was on his way back to New Jersey to sell them. This is only one of the smaller cases of cigarette smuggling that’s been going on around the country. *(I’m all for quitting smoking, but if there is an upside to cigarette price hike, I don’t think our legislators paid enough attention to the potential downside of the hikes.)

How to Quit Smoking Naturally

StopSmokingCoach — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:46:21 +0000

With so many choices of quit smoking aid products out there, smokers have many ways to tackle their addiction effectively. But the use of these products can lead to a new addiction, a dependency to the quit smoking aids themselves if they happen to fall in the nicotine replacement therapy category. Other types of quit smoking aids also come with possible side effects and although the risks may be small, there is no better way to rid of your nicotine addiction than to quit smoking naturally.

The first thing you have to understand is that preparation is a must if you want to quit smoking successfully. The effects of smoking cessation may vary on the individual, but the word “easy” isn’t something that is commonly associated with quitting smoking. Do not be discouraged though, anyone can quit smoking with the right preparation.

Before you burn through that last cigarette, you are going to write down the reasons why you must quit smoking. In the coming days, your patience and your fortitude will be tested to their limit and you are going to need all the motivations that can help you pull through. Health seems like an obvious reason to quit smoking, family can be a wonderful motivator and especially if you have children, and your love life can be taxed heavily as well if your partner is not a smoker. Write down the reasons why you must quit smoking and remind yourself of them every time you are tempted to light one up.

There’s also the matter of getting rid of all your smoking accessories such as lighters, matches, ashtrays, and anything in particular that might make you want to smoke. Throw away all your emergency cigarettes, the ones you safe keep in case you are caught without cigarettes at late nights and don’t expect to fall on them when the going gets tough. You can’t possibly quit smoking successfully if you are also preparing for the failure. Get rid of everything and anything that has to do with smoking cigarettes, period.

The next step is optional, but it isn’t a bad idea to experience the effects of smoking cessation for few hours before you jump in to the real thing. Pick a day and try to go without smoking a single cigarette for few hours or maybe even a day if you are not a heavy smoker to begin with. The first time you force it upon you, it can be a bit of a shocker and often time people give up quitting on that initial shock. Knowing how it feels can actually prepare you for the real thing, but this is more in the line of shaping your mindset, so do this only if you think it may help you.

The final advice is for the actual act of stopping smoking for good. On the day you choose to quit smoking, make sure you start the day clean without a single puff of smoke. If you jump start the day with a fresh dose of nicotine in your system, you will find that it’s very difficult to initiate the actual quitting. Have your last cigarette the night before and you will give yourself a much better chance to quit smoking for good.

The few days after quitting smoking will truly test you, but as the days become weeks the cravings will fast become very tolerable. Soon after you’ll start to feel better, breathe easier, and smell much nicer too. In the end, it will be all worth it because the successful quitting of cigarettes will have positive effects in your life in more ways than you can imagine now. Quit smoking naturally today, it’s safe, it’s clean, it’s free, and most of all, anyone can do it with the right preparation and motivation.

If you feel that you need additional help, but you still want to quit smoking naturally, click here for a preview of a quit smoking system that can help you rid of nicotine addiction. The information you find on this site (givingup-smoking.com) are all free of course, but this course I am recommending is not. It’s a system that has been around for many years and the longevity of the system is what I like the most. Weak systems come and go fast, but the great ones stand the test of time. It’s got a 60 day money back guarantee, so you can always return it if it doesn’t work out for you.

Give Up Smoking with Hypnotherapy

StopSmokingCoach — Sat, 08 May 2010 23:36:20 +0000

Giving up smoking with hypnotherapy is not something I had much fate in the past, but my recent experience of actually seeing it work on a friend changed my mind about the procedure. This is not to say that it will work on everyone, but it is a useful aid for those who are either struggling to quit or those who have failed to quit multiple times. Let me explain how this works.

