ARE YOU ADDICTED TO SMOKING?

Remember when you used to say that to people as you began your smoking journey.  "I just smoke because I enjoy it, I could quit any time if I wanted."  Problem is you never wanted to quit, did you?

Once you are addicted to nicotine your mind will never want to quit.  It believes it needs nicotine more than oxygen.  It doesn't take long to have a full fledged addiction, in fact some studies say that after your third cigarette you can be permanently hooked.

 

Many factors contribute to the level of your addiction, but those who started earlier in life tend to have a stronger addiction to nicotine than those who started after their teenage years.

Take the quiz below to determine how strong your addiction to nicotine is.

1. At what age did you begin smoking?
1. After your 18th birthday
2. Between age 14-18 years old
3. Under 14 years old
2. When do you have your first cigarette of the day?
1. More than 3 hours after waking
2. More than an hour after waking
3. Within 15 minutes of waking
3.  How many cigarettes do you smoke a day?
1. Less than 10
2. Between 15-20
3. More than 20 cigarettes a day
4. When you are not smoking you tend to
1. Not even think about cigarettes
2. Occasionally have a smoking thought or reminder
3. Constantly think about your next cigarette

Now add up your score.  Each answer has a point value 1, 2, or 3.  If you answered 1 (after your 18th birthday) to question 1 you would receive 1 point.

10-12 points -  You have a very strong addiction to nicotine. 
6-10 points - You are moderately addicted
5 or below - You have a low level of addiction.


No matter what level of addiction you have, you can quit smoking and remove nicotine from your body in 72 hours.  I was so addicted I would have my first cigarette within 3 minutes of jumping out of bed. In fact it was the only reason I jumped out of bed.  For those of you strongly addicted, take notice, the quit for you is so much more amazing.

Start today, tomorrow is a new year.  Don't let another year go by without quitting.

NICOTINE

Nicotine in it's natural form is a chemical that attaches to tobacco plants to protect it from insects.  It is a deadly chemical that if taken in strong enough doses will kill a human.  Amazingly, tobacco has just enough nicotine to make you addicted but not kill you.   What a great addiction!!!

WHAT DOES NICOTINE DO TO YOUR BRAIN

Nicotine creates pathways in your brain and receptors that have one function, to ask for more nicotine.  Once these pathways are created they will immediately tell you that you need more nicotine.  About every 30 minutes the nicotine depletes and you will find yourself needing another dose.  Pay attention to smokers, you will notice that if given the opportunity they will smoke a cigarette about every 30 minutes.

The only way to stop this cycle is to remove the nicotine from your body and eventually all of these pathways you created will close and your brain and body will no longer ask for nicotine.  The problem is the process is not immediate so you have to have faith - the cravings will stop!!!!

NICOTINE AND YOUR BODY

There is a lot of misinformation out there making it difficult for smokers to understand the addiction they are up against.  Nicotine withdrawal has a very limited physical withdrawal.  Think about it, you can sleep for 8 hours without being awaken by nicotine addiction.  There really isn't any strong physical withdrawal to the drug, it is primarily mental.  You will not have shakes, vomit, or experience fever or sweats like a heroin addict would when they quit.  You will have some mild uncomfortable feelings but really nothing serious.

STOPPING NICOTINE

Stopping nicotine is just a matter of you realizing the pattern that you are trapped in.  If you stop the nicotine the withdrawal (psychological) will eventually stop.  It varies by person but within a few weeks you really won't even think about smoking.

I'll use an analogy to make you realize how nicotine works.  If you had a headache you would look for an aspirin or some type of pain relief to eliminate the headache.  You find a miracle pill that eliminates your headache but then it comes back in 30 minutes.  So you take another magic pill and your headache goes away.  Eventually you realize that every 30 minutes you are getting these headaches but luckily you have these magic pills that make it go away and relieve the pain.  Then one morning you are watching the news and you see that this pill you have been taking actually causes headaches.  If you stop taking it the headaches will eventually disappear on their own.  You get your next headache in 30 minutes, but this time you don't take the pill.  The headache drags on for several days but after 3 days you wake up and realize your headache is gone.  Without taking any pills!!!!

This is the same process that will happen if your remove nicotine from your system.  The pill is the cigarette, and if you stop taking them you will eliminate the cravings (headache).

STOP TAKING NICOTINE TODAY

The time to eliminate nicotine from your body is today.   By tomorrow you will be 33% of the way home.  It takes 72 hours to eliminate the nicotine from  your body.  Drink fruit juices like cranberry juice to help speed the process.  Try and get natural that doesn't have too much sugar in it.

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking.  And enjoy your new nicotine free lifestyle that comes complete with a calm peaceful demeanor, more money, better concentration (eventually), better smell, better breath, and a new improves zest for life.
 

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I QUIT SMOKING

What happens you you quit smoking?  A lot, and it's all good.  Almost immediately your health begins to benefit.  Smoking increases blood pressure so you will immediately realize a reduction in blood pressure  and with that, stress.  Most smokers think that smoking relieves stress, but in reality it actually increases stress.

Unfortunately, a lot of the great things that happen when you quit smoking are not immediately noticeable.  Even though it only took a few cigarettes to become a nicotine junkie, it takes  a little longer to get all the chemicals inhaled over the years out of your body.

COUGHING
Here is what happened when I quit smoking.  I began to cough a lot, all of the gunk in my lungs began working itself out.   I coughed up a lot of weird looking stuff, but within a couple days I could feel my breathing improve.  And the most noticeable improvement was in my nose.  For as long as I can remember I couldn't breathe very well out of my nose, it was like I had a perpetual cold.   Within the first few days, I found myself breathing easy through both nostrils and smelling some incredible smells that I had almost forgot existed.

SMELL
The other immediate thing I noticed when I quit smoking was my taste buds.  On day one I could taste my can of coke and my food just like I remember as a kid.  It's amazing how quickly some of your senses are repaired. 

BETTER SKIN
As the weeks and months went by I continued to experience great benefits.  My skin was always dry, especially my hands while I was a smoker.  But within weeks I noticed my skin had much more moisture from my hands to my legs and feet.

EYES

I have always worn glasses or contact, even before I started smoking.  But as a smoker my eyes became worse almost every year I went for my annual exam.  At one point I began to wonder if I was going to go blind.  Since I quit smoking 4 years ago, my prescription has not changed.  It has not worsened at all which is amazing given that the 20 years I smoked my eyesight deteriorated every year.

