Why People Smoke Cigarettes - Five Reasons That Might Surprise You

Cigarette smoking is a personal choice. However, if you are considering stopping smoking, you may already realize that quitting requires more than willpower or scaring yourself with statistics of why smoking is bad.

Conventional smoking cessation systems often don't work in the long term because they do not address the real reasons that people smoke. Listed below are five often unidentified reasons that people smoke. These reasons might surprise you.

Before you engage in your stop smoking process, take some time and identify the important underlying motivations of why you choose to smoke. By understanding those real reasons, you can generate a personalized stop smoking plan that incorporates new strategies of coping and dealing with life.

1. Smoking Is A Lifestyle Coping Tool
For many people, smoking is a reliable lifestyle coping tool. Although every person’s specific reasons to smoke are unique, they all share a common theme. Smoking is used as a way to suppress uncomfortable feelings, and smoking is used to alleviate stress, calm nerves, and relax. No wonder that when you are deprived of smoking, your mind and body are unsettled for a little while.

Below is a list of some positive intentions often associated with smoking. Knowing why you smoke is one of the first steps towards quitting. Check any and all that apply to you.

___ Coping with anger, stress, anxiety, tiredness, or sadness
___ Smoking is pleasant and relaxing
___ Smoking is stimulating
___ Acceptance – being part of a group
___ As a way to socialize
___ Provides support when things go wrong
___ A way to look confident and in control
___ Keeps weight down
___ Rebellion – defining self as different or unique from a group
___ A reminder to breathe
___ Something to do with your mouth and hands
___ Shutting out stimuli from the outside world
___ Shutting out emotions from the inside world
___ Something to do just for you and nobody else
___ A way to shift gears or changes states
___ An way to feel confident
___ A way to shut off distressing feelings
___ A way to deal with stress or anxiety
___ A way to get attention
___ Marking the beginning or the end of something

2. Smoking Tranquilizer
The habit of cigarette smoking is often used to tranquilize emotional issues like anxiety, stress, or low self-esteem. In addition, smoking provides comfort to people with conditions of chronic pain and depression. Smokers with emotional stress or chronic pain often turn to smoking as an attempt to treat their pain. For instance, they may use it to reduce anxiety, provide a sense of calmness and energy, and elevate their mood.

Some evidence does suggest that nicotine has some pain-relief benefits. Nicotine releases brain chemicals which soothe pain, heighten positive emotions, and creating a sense of reward. However, any benefit from smoking only eases the pain for a few minutes. Cigarettes contain many other chemicals shown to worsen healing ability of bone, tooth, and cartilage.

The mental association between smoking and pain relief can make quitting quite difficult, as can the increased short-term discomfort that quitting smoking adds to a person already suffering with chronic pain, depression, or emotional distress. What are effective ways for people with chronic pain – whether physical or emotional – to make the decision to quit smoking? First, evidence shows that in people who suffer chronic pain, smokers have more pain than nonsmokers do. Also, accept that smoking cessation may indeed make you feel worse in the short run, but may be key to regaining enough vitality to live fully with pain.

3. The Feel Good Syndrome
Smoking is a way to avoid feeling unpleasant emotions such as sadness, grief, and anxiety. It can hide apprehensions, fears, and pain. This is accomplished partly through the chemical effects of nicotine on the brain.

When smoking, the release of brain chemicals makes smokers feel like they are coping and dealing with life and stressful emotional situations. Nicotine brings up a level of good feelings. Cigarette smokers are aware when nicotine levels and good feelings begin to decrease, and light up quickly enough to stay in their personal comfort zone. However, they may not realize that avoiding their feelings is not the same as taking positive steps to create a life of greater potential and meaning.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that people suffering from nicotine withdrawal have increased aggression, anxiety, hostility, and anger. However, perhaps these emotional responses are due not to withdrawal, but due to an increased awareness of unresolved emotions. If smoking dulls emotions, logically quitting smoking allows awareness of those emotions to bubble up to the surface. If emotional issues aren’t resolved, a smoker may feel overwhelmed and eventually turn back to cigarettes to deal with the uncomfortable feelings.

4. Smoking Makes You Feel Calm and Alive
Smokers often say that lighting up a cigarette can calm their nerves, satisfy their cravings, and help them feel energized. Indeed, nicotine in tobacco joins on to receptors in your brain that release “feel good” chemicals that can make you feel calm and energized all at once. Smoking acts as a drug, inducing a feeling of well-being with each puff. But, it’s a phony sense of well-being that never produces a permanent satisfying or fulfilling result. Smoking lures you into believing that you can escape some underlying truth or reality. However, smoking doesn’t allow you to actually transform your day-to-day life and live connected to your deeper hopes and dreams.

Instead, when you smoke, the carbon monoxide in the smoke bonds to your red blood cells, taking up the spaces where oxygen needs to bond. This makes you less able to take in the deep, oxygen-filled breath needed to bring you life, to active new energy, to allow health and healing, and bring creative insight into your problems and issues.

5. You Are In The Midst Of Transition
If you previously quit smoking, and then resumed the habit once again, consider the idea that perhaps you are in the midst of some “growing pains.” Perhaps you were feeling dissatisfied with some aspect of your life and contemplating making change. However, developing spiritually, emotionally, and physically brings with it the experience of discomfort. Old beliefs rise up, creating sensations of hurt, pain, sadness, anxiety, and uneasiness. You were feeling dissatisfied, restless, ready to change, but then felt the fear that change often ignites.

