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The Financial Perks To Quitting Smoking

Med — Fri, 28 May 2010 02:18:52 +0000

One issue that smokers should be more aware of, and that may help convince them to quit smoking, is the large amount of money that they spend on cigarettes. The benefits of quitting, not including improvements to your health, are quite enormous if you think about how much you spend on a lifetime of smoking. If you are a light smoker and average only ten cigarettes daily you will spend just over two thousand dollars a year on this bad habit. That does not include the extra cleaning bills for your clothes and car or rugs. It does not include repair costs for those times you drop ash which for many people can include clothing, carpets and the interior of their vehicles. All these things are costs of being a smoker.

A heavier smoker, twenty cigarettes daily, spends over four thousand dollars yearly on their smoking habit. That is enough for a European vacation, a new wardrobe for you and your partner, a deposit on that car you always wanted or dinner and a movie for you and someone you want to be with every Friday night for a whole year. A really heavy smoker, at least forty cigarettes or two packages daily, will spend eight thousand dollars yearly. Think of what you could buy for that much money. Think of how long it takes you to earn that much. Some people live on less than that amount per year. Let money be one of the motivators to help you quit smoking and it will be reason that is good enough to inspire you.

If you quit by the time you are thirty years old and you were a heavy smoker, you could save over a period thirty five years, not counting the interest, nearly three hundred thousand dollars. With interest it would exceed a half a million dollars. That would make for a pretty good retirement fund and you would be retiring in good health because you would no longer be smoking. Think of the places you could see the things you could do and the money you could do it with. At sixty five you could buy a cottage to retire to or just for your summers. You could travel the world and see all those places you dreamed of and the reason would be because you choose to quit smoking and enjoy life.

Another way to look at the savings would be to think about your home. If you stopped smoking, saving that money every month, you would be able to pay off a twenty five year mortgage in only fourteen years. On an average home that costs about two hundred forty thousand dollars that would save you a huge amount of interest and make your home yours just that much quicker.

There are so many good reasons to stop smoking; economics are only one of them. But if you are trying to find more reasons to kick the habit think of what you could do with the money you burn every time you light up.

A Simple Four Step Program To Quitting Smoking

Med — Sat, 15 May 2010 11:19:52 +0000

The first step is the biggest one when it concerns quitting smoking. This decision can only be taken if the smoker has decided that this is what they truly want to do. That means that they are not quitting because of a lover, partner, or family member who complains about their smoking. The smoker must have the motivation to quit. If that is there they can easily set themselves up a four step program to quit. The most important of these steps is the first one; making the decision to stop. It does not matter which reason inspires you. It can be because you are dissatisfied with the smells on your clothes, the burn marks on your upholstery, the health risks, the feeling of being the only one or even that you want to save some extra money and you spend too much on your cigarette habit. Whatever your motivation, hold on to it and it will help you with the struggle of quitting.

Once you have decided on why to stop pick a time to stop and stick to it. This second step is also very important. As the date you have picked approaches do not pull back. Shifting the date because you are not sure you are ready to quit could be the end of your ability to quit. It is better to stop on your chosen date and fail to quit smoking that time then to put if off. Remember that many smokers quit four times before they are successful. This does not mean you will not be successful on your first try. It mean that if you are not you should not became disheartened. You will succeed eventually.

The next step after setting your day to stop is to put together a plan on how you will keep to your goal. It needs not be an elaborate plan just enough steps to help you through the early difficult weeks. You may decide to go to your health care provider to get a prescription for an aid to help you stop. This could include the patch, nicotine inhalers or sprays or the anti-depressant that is having some positive results for those trying to quit smoking. Other alternatives for things to look into include acupuncture, yoga to help you relax, support groups for smokers or taking a short vacation to alleviate the stress from your workplace. Whatever you think will work for you is the plan to follow. There is not one correct approach to quitting smoking. Each individual will have to follow their own plan.

The final step once you have quit is to stay away from smoking for the rest of your life. This may be as difficult as the initial quitting was. There will be temptations along your path to being smoke free. Others you know may still smoke, these could include close friends, co-workers, family or your life partner. You will need their help and understanding to allow you to still be with them but not to restart smoking. Being strong will be your biggest challenge!