PIMPLES
Understand that you are slowly releasing a lot of toxins and crap from your body over the first few months of quitting smoking.  There were several things that happened to me during the first 90-180 days of quitting that made me ask "If this is what happens when I quit smoking, do I really want to quit?"

After about 4 months of quitting I started getting a lot of pimples.  I was well past puberty and hadn't had a pimple for years.  But I imagine the toxins bleeding out of my body were to blame for this.  I got pimples in areas I didn't even know you could get pimples.  The most painful was in my arm pits.  For months I would get pimples in my arm pits and they would remain for weeks at a time.  I have heard of others having terrible break out in their faces.  Just remember, this is a good thing, your body is healing and you are removing the things you don't want in your body. 

PHLEGM
As a smoker I had so much phlegm all the time.  I was constantly spitting and never realized it had anything to do with smoking.  I could probably have filled an 8 ounce glass every day with the amount of phlegm I excreted.  Almost instantly when I quit smoking, my phlegm went completely away.  Amazing!!!!

CAFFEINE
As a smoker I drank between 8-10 cups of coffee daily.  I would spend most mornings smoking and drinking coffee until the pot was dry.  When I quit smoking, my coffee tasted a lot better, but I was amazed that I almost never wanted more than 1 cup.  There is something in cigarettes and nicotine that makes your body not be able to absorb caffeine.  You'll really notice this immediately when you quit.  You will cut your caffeine intake way down but enjoy your coffee so much more.  Nothing I enjoy more now that my one cup of coffee with the morning newspaper.

MONEY
All I can say is that you know how much you spend a day on cigarettes.  That savings adds up really quickly.  I can't tell you how relaxing and stress free it is to have extra money.  My monthly budget had included $300 for cigarettes.  I now have that money going into a savings account that had grown to enormous proportions.  Probably my favorite benefit of quitting that I didn't even think about as a smoker.

There are so many health benefits to quitting smoking.  What happens to you when you quit smoking will be very similar to my experience.  And I can tell you that when you look back you will truly appreciate the decision you made.

Don't wait for tomorrow, next week or next month to quit.  Do it now, and enjoy all that is great about being a non smoker.

Good luck on your journey, it is the greatest journey you will ever embark on!!!

QUIT SMOKING - THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING

If you really want to quit smoking, you have to convince your unconscious mind that it doesn't want or need a cigarette.  Your conscious mind already knows it doesn't want to smoke, it knows it is detrimental to your health, but your unconscious keep thinking differently.

There is tremendous power in positive thinking.  Have you ever heard the phrase "if you believe  you can achieve, then you can."  This is a very true statement, you will never be able to accomplish anything that you don't think you can.  Whether it is at work, home, athletics, etc. 

Often times we focus on the negatives, what bad things smoking is doing to us.  Instead start focusing on the positives of what not smoking will do for you.  Don't say I'm going to quit smoking, say I'm going to start taking care of my healthy body.  I'm going to enjoy the sweet smell of mother earth through my new improved sense of smell.

Every day, and especially every night before bed, repeat to yourself how much you enjoy not smoking and how great you feel.  Remind yourself that smoking will keep you from achieving what you want in life.  Remind  yourself that smoking is bad and you don't enjoy it or need it.  Repeat out loud to yourself as many times a day as possible.  Even if it is a whisper under your breath.  You have to reprogram your unconscious mind to understand it doesn't want or need a cigarette and that you truly will enjoy life so much more without them.

Repeat those positi ve affirmations as often as possible.  Eventually your unconscious will get the message and you will no longer have that inner battle of conscious versus unconscious thoughts.  They will both be in agreement.

Good luck on your journey!!!  And congratulations on quitting smoking!!!!

QUIT SMOKING - A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

When you quit smoking, the first 72 hours are the most difficult part.  The reason is that your body is rapidly depleting and eventually completely removing all nicotine from your body.  The beautiful thing about quitting smoking is that it really doesn't take that long to rid your self of the drug you are addicted to. 

A little trick I found during the early days was to gather a baggie filled with pennies, 72 pennies to be exact.  Each penny represents an hour.   When you start your quit you want to have 2 baggies, one with 72 pennies in it and the other completely empty.  As you begin your journey to a healthy and happier you, use the pennies to show your progress.

Each hour that passes you will take a penny from the bag filled with 72 and place it in the empty bag.  In 72 hours you will have emptied the bag of 72 pennies into the other bag.  The great thing about this exercise is you can see the progress, very slow at the beginning but eventually the bag that started out as empty will have more pennies that the bag that started with 72.

As each penny is transferred think about that representing nicotine leaving your body.  Think about you excreting the drug and taking in oxygen.  Think about your body healing and all the good that you will now be able to do - now that you are no longer a drug addict.  Celebrate every penny transferred, because it is a major accomplishment.  And as you are transferring the pennies, think about how awful it would be to have to start all over again.

After you empty your bag completely, enjoy your new nicotine free body.  And don't ever forget how hard it was.  You never want to do that exercise again.

Congrats!!!  And good luck on your journey!!!!

QUITTING SMOKING - A PACK A DAY

I'll bet you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day.  Maybe a few more or less.  It's easy to predicate since nicotine affects everyone in the same way.  Nicotine has about a 30 minute half life, which means that after you have a cigarette, within 30  minutes your body and brain will tell you that it needs another.

Depending on occupation, lifestyle, etc.  you may find yourself smoking a few more or a few less, but given the opportunity you would smoke a cigarette about every 30 minutes.   Those who have jobs that don't allow them to smoke for much of the day end up choking down 2 at a break or lunch, but one way or another everyone finds a way to smoke about a pack a day.

That is not a mystery, it is by design.  Understand that is how the drug nicotine reacts in your body.  Right now Tobacco companies are coming up with new and creative ways to increase the amount of nicotine absorbed by your body so that your addiction will grow stronger.

Realize that you are no different than anyone else who has tried to give up this evil drug.  We all smoked a pack a day, we all enjoyed the first cigarette of the day the most, and we all felt beaten down by cigarettes.

I want you to know that you are no different from any other smoker who has quit, you do not possess some evil inner demon that nobody else does.  You smoke for the same reasons that I did and you can quit just like i did and millions of others did as well.

Read the materials on my blog, dig into why you started and why you smoke now and realize that all you have to do is commit to quitting smoking and 95% of the battle is already won.

Good luck on your journey.  I'm rooting for you!!

IS TODAY THE DAY YOUR GOING TO QUIT SMOKING

You've  put quitting smoking off long enough.  If your like most people you have picked tomorrow to quit a number of times, but somehow your plan gets derailed as early as 5 minutes after you get out of bed in the morning.

