Make a List of Reasons Why You Want to Quit Smoking

Most people who smoke wish they didn't. They live with a hatred for the habit. The fear of serious illness is usually there too, lurking in the background, and always that awful feeling of being powerless to quit. Addiction does that to a person.As smokers, we live in denial about what cigarettes are doing to us. We have to. Yes, we know that smoking causes cancer and emphysema - we know smoking kills and that we're playing roulette with our health...our lives.For all that we worry though, most of us don't think anything will happen to us - we have time! We'll quit in time... The bad stuff happens to other people. Right? Keeping that layer of denial in place between ourselves and the harsh realities of smoking gets harder to do the longer we smoke. For most of us, there comes a time when the "smokescreen" starts to wear thin. It's inevitable.The fact that you're reading this article means you're thinking about quitting - probably a lot. You're unhappy enough to be seeking out some help. Good for you. You're a step ahead of the game because you're looking for information about how to quit smoking.Be practical in your approach to smoking cessation. Much of the process of release from this addiction comes down to plain old practice. We taught ourselves to smoke one day at a time until it was interwoven into just about every activity in our lives. It only makes sense then that we should allow ourselves the time to retrain old habits into newer, healthier ones. Arm yourself with knowledge and support, and be patient. You'll grow stronger by the day.Start your quit smoking program with a list of reasons for quitting. We all have them.

Hurting Yourself

• Smoking is an addiction. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive and can make it very hard, but not impossible, to quit.
• More than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are from smoking-related illnesses. Smoking greatly increases your risks for lung cancer and many other cancers.

Hurting Others

• Smoking harms not just the smoker, but also family members, coworkers and others who breathe the smoker’s cigarette smoke, called secondhand smoke.
• Among infants to 18 months of age, secondhand smoke is associated with as many as 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia each year.
• Secondhand smoke from a parent’s cigarette increases a child’s chances for middle ear problems, causes coughing and wheezing, and worsens asthma conditions.
• If both parents smoke, a teenager is more than twice as likely to smoke than a young person whose parents are both non-smokers. In households where only one parent smokes, young people are also more likely to start smoking.
• Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to deliver babies whose weights are too low for the babies’ good health. If all women quit smoking during pregnancy, about 4,000 new babies would not die each year.

Why Quit?

• Quitting smoking makes a difference right away - you can taste and smell food better. Your breath smells better. Your cough goes away. This happens for men and women of all ages, even those who are older. It happens for healthy people as well as those who already have a disease or condition caused by smoking.
• Quitting smoking cuts the risk of lung cancer, many other cancers, heart disease, stroke, other lung diseases, and other respiratory illnesses.
• Ex-smokers have better health than current smokers. Ex-smokers have fewer days of illness, fewer health complaints, and less bronchitis and pneumonia than current smokers.
• Quitting smoking saves money. A pack-a-day smoker, who pays $2 per pack can, expect to save more than $700 per year. It appears that the price of cigarettes will continue to rise in coming years, as will the financial rewards of quitting.

Top 12 Tips to Help You Quit Smoking Successfully

Be a Sponge

We all know that smoking is bad for us, but if you're like most smokers, you avoid looking at the destruction smoking causes whenever possible. Take the blinders off and read everything you can get your hands on about smoking. It will help you start to make the mental shift necessary to quit smoking.

Use a Quit Journal

Journaling is a useful tool for anyone trying to quit smoking. Start yours with your list of reasons for quitting. Include everything from big to small, and leave room to add to it. Think about the pros and consof smoking and make your list as detailed as possible. We have a way of believing what we tell ourselves over and over. Your journal will help you cement your goals. Prompt yourself with present-tense messages like: "I am a nonsmoker" or "I am strong and healthy", and commit them to paper. Daily affirmations will plant the seeds of change in your mind, and it won't be long before your actions are following your thoughts.

Find a Shoulder to Lean On

Having others who are interested in your success is very important. The Smoking Cessation Forum here at About.com is a thriving, active group of people who can give you the help and encouragement you need. Sign in as a guest to browse and read posts from other quitters, or register(free) to post messages of your own.

Eat Smart

Smoking cessation throws our bodies into shock initially. If you take care to give your body the fuel it needs to run properly, you'll find that you're better able to cope with the discomforts of nicotine withdrawal. Have the right foods within easy reach and you'll minimize weight gain due to quitting.

Get Your Beauty Sleep

When you're tired, cravings to smoke will seem stronger while you feel less able to manage them. Fit a full 8 hours of sleep in every night, and a nap here and there if you need it. If you have trouble sleeping when you first quit smoking, try taking a long walk a couple of hours before bed.

Drink Water

Water will help to flush residual toxins out of your system, and beat back cravings to smoke. When you're well-hydrated, you'll feel better in general, which is a plus when you're going through nicotine withdrawal.

Get Moving

If you already have a daily exercise regimen, good for you! If not, start now. Choose something you enjoy doing, and you'll be more likely to stick with it. Aim for a half hour of exercise every day. Walking is a great way to move and it's a quick fix for the urge to smoke. Get out for a 15 minute walk around the block and you'll come back refreshed and relaxed.

Renew Resolve Daily

Your determination to quit smoking is built one day at a time. Every smoke free day makes you stronger, and when you consciously take time to reflect and rejoice in the value of what you're doing, you're working to fortify your will to make this the quit that lasts you a lifetime.

Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude!

Think about the blessings in your life. We all have them. Be thankful for the freedom you're creating for yourself today. Remember that you've wanted to quit smoking for a long time and you're finally doing something about it. List out the benefits you see in your health and overall being due to quitting tobacco. It has been said that gratitude unlocks the fullness of life, and I believe that! Make gratitude a daily conscious part of your life.

