Bulan: Agustus 2007

Copyright 2006 Adam Waxler

Evidence of the health risks of cigarette smoking go back to the 1950s. However, the percentage of cigarette smokers was at its peak in 1964, when the US surgeon general first issued an official warning that smoking cigarettes was hazardous to one’s health.

Following the surgeon general’s formal warning about cigarette smoking, many reports were released on the link between cigarette smoking and heart disease, lung disease, and cancer of the mouth. However, the cigarette smoking habit continued, particularly with young smokers who were most likely smoking as a sign of rebellion and/or independence.

For adults, though, smoking cigarettes marked an addiction to nicotine – the key ingredient that makes cigarette smoking both pleasurable and addictive. This addiction to nicotine led to another warning from the surgeon general in 1988, which put nicotine addiction on the same level as addictions to cocaine and heroin.

The danger in cigarette smoking comes from the chemical substances released either as a gas or as a particulate. Nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide and most especially carbon monoxide are gaseous emissions from cigarette smoke that threaten to poison the body.

Nicotine is one of several hazardous particulates emitted from smoking cigarettes. These particulates damage the cilia – the little hairs lining the lungs that help transport mucus out of the lungs. When the cilia malfunction, pollutants remain in the lungs and the likelihood of influenza and bronchitis, emphysema and other diseases increases.

Unfortunately, cigarette smoking has been cited as the cause of over 400,000 deaths in the US every year.

However, government agencies, scientists and health officials have also established that passive smoking, or second-hand smoke, also has negative effects on the human body. The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has reported that over 4,000 chemicals are generated by second-hand smoke, with more than 50 of those believed to be cancer-causing agents.

In fact, in 1975, the Centers for Disease Control released a report noting that toxic chemicals released from cigarettes stay in the air and are inhaled by unsuspecting victims. Thus, the concern over cigarette smoking shifted from a private-health issue to a public-health issue.

For pregnant women, the negative effects of cigarette smoking and second hand smoke raises even more issues. Cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke increases the chances of low birth-weight and even miscarriage. And, children less than a year old are twice as likely to have lung infections if their mothers smoke cigarettes compared to counterparts whose mothers do not smoke cigarettes. Likewise, children who already have asthma, allergies or other respiratory ailments can worsen their conditions if their parents smoke cigarettes.

Over the years some cigarette smokers have gradually quit smoking cigarettes, while non-smokers have become the focus of more protection as the government has worked on policies and legislation to curb cigarette smoking.

In the 1990s, class action suits started to bombard state and federal courts, claiming that cigarette manufacturers employed deceptive marketing tactics to keep consumers from knowing that nicotine was addictive and worked on ways keep cigarette smokers hooked on their product.

More recent suits against the cigarette and tobacco industry charge manufacturers of also misleading consumers into thinking that “lights” and similar cigarette products were healthier alternatives to regular cigarettes. These more recent cases later led to the multi-billion dollar settlement between the US government and the cigarette and tobacco industry in the late 1990s.

These lawsuits and the consistency of health lobbyists and persuasive government programs have helped pull down US cigarette smoking rates on a consistent basis over the last four decades. With the health risks of cigarette smoking so abundantly clear, it is likely that these cigarette smoking rates in the US will continue to decrease.

There are a lot of people who smoke out there who, among other reasons, are afraid to try to quit smoking cigarettes for the fear of what they think is inevitable weight gain. Almost everyone they know who has successfully quit smoking really packed on the pounds and they don’t want this to happen to them. So, does the connection between quitting cigarettes and weight gain have to do directly with the cigarettes themselves, or are there other, outside reasons why this happens so often to people who “kick the habit”?

Lets take a look at what all of the factors are that cause such weight gain in people who quit smoking and see if maybe this weight gain may be able to be controlled to where it does not have to be a factor when you decide to put the cigarettes down for good.

The fact is you do not have to gain weight when you quit smoking. There are a lot of people who quit smoking who don’t gain any weight at all. On average, people who quit smoking gain only up to 10 pounds. Studies have shown that people who have smoked for 10 to 20 years or more, or who smoked one or more packs of cigarettes a day have a higher tendency to gain weight than short time smokers and those who smoked less than one pack a day.

Nicotine, which is a chemical found in cigarettes, does to a small degree keep your body weight down. When you quit and the nicotine begins to leave your body, you may see a marginal amount of short term weight gain, but usually it will be no more than 3 to 5 pounds, mostly due to water retention.