Smoking Bans Make Quitting Smoking The Right Next Step

Med — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:57:52 +0000

The trends are changing when it comes to smoking and so it is time for smokers to change with it. Americans do not want to breathe in secondhand smoke anymore. They do not want to get into cabs that smell, eat their foods in restaurants where the smoke lingers over their heads or sit at a desk all day when their co-worker smokes while they are trying to get their job done. Americans are saying no to smoking, both their own and that of others, more than ever before.

One of the ways that this is happening is by smoking laws that are there to protect those who choose not to smoke. On average seventy percent of the United States works in an atmosphere protected against the smoking habits of their co-workers. If they want to smoke they must go outside, no matter the weather, and enjoy their cigarettes there. Although different states have different laws concerning smoking, the non-smokers are winning the battle for their right to clean air in the workplace in most states. Except in the cases where unions prevent action employers are permitted to make their workplaces smoke free or at least smoke restricted.

Smoking bans continue to improve the world for the non-smoker. In most cases people cannot smoke in hospitals, government buildings, schools and theatres. In nearly twenty states people are not allowed to smoke in restaurants at all or in bars. That still leaves more than half the country where smokers can light up in restaurants but that is steadily changing. It is very common for restaurants that are part of big chains to ban smoking.

If you want to go to listen to music you are likely going to find it open to smoking. This is in part because cigarette advertising dollars go a long way to making it cool to smoke at these kinds of locations. If you are going to listen to classical music this will likely not be the case but most places where modern music is played allow smoking.

People who travel may find these tight places a problem since smoking is not always banned in trains or on buses. It is difficult to enforce on a train where there are so many people and staff that is not large enough to patrol the trains for smokers. Airplanes domestically are smoke free and so are many international flights. Airports are likely to have some smoking sections to allow their customers to unwind and prepare for their trips. Most hotels offer smoke free rooms. But there may still be smokers enjoying their cigarettes in other rooms in the hotel.

The laws continue to clamp down on smokers making the country safer for those who do not smoke and choose not to be harmed by secondhand smoke. This trend is likely to continue. So, if you are looking for another reason to quit smoking perhaps being banned from the places you enjoy, the restaurants you want to eat at and the movie houses you want to watch at is enough of a reason to put down the cigarettes and start a smoke free life.

Quit Smoking To Avoid Lung Cancer

Med — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:15:52 +0000

The fear of lung cancer alone should be enough to make anyone quit smoking. Consistently research points to the carcinogens in cigarette smoke as the main factor in causing lung cancer. Statistical reports prove that in the United States alone eighty percent of lung cancer cases can be traced back to cigarette smoking. If you smoke and you are a woman then you have an eleven and a half percent chance of developing lung cancer. If you are a man the chance is higher at just over seventeen percent. In those who are not smokers the risk factor for both genders is just a little over one percent.

What most smokers do not understand is that cigarette smoke has more than sixty carcinogens, which have been found so far, that are inhaled with every cigarette smoked. That means that every puff you take on your cigarette, and the filter you use makes no difference worth thinking about, you are inhaling dangerous molecules of nitrosamine benzopyrene and radon decay sequence among the five dozen dangerous elements found. Nicotine itself suppresses the immune system and allows it to have a totally negative reaction to any malignant growth that begins. It actually allows the immune system to ignore a cancerous growth as it develops in our body.

Different factors affect the person who has developed lung cancer. If they are still smoking at the time of diagnosis their prognosis is not nearly as good as those who have quit smoking or never smoked at all. If a person smokes and then quits then over a period of years the lungs will begin to repair themselves. The damage done and the bits of things that have contaminated the lungs slowly disappear and the lungs may become all but restored to their early condition.

In the United States twenty five percent of the population smokes. Thirty two percent of men smoke while twenty seven percent of women do. One hundred and seventy thousand more people are diagnosed each year with lung cancer. Lung cancer is a scary disease and the survival rates, unless it is caught early, are not encouraging. Reports show that lung cancer is on the rise despite the many campaigns to curtail where people smoke. The number of deaths from it is more per year than all of those from prostate cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancers. This cancer is most common in those over the cage of forty five.

Too many cases of lung cancer in those who do not smoke have been traced to what is called second hand smoke or passive smoking. This simply means inhaling the cigarette smoke of those who smoke around you. This is an unfair side effect of those who smoke since it is most often a close family member of the smoker who develops cancer. Surely you as the smoker do not want that responsibility on your shoulders. If you will not quit for yourself perhaps you should think about quitting for your partner, children or parents. Is your smoking habit worth their lives?

