Sunday, July 26, 2009

Smoking Cravings

Cravings happen for many reasons. The most common cause for them is the withdrawal symptoms brought about by the lack of nicotine in the body. At this stage, your cravings are at the most difficult to control as withdrawal symptoms can affect a smoker physically and mentally. Symptoms at this time include severe headaches, trouble sleeping, irritability, lack of focus and attention, anxiety, and even sudden increase in appetite. These symptoms manifest in a come and go manner which usually lasts for up to a month or maybe longer. The important thing to remember is that they will eventually go away and so you do not need to satisfy your craving or else you will go back to step 1 or even fail in your mission.

Another type of craving is the kind associated with your habits. After how many years of smoking, lighting up a cigarette seem to come naturally for you. Your daily routine or any simple activity might become instances when you want to smoke. Examples of habits that remind you of smoking may include driving in your car, when you have just finished a meal, while taking alcoholic beverage, talking on the phone, or just because you are bored. These simple activities can be detrimental to your commitment to quit if you allow yourself to smoke again just because you're used to doing it. Like the first type of craving, this type to will not last forever so just make sure to have enough self-control and discipline.

Finally, your smoking cravings are also triggered by the memories of the times you used to smoke. There will be times when you will be reminded of the pleasant feelings and relaxing moods you had when you were still able to light a cigarette. Of all the cravings, this type will usually last for the longest time, although it can be the easiest to deal with. The trick is to not get caught up in the pleasantries that smoking has given you. Remember that you chose to quit because you want to start living a healthy life and you want to preserve your family's health as well. Have the courage and the strength to keep your promise of quitting to prevent smoking from killing you.

What Media Contributes to Encourage People to Quit Smoking

When we see advertisements on TV with anti-smoking themes, they also put up numbers that you can call if you are serious in quitting smoking. This can encourage more smokers to quit since they will be able to get help on their quitting process. Smokers used to reason out that they don't know where to get help in quitting that is why they end up failing on their attempts. Now that different groups that cater to smokers who want to quit and even the government have taken steps to put up messages against smoking, they will have significant effects on the whole smoking population.

The message against second-hand smoke that was launched in all forms of media was a hard-hitting message all over the world. In England, the legal age to smoke was raised from 16 to 18 and smoking was considered to be an adult activity which children should not participate in. Through the ads, people were able to realize that smoking not only kills the person smoking but as well as the children and other non-smokers that get to inhale second-hand smoke. Immediate action prompted other governments as well to control smoking.

Since media has been giving smoking a negative impression, it has also increased the people's awareness of the health risks that it brings. This is why smoking is now banned in most public places and more and more of the smoking population are now considering quitting to be able to enjoy social events like non-smokers do. Statistics of tobacco-related illnesses have somehow declined slowly and this shows that putting a ban on smoking is working.

The media's role in banning smoking has been one of the most effective campaigns. The habit of smoking is slowly becoming unacceptable and at some places, even considered as impoliteness to the people around you. Some medical practitioners have also declined to treat smokers and life insurance providers have raised their premiums on their smoking clients. There are even cities in the world that do not allow people to smoke except when they are in their own homes. These results show that media is still the strongest means of spreading information on the dangers of smoking.

Your Own Motivations to Stop Smoking

The most important step in quitting smoking is for the smoker to have the desire and determination to quit. They must want to stop so bad to have an effective motivating factor in their battle against nicotine addiction. They must be honest in their will to stop smoking so that they can continue with the process of eliminating it in their life completely. If they go through with it half-heartedly, then it's almost guaranteed that they will fail.

Make a list of benefits (if there are any real benefits) that you can get from smoking. On the other hand, list down as many disadvantages too that you can get from the same activity. After doing so, compare both lists and see which outweighs the other (isn't it obvious!). You may also want to list the reasons why you are quitting. It may include wanting to live longer or wanting to save money or even setting a good example for your children. Always keep your list handy as they may help in times when you badly want to smoke again.

The key to eliminate thoughts of smoking in your head is finding some other alternative activities that would keep you from thinking about smoking. Give more time to physical activity and change your routines if it is what it takes for you to stay away from cigarettes. For instance, if you're used to smoking before you sleep, then do some exercise before sleeping instead so that you'll eventually tire out and go to sleep without smoking. You can also replace your early morning smoke with a dose of heavy jogging or walking. They can definitely keep cigarettes out of your mind and reach.