The major reason why so many people will gain a significant amount of weight however, has more to do with replacing the smoking habit with excessive eating habits. Many will substitute sucking on hard candies all day to replace the cigarettes. Others will begin to simply snack on various foods throughout the day as a replacement for the old habit. The cigarette break at work becomes a snack break. The after lunch cigarette becomes the after lunch snack. It is this new habit, which is done almost unconsciously, that is mostly responsible for excessive weight gain when people quit smoking.

When you quit smoking, keeping aware of what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat along with some physical activity will keep that weight gain to a minimum and may keep you from gaining any weight at all. You also must consider that even if you do gain 5 to 10 pounds from quitting smoking, the risks of smoking cigarettes are far greater than a 5 to 10 pound gain in weight.

Smoking is the cause of more than 400,000 deaths every year in the United States. It would take a weight gain of over 100 pounds to equal the health risks of smoking cigarettes. Smoking causes your heart rate to increase, and you have twice the likeliness to suffer a heart attack than that of a nonsmoker.

You inhale around 4000 chemicals from cigarette smoke and 40 of these chemicals are cancer causing. Men are 22 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers, and women are 12 times more likely.

With a little effort on your part to keep your eating habits in check and incorporate some exercise into your daily routine, weight gain can and will be at least kept down to a minimum when you quit smoking. You will be in better health, feel better, and have a more positive outlook on life when you make the decision to put those cigarettes down for once and for all.

People who are either obese or smoking, even both are growing at a very alarming rate. While more and more people are suffering from the various diseases and complications that can be brought about by obesity and cigarette smoking, it’s still frustrating for health advocates how some people can still not care about how damaging their situation is to their health and well-being.

As for the debate on which one’s worse, smoking or being obese, there are actually doctors who suggest that it’ll do you a lot of good to just quit smoking cigarettes point blank even if they say that you may end up gaining a few pounds due to it. This is because doctors believe that the problem brought about by tobacco is actually the most preventable cause of death in the United States while obesity is just in a close second place even though deaths caused by being obese is severely alarming.

However, a lot of people in America believe that even though there are a lot of heavy people in the country, they still get to live longer compared to heavy smokers basically because they don’t have the irreversible effects that are being caused by the poisonous ingredients that one can take in due to cigarette smoking. Another point to consider when quitting smoking is that while there are also a lot of various diseases that can be brought about by excessive eating and a growing waistline, there are medicines and drugs that can help alleviate the harmful effects, thus helping obese people to get a cure for their ailments.

Matched by a good diet and enough exercise, the road to being fit and healthy is not far off for obese people while those who’ve stuck with cigarette smoking have already badly damaged their lungs and whatever damages they may have incurred from cigarette smoking is sadly, irreversible already and they have to continue to suffer the consequences – even make things worse by refusing to kick this bad habit goodbye.

Even though there are a lot of people who are obese, and even though there are possibilities that may incur some ailments or other health complications, still, a lot of people who are obese don’t really have any adverse health complications and are actually able to live pretty normal lives while those who are into cigarette smoking have already kissed a good bill of health goodbye with every cigarette that they pop in their mouth.

However, there are also some health officials that claim that obesity is actually worse than smoking cigarettes.

Why is this so? Well it’s basically just because of the fact that a lot more people love to eat rather that smoke cigarettes why is thy problem with obesity is quick to soon overtake cigarette smoking as the number cause of death in America. Aside from having poor eating habits, health officials are also deeply concerned about Americans low level of physical activity wherein in spite of hitting the gyms or taking some time out to exercise, a lot of people still not take their health seriously by opting to take cars instead of walk for just short distances, watch TV instead of go out in the park and indulge in some fun physical activity.

To put it quite simply, being obese or being addicted to cigarette smoking are both big health risks, however, obesity is still a lot easier to cure and prevent through enough exercise, discipline and a healthy diet while those who keep on smoking cigarettes have already scarred their health for life and even though they may kick this bad habit goodbye there’s only so much that they can to do to better their health while it is never too late to quit either.

Copyright 2006 Adam Waxler

Many people take risks in life. In fact, some of the wealthiest people in the world will tell you they would have never gotten anywhere if they did not take any risks. However, while some risks are worth the chance some simply are not. The health risks of cigarette smoking is one of those risks because the end result of smoking cigarettes is almost always the same.

So what are the harmful effects of cigarette smoking?

There are many harmful chemicals in cigarettes that can be broken down into four main components: irritants, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and carcinogens. When considering the health risks of cigarettes smoking, it is important to look at each of these four components.

