Archive for August, 2008


How Can I make Quitting Easier?

You may find it hard to stop smoking but the government is doing everything in their power to help you cut down. With all these new laws about not smoking in restaurants and at your place of employment, places to smoke are becoming scarce. But ultimately it is up to you to quit. Nicotine is very addicting and it is said to be harder to quit than cocaine. But it can be done; the main tool you need here is the will to quit. If you are saying that you want to quit just for the sake of saying it, you will never do it. But the old saying goes, where there is a will there is a way.

First, you want to set a goal for yourself. There are a lot of people who say I want to quit smoking by June 1st. Do you know what happens when June 1st comes around and you have not quit? You will end up smoking more because you are now discouraged. Take it one day at a time, give yourself a month and everyday, take one less cigarette out of the box and throw it away, it will be one less that you smoke that day.

Then you want to figure out what times of the day you smoke and why. For example, if you write down at 10:30 I have a cigarette and it is when I go outside with my coworkers. Now, you have a starting point to change that. Most people who go outside at smoke breaks do it to socialize. Even though it is a great time to get out of the office for 15 minutes, try staying at your desk and work. By cutting out or changing up your routine, you will start to see your craving for a smoke decrease.

Many people, who attempt to quit, are not successful. This is because they do not take the right steps in order to change. Another prime example is, people say they smoke when they drink coffee. Switch from coffee to tea, not only is tea better for you but it will also relax you where you don’t have the anxiety to smoke. If you need a little extra help, it is ok. There are many things that you can do. One great way to make quitting easier is to quit with a friend, almost the buddy system.

The support there would be tremendous and it would help both of you out so much. Support from friends and family is key, ask those who smoke, not to smoke around you. If you don’t see someone else do it you will be less likely to go out and smoke yourself. Attend cessation programs, check with your local library or adult center. Hospitals offer programs that you can sign up for. It is ok to use Nicorette gum or the patch. The main objective here is to quit once and for all.

17 Interesting Facts About Smoking

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In the beginning of the 20th century, doctors advised pregnant women to smoke in order not to gain weight;

In 1588, Thomas Harriet a resident of Virginia began to advocate daily smoking of tobacco as a way to general improvement of the organism. Unfortunately, he soon died of cancer;

Tobacco bush comes from the American continent and belongs to the family of potato and pepper;

Smokers suffer from chronic bronchitis 5-7 times more than non-smokers do. Chronic bronchitis is subsequently complicated by emphysema and pneumosclerosis: diseases that substantially disrupt the function of lungs;

In the world, there are 120 ways of treating tobacco addiction (only about 40 of them are used in practice);

$5300 were spent in an Internet auction for a cigarette butt smoked in the last seconds before a ban on smoking in public places came into force in New Zealand;

In 1571, a Spanish doctor Nicolas Mondares wrote a book about the healing plants of the New World. He wrote that tobacco could cure 36 diseases;

The main reason for high prevalence of smoking is the temporarily hidden destructive effect of smoking, which creates the impression that it is externally harmless;

Tobacco and tobacco smoke contain more than 3 thousand chemical compounds, some being oncogenous, which means they are capable of damaging the genetic material of cells and cause the growth of a cancer tumor;

10% of smokers are being taken ill with and subsequently die from malignant tumors. (and 20% of those who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day);

In 1923, the Camel cigarette brand was controlling about 45% of the U.S. market. Philip Morris cigarette brand started to advance with the Marlboro cigarettes as a with female brand under the slogan “Mild as May”;

In 1939, the American Tobacco Company presented its new brand “Pall Mall”, which placed the company in the first position among American tobacco companies;

Smoking increases significantly the effect of human exposure to other harmful factors. For example, the risk of mouth cancer, larynx and oesophagus tumors increases 2-3 times for non-smokers who regularly consume alcohol. 9 times more risk active smokers who also consume the same quantity of alcohol;

Smokers suffer from heart attacks 2-8 times more than non-smokers do. Moreover, smokers are put at risk of dying from cardio ischemia against the seemingly normal state of health 3-4 times more than non-smokers;

95% of smokers immediately quit smoking having survived a heart attack. The patients are neither lectured nor persuaded: they take the decision themselves;

Great Britain prohibited TV advertisements of tobacco products in1965.

After a long competition with “Coca Cola”, the Marlboro trademark is recognized as the most expensive brand among day-to-day goods in the 80s and 90s. Its estimated cost is about 30 billion dollars.

Stop Smoking. Smoking and Teenagers!

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Smoking and Teenagers
The problem of teenage smoking is becoming more and more critical each year. More teenagers appear to be involved in smoking straight from the school years. It was established that people who started smoking before the age of 15 die from lung cancer 5 times more than those who started after 25.
There were registered cases of teenagers deaths caused by smoking 2-3 cigarettes in a row: due to serious poisoning of the vital centers, a cardiac arrest occurred and breathing stopped.
According to a research carried out in the University of Columbia (New York), a new harmful effect of smoking was identified: causeless fear. Teenagers smoking daily more than one cigarette pack are prone to a causeless panic 15 times more than their non-smoking peers are.

Smoking and Car Driving
According to the information system of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in the U.S., 10.3% of all fatal accidents in 1999 were caused by the fact that the driver was engaged in such things as smoking a cigarette, eating a hamburger, and even make-up making or trying to write something down.
Germany is probably the first country to place a ban on smoking while driving. Such a bill proposed by the Social Democrats is already at the Bundestag. Its authors believe that someone who smokes while driving is distracted from driving and can cause an accident.

Smoking and Fire
Every year in the U.S, 900 people die from fire caused by a cigarette. The damage from such fires is estimated at $400 million

Smoking and Etiquette
In accordance with the generally accepted international rules of etiquette, smokers must consider non-smokers before smoking, particularly in places where official bans do not prescript anything. Before you light a cigarette, it is always necessary to ask first whether others approve it. However, non-smokers should not regard smokers as second-class citizens. A reasonable desire for a smokeless air can also be expressed in a friendly manner. In any case, it is absolutely unacceptable to smoke in places where the “No smoking” sign is placed.

Smoking and Odours
It will not go away until you quit smoking. However, if you have already quit and want to immediately do away with the odour, try one of the tobacco odour neutralising substances.