There are many different give up smoking hypnotherapy programs out there and so they all vary a bit in their approach. But the main goal of these hypnotherapy programs is to introduce, instill, and reinforce the idea that you want quit smoking. Our subconscious mind is capable of some amazing things and it can influence us in more ways than you can ever imagine.

Many former smokers struggle to fight their cravings even several years after they had their last cigarette. This is no longer a physical addiction that they are fighting. Your body requires only about a month to purge enough nicotine out of your system, so that you will no longer be physically addicted. Someone like this can definitely make a great use of give up smoking hypnotherapy because it will help them stop think about cigarettes.

You may have the will to quit smoking and I know you can probably quit without any outside help. You may be as strong willed to fight your craving for the rest of your life. But what if you don’t have fight the craving? What if you can quit smoking and never have to think about another cigarette? Having the freedom to drink a beer or hold a conversation without reminiscing of a deep inhalation of smoke. Now that’s truly being free from cigarettes and that’s when you finally quit for good.

If you want to give up smoking using a hypnotherapy program, click here and download your copy right away. It’s not free, but good information rarely is. However, with its 60 day money back guarantee, you don’t have to risk a dime to try out the product. Good luck and go smoke free today.

Two Things You Should Avoid if You Want to Successfully Quit Smoking

StopSmokingCoach — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:01:40 +0000

Unless you are one of those rare people that claim they can quit cigarettes whenever they want, you have to understand that you need many things to go right if you want to quit smoking successfully. There are couple things that you’ll need to avoid in order to achieve success and it’s crucial you get these things settled before you attempt to quit.

Your first priority is to either stay away or to make understand the people around you that try to pressure you into quitting, that you need them to stop pressuring you because you are readying yourself to quit smoking for good. A smoker can never quit smoking due to outside pressure. No matter how much a parent, spouse, or a partner might push a smoker to quit, it will never happen until the smoker himself or herself develops the will to quit.

Let your family and friends know that you are getting yourself ready to quit smoking and that during this time you do not need additional pressure from anyone. Although they may be well meant, getting nagged on to quit smoking while that’s exactly what you are trying to achieve can become a big source of stress for any smoker trying to quit. Make them understand that nicotine addiction can be as serious as cocaine addiction for many smokers and that your will alone may not be enough to help you quit smoking successfully. Having the mental state that will give you the best shot to quit smoking is of utmost importance and you’ll need the support of those around you to make that happen.

The second thing you must do is to stay away from the people that are of the complete opposite of the example above. These are the people that constantly remind you that you will never be able to quit smoking. They can also be your friends or family members who also happen to smoke that always discourage you from quitting. Misery loves company and believe me smokers hate it when someone else has the will to kick the nasty habit they themselves can’t seem to get rid of. Stay away from these people that want you to fail. Some of these people you might care a whole lot for, but you need to stay away from them during the first month of quitting session.

Some of these negative minded people who also happen to be smokers might be able to picture themselves as non-smokers thanks to you. If you successfully quit smoking, you might be able to inspire those smokers around you to quit as well. I’ve seen many times how one smoker quitting led to bunch of other friends to quit smoking as well. You quitting cigarettes can actually have a much bigger impact than you think and you could be changing lives while you improve your own.

Make sure you follow the two tips above and you will give yourself a much better chance at quitting smoking successfully. Good luck and go nicotine free today.

Quit Smoking for Free – Follow These Simple Steps

StopSmokingCoach — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:59:33 +0000

You will save hundreds to thousands of dollars a year if you quit smoking, but being a former smoker myself, I know you do not want to spend a dime in quitting it. This of course does not make any sense at all, but it’s just the way smokers tend to think. Although nicotine replacement therapies and many other quit smoking aids can dramatically increase your chance of quitting, one can quit without them if done properly. Let me explain how it can be done.