I'm going to have a stressful day at work today, or I have a dinner party that drinks will be served and I know this isn't a good day to quit smoking.  I'll start tomorrow. 

You can find an excuse almost every minute of every day not to quit smoking.  The addict in you, the one who is addicted to nicotine, will keep reminding you how much you enjoy smoking and what a sacrifice it will be to give it up.

Remember one thing, once you are no longer addicted to nicotine, smoking cigarettes will no longer be pleasurable, or even something you  ever think about.  It is simply a matter of getting over that bridge to the other side where you can clearly see that.  As an addict, nothing is clear in your mind, nothing matters but the next injection of your drug, nothing is more important than the almighty smoke.  I controls every aspect of your life, and until you decide to consciously make a change, you will continue to travel down the same road.

A wise man once said, "If you continue to do what you've always done, you'll continue to get what you've always got." 

Make today the day you draw that line in the sand and say no more, no matter what I do, no matter how bad my brain thinks I need a cigarette, I will not have one.  I will take control of my thoughts, my destiny, and my life.

Good luck, and I hope today is the day you start your new life!!

IF YOU QUIT SMOKING LAST WEEK..........

Quitting smoking has several phases, but none are more important or challengiing than the first few days.  Have you ever seen one of those signs on the highway as you drive home that says "If you lived here you'd be home already".  I remember seeing one of those signs every day as I traversed my 50 mile commute and  thinking, that makes a lot of sense.  Why do I put myself through this misery every day when I could be home in 15 minutes.

When you quit smoking, the first few days are the days you aren't really sure if you made the right decision, the devil voice in your head keeps telling you it wants a cigarette and at times it takes every ounce of strength you have to stay on course and remain quit.  But what if you quit last week?  You would already be done with the most challenging days and enjoying life as a non smoker.  Think about it next time you light up, what if you quit last week?

If you did quit last week, here is what you would be experiencing

• Less than one crave per day on average
• Your body would be nicotine free
• Carbon Monoxide levels in your blood stream would be back to normal
• Improved lung function
• Reduced blood pressure
• You would have an extra $40 - $50 or more  in your pocket
• Most importantly you will feel better about yourself and what you accomplished

Think about that each weekend as you prepare to quit.  If you had quit last weekend, you wouldn't be going through what you are going through now.  You wouldn't be counting your cigarettes to make sure you have enough to get through the night and morning.  You wouldn't be worried about that pain in your chest or throat, you wouldn't be living in a constant state of withdrawal.  And  you wouldn't be addicted to nicotine which is the whole reason you believe you need to smoke. 

Good luck on your journey!!!  And congratulations to those who have already decided to stop smoking. 

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

It's a hard question to answer if you are an addict.  In your mind you love smoking.  It's something you  enjoy, otherwise why would you light your cigarette and inhale smoke into your body.  Each time you  smoke a cigarette you satisfy a crave for nicotine, and this makes you  feel good.  Hence you believe you  enjoy smoking.  Why would you want to quit smoking?

Listen carefully!!!  You do not enjoy smoking!!!!  If you were not addicted to nicotine, you would get no pleasure out of inhaling smoke into your body.  Think about it, what could possibly be pleasurable about inhaling smoke into your mouth, throat and lungs and blowing it out??  It makes sense doesn't it?  There is nothing you like  about smoking other than it relieves a craving you have for a drug you are addicted to.  If you  remove that drug from your  body, you will not enjoy smoking.  In fact you won't even think about smoking.  And you will quit smoking forever!!!

The tricky part is that it takes time to remove the drug from your body and your mind.  In order to truly quit smoking, this is where you have to make a commitment and keep it.  I can guarantee you one thing, once you remove the nicotine from your body and your mind, you will no longer think you need it.  But if you are not committed to quitting smoking, you have a very slim chance of making past the first crave.  See helpful ways to deal with withdrawal from smoking.
quit smoking help with withdrawal

Before you attempt to quit smoking, do the following to insure you will stay on course:

• Write a list of all reasons you want  to quit smoking. 
• Print pictures of the effects of smoking on others.  There are thousands of pictures of people with lung cancer, mouth cancer, heart conditions, and many other bad effects of smoking on the Internet.  Keep them close to you.
• Make an image board - this is a series of pictures of what it means to you to quit smoking and why you are doing it.  My board had pictures of runners, healthy people with clear skin, someone with really white teeth, and pictures of my family.  This is positive imagery that will help you when you need it.
• Make the commitment that no matter what happens you will not smoke a cigarette. 

Once you firmly make the commitment that you will not smoke again, it really is a much easier to quit smoking forever.

Take the 72 hour quit smoking challenge!!!!
quit smoking
 

IT'S EASY TO QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

It really is easy to quit smoking.  Each time you  extinguish your cigarette you quit.  That part is easy but the more difficult part to understand is why you decide to start again.  Most people in any given day quit smoking 20 times but then decide to start again 20 times. 

Next time you put out that cigarette, think about why you smoked it, and what you  got out of it.  The answer is you got nothing out of it, other than building an addiction to nicotine. 

Many people cite the following instances they enjoy smoking

1. During a stressful event
2. While Relaxing
3. To Relieve Boredom
4. To help concentrate

Let's examine these.  Nicotine is actually a stimulant, so in no way does it help you relax.  Rather it raises your heart rate and makes you less relaxed.  But you've been brainwashed by the tobacco companies for so many years showing advertisements with people relaxing and feeling great while smoking that you begin to believe it.  Get this point straight, you have been brainwashed your entire life, it is time to face the facts.  Smoking does not help you  relax.  Nor does it help relieve the anxiety of a stressful situation, but increases anxiety as you drift into a state of withdrawal the minute you put out your cigarette.

Smoking relieves boredom??  Really, what is interesting about standing outside by yourself ingesting smoke into your lungs?  The easy answer is nothing.  And it doesn't help you  concentrate either.   You will find your mind works much better when the blood flows freely throughout and is not restricted by constricted blood vessels. 

The next time you extinguish  that smoke, take some time to think before  you light the next one.  Ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish by smoking that next cigarette.  What will it do for you??  The plain simple truth is NOTHING!!!!!!!!!

YOU CAN QUIT SMOKING TODAY!!!

