GIVING UP SMOKING » quitting smoking

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.

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.

Chantix – What Are The Dangers

StopSmokingCoach — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:55:38 +0000

If you decided to quit smoking, I assure you it was the single most important decision in your life. The next step would be to choose how you will quit and you just might be interested in Chantix. Here’s a short description of Chantix for those of you who are not familiar with this drug. Chantix is basically a non-nicotine pill which is designed to target nicotine receptors in the brain and attach to them. The end result is preventing nicotine reaching the receptors.

In theory and by their own marketing pitch it sounds wonderful, but a mounting number of Chantix lawsuit tell a different story. Some of the side effects disclosed by Pfizer (the maker of Chantix) include, reported changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, let me stop there. No matter how rare, a stop smoking aid product’s side effect should not include suicidal thoughts or actions. The act of quitting smoking should improve the quality of life and not worsen it.

Chantix was approved by the FDA in May 2006 and by May 2009 FDA indicated it received reports of 39 Chantix suicides. The sales number of Chantix has been sliding ever since the concerns have been made public.

If you believe you need help quitting smoking, there are many other quit smoking aids on the market and I would seriously advice you to go with the alternatives. If you don’t want to add anything into your system, you can also try hypnotherapy or acupuncture.

I like to compare the act of smoking as committing a slow suicide, as you can see I am that much against smoking cigarettes. But If I had to choose between chancing with a cigarette vs. a drug that could possibly give me suicidal thoughts, I’d always go with the cigarette. Be wise, choose another path, and always choose to improve your health.

Giving Up Smoking – An Impossible Task for Me

StopSmokingCoach — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:52:09 +0000

Giving Up Smoking

Giving up smoking is extremely difficult for anyone who’s smoked for a prolonged period of time. Dependency to nicotine grows over the period of your addiction and the years that pass by turn you into a junkie. I don’t use the word “junkie” lightly, but that’s essentially what you become as you regularly have panic attacks when cigarettes are not readily available to you. Giving up smoking may seem like an impossible task, but I can give you a few tips that will go a long way in helping you kick the habit.

Do you have extra packs of cigarettes stashed in your house? You may even keep extra packs in your car and you are most likely very mindful of how low you are running on cigarettes. If this is you then it’s seriously a good time to give up smoking. This is basically addiction running your life and the sign that you have completely lost control over your nicotine craving. You should not need scary statistic to convince yourself to at least entertain the thought of giving up smoking.

It’s completely normal to feel uncertain and uneasy about the thought of giving up smoking. In fact, you are better off cutting yourself some slack and expect to fail on your first try. It is my experience that people who’ve smoked less than 2 years tend to quit fairly easy. As for those who’ve smoked over 2 years, some studies suggest more than 70 percent failing on their first try.

The sooner you quit the better of course, but you have to concentrate more on the quitting part than the when. It may as well take you several tries to give up smoking and it may even take you a year or two to quit for good, but if you quit for good, that’s all that matters really.

The truth is the initial shock that you feel the first time you try giving up smoking gets less and less intense as you try to quit again and again. A big part of giving up smoking is psychological, the more you know what to expect, the better you will cope with the stress of nicotine withdrawal. So in an essence, a failure in giving up smoking is only a step forward to ultimately quitting for good rather than a flat out failure.

The key is on giving it a try, just try quitting smoking. You may give up in just one hour or in one day, that’s OK because you’ve tried. That first step is very important, you can talk all you want about how much you’d like to quit but ultimately only actions count. Persistence will eventually pay off and you will be nicotine free as long as you are willing to take actions. Giving up smoking is all about persistence.

Continue with Giving Up Smoking – Finding The Motivation

Stop Smoking Signs

StopSmokingCoach — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:52:20 +0000

Quitting smoking can be such a challenge that generally, smokers see all the signs that scream quit, and yet they can’t seem to even fathom with the idea of skipping the next fix. Perhaps laying these facts wide open for your viewing pleasure should help you step closer in becoming cigarette free.

•Shortness of breath, you can never seem to have a full breath of air. It just feels like you can’t fill that last 20percent of your lung.

•Persistent cough that at times is uncontrollable.

•Frequent headaches.

•Depression, you start to hate yourself for no reason.

•Suffer frequently from sore throats as cigarette smokes irritate the throat lining.

•Erratic pattern of breathing is a serious stop smoking sign and you should see a doctor as soon as soon as possible.

•Fatigue, when you can hardly remember the last time you were energetic.

•Jogging 5minutes or less is a challenge. Diminished lung capacity should be taken very seriously.

•Choking on your own mucus while you sleep, you should seriously consider quitting if a garbage can next to your bed is a must.