There is no easy way on how to quit smoking. Smokers should try their very best to turn their love for nicotine into disgust! If you really feel the urge to smoke, buy the least quality of cigarette that you really hate so that it won't satisfy you anymore. The way to success is not easy, but it is never impossible.

Affirmations To Quit Smoking

This same concept can be used in reverse - to get yourself thinking and feeling that you DON'T want to smoke. However, you don't want to insert references to smoking in your affirmations, simply because you already have a belief that smoking is pleasurable. Once that connection has been made in your subconscious mind, any thought of smoking is going to trigger a strong desire to smoke.

Instead, you can use affirmations to emphasize the benefits of not smoking - without mentioning smoking at all.

Here are some examples:

I love being able to breathe freely.

I love taking good care of my body.

I nourish my body with healthy habits.

I deserve a clean, healthy body.

My teeth are white, my skin is glowing and I feel great!

I can change my habits by changing my mind.

I honor and respect myself always.

I am strong enough to overcome any challenge.

I feel so free.

I take one step at a time to where I want to be.

I trust my inner guidance to lead me to a state of perfect well-being.

I believe in my ability to do anything I desire.

How to Use Affirmations

Affirmations work best when they are recited repeatedly and while giving your full focus to them. Not only should you say the words, but you should also do your best to call up the corresponding FEELING associated with the words. For example, if you say, "I feel so strong and empowered" you should actually make an effort to feel that way. This does take practice if you are not used to controlling your emotional state, but it gets easier the more you do it.

Constant repetition many times a day is important also, because you are attempting to override existing beliefs in your subconscious mind. A belief is nothing more than a thought you have thought many, many times before, until eventually it becomes your "truth".

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Beat the Smoking Bans

If you want to keep smoking and get your nicotine fix where ever you want, try the ICIG electronic cigarette. You can beat all government bands with the ICIG. There are several articles like the one by Jude Law’s ex-wife who have beat smoking bans with the ICIG electronic cigarette. Movie stars are not always the best endorsement but we figured we might as well name drop.

England started using electronic cigarettes far earlier than here in America. Many of their most famous pubs and nightclubs (such as the popular celebrity haunt China White) have been promoting electronic cigarettes so as to allow their patrons to smoke inside without flouting the smoking ban. Nicole Cammack took their advise and now smokes in restaurants without violating the law. Nicole Cammack says she likes them because “they are elegant and don’t make your hands smell.” That’s a good thing, right!!!

Many of the health oriented Internet sites say that smoking cessation devices, help people who want to stop smoking. The ICIG is not promoted as a smoking cessation device but many of our clients have successfuly used it that way. Another great thing about the ICIG electronic cigarette is that it reduces the causes of secondhand smoke for our families and workplace. We never want to intentionally harm our children so the ICIG is a great solution to keep everyone happy and our families safe. We know that the Surgeon General’s report has many statistics to show the damage that second hand smoke can cause, so feel confident that you are doing your best to help the environment clean with the premier ICIG electronic cigarettes.

Quit Smoking Cigarettes

1. Write a list of reason you LIKE smoking
It may seem counter to your needs to quit smoking but ignoring why you like smoking and why you continue to smoke is important so that psychologically you can overcome these things or leave them behind or replace them with something. Ignoring them simply means when cravings hit those reasons subconsciously attack your reasoning and resolve.

2. Make a list of reasons it will be hard to quit
Wow, I sound so negative so far which I am sorry for but bear with me! Honesty is massive part of overcoming an addiction to nicotine and cigarettes because many people try to quit without being honest with themselves first and those people usually fail on that attempt. So write down a list of reasons you think might make it hard to quit or the reasons you know from experience have made it harder.

3. Write a list of reasons you want to quit
Ok now we are getting more positive! Again HONESTY is the big word here for the same reason stated before. You need as many solid positive reasons for quitting cigarettes so that these ways to quit smoking cigarettes work! HINT: List them in a positive way so instead of writing “Scared of lung cancer” write “I want to be healthy and live a long life!” … negative reasons are not as strong as positive ones.