72 hour quit smoking challenge
QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY
QUIT SMOKING DEALING WITH CRAVES
TOP TEN REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING


 

THE 72 HOUR QUIT SMOKING CHALLENGE

QUIT SMOKING

There is a little known secret to those wanting to quit smoking.  If only someone would have shared this with me 20 years ago I wouldn't have wasted all that time and money smoking cigarettes.  The fact is that nicotine leaves your body very rapidly as long as you don't put more nicotine in.  In fact if you stop smoking or taking any kind of nicotine for 72 hours, your body will be nicotine free.  In the most simple terms, that means that you will have removed the chemical that you have been addicted to for 10, 20, 30 years.

Here is my challenge to you.  To all of those people who are considering quitting smoking but do not know where or how to start.  Start tomorrow, and don't smoke a cigarette, chew tobacco, use a patch or any other nicotine replacement therapy for 72 hours. 

Once you make it 72 hours without a cigarette you will be able to make a conscious decision about whether or not you want to place that poison in your body any longer.  You will be thinking for yourself, as a non addict, for the first time in a very long time.  Up to now you  have not been able to think freely because nicotine has controlled your life.

Right now many of you believe that you enjoy smoking, that you gain something from lighting up a cigarette.  The reality is you gain nothing, you don't enjoy it, and if your mind wasn't clouded with chemicals you would realize it yourself.

Here's what I want you to do.  Decide when you are going to start the 72 hour challenge.  Once you start no matter what happens do not light a cigarette, take a chew of tobacco or use nicotine in any way.  You can accelerate the process of ridding your body of nicotine by drinking cranberry juice which will actually flush your system ever faster.   Try and find a natural cranberry juice that is not loaded with sugar or sugar substitutes.  Read the truth about smoking and why you should quit smoking today.  QUIT SMOKING THE TRUTH ABOUT SMOKING

Plan your next 72 hours down to the minute.  Make sure you have something to do all day and night.  You may find it difficult to sleep as your body heals but when you cross the finish line you will no longer be addicted physically to this nasty drug.   You will in fact have quit smoking!!!!

There are so many reasons to quit smoking, but really no good reasons to continue.  Write your quit reasons down on a sheet of paper and read them at least once an hour during your waking hours.  Continually remind yourself why you are doing this.

At the end of 72 hours have an honest discussion with yourself.  Chances are you will find out the following.

1. There really is no physical pain in quitting smoking.
2. When you don't smoke a cigarette you really won't crave the next cigarette
3. Quitting smoking is easy - and it only gets easier with every day you abstain.
4. If you can stop smoking for 72 hours, imagine what you can accomplish in the other parts of your  life!!!!

It's so great to see that you have made a decision to stop putting this filthy drug in your body.  Good luck on the challenge and let me know the results!!!!

QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY
QUIT SMOKING DEALING WITH CRAVES
QUIT SMOKING DAY 1

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT SMOKING AND WHY YOU SHOULD QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

There is a lot of misinformation in the world about quitting smoking, most of it perpetuated by the medical, pharmaceutical, and tobacco industries.    The fact is that the best way to quit smoking is to remove nicotine from your body.  In fact it is the only way to truly break free from the addiction.

The medical and pharmaceutical industry has made billions of dollars with products claiming to help smokers quit.  The patch, lozenge, gum, spray, etc. are all a means of putting nicotine into your body.  I have tried every one of these products and the only thing they do is continue the addiction to nicotine.  You would have to be incredibly strong to quit smoking by using these methods.  I'm not saying that they have never worked, but it is a much more difficult process than simply removing the nicotine from your body.

As I've said in previous posts, nicotine is removed from your body at a rapid rate, as long as you don't continue to smoke.  Within 3 days almost all nicotine will be removed from you body and you will no longer have the physical craves associated with addiction.
TOP TEN REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING

There are obvious reasons that pharmaceutical companies do not want you to quit smoking cold turkey.  And as always the bottom line is money.  Nobody makes any money off of those quitting cold turkey.  But if you use the patch or gum you will most likely become a slave to a new kind of nicotine delivery.  And when that fails you will revert back to smoking cigarettes which is what the tobacco companies real goal is.  Don't believe the propoganda that they are encouraging people to quit smoking by creating help programs.    They want nothing more than for you to be a slave to cigarettes the rest of your life, no matter how short that may be.

There is a lot of good information on the internet, but there is also a lot of bad advice.  Read everything and talk to others who have quit smoking.  If you do a survey you  will find that the vast majority were able to quit using the cold turkey method.

While we would all like a magic potion that would instantly rid us of this addiciton, the fact is there is no such thing.  But if you  understand how nicotine works in your body, you will easily be able say goodbye to this drug once and for all.

Here are the facts:

1. Nicotine is addictive - the only way to cure the addiction is to remove the drug from your body
2. Placing Nicotine in your body, in any form will only make you want more nicotine
3. There are a lot of companies making a great deal of money off of your addiction - and the only way for them to continue making money is to keep you addicted
4. The only person who can make you quit smoking is you!!!

Good luck!!!!  You will be so thankful when you look back on the decision you made to stop smoking!!!

QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY
QUIT SMOKING ALTERNATIVES
QUIT SMOKING - BREAKING THE ADDICTION

WHY CAN'T I QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

This is the most common question I hear from smokers who are trying to quit.  They feel that they are different than other smokers who have been able  to quit smoking.  The fact is we all feel the same way, because this drug has robbed us of our freedom, our self confidence, and if we are not careful it will rob us of our health.

Let's refresh an earlier lesson.  When you started smoking you created receptors in your brain that did not exist prior to your taking up smoking.  The sole purpose of these receptors is to crave nicotine.  They live on nicotine and need it to survive.  If you stop feeding them nicotine, eventually they will dry up and become non existent. 

Each time you smoke a cigarette it makes you want another cigarette.  Think about that the next time you light up.  If you didn't smoke that cigarette you would not want the next.  Each cigarette you don't smoke will bring you closer to your goal.  Slowly the receptors will wither and you will begin to realize life as a non smoker.  But you must kill the beast living in your brain.

Use these tips to deal with the cravings as they occur.
QUIT SMOKING DEALING WITH CRAVINGS

Good luck on your journey!!!!!!  Life as a non smoker is so sweet!!!!!!

YOU CAN QUIT SMOKING TODAY!!!!

QUITTING SMOKING DAY 1

QUIT SMOKING

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking.  Day 1 of quitting smoking can be the greatest day of your life, or it can be your worst nightmare.  It is entirely up to you.  One thing is for sure, you will have nearly a constant craving for a cigarette - don't worry in time the cravings get further and further apart until they eventually disappear.