Smokers Groups Help Many To Quit Smoking

Med — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:40:52 +0000

Like alcoholics anonymous there are similar groups for those who are trying to stop smoking. They have different names, deepening on their affiliations, but they operate in basically the same way. They are there for people to join to help each other quit smoking. The smoker’s anonymous group follows a twelve step program designed to be very similar to the ones used by AA. These steps, which have a religious undertone to them, are designed for the smoker to c0ooems to terms that it is their fault that they smoke, but that they can, though their religious beliefs and the strength they get from these beliefs, quit smoking. The steps are designed to bring religion further into the lives of smokers, to have them take a reckoning of where they are in their lives and how they will improve them by being better people as quit smoking. This approach seems to be one that assigns blame, to say that the person has a defect if they are a smoker but that though this program and a strong religious belief all will be forgiven and conquered. This may work for some but for those who do not want religion as part of a quit smoking program it will turn a lot of people off.

There are other similar groups that do not use a religious base to their assistance programs. They offer counseling in a relaxed setting with a group of likeminded people who are also striving to quit smoking. They will have speakers to help motive those trying to quit. They will have others who have succeeded come in and talk about the struggle to quit but the strong feeling of satisfaction when they knew they would not smoke again. This kind of positive reinforcement is very helpful to those trying o quit.

There are also many websites dedicated to help smokers quit. They are set up like a smoker’s anonymous group but conducted completely over the internet. This is done for those who are unable, for whatever reason, to attend meetings. Or for those who have not been able to find a group they want to join. Sometimes work schedules, childcare needs or even just shyness can keep people away from the large groups that come to smokers meetings. Whatever the reason these websites might be the next best thing to attending a group meeting.

There are also many groups that might be linked to your local church or synagogue or other place of worship. You can always look into whatever program might by operating through them. There are groups that meet in community centers; you can see what they are offering. Another alternative would be to speak with your health care provider and see what kind of programs they are aware of in your area. If you want to go to one of them because you think this will help you quit smoking it is worth seeing if you are comfortable attending one. It may be your answer to quitting smoking.

Quit Smoking To Stop The Secondhand Smoke That Endangers Others

Med — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:44:52 +0000

Sometimes a smoker must consider others when making their decision to stop smoking. The cigarettes they smoke and the smoke that hangs in the air, following their smoking path, also affects those around them. It is often not the only reason a smoker will stop but in many cases it should be a consideration in their battle against smoking. The fact is that the smoker spreads secondhand smoke, also called passive smoke or environmental tobacco smoke. Whichever name is used it is unhealthy for those exposed to it and the smoker must consider this a side effect of their smoking.

There are actually two kinds of secondhand smoke. One is referred to as sidestream smoke. This is the smoke that comes directly from a burning cigarette, a cigar, a pipe, or a water pipe. So often a cigarette is left in an ashtray or hanging from someone’s hand with the smoke filling the space around it. The other type is called mainstream smoke. This is what is exhaled by the smoker. It does not matter to the non-smoker which one is in the air since both contain many toxic chemicals that are just as unhealthy for the person breathing in secondhand smoke as the smoker themselves.

The smoke from the average cigarette has around four thousand chemicals in it. Of those over fifty are believed to be cancer causing. Research has shown that in an average year secondhand smoke causes three and a half thousand deaths from lung cancer in non-smokers. It also causes the deaths of thirty five thousand people who live with smokers and who die from heart disease related to secondhand smoke. The number of respiratory conditions that non-smokers have that can be tied to the smoking of others in the home is almost immeasurable. Around a quarter of a million suffer from pneumonia and bronchitis that are less than eighteen months old because of a family member who smokes. Three to five percent of these children are hospitalized. Secondhand smoke can also be the cause for asthma or the reason for increased severity of attacks in asthma sufferers. There are also likely to be more ear infections amongst children who live in an environment with secondhand smoke.

There are three places that a most likely filled with secondhand smoke: the workplace, the home and public areas like restaurants, public transportation or schools. For children the home is the most dangerous place. Thirty five percent of all children live in homes where someone is a smoker. Up to seventy five percent of the children in American have traceable levels of cotinine, which is a byproduct of nicotine when it breaks down in the bloodstream.

When looking for good reasons to quit smoking this might be one of the best. If you do not value your own health enough to quit think of the damage you are doing to those you care about. Is it fair to them to have to breathe in the secondhand smoke from your smoking habit?

