How to Quit Smoking

September 9, 2009 · Posted in Stress Management · Comment 

Once somebody decides that it’s time he or she stopped smoking, it is best to begin immediately. However, how do you quit smoking, when you have been smoking for a number of years? Smoking is a very difficult addiction to break because tobacco contains the substance called nicotine which is addictive to both the mind and body.

Recent studies have shown that every time you smoke a cigarette, it costs you around five to twenty minutes of your life. Besides weakening the body, smoking leaves a person with bad breath, yellow teeth, dry skin, lower bone density, fertility problems that will eventually affect the sexual health of both men and women and a bigger risk of becoming infected with deadly diseases such as lung cancer. Smoking is costly and can shorten one’s life by about ten years or even more.

Ways to quit smoking can be seen in various places and there are also many types of medication that can be prescribed. Some smokers are given nicotine replacements such as nicotine gums, nicotine patches, lozenges, inhalers, etc. But the problem with all these is that they deal mainly with the physical aspect of what smoking does to the body. The truth is that more than the body, it is the mind that becomes addicted to smoking.

The hard part of stopping smoking comes when trying to deal 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 the fact that this is not the case is one of the most pivotal issues in stopping smoking.

One of the most important things to bear in mind when trying to quit smoking, is the breaking of such connections in the mind. Smokers think that they have to have a cigarette to help them cope with daily stresses. 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 tip for someone trying to quit smoking is to attend counselling classes and get some advice from someone who is an ex-smoker, ie a person who has endured similar experiences. Talking about your problems about quitting smoking and thereby relieving the doubts you have by attending such sessions can be helpful to anyone who is attempting to quit smoking.

If you have decided that you have to 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. Exercise will be easier, your fitness level will rise dramatically, food will taste better and your mouth will be fresher.

If you would like to quit smoking cigarettes, you should go to our free website on Quitting Smoking

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