Remember, physical withdrawal is almost non existent.  The most severe physical feeling you  will have is some edginess but most likely you will just have a feeling of loss, like something is missing in your life.  By the way, something is missing, and it's great to be rid of  it.  Remind yourself all of those reasons why you quit.  TOP TEN REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING

The most difficult challenge on day 1 is your brain.  You will have the following conversation with your brain at least 100 times on day 1:

Brain - I want a cigarette
You - you can't have one we quit smoking today
Brain - Remember that cigarette we had on top of the hill at sunset last spring?  (the brain will always try to conjure up that single  most amazing cigarette image)
You - yes, but the only reason it was so great was because we were addicted to nicotine.  Once we stop smoking for a few days we won't enjoy smoking any longer because we won't be addicted.
Brain - How about we drive down to the convenience store and just have one cigarette?  We can grab a cup of coffee too.  We'll just have one and then throw away the pack.
You - No, No, No, No, No, No, No..........................................................

See how to deal with physical and psychological cravings
QUIT SMOKING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ADDICTION
QUIT SMOKING PHYSICAL WITHDRAWAL


You must stay alert in the early days of your quit.  That monster inside of you who is craving nicotine will not stop until you give in or he dies from lack of nicotine.  It only takes 72 hours to remove the nicotine from your body.   As long as you stay committed and keep saying no, you will soon reach a day where the nicotine monster is dead and you don't even think about smoking.

On day 1 of quitting smoking remember to do the following things to make things easier

1- Drink a lot of juices, preferably cranberry juice.  This helps flush the nicotine out of your system faster.
2- Have a schedule for every minute of day 1 through 3.  Do not allow yourself to be sitting in place and give your mind the opportunity to wander and start fantasizing about smoking.
3- Have your list of reasons you are quitting with you and read it at least once every hour.
4- Don't skip meals, in fact try to eat 5 smaller meals with plenty of snacks.  Don't allow your mouth to get that dry taste that reminds you of smoking.
5- You may have trouble sleeping, your body is going through some major changes.  It  will take time to adjust.  You may find you need far less sleep once you beat your addiction.
6- Your going to start experiencing the beginning of the healing process.  You may cough up some gunk, you will likely start to be able to smell better, and you will definitely smell better to others.

Stay mentally tough on day 1.  This is the hardest day but if you can make it through, day 2 will be much easier.  Spend some time reading all my posts on the first few days.  Take a couple  hours each day surfing the web for more information on why you have made such a great decision to quit smoking.

Good luck!!!  I know you are going to quit smoking today!!!!

HOW I QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

I want to share my personal quit smoking story with each of you for several reasons. I want you to know where I came from and hopefully give you some inspiration knowing that if I can quit smoking anybody can quit.

My addiction to tobacco started when I was 15 years old. I was an outstanding athlete competing year round in various sports. During baseball season as I entered high school I was introduced to chewing tobacco. I didn't appreciate it at first, but it quickly grew on me. First I would chew only during baseball games, but soon found myself enjoying a pinch in the morning, after meals, at night and just spending time with friends who also chewed. Soon I was a full blown addict but didn't even realize it. It wasn't until a couple years later when I read a story of an 18 year old high school senior who died of oral cancer due to chewing tobacco that I realized I needed to quit. Unfortunately I found how hard it would be to conquer my addiction.

At 19 years old I was determined to quit chewing by whatever means I could. I tried everything but couldn't kick the habit so I decided to try smoking cigarettes rather than chewing tobacco. My thought was that it took much longer to suffer the effects of smoking. At first it was hard to make the switch but within a couple months I forgot all about chewing and was smoking a pack a day. For more than 20 years I continued to smoke but within a few years my daily dosage increased to nearly 2 packs a day. If smoking were an olympic sport I would have won a gold medal 5 times. My normal routine was to wake up, grab a cup of coffee and be out on the porch smoking within 3 minutes of opening my eyes. I had the coffee programmed to be ready when I woke and sprinted from my bed. That was the most enjoyable cigarette of the day for me and the one I had the hardest time giving up when I quit.   I smoked better than a pack by noon each day and continued until minutes before bed.  It was the first thing I did everyday and last thing I did.

Several years ago I began to really worry about the effects of smoking all those years. Luckily in the internet era I was able to find a lot of information about nicotine addiciton and the ill effects of smoking. I read every article I could get my hands on and spent hours each day learning about the addiction that had afflicted me for so long. It is this information that I am sharing with you on this blog so that you too can better understand why you smoke and how to quit.

The most important thing you must understand before you attempt to quit is that you do not enjoy smoking. You think you do and belive me I know how you feel. But the reality is that you only think you enjoy it because your body is in a state of withdrawal from a drug addiction. Once you remove the drug you no longer feel the withdrawal. It is critical that you understand this premise. If not you will never make it through your quit. Read the other posts on my blog about addiction and the reason you smoke. It is not a choice it is an addiction. Once you realize what makes you keep reaching for a cigarette it is easier to reason why you shouldn't have one. The next step is to make a list of reasons you want to quit. Everyone's list is different, make your own and keep it with you at all times. You will experience craves for a cigarette but reference your list and remember that if you don't give in that eventually those craves will go away completely and you will live a wonderful drug free life.

The early days of quitting smoking are tough, even if you know what you are up against. The first few days you are still suffering from physical withdrawal and your body will remind you almost constantly that it needs a cigarette. Keep telling it no, and like a spoiled child eventually it will realize you are not going to give in and it will stop. The first week is tough, the 2nd week is much easier and by the time you make it to 30 days your craves will be so few and far between you will no longer be a slave to tobacco. You will have officially quit smoking.  Start your journey today. Enjoy the feeling of getting healthier, breathing better and no longer worrying about an early death. Let me know how you are doing and feel free to email me with any questions or help you may need. Best of luck!!!!!

Related Searches
72 HOUR QUIT SMOKING CHALLENGE
QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY
QUIT SMOKING AND BREAK THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ADDICTION


 

TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING TODAY

QUIT SMOKING

 

There are a lot of reasons to quit smoking, each of us has our unique reason but if you poll 100 smokers, 99 of them will tell you they want to quit because of health reasons.  Living longer and not dying a painful death is certainly a motivator to quit, but there are many more reasons why you should stop smoking. 

Before you quit, write down at least 10 reasons that you want to quit smoking.  Dig deep and really come up with the reason you made this decision.  This list will be critical as you progress through your quit.  In the early stages of quitting your mind will try to trick you into smoking a cigarette.   Use this list to remind yourself all of the reasons you  are not going to have that cigarette.

