Sweet Preserve

I have written this article on my own personal experience battling with trying to quit smoking for over 1 year. I’m proud to say that I have been clean of of the horrid drug that is niccotine for over 6 months and I thought I would share my tips and advice on how you can do the same. Below I have listed my top 5 tips for those looking to quit smoking and live a healthy and smoke free life.

Quit smoking because you want to quit! You should want to quit if you knew how bad it is for you. Have you ever noticed it’s easier to say “This will be my last smoke” when you have one already in your hand? Of course you would say that, you have gave your body what it wants..nicotine.

1. Get a piece of paper and write down how you picture yourself when not smoking, for example: better looking skin, healthier body, more energetic etc. Once you have done this write another column with all the negatives points you feel as a smoker eg; bad breathe, lethargic, yellow teeth etc. Once you have done this you can always look back at this piece of paper and remind your self what your goals are and what you hate about smoking. Visualization is a big help when it comes to reaching goals such as quitting smoking.
2. Visit your doctor for some support. Your doctor can provide you with products to support and help you quit smoking for good. These include Zero Nicotine, gum, inhalators etc. They are all very useful, but a degree of willpower is needed for you to benefit from these products. Thats where your notes that you wrote earlier come into play!
3. Sometimes it helps to go through this jourmney by relating to others who are in the same position as you. Join focus groups for smokers, not only will you be mingling with people that have the same goal it makes it easier knowing you are not the only one.
4. Everytime you feel like reaching for that smoke reach for a glass of water. Food is a good replacement but not the perfect answer as smokers know the craving is usually more after eating and also you dont want to get overweight in the process otherwise you will have another problem to deal with.
5. Get a bottle and fill it with dog ends, mix this with water and seal the bottle for a day or so. Everytime you feel like a smoke, open that bottle and inhale. You will soon forget about that smoke I guarantee it.

The tips listed above are exactly the methods i used to stop smoking for good. I know how hard it can be, it took me over a year! but if you stick at it and take small steps at a time you will finally get to that stage where you won’t care about that smoke ever again.

Good luck.

This article explains smokers opinions and the pros and cons about smoking.

Lately I have been researching why people smoke, the good of it, the bad things about it and the other things some people just don’t know about.

• The Good:

Most smokers say that it gives them a very strong bond with other smokers some have a sense of gratification when they smoke. The drug nicotine gives them a feeling of pleasure. Some smokers says it gives them a break from there kids, and it is used as a stress reliever.

•  The Bad:

The list goes on but here a just a few key points -
That horrid after smell, nagging cough all day … But that’s nothing compared to not being able to breathe properly, heart disease, Decayed teeth , skin and fingernails turn yellow, having lots of phlegm and losing your voice half way through a sentence. One huge problem about smoking it is a social drug such as alcohol making it very addictive and hard to quit. Also smoking doesn’t help your income at all, buying them 2 – 4 times a week at average $7 dollars adds up fairly quickly you could use that money to socialise such as going out with friends or seeing a movie.

• The Ugly:

When you inhale smoke you put over 4,000 chemicals into your body just some of these are Benzene the chemical found in paint stripper, Hydrogen Cyanide used in rat poison Ammonia the bleach found in toilet cleaner.

Smoking can also have some terrible effects on your body some of these include death at the age of 40.

It can also make blood vessels and blood cells sticky causing dangerous fatty material to build up.

The chemicals can lead to Macular degeneration (blindness) this is because the chemicals get into the bloodstream and induce the damage to the macula in the back of the eye.

 

• Conclusion Of these facts:

Overall most people think smoking is not fit for any lifestyle as it can lead to disease, blindness, amputations and even death. Australia in particular have banned it from most hospitals, working areas, and some restaurants and clubs only allow smoking in car parks or in a designated area.