Smoking is one of the hardest habits to quit. Many people find it a major challenge to quit smoking for good. Even though most smokers are well aware of the dangers of smoking, so many of them fail to stop smoking. So why is smoking so difficult to quit?
Smoking is both addicting physically and psychologically. Both the physical addiction to smoking and the psychological addiction to the act of smoking make it hard for smokers to quit.
Cigarettes are addicting because of nicotine. Nicotine causes people to have pleasurable feelings. But, it is also a highly addictive drug. In fact, nicotine is every bit as addicting as cocaine or heroin. Smokers become used to having particular amounts of nicotine in their bodies. When they stop smoking, they begin to experience nicotine withdraw. Nicotine withdraw is usually accompanied by many unpleasant feelings, like irritability and anxiety.
In addition to the physical addiction caused by nicotine, smoking is very psychologically addictive for many smokers. For many of them, smoking becomes part of their daily rituals. Many smokers are used to having a cigarette as soon as they wake up in the morning. Others may be accustomed to having a cigarette after every meal. To stop smoking, smokers must learn to change many of their daily habits.
In order to quit smoking, smokers must learn to manage both their physical and psychological addiction to cigarettes.
For managing their physical addiction to cigarettes, might want to consider a nicotine replacement therapy product. A nicotine replacement therapy product supplies nicotine to the body, which mitigates the nicotine cravings smokers endure when they quit. There are several nicotine replacement therapies on the market, like the patch or lozenges.
In addition to dealing with physical addiction to nicotine, smokers need to change their daily behaviors. They need to get used to not smoking at particular times or after certain events. One technique that smokers can use is to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke per day before they quit smoking entirely. By reducing the number of cigarettes they smoke, smokers can eliminate smoking from some of their daily rituals for which they were used to smoking. Of course, a reduction in smoking may cause nicotine cravings. Fortunately, there are some good nicotine replacement products on the market, like , to help manage nicotine cravings caused by a reduction in smoking.
In sum, it is hard to stop smoking because cigarettes are both physically and psychologically addicting. Smokers need to learn to manage both types of addiction in order to successfully quit.
Ron J. Myers is an avid writer. His favorite topics are fitness and health.
There are a number of effective methods that you can use to quit smoking. Many people try to claim that there is one best way to do it, the reality is that the most effective method is the one that is most effective for you, not anyone else. Read on to find out about the various ways to quit smoking.
One popular way to quit is with something called Nicotine Replacement Therapy. As the name suggests, you replace your nicotine intake with something other than cigarettes. This generally comes in the form of either the nicotine patch or nicotine gum.
Patches are applied and contain a 24 hour dose of nicotine, designed to be time-released. These tend to work because the supply of the drug is uninterrupted and doesn’t cause the withdrawal that makes you want to smoke a cigarette.
Gum, on the other hand, will more closely replicate the up and down levels of the drug in your bloodstream. This may work better for infrequent smokers, since their bodies aren’t used to a constant supply of cigarettes.
Aside from NRT, there are a number of books available that rely on something called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Rather than appeasing your physical needs for cigarettes, these guides detail how your addiction to smoking is unfounded and how you can quit immediately without having to deal with the supposedly awful withdrawal that many people deal with.
From personal experience, the books are more effective, but your mileage may vary. Both methods cost a similar amount, so it’s really up to you as to which way you want to use to quit.
If you want to learn more about books on quitting smoking, take a look at this and see which is best for you!
You’re a smoker. You don’t want to be a smoker. That’s good thinking. There are many persuasive benefits of quitting smoking and very few justifications for maintaining it (unless, of course, you feel strangely compelled toward slow-motion suicide).
If you’re reading this article, you want to quit smoking. You wouldn’t bother with it if you were more interested in finding some place to stock up on cheap cigarettes. So, let’s provide a little extra motivation as you prepare to make a very positive change in your life. Here’s a reminder of the benefits of quitting smoking.