On the first day of your quit you may as well just tape this list to your forehead.  Your mind will constantly remind you that it needs nicotine.  As you progress through your quit, your craves will become fewer and they will be separated by more time.  Until one day you don't even think about smoking.  You will experience this day but you won't even know it. 

Below are some of the most popular reasons to quit smoking.  Create your own list but feel free to incorporate some of these  items in your own.

TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING

1. Lung cancer, throat cancer, pancreatic cancer or any of the number of cancers associated with cigarette smoking.
2. Withdrawal - as a non smoker will no longer live in a constant state of withdrawal. You can go to the movies, spend time with your children, travel on an airplane and spend time in so many non smoking places without having to worry about sneaking out to have a cigarette.
3. Sex - In men erectile dysfunction is very common due to the clogging of the arteries and lack of circulation.  Quitting smoking will greatly enhance your ability to perform.
4. Smell - the world is full of wonderful smells but you can't experience them as a smoker.  Your sense of smell will be one of the first rewards you will experience as a non smoker.
5. Food - it tastes so great but you have lost most of your sense for it as a smoker.   It's amazing how enjoyable a meal can be when you don't have to race through it so you can have a smoke.
6. Yellow teeth - the longer you smoke the more yellow they appear.  The good news is even the dingiest of teeth start to whiten within a few weeks of quitting.
7. Bad breath - If you could only smell  what others do - yuck!!
8. Family - Look at your children, parents, siblings, and grandchildren.  Think how much you would be missed and the pain they would endure if  you succumbed to a smoking related illness or death.  Keep a picture of them with you to remind you of why you are quitting.
9. Money - You will have so much more.  The average pack a day smoker spends nearly $3000/year on cigarettes.  What would you do with an extra $3000?
10. Peace of mind - you no longer have to worry about deadly diseases from smoking cigarettes.  Once you  quit your chances of getting many smoking related illnesses greatly decreases.

Congratulations on your decision to quit.  Remind yourself every day why you are quitting.  Best of luck on your journey!!!

DEALING WITH THE PHYSICAL WITHDRAWAL WHEN YOU QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

When you quit smoking you have two battles to conquer. You have to break the physical addiction to nicotine and the psychological addiction to nicotine. Today we will focus on the physical symptoms you will experience when you stop smoking.

The great thing about quitting smoking is that the physical withdrawals are very minimal and they don't last very long. Unlike heroin addicts who experience severe withdrawal including shakes, sweating and convulsions, nicotine addicts have only minor withdrawals.

Most people who quit smoking will tell you that they really don't feel much of anything physically but mentally their brain keeps telling them they want a cigarette. You may experience some of the following physical symptoms when you quit smoking :

• Irritability
• Lack of  patience
• Feeling of loss
• Feeling of loneliness

Remember, it takes  only 72 hours to remove the nicotine from your body.  At the end of those 72 hours you will no longer experience any physical withdrawal only mental.   Drink a lot of water and  juices to help flush the nicotine out of your system faster.  Grapefruit juice and cranberry juice are excellent sources.

See how to deal with the psychological withdrawals
quit smoking psychological addiction

Good luck!!!!!

I CAN'T QUIT SMOKING TODAY

QUIT SMOKING

There is never a good time to quit your addiction to nicotine.  Think about, you can come up with a reason every day why you should put it off another day.  The problem is you can continue to put it off until you either die an early death or succumb to one of the many diseases brought on by smoking.


You need to be certain that you agree with the statements below.  If not reread the materials until you understand how the addiction to nicotine actually works.

• Smoking does not relieve stress or boredom but rather it causes it.  You will be much more at ease once you eliminate nicotine from your bloodstream.
• When you smoke a cigarette  you feel like a non smoker feels all the time.  Once you extinguish the cigarette you go into a state of withdrawal until you light the next one.  Eliminate the nicotine and you will no longer face withdrawal.   Won't that be great!!!!
• Smoking is like hitting your finger with a hammer just so you can feel the relief as your finger heals.  Stop hitting your finger with a hammer and you will feel great all the time.

While there is no good time to quit, you should try to schedule the first few days when you don't have much going on.  Weekends are a great time since often work can become stressful and make you think you need a cigarette.  When I quit I took a week off of work and did nothing but read information like this on the Internet to reinforce my decision.
TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING

Don't put off til tomorrow what you can do today.  Just  think if you would have started your quit 3 days ago you would already have purged the nicotine out your system.

Good luck!!!!  Keep me posted on your results!!!!

QUITTING SMOKING GRADUALLY

 

 

OK, I know quitting smoking gradually  seems like a great idea, especially if you are addicted to nicotine.  The premise behind this method of quitting is that you will start with your normal tobacco consumption and gradually reduce your intake over time. 

I actually had a doctor recommend this method to me at one time.  He said to cut down my cigarette intake by one cigarette each day, start with 20 if you smoke a pack and then on day 2 go down to 19, day 3 18, etc.

The problem is that you are still pumping nicotine into your body each day.  The first few days won't seem too difficult but by the time you get down to 5,4,3,2 cigarettes a day you are torturing yourself.  And those one or two cigarettes will seem like the greatest cigarettes you have ever tasted.

This method doesn't work and it should not be attempted.  We are all looking for an easy way to quit but the fact is if you continue to place nicotine in your system you will continue to crave nicotine.  There is no way around it.

Think about the best cigarette of the day.  For me it was always the first one of the morning.  I would wake up grab a cup of coffee and within 2 minutes be out on the porch smoking.  For me this was the holy grail of cigarettes and the most difficult I found to give up.  Everyone has a vision of great pleasure they experienced while smoking a cigarette.  Think about the other 20-25 cigarettes you smoke each day.  Do any of the others stand out as something exceptional?

The reality is that the first cigarette of the day generally tastes the best because you have gone the longest without nicotine.  Your body is in full withdrawal and so it makes sense that you think of that as a special cigarette.

Get that out of your mind.  There is no special cigarette.  If you were not an addict you would not feel the way you do when you smoke that first cigarette of the day.   The way you feel smoking that first cigarette of the day is how non smokers feel every minute of every day.

Quit the addiction and you too will feel like that first cigarette of the day all day every day.

QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY
TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING
 

KILLER TOBACCO THE SECRETS TO WHY YOU CAN'T QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

According to the Centers for Disease Control smoking is directly responsible for about 443,000 deaths annually in the United States.  To put that in perspective, that is the population of Colorado Springs, the town I grew up in.  It's hard to imagine that in one year smoking kills an entire city of people but that is the fact.

