You’re Not Too Old To Stop Smoking

Do wish you could stop smoking, but think you’re just too old to kick the habit? Research has proven time and time again that you are never too old to stop smoking. As soon as you rub out your last cigarette, you will begin to experience the health and lifestyle benefits of living without smoking. Here are eight things you should know if you think you might be too old to kick the habit.

1) If you think it’s too late to make a difference, think again. You can always improve your health, and one of the best ways to do that is to stop smoking. Even if you have been smoking for 50 or more years, the effect of quitting can be noted right away. Just 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your body will demonstrate a marked improvement. Your blood pressure and pulse will decrease closer to their normal range. Eight hours after your last cigarette, the nicotine and carbon monoxide in your bloodstream will be cut in half!

2) You will breathe better if you quit smoking. Is anyone ever too old to breathe better? If you enjoy laughing and singing (and who doesn’t?), you can bet that you will once again be able to give a big belly laugh and sing at the top of your lungs once your lungs have been cleared of the mucous and debris left behind by years of smoking. If you are prone to coughs, wheezing, and snoring, stopping smoking will help alleviate these conditions significantly.

3) You will have more energy. Smoking robs your body of breath and life, leaving you feeling sluggish and tired. If you quit smoking, you will have the strength to do the physical activities you want to do, without the strain imposed by smoking.

4) Your risk of getting a heart attack is drastically reduced. Nicotine steals the oxygen from your bloodstream, forcing your heart to work harder. As you age, your risk of getting a heart attack increases. If you don’t want to become part of the statistics, you should seriously consider kicking your smoking habit.

5) You are better prepared to quit. If you have been a lifelong smoker, you probably already have experience with trying to quit. Rather than seeing past experiences as a failure, consider past attempts a learning experience. Why do you think you weren’t able to stop smoking? Make a list of the things that hindered your attempt to stop smoking, and the things you think were most helpful. Make a list of the things you would do if you were trying to quit smoking again. Seek out your physician’s advice on this matter. New products are fast becoming available that can help even the most hardened smoker’s quit successfully.

6) Your health insurance premiums may go down if you quit smoking. With health care at an all time high, being a smoker can get quite expensive if you’re shopping for a good insurance policy. Imagine the money you will save, and the better coverage you will receive, if you quit smoking.

7) Make a list of how your life would improve if you quit smoking. One of the best ways to get truly motivated is to become conscious of the ways smoking affects all aspects of your life. Make a Pro’s and Con’s list. What do you get out of smoking, if anything? What are the things that most bother you about being a smoker? Everybody knows that smoking is harmful on your health and on your wallet. Try to find your own personal reasons and motivations to quit. Are you embarrassed by the smell? Do you fear a heart attack? Do you worry about the effects of second hand smoke on your loved ones? Write all the things that most bother you about being a smoker, and place them in a prominent location where you can see them when the urge to light up strikes.

8) You will feel a sense of pride in quitting. What could be more meritorious than a person who has smoked for most of their life, then quits? Everyone loves hearing about such success stories. Knowing you quit after so many years will provide you with a great source of pride and strength. You may even inspire other lifelong smokers!

How Do I Quit Smoking?

Many people have difficulty in stopping smoking, so you are not alone. Take a good look around this site and sign up for our newsletter for lots of help in quitting smoking.

Smoking While Pregnant

For so many years now we have know that smoking while pregnant is not healthy, but smoking has been a part of our lives, regardless of whether we smoke or not. And for that it has been a detrimental factor in everybody’s lives; sad to say, that includes the unborn babies.

Surveys show that many mothers are still smoking while pregnant. They contend that it does not affect their baby at all. In most instances, these are the mothers that do not care for their unborn child, because if they did they would know that smoking poses great danger during pregnancy. They would know that it is currently one of the major causes of infant deaths in our society today. If your smoking while pregnant, you are more likely to birth a child who is underweight. Low birth weight babies are at greater risk for childhood and adult illnesses and even death. Babies of smokers have less muscle mass and more fat than babies of non smokers, the child is also more likely to develop respiratory problems later in life.