1. Irritants
An average cigarette contains irritants like ammonia, formaldehyde and oxides. Such irritants usually cause the respiratory tract to swell.

2. Carcinogen
There are roughly 40 kinds of chemicals in cigarettes that are considered carcinogenic, meaning cancer promoting.

Lung cancer is usually related to cigarette smoking because the respiratory system of a smoker is more vulnerable. The mortality rate of lung cancer cases is very high and found to be dependent on the number of cigarette consumed.

3. Carbon Monoxide
The carbon monoxide component of a cigarette harms the circulatory system. This disables the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen to the heart.

4. Nicotine
Nicotine is the major component of the cigarette and it also poses a notorious threat to the body. Nicotine causes the act of smoking to be highly addicting. Nicotine in the body system could also result in an increased heart rate and high blood pressure.

The four harmful components of the cigarette mentioned above all contribute to the negative effects cigarette smoking has on the human body. The immediate effects of cigarette smoking may be manifested by coughing, burning of the nose and throat or dizziness. There is also the tendency of increasing the health risks of a person already suffering from illnesses like high blood pressure and diabetes.

While there are claims that cigarette smoking may not directly cause the increase in high blood pressure, cigarette smoking does increase the risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack. Most doctors agree that cigarette smoking results in the body being susceptible to cardiovascular or heart diseases.

Peripheral vascular disease is also widespread among cigarette smokers. This pertains to the disease affecting the lower limbs of the person. This is due to the atherosclerosis or the narrowing of the arteries in the blood vessels of the limb. The narrowing is caused by the building up of plaque.

Studies also show that cigarette smoking is particularly risky to the female body. A woman cigarette smoker may have a more difficult time getting pregnant as a consequence of cigarette smoking. A pregnant woman who smokes cigarettes will definitely harm the baby inside her womb. Studies reveal that cigarette smoking actually increases the probability for the incidence of having a low birth weight, stillbirths, and sudden infant death syndrome. The mother also is in danger as cigarette smoking will increase the risk of having a high blood pressure or suffering a stroke.

Another health risk to cigarette smoking is passive smoking from secondhand smoke.

Passive smoking is the involuntary exposure to cigarette smoke. In this case, even a non-smoker’s health is put at risk. Breathing in fumes from another person’s cigarette (secondhand smoke) may cause the same adverse effects as it does to an ordinary smoker.

Recent studies show that those exposed to secondhand smoke, children and adults alike, have a higher risk of developing lung and other respiratory problems. Children who are constantly exposed to secondhand smoke are susceptible to colds, ear infections and breathing problems.

There are risks in life that are worth taking. However, one must recognize those risks that may cost one his or her life and clearly, one life-threatening risk includes cigarette smoking.

Have you ever wanted to quit smoking and convinced yourself than you are destined to smoke cigarettes the rest of your life? Have you ever tried to quit and gave up halfway thought the day or that same night? If you think that quitting smoking is just impossible, I would read on.

It truly is not as hard as you may think. Take it from a true one packer a day smoker or better on some days. It was like a true friend to me that I couldn’t let go. I have smoked a good thirty to thirty six years of my life. I’m not quite sure when I started smoking. I quit one time about ten years ago for a week. The big mistake I made back then was to ask a friend for a smoke so I could see what I was missing. That was a big mistake! I was back full time again and tried several times since and failed on all attempts except the last attempt.

Quitting smoking for me was always like a ritual that I attempted two or three times a year. The excuse was always the cost of cigarettes. Never did I complain about the possible ill effects that it could possibly have down the road. Sure I was aware everyday about how bad it was. I heard it on the news every day on how the smokers were getting the boot in restaurants and buildings. The worst people to smoke around were the non-smokers that quit smoking. I know, my wife quit ten years ago. I smoked outside come rain, snow or blizzard. I hope as a non-smoker I never get like that.

I was not a very pleasant person to be around when I attempted to quit. I’m sure smokers know how short tempered one can get, when one has not had a cigarette for a while. Every morning I attempted to be a non-smoker, I set myself up for failure by having a coffee and shortly after breakfast I ran around outside hoping to bump into someone who smoked. I always had a nic fit around lunch and dinnertime, only to give in to the craving over and over again. I did not last a good part of a day. I just about gave up trying to quit. I was convinced that I was going to smoke the rest of my life. I thought I was hooked for good, until one sunny afternoon around 3:oopm I had my last cigarette while I was washing my jeep.