First, you’re less likely to die. Well, that’s not strictly true. We’re all going to die at some point. Quitting cigarettes will, however, make it much less likely that you’ll die any earlier than you must. Think about that for a moment. What other possible motivation could you need? If you keep smoking you’re going to die early. It’s that simple.
Second, you’re going to experience less pain. If the prospect of living longer doesn’t excite you, the chance to avoid excruciating pain might. You see, tobacco doesn’t just quietly and gently kill you. It creates agonizing, painful conditions that no one wants to experience. Pain avoidance should always make the list of benefits of quitting smoking. Brutal heart attacks aren’t comfy. Lingering, hacking coughs associated with lung cancer aren’t enjoyable. Tumors on your throat? Painful. And let’s not even go into that whole inability to breathe while lying in bed late at night. The gasping for air and all of that. Not comfortable.
Third, you’re going to get rich. It may seem trivial to bring up such a mercenary consideration when discussing the benefits of quitting smoking, but with cigarette prices and taxes always on the move upwards, it’s worth mentioning. How would you like a $2,000 per year raise? Say goodbye to the Marlboro man and it’s yours. If you sunk the money saved by becoming a non-smoker into a decent interest bearing account, you’d be looking at well over $100,000 over the course of fifteen years.
Fourth, you’ll be able to be a member of polite society. The days when everyone smoked and lighting up was an acceptable form of behavior is long gone. Unless you’re starring in Mad Men, you can’t puff and huff all day long while maintaining the pleasant company of other people. Instead, you’re relegated to standing under awnings in snowstorms, shoulders hunched, trying to finish a cigarette before frostbite sits in. Many people pick up the habit do to peer pressure. Maybe that same force is a good enough reason to give up tobacco.
The reasons to are pretty persuasive. Hopefully this little recap of four reasons to become a non-smoker will provide you with a slight kick in the pants as you prepare to kick the habit once and for all.
Champix, a prescription drug marketed by Pfizer, is prescribed for the treatment of smoking addiction. Its generic name is Varenicline Tartarate, and it belongs to a family of agonists known as nicotinic receptor partial agonists. Thus, the intake of Champix not only reduces the craving for a cigarette, but also, helps in decreasing the gratifying effects of smoking a cigarette or using various other tobacco products.
Champix Varenicline
The intake of Champix leads to the activation of specific receptors in the brain. In doing so, nicotine is stopped from attaching itself to these receptors. Typically, when people smoke they experience a feeling of reward in the form of pleasure. prevents this specific feeling of reward. A person, thus, gradually loses his/her dependency on nicotine. At the end of the course, the person can quit smoking without any difficulty whatsoever.
One of the advantages of Champix is that you can start the course just a week or two before you actually want to quit smoking. Typically, what one needs to do is decide the ‘stop smoking’ date. You can then start on Champix a week or two before that date. Champix fortified with just a little bit of will power will help you stop smoking by your set stop date.
Champix is available in weekly dosage packs; therefore it’s easy to take. A starter pack is available, which is configured to last for 2 weeks. This pack contains 1mg and 0.5mg tablets. For easy recognition both the tablets are colored differently. For the first few days (1-3 days), a person is prescribed a daily dosage of one 0.5mg tablet. Between days 4 and 7 the dosage is increased to two tablets of 0.5 mg daily, one in the morning, the second in the evening. Day 8 onwards, the 1 mg tablets must be taken, two times a day (morning and evening).
It is advisable to take Champix after meals. It’s also advisable to take the tablet with a full glass of water. If you miss a dose, do not take a double dose.
Champix – Side Effects
Nausea is one of the common . The less common side effects of this medication include insomnia, headache, and strange dreams. There are also some rare side effects associated with the intake of this drug, which include abdominal pain, constipation, and a tendency towards flatulence, vomiting and change in taste. Some users of Champix have also reported instances of depression, drowsiness and various other instances of erratic behavior.
Who Can Take Champix?
Every smoker who wants to quit smoking and is above 18 years of age, can use Champix. This is considered the basic eligibility requirement for taking Champix. It’s important to consult a doctor before beginning a course of Champix . More importantly, you must apprise the doctor of any and every medical condition that you might be suffering from and the medicines that you are taking, if any. This is because varenicline might react adversely with other medications and also show contraindicative symptoms and side effects.
