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Smoking is the cause of many diseases and kills about four hundred and forty two thousand people every year in the United States. In spite of anti smoking campaigns and billboard warnings, more and more people are joining the bandwagon of smokers every year. Out of the total number of new smokers, ninety percent are children and adolescents, replacing smokers who have quit or died early due to a disease caused by smoking. Smoking is the top cause of preventable and premature deaths, followed by obesity. Smoking not only increases the risk of lung disease, but also increases the risk of contracting lung cancer, oral cancer, emphysema, stroke and heart disease. Certain statistics by the American Lung Associations show alarming results. Over five thousand adolescents smoke their very first cigarette every day, out of which over two thousand turn into regular smokers. Presently there are nearly five million adolescents smokers. Twenty percent of the twelfth graders smoke cigarettes regularly. Smoking has many harmful affects on the health of a human being. It damages the cardiovascular system, causes high blood pressure, increases heart rate, increases the risk of ischemic stroke, increases the risk of formation of blood clot formation, and decreases the oxygen amount which reaches the tissues in the body, reduces coronary blood flow & cardiac output, and damages the blood vessels. Smoking not only affects physical health, but mental health too. It causes psychological distress and depression. Smoking not only affects the person who smokes but also other people who surround him/her. According to the American Heart Association, nearly thirty five thousand passive smokers die of smoke inhaled from a lit pipe, cigar or cigarette. People who do not smoke directly and inhale smoke from a cigarette smoke by his/her neighbor is known as passive smoker, secondary smoker or indirect smoker. Among the passive smokers, women, children and infants are at a higher risk. Infants and children who are exposed to smoke develop asthma, frequent ear infections and may even experience infant death syndrome. The symptoms experienced by secondary smokers are coughing, excess mucus formation in the airways, chest discomfort, chest pain, and lung irritation. They even feel irritation of throat, nose and eyes. If the passive smokers experiences chest pain, it can be an indication of a heart disease. Sometimes the symptoms of secondary smoking can coincide with the symptoms of other medical conditions. Hence, it is recommended to contact the doctor immediately after the surfacing of the symptoms. In active smokers, smoking, apart from building up high cholesterol in blood, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure, physical inactivity and diabetes. So smoking cessation will not only reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, which is top of the list, but also decreases the risk by fifty percent of heart attacks and deaths caused by it. But quitting smoking undertakes lots of physical and mental efforts. The person should be made mentally relaxed and stress free. In case of adolescents, they can be asked to exercise regularly and sleep adequately. The American Lung Association and The American Academy of Otolaryngology have developed certain tips which can be of great help to the smokers who are thinking of quitting. The smokers must first be made to understand the reason for quitting. Stress only makes even more difficult to quit smoking, so a stress free period should be chosen to quit. Family and friends’ encouragement and support are extremely necessary to persuade the smoker to quit. If the support isn’t sufficient, smokers can join a smoking cessation program or a support group to attain their goals. A balanced diet is a must, along with lots of rest. Sometimes taking nicotine replacement products, such as nicotine chewing gum, nicotine inhalers, and nicotine patch, are a great help to smokers who want to quit. By using these products the smokers can satisfy their nicotine craving. The good thing is that these nicotine replacement products can deduct the poisonous gases and tars emitted by the cigarettes. But nursing and pregnant women should consult a doctor before trying nicotine replacement products. For such people non-nicotine alternative is available in the market. The question on every smoker’s yellowing lip will always be “Is there an easy way to quit smoking?” The instant answer to that would be yes, as there is a mountain of anecdotal evidence to suggest it is possible. There are millions of smokers who can testify that they packed in a long-term habit overnight, and never desired another cigarette again. The answer is simple: if you wish to quit smoking easily, then you need to change your mindset. After years of smoking, your brain will be configured to believe that smoking is an integral part of you. As a former smoker myself, I know full well just how emotionally connected the smoker is to the cigarette, and this is something non-smokers often overlook. The fact is that nicotine is one of the least physically addictive drug substances out there. The smoking habit is not the nicotine habit - it is the psychologically addictive habit. The easy way to quit smoking is to shake up the beliefs you associate with smoking. Smoking breeds irrational, emotional attachments, and it is those attachments which you have to perceive in a different way. No smoker is going to argue that smoking is good for their health, but many will claim that a cigarette helps them relax. Smokers have more irrational beliefs than they would think, and it's these irrational beliefs which have to be turned on their head in order for the habit to be left behind. This calls upon a great deal of introspection. Compare smoking to a girlfriend or boyfriend, if you will, because that’s the level of emotional attachment most smokers will feel towards the habit. Start assessing how you feel about smoking and make a list of all the positives you feel smoking brings to your life. Then try to detach yourself and question these “positives”. Before you started smoking you never had any need for these positives, so ask why you need them now. You do not need gum, patches or any other gimmick. Such gimmicks only give you relief from the physical pain, but give almost nothing to soothe the emotional pain. You need to beat both the physical attachment and, particularly, the emotional attachment. If you can change the way you think about smoking, then you’ve taken a major step forward in your quest to kick the habit for good. Jonty Smith is a former smoker of 10 years. In 2006 he finally managed to quit the habit for good. If you wish to reclaim your health like Jonty did, then read his story which is located at http://How-I-Stopped-Smoking.com Back to Home remedy recipes health guide HOME PAGE About Us || Contact Us || Skin Care Products || Herbal cellular nutrition || Personal Coaching || Subscribe to Newsletter || Free Health Books || Famous Quotes || Create a website ||Link Directory || Privacy Policy || Terms of Use || =================================================================== The Natural Cures & Home remedy herbal recipes health articles website contents are solely the opinion of the author and should not be considered as a form of therapy, advice, direction and/or diagnosis or treatment of any kind: medical, spiritual, mental or other. If expert advice or counseling is needed, services of a competent professional should be sought. The Herbal quit smoking author and the Publisher assume no responsibility or liability and specifically disclaim any warranty, express or implied for any products or services mentioned, or any techniques or practices described. The purchaser or reader of this Natural Cures & Home remedy recipes Herbal quit smoking health articles website publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials articles and information. Neither the self help author nor the Publisher assumes any responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these Natural Cures & Home remedy recipes Herbal quit smoking herbal health articles materials. =================================================================== |
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