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

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

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

Smoking while pregnant will increase the probability that the mother will develop complications in the placenta. Reports show that placental problems are actually happening in about 1% of pregnancies. The most common problem is placenta previa where the placenta is connected very low in the uterus and is almost in the cervix.

Another problem is the deterioration of fetal growth. Smoking during pregnancy results in low infant birth weight. For so many years now, reports show that there had been significant difference between babies with smoking mothers than those who have non-smoking mothers.

Greater risks are imposed on babies who relatively weigh less than the normal babies. They may acquire certain diseases like cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and the worst is death.

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

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

After the child is born, it doesn’t get any better for babies with mothers who were smoking while pregnant, they still face problems after birth within their environment. Infants eighteen months and younger who have second hand smoke surrounding them in their houses are responsible for up to three hundred thousand cases of pneumonia and bronchitis.

Studies have revealed that nicotine can be passed on to the baby through breastfeeding. There had been experiments that proved the presence of nicotine in the babies system through urine testing. It later showed that higher percentage of nicotine was found in babies who were breastfeeding by smoking mothers.

Most experts contend that the problem lies within the mother’s urge to get back to smoking right after they gave birth. They contend that it is safe now because the baby was born already. They still insist that they, in fact, stopped smoking during their pregnancy.

The concluding scenario here is that when the mother continues to smoke during the formative years of her child, chances are she is already shaping a child that will most likely be a smoker themselves. That is, if the child can endure the dangers smoking can do with his or her health.

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

Babies should be given the right to live a decent, normal, and healthy life. So, for mother’s out there, please bear in mind that aside from the long range dangers associated with smoking your babies should not suffer. Let’s take care of them simply by not smoking.

Eliminates All Cravings For Nicotine.
Free Stop Smoking Subliminal Hypnosis Audio.
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee!
http://www.to-betterhealth.com/nicocure

Stop Smoking by Hypnosis

Everyone could use a little healthier life style. With all the junk food, fast food and eating on the run, health is deteriorating. To top it off many people smoke and partake of other non-healthy habits.

Years ago doctors told individuals that cigarettes could be used to calm nerves, help lose weight and just generally help with anxiety. They had no idea how harmful cigarettes actually were. These people exposed not only themselves to the harms of smoke, but also their children. It has only been recently that the surgeon general has begun cracking down on cigarette manufacturers and doctors have started suggesting the cessation of smoking immediately.

Relatively few businesses allow smoking on their premise any longer, many night clubs have restricted smoking to only outdoors. With the world for smokers closing in and opinions changing it has put great pressure on those that smoke.

Some smokers can lay down cigarettes and never pick up another. Other people taper off and struggle for years with cravings and desires. While everyone is different so is the manner by which they need to quit smoking. Between pills, patches, staples and a host of other manners some have been able to quit, but generally turn to another habit. These habits range in seriousness, but none of them are good in excess.

There is one method that is not necessarily aimed at nicotine cessation, but does work. Hypnosis is a technique that is used by a trained professional to induce a suggestible state by the patient. During this suggestible state individuals can change cravings, feelings and behaviors. There are several different types of hypnosis, one of the most effective is stop smoking hypnosis. The hypnosis session is aimed at changing the internal scripting that allows the unconscious to give the feeling of need for cigarettes. This is achieved by changing the scripting inside the brain, replacing it with a productive script.

Quit smoking hypnosis is the same but may focus more on the behaviors that precede or follow having a cigarette. For example, if the smoker has developed a habit that they smoke each time they are in the car, eventually this becomes a habit. Quit smoking hypnotism can help the smoker find another way to cope with not having a cigarette in the car.

Instead it may be suggested that the person chew gum, drink water or have another more productive habit. This is a great way to keep busy and allow the mind to wander else where.

Smoking hypnosis has been proven effective by thousands of smokers. As the word gets out the popularity will grow. There are no pills, staples or any other side effects that you need to worry about interfering with medications or other areas of your life. Hypnosis is completely safe and certainly a good way to quit the most addicting habit of your life.

Nicotine is very harmful and cessation will not only do wonders for your health, pocket book, but also the individuals around you. Second hand smoke has been proven time and time again to cause painful ear aches, worsened asthma, upper respiratory infections along with other issues for children. Children should never be subject to cigarette smoke.