Smoking provides an escape from those uncomfortable feelings. However, smoking also brings an abrupt halt to personal transformation and the evolution of self. Although painful, these feelings are necessary in your personal development. Learning to accept feelings in a new way can help lead you out of disempowering or limiting beliefs, and into a life filled with greater happiness, satisfaction, contentment, or purpose. When you stop smoking and start breathing – conscious, deep, smoke-free, oxygen-filled breaths – your evolution will start up once again.

Why Do You Smoke?
If you smoke, then you do so because the act of smoking is personally meaningful to you. Therefore, if you are considering quitting, take some time and explore the reasons underlying your decision to smoke. Become interested, observe yourself, and get curious. Allow yourself an opportunity to turn into a smoking journalist, ready to uncover an intriguing mystery. Before lighting up your next cigarette, ask yourself:

a. What positive functions do I believe smoking provides me?
b. How will smoking help or change the situation?
c. What situations make me smoke the most?
d. What emotions or feelings am I trying to avoid or deny?
e. If I didn’t smoke right now, what would I feel? How would I handle that feeling?
f. What would I do with the energy that is freed up from smoking cessation?

The most important factor in stopping smoking is a genuine desire to stop smoking. You were not a born smoker; it’s something you learned to do. Learning new ways of coping with stress is possible, as is learning new ways to relax and raise confidence levels. Use the reasons presented above as clues to uncover the underlying reasons why you smoke. Then, in addition to making a firm decision to stop smoking, also make a firm plan to address your underlying needs. You’re not only kicking the habit, you’re also creating a new balance with your body, mind, and self!

Dr. Annette Colby, RD can help you take the pain out of life, turn difficult emotions into joy, release stress, end emotional eating, and move beyond depression into an extraordinary life! Annette is the author of Your Highest Potential and has the unique ability to show you how to spark an amazing relationship with your life! Visit http://www.AnnetteColby.com to access hundreds of content filled articles and sign up for a Fr'ee subscription to Loving Miracles! newsletter.

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10 Ways To Quit Smoking - Do It Today And Start Benefiting

These 10 ways to quit smoking will show you it doesn't have to be an impossible task when you decide to quit smoking. By following these tips you will find it easier to quit smoking without wanting to start again.

1. The very first step to take is to decide for definite that you actually want to quit. Put your mind set on that you want to stop and think of the benefits you will get from doing it.
2. When you have quit smoking and you start to feel cravings, take 3 deep breathes and exhale slowly on each one. You feel better and more relaxed after doing so. Do this every time you feel the urge to have a cigarette.
3. Start drinking more fluids such as water, healthy juices and the like. Avoid fizzy drinks, caffeine and high sugar drinks.
4. When you have quit smoking, you may start to suffer from insomnia, to help avoid this, drink less caffeine and coffee.
5. Take the time to exercise. You could go to the gym and use the money you are saving on cigarettes for a membership. Jog in the fresh air, take time out to go to the park with the family or talk the dog for a good walk.
6. Try herbal cigarettes if the urge becomes too strong or try nicotine substitutes.
7. Try hypnotherapy as an alternative to help.
8. Join stop smoking programs or get someone else you know to help you by stopping themselves.
9. Keep your mind and body active by partaking in hobbies and activities.
10. Prepare yourself fully for some withdrawal symptoms when you quit.

There are many smokers who want to quit but they are not ready to act. They always says them self that this is last cigarette I won't smoke again. If you really want to quit smoking, just reread all 10 ways and start acting now.

Do you know quitting smoking is very easy, knowing how to quit it. It's just your mental thinking that is stopping you to stop smoking. There is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy available using which you can easily stop smoking without any side effects. To know more, visit Easy Quit System

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How To Forget Cigarette Smoking

There is a way to forget and wean from smoking cigarettes painlessly and costs almost nothing. Go to your pantry and look for a white vinegar. Also go to your bathroom and pick your favorite toothpaste. I prefer the sweet Colgate toothpaste.

The key to forget smoking (even if you don't want to quit) is by doing a general and thorough clean-up of one's taste buds and mouth walls.

That's right - Clean your mouth immaculately! It is filled with garbage called cigarette or tobacco tars (the color tainter of the tip of a smoker's thumb and forefinger) that further cause bad odor mouth emission. They are the culprits (and the poison in fact) that induce a smoker to salivate to light up when seeing another smoking or smells cigarette smoke.

The smoker is like an addicted ice cream consumer that makes a person fatter and fatter (another curse of affluence) whose mouth walls and taste buds are like motels for rotten ice cream residues and cause a person also to salivate when seeing someone eats ice cream.

Do yourself a favor after reading this article and it will induce you to forget smoking even if you don't want to quit because, at least, you have given your mouth a break from that cancer causing tar and rotten ice cream residues.

They progressively rout your throat or lungs for some months or years now without knowing or else it would be too late and incurable when you start feeling "feverish" or unusually weak to get up one morning from a budding cancer pain or an onset of diabetes that is caused by the destruction of your pancreas due to smoking.

Fill up to 1/3 of a regular drinking glass with vinegar and dilute it with water within your level of tolerance. Use up successively in one session the whole quantity of the vinegar to gargle the mouth. If you are curious, catch the gargled vinegar in another crystal clear glass and see how much blacken tars and other particles have been dislodged that have been comfortably residing in your taste buds and mouth walls for so many months or years.

