Quit Smoking
Tragically this habit that starts as a style spreads its roots from an age when most people just begin to give shape to their dreams, ambitions and careers. This «style becomes killer tip toeing on the sands of time snuffing out lives leaving behind in its trail more than 5 million years of potential life lost every year the world over.
Socio demographic factors like coming from a family with low socioeconomic status.
Environmental factors include easy accessibility and availability of tobacco products, cigarette advertising and promotion by legends and stars and the widespread affordability of tobacco due to its low price.
Personal factors include borrowed perceptions from peers and siblings that
«tobacco use is normal and lack of parental involvement.
Low self-esteem and the lack of ability to refuse offers to use tobacco further fuels the wrong notion that tobacco use benefits.
Facts About Tobacco in America
Men are more susceptible to smoking than women.
American Indians or Alaska Natives are more likely to smoke than other ethnic groups.
Hispanics and Asians or Pacific Islanders are more prone than the rest.
Highest smoking levels are found amongst the Vietnamese and Korean Asian Americans
Gay men and lesbians smoke more frequently than heterosexuals.
While individuals with 16 or more years of education or in middle or high income groups have the lowest smoking rates
Quit Smoking
Smoke and Pay the Consequences
Smoke from ALL CIGARETTES damage the human body, as any amount of it is injurious to health. Surprisingly cigarettes are perhaps the only advertised products whose consumption causes CANCER.
It is a completely wrong notion that smoking fewer filtered cigarettes has no negative impact whatsoever. Even a habit of 1 to 4 cigarettes a day has serious consequences making an individual more prone, with a high chance of dying at an earlier age.
It is hardly relevant whether one puffs a high-tar, low-tar or high-nicotine, low-nicotine brand, as the risks remain same. Moreover under the belief of the alternates being safer one ends up smoking more number of cigarettes than the usual. The harm caused remains same as the individual often ends up taking deeper puffs more frequently to a shorter butt length. Hence the dose of the intoxicating nicotine that is the addictive drug remains unchanged. Studies confirm that chances of lung cancer are in no way lower in low-tar or low-nicotine smokers. Nicotine taken in small amounts attacks the brain and central nervous system giving rise to pleasant sensations affecting the mood of the smoker and enhancing his nature of wanting to smoke more. Thus an individual becomes absolutely dependent resulting in physical withdrawal symptoms when he tries to overcome his near fatal injurious to health habit. Whenever an individual looses his calm, relaxed self artificially attained through smoking he feels nervous and restless, the direct output of non-smoking.
Quit Smoking
How to Quit Smoking
The big billboard of Los Angeles displays to the passers by the casualty caused due to smoking has not drawn your attention then perhaps you have been influenced by some very sensational relationship or your house physician or may be even some ghastly advertisement has triggered you of to quit smoking. Experts find some sudden incidental outcome or emotional outburst to be the key-triggering event for quitting smoking.
The smokerfree.gov (http://www.smokefree.gov/guide/basic_steps.html) has nicely translated the steps for Quit Smoking as START
S = Set a quit date.
T = Tell family, friends, and co-workers that you plan to quit.
A = Anticipate and plan for the challenges youll face while quitting.
R = Remove cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car, and work.
T = Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.
Now let us define the steps in our own way.
First of all, you must be aware of the triggering event of your life, which has propelled you to take a decision to quit smoking. You must be sensitive to this as this will change your life in the long run like being reborn yet again. What we suggest you only announce your plan to a specific near or dear person. Again we suggest that there is no alternative to a sudden outburst. So, may be due to a very close and emotional ambience you have decided to throw the cigarette from the grip of the fingers, may be half finished or may be the after the last puff. Please for Gods sake, dont worry about wasting the rest of the packet. The money you
Quit Smoking
are loosing for the leftover cigarette is really negligible to the amount you are going to save in the forthcoming days because of your revolutionary decision.
The coolest way of taking a decision and announcing it to public involves the risk of postponing the date even for trifle incidents. Remember there are many people who will advise you NOT to leave smoking, might be because of jealousy or even for fear of isolation due to loosing a smoking partner. The only positive side of such an announcement is that it may build up an additional pressure on you for keeping up commitments. In an ambience, where the majority are smokers, who will remind you about your commitments and your chance of being ashamed due to the failure of commitment goes mostly unnoticed. So, we advise you to take random decisions.
The online edition of BBC News reports that «researchers at University College London interviewed more than 1,900 smokers and ex-smokers about their attempts to quit and found that two-thirds of smokers who stopped suddenly succeeded for at least six months, compared to under half of those who planned it in detail.» (http://www.medindia.net/)
Another very important issue is the solace that the smoker derives from the people at large. They become more interested to justify, why they had started smoking, as if this is the key answer to the burning question of why they are continuing to smoke. Here we want to state very clearly that smoking is a bad habit and at times one smokes just for the sake of the habit even without enjoying it. We have even encountered people, who had come up with very generic replies like «Just like that» to the daunting question «why do you smoke»?
However you may have thrown the unfinished cigarette or the half-filled packet in a most romantic manner. What happens after that? Your companion for so long named nicotine will never leave you so easily, because Nicotine spreads its cast on the central nervous system upsetting the entire body system. You will
Quit Smoking
undergo psychological effects becoming restless to get back at it again. If you go to a doctor or to a counselor immediately after quitting smoking, he will not only help you, but also guide you for the future course of action as well as apply the right medicine, if required. If you can pass a couple of hours without being lured to the cigarette corner shop, we feel, you have won the game. Why dont you attempt to visit a recreation hall or a movie while your immediate resolution bears fruit? You may also like to go to a non-smoking restaurant with your dear one to pass some time. Once the evening comes, you go back home without buying a cigarette and try to take control over your restless mindset, rather jump onto the bed. Please try to avoid roaming around in the balcony, where even yesterday you had been with a cigarette.