Inspiration to Stop Smoking

November 1, 2008

It takes inspiration to stop smoking. Despite people generally knowing that smoking is bad for you, that alone motivates few people to quit. It seems the threat of coronary heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, impotence, bronchitis and early death is not enough.

Many people need external motivation. If they won’t do it for themselves then perhaps they will do it for the people they love, such as children or grand children.

If you’re one of the people lacking inspiration why not try thinking about the happy events you would miss by your life being cut 10 to 15 years short. The birth of a grandchild? A grandchild’s wedding or graduation?

Consider everyone who is close to you, be it family or friends. Who will miss you? Who will you miss the most? If you can’t stop smoking for yourself then maybe you can do it for them!

 

Women and Smoking

October 27, 2008

As well as the commonly known health issues with smoking, smoking for women carries with it extra risks.

For instance, any woman taking the contraceptive pill faces a very small risk of side effects such as thrombosis, stroke or heart attack. If you’re a woman who smokes you increase these ‘very small risks’ by approximately 8 times.

Smoking has also been shown to be particularly damaging for pregnant women, in some cases doubling the chances of complications. This is because chemicals in cigarette smoke interfere with the circulation of blood through the placenta, meaning fewer nutrients are supplied to the unborn baby. As a result, even for those women lucky enough to not have complications, on average a baby born to a smoking mother will be 200g (8 oz) lighter than one born to a non-smoker.

For the new born children the problems do not stop there as research has shown that the effects on children’s health can be seen many years later. At the age of 11, children born to smoking mothers are on average three months behind on school work compared to children whose mothers did not smoke at all during pregnancy.

Breaking The Smoking Habit

October 23, 2008

People smoke for a variety of reasons and, despite the first experiences usually causing coughing, nausea and even vomiting, most smokers get pleasure from the taste and smell of smoking. The habit then sets in that holding a cigarette becomes a habit in itself and the process of lighting up becomes a ritual.

Once into the habit smokers then tend get two contradictory side effects. First is the sedation - ever heard anyone say that they need a cigarette to ’settle their nerves’? Opposite the sedation is the stimulant effect, pushing people along when they need to work. Both of these effects are due to nicotine which is the physical addiction caused by smoking.

This means that in effect smoking becomes a two-tiered habit. There becomes both a physical and mental addiction which both need to be addressed to break the smoking habit. To find out how to tackle these check out our article ‘quit smoking the easy way‘.

 

Is Smoking Killing Your Family

October 20, 2008

If you smoke the best favour you can do yourself and to those around you is to give it up. The recent legislation in the UK means that people are no longer allowed to smoke in public places. This has caused a lot of people to give up - but what about the ones that haven’t? You may want to consider this:

• 9 out of every 10 cases of cancer are triggered by smoking.
• Every 15 minutes someone dies thanks to smoking.
• A pack of cigarettes a day equates to losing a month of life each year.

We could go on and on and - we haven’t even mentioned the financial implications - but I think you get the picture. And if you aren’t scared for yourself what about your children. 450 children start smoking every day - do you want to be the ‘role model’ for misery?

There has never been a better time to give up smoking. You can no longer smoke in public places so it’s not in your face all the time, while the NHS also vigorously encourages quitting through their programmes.

Quit now - there’s no excuse not to!