Follow through with water gargle as much as you wish to wring out any remaining tars or rotten ice cream residue, as the case may be. Thereafter, promptly squeeze out an inch of toothpaste and use it to gargle with water. Do this at least twice successively after the vinegar gargle. In the next two days, do this toothpaste gargle twice a day - with no more vinegar - once after breakfast and before going to bed. On the third day and every 4 or 5 days thereafter, do the toothpaste gargle once a week. If at any time you feel like smoking or have an unusual taste in your mouth, gargle or drink water instead of lighting another stick of cigarette. Do not re-infect your immaculately cleaned food portal or else you will get a relapse in your addictions. If you smoke again, you will become like a defeated coward warrior. Are you?

After two weeks doing the toothpaste gargles, you will end up hating the smell or smoke of cigarettes - GUARANTEED. Question: Why smoke when you now hate the taste or smell of cigarette? This is how I accidentally forgot and quit smoking. Accidentally because all I wanted for gargling vinegar and toothpaste was to sweeten my breath instead of covering it with oral deodorants.

Do yourself and your love ones an additional favor with the following:

No if's and but's - >

Throw away; empty your pocket; do not keep within your reach, any pack or stick of cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays. Disable the cigarette lighter; thoroughly clean the ashtray; spray deodorant to remove cigarette odor, in your vehicle. Keep a bottle of drinking water handy in the car or handbag. When the urge to smoke comes up, simply drink water. Do not allow anyone to smoke inside your car. If you are a musician, avoid playing with a mouthpieced musical instrument like the saxophone or harmonica. Do what a non-smoker does.

Don't be a slave to cigarettes.

Beware: According to statistics, smoking a stick of cigarette can shorten a person's life by eleven minutes. That's around 3-1/2 hours loss of life expectancy for smoking every regular pack, or 5-1/2 hours for every long size pack, of cigarettes. Sickly children are often caused by a cigarette smoker in the family. Do them a favour. QUIT SMOKING. Consult your doctor before using this plan.

Submitted by: Marlowe Camello http://www.mcamello.com, Online Intrepreneur, a lawyer by profession.

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Stop Smoking Resolution

It is a given fact that smoking brings more harm than good to people. If you've finally resolved to stop smoking, good for you! You've made the right choice. Use the following tips and suggestions to help you stick true to your word and avoid a relapse.

Know the Ugly Truth about Smoking

Concerned family members and friends have always told you about the bad things that could happen to smokers but you've always turned a deaf ear to their words, haven't you? TV ads and shows also tried giving you the same information but didn't you turn a blind eye to them? Ignorance is bliss but if you want to quit smoking for good, it's time to take your head out of the sand. Confront the ugly truth about smoking. Read and watch everything you can about the deadly consequences of smoking - it's terrifying, but it will also remind you about the rightness of your decision.

Let the Right People Know about Your Resolution

Your most trusted loved ones should definitely know about your resolution. They can help you stick to your word by keeping an eagle eye of your cigarettes. They'll warn you beforehand and remind you about your promise. They'll give you praise and encouragement when you need it. A hug may not be scientifically proven to be as potent as any medicine but we can't deny how good it feels to be hugged when we're in need of help. You'll definitely need lots of it when you're working on eliminating nicotine from your system!

Get Professional Help

Why make it harder for you than you should? Professional help and treatment is available in every corner of the world. Take it! You might not think you don't need anyone's help except yours, but you do. Believe it or not but smoking is also a medical problem. Your mind and body has an unreasonable dependency on nicotine and that's what you're fighting against. These medical professionals have studied for years to develop the right program that will help smokers get rid of their unwanted habit. You now have the opportunity to work with them. It's definitely your loss if you refuse their help.

Use Water as a Weapon

Water is incredibly important in any quit-smoking journey. Water detoxifies your body and cravings for nicotine are swept along by the current of harmful substances being flushed out of your body. Drinking lots of water will also help you feel better about yourself and that always count in the battle against nicotine dependency.

Keep a Journal

There will be times that you'll feel like no one in the world understands what you're going through, not even your fellow smokers who are also struggling to eliminate smoking from their lives. These are dangerous times and if you waver during these moments, you might end up lighting a stick and doing the worst thing you could do. During these times, a journal might just be the lifeline you need. A journal won't talk back, will always listen readily and patiently, and allow your feelings to settle down by itself until the moment of crisis has passed.

A journal is also important because it allows you to look back and see how far you've grown. Your progress is the best source of comfort and inspiration: it's proof that you've come a long way and if you keep up the good work then quitting smoking might just no longer be a dream but a very possible reality.

Rejoice on How Much You're Saving

Consider this. How much does a pack of cigarettes cost? How many packs can you consume in a week? Multiply that figure with the number of weeks in a year. That's how much you spend in one year for smoking alone - a habit that erodes the health of your lungs and later on, damages other parts of your body as well. If you quit smoking, you immediately save the same amount and yes, you definitely deserve to spend some or even all of it to reward yourself.

The resolution to quit smoking is never easy for anyone. It can wreak huge changes on your life or your very own personality. Regardless of this, know that your decision is the right one and if you work hard, you'll soon have the opportunity to enjoy unimagined rewards because of it.

