Bulan: Agustus 2007

Knowing the reasons of why you want to quit is an important fist step. Being clear about your reasons, can be a very powerful tool. You have probably seen many articles, telling you how to quit smoking, but without a proper motivation, they are useless. That is why instead of telling you what to do, I will tell you why you should do it and after that, it will be up to you to find the right way.

These are the 4 reasons of why you should quit smoking.

1. it kills
2. it harms people around you
3. it makes you age quicker
4. it is expensive

1. Smoking Kills.

Did you know?
-Each year, smoking kills 5 million people worldwide.

These are some dangerous chemicals that can be found in cigarettes:

Nicotine
Nicotine is a stimulant drug. Like any drug, nicotine can be very addictive. Nicotine inhalation stimulates the central nervous system, making a person more relaxed and less sensitive to pain, but in large doses nicotine acts as a depressant. One drop of nicotine can kill a horse.

Tar
Tar transports chemicals to your bloodstream. Tar gets collected in your lungs and also, stains your teeth. Tar has proven to be the major cause of lung cancer.

Acetone
Acetone is an extremely dangerous substance, it can be found in nail polish removers. Acetone is also used to make fibers, plastic, drugs and other chemicals.
A long-term exposure to acetone can cause kidney and liver damage.

Mercury
Mercury is a chemical element, also called “quicksilver”. Mercury is a toxin, easily absorbed through the skin; it attacks the central nervous system, also Mercury affects gums and teeth. A long-term exposure to this chemical, can cause brain damage and death.

2. Smoking Harms People around You.

Your smoking can harm others. None-smokers, exposed to second-hand smoke are at risk of many health problems related to direct smoking.

Did you know?
– When you smoke in public, people around you could experience: dizziness, nausea, headaches, sore throat and eye irritation.
– Passive smokers have an extremely high risk of heart disease and lung cancer.
– Each year, 20% of people dying from lung cancer worldwide, are passive smokers.
– Children of smokers have a 70% increased risk of respiratory illnesses and middle ear infection.

3. Smoking Makes You Age Quicker.

Smoking makes you look older by narrowing the small blood vessels in your skin. Your skin loses its elasticity and shininess; instead, it will look dry, old and wrinkled.

4. Smoking is Expensive

Not only does smoking damage your health, it is also expensive. Depending on where you live, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day can cost you up to $4000 dollars a year. It is a lot of money that you could spend on something more important in your life. If you think, that $4000 a year is a lot, try to calculate, how much drugs and medical care services would cost you, to get rid of all of the side-effects and illnesses caused by smoking.

So, to sum it up:
Smoking kills you, harms people around you, makes you age quicker and costs a lot of money.

Using laser treatment to quit smoking is considered to be one of the most effective smoking cessation methods. This method was introduced to the public only in the recent years and is considered to be a rather modern and even innovation method.

The laser quit smoking system is based upon a simple and very old principle. It is a well known fact that certain point in human body are nerve centers and they can encourage changes in the body. This principle is used in many disciplines such as acupuncture, reflexology, shiatsu and more. The point is, if you apply pressure to certain points in human body, you can get certain predictable effects.

This principle is used in stop smoking laser treatment. Low intensity laser beam is applied to those specific point in your body. The result is an almost immediate reduction of the cravings that accompany the smoking cessation.

This way you can go through the first stages of quitting smoking without the cravings associated with them.

Naturally, reducing the cravings is not always enough, as there are more aspects to quitting smoking. Therefore, the laser treatment goes very well along with behavioral therapy that will eliminate the psychological aspects of addiction. The laser simply deals with the physical Nicotine addiction.

The treatment is very “clean” and has no side effects, like some of the medications people take to quit smoking.

So, is Laser treatment to quit smoking a good idea for you?

Well, you must consider the following:

* It could be quit expensive. Prices very, and you should compare a few clinics before choosing. Some health insurances cover the cost of this treatment, so check it with your health insurance.

* You should plan to combine the laser treatment with behavioral therapy. Undergoing a laser treatment only will not give you good results in many cases.

Besides from that, laser treatment to quit smoking is a good choice to make as a quit smoking aid. Just remember that you really have to want to quit in order to make it. Laser treatment will help, but it’s you that actually quits smoking.

The human body is an incredible thing. Even after years of smoking, your system can mount a strong recovery; it’s possible you will even enjoy the same level of health as non-smokers.

I smoked two packs of cigarettes every day for many years. I couldn’t go for any length of time without lighting one up.