Everybody tells me that I was ready. I really don’t know if I was ready. What I do know is there are several key things that I had to do to give it up completely, and I am not really sure of the one key thing that kept me a non-smoker two months later. I know that one of the key things that helped was telling myself once and a while that I was a non-smoker even when I knew I smoked. I would not say it out loud if people were around me that knew I smoked. They would probably think I was losing it. I told myself that I was a non-smoker for about two weeks prior to quitting. Self-preparation you may want to call it. I truly knew that I wanted to quit. Maybe I was ready.

That sunny afternoon I had one cigarette left which I smoked halfway through washing my jeep. I told my wife that I was not going to buy any more that afternoon. She heard me say that many times before. She told me to give a try and purchase some later and not to be hard on myself for a least trying. Again she repeated it was okay to buy some later. I think my wife just about gave up on me quitting as well.

The other key thing to do if you are attempting to quit is to learn how to procrastinate. That same afternoon I kept putting off buying cigarettes until bedtime. Bedtime came and it was too late to go to the store. I put it off until the next morning.

Morning came and I convinced myself that I was a non-smoker. I decided the other key thing to do was invite my weaknesses. I had coffee, which they say you shouldn’t do. I almost stopped my brother-in-law from coming over that same night because he smoked. I told my wife to have him come over, but he had to smoke outside alone. I thought about it for a moment and decided I was going to stand outside and watch him smoke. They also said not to drink beer or alcohol when you’re attempting to quit smoking. I bought myself a six-pack and drank and watched him smoke. That was the very first day. I finally quit and had no craving the next day. The nic fits were gone! The cravings were gone! The grumpiness from not smoking was gone! The wasted dollars on cigarettes was gone! It was like being born again.

The one key goal on quitting smoking for me was to convince myself a couple weeks before, that I was a non-smoker. Quitting halfway through the day was the other key thing to do. Think about that for a second. The day for me was not as long as it would have been if I quit first thing in the morning. When you quit in the morning, you have approximately 16 hours to go before you go to bed and forget about it. I quit at 3:00 in the afternoon with only 8 hours until bedtime to forget about it. It was half the amount of time to put everything to rest. I had a 16-hour jump to get the nicotine out of my system before the morning. Quitting in the morning was always tough before, because smoking and a cup of coffee was always an enjoyment for me.

The last key thing to do was just learn to say no for the remainder of the next day. The craving was not as bad as it was on other days that I quit. It must have had something to do with the time I quit. The craving was not as bad as prior attempts. The next day I could not understand why I smoked all that time. The addiction is finally gone and I do not want to pick up that cigarette to see what I am missing!

Just convince yourself that you are a non-smoker for approximately two weeks.

Finish that last cigarette half way through the day when you are doing something that you enjoy. Make sure you are in a good mood!

Do not tell anybody that you’re quitting. Just tell them you are not buying any for the rest of the day.

Learn to procrastinate for 6 to 8 hours, which shouldn’t be too hard for some of us.

Face all your weaknesses that you think will put you back on the smoking train.

Say no for one day! Say no for one day! Say no for one day!

Day three will set you free!!!

If you’re a smoker, we know that it’s very difficult to convince yourself of the need to quit smoking. But we assure you, there are just so many reasons why you have to quit smoking. So before we proceed with helpful tips to quit smoking, let’s enumerate the benefits that you’ll enjoy once you quit smoking.

Why don’t we concentrate on the lighter side first? People who smoke tend to have bad breath and yellow teeth. Once you quit smoking however, you’ll never have to restrain yourself with a slight smile – one that doesn’t show your teeth to your disadvantage, that is. And you don’t have to worry anymore if you’re going to turn your date off with your wonderfully stale breath!

The second advantage that you’ll enjoy once you quit smoking is that most people would tend to have a better impression of you. Nowadays, only a few people are untouched by nicotine addiction and if you’re not into smoking, people would tend to think that you’re a disciplined and reliable person.

But those are just the lighter side of things. Let’s concentrate next on the cold hard facts. Once you quit smoking, changes could start happening in your life in just twenty minutes.

In less than half an hour, your heartbeat immediately drops – and by the way that’s a good thing because when you smoke, your heart rate is higher than normal. In half a day, the carbon monoxide level in your body goes back to normal as well. In two to twelve weeks, you’ll enjoy even more health-related benefits such as improved circulation and increased lung function. In nine months at most, you’ll be in possession of cleaner and better lungs and the tendency to cough will greatly decrease. Lastly, you’ll also feel that you’re not as short of breath as you used to be.