If a person has a history of mental illness, it would be advisable not to take Champix, as some people have reported an inclination towards aggressive behavior due to the use of this medication. On the whole, Champix as a drug has not only proven to be safe but also effective with respect to bringing about the cessation of the smoking habit in a person. At the end of the day, only those who really want to quit smoking must use Champix. A person should be prepared to face some of the side effects associated with Champix and also the withdrawal symptoms that one might face.
John is one of the good article writers having much experience in writing health articles. He has written many on for . can be got from an online pharmacy over internet.
Are you looking for the best methods to quit smoking and beat your nicotine addiction? If you are, that is great! The battle to overcome nicotine addiction can be won with the right tools! Let me give you a review of three methods to quit smoking to get you started.
Method # 1–Prescription Drugs
There are two proven drugs on the market today that qualify as treatments for smoking cessation. The first, Bupropion, also known as Zyban, is an antidepressant that helps reduce the desire to smoke. The second, Varenicline, also known as Chantix, acts on nicotine receptors in the brain to reduce withdrawal symptoms and decrease the pleasurable effect of cigarettes. Both have side effects but your physician can go over those with you and help you choose the one best suited for you.
Method # 2–Counseling and Support Groups
Behavioral therapy is an excellent aide to help you win your fight to quit. Simply being with and talking to others, who are going through the exact process you are, can help to heighten your motivation and keep you focused on your goal. Also, if you join an on line group too, you will have 24 hour access to the support you need!
Method # 3–Nicotine Replacement Therapy
This proven, effective method will help you with the withdrawal symptoms of smoking. Your cravings will be reduce by using the various aids to give your body nicotine but without the toxic gases and carcinogens found in cigarette smoke. NRT aids are available as patches, gums, inhalers, lozenges and sprays. Actually, this method combined with behavioral therapy make a great defense against the urge to smoke. Research and find the aid that will fit into your lifestyle the best.
Arm yourself with whatever tools you need to win your fight to quit smoking. As an ex smoker, I can tell you it will be a tough battle but it is a battle that can be won. Freedom from smoking is a victory you deserve.You can do it! Choose one or two of the methods to quit smoking and conquer your nicotine addiction once and for all!
Learn more about and take advantage of an exciting free trial offer for a
If you could stop smoking by hypnosis, would it be a dream come true? Most smokers dream of the day they will be able to painlessly overcome their addiction and throw away their cigarettes for good! Can a dream become an actuality? Is there a painless way to quit smoking? If there is an answer to that question, it would have to be hypnosis. Let us examine how to stop smoking by hypnosis and see how it works.
While you are in a hypnotic state you can receive suggestions aimed at decreasing your perception of pain and increase your ability to cope with it. You might also receive suggestions focusing on decreasing your cravings.
If you are open to hypnosis, suggestions such as these can be extremely helpful in your attempt to quit smoking. Cravings to smoke can be overwhelming and most smokers usually give in and light up “just one more” cigarette. Hypnosis can help you deal with withdrawal symptoms. Even though withdrawal is only a short phase, it can be a very uncomfortable phase.
Hypnosis is a trance-like state of mind. Usually it is achieved with the help of a hypnotherapist. When you are hypnotized your attention is more focused, you are deeply relaxed, calm and open to suggestions. It can help you gain control over your behavior. As an ex smoker, I know gaining control is vital. Smokers are usually controlled by their cigarettes and not the other way around.
Most hypnotherapists hold sessions lasting from 30 to 60 minutes. The number of those sessions can range from one to several. You usually bring yourself out of hypnosis at the end of a session and you can resume your everyday duties immediately after a session.
Be very careful when choosing a hypnosis therapist. The practice of hypnosis is not regulated in most states. Ask your potential hypnotherapist about their training and licensing. Find out where they went to school and how long they have been in practice. Getting a recommendation from someone you trust would be very helpful.