If I was awake, I had a smoke going. And quite often I would get up in the middle of the night, smoke a cigarette, and go back to bed.

I’m sure you can imagine the state of my health during those years. I was a wreck.

I hacked and wheezed all the time. My nose and eyes were always burning.

I could barely walk a block without losing my wind.

In fact, I even had a heart attack as a direct result of my nasty habit.

I won’t go into the details of how I finally quit; you’ll have to get that scoop in another one of my articles.

But I do want to share some amazing facts with you about the body’s ability to recover, even from the devastating effects of constant smoke inhalation and toxic chemical abuse.

At the time of this writing, I have been smoke free for four years. My heart is strong and relaxed, and I have the lung capacity to endure long walks and regular exercise sessions.

There was a time during my smoking years that I had pretty much thrown in the towel. I looked at my extremely poor state of health and just assumed I had ruined my body for good.

But I was wrong.

I think a lot of smokers fall into this mentality:

“I’ve done so much harm to myself already, what’s the point of quitting now? I’ll never be truly healthy again, so I might as well just keep on smoking.”

This is utter nonsense. And moreover, it’s a copout.

Did you know that your body will begin significant reparations in as little as 12 hours after your last smoke? In fact, minor positive changes begin to take place as quickly as 20 minutes after you stop inhaling cigarette smoke.

Within just one year of being smoke free, your risk of heart attack, stroke, and aneurism is half that of a smoker’s.

There is absolutely nothing natural about the act of smoking. Your lungs don’t want to breathe smoke and poisonous fumes.

And there are a total of 4,000 chemical compounds contained in cigarette smoke. Many of these substances are known to cause cancer.

Your body actively seeks to rid itself of these toxins, and all of your major systems will begin a recovery process once the initial detoxification is complete.

One million people quit smoking every year, and many of these individuals enjoy long, healthy lives which simply would not have been possible had they continued to smoke.

Sure it takes time to achieve a full recovery, but it can happen. And I’m living proof of this fact.

Acupuncture is a highly effective quit smoking method for all, and specially for those people who had been unsuccessful with other methods to stop smoking. People who go for acupuncture treatments are usually keen on quit smoking beliefs. Although they have failed with all previous programs, this 3500 years old Chinese remedy promises quick relief from chronic smoking habits.

Acupuncture works most effectively on human body to reduce chronic smoking habits

Acupuncture is based on the belief that “chi”, a vital energy force flows through 12 key channels around the body. Within these channels, there are at least 365 acupuncture points, which can sometimes get blocked preventing the smooth flow of vital energy, thereby leading to chronic habits. Acupuncture for stop quit smoking does not involve any “magic” acupuncture points. At least five needles are taken and inserted into the ear [particularly in the cartilage and not in the ear canal] and a few on the hands and wrists. With the needles pricked to your skin, you are left to relax for 30 to 45 minutes. These pricked needles provide significant effect on lessening cravings for smoking.

Treatments involved in acupuncture

To become a non-smoker, you have to follow a series of sessions. These sessions also focus on physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms occurring in the patient during the acupuncture treatments. While the needle-pricking treatments are going on you are also advised to undergo treatments with herbs. You can apply a mixture of oil of cloves and wintergreen, extracts of evodia fruits and Sichuan lovage rhizomes in the acupuncture points to get faster stop smoking results.

Other advantages of acupuncture – tips on stopping smoking

Acupuncture tips on stopping smoking not only relieve you from permanent smoking cessation but also works advantageous for you. After the acupuncture series is over, even cigarettes taste foul. It takes a nasty burnt taste and you can thus proudly redefine yourself as a “non-smoker”. Acupuncture therapy for stop smoking also reduces side effects of nicotine withdrawals like depression, cravings and anxiety. While the body actually improves in blood circulation and de-congesting the lungs, you also start feeling truly optimistic.

Acupuncture is a definite method that helps you to quit smoking miraculously within a few days. Try it out to experience instant success even if you are a chronic nicotine-smoker.

Copyright 2006 Adam Waxler

The sad fact is cigarette smoking is part of many of our lives, regardless of whether we smoke or not. Unfortunately, this includes unborn babies as well.

Surveys show that many mothers still smoke cigarettes during their pregnancy. Most likely these women are unaware of how harmful cigarette smoking truly is on their unborn baby and are unaware that smoking cigarettes during pregnancy is one of the major causes of infant deaths in the society today.