Quitting Smoking Could Save Your Pet

Med — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:56:52 +0000

There is so much talk about smokers who produce secondhand smoke, which is unhealthy for their family members and co-workers, that it has become an excuse for some smokers. Those who live alone claim that it does not matter if they smoke in their homes because it is only them. What these people forget is that many of those who live alone don’t; they have a pet in the home with them. Many of these pets are cats because those who live alone and work long hours know that cats can manage on their own while dogs need to have access to the outside. Since a large portion of single apartment dwellers have cats this is one area that these smokers must take into consideration. Though they assume that the smoke only harms their non-smoking counterparts they are forgetting about their pets.

Research has proven with a doubt that smoking is hard on pets of all kinds and can cause a variety of medical issues for them. Cats that live with smokers, and so breathe in secondhand smoke daily, double the risk of developing feline lymphoma as cats that live in a smoke free environment. Feline lymphoma is a type of cat cancer that is known for being deadly. Cats also develop an assortment of respiratory problems if their owners smoke. They can wind up wheezing, coughing and sneezing; all very unpleasant for them. Dogs also suffer from secondhand smoke but they are more likely to develop nose or sinus cancers over time. They can also suffer from other respiratory issues. Even rodents have difficulty when there is smoke in the home. Hamsters and guinea pigs often develop alopecia which is a condition where the animal loses its hair.

When you are sitting with your cat in your lap or your dog curled on the sofa beside you do not then take out a cigarette and smoke it. Do not take your dog for a walk only to satisfy your craving for another cigarette which your partner will not let you smoke in the house. You are harming your pet’s health each time you light up with them there.

The United States is a country filled with animal lovers. We rely on our pets for unconditional love. We look forward to arriving home and being greeted by our feline or canine roommate. If they are so important to us then it is only right that we worry about what smoking does to their health and seriously consider quitting. This may seem odd to some; why quit for our pets? But think about it. Many smokers want to quit they just cannot find the motivation. They enjoy their cigarettes and the social scene it brings them into. Perhaps, the health of their pets, the companions who never let them down, who always are pleased to see them and offer them that love and respect that is hard to find, might be the motivation they are looking for. After all, quitting smoking could save the life of your beloved pet.

Quit Smoking To Reduce The Cancer Risks

Med — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:47:52 +0000

If you are looking for reasons to stop smoking then the potential to develop a number of different and deadly cancers seems to be a good place to start. One type of cancer that smokers are at risk for is cancer of the larynx. This type of cancer is known to be more common among men who are cigarette smokers. As a matter of fact eighty percent of those who develop this cancer are male smokers who are over sixty years old. The early symptoms include a hoarse voice, trouble swallowing and maybe some ear pain. Smoking cigarettes seems to alter the lining of the larynx and this is how the cancer develops.

Depending on how severe the case of cancer is the outlook is usually pretty good for treating this type of cancer. Radiation therapy is quite successful, but sometimes the larynx itself must be removed if the cancer is more severe. That means that normal speech is no longer possible. It also means breathing with a tracheostomy. Surely smoking is not worth this risk.

Most people assume that the only risk of cancer related to smoking is lung cancer. Although lung cancer is certainly a risk so is cancer of the bladder. This type of cancer is more common for those aged sixty to eighty and is three times more likely to be a condition in men than in women. This cancer is known to be caused by external elements that alter the wall of the balder. Cigarette smoke is known to be the cause of this type of cancer in fifty percent of the cases diagnosed. It is often first discovered by blood in the urine. If caught early the prognosis is pretty good especially if it is the non-invasive type.

It is believed that smoking also plays a role in cancers of the esophagus, stomach, and pancreas but the most common, and deadly, cancer caused by cigarette smoking is lung concern. Infrequently a person who does not smoke can get lung cancer, sometimes from secondhand smoke, but a smoker is ten times as likely to develop lung cancer. Heavy smokers are forty times as likely. The signs for this disease include a chronic cough, unplanned weight loss, increased difficulty breathing, always being tired, pain in the chest that does not seem to ever go away and the worst one, coughing up blood. If a smoker has a couple of these symptoms, or notices blood in the phlegm they cough up, they should see their health care provider immediately. If caught early enough then there is some hope of a cure. The good news is that if the smoker quits then after fifteen years of being a non-smoker their risk reduces to that of someone who has never smoked.

The fact is that with the high risk of cancer that smokers suffer it is only common sense to quit. Take a look at all that there is in your life and you will realize that it is not worth risking giving those things up by continuing to smoke and tempt fate.