Often time’s hypnosis can be used in conjunction with other nicotine replacement therapy aids. These aids can be found in the form of a patch, inhaler, lozenge or sprays. The aids can also lessen your need for nicotine and have been proven effective.
Whatever method you choose, remember in order to quit you must be motivated and determined. Arm yourself with one or more ways to beat your addiction. Quitting the nicotine habit will be the most rewarding fight you have ever won. It’s worth the battle and I know you can win! Do not give up! If you find you cannot stop smoking by hypnosis, then move on to the next method!
Learn more about and take advantage of an exciting free trial offer for a
Arm yourself to win your battle over nicotine!Article Source:
Here is an easy way to quit smoking that will change your life forever. Do you want to quit smoking? There is a very powerful easy way to quit smoking that can literally change your life: because it would ensure you 100% success. Do you want to know what this is? Read on and find out all about it. What You Need To Quit Smoking Once And For All. ‘Who says quitting smoking is difficult? I have quit it five times and there is nothing to it.’ Yes, usually this is what happens. You think you quit smoking for good and the habit is behind you. Then, you just smoke once with your friends: for the sake of old times: and that is it. In your mind, this is just a one-time-smoke; nothing to worry about. This would be like an occasional chocolate cake slice when you diet. However, in no time, you find yourself ‘treating’ yourself on a regular basis, and eventually out of the blue you will start smoking regularly again. You need to know and keep in mind that getting back to smoking is extremely easy. You also need to know what you will encounter when you attempt to stop smoking. The withdrawal symptoms can be very unpleasant and painful. Are you ready to start down the path to an easy way to quit smoking? Do you know what products will help you with the withdrawal symptoms and assure you of ? Do you know how long it takes to get rid of the habit? You need to have nerves of steel and a high level of commitment to rid yourself of this deadly habit. The difference between success and failure: A Great Quit Smoking product. When you decide to quit smoking, make another decision in your mind. Decide never to smoke a cigarette that is bought with your money, and never carry a pack on you. How does this quit smoking tip help you stay off cigarettes? Read on. 1: The first part of the quit smoking tip: never buy your own cigarettes means that if you smoke you would need someone to offer you one. Most people do not like to share their cigarettes on a regular basis and if you are identified as one who is out for freebies, you will very soon be a loner. 2: The second part of the quit smoking tip: never carry a pack of cigarettes with you. This means that you cannot depend on having a cigarette when you need one – behavior change – and hence, you will outgrow the dependency on it over time.
For the next step you need a product that will help you with an easy way to quit smoking. Visit
Wendell and Charmayne Website: WCV Marketing is dedicated to helping people create their own home based online marketing business. The ideas presented here will help the average person to create a profitable online in-home business. Using the ideas and tips in these articles anyone can create a successful home based business even in these times of recession. WCV Marketing has networked with Carbon Copy Pro, a proven, successful, online marketing and training company. You may check out their website at, Also check out their blog at,
Hypnosis is possibly one of the world’s oldest forms of preventive and alternative non-medicine induced method of healing. Most people have a misconception of hypnosis through a lack of understanding it. Some say it is the perfect form of persuasion. Maybe it is… maybe it isn’t , but whatever it is, it’s been proven to work. Hypnosis helps you to relax, allowing people to tap into their subconscious mind, to create new realities through images and results and eventually manifest them into their own lives.
Research studies show that during hypnosis, patients are given coping tools for withdrawal symptoms and the urge to smoke. The patient is given an audio cd of their training to continue their reinforcement of coping skills at home. It is hoped that over time the patient will gain increased confidence in their ability not to smoke. Hypnosis is gaining wider acceptance at some of the nations respected hospitals and medical research centers.
For women it may sometime seem more difficult to stop smoking. Studies speculate that the probable reasons might be due to the fact that women are more emotional and sensitive than men. Therefore a woman may smoke a cigarette a lot quicker than a man. Because of this sensitive nature in women, depression becomes another issue. Studies showed that hypnosis was helpful for would be quitters with a much higher success rate with hypnosis.