When most smokers hear of the potential of death and disease associated with smoking it only causes you to smoke more cigarettes.  It's a natural reaction of a smoker to smoke when they face fear.  For that reason I do not intend to litter this site  with a lot of doom and gloom about smoking.  If you are not aware of the health risks associated with smoking by now your probably not interested in learning about them.
TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING

But I would be remiss if I didn't include some hard facts on the potential dangers of smoking on this blog.  Below is information on deaths from smoking in the United States according to the CDC.  Most people only think of lung cancer as a potential health issue but there are many other ways that smoking can kill.

                                                                                                           
Information below is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.¹

Annual Cigarette Smoking-Related Mortality in the United States*

Disease	Male	Female	Total
*In this table, deaths due to secondhand smoke and fire burn are not included.
Malignant Neoplasms (Cancer)
Lip, Oral Cavity, Pharynx	3,749	1,144	4,893
Esophagus	6,961	1,631	8,592
Stomach	1,900	584	2,484
Pancreas	3,147	3,536	6,683
Larynx	2,446	563	3,009
Trachea, Lung, Bronchus	78,680	46,842	125,522
Cervix Uteri	0	447	447
Kidney and Renal Pelvis	2,827	216	3,043
Urinary Bladder	3,907	1,076	4,983
Acute Myeloid Leukemia	855	337	1,192
Subtotal	104,472	56,376	160,848
Cardiovascular Diseases
Ischemic Heart Disease	50,884	29,121	80,005
Other Heart Disease	12,994	8,060	21,004
Cerebrovascular Disease	7,896	8,026	15,922
Atherosclerosis	1,282	611	1,893
Aortic Aneurysm	5,628	2,791	8,419
Other Arterial Disease	505	749	1,254
Subtotal	79,139	49,358	128,497
Respiratory Diseases
Pneumonia, Influenza	6,042	4,381	10,423
Bronchitis, Emphysema	7,536	6,391	13,927
Chronic Airway Obstruction	40,217	38,771	78,988
Subtotal	53,795	49,543	103,338
Grand Total	237,406	155,277	392,683

1- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 2000–2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008;57(45):1226–8 [accessed 2011 Mar 11].

-->

THE COST OF NOT QUITTING SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

Have you ever sat down and thought about how much money you have spent on smoking.  Today a pack of cigarettes costs an average of $6 per pack, much more in some places. 

Let's take a look at an average smoker

1 Pack per day = $6

30 Packs per month = $180

365 packs per year =  $2190

20 years of smoking a pack a day = $43,800

From my experience the cost was much more because not only did I buy a pack of cigarettes, I bough a drink and a pack of gum to cover my disgusting smell of my breath.  On average I would say I spent $10/day on the habit which equates to $3650 per year. 

Think of what you could do with the money.  Better yet, get a jar and each day you quit put the amount of money you would have spent on a pack, drink, gum, etc. into that jar.  Watch as that jar grows to an enormous amount of money and then treat yourself to something special.

Some ideas to spend the money on:

• Take a vacation
• Have your teeth whitened
• Buy a new car
• Have  your house painted and wipe that disgusting yellow off the walls
• Buy your family something nice to thank them for their support during your quit
• Get a massage
• Take your family out for an expensive dinner you could never afford before
• Start a retirement fund - your going to live a long time now!!!

Congratulations on your decision to quit.  Never give up!!!!

TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING
QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY
DEALING WITH CRAVES WHEN YOU QUIT SMOKING

DEALING WITH CRAVES WHEN YOU QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

There is no easy way to conquer a crave for a cigarette.  Your addiction is in control until you break it but remember once you break it you are free forever.
TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING

Below are some tips on how you can get through a crave - once you conquer a crave you know you have beat it, then you just have to wait for the next.  In time the craves become farther and farther apart until they disappear altogether.

You first day of quitting will  likely be one full day of craves.  One after another will bombard you to test your will and your determination.  Day 2 gets a little less and by the time you get to the end of the week you will be a master a beating the craves.

When you experience a crave

• Read your list of reasons you are quitting.  Remind yourself how important it is and why you are doing it.
• Distract yourself.  Do anything to take your mind off of your crave.  Do push ups, brush your teeth, take a drink of water, eat something, or just walk to the mailbox.  Within 3 minutes the crave will be gone.
• Count from 100 to zero backwards
• Say the alphabet forwards then backwards
• Meditate
• Take a shower and see  how good you smell

In short do anything but smoke.  If you give in to just one drag of a cigarette you will start the battle all over.  Remind yourself how hard it was to make it through those first few hours.  You don't want to have to do that again and you never will as long as you don't give in.

The evil forces of nicotine are fighting against you but you will always win as long as you don't give in.

QUIT SMOKING - THE 72 HOUR CHALLENGE

QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY

 

QUIT SMOKING

 

Some will  argue that cold turkey is the only way to quit smoking.  It is certainly the most proven method and if  you ask any former smoker how they quit you will find the majority used this technique.  It can be painful but once you get through the first couple days it is the fastest way kick the addiction for good.

The main thing you have to do is commit in your mind that you will not smoke a cigarette.  No matter what happens today you are not going to smoke.  Keep in mind there is a wonderful ending to this story if you can stay focused and keep your guard up - but evil elements will be battling against  you so if you blink your subconscious may trick you into thinking you need a puff.

Before you are ready to do this you have to fully accept that smoking is not something you enjoy but something that you do because you have to - because you are addicted to nicotine.  Get it out of your mind that you enjoy smoking - you don't, nobody does.  You smoke because you need nicotine to feed those receptors in your brain that are screaming for it.

Keep the following in mind as you start your quit

1. Your quitting for a reason - write it down and keep it in front of youTOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING
2. List all the reasons you don't want to smoke and then list the reason you want to smoke.  I assure you the list of reasons not to smoke will be 100 times longer than the list of reasons to smoke
3. You can't have 1 cigarette - if you don't believe me try it.  One leads to 2 leads to 20.  Nobody can smoke just one.
4. If you commit to not smoking again you will not have to fight the inner battle.  You may get a crave but it will likely only last seconds to a few minutes at most.  Let the crave pass and move on.  A committed quitter never doubts their decision and neither should you.
5. Try to quit for today, don't worry about tomorrow.  We'll cross that bridge tomorrow.  At the end of the day congratulate yourself and recognize the benefits you are  already noticing.  You can smell better, taste things better, don't have to hack up phlegm, and you smell a lot better.  That's just after one day.  Believe me it only gets better.
6. Make sure all your cigarettes and lighters are tossed in a trash receptacle you can not reach.  I have seen people toss a pack in a trash can and hours later dig through piles of rubbish to find them.
7. Don't be afraid.  Fear is the biggest reason people fail.  They are afraid of the unknown.  The unknown is good.  See what happens if you don't smoke. 