One year after your decision to quit smoking, your excess risk of having a heart coronary disease is already 50% less of a smoker’s.

In as early as five years after your decision to quit smoking, the chances that you’ll have a stroke is already equal to that of a non-smoker!

In as early as a decade, the probability that you’ll die of lung cancer – which is the fate of most people who don’t want to quit smoking – is half of a continuing smoker already! And in fifteen years’ time, the likelihood that you’ll experience heart coronary disease – one of the most serious risks that all chain smokers face – is that of a non-smoker’s!

Smoking cigarettes is an expensive habit. An ordinary cigarette smoker incurs enormous cost to sustain this unhealthy lifestyle and the costs do not pertain solely to the smoker. There are negative effects of cigarette smoking to the body, to the immediate family, to society, and to the economy.

The most obvious cost of smoking cigarettes is the daily, weekly and monthly financial cost. Cigarettes now cost an average of $4.00 per pack. Imagine smoking a pack of cigarettes per day at $4.00 per day. The money spent on cigarette smoking could amount to almost $1500 in a year! Just think what you could do with that kind of money. However, the costs of cigarette smoking are not solely financial. The number of smoking related diseases such as cancer, respiratory problems and heart ailments increase yearly while a cigarette smoker may have his life expectancy reduced by 10-15 years.

Medical expenditures will also have to be addressed as most, if not all, smoke related illnesses require treatment, services and medication. Health care services are not cheap.

At the same time, there will be lost productivity when the cigarette smoker is forced to retire to the hospital bed and refrain from working. Thus the earning capacity declines. Instead of bringing in more money to the household, the money had to be taken out.

The environment of the smoker will also deteriorate because of the fumes. The car is one place where the smoker could comfortably light up a cigarette. Definitely, the interior will smell, ashes will accumulate and upholstery may get burn holes. Same thing goes if the smoker freely lights up anywhere inside his or her house.

Furthermore, cigarette smoking gives a higher risk of starting a fire. Countless fires have originated from a cigarette left lit.

Smokers also harm their neighbors through secondhand smoke. Non-smokers exposed to the carbons emitted are susceptible to smoking related diseases. If these exposed non-smokers have illnesses, secondhand smoking could further aggravate the situation.

In acquiring insurance policies, there is the trend now to charge higher premiums to smokers since the cigarette smoker is considered a high-risk.

Cigarette smoking also affects the overall aesthetics of the person. These are offshoots of smoking that cannot be disregarded as they affect the self regard of the person and also his or her relationship with others. Rectifying these could actually cost money. For example, having yellow teeth means extra charge from the dentist aside from the usual cleaning.

Smoking cigarettes also makes clothes dirty and the results often require the services of a dry cleaner to be remedied. The smoke can even result in a bad smell in the skin and hair.

Of course, smoking cigarettes has emotional costs as well. The dependence to cigarette smoking when one gets addicted can be very restricting. There is also the pressure to quit smoking as the smoker realizes the harmful effects to himself and to his or her family.

Unfortunately for many, there is the constant sense of helplessness in addressing the cigarette smoking habit and its side effects. A person with a smoking-related disease will not be the only one who will suffer from these high costs of cigarette smoking. Immediate family members and friends will definitely feel the burden of this harmful addiction to smoking cigarettes.

Another frequently-repeated rationalization for the cigarette habit is: “I’d like to stop smoking, but every time I do I gain weight. And it’s worse to be overweight than it is to smoke.”

The good news is, not all smokers who stop smoking gain weight. Even if weight gain was inevitable, the average gain is only between 6 and 8 pounds. Not too much of a big deal now, isn’t it?

It isn’t the fact that a person has stopped smoking that may cause him to gain weight. It’s the fact that he substitutes the habit of overeating for the habit of smoking.

In the belief that he needs something tangible to relax tension (which he previously achieved by the mechanical movements of lighting a cigarette) a “reformed addict” may take to eating candy bars or nibbling on sweets . . . something to do, anything to do, in other words, to take his mind away from the pressing problems, and to get back some of those old, familiar gestures that are part of the habitual pattern of smoking.

The gesture of reaching for something, and picking it up, and then placing it in the mouth. The gestures and muscle movements of the lips, mouth and jaws: as many of the gestures of smoking as can be achieved, in other words, without a cigarette. You’ll soon see that this isn’t necessary either.