Most people start smoking young in years and continue across a lifetime; with multiple periods of remission and relapse.
Statistics released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that more than 45 million people in the United States are smokers in spite of anti-smoking campaigns. Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death.
Trying to quit smoking on your own has a far less success rate. Some researchers show that doing it on your own rates about 5%. Using hypnosis is above 66%, using behavior therapy about 25%, and using Nicotine Replacement Products about 25%.
The benefits of not smoking are priceless and life changing such as: adding more years onto your life and gaining self-respect. Your lungs will become cleaner and stronger. You will have more energy, more of a sense of accomplishment and more time for the things that you have always wanted to do. (smoking occupies a lot of time) There you have it… not only will you look and feel better…you get to keep money in your pocket.
Tammy Shadday St. Petersburg Florida Hypnotherapy St. Petersburg Florida Hypnosis Center
The FDA has finally acknowledged near 300 reports of suicide and attempted suicide that are linked to the smoking cessation drug Chantix. The FDA announcement is 2 years overdue. Chantix is a smoking cessation prescription medication marketed by Pfizer. Pfizer clearly states on their website “Some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions while using CHANTIX to help them quit smoking. Some people had these symptoms when they began taking CHANTIX, and others developed them after several weeks of treatment or after stopping CHANTIX.”1
Quitting smoking is difficult enough without the addition of mind altering drugs. There are alternatives to help you either quit smoking, or smoke a healthier alternative. The electronic cigarette could be your answer.
The electronic cigarette is considered a “harm reduction alternative”. The FDA has yet to prove electronic cigarettes as harmful, however they are using a fear campaign to sway public opinion of these potentially lifesaving devices. An electronic cigarettes, also known as an e-cigarette, is tobacco and tar free. An e-cigarette contains only 20 ingredients, none of which are carcinogenic. Regular cigarettes contain 4,000 chemicals, many of which have been proven to be toxic. The smoker draws on an e-cigarette, just like a regular cigarette. Inside is pure nicotine held in a suspension of food safe additives. The smoker inhales and blows out what looks like smoke, but is water vapor. The smoker controls how much or how little nicotine he or she inhales by buying various strengths of e-cigarette cartridges.
Gina King of states that “sales have been increasing every month. Customers rave that the electronic cigarette has given them back their life, their sense of taste and their control. They don’t want mind-altering drugs. They want electronic cigarettes to stay legal!”
A growing number of tobacco scientists are questioning the FDA’s motives to try and ban electronic cigarettes. Dr. Michael Siegel notes that “unlike Chantix – for which there were many immediate post-marketing reports of potential adverse effects — e-cigarettes have been on the market for more than three years and there have yet to be any severe adverse effects reported.”
Dr. Siegel also noted “We know that there is no evidence that anyone is dying from using electronic cigarettes, but we’re going to take them off the market, even though they are helping people to quit smoking. That just doesn’t make any sense,” Dr. Siegel said.
As the FDA review of the problems with Chantix has continued, the FDA states that it appears increasingly likely that there is an association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms.
So, if you want to curb your smoking habit, you have a choice: Mind-altering drugs or a safe alternative: The electronic cigarette.
Hopefully, after reading through part 1. You should understand that the reason people begin smoking, (cool, friends, risky, party etc) has no relation to why they continue to smoke.
However as a smoker continues to smoke, reasons need to be found for justifying the behavior, because it makes no more sense to smoke ,than it does putting your head over a fire place and inhaling smoke from there. Reasons have to be made and meaning placed upon the behavior of smoking to justify why a person would do it when it smells bad, tastes bad, costs money and has long ranging health effects.
Once a smoker understands that every reason they have created for continuing to smoke is false, it takes them a giant step closer to being a non smoker. Because there is only one reason why a person smokes, and that is because of the substance nicotine which is found in a cigarette.
When a person inhales nicotine into their body for the first time, rather than relax the body, it creates a slight stress as the nicotine is expelled from the blood stream. This stress is relived when further nicotine is inhaled. The nicotine leaves again, creating a stressor and this stressor is once again relived by smoking. This is the ongoing spiral a smoker finds themselves in. By smoking a person adds an additional stressor into their live called nicotine.