Quit Smoking And See How Fast You Feel Better

Med — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:58:52 +0000

One of the main reasons that people quit smoking is to enjoy the health benefits that doing this will have for them. But it is likely that few people actually understand how fast improved health will begin. The initial health benefits to not smoking actually occur within less than half an hour after the last cigarette leaves the smoker’s lips. The first improvement occurs twenty minutes after putting down the cigarette. It is at that point that a person’s pulse rate and blood pressure will go back to the levels they would be if they were not smoking. Then, eight hours later, both the nicotine and the carbon monoxide levels in the bloodstream will diminish by fifty percent. At the same time oxygen levels in the bloodstream will return to what they should normally be. As well, there will be improvements in circulation.

After a whole day has passed the carbon monoxide will have been completely purged from a person’s body. Even this quickly the lungs will begin to get rid of the bad stuff that smoking leaves behind, the bits, and the mucus. Already the chance of having a heart attack is diminishing. By a full two days there is no longer any nicotine remaining. Despite it only being forty eight hours since the last cigarette taste and smell begins to recover. Once three full days have passed breathing is not as difficulty. This is because the bronchial tubes are able to relax. The former smoker will even feel their energy levels improve.

The next chances come slower. Between two weeks and three months the circulation continues to improve. During the period between three and nine months after the last cigarette further improvement is seen as coughing and breathing difficulties continue to lessen. By this point lung function has improved by ten percent. This may seem small but when you consider what smoking does to the lungs it is an excellent beginning. The former smoker is also less tired than they once were. By the first anniversary of quitting smoking the former smoker will see their risk of heart attack drop by fifty percent to that of a smoker.

Nothing much happens now that can be seen. But improvements in the body continue. By the time it has been ten years of no smoking the risk of lung cancer has dropped by fifty percent in comparison to that of a smoker. At fifteen years it becomes only slightly more of a risk than that of a non-smoker. The same is true of the risk of heart attack.

What all this means is that the healing process starts fast and then slows, but if a person can keep away from cigarettes once they stop than their health will greatly improve until it will be almost as if they had never smoked. Quitting will be difficult, especially for those who have smoked for a long time, but the health advantages far outweigh the inconvenience of stopping. Stick to it and as the days pass you will notice how much better you feel.

Natural Steps To Quit Smoking

Med — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:42:52 +0000

There are many techniques to quit smoking. Some involve using aids like nicotine sprays, gum or inhalers while others use anti-depressants or the patch. Many people prefer to try to go cold turkey hoping to be able to deal with it on their own without any artificial means to get them through. For this group there are some alternatives that may help while still maintaining a natural approach to quitting. One suggested method has to do with breathing techniques. It is a modified version of a yoga exercise that has excellent results for those trying to quit.

When the craving for a cigarette starts take in a deep breath. Get as much air as you can and then slowly let to back out. Relax as best you can as you are breathing out. Close your eyes and then let you head fall until your chin is on your chest. As the air leaves think about the stress you are feeling leaving with it. This relaxation method works very well. Each time you crave a cigarette try it three times and see how much better you feel. During the first week make sure you drink a lot of water and other liquids, though coffee and alcohol are discouraged during this early phase. Drinking lots of liquids helps to flush your system of the nicotine.

The craving for a cigarette will fade away pretty quickly. It only lasts a few minutes and this breathing technique will help to make it go away. Each day you will notice that the cravings come further apart. This is the beauty of taking natural steps to quit smoking. You see and feel the results of your own efforts and know that you did it with your own inner strength.

If you are serious about quitting smoking then there are many yoga techniques that will help you. It would be good to consider either taking a few yoga classes tor purchasing a tape or book with direction for various yoga exercises. Smoking is a habit that is frequently worsened under times of stress so what better way to quit than to find a way to relax more and so crave the cigarettes less. If you prefer to work out at a gym this too is a good alternative and will help both alleviate stress and channel your energy into something that does not include smoking.

There are other physical things you can do to help get through the early difficult days of quitting. Go swimming, jog, or take long walks. Get a massage, go for a steam bath, sit in a hot tub or go dancing with friends. Change your daily routines so that those times you would normally reach for a cigarette are replaced with other activities.

Smoking is a twofold problem and you need to handle both aspects of it. That means taking care of the physical and emotional addictions to smoking. If you work with your inner strengths you can succeed in quitting smoking using only those natural methods you choose.