Smoking - What You Should Know and How To Quit
by Michele Carelse
Do you have “Quit Smoking” on your list of New Year's resolutions as you have had for many years past? Make THIS the year you quit smoking and kick the habit for good because you are worth it!
A study published recently in the Journal of Clinical Psychology says that people who make New Year's resolutions have higher rates of success at changing their behavior than people who don't make resolutions.
"At least 40 percent of adults make one or more resolutions each year, and at least two-thirds of these pledges concern life-threatening behaviors - tobacco smoking, obesity and inactivity, for example - which psychologists have extensively studied and successfully treated" according to an article published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology (Vol. 58(4), 397-405 (2002)). The decision to quit smoking is one that only you can make. Others may want you to quit, but the real commitment must come from you! Quitting permanently is the final, and most important, stage of the process. You can use the same methods to accomplish this as you did to help you through withdrawal. Think ahead to those times when you may be tempted to smoke, and plan on how you will use alternatives and activities to cope with these situations.
Why Quit?
Health concerns usually top the list of reasons people give for quitting smoking. Smoking can, of course, cause lung cancer and lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, but few people realize it is also a risk factor for many other kinds of cancer as well, including cancer of the mouth, voice box (larynx), throat (pharynx), esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, liver, cervix, stomach, colon and rectum, and some leukemias. These progressive lung diseases are usually diagnosed in current or former smokers in their 60s and 70s. You're also more likely to suffer from hardening of the arteries and shortness of breath. Smokers are twice as likely to die from heart attacks as nonsmokers. Smoking causes premature wrinkling of the skin, bad breath, bad smelling clothes and hair, and yellow fingernails.
When you smoke, you're exposing yourself to more than 4,000 chemicals, including cyanide, benzene, and ammonia -- and at least 40 of those chemicals can cause cancer and smoking hurts every organ in your body. Smokers between the ages of 35 and 70 have death rates three times higher than those of people in the same age range who have never smoked. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking. No matter what your age or how long you've smoked, quitting will help you live longer.
People who stop smoking before age 35 avoid 90% of the health risks attributable to tobacco. Even those who quit later in life can significantly reduce their risk of dying at a younger age. Ex-smokers also enjoy a higher quality of life with fewer illnesses from cold and flu viruses, better self-reported health status, and reduced rates of bronchitis and pneumonia. Regardless of your age or smoking history, there are numerous advantages to quitting smoking. There are several visible and immediate rewards to quitting as well as long-term benefits, reducing risks for diseases caused by smoking and improving your health in general. Quitting helps stop the damaging effects of tobacco on your appearance including premature wrinkling of the skin, bad breath, stained teeth, gum disease, bad smelling clothes and hair, yellow fingernails. Some benefits that will gain gradually in the first few weeks after quitting will be that you will notice that food tastes better, your sense of smell will return to normal, your ordinary activities will no longer leave you out of breath, and your health and life insurance premiums should drop.
How to Quit?
There is no one right way to quit, but there are some key elements in quitting smoking successfully. These crucial factors include:
- Making the decision to quit
- Setting a quit date and choosing a quit plan
- Dealing with withdrawal - Take it day -by day -- or even trigger -by trigger. This may sound like "addiction-speak," but it works. To approach the process by thinking, "I can't wait until I've been nicotine-free for a week" won't help you with that craving you get with your morning coffee on the very first day.
- Maintenance or staying off cigarettes
Your body benefits as soon as you stop smoking. Within 20 minutes of that last cigarette, your body begins a series of healthful changes that continue for years. This deep healing is mostly invisible to the person experiencing it except for the gradual loss of a smoker's cough, an increase in energy, and the like. After a couple of days, your abilities to smell and taste improve and your damaged nerve endings start to repair themselves. Within a few months, walking and other physical activities will become easier and your lung function will increase by up to 30 percent. After five years, you'll have nearly halved your odds of getting lung cancer.
Look at the amazing and remarkable healing progression over time:
- 20 Minutes After Quitting
Your heart rate drops.
- 12 hours After Quitting
Carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
- 2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting
Your heart attack risk begins to drop.
Your lung function begins to improve.
- 1 to 9 Months After Quitting
Your Coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
- 1 Year After Quitting
Your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
- 5 Years After Quitting
Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker's 5-15 years after quitting.
- 10 Years After Quitting
Your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker's. Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases.
- 15 Years After Quitting
Your risk of coronary heart disease is back to that of a nonsmoker's.
Compared to Smokers, your…
- Stroke risk is reduced to that of a person who never smoked after 5 to 15 years of not smoking
- Cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus risks are halved 5 years after quitting
- Cancer of the larynx risk is reduced after quitting
- Coronary heart disease risk is cut by half 1 year after quitting and is nearly the same as someone who never smoked 15 years after quitting
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk of death is reduced after you quit Lung cancer risk drops by as much as half 10 years after quitting
- Ulcer risk drops after quitting
- Bladder cancer risk is halved a few years after quitting
- Peripheral artery disease goes down after quitting
- Cervical cancer risk is reduced a few years after quitting
- Low birth weight baby risk drops to normal if you quit before pregnancy or during your first trimester the benefits of quitting
This year make the resolution with confidence with the help of Native Remedies' NEW Stop Smoking Solution Pack – a combination of three proven, effective and safe NATURAL remedies; because Native Remedies knows that you are worth it too. Our three new remedies are:
Rx-Hale Tablets prevents symptoms of nicotine withdrawal naturally, before they start. These tablets contain a combination of Hypericum perforatum (St. John's Wort), Scuttelaria Laterifolia, and Chromium Picolinate to assist with the management of depression and mood swings. Used for four weeks before you stop smoking, Rx-Hale Tablets ensure that when your first day without cigarettes arrives you'll feel confident and prepared! Rx-Hale Tablets ensure that your efforts to stop smoking are not foiled by depression, mood swings and sugar cravings.