Basically, cigarette smoke alone is full of chemicals, some studies even state it has more than 2,500 chemicals. Some chemicals like tar, carbon monoxide, and nicotine are considered the most dangerous substance for the fetus. It has long been proven how these chemicals can greatly affect the development of the fetus inside the mother’s womb.

First of all, mothers who smoke while pregnant run a risk of ectopic pregnancy. This is especially viable when the mother is a heavy smoker during the first trimester of her pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancy refers to the state wherein the embryo is embedded outside the uterus, which is contrary to what normal pregnancy should be. Usually, it is embedded in the fallopian tube. In this manner, the fetus has to be removed because this kind of pregnancy will never survive. This fetus will never survive outside of the uterus where a fetus gets all the nourishment and protection that it needs. Prolonging this condition will only risk the mother’s life.

Also, smoking cigarettes during pregnancy increases the probability that the mother will develop complications in the placenta. Reports show that placental problems are actually happening in about 1% of pregnancies. The most common problem is “placenta previa” where the placenta is connected very low in the uterus and is almost at the cervix.

Another problem with smoking cigarettes during pregnancy is the deterioration of fetal growth. The fact is cigarette smoking during pregnancy results in low infant birth weight. For many years now reports have shown that there have been significant differences between babies with mothers who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy and those who have non-cigarette smoking mothers.

Unfortunately, greater risks are imposed on babies who weigh less than the normal babies. They may acquire certain diseases like cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or worse – death.

There are also reports on how cigarette smoking during pregnancy increases the probabilities of birth defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

Moreover, babies born with mothers who are cigarette smokers have higher incidences of sudden infant death syndrome. If ever these infants survive, they may still incur diseases like asthma, behavioral problems, or learning disabilities.

Then there are the post-pregnancy woes…

For babies with mothers who smoke regularly, problems still lurk within their environment. This is especially true to mothers who smoke even when they are breastfeeding their babies.

Studies have revealed that nicotine can be passed on to the baby through breastfeeding. There have been experiments that prove the presence of nicotine in the babies system through urine testing. It later showed that there is a higher percentage of nicotine found on babies who breastfeed to cigarette smoking mothers.

Most experts contend that the problem lies within the mother’s urge to get back to smoking cigarettes right after she gives birth.

Unfortunately, when the mother continues to smoke during the formative years of her child life, chances are she is already shaping a child that will most likely be a cigarette smoker themselves.

So, what’s the point here? The fact that the mother does not care for her own health is one thing. But the fact that she puts greater risk on her baby because of her vice is another thing.

Babies should be given the right to live a decent, normal, and healthy life. So, for the “moms-to-be” out there, please keep in mind that your babies should not be forced to suffer from the long range dangers associated with cigarette smoking. Let’s take care of them by not smoking cigarettes.

Copyright 2006 Adam Waxler

Nowadays, more and more people are becoming aware of the need to be healthy. They increase their intake of healthy foods, take vitamins to supplement their daily requirements, and go to the gym to exercise.

Unfortunately, many people still tend to neglect the adverse effect of cigarette smoking on their health. Despite knowing the harmful effects of cigarette smoking, people, for some reason, still smoke.

So, the question is, “Why?”

Maybe it is because while people know that cigarette smoking is “bad” they do not know exactly how “bad” cigarette smoking really is.

Well here’s the full story on why people should quit smoking cigarettes now:

1. Cigarette smoking kills 114,000 people each year in the United Kingdom alone.

This means that if you do not quit smoking cigarettes now, you could be the 115,000th. Smoking cigarettes really does kill and people should be aware of that.

2. Cigarette smoking is the number one factor of lung cancer.

There’s no greater factor that can trigger lung cancer in a person than what cigarette smoking can do. Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental element that instigates the formation of cancer cells in the body. This is because cigarette smoking primarily destroys the immune system of the body resulting in the body’s inability to fight back infection and to ward off harmful bacteria that enters the system.

3. Cigarette smoking really does cause cancer.

Aside from the fact that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, it can also initiate the formation of other cancer cells in the body. This is because cigarette smoke contains so many chemicals that are carcinogens. Carcinogens are the elements that cause cancer cells in the body. Once developed it could lead to acute condition of cancer which eventually leads to death.

4. Cigarette smoking is addictive and can cause hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.

The primary component of a cigarette is nicotine. Studies have proven that nicotine is addictive, which means to say that when you start smoking cigarettes it will be really difficult to stop.

Not only that, nicotine also increases your cholesterol levels. This would eventually lead to hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases that lead to heart attacks.