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Teeth Whitening Might Work To Help Quit Smoking

In this article we are not saying that teeth whitening is one of the next fads to help you quit smoking but customers who have had laser teeth whitening treatment and see the benefits of having white teeth then think twice about continuing their smoking habit.

Laser teeth whitening is undertaken in salons where clients have a gum dam applied to protect their gums and then a stain removing gel is applied before the laser light is activated. The gel then gains deep in to the enamel removing the staining and this is all done just under one hour. Typically the teeth are lightened by 6-8 shades and the treatment can last up to 18 months depending on how and when the staining that caused the problem is then minimized otherwise the benefit is decreased.

Nicotine is not the only bad habit to cause staining to the enamel but caffeine, red wine, gravy and sauces will also stain the teeth but like many things it will depend on the frequency of usage but with such a simple and time effective treatment available for your teeth then no need to worry. Laser teeth whitening is also known as zoom whitening which is a commonly used name in the USA and even the Americans have developed Zoom 2 teeth whitening which is essentially the same but early adopters will want to try new names and ideas.

The name aside laser teeth whitening is a huge growth industry and with added benefits like helping clients to quit smoking then no wonder customers are prepared to travel to get the treatment.

For further information on teeth whitening visit http://www.whiteteethcompany.co.uk or one of the many location across Bucks, Beds, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire we offer teeth whitening http://www.whiteteethcompany.co.uk/laser_teeth_whitening_locations.html

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Quit Smoking Pills - Do They Really Help

The world today has become so easy and everybody is looking for the easiest and fastest way to get things done, the need for stress free methods of achieving a desired goal is ever on the increase with the constant advancement in technology. This has also affected the treatment of the addiction to cigarette, smokers are out there looking for the easiest and fastest way to quit smoking, so, I believe that is the reason behind the production of pills to quit smoking.

It is no longer the effective or reliable way out; rather, it is the fastest and easiest way out. It should be noted though that the fastest and easiest way might not be effective and reliable; also the effective and reliable might be slow and difficult. Do not look for the easy and fast way, but for the effective and reliable, preparing your mind to face whatever challenges that might come.

The fact is that nothing good comes so easy without a little bit of a challenge. Be prepared to face the challenges of quitting and choose an effective method, considering its record of success and reliability than its fastness. If you expect to quit smoking without putting in any pressure or without facing any challenge, then you will never quit, because all quitters faced a challenge in their journey of giving up smoking. You too will have to be prepared to face whatever challenges involved and be determined to stop either by using pills or any other method to quit.

The different pills available to help quit smoking are good and some of them have a record of success. But, none of them have recorded more that 50 percent success, so they are all 50/50 chance. It may work or may not work. From this, we will discover that the real success stories are those who were determined to quit, with this determination any method of treatment will work, since there is willpower to quit. So, do not depend on the pill, depend on your strength of mind, develop your will power coupled with the pills you will definitely succeed.

For more information about Quit Smoking Pills, feel free to visit us at: http://www.about-quit-smoking.com/article-2-Quit-Smoking-Pills.html

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Using Herbs To Quit Smoking

I'm sure you already know this, but kicking your smoking habit is never easy, no matter how hard you work at the process. But there are a number of techniques, both mainstream and alternative, to choose from that can help you along to enjoy the benefits of quitting smoking. There are nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) that have worked well for me, especially a brand called Nicocure. Some people also swear success through alternative methods such as hypnosis and acupuncture.

On the other hand, if you'd like another alternative to drugs or needles, you can try taking natural herbs to quit smoking. Most smokers are unaware that this option even exists. Before starting a program of herbs, talk to your physician -- if you're taking prescription medicines, or if you're pregnant or nursing, some herbs can have an adverse effect.

Which Herbs Should I Take?

Once your doctor has Okayed your herbal program, you're ready to begin. First, you need to educate yourself about the various herbs you can use, and what they will each do for your body. One popular herb type are those that naturally relax you and reduce your levels of stress. The most popular herbs in this category are Valerian Root (which is nature's very own version of valium!), St. John's Wort (a natural mood enhancer), and chamomile (a natural relaxant).

Which herb works best for you will partly depend on how much you've been smoking. For example, a light smoker may only need the occasional cup of chamomile tea to help combat their withdrawal symptoms, while a heavier smoker may need a combination of both valerian root and St. John's Wort to keep them calm enough to handle the quitting process.

Besides taking herbs, to get the full benefits of quitting smoking you should also include a regimen of vitamins and herbs to help flush the remaining toxins from your body that smoking leaves behind. These flushing compounds include high amounts of vitamin C, garlic, ginko biloba, and lemon balm tea.

While using herbs may not be everyone's cup of tea (so to speak), they're not too expensive, and as long as you have been cleared by your doctor to try them they certainly can't hurt you. Quitting is a process that needs to include doing everything you can for both your health and your emotional well being. By using herbs to quit smoking you can tackle both aspects at the same time and enjoy the benefits of quitting smoking for a long time to come.

For more free information and tips on how to get rid of your smoking habit for good, visit The Benefits of Quitting Smoking.

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How To Quit Pot - 4 Tips To Quit Weed Addiction Forever

While Marijuana is not a hard drug like heroin, cocaine or ice and has not been linked to cancer and heart disease like cigarette smoking the overuse of pot has ruined or inhibited many lives. Whatever your reason for wanting to know how to quit weed forever these tips for quitting pot may help you live the life you want to.