Do moderate intensity exercises on a regular routine. Examples are to go swimming, jogging, playing a sport or aerobics.

Cut down on unhealthy snacking. If you feel like munching, grab something healthy like a diet bar or a fruit.

Avoid alcohol or limit yourself to 1 drink a week. Alcohol can make you fat too.

Instead of having 3 main meals a day, spread them out to 6 small meals throughout the day. This can help you maintain a high metabolism throughout the day and you burn more calories.

Avoid eating past 9pm. The body’s metabolism slows down at night so food consumed past this hour will take longer to digest.

With so many dangers associated with smoking, especially the correlation between smoking and the development of lung cancer, it is amazing to see how many people continue to voluntarily take part in this activity! Why is it that these mostly mature, reasonably intelligent men and women of every nationality allow such a small object to have so much control over their lives? You’d think it would be easy to just say “NO” to this tiny little death machine, but in reality it just isn’t so.

Why? Because smoking is a habit and habits are hard to break. Interestingly even efforts to raise the price of a pack of cigarettes have failed to slow the demand. And even though they aren’t cheap, cigarettes are very easy to buy, which makes it even harder to break this habit.

Smoking is the number one contributor to lung cancer. Besides causing lung cancer, cigarette smoking can cause other health-related problems including emphysema, bronchitis, and heart disease. Combine cigarette smoking with excess weight, stress, and a sedentary lifestyle, and a person who smokes literally becomes a ticking time bomb.

Here are some interesting bits of information about smoking and lung cancer.

Any amount of smoking can ultimately cause lung cancer, but how long you have been smoking, how deeply you inhale, and how many cigarettes you smoke on a regular basis all impact the development of lung cancer. It goes without saying that people who smoke a pack or more a day and who have smoked most of their lives are significantly increasing the likelihood that lung cancer will develop.

Quitting smoking may not stop lung cancer from developing, but doing so still is highly advisable. You immediately lower your risk of developing lung cancer the moment you stop (but only when you stop for good). The body will go into repair mode within a day or two after you stop. It’s not possible to determine whether the damage that has been done internally can be corrected, but stopping is worth the gamble.

Women are just as much at risk of developing lung cancer from smoking as men are, assuming equivalent smoking patterns and history. When it comes to lung cancer, men generally get most of the attention. There are more cases of men with smoking-related lung cancer than there are women, but don’t let this statistic fool you. Women are in danger too. In fact, more women die each year from smoking-related lung cancer than from breast cancer.

Passive smoking can also cause lung cancer, even in people who do not smoke. Passive smoking is the same as inhaling second-hand smoke. If you smoke, be considerate to others who don’t. Don’t smoke in enclosed spaces such as homes or cars. This is especially important around small children who don’t even realize the dangers they’re being exposed to.

If a pregnant woman smokes, her unborn baby smokes too!

And finally smoking is the cause of 90% of the cases of lung cancer. That alone should keep you from starting!

Tip 1: Rise above the cravings

Imagine the cigarettes as crutches. You’ve always had these crutches to lean on and soon, it becomes impossible to walk without them. The important thing to learn is that as soon as you walk on your feet again, they’ll quickly regain strength. It may be a little known fact, but about half of what a smoker inhales from his cigarette is pure air. The next time you’re hit with a craving, take some deep breaths and relax. You will soon be able to rise above the craving, feel refreshed, and move on.

Tip 2: All the reasons to quit

Why do you want to quit? Do you have children? Do you want to live to see your grandchildren? Are you sick of the smell? Whatever your reasons are, write them down. Keep a daily journal of how you feel and in the very first entry list in bold letters every reason you have for quitting. List things like health reasons, expense, inconvenience, bad breath, or other reasons and make the list as long as possible. Also be sure to list how you WILL feel when you’ve kicked the habit.

Tip 3: The good, the bad and the ugly

After you complete your lists of reasons you want to quit and how you’ll feel after you’ve quit, make a list of the consequences of not quitting. Have other smokers in your family gotten cancer? Have they died? Do they have to speak through a hole in their neck? Will you be unable to pay off debt because you’re always buying cigarettes? Whatever you consequences, be sure to list all of them. As above, be sure to list the consequences (good consequences, of course) of quitting. Keep them to look forward to.

Tip 4: Break time!

Most smokers agree: a cigarette is a break. When quitting, give yourself breaks, but do something. Go for walk, eat a piece of fruit or drink some juice. This is critical because the body will be going through changes expelling all the accumulated poisons. The fruit will aid this process in many ways.

Good luck!