5. Cigarette smoking has adverse effects on your entire body.

The fact is, cigarette smoking is detrimental to your whole body, from the tip of your hair down to the tip of your toenails.

First, cigarette smoking makes your hair smelling terrible. Also, the elements found in smoking can curb the growth of your hair and it can even dry it out, losing its shine and luster.

Not only that, cigarette smoking also affects the teeth, lungs, heart, bones, and even your skin. That’s right. Cigarette smoking reduces the elasticity of your skin, thus, it will be more vulnerable to skin diseases and allergies.

The bottom line is that people should really stop cigarette smoking now because it will not only affect their lives but others as well. This is because the primary concluding effect of cigarette smoking is always death and nothing else.

It’s not a matter of choice. It’s a matter of how you value your life and your family. Is it really worth it to smoke cigarettes?

It is a well known fact in the medical community now that smoking and the morbidity and mortality that is a direct result of this destructive habit. It really is a health care crisis but the problem is that you wouldn’t know it. Doctors are to blame for this in large part and that is because they don’t make the decision to stop smoking as important and life saving as it should be.

Smoking has many deep, deep roots that are intertwined in our culture and environment otherwise. This is in part what makes it so dangerous, that is that it is so natural. In fact there are doctors practicing now that as young doctors were suggesting that people take up smoking in order to reduce the stress in our lives. The other problem is that smoking isn’t the only quiet killer that we have to deal with. If we get rid of smoking than we will start dealing with the looming crises of obesity, high fat diets, inactivity, pollution, and on and on. This is not to say that we should give up but rather not be totally distracted from other public health issues.

Anyway due to the recent awareness there has been a lot of work into figuring out how to help people stop smoking. The results of all this work is fortunately encouraging. The major concern was that it wouldn’t be a good use of the physicians clinic time to counsel and manage smoking cessation efforts. The problem was this counseling was one of the key components to successful treatment of the addiction. Then people started looking not so much at how much it was costing to have doctors spend time treating this issue but how much it was costing to allow people to continue to smoke. The numbers are staggering, and very much in favor of paying physicians to treat this addiction to nicotine.

So all that to say that doctors have gotten good at helping people decide to stop smoking and to make good on this promise. Treatment usually involves a very well proven combination of frequent office visits for counseling, contracts to quit, recruiting the support of family and friends, nicotine replacement, and other pharmacotherapies that help to make a drastic but life saving change. So if you want to live but haven’t made the plunge, please seek out a well trained and qualified physician. It’s crucial to the success of your goal to stop smoking.

Why should you quit smoking? Ah let me count the ways. Perhaps the better question by far is why in hell wouldn’t you quit smoking?

Lung cancer directly caused by smoking surpassed all other causes of death in the 1950’s and has been (though having slowly declined from that peak) ever since. And this is just talking about death. Morbidity (not mortality) caused by smoking is a 60 billion dollar industry in direct costs associated with the health care needed for smokers. That is one heck of a lot of misery! This figure doesn’t even count all of the indirect costs including loss of man hours both related to smoking breaks and sick days as well as shorter life spans with more time spent on disability. Indirect costs also include the health of the people that live with the person that smokes who have statistically speaking several times more use of healthcare dollars than the average non-smoker living in a non-smoking environment. So yeah, the better question is why shouldn’t you quit smoking?

You say well your right I should quit and I have tried several times and I cannot do it. You don’t even know how hard it is to quit smoking. And my reply is for one thing you are right and I’m glad I don’t know how hard it is to stop smoking, because I’m sure that its hard after watching people struggle with it. I would also say however that giving up is not the answer and for several reasons.

For one thing haven’t you heard the phrase “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”? This is a natural part of life to have to fight for the things in life that are really worth something. You don’t just give up on something, especially if what you are straining for will kill you if you give up, literally! Would you tell your son or daughter to just give up the fight if they had leukemia because it was going to be hard? No way, and so you can’t either.

You also want to say something but I and my body want it so bad and like it so much. And I would agree, addiction is for sure the worst part of the whole thing and makes it hardest to make a good decision to quit smoking. However it still isn’t an excuse for several reasons. It still for one thing is a life and death matter. For another, are you going to let those tobacco companies who targeted you and got you addicted on purpose get away with doing that to you? And third many have done it before you and there are good programs that help you to quit smoking. So you’ve got some thinking to do and some decisions to make. I ask you to choose life!

