HEALTH: How to QUIT SMOKING

Everyone would have tried to give up smoking or would have thought to quit smoking. Which ever criteria applies to you, you can select those bulletins & read this useful information. I am sure its gonna help you.   

•   It's too late to quit. I've been smoking for so long; quitting won't make a difference now. 

  From the moment you have your last cigarette, good things start happening to your body:

• Within 20 minutes of quitting - your blood pressure and pulse rate drop to normal. The temperature of your hands and feet increases to normal. 

• Within 24 hours of quitting - your risk of a heart attack goes down. 

• Within 48 hours of quitting - your senses of smell and taste begin to return to normal. 

• Within 2 weeks to 3 months of quitting - your circulation improves and walking becomes easier. Your lung function increases by up to 30%. 

• Within 1 - 9 months of quitting - symptoms like coughing, stuffy nose, fatigue, and shortness of breath improve. You will have fewer illnesses, colds, and asthma attacks. 

• Within 1 year of quitting - your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of someone still using tobacco. 

• Within 5 years of quitting - your lung cancer death rate is almost half that of someone who still smokes one pack per day. Your risk of cancer of the mouth is half that of a tobacco user. 

• Within 10 years of quitting - your lung cancer death rate becomes similar to that of someone who never smoked. 

• I am too grumpy without my cigarettes. I am doing my friends and family a favor by smoking.  

My friends and family love me and understand that quitting smoking is hard to do. Grumpy or not, I am doing them the biggest favor by quitting smoking. 

• Friends will be more willing to be in your car or home.
• Your dating prospects will become much wider, because 80% of people do not smoke..
• Your breath, clothes, and hair will smell better.
• Your stained teeth will slowly become whiter. 

• My days are long and hard. I deserve my cigarettes.  

Make a plan about what you will do instead of smoking at those times when you are most likely to smoke. 

• Be as clear as possible. For example, drink tea instead of coffee - tea may not trigger the desire for a cigarette as much as coffee. Or, take a walk when you feel stressed. 

• Remove ashtrays and cigarettes from the car. Place pretzels or sugar-free hard candies there instead. Pretend-smoke with a straw. 

• Find activities that focus your hands and mind but are not taxing or fattening. Computer games, solitaire, knitting, sewing, and crossword puzzles may help. 

• If you often smoke after eating, find other ways to end a meal. Play music, eat a piece of fruit, or take a walk (which also burns calories). 

• I know people who smoked their whole lives and never got sick.  

It is well proven that tobacco and chemicals such as tar and nicotine increase your risk of many health problems, such as cancer, serious lung problems, heart attack, and stroke.

It's true that some people get lucky. But there is no way of knowing whether you will be one of the lucky ones.

Tell yourself: I am not willing to risk my life. The only safe choice is to quit smoking now. 

• I do not want to gain weight when I quit 

Weight gain due to more eating can occur when you quit smoking. Yet, this weight gain is much less unhealthy than continuing to smoke.

Talk with your health care provider about your weight before quitting. Then make a plan for how you will address any weight gain after you have quit cigarettes.

Satisfy your oral habits by eating celery or another low-calorie snack, chewing sugarless gum, or sucking on a cinnamon stick.

Do not let these concerns affect your choice to stay away from cigarettes.

• I have already cut down to a safe level.  

There is no safe level of smoking. Sure, smoking less is a good first step, but the benefits are much greater when you don't smoke at all.

Plus, the cigarettes that you smoke feed your habit and make it harder to quit.

• The urge to smoke is just too strong. It's too hard to quit smoking. I can't do this.  

Quitting and staying away from cigarettes is hard, but it can be done.If other people can do it, so can you.

Above all, don't get give up if you aren't able to quit smoking the first time. Smoking is a hard habit to break, but the more times you try, the more likely you are to beat the habit.

If you do not succeed the first time you try to quit, look at what worked or didn't work. Think of new ways to quit smoking and try again.

Other tips to help you quit smoking and stick to it: 

• Enroll in a quitsmoking program. Hospitals, health departments, community centers, and work sites often offer programs. 

• Ask your health care provider about prescription medicines that are safe for you.

• Find out about nicotine patches, gum, and sprays. 

Focus on the many good results that will occur when you quit. 

• You will have more money available. Smokers who smoke one pack per day spend around Rs.95,860 (INR) or more per year on cigarettes. 

• Your children will be less likely to start smoking themselves.

• It will be easier and cheaper to find an apartment or hotel room.

• You will miss fewer work days, or you may have an easier time getting a job.

• The constant search for a place to smoke when you're out will be over. 

Have a Happy Life... Cheers!!!