4. Write down a list of ways to tackle cravings
When the cravings hit all reasoning and resolve can suddenly go out the window as you may already have experienced and is not something to be ashamed of. You just need a way to overcome these things, having something to distract you from the cravings is a very important things to do whether it is to get your joggers on and hit the pavement or if you are at work to maybe chew some gum, get a coffee or clean up your office space.

5. Compare lists
Now you have a few sheets of paper (or for some people nearly a book!) you can compare your negative and positive reasons. This is important because often if you have more reasons you like smoking compared to reasons you want to quit smoking cigarettes then you may not be ready to quit and might need to find some more reasons and support to quit. Also if your list of things to do to overcome cravings do not have an answer to all your reasons why quitting might be hard then you may need to revisit the former list and add to it. Once you have done this not only have you been introspective enough to see things clearly and plan ahead you have created the base work for a contract with yourself to quit which is a cornerstone of quitting cigarettes for good.

6. Set a quit date
Having firm goals is important when dealing with addictions and when looking for ways to quit smoking cigarettes this is a vital step. Having a set date you set for yourself and can plan for means you will not make snap decision when you are not ready and you will also force yourself to commit to a date than a vague “I will quit next week” then that week never seems to come …

7. Throw out all smoking paraphernalia
Get rid of them when that quit date hits! Get rid of your smokes, if you hold on to any cigarettes it is a temptation and a subconscious easy way out .. if you are serious break the fags and toss them out, if you can’t do that you are not ready to quit. Also get rid of lighters and anything else that has to do with smoking in your space.

Quit Cigarette Smoking

To combat this here is a quick list of help available to smokers looking to kick their habit and be happier, healthier (and have a wallet with more cash in it too!)

1. Products
There is a range of cessation treatment products designed to wean smokers of cigarettes and hold off cravings by feeding the nicotine addiction that is a large cause (but not the only one) of the need to smoke again.
You can purchase nicotine patches, nicotine gum (like Barack Obama), nicotine spray and inhalers too. These are all designed to help with nicotine cravings but they will not stop you smoking cigarettes if you have a strong psychological addiction to them which most people have. They can be a useful addition to your attempt to quit though as long as you do not put all your faith in them!

2. Support Groups
There are many support groups and therapy groups available for smokers which can be located through local medical centers and hospitals. One problem with therapy and groups like this though is that everyone else is hooked like you and all you do is talk about smoking which can be a distraction from quitting sometimes! IT can generate more stress than it solves and the quitting rate from these is quit poor. However if you have no support from anyone else in your life this may be the best option because everyone needs personal support going through this rough time.

3. Hypnosis
Many may scoff at the thought of quitting cigarette smoking through hypnosis but more and more people who are open to the idea have found some relief with hypnosis. This is because it does not change the way you think with mind control as many may think but instead it is a tool to slightly reprogram the way you think but only if you want it to. Skeptics should keep away from this but if you believe in the power of the mind and what6 hypnosis can do it has produced decent results. As a note you can also do self hypnosis with many audio courses available on the internet to help you quit smoking cigarettes.

4. Neuro Linguistic Programming
This term has a mixed reaction in the psychological sciences, some discredit it but under various different names extremely successful life coaches like Anthony Robbins have taken the core concept and shaped it to change millions of people’s lives for the better. The basic concept is that through language and certain ways of thinking you can reprogram the way you think. Much like hypnosis it requires an open mind but NLP practitioners have shown it can be a powerful ally to strengthen resolve and change life habits.

Methods of How to Quit Smoking

To be honest that is just the way my friend Sally is, she makes decisions on the spur of the moment which makes her a fun and lively girl but when she said he was going to quit for the 3rd time I had to ask if she had methods of how to quit smoking cigarettes before she went on her merry way, doomed to another failure and increasingly worse smokers cough.

Her answer of course was “no”, she had no methods and no plan because she blamed the last two attempts that failed on the stresses she was under or the environment she was in without taking any responsibility for herself. This time though she agreed to sit down and come up with a plan with some methods and rules for herself to overcome this unhealthy addiction for good.

Do you have a plan to quit?