The first tobacco plants are thought to have grown sometime around 6000BC. It was five thousands years later that men first started smoking and chewing the tobacco plant. This happened in the Central America, and the first people to smoke are thought to be the Mayans. More than 2500 years later, in 1595, appears the first book about tobacco, called “Tobacco”. In 1600, the Pope himself forbade tobacco and smoking in any holy place. The recent history of smoking is marked by the firs lawsuit against a cigarette manufacturer, in 1983, by Rose Cipollone. He was dying from lung cancer at that time, but before his death he won $400,000. The latest major act against smoking, and smokers, of course, was in 2003, when the state of New York banned smoking in any public place.

Are YOU smoking?

If you don’t know already, let me enlighten you: you are slowly dying, because smoking kills. The drug called nicotine is can be found in any cigarette you want and this drug is a very powerful one. It is very addictive and quitting it can be done only by will. It is hard, but it isn’t impossible. Here is a fact: around 400,000 dye each year from smoking related diseases. The foremost is the lung cancer. Let’s say you don’t care about yourself, but do you care about the others, about your family, your friends, because you are hurting them as well. It is called secondhand smoke, and it is just as dangerous as smoking itself. You already knew these facts? Look at this as a remember.

Are you quitting?

Well, if you tried to quit and you just couldn’t, it means you either didn’t really want to or you didn’t know how to proceed. I wrote a few tips, to help you achieve this goal. Good luck, and remember, the most important thing is WILL.

• Decide upon a day, and just stop smoking. The best way to do it is to find someone to quit with you. As the old saying goes: The more the merrier.

• When you get the urge of smoking, don’t. Wait for a few minutes before. In the spare time, try to do other things, like eating peanuts or eating gum.

• The old switch trick always pays off. Switch to a brand of cigarettes you hate and buy just one pack at a time.

• Change your routines. When you eat dinner, don’t sit in the same place. At the begging eat only at home, or at a non-smoking friend, so you won’t be able to have a quick one after dinner.

• Always have with you other things to put in your mouth, like a toothpick, or candy (watch for those cavities), or, usually the best, bubble-gum.

• At first you will feel sleepier and more tired than usual. Also you will be more short-tempered. These things pass in a week or so.

• Talk about what you are doing. Many smokers want to know how it is possible. Explain to them; discuss it over a drink, in the non-smokers section, of course.

• If at first you fail, try again. Don’t worry, there are fewer people then you think who made it the first time.

• If nothing works, visit your doctor.

Many people, smokers and non-smokers alike, are aware of the harmful ingredients contained in today’s cigarettes. Most are also very aware of the long-lasting and potentially lethal effects that smoking- including second-hand smoke- can cause in individuals who inhale it. What you might not be aware of are the psychological benefits that can come when one kicks the habit of cigarettes. Sometimes, these benefits are surprising and can be every bit as beneficial as the numerous physical effects that will occur as your body begins to heal itself after beating the habit.

The biggest psychological benefit that comes with kicking the smoking habit is the sense of accomplishment when the task is done. When you finally stop smoking for good, there is a tremendous sense that you have shaken a very large monkey off of your back. Quitting smoking is an extremely difficult task, and those who manage to do it have every right to feel as though they can conquer the world, and this feeling will spill over into other areas of your life and help you in achieving other goals. Once you beat a habit that has been plaguing you for years, that is in fact an actual physical addiction, you will understand that there is not much you cannot accomplish once you put your mind and will into it.

As smoking becomes a distant memory, you will also be surprised in the rise of your self-esteem levels. No one denies that a big part of smoking includes the effort to cover up the smell- on your breath, on your hands, on your clothes, and in your car and your house. Once you quit, these smells become less and less of a problem, and you will no longer have to worry about other people- from lovers to your kids- shying away from you due to the smell that clings to you. You will also probably notice that your own sense of smell improves as the smoke cloud dissipates, and this too can carry with it enormous psychological benefits as you once again discover all the wonders of a spring morning, the smell of outdoor barbecues from your neighbors, and the general smells of the outdoors.

Quitting smoking also lifts a severe burden off the shoulders of smokers as far as other family members go. Many smokers are cognizant of the risks and in that vein endeavor to discourage their closest family members not to start the habit. However, as long as you yourself are smoking there is always the taint of hypocrisy attached to your words. Once you have managed to quit, this feeling will disappear and you will be able to lead by example instead of just with words.

If you are considering ceasing your smoking habit, there are thousands of others who have walked that road and who are waiting to help you out. The benefits are enormous, and some of them, like the psychological benefits, you may not expect. Be prepared to enter a whole new world of feeling once you butt out for good.