Another great thing about stop smoking hypnosis is the fact that you can change other behaviors and things in your life at the same time. Just because you are working on smoking cessation does not mean that you can not work toward a feeling of good health and well being.

Many people use hypnosis to explore their past and rid of feelings or wishes that they have carried through out their lives. For example, if a parent or relative has passed and you have always wished to have said something a good way to put closure to this is to visit that time again in your life. The hypnotist can guide you through that process and help you put closure to that part of your life. So hypnosis can work for more than one area of your life.

Quit smoking hypnosis is safe and a great way to improve your life. Every time you experience hypnosis you awake to feeling relaxed and refreshed. Hypnosis can really enhance your life!

HypnosisKnowHow. com
Discover hypnosis, how it affects your mind, what is possible through hypnosis and how to hypnotize yourself and other people. Plus scripts, audios, how-to guides and more…
http://www.HypnosisKnowHow.com

5 Strategies to Quit Smoking Forever - Analysis of the Good and the Bad

If you’re looking for strategies to quit smoking then you’re
definitely in the right place. I used to be a smoker myself
over 8 years ago so I hope you can understand that I know
what I’m talking about. Let’s take a closer look.

So what do we mean when we talk about strategies? Really,
we’re talking about the many different approaches that you
can take to quitting smoking. And if one doesn’t work,
regroup and choose the next best one. Let’s take a look in
order of some different strategies going from worst to best.

Going Cold Turkey Alone

This is the first and cheapest strategy that many people go
for. They set a quit date and then suddenly stop smoking.
You’ll also find that it is the method that is most prone to
failure.

Usually this failure is quick and within a few hours or
days. But this method also has the worst failure rate if you
look at the 5 year horizon too. Clearly, you need a better
strategy than this.

Cutting Down

By cutting down on cigarettes, the shock of finally quitting
should be much less right? It is indeed, but only
fractionally less so. The stark truth is that this method
still involves using a lot of willpower and resisting
cravings. So how can we stop that?

Patches

This is not a good strategy. Whilst you can come off the
cigarettes immediately, you are forced to try and cut down
on the patches instead and we already know how unreliable
that is. Forget it. We still need to cut down on the
cravings and the willpower.

Pills, Hypnosis & The Laser

These methods are different. They are all intended so that
you can lower your cravings and therefore you don’t need to
use willpower. The immediate quit success rates are very
high - around 90%. But remember the problem of the smoker
who quits and actually resists the cravings? They are still
susceptible to starting again a few months or years down the
road.

And that’s the problem with these particular methods. They
cut the cravings temporarily but they don’t cure you of your
addiction. You are still an addict and will be for the rest
of your life.

CBT/Coaching

In my opinion, this is the only method that really works. I
know, because I used this myself over 8 years ago. CBT is a
way of re-educating you about your addiction so you don’t
“suffer” when you make the big change. Let me give you an
example: CBT is used to cure people of phobias like a fear
of flying. Eventually, they can board an airplane again
without sweating a single bead of sweat.

The same is true of cigarette addiction. With CBT, you can
be cured so that when you quit, you will not have any
cravings or need any willpower.

Discover my critical reviews of the 3 leading CBT quit
smoking programs, at http://www.QuitSmokingAdvisory.com

Stop Smoking: Chantix Should Prevent You From Smoking Again

Smoking can hurt people in a number of ways including being an addiction, with; it is believed more than 400,000 deaths resulting from smoking in the United States. It also hurts those around smokers, and involuntary smoking can cause, it is believed, as many as 300,000 cases of pneumonia as well as bronchitis annually.

Many people try to stop smoking, but may fail in the effort. However, they need to take heart from the fact that they may have to make several attempts before they are able to successfully stop smoking. Every time you try and fail to stop smoking it may be viewed as a part of the overall effort of stopping to smoke, and not a lesson in failure. It is important for you, at the outset, to realize that your smoking habit is an addiction that needs to be cured.