This may sound rather obvious and maybe even dumb to some, but you need to have a clear reason as to why you must quit smoking. Quitting smoking isn’t easy and in fact, it’s terribly difficult. It will be both a mental and a physical challenge that you’ll have to endure for 2 to 4 weeks after quitting and more for some people. It really helps to remind yourself of the reasons that gave you the courage to quit smoking every time you feel like giving up.

There’s also the actual quitting part and I can tell you from my experience the first 24 hours are gruesome. But at the end of the day, it’s only 24 hours. You have to ask yourself, do you really want to live the rest of your life controlled by a substance may as well kill you off in a slow and painful death eventually? If you can stay cigarette free for 24 hours, then the next 24 hours are so much more bearable than the first 24 hours. As the hours and days go by, it will be increasingly easy to spend a day without smoking.

Pick a day to quit and don’t be afraid to fail. What’s important is that you are trying and that your desire to quit smoking is strong. You can even experiment with a short-term quitting, basically try not smoking for few hours and see how long you can go without a smoke. I’ve heard of stories of people quitting smoking on their very first try, but I just know those people are rare. I don’t mean to discourage you, but it is more than likely that you will fail your first attempt to quit smoking. It actually helps to experience the initial stage of a nicotine withdrawal symptom before your first attempt. The first time you get a real strong nicotine withdrawal symptom it can hit you real hard and throw you into a panic. Just remember that the first 24 hours are the most difficult to bear and try to stay strong to ride it out to the best that you can.

During the first 24 hours you want to stay well hydrated and get plenty of sleep. So drink lots of water and go to bed early. Drink coffee during the day and don’t drink it for at least few hours prior to sleeping. Trust me when I say this, you do not want to wake up in the middle of the night to urinate. When all is quiet and everyone is asleep, the craving for a cigarette will drive you insane. For most smokers drinking goes hand in hand with smoking, so it will be only wise to stay away from alcoholic beverages for at least couple of weeks to preferably a month.

Keep yourself busy and keep your mouth busy by chewing on healthy snacks. Carrots and cucumber have become my favorite snacks because I depended on them so much during the quitting. Carrot sticks will allow you to chew for a long time and cucumber will help you to stay well hydrated as well as keep your mouth busy. Be sure to stay active as well, regular exercise will help tremendously in negating the nicotine withdrawal symptom. If you are not much of an exercise person, just try to keep yourself busy with your favorite hobbies. Last but not least, do not hang out with friends who smoke at least for a month, but if you do, ask them to smoke where you can’t see them.

There are hundreds of other advices that I would give out to anyone who wishes to quit smoking, but what you see here are the ones that have helped me the most during the time I quit smoking. You can definitely quit smoking for free, just follow the tips above and give it a shot. Good luck and go cigarette free.

5 Effective Giving Up Smoking Tips

StopSmokingCoach — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:19:23 +0000

Giving up smoking will surely test you as an individual and it’s important that you don’t jump in unprepared. Knowing what to do and avoiding the pitfalls many cigarette quitting hopefuls fall in, can mean the difference between success and failure. Here are some helpful tips that could help you give up smoking for good this time.

1. Consider seeing a doctor – Your doctor can help you determine whether you’ll need prescription drug to help you cope with the withdrawal symptoms. It really depends on your smoking habit, but generally withdrawal symptoms are intense and the use of quit smoking product or prescription drug may give you the best chance to stop smoking for good.

2. Throw away all the cigarette related products – If you have a box of cigarette available for “just in case”, then trust me you are just setting yourself up to fail. Get rid of the ashtrays, lighters, matches, and anything else that may remind you of cigarettes. If you want to finish that last box that you have saved up, then just finish it and leave no cigarettes that you can fall back to.

3. Set a date to quit and stick to it – If you don’t set a quit day and push yourself to quit smoking, you will continually keep pushing it for the next day and the next week until you no longer even try. This is a fight between your will to stop smoking and your addiction pushing you to take another puff. Push yourself for that ultimate goal to give up smoking for good.