If not, you may be like my friend Sally, headed for another failure all because you did not spend just a little bit of time and maybe a little bit of extra money to secure a success from their quitting goals. This is your health and your family’s health you are dealing with after all!

Methods of how to quit smoking cigarettes do not need to be long winded just some basic things written down to help you along. I tend to divide them into three sections.


Goals - Write down realistic goals with dates on them to keep. It could be the exact date you will go cold turkey or it might be how many you will reduce smoking every day. As long as it is written down and carried with you as a reminder

How to deal with Cravings - Some people suffer badly from the cravings caused by the nicotine addiction you have built up over your time smoking. IT is important to have a plan on what to do when they hit, typically you need to distract yourself. Go clean up your office or home might be one or think of people playing tennis (bizarre but true it helps! Must be the repetitive back and forth is soothing) or anything lese that has nothing to do with smoking.

Reasons - One of the most important things you need to do is to change your mindset from that of a smoker to that of a non-smoker. To do this you need good solid reasons for why quitting will be good … write down all the benefits you will see, extra money, health, family; whatever is MOTIVATING to you!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Aids to Quit Smoking That Really Can Work

The Will To Stop

Success depends almost wholly on the smoker's determination and will to stop. Without this determination, no antismoking remedy will succeed. But with it, a person can quit without paying for some expensive antismoking remedy.

For many, constantly reminding themselves that smoking is deadly has provided them the will. Some antismoking programs cultivate this fear, emphasizing the terrible damage smoking does to the body.

Aids In Giving Up Smoking

Keep in mind all the reasons for giving up smoking. Write them down and refer to them often. Is it your health that you are most concerned about? The health of your family who are breathing in your secondary smoke? The high cost of smoking? The fact that it is a dirty habit, and your breath and body smell of nicotine?

Supportive friends, especially ones who themselves have conquered the smoking habit and can therefore affirm that it can be done, are valuable aids. So seek out such friends. Let them know of your decision to stop smoking, and ask for their support. Or, give up with a friend or relative. That way you can support each other to stay smoke free.

What is the best way to stop? Is it by reducing the number of cigarettes consumed each day, thereby gradually quitting? Or is it by setting a day and stopping abruptly on that day?

Contrary to what many think, a comprehensive study of ex-smokers showed that smokers are better able to overcome withdrawal symptoms by stopping suddenly. Researchers have found that cutting down slowly may actually prolong smokers' agony by intermittently reinforcing their symptoms and smoking behavior. This will often lead to relapse and a return to smoking.

Some suggest picking a date to stop and sticking to it. It doesn't matter which date, but choosing a date will help you to prepare yourself.

The first few days after quitting may be the most difficult. So, as an aid, think about the benefits of not smoking. One is the money saved. It can amount to quite a lot! Try putting the money you`d spend each day in a pot or box and see how much it amounts to after a week. Write down something you want to spend that money on. Set it aside and buy it for yourself when you've achieved your goal.

With strong determination, many smokers have quit for a week or so, enduring the initial agony of withdrawal. But, a difficult phase begins, usually starting between the first and the third week. So the battle needs to continue!

The Electronic Cigarette Story

Whilst the organisations distanced themselves from the electronic cigarette, the sales have continued to grow and with the UK smoking ban now entering its second winter, the thought of standing outside the pub or office in the freezing temperatures seems to be enticing smokers to try something different.

Some pubs and bars are now even beginning to sell the electronic cigarette, realising they are becoming more popular, sensing a potential profit and that the punters are becoming more willing to try them, not simply as an alternative to a cigarette but as a genuine reason not to stand outside and freeze for a smoke.

During this time of credit crunch, many smokers who don't actually want to quit smoking altogether but are looking for something more affordable are also turning to the electronic cigarette.

With a little shopping around, the prices for smoking the electronic cigarette are vastly less than their standard counterparts. One such electronic cigarette company provides a table to show the significance of the savings and it goes a little bit like this:

Approximate only

• Electronic Cigarette:10 a day for one year = £ 122
• Real Cigarettes : 10 a day for one year = £1004

That equals a savings of more than £800 per year.

• Electronic Cigarette:40 a day for one year = £ 487
• Real Cigarettes : 40 a day for one year = £3529

That is an incredible saving of more than £3000 per year.