However the stressor itself is very mild. We are aware of many physical stressor’s on our body, such as thirst or hunger. We can notice these physical stressor’s for prolonged periods of time and not even care that much about them.
As the nicotine leaves the body it creates a similar stress to thirst or hunger. It is subtly and relatively mild. Once nicotine is totally expelled from the body the stress is then gone. And any physical effects caused by nicotine is ended. This occurs in as little as 4-7 days. This slight stress caused by nicotine is not to be confused with what people call a craving. The stress is a slight discomfort. A craving is the meaning placed upon that slight discomfort. It is a fabricated thought process that has been created over the years as a person continues to justify their smoking behavior. People who quit cold turkey and find it easy, interpret the stressor as an annoyance that will soon be gone. Those that go through cravings, place a greater importance upon the feeling.
Say you are a builder and you are out in the sun, it is a hot day and are working high up on a two story home. You may notice you become hot and thirsty. Although you notice the stressor (thirst), but because it would require some effort to climb down the scaffolding, you can’t be bothered doing much about it, plus you have heaps of work to get completed and decide to wait to lunch time. At lunch time you get called away, to run an errand, you are running late over your lunch break, race back to work and straight back up the scaffolding. You forgot to have a drink and notice that you are now quite thirsty. The throat dry and parched. However you can’t be bothered climbing back down and instead get straight back into the work. Later that evening you arrive home, sit down, and suddenly realize how thirsty you are. You go have a drink of water.
Say you are driving along an empty desert road with a group of people. It is a hot day And the car breaks down. Hours pass. Not a single car comes by. You notice you are thirsty. There is nothing to do but wait. And the longer you wait the more you notice you are thirsty, and the sun and the heat, and the absences of other cars. And the dry feeling at the back of the throat. You have no idea when someone will come past. Someone else has a drink bottle but they are not sharing. You begin to worry about how you’ll get more water. It is late afternoon, no cars. You are still stuck. So thirsty. So desperately wanting a drink. Some people are becoming angry, beginning to panic. You so badly need a drink of water. That evening a bus comes past. Suddenly you are relived, excited, you forget about your thirst and can’t wait to get home.
The actual physical sensation of thirst for the builder and the person stranded on the side of the road is exactly the same. However the meaning stressor conveys is different and while the builder is busy and has little time to reflect on the feeling of the stressor(thirst). The person doing nothing, but waiting has plenty of time to just think and contemplate the stressor called thirst which in turns makes it worse.
People who find it easy to quit going cold turkey
Have come to the conclusion, that smoking does nothing for them. Is boring. And the only reason they smoke is to relive a stressor caused by nicotine. They understand this stressor is very mild. Over the first two weeks once the cigarettes are thrown away, they keep themselves busy and occupied. When busy you don’t have time to notice slight physical stressor’s. They understand the thought cigarette, is just that, a thought. People have thousands of thoughts many times a day and don’t do much about them. Cravings are about you. Not the cigarette. They are the value you still place upon them. Take time to go over what you believe that cigarette actually means to you. Or what a craving means to you.
You can use the so what method for this. Each time you make a statement about a cigarette you simple go So What? You continue to do this until you arrive at another conclusion. ‘So what’ refers to So what does that actually mean.
For example. “I want a cigarette”. So what? “Well it would make me feel relaxed”. So what? “It would mean I could take a break from work”. So what? Well then I would be less stressed.” So what? etc etc
Example 2 “I have a craving”. So what? ” It is uncomfortable”. So what? This process takes you from the behavior you have been doing to the actually meaning you have placed upon it.
In part 3 of the series in quitting cold turkey, we look at the second pitfall that has people going back for cigarettes. Using cigarettes as a distraction.
Hypnotherapist Paul Dixon practices Helping people quit smoking. Paul has written many articles of the applications of and other applications of applying hypnosis to create rapid change.