Cold turkey will have the most pain on the front end but will break you through faster than any other method. Within days you will start to not think about smoking.  Within a month to 2 months you will not even think about smoking except the occasional crave.  Good luck!!!
QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY

THE SMOKING TRAP

QUIT SMOKING

 

Smoking is a trap.  Don't feel bad millions of people just like you  have fallen for it.  Fortunately you can escape the trap with some knowledge and a little bit of will  power.

For a smoker the brain craves nicotine.  The only reason it craves nicotine is that you put nicotine in the system to  begin with.  Once you give it a good dose the nicotine starts to deplete and your brain let's you know that it needs more.  As soon as you put the cigarette out your body begins to go into withdrawal.  Your body and brain are happy the 20 - 30 times a day you are smoking but every other minute in the day you are living in a state of withdrawal.  Is that any way to live your life?  Do you  want to live in a constant state of want for a drug?

Here is a basic pattern of a smokers day

1. Smoke a cigarette - get that ahhhh sensation
2. Immediately the nicotine starts to leave your body and you crave more
3. Within 30 minutes you need to light another cigarette
4. Smoke a cigarette - get the ahhhh sensation
5. Immediately the nicotine starts to leave your body and you crave more
6. Within 30 minutes you need to light another cigarette
7. Smoke a cigarette - get the ahhhh sensation

TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING
Get the point!!!!  It is a never ending cycle of addiction.  It is not a fun habit or a cool habit.  It is an addiction to a powerful drug.  Now that you realize this start paying attention.   Do you really need that next cigarette??  How about the one in 30 minutes?? an hour?? 90 minutes??

Once you break the cycle you will no longer have the urge every 30 minutes.  Think of all the things you could accomplish if you didn't have to stop and smoke!!!

QUIT SMOKING COLD TURKEY

BREAKING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ADDICTION TO SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING

 

In previous discussions  I talked about breaking the physical addiction to smoking.  That is the easy part of quitting.  The more difficult part is breaking the psychological addiction.  This is the hardest part of quitting.

Every smoker has the same psychological addictions when they think they need a cigarette.  Below are some of the traditional times you reach for a cigarette.  The addiction is the same for everyone and the reality is that there is really no bad time for a cigarette when you are an addict.

People smoke when they:

• Wake up in the morning with their coffee (always was my favorite of the day)
• Drive a car
• Have a cocktail
• After a meal
• During any stressful situation
• Are bored
• Are scared
• Are tired
• Celebrate an accomplishment
• Visit friends
• Get ready for bedtime

And you thought you were unique.  The addiction affects everyone the same.  That is why most smokers inhale a pack of cigarettes or slightly more each day.  That is how much your body needs to maintain the addiction.  Typically if you observed most smokers you will notice that about every 30 minutes they require a cigarette.  It they are at work and can't smoke they will typically make up for it by smoking multiple cigarettes during a break or lunch.

The challenge when you are quitting is that you associate every activity in your life with smoking.  Get up and have a smoke, get in the car and have a smoke, eat a meal and have a smoke.  Now when you  stop you  need to break the psychological addiction.  Believe me the first time you get in your car after quitting you will instinctively reach for a cigarette.

The good news is it usually only takes one time to complete a task without smoking to conquer the psychological barrier.  So the first time you get in your car without a cigarette you will think about smoking the entire time you are in the car.  The next time you will probably not think about it more than once if at all.

The bottom line is once you quit, you will need to complete every task that you  associated smoking with, but without smoking.  Once you do it, you will no longer have to fight that battle.  Eventually you will complete everything you  ever did as a non smoker and will have broken all  psychological addictions.

Congratulations you are on your way.  One word of caution - you will at some time in the next couple months encounter a situation that you associated smoking with and you will have a massive crave.  For me it was going to Las Vegas where I always smoked and gambled.  I was 7 months into my quit and all I could think about was smoking that entire weekend.  Fortunately I never gave in and today I can go and enjoy Las Vegas and all  it's attractions without that little cigarette.

TOP 10 REASONS TO QUIT SMOKING

QUIT SMOKING ALTERNATIVES

QUIT SMOKING

Wouldn't it be great if there was a product on the market that gave you the same satisfaction as smoking but without the health hazards?  The fact is the only way that this product could exist is if it could deliver nicotine to your body in a safe manner.  The problem is, continuing to supply nicotine keeps you addicted to the drug and you never break free from the addiction.

In recent years a few products have come out that claim to help you break the habit of smoking.  Again, smoking is not a habit, it is an addiction.  We're not talking about a hobby.

Let's examine some of the products that are on the market today

• NICOTINE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
• This is the nicotine patch, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges.   While these aids may briefly keep you from putting a cigarette in your mouth, they will not cure your addiction to nicotine - they only continue to feed your body and brain nicotine.  I have tried every one of these methods and can tell you they do not work.  They simply keep the addiction alive
• ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES
• This is the latest and greatest invention that people are using as an alternative to smoking.  While the FDA will not allow the manufacturers to market the product as a quit smoking aid, that is what many users hope they will achieve.    By supplying nicotine and water vapor you get the sensation of smoking, along with the nicotine boost without all the carcinogens that are offered in traditional cigarettes.  The only way I would recommend using this product is to use it with the non nicotine filters which will allow you  to have the sensation of smoking without the nicotine.  This  will help with the psychological addiction to smoking while breaking the addiction to nicotine.
• CHANTIX

• This is a revolutionary new drug and the method is much more sound than that of nicotine replacement therapy.  With Chantix you continue to smoke but it inhibits your  nicotine receptors in your brain from getting the nicotine and eventually shuts them down.  The same process would occur if you stopped smoking but this gives you an opportunity to continue to smoke while the receptors shut down.  Once the receptors stop asking for nicotine your body won't crave the drug any longer.   I have tried Chantix during one of my quits and can tell you it worked for me but it does have many intense side effects that should be considered before attempting to use it.  You'll need a prescription from your doctor to try Chantix.

The bottom line is that you need to rid your body of nicotine and once you do you  will no longer have physical cravings.  But you will still have psychological cravings which are the hardest to overcome.  First things first, we need to remove the physical addiction and then we can work on the psycological addiction.  It takes just 72 hours to remove all nicotine from your body.  Think about it, in a couple days you  would be rid of the physical addiction of smoking.