With those figures in mind it is not difficult to see why the electronic cigarette is becoming a very attractive proposition.

Hypnosis to Quit Smoking

It is for this reason that a quit smoking hypnotherapy can provide results that are excellent.

Hypnotherapy is in fact more common in the past. Hypnotherapy has been employed to treat some psychological issues, or to try to investigate deeper into the being of a person. Hypnosis also helps the mind have a firmer choice to stay away from the smoking habit. Today, the use of hypnotherapy gaining popularity again as it has been seen to be effective in helping smokers stop the habit.

The quit smoking hypnotherapy is not really a complete hypnosis in which you will lose control of yourself or lose awareness of your surrounding. The hypnotherapy will just be a nice and deep relaxation where the mind is given approaches that will help clear the brain, and confront the issues that prevent the smoker from quitting the habit. Though deep levels of concentration where distractions are removed, total control is still present.

It was common that the physical presence of a therapist is required, but now, recordings have been developed to give a less expensive, accessible and private hypnosis for every smoker.

The hypnotherapy may last a month, but the effects could generally be seen even after few days. With discipline and an open mind, so to speak, the positive effects of hypnotherapy could truly be noticeable.

This process is actually working better if paired with another technique. We would use exercises, that help both in distracting the mind away from the nagging thoughts of a good cigarette, and to help produce endorphins that make us feel better and remove the craving for smoking. Another suggestion is the use of prescribed medicine, or the use of herbal remedies available in the market.

Answer to Quit Smoking

Nicotine is a part of the chemical makeup of a cigarette.Nicotine is a drug that is why you get addicted to smoking so easily.Once you smoke for a while it becomes very difficult to stop smoking.This also has created a whole other market just to stop smoking.
As you probably know there are many quit smoking methods on the market today.You have probably tried two or three of them.Patches,inhalers,chewing gum,pills,prescription drugs,shots,even smoke less cigarettes.They claim to cut back on cravings,who knows they might help some people.Some of them like gum just keeps your mind off smoking.It does help by keeping busy when trying to quit smoking.Never start using food as a way to forget about smoking.Many people do eat more when trying to quit smoking. This is where Hypnosis can help many people.
You must get in the right mind set when trying to quit smoking.Also You must get in your head you are going to quit for good!This will take alot of discipline and Will Power.If you have had trouble doing this,Hypnosis maybe your answer.Hypnosis works on your mind and conscious to help forget about smoking.Remember smoking is just a habit so you must keep your mind on something else.Hypnosis can help you forget about smoking.

Before you try anything else to stop smoking may I suggest,looking into Hypnosis further to see if it could be right for you.It has been very successful for many people.When you buy just one pack of cigarettes a day and smoke them you are spending nearly $25.00 a week.What if you smoke two packs a day?Many people do and this gets very expensive.Also just think about the health issues you might have latter in life.Can you actually afford to keep smoking?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Does Nicotine Gum Work? How Well Does It Work?

Nicotine gum treats the physical symptoms of a smoking addiction. Instead of craving the nicotine spike from smoking a cigarette, chewing nicotine gum gives you the same delivery of nicotine without all of the cancer-causing bad stuff.

Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? There are two major problems with it, though. First, people end up addicted to nicotine gum, which puts you in a similar boat to smoking. Granted, you don't have all of the health problems, but you still end up addicted to something, and nicotine is bad for your body.

The second and far more important problem is that nicotine gum doesn't treat the real cause behind smoking addiction: mental addiction. As a smoker, you are trained to want cigarettes based on certain mental triggers, such as when you're out with your friends, when you're stressed, etc.

Nicotine gum doesn't do anything for the mental addiction, which is why nicotine gum doesn't end up working. To actually quit smoking and not look back on it, you need to tell your mind that it doesn't actually want cigarettes, not just replace them with something else.

If you don't solve the mental addiction behind smoking, you're never going to quit smoking. Everyone says that quitting smoking is hard for a reason: very few people actually stop smoking and become non-smokers. Most people become smokers that just aren't smoking because they're denying themselves cigarettes, which is why so many people relapse into smoking.