1. Understand your addiction

The first thing you must do is realize what your addiction actually is. You see, unlike cigarettes which contain nicotine which causes a chemical addiction in your body that gives you physical cravings for a smoke pot has no such chemicals. The addiction most pot smokers have is what is labeled a mental addiction. This means that there is no chemical or physical need to go an smoke some Marijuana, it is instead simply something you have come to believe you need because it is comfortable and the high you get feels good and you do not want to let it go; this is a psychological need;

2. Understand your psychological need

Once you can accept that your addiction stems from a psychological need you can move to understand that need. Is smoking an escape from a harsh reality? Is it simply a symptom of boredom? Is it because all your friends use pot too? The reasons we develop addictions are many and varied but understanding the core of it can allow you to set yourself free.

3. Find something to replace your addiction

This does not mean find another drug! It does however mean that while you try to quit pot you need to develop some coping mechanisms when you feel the need to use pot again. Finding something creative and fulfilling to fill that void can often lead to great things.

4. Develop your will to quit

As was said, Marijuana is not chemically addictive so quitting comes down to willpower. Now this does not mean that if you feel the need to use pot again you have weak willpower as psychological addiction can be very strong in people especially those who have used weed for many years. It does however mean that it will come down to what you do and the support the people around you offer, there are no pot "patches".

How to quit smoking pot is much easier said than done but it is very possible to quit weed forever if you understand your addiction and take steps to remedy this core problem along with some willpower and a drive to succeed you can do this!

Did you find this article helpful?
Are you sick of wasting your life in a cloud or marijuana smoke?
Do you want to kick your pot addiction successfully?
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How to Quit Smoking Weed - You Can Quit Smoking Pot Forever

Marijuana while only a "soft drug" compared to the likes of cocaine, heroin and others can still be a very addictive and destructive drug. Many people who long to quit smoking pot find their lives revolve around marijuana and it becomes a habit that fills any gap in their lives. It can become such an integral part of their lives that they feel like they are living in a haze most of the time and are missing out on some very important parts of life. The first thing to know when learning how to quit smoking weed is that the drug is not chemically addictive!

Pot is not an addictive drug like heroin or cigarettes as there is no physical craving that occurs when you do not take the drugs. Pot does not affect the receptors in your brain like these drugs and the effects are also not as vivid as the hard drugs making it less of an issue to many people to start smoking. The primary addiction to weed is a psychological addiction, the memory of the highs you once felt smoking pot always come back and make you want to try to reach that feeling again even if it takes you more and more pot to do this as you become more resistant to its effects. The smoking goes from a pleasurable action to a habit with little real benefit just a perceived one. To compound this many pot smokers have friends who also smoke and it becomes a social thing making it more ingrained.

So this being said it is possible to quit smoking weed without suffering cravings or relapses and you are not fighting with a chemical need but a psychological need which can be overcome with willpower. While this may sound easy it can of course be a lot harder in practice as the habit can run very deep especially for those who have smoked for years. Quitting can be accompanied by anxiety and depression as you learn to live life without the constant smoking which can seem soothing and comforting but only because it was a part of your routine. The trick for some people is to find something to replace this addiction, obviously not another addiction but something creative and fulfilling. Something that makes you happy without an extreme high you may try to latch onto as an alternative.

So how to quit smoking weed in a nutshell? You must realize you do not crave weed but just want it! Once you learn to adapt to a life without marijuana you will find you can quit smoking pot forever!

Did you find this article helpful?
Are you sick of wasting your life in a cloud or marijuana smoke?
Do you want to kick your pot addiction successfully?
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Laser Surgery To Quit Smoking

There are many smokers who keep their proverbial ear to the ground all the time, hoping to hear about a really effective treatment to quit smoking. It is natural that smokers do this because over 70% of all current smokers are known to want to quit smoking. Just one such treatment has been raised in the press and on TV in recent times and that approach is to use is laser surgery to quit smoking.

Laser surgery to quit smoking is not strictly surgery. It is not a case of a laser beam being used to slice open the smoker and remove their dependence upon cigarettes or tobacco products! Laser surgery to quit smoking really refers to laser light acupuncture.

The approach is based on the ancient Chinese art of acupuncture whereby very fine needles are inserted into specific areas of the body. The belief is based on the ancient concept that the body has mysterious energy pathways throughout it that affect all aspects of your physical wellbeing.

The needles are inserted into specific pressure points around the body and these areas are stimulated to get a change in the patient. An analogy would be like throwing switches on the dashboard of your car to switch on the lights or window heater.

Using laser surgery to quit smoking instead of plain old acupuncture to quit smoking, the energy centres that need stimulating are poked and prodded with laser light instead of metal needles. The reasons for thinking this would be effective compared to metal needles are unknown.

Studies into the effectiveness of both acupuncture and laser surgery to quit smoking have found them to be no more effective than plain old will power. The chances of long-term success with these approaches is reckoned at somewhere between 5-8% which is very comparable to uneducated cold turkey approaches.

In my opinion, bearing in mind that there is no scientific evidence that using laser surgery to quit smoking is effective, you would be better investigating other approaches including hypnosis, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), prescribed drugs and Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT).

