Wednesday, August 5, 2009

How do I Stop Smoking?

By Mike James

Once a person decides that it's time he or she quitted smoking, it is best to start sooner rather than later. However, how do you stop smoking, when you have been smoking for a number of years? Smoking is a very difficult addiction to break as tobacco contains the substance called nicotine which is addictive to both the mind and body.

Studies have shown that each time you smoke a cigarette, it has cost you around 5 to 20 minutes of your life. Apart from weakening the body, smoking leaves a person with halitosis, yellow teeth, wrinkles, lower bone density, fertility problems that will eventually affect the sexual health of both men and women and a higher risk of being infected with deadly diseases such as lung cancer. Smoking is costly and can reduce the life span of a person by around 10 years or even more.

Ways to stop smoking can be seen in many places and there are also many kinds of medicine that can be prescribed. Many smokers are given nicotine replacements such as nicotine gums, nicotine patches, lozenges, inhalers, etc. But the real problem with all of these is that they mostly treat the physical aspect of how smoking affects the body. The fact is that more than the body, it is the mind that is addicted to smoking.

The most difficult part of quitting smoking comes when trying to cope with the mind. A smoker's mind frequently becomes convinced that their happiness, enjoyment and leading a stress free life, all depend on smoking. Understanding that this is just not true is one of the most important issues in quitting smoking.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when trying to stop smoking, is the breaking of such relationships in the mind. Smokers believe that they have to have a cigarette to help them deal with daily issues. Once you are able to overcome this problem, in time your mind will learn to deal with daily problems without requiring a cigarette.

A good piece of advice for someone trying to quit smoking is to attend counselling classes and get some encouragement from someone who is an ex-smoker, ie a person who has endured similar experiences. Talking about your fears about quitting smoking and thereby relieving the doubts you have by going to such sessions can be beneficial to anyone who is attempting to stop smoking.

If you have decided that you ought to give up smoking, don't hesitate, grab the bull by the horns and start stopping now. You will soon start to notice the difference to your health. You will find that exercising will be easier, your fitness level will rise quickly, food will taste far better and your mouth will be fresher.

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