Although there are so many innovative quit smoking products on the market, sometimes you just need to hear something really motivational. The other day someone sent in this bit:
The simplest way to quit is to just STOP. However ,this is easier said than done, as nicotine is a very powerful and habit forming drug. I gave up smoking many years ago and, fortunately, had no after effects or cravings. I just ‘chose’ not to smoke rather than give up. Not everyone can do it though so here’s a few tips.
If you need support get nicotine patches. You can get them on prescription from your doctor, so it’s cheaper, and they come in three strengths. You use them over three months, strongest first, weakest last.
Tell yourself that you have made the decision not to smoke. No-one has forced you or told you. This is what happens:-
After an hour you will feel like having a cigarette. Don’t do it. Make the choice. Your body, being dependent on nicotine, is asking to be topped up. Think of something else to take your mind off it and tell yourself that you could smoke if you wanted to but have chosen not to. Later the craving may come back. Do the same and continue in this fashion. As time goes by you may feel worse as your body starts to rid itself of all the toxins (There are more than 1200 poisons in tobacco smoke.) You may have a bad taste in your mouth or feel sick. Persevere. It doesn’t last long. After three days you have beat the craving. Your food will taste better as all the poisons start to go so don’t make the mistake of substituting food for cigarettes, that just makes you fat. Your sense of smell will improve and you’ll start to realize just how foul cigarette smoke really is. Your breathing will improve and you’ll start to feel fitter and better. Each day will increase your feeling of well-being as your body starts to recover from the damage it has sustained.
After three or four weeks you’ll wonder what the fuss was about. You are now a non-smoker. Other smokers may try to persuade you to have a cigarette. Refuse saying ‘I don’t smoke’ NOT ‘ I’m giving up.’ Otherwise they’ll tell you that just one won’t hurt. Yes it will. Once you have one you’re a smoker again. If it helps put the money you would have spent on cigarettes in a jar and see how it mounts up. It will take years for your body to get back to how it was, up to ten, but it’s worth it. Think of the benefits:
Your health is better
You save money. (20 a day costs, in England, about £1600.00 a year.)
Your clothes don’t smell bad.
Your bad breath disappears
Your hair smells clean again
Your house won’t be as dirty
Your food tastes better
Your sense of smell improves
Your breathing is easier
You get fewer colds and flu
You live longer
You get fewer illnesses
Your friends respect you
Non-smokers no longer avoid you or start to invite you to their homes again.
Your car doesn’t smell and is cleaner.Finally remember this, and I have personal experience. Prior to my retirement I was the manager of a bank. One of my duties was to provide life insurance and pensions to customers. As part of the application there was a question asking if the applicant was a smoker and, if so, how many cigarettes a day were smoked. The client had to be truthful as he was reminded that in the event of death from a smoking related disease the insurance people could ask for a post mortem report before paying out to determine the extent of cigarette damage and whether it was consistent with the claim on the application. So, knowing the amount of cigatettes smoked, we deducted 6 minutes from the life expectancy of the client for each cigarette smoked. So if he smoked ten cigarettes a day he was losing an hour’s life expectancy each day. That means that for every twenty four days a day’s life was lost. Every twenty four years a year was lost. Smoke 20 a day and you can double the loss. Not only that but it is probable that the smoker will suffer more illness during his life. Because of this we loaded the premiums for the life cover as the smoker would die sooner and we would have to pay out earlier. If you were given the choice at,say, 70 years of age in dying today or in three year’s time which would you choose?
You will always find someone whose Great Uncle Joe smoked 100 a day from being 10 years old and died when he was 105. That may be so but there are two things to remember. If he didn’t smoke he may have reached 120 and the other thing is that the cemeteries are packed with people who smoked but didn’t last anywhere near as long as Joe. Smokers will also defend their habit by saying ‘I could be knocked down by a bus tiomorrow.’ Maybe, but they wouldn’t die voluntarily would they? Smokers do all the time.
Hope that inspired someone!
May 7th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
He can try pepermint candy cane. I heard that works. Best luck to him. I hope he stops for good.
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May 7th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I have never heard of shots to do that. Hypnosis and patches, but not shots.
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May 7th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
he should try self harming.
Not in a bad way but everytime he feels like a cigarette he should burn himself with his lighter or maybe something less drastic like pouring vinegar in his eye. This will trick the brain into actually believing ciggies are bad and thus he wont want one.
Easy.
Or you could simply say no sex until he quits and be STRICT.
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May 7th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
What do the shots do?
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