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Tips On Stopping Smoking - 3 Rock Solid Tips From An Ex-Smoker

There is no single one answer to stopping smoking. You need to be drip fed tips until you're ready to quit and in this article, I'll tell you how.

Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I used to smoke 25 high tar cigarettes a day and I've been clean for ten years. And I know that no amount of painful coughs, cigarette price rises or reminders of your loved ones can help you stop. You need more than that.

Make Sure Everyone Knows You Are Quitting

When you are ready to quit of if you already have done, make sure you tell everyone. Don't just let them be surprised when they offer you a cigarette. Email everyone you know and tell them you are quitting. Then none of your old smoking buddies will even offer you a cigarette. If they do, they are jealous addicts - just walk away. They'll come round and see the error of their ways eventually.

Visualise Yourself As A Non-Smoker

Close your eyes after reading this paragraph and imagine yourself as a non-smoker. Think about the extra money you'll have and the pure, clean air that you'll be breathing in every day - feel your life force in your lungs. Think back to before you started smoking, how happy you were, how you never even craved a cigarette. Know that cigarettes are not necessary for a happy life and are just tricking your brain.

The Most Important Tip

Lastly, remember this - smoking and nicotine are not physical addictions. You might not believe in this statement but have faith in me as an ex-smoker, that I know what I'm talking about. When you have tried giving up in the past, you might have got the sweats, the shakes, maybe even worse. I'm telling you now that those physical symptoms are not your body craving nicotine. No, those symptoms are nicotine playing tricks and mind games with you. Making you believe that your body needs nicotine. Playing its last hand in its game to get you back onto the smokes.

It's as simple as that - if you believe that your body needs nicotine then you will feel bad like this. If you believe that it is a game then you will not suffer anymore. It's a total mind game. That's why some people who give up will crave a cigarette ten years later. That is not a physical addiction, it's a mental addiction. If you understand what nicotine really is then you will not get these cravings ten years down the line. Trust me, I know it because I have been there and done it.

Learning to give up smoking is a slow realisation over time that you don't need the smokes. Discover more great tips on stopping smoking on my weekly e-course at http://www.Tips-To-Quit-Smoking.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Smithers

The Quit Smoking Benefits Timetable

When you stop smoking, your health starts to improve almost immediately and you will get benefits for almost all your life. Pay attention to this timetable:

Within 20 minutes

Blood pressure, pulse rate, and the temperature of hands and feet will return to normal.

Within 12 hours

Blood oxygen level will have increased to normal and carbon monoxide levels will have dropped to normal.

Within 48 hours

Smell and taste are beginning to return to normal.

Within 72 hours

Breathing becomes easier because bronchial tubes begin to relax. Lung capacity starts to increase.

Within 2 weeks to 3 months

Heart attack risk has starts to drop. Lung function begins to improve.

Within 3 weeks to 3 months

Circulation improves markedly. Walking becomes easier. Chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared.

Within 1 to 9 months

Any smoking related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath have decreased. Cilia regrown in lungs thereby increasing the ability to handle mucus, keeping lungs clean, and reducing infections. You feel your body's overall energy increased.

Within 1 year

The risk of coronary heart disease drops to less than half that of a smoker.

Within 5 to 15 years

The risk of stroke declines to that of a non-smoker.

Within 10 years

The risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day). The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus has now decreased.

Within 15 years

The risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked.

So, what are you waiting for? Let's start this new life right now!

Marco Winter is a seasoned doctor who has helped thousands of people quit smoking.

He owns a website called Help Me Quit Smoking, where you can find more information about a natural product called Nicocure that will help you quit smoking instantly. Visit the website right now if you need help quitting smoking: http://www.HelpMeQuitSmoking.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marco_Winter

Kicking Butt in the New Year - Quit Smoking

Preparation is the key to becoming smoke-free:

Step 1: Mind Over Matter: Think About It

1) Believe you can quit smoking (take a personal "stop smoking" oath).

2) Discover your personal "5 When's" of smoking (times, situations, places, moods and people) and develop a plan on how to handle them.

3) Know "why" you want to become smoke-free and "why" you smoke.

(note: write or audio or video tape your personal "stop smoking" oath, "5 When's and the "why's")

Step 2: Knuckle Up: Know What You Face

1) Be prepared for short term mood swings (depression, bizarre behavior and hostility) and relapses.

2) Get rid of all smoking paraphernalia and anything that reminds you of smoking, especially at home; also avoid the people you smoke with.

3) There are many ways to quit smoking. Your task is to select the right one for you. Pick the smoking cessation method(s) you feel most comfortable with and start using it (the nicotine patch, counseling, cold turkey, nicotine inhaler, nicotine gum, prescription drugs, hypnosis, acupuncture, books, etc.). A smoking cessation counselor can help you choose.

4) Get busy. Develop healthy alternatives to smoking. Find things and activities to keep you away from smoking.

Step 3: Just Do It

1) Quit smoking! Begin to walk down the path to smoke-freedom.

2) Keep a journal of your quest to become permanently smoke-free to monitor the process.

3) Keep the faith. Don't be unhinged by a temporary setback.

4) Review your smoking cessation journal for strength and make the necessary tweaks and adjustments. Celebrate success. Overcome setbacks.

5) Live smoke-free.

Benefits: Smokers escape a deadly habit, protect their loved ones from secondhand smoke, feel better about themselves, save $6,000+ a year on smoking-related expenses and come into compliance with indoor and workplace smoking regulations.

