Quitting Smoking

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Author:
Melvin Holloway

“Quit Smoking” is the slogan of the hour. We all know that smoking is hazardous to your health. It has very severe ill effects, such as respiratory problems, lung cancer, breast cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, etc. It is thus the need of the hour that we should free ourselves from the clutches of this deadly disease. But it is not an easy task to actually quit smoking completely once a person has started it. Smoking makes a person its slave and he or she becomes addicted to its use.

It is difficult but not impossible to quit smoking. The most important attribute that a person needs to have to quit smoking is self-belief and persistence. It is difficult to stay away from smoking in the initial stages, but with the help of proper medical aid and strong will power - you can overcome the initial stages.

Here are 11 ways to kick off your journey and finally overcome smoking:

1. First sit down and write down why you want to quit (the benefits of quitting): live longer, feel better, for your family, save money, smell better, find a mate more easily, etc. You know what's bad about smoking and what you'll get by quitting. Put it on paper and read it daily.

2. Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit. Ask them to be completely supportive and non-judgmental. Let them know ahead of time that you will probably be irritable and even irrational while you withdraw from your smoking habit.

3. Set a quit date. Decide what day you will extinguish your cigarettes forever.

4. Talk with your doctor about quitting. Support and guidance from a physician is a proven way to better your chances to quit.

5. Begin an exercise program. Exercise is simply incompatible with smoking. Exercise relieves stress and helps your body recover from years of damage from cigarettes.

6. Do some deep breathing each day for 3 to 5 minutes. Breathe in through your nose very slowly, hold your breath for a few seconds, and exhale very slowly through your mouth.

7. Have your teeth cleaned. Enjoy the way your teeth look and feel and plan to keep them that way.

8. Drink lots of water. Water is good for you anyway, and most people don't get enough. It will help flush the nicotine and other chemicals out of your body, plus it can help reduce cravings by fulfilling the "oral desires" that you may have.

9. Learn what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, arrival at work, entering a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers or if that is impossible, plan alternative ways to deal with the triggers.

10. Find something to hold in your hand and mouth to replace cigarettes. You might try an artificial cigarette.

11. Finally, believe in yourself. Believe that you can quit. Think about some of the most difficult things you have done in your life and realize that you have the guts and determination to quit smoking.

Melvin Holloway

Columbus, GA

For more information visit http://tinyurl.com/hc847

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Smoking... Debunking the Glamour of Smoking The anti-smoking lobby often make a crucial mistake in their campaigning.: they lose sight of their target audience - children - and go after established smokers instead. Let me tell you right now that attempting to turn the screw on a smoker is the most counter-productive attitude you can adopt. As a former smoker, I can fully empathise with the average smoker’s feeling towards their habit, and I can assure you that an aggressive, scare mongering, lecturing tone is entirely redundant. The smoker needs to be understood, to be accepted and to be humanised. I’ve always found it very curious that individuals, who have never smoked in their life, see themselves fit to take smokers to task on the habit. It’s exactly the same problem we face when it comes to tackling obesity in the population, namely that we are better off empathising and understanding where the obesity problem stems from, rather than just telling an individual to get off their butt and exercise. The smoker has spent years developing a habit that extends far beyond a physical addiction - it is a powerful emotional and psychological addiction too. Yet despite this fact, the anti-smoking lobby only seem to focus from the non-smoker’s viewpoint (e.g. “They have no willpower”, “Don’t you know what it’s doing to your health?”, “It’s not cool”) Understand this - smokers started the habit for a reason. Some smokers wanted to look cool, to look edgy, to develop an attitude. Other smokers simply wanted to experiment. Others may just have had a fearless and carefree attitude towards life. Over time, the smoker glamorises the habit, and these strong neurological bonds will remain in place for years to come. When I smoked, I associated many wonderful times in my life with smoking: socialising on foreign holiday...