•Revolting morning breath, there are morning breaths, and then there are “morning breathes”.

•You are well convinced that cancer will one day take you out. If smoking often reminds you of death, cancer, and all the scary things associated with it, perhaps it’s a clear sign that you should give up smoking.

More often than not, we can prevent illnesses and other complications if we’d only listen to our body. Unfortunately, often we are well aware that our body is trying to communicate with us but we just ignore it. At some point your body will stop communicating and you’ll start to get sick. Start listening to your body and mind. Take action. You know it’s time to quit smoking. Learn about the Benefits of Quitting Smoking Here.

Get The Naysayers Out Of The Way

StopSmokingCoach — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:39:07 +0000

One of the most important things you have to do before quitting smoking is alienating the naysayers. Some people are just born with negative bones in their body and they never seem to have anything nice to say about anyone. But they are rare breeds and the ones that you really need to avoid are the pessimists in your life.

We all have that uncle who likes to poop on everyone’s party and that cousin who criticizes every one of your achievements. Unfortunately some of these people are very dear to us no matter how irritating they may be. Obviously you can’t alienate these people forever, but it’s important to keep them out of your life temporarily or at least don’t let them know that you are in the process of quitting smoking. You walk a very fine line when you first stop smoking. Little things will trigger relapse and there’s nothing worse than hearing discouraging words from people who should be cheering you on.

Ideally we would all love to have family members who can be around every time we need someone to talk to. But we know that’s not possible and we also know it’s not because our families don’t care. So we can’t control the sort of support we get from our family members, but we can control who we spend time with and where we spend time at.

Many things in our lives are out of the realms of our control. So the things that we can control to some degree, we have to make sure we manage them in ways that are beneficial to our lives. So how about skipping the next family barbeque? You can go back to the way things were as soon as you take control of your nicotine addiction. That’s really easier than you think as nicotine withdrawal symptoms generally last only up to two weeks. The rest is all mental and if you had the fortitude to stay cigarette free for two weeks, you have what it takes to stay free from it for life.

Positive reinforcement is the key and you can’t expect to quit smoking if you let the naysayers discourage you. As Robert Collier once said, “All power is from within and therefore under our control”. Take charge and stop smoking away your life. Continue with “50-50 Chance of Survival”.

Quit Smoking with Nicotine Patch

StopSmokingCoach — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:44:02 +0000

Nicotine patch is another form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy. It is a transdermal patch, which is basically a patch that adheres to the skin to deliver nicotine through the skin and into the bloodstream.

If this is your first try at quitting smoking, I would generally suggest you try quitting cold turkey. Nicotine patches and other stop smoking products I feel comfortable recommending to people who’ve tried and failed in their previous attempt or attempts in quitting smoking. The only exceptions on first time quitters would be those who are long-term smokers, heavy smokers, or people who are self-aware that they are not particularly patient people.

Nicotine patches much like nicotine gums deliver controlled amount of nicotine to your system to help you deal with the withdrawal symptoms associated with smoking cessation. The release of nicotine in a less intense and slower pace than cigarette allows the user to gradually wean nicotine dependency until the patches are completely inessential. Most patches are worn up to 24 hours, making everyday use very convenient.

It comes in three strengths, the 21mg, the 14mg, and the 7mg. The 21mg is recommended for those who smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day and the 14mg is recommended for those who smoke fewer than 10 cigarettes per day. The 7mg is the dosage that will finish the quit smoking program. The quit smoking program should last 8-10 weeks and you may lower the dosage depending on the strength you choose.

Generally the financial cost of nicotine patches should compare favorably to the cost of most cigarettes. It could be a different story for the light smokers, but you have to understand once you quit smoking you no longer need to purchase additional nicotine patches. The alternative is to keep smoking your life away.

There are few things you should know before using nicotine patches. On some occasions users may experience irregular heartbeats or palpitations, if so discontinue the use. Speak to a doctor if you experience skin redness for more than four days or if your skin swells. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness and weakness may also show as side effects. With that said, the side effects of nicotine patches are mild unlike Chantix which is reported to cause suicidal thoughts. I’m going off topic here a little, but I would never recommend Chantix to anyone. Nicotine patches are studied as a way of treating schizophrenia and it’s also found to be efficient in reducing post-surgical pain. They are used in other good ways and not just for quitting smoking.

Some 3 percent of nicotine patch users become dependent on the patch. By stopping smoking you no longer subject yourself to cigarette smokes that contain carcinogens known to cause cancer. But the effects on the long term use nicotine patches aren’t clear. It is generally recommended to end the therapy in 4 to 6 months at the least.