Learn more to quit smoking

Quitting Smoking: It's Easier

You've probably seen advertisements for nicotine patches and phone therapy programs. You don't want quitting smoking to turn into an alcoholics anonymous type deal, you just want to stop the whole mess so you can go on with your life.

As great of an idea as those programs might sound to the people who create them, they fall a bit short when it comes to actual results. Nicotine replacement doesn't work because it doesn't actually help you stop your urge to smoke, it just gives you the byproducts of smoking to try to help you cope.

Phone programs and online programs make you feel like there's something terribly wrong with you, and that's not the case. You're able to quit smoking any time you want, you just have to know that you want to quit smoking.

Remember, you don't smoke because you want nicotine, you smoke because you enjoy smoking and that's the critical flaw with all of these programs. The way to make quitting easy is to discover that, in all reality, you don't like cigarettes. They aren't enjoyable, it's just something that you've been trained to do with time.

You aren't going to spend the same amount of time weaning yourself away and retraining your mind, however, because there's a very simple way to quit that doesn't involve any sort of therapy or snake oil.

Learn more to quit smoking

How to Clear Your Lungs And Stop That Cough

Excluding your brain, your lungs are the most delicate organ in your body. If your lungs are healthy, there are thousands of minute air chambers and passage ways. Each time you take a breath, life giving oxygen is pulled into your lungs. After entering the lungs,, oxygen is passed to the red blood that are coursing through your blood stream in exchange for carbon dioxide. When you exhale, this waste carbon dioxide is expelled from your system. This is the process of breathing and it takes place over 17,000 times each day.

In order to complete this process, the minute air chambers in your lungs must be kept clear and free of impurities and sediments that can block the minuscule air passages and hamper the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange. In order to keep the chambers clear, your lungs contain a lot of of minute hair like stalks called cilia. The cilia clear your lungs by constantly sweeping impurities and waste out of the passage ways to clear your lungs and keep them clear.

Each time you inhale on a cigarette, noxious substances and chemicals are drawn into your lungs. If you just smoke the occassional cigarette, the cilia can easily clear your lungs. But if you chain smoke, the cilia will not work as designed and can no longer clear your lungs as they were intended to do. Over time, more and more of the tiny cilia are impaired, this makes the cleaning process even more difficult. Over time, toxins from cigarette smoke start to seal the tiny air passages.

Because there are fewer healthy cilia, they are no longer able to clear your lungs. So your body resorts to an alternative process in an attempt to clear your lungs; a cough. This smokers cough is your body's way of assisting the cilia to keep yopur lungs clear.

So, what are your options if have an awful cough? The solution is really quite simple. You should help your body clear your lungs. You can do this by using a simple combination of food supplements and vitamins that whisk the toxins out of your lungs and flush them out of your system. This simple technique will clear your lungs fifteen to twenty times faster than your body can clean them on its own. If you are still smoking, its important to Clear Your Lungs !

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The Time To Quit Is Now

Smoker's bodies go through hell and back. Here is how a smoker's body looks/feels:

Your body gets out of shape and always feels tired

Your heart is beating faster and less efficient

Your Lungs drastically loose efficiency and thus makes it harder to breathe

Your brain acts differently than a non-smoker's brain

Over time, your skin will begin to turn a yellow-ish color

You can eliminate all of these problems your body will or already has faced. Not to mention you will drastically reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack, heart disease, lung cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer, emphysema, kidney failure, etc. Literally after just 10 days of not smoking, your body will feel energized like you wouldn't believe. You also will begin the realize that your are no longer fatigued.

There are many methods to quit smoking. I have found (by personal experience, reading studies, and talking with people) that the patches and gums tend to not work. Most people will fail while using these methods to quit smoking. Some people will find that the patches and/or gum work wonders, but that is a small portion of the wanting-to-stop-smoking, smoker's population (did you follow that because I think I'm a little lost?).

The best product I have found that works with a great deal of success is the Stop-Smoking-System. It has been thoroughly tested and proven to work about 97% of the time. I actually used this program to quit smoking myself. I have been a smoker for over 20 years and quit smoking in roughly 4 days! I have been clean for 4 months now.

What are you waiting for? Next week, tomorrow, in a while is not when you need to stop smoking. Now is the time! Take back control of your life and rid yourself of cigarettes.

Learn more to quit smoking