Crave-Rx Drops controls nicotine cravings naturally without using harmful and expensive nicotine products. Crave-Rx comes in tincture form and contains Avena Sativa, Garcinia Cambogia, and Gotu Cola (Centella Asiatica) which have a balancing effect on brain chemicals known to be associated with addiction. These herbs also help prevent sugar cravings and overeating which often cause people to go back to cigarettes due to unwanted weight gain.
Triple Complex NicoTonic assists in promoting the bio-availability of nutrients, hormones and bio-chemicals usually depleted by stress of nicotine and drug withdrawal. NicoTonic contains Natrium Phosphate, Kalium Phosphate and Natrium Muriaticum as a treatment for the 'short fuse' syndrome frequently associated with nicotine withdrawal. Regular use prevents irritability, temper outbursts and is effective in reducing restlessness associated with withdrawal from nicotine or other addictive drugs.
Do You Know That Smoking and Asthma are
Interrelated?
What is the link between smoking and asthma?
As you have read, smoking is especially and extremely harmful to the respiratory system. So for people with asthma, tobacco smoke frequently tops the list of the most common triggers of an asthma attack. An asthmatic does not have to smoke to be affected, as even second–hand smoke can trigger asthma attacks or cause permanent harm to the airways, making it easier to have an asthma attack in the future. Anyone with an asthmatic condition who smokes should immediately quit. Smoking can greatly complicate an asthmatic condition by damaging the lungs, even if it does not trigger an attack. The airways in a person with asthma are very sensitive and can react to many things, or "triggers." Coming into contact with these triggers often produces asthma symptoms. Tobacco smoke is a powerful asthma trigger. When a person inhales tobacco smoke, irritating substances settle in the moist lining of the airways and can set off asthma episodes. Often, people with asthma who smoke keep their lungs in a constant state of poor asthma control and have ongoing asthma symptoms. Also, when a person with asthma is exposed to second-hand smoke, he or she is more likely to have asthma symptoms. Children with asthma are especially sensitive to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke harms children with asthma even more than adults. When a child is exposed to tobacco smoke, his or her lungs also become irritated and produce more mucus than normal. But the child's lungs are smaller, so smoke can cover them quickly. Children of parents who smoke are also more likely to develop lung and sinus infections. These infections can make asthma symptoms worse and more difficult to control.
Native Remedies now has a new tool to not only help you or someone you love stop smoking, but also one to treat, control and soothe asthma symptoms and problems in yourself, a loved one, or friend! Find out more about our proven, effective and natural asthma remedies, BioVent and BronchoSoothe today! Back to top
Article courtesy of Native Remedies |
| Quit Smoking Tip That Can Change Your Life
Do you want to quit smoking?
There is a very powerful quit smoking tip that can literally change your life – because it would ensure your 100% success.
Do you want to know what this is?
Read on and find out all about it.
What You Need To Quit Smoking Once For All
I read once a quip that made me smile – ‘Who says quitting smoking is difficult? I have quit it five times and there is nothing to it.’ Yes, usually this is what happens. You think you left smoking for good and the habit is behind you. Then, you just smoke once with your friends – for the sake of old times – and that is it.In your mind, this is just a one-time-smoke bit; nothing to worry about. This would be like an occasional chocolate cake slice when you diet. However, in no time, you find yourself ‘treating’ yourself on a regular basis, and supposedly out of the blue you will back smoking regularly again. You need to know and keep in mind that getting back to smoking is extremely easy. You also need to know what you would encounter when you attempt to stop smoking. The withdrawal symptoms can be very unpleasant and painful.
Are you ready to tackle this problem head on?
Do you know what medication can help you with the withdrawal symptoms? Do you know how long it takes to get rid of the habit? You need to have nerves of steel and a high level of commitment to get yourself rid of this toxic habit.The Difference Between Success And Failure –
A Great Quit Smoking Tip
When you decide to quit smoking, take another decision in your mind. Decide never to smoke a cigarette that is bought with your money, and never carry a pack on you. How this quit smoking tip helps you stay off cigarettes? Read on.
1. The first part of the quit smoking tip – never buy your own cigarettes means that if you smoke you would need someone to offer you one. Most people do not like to share their cigarettes on a regular basis and if you are identified as one who is out for freebies, you would very soon be a loner.
2. The second part of the quit smoking tip – never carry a pack of cigarettes with you. This means that you cannot depend on having a cigarette when you need one – behavior change – and hence, you would outgrow the dependency on it over time. For more information visit: http://www.nicocure.com/?aid=801751 |
People who are trying to stop smoking can become extremely irritable and restless, easily ‘flying off the handle' or snapping at those around them. They can also become temporarily forgetful and lacking in concentration. 