4. Announce it to the world – Tell all your friends and your family that you are quitting cigarettes. Make it difficult for you to fail by letting it be known to everyone you know that you will successfully quit. This will surely give you an extra incentive to kick the habit in one shot. Don’t become that guy that talks the talk, but never walks the walk.

5. Something to chew on – Keep your mouth busy with anything but cigarettes. You will get urges to smoke or to just stick something in your mouth, help relieve these urges by chewing on carrots, chewing gums, straws, or even toothpicks will do. Avoid chewing anything for an extended period of time though, it could cause gum disease or damage your teeth.

Follow the tips above to help you in giving up smoking and don’t give up even if you fail on your first try. What’s important is your willingness to quit and that will ultimately lead to a successful quit smoking experience.

Benefits of Giving Up Smoking

StopSmokingCoach — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:01:50 +0000

There are many benefits to giving up smoking. The human body is incredibly resilient and it can heal from many years of damages caused by such activities as smoking cigarettes. There are many information sources out there on and offline about the health benefits on giving up smoking. These sources include government run websites, personal blogs, and corporations that sell quit smoking aids. Unfortunately, while most of them are fine source of learning the health benefits to giving up smoking, they fail to describe the benefits that an average Joe can truly relate to. So without the complicated graphs and medical mumbo jumbo, let’s discuss about the practical benefits to giving up smoking.

The first thing you notice about most smokers is their inability to enjoy an active life. I can attest to this as a former smoker myself. It is a common knowledge that smoking cigarettes diminish the lung capacity.

First and foremost, you can say goodbye to just about every sports activity you’ve enjoyed over the years once you start smoking. An active lifestyle creates an energetic person and is not the other way around. If you haven’t been smoking for long, you may think this does not apply to you, but you truly feel the effect of smoking after a full year or two of smoking cigarettes.

Your social life, the relationships with your friends, family, and colleagues, they all change overtime due to your smoking habit. At first you smoke because it makes you feel good, then because you need to, and finally, you smoke because you are completely addicted to cigarettes. The places you can be, the things you can do, and the people you meet get limited because of your addiction.

One aspect of your life that gets hit hard when you start smoking is the romance in your life. If you had a girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse before you started smoking, then you know firsthand smoking is a big issue with them.

If you are hoping to date someone new and you’ve picked up a smoking habit as well, you’d be surprised to learn that some surveys show that over 90 percent of non-smoking singles won’t even entertain the idea of dating a smoker. You’ve just reduced your dating pool to about 20 percent of the population.

There’s also the benefit of possibly saving a large sum of money. There was the largest hike for taxes on cigarettes in 2009 and the last time I checked, there was a plan to increase the tax by another $1.49 which would be a record hike. This means that in areas that cigarettes are the most expensive, such as New York, you would be paying as much as $10 per pack. But even if you live in an area that for a long time retained a low cigarette price, you would still be paying in the upwards of $6 per pack.

The latest figure I’ve seen suggest that an average smoker smokes one pack a day. This means that an average smoker can save nearly $4000 a year. Can you use an extra 4 grand? I know most of us could and just imagine how much interest your money would have accrued in a period of 10 years had you put your money in a C/D account.

Lastly, do you dread the feeling of being left with just enough cigarettes to survive the evening until your bed time? I know the feeling of wanting that insurance, that extra pack that assures you that you will not run out of cigarettes until you sleep, and that you will have a pack waiting for you as you wake up in the morning. So won’t you run out at 1am in the morning to the nearest 24hr convenient shop for your fix? Whether you would like to admit it or not, you’ve become a junkie.

The benefits of giving up smoking are in the dramatic improvements in the quality of life. Your smoking habit touches so many aspects of your life, that once you quit, you’ll notice the positive changes take place in parts of your life that you never imagined would have been affected by your habit. Stop smoking today and I promise you the benefits to kicking the habit will not let you down.