A Matter Of Personal Choice And Liking

Many people believe that they smoke due to liking the feeling, or because they choose to smoke and this may be due to the heavy advertising that tobacco companies use to promote the belief that smoking is a matter of personal choice. The point that needs to be considered is whether this choice or liking to smoke has turned into an addiction, which if it is the case, will prove to be difficult to break the habit. In fact stopping to smoke is as difficult as giving up on a heroin addiction, or cocaine addiction.

If you do make the wise choice of stopping to smoke, you will be well advised to try out a new tool that will help you in your endeavor. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved of Chantix as a means to stop smoking. This is not a magic pill that will end a person’s habit of smoking, but it will considerably ease the process of stopping to smoke, and will certainly require you to be persistent as well as committed to achieve your goal.

Smoking causes nicotine from the cigarette to make the receptors within the brain to release dopamine, which is a chemical that causes positive feelings in smokers. If you do stop smoking, the lack of dopamine will trigger misery in you as well as make you feel certain withdrawal symptoms, which include irritation, insomnia as well as difficulty to concentrate. There are nicotine replacement products that you may turn to, which help in continuing to release some few dopamine in the brain and thus lessens craving for nicotine.

You can use Chantix in this way as it also releases low amounts of dopamine so that you do not experience withdrawal symptoms, while it also blocks nicotine receptors within the brain. In fact, the occasional cigarette that you may smoke while taking Chantix will not stimulate your brain’s receptors as it would have if you were not using Chantix. In fact, smoking becomes less pleasurable and there is thus less desire to return to smoking.

To get the best from your Chantix intake, you could begin by taking it a week prior to when you wish to stop smoking. It is often prescribed for twelve weeks, and at first, you may need to take it once daily and then progress on to twice daily. With an increase in dosage, you will also not be at much risk of side effects. If you do manage to stop smoking after the twelve weeks are up, another twelve weeks course may also be required to ensure that you do not go back to your old smoking habits again.

For more information from Brian Welsch about Chantix stop smoking solution check http://www.chantixsite.com

Tips: How To Stop Smoking Tips

Here are some tips,  How To Stop Smoking. Tips that can help beat the smoking habit. Enjoy the article.

How to Quit Smoking
By Liz Labrum

Have you been trying to quit without success? Do you feel it's
almost impossible to quit because it seems such a part of you?
Then there's a fact that you need to remember. No one was born a
smoker.  Smoking is a habit, a behaviour you have learned and
practised to the point where it's an unconscious function.

Even though you may have choked on your first cigarette, you have
since hard-wired your brain to believe that smoking makes you
feel good.  To be without would be like chopping off your right
arm.

Smoking on Autopilot

There's the cigarette with your morning tea or coffee, the
cigarette in the car on the way to work.  That last smoke before
you go into the office.  The one after a meal, the one you light
up as you pick up the phone for a chat and so on. These
cigarettes are seemingly invisible and yet mark out life's daily
rituals for the smoker.

Another major reason the smoker finds it hard is because there is
no instant reward on offer at the moment of quitting.  It's not
surprising that many smokers are doomed to try up to six or more
times before they finally quit.

No amount of guilt-provoking advertising by the government, or
hikes in prices, or pleadings from loved ones will prise the long
term smoker away from the habit.  That is until one of two life
changing events occur.

Wake Up Call

The first is a traumatic shock usually health related where the
smoker finally and unequivocally equates their habit with the
quality of their health and prospects of longevity.  The second
is where the smoker at a deep level of their psyche determines
that life is better and more attractive without their smoking
habit.

If the first of the above two options hasn't happened to you
yet, then you may want to know how to go about the second
option.

It all starts by working out what you use smoking for. For
example when you think about it, are most of your cigarettes to
give you a thinking break at work, or because you smoke with your
friends?

Discover What's Really Going on

A very good step to take, if you're serious about quitting, is
to start a simple diary of your smoking.  Each time you smoke
record when it was and what was it was for. Also include whether
you enjoyed it or felt it was really needed.

You'll find that you become much more aware of your cigarette
habit and why you think you have to smoke.
After a week of this find a quiet time and look at your diary.
Notice whatever patterns there are, look at how many of these
smokes you really enjoyed or needed.  You may be surprised at how
few you really 'enjoy'.