As with any stop smoking advice we at Giving Up Smoking provide for our readers, we cannot stress enough of the fact that you are the key to giving up smoking. All the stop smoking aid products are meant to help you through your cigarette free journey. They are useless unless you are onboard with the program. With that said, use all the tools available to your advantage and kick the habit for good. All our staffs at www.givingup-smoking.com wish you the best of luck. Continue with “How To Stay Thin After Quitting Cigarettes”.

Do I Really Want to Quit Smoking?

StopSmokingCoach — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:58:23 +0000

Ask yourself this question, do I really want to quit smoking? You should have the answer to this question first and foremost if you truly want to quit smoking. There is a difference between “having to quit” and “wanting to quit”. Being pushed by your wife or anyone you care for to quit smoking won’t get you anywhere. You will hide your continuing addiction and keep smoking until inevitably everyone you know find out you were lying.

Giving up smoking is an enormous challenge for majority of smokers. You need to find something very important to you and allow yourself to make a connection to your smoking habit. Think for a minute, there’s nothing that you do that is not affected in some way by your smoking habit. You need that connection and there are quite few places you can look for them.

If you are a parent you have an infallible responsibility to your children. For the rest of you, all you need is to remind yourself of the people you love, and that should be simply enough reason to quit. For those of you who are health conscious, drinking decaffeinated coffee and eating organic vegetables will not prevent the diseases that overcome so many smokers. Recent WHO reports state that over 5 million people die each year from illnesses or diseases attributed to tobacco use. For those of you who are struggling financially, imagine being able to earn an extra $1000 to $3000 doing nothing. Yes! Doing nothing! Does it sound too good to be true? Well there is a catch, all you have to do is from doing the act of smoking to not doing it and that’s it.

Cigarettes are now roughly $6.50 a pack and in many states you are paying $7 to $8 per pack. If you smoke a pack a day, that comes out to be $2372.50 per year. For those of you who smoke 2 packs a day, it is a whopping $4745! What can you do with all that money? How about that trip you always wanted to take? Pay off that credit card debt maybe? The truth is, weather you smoke a pack or two packs per day. The money you are spending on your addiction could be used in many self improving manners.

I can write for a month and come up with hundreds of reasons for you to quit smoking. But ultimately, the reason to quit smoking has to be something that touches you in a personal manner. Speak to your loved ones or give yourself a day of self reflection. When you find it, it will be far more effective in combating your addiction than any other quit smoking aids ever devised. Good luck friends. Continue with “Get The Naysayers Out Of The Way” and “How to quit smoking”.

Quit Smoking With Nicotine Gum

StopSmokingCoach — Sun, 24 May 2009 00:12:51 +0000

The Nicotine Gum is a type of chewing gum that works in the form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Nicotine gum provides nicotine to your system at a controlled and slower pace than cigarettes.

Nicotine gums are conveniently available at pharmacies over the counter and they are not sold to people underage.

Nicotine gums use the bloodstream as a delivery system, making access via the tissue in the mouth. Nicotine gums are safe because while they provide nicotine to fight the craving, it does it without the dangerous carcinogens found in cigarette smokes.

The less intense pace of nicotine distribution allows for a gradual withdrawal from nicotine dependency. Eventually you’ll need fewer and fewer pieces of nicotine gum until you no longer need it. Nicotine gum also gives the user the control to use it whenever the intense craving kicks in.

You can choose from two strengths of nicotine gums, the 4mg and the 2mg. The 4mg is intended for the use of heavier smokers and the 2mg for the lighter smokers. Instruction may vary by brand, please seek professional help for further instruction.

Side effects include hiccups and irritation of throat muscles by accidental swallowing of large amounts of nicotine. Prolonged used of nicotine gum was suspected of causing gum disease but recent studies found no connection between the use of nicotine gum and oral health. Always be sure to read the instruction carefully and seek professional help for additional information.

The taste of these gums are not particularly refreshing. You are chewing a nicotine gum after all. But you’ll be glad to hear that many brands offer different flavors making it a more pleasant experience.

You should stop smoking completely before you start using nicotine gums. Generally you can use 1 gum per hour, some brands may allow an extra gum when intense craving kicks in. It’s normal to feel slight tingling feeling in the mouth, just stop chewing when you feel it or when you notice a peppery taste. Park the nicotine gum until the peppery taste or tingling is almost gone and chew again. The gum should last you up to half an hour. For best result, please complete the program as intended by the manufacture of your choice. You will not stop smoking with nicotine gums alone, you have to do your part as well. But it is a very powerful tool to fight off nicotine craving in an effective manner to help you through the withdrawal symptoms. Continue with “Quit Smoking With Nicotine Patch”.

Continue with Quit Smoking with Nicotine Patch.