Quitting Smoking

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Author:
Craig Richard

The man was not capable of succeeding in his attempt to quit smoking. It should have many reasons for that. Not because the addiction to nicotine was too powerful. It was his fear of throwing out his cigarettes which rendered his attempt a failure. He figured if he needed them, he would have them. Hence, he desire to smoke one. Then another and still another. Five or six a day, never reaching his optimal level and never breaking the withdrawal cycle. He was discouraged, depressed, embarrassed, mad, and, worst of all, smoking.

Quitting smoking needs to be done in few steps. Firstly, the smoker should strengthen his resolve as to why he wishes to quit. What is the purpose he wishes to stop smoking? He should consider the health consequences, the social implications, and the fact that he is totally controlled by his cigarettes, the expense and any other personal problems cigarettes have caused him. It is helpful to write down all of these negative aspects of smoking. In the future when he does get the thought for a cigarette, his own reasons for quitting become powerful ammunition for not returning to smoking.

When the decision is made to quit, the smoker should implement a program that has the greatest potential of success. The first and most important step is to quit cold turkey. To accomplish this goal he should dispose of all smoking material. Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, butts, ashtrays, lighters--anything that was considered smoking paraphernalia. If cigarettes are not there, they can not be smoked.

The person only needs to live through the first few days, one day at a time. Physical withdrawal may be rough or very mild. The symptoms will be overcome by making it through the first few days without taking a puff. Within three days the physical withdrawal will peak and by two weeks will cease altogether.

Anyhow, the real obstacle is the psychological dependence to cigarettes. Most of the smokers are convinced smoking is essential in performing many normal daily activities. Dealing with stress, working, driving, eating, sleeping, waking up, relaxing--just about everything requires smoking. The only way to overcome this perceived dependence is by proving to oneself that all activities done with cigarettes can be done equally well without cigarettes. Just living through the first few days and functioning in normal required roles will prove that the smoker can survive without cigarettes. It may be difficult, but it is possible.

Once the initial quitting process is overcome, the rest is simple. Sure there will still be times when the ex-smoker wants a cigarette. But these smokers must realize that he does not have the option of only one. Because he is a nicotine addict, smoking is now, and always has been an all or nothing proposition.

It is never too late to stop smoking it you decide to quit this habit. Discover more how to quit smoking in less than 30days.

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Community Health Councils

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... Dangers of Cigarette Smoking Smoking is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. About 420,000 deaths occur as a result of smoking cigarettes. Individuals who smoke are likely to develop peptic ulcer disease, and are more likely to develop cataracts, as opposed to non-smokers. People, who smoke, are ten times more likely to die from larynx cancer, esophagus, chronic obstructive lung disease, including emphysema. The risk becomes even higher if cigarette smoking is combined with alcohol use or with occupational exposure to certain types of toxic substances, such as asbestos. Many individuals continue to smoke knowing these dangerous conditions, because they believe that smoking has benefits like stress relief, anxiety, pleasure, or weight maintenance, thinking that quitting smoking is difficult and won't be an easy task to accomplish. Individuals who quit smoking however have a significantly lower life expectancy than continuing smokers. When smokers can quit at a young age, it is a huge benefit because they are exposing themselves relatively to fewer cigarettes. Smokers experience symptoms such as persistent coughing, chest pain, and breathlessness. The fear of dying is what leads a lot of people to stop smoking cigarettes. It takes 2 or 3 serious efforts before this mission can be accomplished and sometimes may take even longer. Smoking cessation is usually a learning process in which mistakes made in the first attempt help improve odds of success during the next attempt. It is a slow process, which requires hard work. When the person finally hits the actual "quitting day", the person stops smoking and it can be called as the final stage. Many doctors give advice to all ex-smokers to avoid alcohol temporarily after quitting, since drinking alcoholic beverages...