Bottom line: Ex-smokers get more out of life, become one.

- Resource Information -

Arthur Hawkins is author of the Stop Smoking Forever! website at http://www.inforesearchlab.com/stopsmoking.chtml and Smoke-Free: The Complete Guide to Stop Smoking, a smoking cessation book at http://www.inforesearchlab.com/smokefree.chtml

Contact him for more smoking cessation counseling information at http://www.inforesearchlab.com/stopsmoking.chtml

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arthur_Hawkins

Stop Smoking With Magnets

Smokers wanting to stop smoking, often try everything they can to quit the habit and become smoke free. Quit smoking aids like pills, creams and patches can help, but many have not been successful with these types of products.

A new aid to help stop smoking has now become available. These are the stop smoking magnets. Featuring two specially designed bio-magnets worn on the upper ear, the gentle yet precise pressure created by these magnetic anti smoking aids, stimulate specific nerve points in the smokers ear. By applying this gentle acupressure, these magnets induce the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the smokers' brain.

Dopamine is a natural chemical produced by the human brain producing feelings of calm, pleasure and satisfaction. Stop smoking magnets encourage the production of this natural brain chemical and reduce the desire to smoke in the process, slowly eliminating the smokers need to light up.

This bio-magnetic anti smoking device is worn on the left ear by the smoker for at least two hours a day, during which he or she can continue to smoke as usual. Quitting "cold turkey" is not required when using stop smoking magnets which are FDA registered medical devices. Smokers wishing to quit have reported reduction in their desire to light up a cigarette after using the magnets for seven days.

Stop smoking magnets are a form of auricular therapy, which is the science of applying acupuncture to the ear. As auricular therapy devices, these magnets, which are usually 24 karat gold plated, are similar in effect to reflexology and iridology.

Currently it is reported that over 2 million people have used stop smoking magnets to cure their smoking habit. Smokers trying to quit, often complain about the ongoing cost of aids such as pills, patches and creams. The magnets are reusable and require a onetime investment by the smoker.

If you would like to learn more about stop smoking magnets, the technology behind them and their effectiveness, please click on over to: http://www.discover-more.info/about/stop-smoking-magnets.

Alice Langley writes about stop smoking aids helping smokers choose the right product in their quest to become smoke free.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alice_Langley

There's Aid Available When You Are Ready to End Cigarette Smoking

Are you anticipating to kick the habit of cigarette smoking? The prospect is if you're a person who smokes cigarettes then the retort is normally a roaring yes. Thousands of smokers recognise that their fixation is costly, unsanitary, unhealthy and wrecks not simply their own well being but the health of people around them.

How can a smoker successfully cease tobacco smoking Information on how to be a victorious past smoker arises from acquaintances and family, to coworkers seem to need to proclaim what helped them when they attempted to give up smoking tobacco

Assistance is bountifully attainable to everybody that is endeavouring to end tobacco smoking A percentage still attempt to go cold turkey and effortlessly stop, but this is occasionally acutely challenging.

Patches containing nicotine are a fantastic method for certain men and women. Nictotine patches help you to stop smoking tobacco products by releasing fractional supplies of nicotine into the smoker's system throughout a strung out period of days. In this manner you ride out fewer withdrawal signs and lower cravings, making the process marginally simpler to go through.

Nicotine gum assists in much the same way, but is is essential to learn that is mustn't be grinded in the same way as real gum. It generally is required to be kept in the smoker's mouth for a half hour or thereabouts, held maidst the teeth and cheek.

Hundreds are even trying hypnosis in an attempt to renounce smoking cigarettes. It may sound similar to obsolete quackery to certain people, but hypnosis can in truth help the brain to rest and encourage a man or woman to swap their conflicting thoughts and desire for tobacco with renewed hopefulness.

For instance, a hypnotist may imbed the suggestion that a desire for cigarettes makes you physically unwell, so that each occasion you dream about cigarette smoking, you feel groggy or apprehensive. This helps you to cut loose smoking cigarettes forevermore, as it is no longer a pleasing pastime for you.

Not forgetting, old school elixirs can truly prevail remarkably as well. Indulging in Epsom salt water can assist to withdraw the residue nicotine and tar from your body, meaning your urges pass a lot earlier. Taking in lots of water enables you to remain hydrated, which also helps to pacify longings. Physical activity gets the blood circulating an carries new oxygen to the body's organs and limbs, meaning you feel renewed throughout your whole body.

Ultimately, you are an adult who has come to the decision to break the habit of tobacco smoking, do not panic. There is support accessible and if you're willful to take that support then you too can be an example of the successful folk who can rightly class themselves a non-smoker.

If you are determined to quit smoking, there is plenty of help out there for you. Find out more on my website. Webmasters are also invited to use our quit smoking affiliate program.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Lane

Quit Smoking For The New Year in 5 Steps

Millions of smokers all over the world decide to quit smoking at the New Year, the time we make our resolutions to be healthier for the forthcoming year. But lots break their resolution within 24 hours of making it. I know I did for several years. The first thing that is helpful is to dispel the common myth that the best way to quit smoking is cold turkey; it is not. You do not have to go it alone, there are many smoking cessation aids out there for you to try, and you just need to find one that suits you.