Accept and Let It Go

Relax into your quit and embrace cravings to smoke as they come. Don't fight - lean into urges and ride them out. Most cravings last 3-5 minutes. Think of them as signs that your body is healing - that is just what they are.

Don't Fall forJunkie Thinking

Quitting tobacco is a gift, not a sacrifice. Don't sabatoge yourself by feeling sorry that you can't smoke. You are choosing not to smoke because you want to be free of this killer of an addiction. Keep your perspective!

Be Patient

Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, people don't quit smoking in a day either. Most of us had 20 years or more of smoking under our belts before we quit. Give yourself the gift of time and patience. Work to undo old patterns and replace them with newer, healthier choices. Each day you complete smoke free brings you closer to lasting freedom. Make this the year you quit smoking for good! Shed the chains of addiction and take back your life.

Facts About Smoking

Facts About Smoking Hurting Yourself Smoking is an addiction. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive and can make it very hard, but not impossible, to quit. More than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are from smoking-related illnesses. Smoking greatly increases your risks for lung cancer and many other cancers. Hurting Others Smoking harms not just the smoker, but also family members, coworkers and others who breathe the smoker's cigarette smoke, called secondhand smoke. Among infants to 18 months of age, secondhand smoke is associated with as many as 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia each year. Secondhand smoke from a parent's cigarette increases a child's chances for middle ear problems, causes coughing and wheezing, and worsens asthma conditions. If both parents smoke, a teenager is more than twice as likely to smoke than a young person whose parents are both non-smokers. In households where only one parent smokes, young people are also more likely to start smoking. Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to deliver babies whose weights are too low for the babies' good health. If all women quit smoking during pregnancy, about 4,000 new babies would not die each year. Why Quit? Quitting smoking makes a difference right away - you can taste and smell food better. Your breath smells better. Your cough goes away. This happens for men and women of all ages, even those who are older. It happens for healthy people as well as those who already have a disease or condition caused by smoking. Quitting smoking cuts the risk of lung cancer, many other cancers, heart disease, stroke, other lung diseases, and other respiratory illnesses. Ex-smokers have better health than current smokers. Ex-smokers have fewer days of illness, fewer health complaints, and less bronchitis and pneumonia than current smokers. Quitting smoking saves money. A pack-a-day smoker, who pays $2 per pack can, expect to save more than $700 per year. It appears that the price of cigarettes will continue to rise in coming years, as will the financial rewards of quitting.

Why you should quit smoking?

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable diseases in the United States. Smoking accounts for about 440,000 deaths yearly. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), also know as emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis, continually ranks among the leading causes of death in the United States. If these are not enough reasons to quit smoking, also know that smoking plays a role in all of the following diseases: Smoking-related diseases • Lung cancer • Heart disease, heart attacks, and stroke • Cancer of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, lips, and tongue • Cancer of the pancreas, kidney, bladder, stomach, colon, and liver • Peripheral vascular disease (poor circulation) • Asthma in children • Low birth weight babies, sudden infant death syndrome • Early menopause • Osteoporosis • Cataracts, macular degeneration • Peptic ulcer disease (stomach ulcers) • Uterine and cervical cancer • Premature wrinkles • Decreased sense of smell • Infertility, impotence Did you know there are dangerous chemicals in tobacco? Dangerous chemicals in tobacco smoke include: acetone, mercury, lead, nicotine, cadmium, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, urethane, arsenic, phenol, formaldehyde, and DDT. Other factoids about women and adolescents and smoking Women smokers • Lung cancer kills more women than breast cancer. • Breast cancer will claim the lives of 41,000 women this year, while 68,000 women will die of lung cancer. • Twenty-two percent of US women smoked in 1998. • There has been a 600 percent increase in the lung cancer death rate in women since 1950. Adolescents and smoking • Long-term nicotine addiction results primarily from tobacco use during adolescence. • Approximately 43 percent of students in high school have used tobacco. • The earlier the onset of smoking the more severe nicotine addiction is likely to be. • By age 17, 50 percent of smokers have tried to quit and failed. Many regret having started. Adolescent developmental milestones • Establish independence and autonomy • Forming a coherent self-identity • Adjusting to psychological changes associated with physical maturation • Learning about relaxation, pleasure, peer pressure, self-image, curiosity, stress, boredom, self-assertiveness, and rebellion • Of adolescents who smoke, 75 percent have one or both parents who smoke But promising health news when you quit There is good news when you quit smoking. Quitting smoking today results in both immediate and long-term improvements in health. When you quit smoking . . . After 20 minutes • The air is less polluted. • Blood pressure and pulse decrease. • Temperature of the hands and feet increase. After 8 hours • The carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal. • The oxygen levels in the blood increases. After 24 hours • The chance of heart attack decreases. 48 hours • Nerve endings adjust to the absence of nicotine. • The ability to taste and smell begins to return. 72 Hours • Bronchial tubes relax. 2 weeks to 3 months • Circulation improves. • Exercise tolerance improves. 1 to 9 months • Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath all decrease. • Cilia regrow, increasing the ability of the lungs to handle mucous, clean the lungs, and reduce infection. • The body’s overall energy level increases. 1 year • The excess risk of heart disease is decreased to half that of a smoker. 5 years • The risk of stroke is reduced to that of nonsmokers. 10 years • The risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half that of continuing smokers. • The incidence of other cancers (e.g., of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas) decreases. 15 years • The risk of heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked. • The risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked. How you can quit • First and foremost you must decide to quit smoking. • Ask for the support of family, friends and coworkers. • Have a smoking cessation plan. • Set a quit date. • Make your home smoke-free. • Ask your doctor about medications that can help.