The Hard Facts

Next take some time to consider each of these moments against
what each cigarette you've smoked really contains. Every puff
delivers over 4,000 chemicals including tar (as in roads),
nicotine, carbon monoxide (as in exhaust fumes), ammonia (floor
cleaner), arsenic (rat poison), formaldehyde (preserving fluid)
and butane (gas lighter) into your lungs and system.

Also consider the long term health effects smoking offers you:
The carbon monoxide in each robs the brain, heart and muscles of
oxygen. It thickens the blood and this can cause heart attacks,
strokes and blood clots. Three out of four heart attacks are due
to smoking. Smoking kills one in two of its users and half of
those will die before their time, many in middle age and younger.
Every year 80,000 UK men die from diseases caused by smoking.

Choosing to smoking doesn't add up to the most sensible pursuit
for a long healthy life, does it? However, you've got to decide
now how bad it has to get before you take action. Will you wait
until you start to feel your heart beating faster as you climb
stairs or run suddenly? Or will it be when you're a patient in
hospital suffering from a heart or lung smoking-related disease?

Now realise that it is in this moment of contemplation that you
can chose how your future turns out. Realise once and for all
that each action that you take affects your future.  This is so
important for you to understand and is key to you making and
committing to a change in your life. To save your life by
quitting.

A Cunning Plan for Success

Like a lot of things worth doing spending some time planning and
looking ahead to the outcomes, good and bad, will make success
more likely. Below are some things to get in place so that you
succeed and enjoy the task.

Step 1: Wake up to your habit and what's doing to you.  Now that
you understand what smoking really means find a way to remind
yourself of the damage you are doing to yourself.

Step 2: Develop your motivation to quit – what will you get out
of kicking that habit that really means something to you. Take
some time to think this one through and list positive benefits
that really mean something to you.  Write them down, or find
pictures that symbolise them and keep them near.

Step 3: Plan to succeed – most common pitfall – no plan,
therefore you fall at first test as you've no coping strategies
to fall back on. For example work out what other ways you can
take a break or have a coffee without a cigarette.

Step 4: Quit day – make it a particular day and build up your
strength and resolve by working out beforehand how to deal with
common triggers.

Step 5: Quit – get the right kind of support from friends or/and
or family. Explain to them what kind of help you want, be it
positive encouragement or treats along the way.

Step 6: Fighting temptations – marking milestones.  Work out how
you're going to stick to your plan and what meaningful rewards
you will give yourself or receive along the way.

Step 7: Staying the course – planning for the long haul.  Realise
at the outset that this is long term and think as far ahead as
six month and a year.

Others have succeeded. You can too

Last year 120,000  smokers gave up in this country and the number
of people who smoke in the UK is generally falling, so that from
roughly half the population smoking in the 1970s to around a
quarter now.

Giving up is an individual experience, talking to a number of
ex-smokers will quickly reveal a range of different motivations
and strategies that led to success.  Rachel, a 32 year old
professional nanny told me; "I knew I had to quit some day but
exactly when felt vague and far off.  Once I talked to you and
realised I had to commit to a plan it all felt a lot more real.
I actually enjoyed the experience."

There are many ways that you can become a non-smoker.  Some of
the popular ways are joining groups led by NHS advisors, buying
nicotine replacement therapy or trying alternative therapy such
as acupuncture, hypnosis or Neuro Linquistic Programming (NLP).

The important thing is to realise it's your choice. You can
choose to carry on smoking with all its downsides or to take
action to break free and save your life.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Liz Labrum
Master NLP Practitioner and Hypnotherapist Coaching the
subconscious for conscious change. Want to drop stress,
bad habits and fears? Visit http://www.lizlabrum.co.uk

Welcome To Our Stop Smoking | Quit Smoking Site

We want to help people to stop smoking. Most people who smoke want to quit, if not right now, then soon. We will have plenty of advice and tips about how to stop smoking. Also there’ll be lots of help with the essentials of getting motivated to quit smoking. Make sure you bookmark our stop smoking site and come back regularly to get your anti-smoking fix and encouragement.