When I gave up smoking in 2004 I had tried several times before, but did not have much success. I then embarked on a 5 step preparation and planning approach and it worked. If you follow my 5 steps to quitting smoking, you could have a healthier New Year.

Step One. Why Do You Want To Quit?

Being able to quit smoking is something that many smokers wish for and deciding to quit smoking is the one decision that only you can make.

The key to quitting smoking is understanding the process:-

Write down all of the reasons why you smoke, how you got into it, your understanding of what smoking does to your body and what happens when you stop.

Step Two. Prepare Yourself

Believe that you can quit.

Write down when you smoke and why? What triggers your need to smoke?

How are you going to break the habit? Make a plan to avoid the habitual routines of when and where you smoke, particularly in the first couple of weeks.

Find all of your smoking accessories and throw them away so as to avoid temptation, believe me the first few weeks are very hard and you want to avoid the temptation of just having the one.

Step Three. Plan On How You Are Going To Quit

The first and most important step that a person can take to quit smoking is to decide to stop. Being as clear as possible about why you want to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. Decide on a quit date and stick to it.

Set yourself milestones and plan a reward.

Step Four. Get Help and Support From Family, Friends & Your Doctor

You do not have to go it alone. Ask family, friends and work colleagues for positive encouragement.

Visit your Medical Practitioner, there are lots of smoking cessation aids out there and you just need to find the one that suits you.

Step Five. Visualize Yourself as a non smoker:-

In the office while your colleague is stood out in the pouring rain; having a candlelit dinner and not leaving the table to have a cigarette in between courses; sitting all the way through a movie without having to pop out to have a smoke.

The decision to quit smoking is one of the most positive decisions you and only you can make. In the early days, try to avoid situations where you would normally have a cigarette, for example when out with friends, having a glass of wine, meal times and when feeling stressed because these triggers could set you back on the road to becoming a smoker again.

Many cope with all that modern life can throw at us with ease; but others need a little helping hand to cope with the odd curved-ball that it can throw up. We should all understand that seeking help should not be seen as a sign of weakness, but actually an acceptance that we can't be an expert and be able to cope with everything. InThe21stCentury.com was set up to help young and old alike to cope with those unique stresses and challenges of the fast-paced life we are all part of In The 21st Century.

Dawn Robertshaw has written numerous articles and ebooks on coping with life in the 21st century. For more free articles, tips, advice and a range of health and relationship targeted information products in written and audio form for immediate download visit us at www.InThe21stCentury.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawn_H_Robertshaw

The Proper Way To Use Nicotine Gum When Quitting Smoking

If you're looking for a viable smoking cessation therapy that works you may want to seriously consider using nicotine gum. This product was developed to simulate the increase and decrease of nicotine in your system that is similar to the cycle that occurs when someone smokes a cigarette. Many users of this product confess that initially they were skeptical of its ability to help them quit smoking but after trying it they admit they were amazed at how good it does at delivering the same kind of feeling they get from their habit of cigarette smoking.

Typically, the gum comes in 2-milligram and 4-milligram doses. Although you have the option to chew as many as thirty pieces of the 2-milligram gum each day most consumers average between eleven and sixteen pieces for their smoking cessation needs. For users of the 4-milligram one the average users takes about ten pieces a day with an upper limit of twenty pieces. Interestingly enough, many medical experts recommend that most people stick to using the 2-milligram nicotine gum instead of the more powerful 4-milligram version based on the greater likelihood of side effects occurring and the possibility of a nicotine addiction remaining in place. Always check with your doctor or physician to make sure you use the proper strength prior to use.

Keep in mind that if you choose to use the gum in your anti-smoking program, its effectiveness can be significantly increased when used in a combination with other quit smoking products. When using the 2-milligram one feel free to chew a piece every time you feel the urge to smoke a cigarette. Always wait at least fifteen minutes after drinking cola beverages, milk, tea, coffee and fruit juices before chewing the gum. This will prevent the acid in the liquids from diminishing the effectiveness of the product and from causing an upset stomach. If you don't find the taste of the gum offensive or disgusting you can begin chewing immediately after waking up in the morning. Additionally, you can follow a more regimented schedule by chewing one piece every hour. This is particularly effective if you're not considered a heavy smoker.

How To Properly Use Nicotine Gum

1 - Start slowly by chewing once or twice to see if you can taste the gum. If not then continue to slowly chew until you taste the gum.

2 - Once you taste the gum place it between your cheek and your gum line. After the taste begins to dissipate chew it again. Once the taste returns place it back into its spot between your cheek and gum line. Repeat this process once every minute or two minutes. The normal cycle should continue for between twenty to thirty minutes at which time it should be thrown away. Remember to avoid drinking any liquids while chewing the gum.

Nicotine gum can be an effective way to quit smoking. Remember to use between ten to thirty pieces a day. Never exceed the maximum of thirty pieces in a day and as your urge to smoke decreases you should gradually reduce the number of pieces of gum you chew on a daily basis.

Make sure you know how to use nicotine gum in order to quit smoking with it by visiting http://www.finallyquitsmokingforgood.com, a popular website for people looking to quit smoking by using nicotine gum, nicotine patches and Zyban as a smoking cessation therapy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Gorman

Counter Attack Post Smoking Effects

Quitting from an addicting smoking habit can take a lot of courage and self-discipline. For some, it can even take a lot of money on nicotine remedies while for a greater number of people who tried to quit, it is still an ongoing ba